Tristan – walking along the high street

Two year old Tristan is walking to the park with his mum. He chats away animatedly about the things he sees on his journey. It's a journey he's familiar with and he is making connections with previous experiences on his way.

Good for looking at

• Sustained shared thinking
• Memory and learning
• Communication and language
• Conversations
• Understanding the world
• Parents
• Effective adult support
• Going for walks

Two year old Tristan is walking to the park with his mum. He chats away animatedly about the things he sees on his journey. It’s a journey he’s familiar with and he is making connections with previous experiences on his way.

Notice

• What cues can you see that shows what Tristan is interested in? (Look out for non-verbal and body language as well as spoken language)
• How is Tristan learning? Which areas of development, engagement and characteristics of learning can you observe?
• In what ways is the adult supporting Tristan’s learning?
• How does the environment support his learning?

Reflect

What are your thoughts about:

• How Tristan was trying to communicate?
• What Tristan was interested in?
• What Tristan understands about the world?
• The role of the adult in this interaction – how did Mum support Tristan?
• The value of this type of conversational chat for Tristan?

Respond

What would you do to:

• Support Tristan’s communication and language development?
• Extend Tristan’s learning – e.g. he gains so much for this short journey along the high street, how many times do you think he has taken this short trip?
• Model behaviours for young children and show how useful they are? E.g. Going to the shops, going to the library and running errands, can they be done at a pace where the child can take in what’s happening in an unhurried way.

What next:

• Do you need to encourage more of this kind of talk and conversation out and about in your local environment for the two year olds in your setting? How can you make the most of what’s around you? What kind of risk assessment might you need to do before taking small groups of children out for short walks near your setting?