How pre-schools can define your toddler’s growth
Children, as rightly said are the most innocent beings to have existed on planet earth. With endless dreams and bubbling enthusiasm , they are ready to start their journey to create a world that is filled with love and laughter. The briefness and beauty of childhood are equidistant from the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end. Childhood is a crayon scribble, a stubbed toe, an unmerciful shutter speed, or a relay between thrilling, confusing and magical emotions.
The period of childhood is small and frightening . They will never again be as young or as old as they are right now. They will never again dance with as much carefree abandon or be so quick to love or forgive or unintentionally call their sister “Diwey”. Their pudginess will never again be as socially acceptable.
This endless beam of enthusiasm and joy needs to be channelized into something productive .They need to be mentored to learn the key social and emotional coping skills that can help them develop a sense of independence and curiosity as they grow in their love for learning.
Here comes to play the concept of “ Early childhood education”. Popularly known as nursery education , this relates to the formal and informal education of children from birth upto the age of eight.This form of education has now emerged as a field of study for the overall development of a child’s personality.Early childhood care and education has a global scope of educating young children and has always been an integral part of human societies. Fulfilling these societal roles have evolved over time and remain varied across cultures, often reflecting community structures as well as the social and economic roles of women and men.
Early childhood is an important time in children’s lives because it is when they first learn how to interact with others, including peers, teachers and parents, and also begin to develop interests that will stay with them throughout their lives. It is a common misperception that early childhood education is only about learning basic skills. It is actually a time when children learn critical social and emotional skills and a partnership is formed between the child, their parents and the teacher. When this is done successfully, it lays the groundwork for it to continue throughout the child’s education.
Nations around that world are becoming aware of the importance of early childhood education as well. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is an international governing body and it says “Early childhood care and education (ECCE) is more than preparation for primary school. It aims at the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing .”
The importance of encouraging early childhood educators is to really get to know their students and each of their specific interests.When teachers do that, that relationship can really influence the students day to day and build trust — and studies have shown that when children are comfortable and trust the people around them, they learn more quickly and successfully. Parental involvement is also a big component of this relationship-building process and when the partnership between teachers and the family is successful, we see that echoing positively throughout the child’s life.
In order to get the best outcomes in early childhood education, teachers can take the topics or subject areas that fascinate individual students and expand on it through in-class activities .Targeting these areas can help students develop critical thinking skills, allowing them to give more complex answers than “yes” or “no.”
Hence optimizing the early years of children’s lives is the best investment we can make as a society in ensuring their future success.