How does a child’s mind develop at the ages of 2 and 3 years old?
During this time, your child will be soaking up information like a sponge and learning rapidly. Thus, it is important to expose your child to a wide range of experiences that will form the basis for them to develop key life skills. This also sets the foundation for them to learn and grow holistically.
What are the developmental milestones for 2-year-old and 3-year-old children?
Here are some of the milestones that we help 2-year-old and 3-year-old children reach through the S.M.I.L.E.S. methodology.
Please note that this list is not exhaustive; if you would like to find out more, feel free to speak with us or drop by one of our centres, where our educators will be happy to share more.
Sensory
- Uses senses to explore objects, items, living things within their everyday environment (e.g. observe the textures of fruits at supermarket, listen to sounds of insects during outdoor journey)
- Moves his/her body to the rhythm of music
- Explores a variety of art materials to create art works with educator’s guidance
Motor
- Demonstrates self-help skills (e.g. dressing on own, pouring own juice)
- Walks, runs, climbs, kicks and jumps easily
- Squats and rises without using hands
- Self-feeds using cutleries and a cup
Intellectual
- Demonstrates increasing awareness to recognise patterns in the environment
- Explore number concepts 1 to 10
- Recognises similarities and differences
- Names basic geometric shapes in the environment, e.g. circles, squares, triangles, rectangles
Linguistic
- Refers to self by name and often says ‘mine’
- Communicates thoughts and needs independently through pointing, gestures and words
- Reciprocates in conversations (verbal and/or non-verbal)
- Uses two or three words together, e.g. “go potty now”
Emotional & Social
- Engages in simple make-believe play
- Shows responsibility for own belongings
- Displays self-confidence when participating in learning experiences
- Separates from caregiver with ease
Sensory
- Begins to use their sensory capabilities and dispositions with increasing integration, skill and purpose to explore and respond to their world
- Explores a variety of art tools
- Explores and experiments with a variety of resources and natural items
Motor
- Demonstrate developmentally appropriate pencil grip while engaging in pre-writing experience
- Dresses and undresses with minimal assistance
- Performs a movement with balance and focus up to 8 counts
Intellectual
- Matches objects with 1-to-1 correspondence to 20
- Explores properties of 2D and 3D objects
- Displays a sense of rhythm during music and movement of different genres
- Demonstrates a progressive attention span
Linguistic
- Speaks in sentences and uses a variety of vocabulary
- Talks to self during play experience to support guide what he/she does
- Demonstrates increasing confidence to engage in enjoyable interactions using verbal and non-verbal language
Emotional & Social
- Takes care of own belongings and classroom materials
- Engages in associative play (interacting with other Champs)
- Responds appropriately and shows empathy to peers who are in need, upset, hurt or angry
How do we help children hit growth milestones at 2 years old and 3 years old?
We ensure your child’s day is meaningfully spent by establishing a routine that enhances all aspects of their Sensory, Motor, Intellectual, Linguistic, Emotional and Social (S.M.I.L.E.S.) development.
Lessons start off with our unique Enquiry Teaching and Learning™ approach that encourages children to be curious about topics and ask questions that will lead to an enquiry exploration.
The educator asks the children questions and then taking in their responses to lead the class into an enquiry teaching and learning process. Upon observing the children’s interests, the educator will plan lessons that allow the children to explore new ideas while developing their thinking skills.
The educator will also make sure that lessons planned incorporate the S.M.I.L.E.S.™ Methodology and meet the interests and learning needs of different children.
Our daily program caters to your child’s interests, developmental needs and provides opportunities for them to collaborate with families and the community.
Closely aligned to the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), find out more about the various components of our program:
These include play-based learning activities (both indoors and outdoors) that are connected to the children’s interests.
For instance, our little ones’ interest in dinosaurs could be explored with a mask making activity, and further extended outdoors with a Dino Obstacle Race wearing the masks that they designed. Or they could enjoy a tea party outside with Dinosaur Friends!
During this time, educators and children come together to listen and share their perspectives with one another. This helps them develop knowledge and confident self-identities as they share their ideas and express their thoughts within the community of learners.
They also develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities by participating in group activities such as Acknowledgment to the Country, Show and Tell, NewsTime and Family incursions.
In Champs Discovery sessions, our little ones develop their imagination and S.M.I.L.E.S skills through hands-on activities in the 6 Learning zones – Dramatic, Construction, Art & Craft, Reading, Writing and Numeracy Zones.
The MindChamps Reading (MR) Program helps children build a lifelong love for reading and sets a strong foundation for literacy skills in fun and interactive ways.
Our little ones engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts while reading the books and engaging in story comprehension related activities through literature response, games, puppets, classroom dialogues and more!
In addition to the activities above, we also include calming experiences to rejuvenate your child’s mind as part of their daily routine. During mealtimes, your child will also indulge in delicious and healthy snacks and meals.