16mo–2.2y10 minFamily timeQuiet timeStory time
Our Family Celebrations Chat
A warm, toddler-friendly conversation using photos and a small 'memory object' to celebrate and value cultural, religious, and community events and experiences, building simple past-and-present talk and positive curiosity.
What you'll need
Essentials
- 2–4 familiar photos (printed or on your phone) from a community, cultural, religious, or family event (or everyday community experience like a market/library)
- 1 small related object (e.g., greeting card, scarf, small decoration, spoon, ticket, wrapper, ribbon)
- a comfortable place to sit together
Nice to have
- paper and crayons (to draw a simple picture of the event)
- a short piece of music linked to your family/community (kept brief and optional)
- a small box or envelope to store the object as a 'memory box'
Movement level: false
What you'll do
The 4-step guide, with what to look for at each step, is for signed-in parents.
What this develops
- MilestoneEnjoys pictures and stories about themselves, their families and other people.Heart· 16mo–2.2y· core· Step 1
- MilestoneIs curious about people and shows interest in stories about themselves and their family.Heart· 16mo–2.2y· core· Step 1
- MilestoneUnderstands simple questionsMind· 14mo–2.2y· stretch· Step 2
- MilestoneCopies heard wordsMind· 8mo–20mo· stretch· Step 2
- MilestoneAnswers simple open questionsMind· 2.3y–3.3y· stretch· Step 2
- MilestoneHas a strong exploratory impulse.Mind· 8mo–20mo· stretch· Step 3
- MilestoneUnderstands simple spoken instructionsMind· 14mo–18mo· stretch· Step 4
Where it comes from
- Source
- Development Matters in the EYFS (DfE, 2012)
- Original guidance
- “Celebrate and value cultural, religious and community events and experiences”
- License
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Crown Copyright 2012 (Development Matters in the EYFS, DfE)