We’ve pulled together some advice and activities specifically designed to help children using Progress with Oxford . Read on to discover what learning your child is likely to be introduced to at pre-school and how you can support your child’s new skills at home, download free activities, and much more.

Learning at pre-school

There are several areas of learning and development that 3–4-year-old children can work on before they start school. The government identifies seven key areas of learning for children during their early years:

Communication and language.
Physical development.
Personal, social and emotional development.
Literacy.
Mathematics.
Understanding the world.
Expressive arts and design.

For information about exactly what these areas mean, and how childcare providers can support your child’s development in them, take a look at the government’s guide to the early years foundation stage.

Tips to support your child at home

How can you effectively support your child at home? Here are a few tips and ideas to help your child on the first steps of their learning journey:

Read books of all kinds to your child: picture, words and pictures, pop up, information and poetry. Why not choose a free eBook from our library to share on-screen together?
Sing with your child! Singing helps children to develop their speaking and listening skills and to have fun with words. Counting songs, like ‘one, two, three, four, five… Once I caught a fish alive’, can also help your child to have fun with numbers.
Using scissors is a useful skill and is a great way to build strength and to develop co-ordination and control. Make paper chains together or ask them to find particular photos in magazines and catalogues (by colour or other categories) to cut out and then stick into their own pictures.

For more advice, take a look at our page on fun learning ideas for 3–4 year olds.

Practice activities

Try out our free activities to support your child throughout their early development.