Here at Child’s Play ELC, we like to think of a child’s early years as a significant doorway into their future. Early education can empower all children into becoming capable, resourceful, creative, enterprising, and flexible learners.
According to Early Childhood Australia’s (ECA) National President, Christine Legg, ‘The early years of a child’s life is the optimal time to lay the foundations for learning’.
Ms Legg explains, ‘The first five years are crucial to setting them on the path towards lifelong success as an adult. And success isn’t only measured by occupation or income—it’s also about individuals contributing to society as a whole person.’
What is early childhood education?
Early childhood education is generally understood to be; “any educational program that serves children in their preschool years, before they are old enough to enter kindergarten”.
An early education program can be composed of a variety of activities and learning experiences that are designed to aid in the cognitive, emotional, physical and social development of preschoolers before they enter primary school.
Simply, early childhood education is for those children aged between three and five years. It can be commonly known as either preschool, pre-kindergarten, daycare, nursery school, or as ‘early education’.
The importance of early childhood education in supporting a child’s future well-being and development is backed up by research and has multiple benefits.
Children enrolled in early education programs prior to attending kindergarten have shown to demonstrate more well-rounded behaviours, have better learning abilities, and perform better in later education more consistently than their peers who haven’t received an early education.
Benefits of early childhood education
Enjoy learning & value education – Teaching methods and activities that are fun, engaging and exciting help children discover and cultivate a love of learning in a new and stimulating environment. This also adds value to their educational journey as children grasp knowledge and learn to apply it in their world.
Social skills & resilience – As children mingle and meet children of their own age, they develop socialisation skills and learn how to make friendships away from their home environment. The idea of socialisation begins early in childhood, and as children discover and learn these skills it can help their self-confidence and sense of self. Children learn through their own experiences so as they encounter life’s ups and downs from either challenging situations or learning activities, it helps set-up a strong foundation in developing better coping mechanisms.
Respect & cooperation – Your child will learn patience, how to cooperate, share, take turns and so on with guidance from professionals in a safe environment. This is especially helpful for a child with no siblings who may not be used to sharing things. The early education environment assists children to learn courteous behaviour, both to people, personal property and surroundings.
Teamwork & personal development – Educational leaders are well trained to encourage and guide children in improving their skill levels through practical, interactive sessions both individually and with their peers. A variety of early education activities are centralised around teamwork, helping children gain a strong personal foundation including respect for others opinions, listening skills and equality.
Brain development & concentration – Brain development, through participation in a variety of activities involving logical reasoning and analytical tasks stimulate the mind’s learning pathways. Early education tasks and activities are also designed to develop increased levels of concentration through repetition.
Self-esteem & confidence– It is widely accepted constructive and positive interactions with other children, and their educational leaders, encourage a child’s positive view of themselves. This is an important aspect of early childhood education as it develops a child’s sense of well-being allowing them to confidently express themselves and explore their talents.
Understand & appreciate diversity – In today’s modern world it is important that children learn, appreciate and understand the differences of peoples and cultures in the society they belong to. Through interacting with others different from themselves, it helps shape the child into the person they will grow up to be and help them contribute positively to society.
Early education is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
Here at Child’s Play ELC, our team are passionate in giving your child a highly supportive and engaging environment in all aspects of care for their healthy development at our centres.
If you have any questions about your child’s care and would like to learn more about early education programs, our team would love to speak with you.
