VSO

Detailed advice about what can be expected of children at different ages and stages is given in the following three documents.

The first, from UNICEF indicates different development stages of children in different regions.

Due to germs (bacteria, viruses and fungi) being invisible to the naked eye, it is hard for early years and primary age children to build links between microorganisms, poor hygiene practices and disease.

Children develop at different rates and providing detailed advice about development delays is beyond the scope of this Guide. However five specific resources are referenced below for those who want to explore these particular areas in more depth -

- Deafness and hearing impairment

The research indicating the importance of the different forms of play is referenced elsewhere in this guide (see Section 1). The advice which follows shows how a child can be helped to understand their world through play. Understanding the world is one of four specific areas of learning within the English Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. ‘Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment’ (DfE, 2017).

An overview of research and advice about developing mathematical learning 0-5 years is provided in this online guidance from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. http://www.wordworks.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/More-than-Counting_web.pdf

Their definition of mathematics may be helpful. The booklet is freely available, very readable and packed with ideas for activities.