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. ECCE has the possibility to nurture caring, capable and responsible future citizens.
Source: Adapted from Nash, Early Years Study, 1999, Shankoff, 2000
As you can see in the above picture, from birth to five years are preschool years. These periods are sensitive periods of child brain development where there is a high chance of children’s holistic development. ECCE supports children’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development which are essential for a solid foundation. These developments need to build a concrete and wide foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing.
A child learns from each and every second of his/her life. From wearing shoes, wishing good morning and night to clean house to socializing with others and basic reading, writing, and communicating skills. Better and quality guidance and development of various skills at early childhood make a big difference in one’s life when he/she grows up.
Children need more care before educating them. It is our responsibility as a parent to provide that care and love to them. ECCE helps to develop fundamental numeracy and literacy in children.
It prepares children to go to school at an early stage. The age from birth to five years are very crucial years to nurture and implant many skills into them. Because they learn more quickly at this age.
This is the stage where they are able to learn most of the life skills easily and as a parent, you can build a good citizen of the country.
Besides nurturing basic life skills, toddlers need to learn how to share, how to communicate, how to build relationships, in short how to socialize. These are some important aspects that are needed for better adulthood. So childhood is the stage where you can teach and nurture all these skills easily and prepare for adulthood.
These are some benefits of early childhood care and education.
Now let’s see each benefit in detail.
The root of socialization can take place in early childhood only. As parents or teachers, if we are able to provide a proper and comfortable environment to the kids. Then children can surely develop the socialization skill easily.
Preschool is the best place for young minds to develop socialization. Even family and neighborhoods also play a vital role in developing social skills. Here are some best ideas to develop social skills among children.
Early childhood is the age of learning. At this stage, the child learns and explores as much he/she can. In childhood, they observe and absorb things. To understand better they have to think creatively and critically. Which indirectly helps to develop the brain capacity of a child. The more he/she observes, the more their brain develops.
In Pre-school, they experience and experience many activities. These activities help to develop the capacity of the brain.
Brain development is a crucial part of early childhood education and care.
Early childhood care and education often emphasize learning through play or play way methods. According to the philosophy of Jean Piaget, play way methods help to develop PILES:
Physical, Intellectual, Language, Emotional and Social needs of children. Play methods will allow children to develop cognitively.
Learning with play methods boosts enjoyment and excitement for learning. Make the learning an everlasting and lifelong lesson, it will remain lifelong with them.
It also helps to develop better concentration power in kids. If the activities are planned professionally and interestingly, it develops not only the interest of students but also concentration power in the kids. Some pre-school tasks need a higher level of concentration and patience to perform well. It not only develops concentration but also develops patience in the child.
Another most important benefit of early childhood education is that it boosts the self-esteem and self-confidence of the child. Positive interaction with others like teachers, friends, and elders develop positive, healthy, and secure views for others and themself. Which gives him/her lifelong learning lessons and helps to promote self-esteem and self-confidence.
Value-based education is a very important and integral part of a better future for kids. It can only develop through the learning of lessons from surrounding and neighborhoods. These values can not be taught but they can only be learned from experiences. It is the duty of the parents as well as teachers to provide good experiences to them. So that they can learn some values or morals.
Respect for others, Love each other, sharing is caring, unity in diversity, feeling of brotherhood, etc. These are some essential values and morals a child can learn and inculcate from his/her own experiences. It can not be taught.
Here I Provide you the link to basic life skills needed to develop in the kids. Please visit that page and read the articles. These life skills will surely be a part of early childhood education. Being a teacher and parent I assure you that you also can agree that these life skills indeed develop in the kids of today’s era. Where the world has become so insecure and competitive.
Basic Life Skills and value education can only be inculcated at a young age. Pre-school and home environments are the best places to do so.
Developing good habits are also an essential part of early childhood care and education. Good habits such as –
- Brushing your teeth daily
- Bathing and cleaning body
- Importance of washing hands and feet
- Combing hair daily
- Eating a healthy breakfast/lunch or dinner.
There are many more basic good habits which we as parents can develop easily at home by practicing these activities daily.
Early childhood care and education develop the habit of doing the work on time on his/her own. So that child becomes more responsible and independent for the little work.
Nowadays Fundamental literacy and numeracy have become the talk of the town. Because in many countries like India the government has launched programs to develop Fundamental literacy and numeracy in the child. So we should understand the seriousness of Fundamental literacy and numeracy in kids. What I believe and saw from my childhood, it can easily be taught to children in early childhood at home or at preschool.
Children learn their mother tongue easily. Why? Because they hear that language and try to communicate in that language only. So the mother tongue becomes very easy for them to learn. But as parents or teachers, we do the same things with numeracy and language. They learn quickly and it becomes a lifelong experience for them.
Children can develop basic Fundamental literacy and numeracy through :
- Reading storybooks,
- Listening stories
- Buying things from the market
- Cutting and pasting
- Picture stories
Reading board and signs etc. These are some ideas to develop Fundamental literacy and numeracy skills in the kids.
Develop Fundamental literacy and numeracy skills in kids is an integral part of early childhood care and education.