The Importance Of Early Childhood Education

The article by Erika Christakis, informs future teachers and parents how preschool today may not be benefiting their children as much as they thought. She talks about how preschool has changed drastically over the years as well as kindergarten. She states that “kindergarten may be the new first grade”. Her statement shows how children today are expected more then they were years ago in all grades, especially preschool and at such a young age. Many think this is helping our children or will benefit them in the future if they know more as a child but this may not be the case. The article talks about multiple studies done throughout America to children are learning and how school curriculum changing affects children. A studied showed that children

Early childhood is a time of curiosity, a time for play, and a time of rapid development. Every child is unique and deserving of an early childhood education that facilitates academic, social, and developmental growth through a variety of enjoyable experiences. Differentiated instruction adapts content, products and processes to meet the diverse learning needs and preferences of students (Thousand, Villa, & Nevin, 2007). Friedrich Froebel, the creator of Kindergarten, believed that children grow and learn as they play (Bruno, 2009). Play-based instruction not only enables young learners to have fun, but it also encourages interactive and cooperative learning, passion for discovery, and a foundation for later learning experiences

Healy, C. (2015). Who benefits most from head start programs? Chicago Policy Review (Online), Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.durhamtech.idm.oclc.org/

Health promotion is very important to early childhood education to improve the well-being of children and parents’ health and behaviours. “It is important for early childhood educators to recognized their essential role as health promotors” (Pimento & Kernested 2015, P. 4). There are 12 social determinants in daily life for childhood programs, however I have identified that social support networks are most important determinants of health. Likewise, educators and families are both mutually directly and indirectly supporting children to improve their healthy development and education (Pimento & Kernested, 2015, P.34). In early childhood, educators have very important role in daycare which is communication. That means, that we need to communicate with family (parent, grandparent), children and coworkers to share the daily basic tasks and any other ideas or information for improving environments and supports. It is especially important that we support mothers who have very limited knowledge about their first-born baby, such as lack of information about breastfeeding, sleeping routine, formula ratios, nutrition, healthy eating habits, or any parental skills. Not only that, we can also help parents to get benefits and support from the government such as financial support, subsidized daycare, and community information resources on healthy nutrition food.

“Early roots of play as a best practice for early learning was documented by Plato, a Greek philosopher, who insisted that play is considered a natural activity of childhood.”(Ingrid Crowther, 2011, Pg. 2) Early Childhood Education is a term that refers to educational programs that are devoted to children from birth to the age of eight. “Children of this age learn by exploring and investigating; therefore, their environment should support and encourage this process.”(Rebecca Isbell and Betty Exelby, 2001, Pg. 11) Early childhood environments should be attractive and exciting. These environments should allow children to work and play using proper resources, materials, and tools.

On February 12th, 2012, in his State of the Union address, President Obama discussed the long-term benefits a universal preschool would have on today’s society. “In states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children…studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of their own. We know this works. So let’s do what works and make sure none of our children start the race of life already behind.” (Obama) Unfortunately, an overwhelming number of children, from low-poverty areas, are unable to access high-quality early childhood programs for their preschool aged children. Consequently,

This research report presents an analysis of and conclusions drawn from the experiences and perspectives of two educators that work in the early childhood setting. The main objective is to identify key elements and issues in relation to the families, diversity and difference. In particular how an early childhood educator implements, different approaches to honour culture and diversity, and to advocate for social justice in an early childhood settings. As such, it allows an insight into the important role that families and their background plays in the everyday lives of the children and educators within early childhood settings. In today’s ever-changing growing society it is essential for educators to be flexible to the

Over the past century, the role of education has greatly increased in areas all over Canada. It has grown in not just in the number of students attending, but also in the ways it has been offered. Before the 1960’s, the education of children consisted solely of parenting done at home (Molnar, 2002, p. 2). Over time, due to the growing importance of education, schools have slowly begun to target younger and younger generations. As a result, non-parental education has become the norm of today’s society starting for children as early as ages three to four (Molnar, 2002, p. 2). Over the last century, a larger percentage of mothers are choosing to remain in the work force (Khanna &

