How STEP can develop through regular practice.
Sample learning journey. Think, Express and Participate are connected outcomes, not three isolated subjects. Children revisit eight learning journeys through choices, shared challenges, creativity, reflection and real-life situations. What changes is how independently children reason, communicate their ideas and contribute with others, with age-appropriate support. This six-month example is an illustration of progression, not a guaranteed timetable of milestones. The curriculum page also shows a broader 12-month theme map.
Month 1: Notice, choose and join.
Help children engage through simple choices, observations and shared turns.
Children may practise:
- answering simple questions
- making choices
- taking turns
- listening to another child
- sharing one idea
- describing something they notice
- joining simple games and conversations
Example: The teacher shows a picture and asks: “What do you notice?” A child might say: “There is a dog.” That is enough. The purpose is to get children observing, responding and participating.
Month 2: Explore ideas together.
Children try possibilities, share a reason or demonstration and attend to peers.
They may practise:
- adding details
- explaining simple choices
- remembering what another child said
- describing an experience
- answering “why” and “how”
- building short stories
- responding to another person’s idea
Example: Instead of only “I choose the red one.”, the teacher may ask: “How else could we use the red block?” The child begins practising explanation, not just answering.
Month 3: Question, test and explain.
Activities invite children to reason, test an idea and explain or show what happened.
Children may practise:
- comparing options
- making predictions
- finding clues
- giving reasons
- asking their own questions
- thinking of more than one answer
- explaining what might happen next
Example: For example: “The bridge has fallen down. How could we help the animals cross?” There may be several possible answers. The purpose is not finding the teacher’s answer. It is learning to think through possibilities.
Month 4: Build and decide together.
Children practise including peers’ ideas, taking roles and making group decisions.
They may practise:
- listening to someone else’s idea
- agreeing or disagreeing respectfully
- adding to another child’s answer
- considering a different point of view
- taking turns in longer conversations
- creating something together
- adapting their idea after hearing others
Example: One child says “They could build another bridge.” Another adds “Or they could use a boat.” The teacher may ask: “Which idea do you think would work better, and why?” Now communication, listening and thinking are working together.
Month 5: Adapt when things change.
Children work through uncertainty, feelings and alternatives in realistic shared challenges.
Children may practise:
- solving multi-step problems
- making decisions
- considering consequences
- explaining what went wrong
- changing a plan
- handling disagreement
- exploring feelings and perspectives
Example: For example: “You and your friend both want the same role in a game. What could you do?” Children may think about: What do I want? What does the other person want? What are our options? What might happen next? Life skills start connecting more closely with real situations.
Month 6: Take more ownership.
Activities create opportunities for children to initiate, explain, collaborate and reflect with less prompting when ready.
They may practise:
- leading part of a conversation
- explaining more complex ideas
- creating their own solutions
- asking questions
- building on group ideas
- reflecting on choices
- explaining what they would do differently
- participating with less prompting
Example: Instead of the teacher asking every question, children might be asked: “What question would you ask the group? Can you create a challenge for the other children?” The child gradually moves from only responding to also contributing.
The three STEP outcomes grow across every journey.
Over all six sample months, children revisit skills that help them Think, Express and Participate:
Thinking, Expression and Participation recur in different combinations each month.
The challenge and the child’s supported independence become more demanding over time.
- Reason & Decide: Consider options, clues and likely results.
- Explain & Show: Communicate a thought through words, objects or demonstrations.
- Listen & Respond: Notice and use information from peers.
- Imagine & Design: Propose and improve possible solutions.
- Try & Adapt: Test a plan, notice results and change direction.
- Join & Collaborate: Contribute fairly to shared tasks and decisions.
Different ages experience this differently.
A three-year-old and a twelve-year-old need different challenges. The same STEP outcome can be practised through very different materials, questions and levels of responsibility.
Ages 9–12 can add evidence, trade-offs, fairness and peer responsibility.
The skill may be the same.
The level of thinking grows with the child.
- Age 3–4: “Which one would you choose?”
- Age 5–6: “Which one would you choose, and why?”
- Age 7–8: “What are two options and their consequences?”
There is no race through the journey.
This is not a checklist where every child must reach the same point at the same time.
One child may enjoy exploring possibilities; another may need time to join a group challenge.
Another may share ideas easily but need more support with decisions, frustration or collaboration.
The purpose is to provide repeated, age-appropriate opportunities to practise, not to compare children.
See your child take a first STEP.
Watch your child think through a choice, express an idea and take part in an age-appropriate live challenge.
Ages 3–12 · Maximum 5 children · Live online