Like most adults, you may not have spent much time thinking about early childhood education(ECE) in your life, Or, perhaps, until you or a loved one had a child. You may have fond memories of your preschool days but can’t recall much besides taking turns in games, singing songs, getting dirty outside, making friends and napping on the floor.
These familiar childhood activities often seem like mere fun and games, so it’s easy to overlook the importance of Early Childhood Education Capalaba which these activities are part of.
However, educators know the truth: Young children learn best through play, and starting early sets them up for success in life and in school. Some experts even go on to declare that children start learning from their parents and environment in utero.
Early childhood education (ECE)
What is early childhood education?Simply put, early childhood education is considered the official term for teaching young kids. More specifically, it refers to formal and informal educational programs that guide the growth and development of children throughout their preschool years (birth to age five).
Children at these ages are entirely dependent on their adult caregivers, including parents, daycare providers, babysitters, extended family members and teachers.
ECE encompasses a wide variety of activities designed to promote children’s cognitive and social development before entering kindergarten. Some programs primarily focus on school and academic readiness while others embrace a “whole child” approach that emphasizes mental and emotional preparedness.
Wrong concept
One challenge that ECE educators face is the fact that their work is often dismissed or devalued as “simply playtime.” This is farthest from the truth.
This misconception around what ECE teachers do is very common, though. Often, stake holders like the parents, community members and even other educators, have the old idea that whatever happens in preschool doesn’t matter because learning only begins once they enter kindergarten.
Incredibly elastic minds
As it is, young children are incredibly impressionable and possess elastic minds that are constantly soaking up information. These are all from their surroundings and learning from interactions and experiences everyday.
They are born to learn and are hardwired to perceive, imitate, experiment and explore. This is one of the reasons why early childhood education is important.
Purpose
In essence, the main purpose of ECE is to provide children with early strategies that help them later in life. With this, they are able to develop the emotional, social and cognitive skills needed to become lifelong learners.
A foundation had enlisted a bunch of skills learned in those developing years that are considered very important for the young learners to master.
Language and literacy
Language provides the foundation for the development of literacy skills. Learning to communicate through gestures, sounds and words increases a child’s interest in — and later understanding of — books and reading.
Thinking
Children are born with a need to understand how things work. In their everyday experiences, they use and develop an understanding of math concepts, such as counting and sorting, and problem-solving skills that they will need for school.
Self-control
This refers to the ability to express and manage emotions in appropriate ways. This is essential for success in school and healthy development overall. It enables children to cooperate with others, cope with frustration and resolve conflicts.
Self-confidence
When children feel competent and believe in themselves, they are more willing to take on new challenges. Self-confidence is also crucial for navigating social challenges, such as sharing, competition and making friends.
Unfortunately, some adults find it difficult to believe that all these early childhood learning can be facilitated without homework or tests is still difficult for some adults to believe.
Some parents don’t understand that children learn best when they have the option to do so in a manner that is pleasurable.
In children, making something fun helps them absorb the lesson. As it is, play really is everything to kids.
ECE curriculums are set up to encourage young students to learn about themselves and the world via experiences. This could include indoor or outdoor play, cooperative or individual play, domestic play, sensory play and constructive play, to list down some types.
Importance of ECE
For starters, a newborn baby’s brain is about a quarter of the size of an adult brain. It will incrediblydouble in size by the child’s first birthday. At age five, it will have completed 90%of its growth.
During the early childhood years, the brain is making millions of synapses every second. These neural connections allow us to move, think, communicate and comprehend the world around us. To say that this is a critical window of development is an understatement.
Long-term effects
There is a large body of research suggesting a high-quality ECE program can have a positive long-term effect on the lives of children. The National Education Association (NEA) states that research shows children who receive a high-quality education before they turn five enjoy significant medium- and long-term benefits.
Children in early childhood education programs are less likely to repeat a grade, less likely to be identified as having special needs. These children are more prepared academically for later grades.
These children are more likely to graduate from high school to be the higher earners in the work force later on.
High-quality ECE program
Successful childhood learning programs are dynamic, challenging, enriching and carefully planned. A typical ECE curriculum might incorporate songs, books, art, games, and toys.Also, this includes the cumulative experiences and nature exploration the kids met into the daily lesson plans for a class or group.
The most important elements of a quality ECE program include the sufficient learning time and small class sizes with low student-teacher ratios plus the well-prepared teachers who provide engaging interactions and classroom environments that support learning.
All these follow the research-based, developmentally appropriate early learning standards and curricula. Also, this includes the assessments that consider children’s academic, social-emotional and physical progress.
Not to be discounted too are the ongoing support for teachers, including coaching and mentoring plus the very important meaningful family engagements.
Experts add that for any ECE curriculum to be truly relevant and effective, it should be informed by the child’s culture. Children come to the classroom with background knowledge that is saturated in their particular culture. These are the traditions, routines, communication styles that are all steeped in that culture.
