Understanding the world
Home learning resources
There are three aspects of Understanding the world;
- People and communities
- The world
- Technology
People and communities
Children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They know that other children don’t always enjoy the same things, and are sensitive to this. They know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.
One target for a two year old is to imitate everyday actions and events from own family and cultural background, e.g. making and drinking
tea.
One target for a three year old is to recognise and describe special times or events for family or friends.
The world
Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.
One target for a two year old in this area is to notice detailed features of objects in their environment.
A target for a three year old is to show care and concern for living things and the environment.
Technology
Children recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools. They select and use technology for particular purposes.
A target for a two year old in this area is to operate mechanical toys, e.g. turns the knob on a wind-up toy or pulls back on a friction car.
One target for a three year old is to know how to operate simple equipment, e.g. turns on CD player and uses remote control.
Home learning resources
People and communities
22-36 months
Talk to children about their friends, their families, and why they are important. Share photographs of children’s families, friends, pets or favourite people. Whilst doing this, it is important to support your child's understanding of difference and of empathy by using props such as puppets and dolls to tell stories about diverse experiences, ensuring that negative stereotyping is avoided.
30-50 months
Take your child on a special day out, this could be as simple as a picnic in the park! Do something that isn't in their everyday routine that they can get excited about. Whilst doing this take some pictures. After the activity, give them something to access the pictures, e.g. your phone or printed out pictures, and allow them to take it out when meeting friends and family. Encourage them to share their experience and recall what they did and how they felt about it!
The world
22-36 months
Tell stories about places and journeys. Provide story and information books about places,
such as a zoo or the beach, to remind children of visits to real places.
30-50 months
Go on a mini-beast scavenger hunt! In your garden or even in the park this can be a great activity to encourage children in connecting with the world. Challenge them with familiar and unfamiliar species and support them with pictures and descriptions. Throughout this, it can be very helpful to talk about the habitats and stages of life for different mini-beasts, e.g. caterpillars turn into butterflies. An extra challenge for this can be to draw these and point out their differences and similarities.
Technology
22-36 months
Support children in exploring the control technology of toys, e.g. toy electronic keyboard. You can provide safe equipment to play with, such as torches, transistor radios or karaoke machines, and encourage them to play with these while your using technology.
30-50 months
Introduce them to simple technology such as a tablet or phone and show them the basics, how to tap and scroll. Download a child's game, for example candy crush. The more your child uses technology, the better understanding they will gain.
Website Links
Use the photo-links below to for extra ideas on how to further support your child with this area at home!
