Building strength, control, and confidence through physical play.

• Gross motor skills – Running, jumping, balancing, and climbing.

• Fine motor coordination – Using small muscles in fingers and hands precisely.

• Hand-eye coordination – Moving hands in sync with visual input.

• Using tools with control – Scooping, pouring, digging, or painting with purpose.

• Developing hand strength – Strengthening muscles through squeezing and pressing.

• Balance and spatial awareness – Moving safely and confidently through space.

• Tactile exploration through motion – Feeling textures while moving or manipulating.

• Exploring rhythm and movement – Engaging with beat, tempo, and dance.

• Focus through physical tasks – Concentrating while building, stacking, or threading.

• Confidence in physical ability – Feeling proud of movement achievements.

• Developing body awareness – Discovering where their body begins and ends through movement and touch.

• Visual tracking – Following objects or faces with their eyes, supporting hand-eye coordination.

Learning through touch, sight, sound, smell, and movement.

• Sensory engagement – Interacting with textures, materials, and sounds.

• Tactile discrimination – Noticing how things feel different (rough/smooth, wet/dry).

• Calming through sensory input – Regulating emotions via soothing activities.

• Understanding cause and effect – Seeing results of mixing, pouring, or pressing.

• Language building through sensory play – Describing textures and actions.

• Confidence to try new textures – Exploring unfamiliar materials comfortably.

• Focus and attention – Paying close attention to sensory detail.

• Exploring sound and rhythm – Listening to volume, tone, and pattern.

• Using tools to explore – Sprayers, scoops, or droppers in sensory settings.

• Creative thinking through open-ended play – Using materials freely without rules.

• Building sensory tolerance – Becoming comfortable with different sounds, lights, and textures.

Building vocabulary, storytelling, and social connection through words.

• Language development – Expanding vocabulary and descriptive language.

• Storytelling through art and play – Creating characters or narratives.

• Following and giving instructions – Practicing two-way communication.

• Naming actions, textures, and tools – Learning functional vocabulary.

• Turn-taking in conversation – Practising listening and responding.

• Describing observations – Talking about colour, texture, movement.

• Sequencing events – Using words to explain what happened first, next, and last.

• Expressing preferences or choices – Building autonomy through words.

• Connecting emotion to language – Talking about how things feel (e.g., “sticky,” “cold,” “fun!”).

• Confidence in speaking – Building comfort in expressing ideas.

• Responding to familiar voices – Recognising and reacting to the voices of caregivers.

• Early turn-taking through sound – Engaging in simple back-and-forth cooing or babbling.

Encouraging logical thinking, exploration, and persistence.

• Scientific thinking – Observing, predicting, and testing ideas.

• Making predictions – Guessing outcomes based on clues.

• Problem-solving – Finding ways to make something work.

• Cause and effect – Understanding how one action leads to another.

• Investigating materials – Exploring what things are made of.

• Memory and matching – Using short-term memory in games and tasks.

• Sorting and classifying – Grouping by size, shape, or colour.

• Testing ideas – Trying new methods and tools.

• Focus and persistence – Sticking with challenges and finishing tasks.

• Understanding change over time – Watching things grow, melt, or transform.

• Noticing patterns and repetition – Paying attention to recurring sounds, actions, or visuals.

• Memory and matching – Using short-term memory in games and tasks.

• Building working memory – Holding steps or instructions in mind to solve problems.

• Attention to detail – Spotting differences, errors, or patterns to complete puzzles or challenges.

Expressing ideas, emotions, and originality through art and play.

• Creative expression – Making choices in design, shape, and colour.

• Telling stories through art – Creating scenes or characters visually.

• Confidence to try ideas – Exploring new concepts without fear.

• Exploring size and space – Choosing where to place shapes or lines.

• Exploring colour and texture – Noticing visual and tactile contrast.

• Pattern and shape awareness – Recognising or designing patterns.

• Cause and effect in art – Seeing outcomes of layering or mixing.

• Using tools with purpose – Painting, gluing, or stamping intentionally.

• Open-ended play – Playing with no “right” answer or outcome.

• Expressing feelings through creation – Using colour or form to reflect mood.

• Exploring with curiosity – Reacting with interest to new sights, sounds, or materials.

• Responding to visual and tactile contrast – Showing preference or surprise to light/dark, smooth/rough, or loud/quiet stimuli.

Learning about emotions, empathy, and group interaction.

• Turn-taking and sharing – Learning to wait, give, and take fairly.

• Understanding emotions – Naming and recognising feelings in self and others.

• Empathy through play – Acting out care, kindness, and friendship.

• Confidence and self-esteem – Feeling proud of creations or efforts.

• Self-regulation and calm – Managing big feelings through play.

• Cooperative play – Working with others to build or imagine.

• Following group routines – Adapting to structured play or activity time.

• Expressing needs and wants – Using words or gestures for communication.

• Handling frustration – Learning that it’s okay to try again.

• Celebrating differences – Accepting diverse ideas, designs, or materials.

• Bonding through shared play – Building connection and trust through face-to-face interactions.

• Emotional mirroring – Reflecting or responding to caregivers’ facial expressions and tone of voice.

• Emotional mirroring – Reflecting or responding to caregivers’ facial expressions and tone of voice.

• Cultural awareness – Exploring symbols, traditions, and materials from their own and others’ cultures.

• Respecting customs and values – Practicing kindness and curiosity toward different ways of living.

• Belonging to a community – Feeling connected to family, faith, and local traditions through play.

Encouraging autonomy, decision-making, and trying new things.

• Choosing materials or steps – Making independent decisions in play.

• Completing tasks alone – Building pride in “I did it myself!”

• Exploring safely and freely – Taking small, safe risks in play.

• Using tools with confidence – Trying scoops, brushes, or cutters without help.

• Trying unfamiliar textures or tasks – Overcoming hesitation or fear.

• Confidence in problem-solving – Tackling challenges with less support.

• Ownership of ideas – Feeling proud of original creations.

• Setting own pace – Knowing when to slow down or speed up.

• Finishing what they start – Learning the reward of completion.

• Developing personal preferences – Discovering likes, dislikes, and interests.

• Comfort with brief separation – Beginning to self-soothe when momentarily away from a caregiver.

• Initiating simple interaction – Reaching, smiling, or vocalising to begin playful exchanges.