Early childhood education has many benefits and there is the potential for many significant outcomes if universal preschools were put into place. Some feel that children who start kindergarten without previously attended preschool sometimes lack certain skills such as social and communication skills and an inability to follow routines. There were also studies done that found attending preschool could help to close the achievement gap in the grade school years. A child’s first few years of life are most important, and they absorb the most during those years. By providing universal preschool, all children would be benefiting, especially those who are in at-risk families or part of the lower class. As a society, we have a responsibility to help the children in our communities and provide them with the education they need in order to help them succeed in life.

There are numerous preschool or Pre-K options available for young children throughout the U.S. At this time only Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma have truly universal preschool for all four year olds as nearly half of states with state pre-K programs limit enrollment to just low-income children (Mead, 2015). “Under universal pre-K, not only would more children of all backgrounds have access to high-quality early childhood education, they would have the chance to learn in an effective type of preschool environment that is currently rare among both public and private programs: an integrated classroom” (Potter, 2014, par. 6). More parents are placing their children in preschool due to the revelation that important brain development occurs in the early years of life, preschool has long-term benefits for children, and it helps prepare children for the increased demands of kindergarten (Stipek, 2016). There is a good deal of evidence that shows that preschool is beneficial for all children, especially more so for low-income children (Koonce, 2016). Low-income students who attend public pre-K are often 11 months ahead of their peers when entering kindergarten (Potter, 2014). Unfortunately, more than half of low-income three-year-olds and a third of low-income four-year-olds do not attend preschool even with the availability of programs such as Head Start and state-funded pre-K (Potter, 2014). This could be due to barriers such as a lack of information about care, a limited supply of

Children’s education has been a major topic for discussion in the past few years, specifically preschool education. A child’s education is one of the most important things throughout their whole life, which is why preschool is so important. Preschool lays the foundation for a lifetime of learning. It provides support for fundamental cognitive growth that is needed for future learning abilities. Preschool provides social interaction that helps with their speech and communication skill. The basic skills that preschool teaches children is crucial to their success in kindergarten. Because of all of the skills that are taught to these children, preschool should be mandatory nationwide.

Motivation: Early childhood education degree, means the world to me, makes my passion burn more. I have a chance to be that unique, compassionate, loving, encouraging person in someone's life that may need one. To make a difference in this world that's so cold and harsh. To finally believe and live out the passion and receive the joy kids bring.

As the article states, proponents of universal preschool often cite the fact that students readiness is increased as a result of attending preschool; which allows these students to be more efficient when participating in the elementary school curriculum. Equally as important, the article cites the importance of preschool when it comes to language and speech development especially for non- English speakers who benefit greatly from the learning that occurs in English as a second language. Above all, this article also taught me the importance of changing our teacher practices as the article writes, “Teachers and administrators planning for curriculum and instruction, need to rethink the traditional parameters of training because the children who will be in the workforce in the future are in today’s preschools (Lasser and Fite, 171).”This showed me that our curriculum should be designed to ensure that we are teaching these preschool students the skills that they need to compete in the 21st century. Furthermore, this article taught me the true importance of having universal preschool, and the benefits that this type of program has on all students and school

Early childhood education has not always been the top priority in the education world. Although, research has proved that it should be the top priority as the benefits of Early Childhood Education are innumerous. Extensive neuroscience research has discovered that the brain is build over time and it is built from the bottom up. Early childhood experiences directly affect the quality brain development. Establishing a sturdy foundation through a high quality early childhood education experience, will dramatically develop child's brain. As a result, they will have a brighter future. In this essay, I will propose a plan for the children of 2020 and how to ensure the best early childhood education experience. I personally believe that racially, culturally, linguistically and developmentally responsive practices parental involvement are critical to the sturdy foundation that is essential to the positive early childhood experience.

Early childhood education is for children from the ages three to eight years old. In this field there are four learning goals that early programs have for a young child.