The building blocks for success in future life are encapsulated in Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED). Before starting to think what resources you can provide for all your two- and three-year-olds in your care to help promote the three key aspects of PSED – self-confidence and self-awareness; managing feelings and behaviour; and making relationships – it is important to consider the quality of human interactions in your setting. Well-chosen resources can provide a stimulus for young children’s social and emotional development, but they are no substitute for secure relationships.
‘The most valuable resource in any setting is the key person because that relationship is central to everything,’ says independent educational consultant and early years specialist Marion Dowling. ‘You need to really understand and tune in to young children and recognise what they are worried or excited about.’
She recommends questioning what each child is going to gain from a new resource before purchasing. Look for things that will promote challenge for the two- and three-year-olds in your care; encourage them to be involved and motivated; and be open-ended so that they can have control over their play (see case study). Create a sense of awe and wonder by introducing feely bags or digging in the garden. Provide small activity boards (TTS supplies a Fine Motor Skills and Latches Board, £26.95), jigsaws and stacking puzzles so that children can feel a sense of accomplishment when they have completed an activity. Encourage children to work together, share equipment and help each other by going on a mini-beast hunt (Cosy Direct supplies Jumbo Magnifier, £2.99, and TTS supplies Nature Mini-beast Viewer Container, £3.49) or setting up a simple obstacle course (Early Years Resources supplies an Obstacle Course Pack, £89.95).
Practitioners should be ready to model to the two- and three-year-olds how to play with resources so that they can learn behaviour such as how to collaborate and share. While over-praise, or undiscerning praise, can be counter-productive to children’s progress and well-being, practitioners should be on hand to celebrate with a child when, for example, a tower of wooden blocks has eventually stayed up (Community Playthings supplies the Introductory Unit Block Set, £250). This can help to build self-esteem and self-confidence. If the blocks fall down then the practitioner should be nearby to commiserate, help the child to self-regulate their feelings and encourage them to keep on trying.
THOUGHTFUL PLANNING
When selecting resources, Phil Armstrong, head of Early Excellence’s London centre, suggests thinking about durability and maintenance, because with two- (and even three-)year-olds, a lot of items go in their mouths. Extra care has to particularly be taken in mixed-age settings that resources are age-appropriate for the youngest children.
Consider how two- and three-year-olds in your care are going to access the resources. It is important that they are able to self-select items. Provide low-level shelving units (Early Excellence supplies a Low-Level Closed Shelving Unit, £318 (inc VAT) that is designed to make resources accessible for two- to three-year-olds), tables and chairs.
Ensure that equipment such as easels (Community Playthings supplies a Mini Floor Easel, £255, which enables children to reach from the tray to the top), sand and water trays can be accessed (Hope Education supplies Clear Sand and Water Activity Trays, £26.99, that can be used on tables or the floor). Provide a step if necessary.
Tables that are close to the ground are good for this age group, such as Early Excellence’s Square Play Table (£125), which is designed for children to sit or kneel at as they play and can encourage more than one child to interact together. Rather than playing on the floor, the resources are slightly elevated, which reduces the chance of others disrupting them.
Provide quiet areas where children can snuggle with a practitioner and share a book or relax and have some calm time away from the busy nursery areas (Early Years Resources supplies Soft Elements Snug, £199.95, and Outdoor Quilted Cushions, starting from £69.95).
‘Also, pare back the amount of resources offered so that there is not too much stuff, which can get overwhelming,’ adds Mr Armstrong. ‘It’s a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees, and having a lot of resources out often means they’re less valued by adults and children. The detail is in the planning; putting items together to support certain areas of development rather than just to keep children busy.’
For example, rather than boxes packed full of books, carefully select them to support some resources, such as a book on diggers, and digger toys on low shelves alongside wooden blocks in the construction area; or finger puppets (TTS supplies Fairytale Finger Puppets Set, £34.95) in a basket along with a popular fairy tale in the book corner.
CASE STUDY: PROMISES DAY NURSERY IN CHESTERFIELD, DERBYSHIRE
‘The Mirrored Stacking Pebbles [TTS, £67.95] are a fascinating product. They’re very simple, yet with a range of possibilities across the nursery. Children are instantly drawn to them – holding them up, inspecting them, feeling their smoothness and looking at how the light bounces off them,’ says former manager Jane Bentley.
‘We first used them with the toddlers and two-year-olds. One boy with a rotational schema was transfixed by them. He lined them up and span them around and just stood there watching them move. Some of the three-year-olds were equally fascinated, realising that they could be used as mirrors and holding them up to see who was behind them. They’re convex so children think it’s funny to see their face looking different. They also like working out how to get the light to bounce off them.
‘Many children enjoy the act of stacking objects and these give extra challenge because, unlike wooden blocks, they’re not flat. They will persevere to stack them as high as they can and will sit and quietly work out how to carefully put them on top.
‘They initially seem to be expensive, but we’ve had them for five years and they’re still in regular use and can be used to meet many ways of learning.’
SUGGESTED RESOURCES
PUPPETS
TTS Thumbody Self Esteem Finger Puppet, £9.99 (left). Puppets by Post supplies Boy and Girl multi-cultural hand puppets with full mouth movement, starting from £22.50.
PERSONA DOLLS
These can be used to explore differences such as gender, race, culture and lifestyle and 
encourage empathy, tolerance and respect in children as young as two. Rather than being available for free-flow play, they are looked after by the practitioners. Persona Doll Training supplies a range of dolls, starting from £64.
MIRRORS
Look at pictures in books to work out different emotions and use mirrors to pull faces. The Consortium Education supplies a Hand Held Foam Mirror, £19.29, and TTS supplies Outdoor/Indoor Mirrors, starting from £12.95.
SMALL-WORLD PLAY
Children can use small-world characters to reflect on and respond to different events in their lives. Yellow Door supplies Little People, starting from £20 for a set of nine; they are durable for use indoors and outside and are minimally designed so they can show any emotion the child chooses.
ROLE PLAY
Children are enabled to represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through real-life role play. They can learn to co-operate and forge friendships, and practitioners can help children to regulate their emotions to keep play going. Early Excellence supplies a Complete Role Play Real Life Area 4-5 years, £760.
MORE INFORMATION
Community Playthings, www.communityplaythings.co.uk
The Consortium Education, www.educationsupplies.co.uk
Cosy, www.cosydirect.com
Early Excellence, www.earlyexcellence.com
Early Years Resources, www.earlyyearsresources.co.uk
Hope Education, www.hope-education.co.uk
Persona Doll, www.personadoll.uk
Puppets By Post, www.puppetsbypost.com
TTS Shopping, www.tts-shopping.com
Yellow Door, www.yellow-door.net