Early Years Programme
For children 18 months to 3 years old
During this crucial stage, children experience significant growth across various domains. Our curriculum is designed to support and enhance the following developmental milestones:
Our Early Years programme is built around four domains drawn from the ECDA Nurturing Early Learners (NEL) framework, delivered through constructivist, play-based learning.
Language
How children come to understand and be understood.
What this means developmentally
Language in the 18-36 month window develops along 2 tracks. Receptive language (understanding spoken words, instructions, emotional tone) typically runs ahead of expressive language (producing speech, forming sentences). By 24 months most children begin combining 2 words; by 36 months, simple sentences are emerging.
Programme goals
Build receptive vocabulary across daily routines and play; support transition from single words to two- and three-word combinations; develop phonological awareness through song and rhyme; establish conversation patterns (turn-taking, response, initiation). Children at Pebble has interactive storytime and read-aloud sessions with open-ended narration; conversational practice embedded in daily routines (mealtimes, transitions, outdoor play); vocabulary games using songs and rhymes; quiet one-to-one exchanges between educator and child. At Pebble, this looks like a child who has been hearing the same picture book for three weeks is not bored. They are building vocabulary, story schema, and the expectation that words have meaning — foundations that will carry them for years. Research anchors: Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society. Harvard University Press. /ECDA (2013). Nurturing Early Learners: A Framework for an Early Childhood Curriculum.
Motor Skills
Building physical agency — the ability to act on the world.
What this means developmentally
Motor development divides into gross motor skills (large muscle groups: locomotion, balance, coordination) and fine motor skills (small muscles: manipulation, precision). Both tracks are essential. At 18–36 months children are consolidating walking, beginning to run and climb, and developing the pincer grip that enables purposeful manipulation of small objects.
Programme goals
Programme goals: Build balance, coordination, and spatial body awareness; develop bilateral coordination; strengthen fine motor precision through purposeful play with small materials; support the connection between physical action and cognitive understanding. What children do at Pebble: Outdoor play, aerobics, Zumba, dance, climbing, and whole-body sensory activities (gross motor); art and craft, cooking preparation, block and puzzle play, threading, pouring, and sensory exploration with varied textures (fine motor). At Pebble, this looks like a child who has spent twenty minutes pouring dried beans from one cup to another is not wasting time. They are building the hand strength and bilateral coordination that will later hold a pencil. Research anchors: Ayres, A.J. (1979). Sensory Integration and the Child. Western Psychological Services. / Gallahue, D.L., & Ozmun, J.C. (2006). Understanding Motor Development (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill. / ECDA NEL Framework, Vol. 1.
Social-Emotional
Learning to live alongside others — and inside oneself
What this means developmentally
Social-emotional development encompasses intrapersonal regulation (understanding and managing one's own emotional states) and interpersonal skills (reading social cues, turn-taking, repairing conflict, forming attachment). At 18–36 months children are beginning to name primary emotions and are starting to engage in parallel play alongside peers. Self-regulation at this age is largely co-regulated — children rely on attuned adults to return to a calm state.
Programme goals
Build secure attachment with consistent educators and routines; support recognition and naming of primary emotions; develop early self-regulation through co-regulation; introduce foundations of social interaction: turn-taking, sharing attention, simple cooperative play. What children do at Pebble: Circle time with intentional group interaction, emotional naming, and shared rituals; role play and dramatic play; small group activities building cooperation; consistent daily routines that build predictability and security. At Pebble, this looks like when an educator sits with a child who is overwhelmed rather than redirecting them, they are doing social-emotional work. Co-regulation comes before self-regulation — always. Research anchors: Bowlby, J. (1988). A Secure Base: Parent-Child Attachment and Healthy Human Development. Basic Books. / Siegel, D.J., & Bryson, T.P. (2011). The Whole-Brain Child. Delacorte Press. / ECDA NEL Framework.
Functional Skills
The early practice of doing things for oneself
What this means developmentally
Functional skills refer to practical daily self-care competencies: feeding, dressing, toileting, and basic hygiene. A child who can manage their own body has a different relationship with autonomy and agency than one who cannot. At 18–36 months children are beginning to self-feed with a spoon, attempting to remove shoes and socks, and approaching toilet readiness. These milestones are highly variable.
Programme goals
Support self-feeding using child-sized utensils and unhurried mealtimes; build dressing and undressing competence through daily routines; follow each child's individual timeline for toilet readiness; cultivate a disposition of 'I can try.' Children at Pebble has mealtime routines structured as learning contexts; dressing practice embedded in transitions; toilet training supported in close partnership with families using consistent language and approach across home and school. At Pebble, we do not rush through mealtimes. A child learning to use a spoon is practising concentration, coordination, and agency simultaneously. We give them the time that requires. Research anchors: Erikson, E.H. (1950). Childhood and Society. Norton. / ECDA NEL Framework. / Montessori, M. (1912). The Montessori Method. Frederick Stokes.
A day in Early Years
Every day at Pebble is structured around a predictable rhythm. Mornings are for exploration and relationship-building. Afternoons are for Playlabs — purposeful skill-building sessions that complement the morning's learning.
Time | Activity |
|---|---|
8:45 am | Open Mornings / Free Play |
8:30 am | Breakfast |
9:45 am | Circle Time (Song or Story) |
10:00 am | Inquiry-based Projects |
11:00 am | Lunch + Quiet Time |
12:30 pm | Nap |
3:00pm | Afternoon Tea |
3:30 pm | Playlabs (Writer's Workshop, Maker's Lab, Artistic Expressions, etc) |
4:30 pm | Multi-age Group Play |
Specific Playlab rotations are shared with families at the start of each term. To understand how mornings and afternoons connect, visit How We Learn.