3 Ways to Stay Engaged with Your Child’s Nursery Life

Hands up if you have ever had a similar conversation with your child after a day at nursery:

Parent: What did you do at nursery today?
Child: Nothing
– End of conversation –

Parents are so eager to hear about their children’s day but are often met with this response. Of course the children didn’t do “nothing” all day, so here are some quick tips for how you can stay engaged in your child’s nursery life and get a better insight of their fun filled day.

1. When your child brings home activities, try to ask questions about the steps they took to complete the activity rather than solely focusing on the end product. For example, if your child brings back a painting of a farm try the below discussion points:

– What materials did you use to make this? ie . paint brush, fingers, leaves, stamps
– How did those materials feel? Were they wet, sticky, bumpy, smooth?
– Talk about the objects in the painting. Ie. share facts about the cow, horses, etc.
– You could even extend the learning by going to visit a farm or similar environment to bring your child’s painting to life!

2. Keep open and regular communication with the nursery. Education is truly a partnership – you and the nursery staff all want what is best for your child, helping them learn and thrive. Kids First Group uses an app called Educore which makes communication between teachers and parents seamless. Educore provides daily updates about activities your child has participated in along with sleep and toilet logs. Plus, parents can send messages to their child’s teacher.

3. Continue the learning at home by having some similar activities as they have in nursery.

For example, if you know your child is learning about the environment in nursery you could set up a recycling station at home. Show your child how to sort items into different categories and take a trip together to the recycling area or do a “clean up” of trash in your neighborhood. If you have a garden, you can also start composting and use your compost to plant herbs. Then eventually, you can cook together using herbs from the garden to build math skills. The possibilities of learning through additional hands-on experience are endless!

Bonus tip… when asking about your child’s day, consider more specific questions such as “what songs did you learn today” “what activities did you enjoy” or “tell me one thing you learned at nursery today.”