Teaching Strategies in Early Childhood Education: A Parent’s Guide

When you watch children building a tower, digging in a garden or setting up an imaginary café, it may look as though they are simply playing. A skilled early childhood educator sees much more: an opportunity to develop language, test ideas, negotiate with friends and persist through a challenge.

Teaching in the early years rarely looks like a teacher speaking at the front of a classroom. It happens through carefully planned environments, thoughtful conversations, observation and play. Educators know when to step in with a question, when to demonstrate a skill and when to give children space to discover an answer.

Understanding these teaching strategies can help families recognise high-quality learning and continue the same supportive approach at home.

What are teaching strategies in early childhood education?

Teaching strategies are the purposeful methods educators use to support children’s learning and development. They include the way an educator organises the environment, responds to a child’s ideas, asks questions, models behaviour and plans what could happen next.

A strategy is not a rigid script. The same approach will look different depending on a child’s age, interests, culture, confidence and current skills.

Teaching strategies are one part of a broader early childhood pedagogy. Pedagogy considers the overall theory and beliefs behind teaching, while strategies are the practical actions educators use each day.

Why play and teaching belong together

Play-based learning does not mean leaving children without guidance. It means using play as a meaningful context for exploration while educators make deliberate decisions about how to support learning.

Imagine a group of children constructing a bridge from blocks. An educator might:

• observe how the children organise their ideas
• introduce words such as “balance”, “support” and “span”
• ask what the bridge needs to hold
• encourage children to draw a plan
• help them negotiate turns
• provide different materials when the first design falls
• invite them to explain what they changed

The children remain active participants. The educator adds just enough support to deepen the experience without taking ownership away from them.

Eight teaching strategies used by early childhood educators

Quality programs draw on many approaches rather than relying on one method. The strategies below can be used across indoor play, outdoor investigation, routines and group experiences.

1. Following children’s interests

Children engage deeply when learning connects with something they care about. Educators notice recurring questions, play themes and fascinations, then use them as starting points.

An interest in trucks could lead to counting wheels, comparing sizes, creating road signs, reading transport stories and investigating how ramps affect speed. One familiar topic can support literacy, numeracy, science, movement and creative expression.

Following an interest does not mean every moment must be child-led. The educator decides how to extend the idea and introduces experiences children may not discover alone.

2. Scaffolding

Scaffolding means providing temporary support that helps a child achieve something just beyond what they can currently do independently. The support is gradually reduced as confidence grows.

For example, an educator helping a child complete a puzzle might first turn the pieces upright, then point out matching colours. Later, a simple prompt such as “Where could the straight edge go?” may be enough.

Effective scaffolding avoids two extremes: doing the task for the child or leaving them frustrated without support.

3. Asking open-ended questions

Questions with several possible answers invite children to think, predict and explain. They are more valuable for extended conversation than questions that require only “yes”, “no” or a memorised fact.

Examples include:

• “What do you notice?”
• “Why do you think that happened?”
• “How could we find out?”
• “What else could we use?”
• “How did you solve that problem?”

Educators also allow time for an answer. Young children may need several seconds to organise their thoughts, especially when describing a new idea.

4. Modelling skills and language

Children learn by watching other people. Educators model practical skills, social language and ways of approaching a problem.

They might demonstrate how to hold scissors safely, think aloud while testing a structure or show how to enter a game by asking, “Can I help build the shop?” Modelling provides a clear example without demanding that every child copy it in exactly the same way.

5. Creating rich learning environments

The environment itself can teach. Accessible materials, inviting spaces and thoughtful organisation encourage children to make choices and develop independence.

Open-ended resources such as blocks, fabric, clay, containers and natural materials can become many different things. A well-planned dramatic play area supports communication and cooperation, while an outdoor garden can prompt questions about weather, growth, food and living things.

Educators adjust the environment as children’s interests and abilities change. Learn more about how dramatic play supports children’s development.

6. Using routines as learning opportunities

Arrival, meals, rest, handwashing and packing away are not pauses between learning experiences. They are opportunities to build language, independence, cooperation and healthy habits.

During lunch, children might count cups, discuss where vegetables grow and practise serving themselves. While packing away, they sort objects and work towards a shared goal. Predictable routines also help children understand what happens next and participate with greater confidence.

Read our complete guide to routines in early childhood.

7. Encouraging collaboration

Group experiences help children hear different ideas, solve social problems and contribute to a shared outcome. Educators support collaboration rather than expecting young children to manage every negotiation independently.

They may help children explain their ideas, recognise another perspective or agree on roles. Instead of immediately deciding who receives a toy, an educator can guide the children towards a plan for taking turns.

These moments build communication and empathy as well as the practical skills needed to learn in a group.

