If school is where children learn to read and write, then what’s the fuss about the early years? Do they really matter? If children are just playing then surely all they need is a safe environment…
Well as an early childhood educator, Kindergarten teacher and mother I strongly believe in the importance of early childhood education and care. Children go through massive development in their early years and deserve the best we offer.
In early learning centres children acquire many of the skills that they will need to succeed in school and in life. We set them up for their future success and support their development through play-based learning. Through this method of learning children develop physical, social, emotional, cognitive and creative skills.
During their early childhood education, children learn:
- Who they are and where they fit into the world
- How to care for the world around them (including tidying up!)
- Building relationships and friendships with their peers
- How to join a group that is already playing
- Independence skills, like toileting or opening a lunch box
- The purpose of reading and writing
- Kindness and sharing
- How things work
- How to feel their emotions and express them with respect and consideration for others
- How to look after themselves and assess risks
- Language and communication skills
- What learning is!
To be able to learn these things children need:
- Strong relationships with educators and peers
- The trust and permission of educators to get dirty, make a mess and try new things
- Aesthetically pleasing environments and plentiful resources
- Long, uninterrupted stretches of time to engage in self-play and learning
As early childhood educators and people who support positive change in the early childhood sphere, we need to be advocating for our young ones who can’t speak up for themselves. They deserve quality education and care, wherever they live.
