It is easy for early years practitioners and parents to overlook the thinking power of very young children. The block is often the assumption that thoughts can only be expressed through recognisable words. However, babies, toddlers and two-year-olds will show observant adults that they are busy thinking about their familiar world.
The behaviour of under-threes, along with their sounds and later words and short phrases, lets us know what they have worked out about regular routines or daily events. Their deliberate actions, often repeated or with slight variations, show us that young children are active explorers and problem solvers. For example:
* Toddlers and two-year-olds often express surprise when they see their keyperson or childminder out of context. Their uncertainty, even amusement, shows they are thinking: 'You're not in your normal place - what are you doing here?'
* Babies of six months and older show how they have learnt the pattern of familiar play exchanges and start to initiate a game such as 'I drop the toy and you pick it up'. Familiar toddlers and children just turned two are able to develop games of their own. We may find that a toddler has recalled the game of 'peep-bo' round the bush in the garden and is using deliberate actions to get her friend to play.
* Older toddlers and two-year-olds will concentrate on a task they have chosen, such as what kind of materials they can load into their wheelbarrow.
Actions and resources
It can become complicated to explain exactly how young children learn in all their areas of development. But, fortunately, what helps young learning is relatively simple in terms of adult actions and resources.
* First we need to realise that babies and toddlers are already learning and to set aside any definition of 'learning' that could be expected of three- and four-year-olds.
* Then we need to appreciate that the best item of 'equipment' for learning is an attentive, kind and playful adult. One of the key principles of the Birth to Three Matters guidance is that, 'Learning is a shared process and children learn most effectively when, with the support of a knowledgeable and trusted adult, they are actively involved and interested' (Introduction booklet, page 5).
* An important part of the adult role is to create suitable opportunities for children to extend their understanding. Scotland's Birth to Three guidance stresses (on page 3) how 'early learning involves opportunities to play, interact, explore and problem solve'. It emphasises that the role of the supportive adult is to create a flexible learning environment, 'relationships that encourage children to participate actively' and 'opportunities for children to communicate their feelings and their thoughts... through quiet one-to-one times with an important adult.'
* Babies and young children need and enjoy the company of other children of similar age and both younger and older than themselves. Supportive adults are essential to create the right atmosphere for the sort of learning they achieve by watching others.
Learning by repetition
A great deal of suitable support for young thinkers rests on an accessible and interesting learning environment, a range of open-ended resources, time and space to explore.
Young children drive their thinking through a lot of repetition: exploration through actions, sound- making and verbal comments. So, practitioners should be in no hurry to move children on through a list of adult-initiated activities.
Older babies like to drop or throw items again and again, because they do not know that the same action using the same item will have the same effect until they have repeated their drop or throw several times, today and again tomorrow.
Toddlers and young children need time to explore materials, like play-dough, water or glue. A video excerpt on the CD of Birth to Three Matters shows a relaxed sequence as young children have time to explore the nature of glue and how it drips off spreaders.
Practitioners need to watch toddlers and two-year-olds and admire their perseverance with a simple jigsaw or getting smaller boxes to fit inside a larger box. When we are near children, then we can defuse toddler frustration with gentle words and a simple demonstration.
We may need to explain to parents and carers, or our less experienced colleagues, that it is unhelpful, and disrespectful, to label an enthusiastic explorer as 'stubborn' or 'unco-operative', when this young child would be better described as 'well able to concentrate' and 'keen to complete his project'.
Young children who are fully engaged in finding out exactly what happens if they fill up the puddle with leaves will be deeply unimpressed with being asked to stop and do something else.
Partnership with families means that we need to share anecdotes with children's parents or other family carers. Examples of what their own child has done today are the best way to highlight for parents that very young children show us their powers of memory and ability to connect different experiences.
Children's schemas can provide a useful activity to observe and then point out to parents how this shows that young children are thoughtful and active. They want to find out what works, but their persistent pattern of how they choose to explore and make sense of their world can look like 'mess' or 'not playing properly'.
Thinking and the ability to problem solve also links with young social and emotional development. Tears, shouts and foot-stamping let us know that toddlers and two-year-olds have exhausted their ability to resolve a problem that has arisen in play.
We are needed as a calming influence and to be the diplomat. But we do not help this kind of young problem solving if our main aim is to stop the noise and find out who 'started it' or 'had the toy first'.
Young children are able, with your help, to start on the road of conflict resolution when you help them in the simplest ways to consider, 'We've got a problem here. You both want this teddy' and 'I'll keep teddy safe. Let's see what we can do.'
Further resources
* Arnold, Cath (2003) Observing Harry: Child development and learning 0-5.
Open University Press (explanation and description of schemas)
* HighScope UK (tel: 020 8676 0220) videos on helping very young children: The HighScope approach to under-threes and It's mine: responding to problems and conflicts
* Learning and Teaching Scotland (2005) Birth to Three: Supporting our youngest children. Available at www.ltscotland.org.uk/earlyyears/birthtothree
* Sure Start/DfES (2002) Birth to Three Matters: A framework to support children in their earliest years (quotes are taken from Introduction booklet) www.surestart.gov.uk/resources/childcareworkers/birthtothreematters