8. Observing, documenting and planning

Observation helps educators understand what a child can do, what captures their attention and where support may be useful next. Documentation may include notes, photographs, conversations and examples of children’s work.

The purpose is not to rank children against one another. It is to make learning visible and inform future planning. An educator might notice that a child repeatedly sorts objects by colour, then introduce opportunities to sort by size, shape or function.

Sharing these observations with families creates a fuller picture because children may show different interests and skills at home.

How these strategies support different areas of learning

One experience can support several areas of development at once.

Teaching strategy	Example	Skills being supported
Scaffolding	Helping a child plan a block structure	Problem-solving, persistence and spatial thinking
Open-ended questions	Discussing what may happen in a story	Language, prediction and imagination
Modelling	Showing calm words for joining a game	Communication and social confidence
Rich environments	Providing loose materials for construction	Creativity, fine motor skills and early STEM thinking
Collaboration	Planning a group garden project	Cooperation, responsibility and communication
Routines	Children serving food and sorting utensils	Independence, numeracy and healthy habits

This integrated approach reflects how young children actually learn. Development does not occur in separate subjects; language, movement, thinking and relationships influence one another.

What intentional teaching means

Intentional teaching describes moments when educators act deliberately to extend learning. “Intentional” does not necessarily mean formal, adult-directed instruction.

It could involve:

• introducing a new word at the right moment
• adding measuring tools to sand play
• revisiting a question from the previous day
• demonstrating how to use equipment
• pairing children who can share different strengths
• changing the environment to encourage a new kind of play
• offering feedback that focuses on effort and strategy

The educator has a purpose, but remains responsive to children’s ideas. This balance allows learning to stay engaging while ensuring important skills and concepts are supported.

The value of repetition

Adults can become tired of the same book, song or game long before a young child does. Repetition helps children remember sequences, anticipate language and practise skills with increasing independence.

The experience does not need to remain identical. Educators can add a new prop to a familiar story, change one part of a movement game or ask children to retell an event from another character’s perspective.

Familiarity provides security; small changes introduce challenge.

What parents can look for in an early learning centre

During a centre visit, notice how educators and children interact—not only the toys or appearance of the rooms.

Signs of purposeful teaching may include:

• educators listening and responding to children’s ideas
• conversations that extend beyond instructions
• children making choices and remaining engaged
• displays that explain learning rather than only showing finished craft
• flexible materials used in different ways
• opportunities for movement, creativity and investigation
• calm guidance during conflict
• educators who can explain why an experience has been planned
• evidence that family knowledge contributes to the program

A busy-looking activity is not automatically meaningful, and a quiet moment is not an absence of learning. Concentration, observation and repeated practice are all valuable.

Questions you might ask include:

1. How do educators use children’s interests when planning experiences?
2. How is each child’s learning shared with families?
3. How does the program balance child-led play and intentional teaching?
4. How are literacy, numeracy and STEM explored through everyday experiences?
5. How do educators support friendships and strong emotions?
6. How does the preschool program prepare children for school without rushing formal learning?

Extending the same strategies at home

Families do not need to recreate an early learning centre. Simple changes to everyday conversations can support curiosity and independence.

Try:

• asking your child to predict what will happen while cooking
• wondering aloud instead of giving the answer immediately
• breaking a difficult task into one manageable next step
• offering time to solve a problem before stepping in
• inviting your child to explain a drawing or construction
• using routines to practise counting, sorting and responsibility
• reading favourite stories repeatedly and discussing the characters
• praising effort, persistence and new strategies rather than only the finished result

A phrase such as “You kept trying different pieces until one fitted” gives more useful feedback than “You’re clever.” It helps children recognise the approach that led to success.

Teaching the whole child at Endeavour

At Endeavour Early Education, teaching strategies are guided by our goal of helping children become school ready, healthy and well rounded.

Our Early Childhood Literacy Program and school readiness program build strong foundations through age-appropriate experiences. STEM encourages curiosity and problem-solving. Organic paddock to plate meals, gardening and Munch & Move connect healthy habits with everyday learning. Language, music therapy, sport and creative experiences give children varied ways to communicate, participate and discover their strengths.

As a family-owned early education provider, Endeavour works closely with families at our Kariong and Concord centres. That personal connection helps educators and families share what they notice about each child, so learning experiences can respond to the children in front of us rather than follow a one-size-fits-all formula.

The most effective early childhood teaching is purposeful without losing the joy of discovery. When educators observe carefully, ask thoughtful questions and know when to offer support, everyday play becomes a powerful foundation for learning.

Would you like to see these teaching strategies in action? Contact Endeavour Early Education to book a tour at Kariong or Concord, or call 1800 EARLY EDU (1800 327 593).