During the early years, children go through crucial development stages, and continuous, quality early childhood education can have a lasting, valuable effect on the overall development of children. High-quality early childhood development programs that offer developmentally adequate curricula, allow children to formulate specified cognitive skills at the suitable age. Developmentally adequate curricula assist in the development of cognitive skills which help them acquire new skills and knowledge. Preschool provides children the opportunities to take part in activities they wouldn’t typically do at home such as arts and crafts, science activities, sand and water play and music and movement. These activities can enhance children's’ lives, increase their development and supply them with the tools they need for the future. Children who participate in preschool get to connect with peers and discover the art of socializing. When it is time to go to kindergarten, children who have attended preschool are inclined to be more mentally prepared because they are already acquainted to a certain level of structure. Quality preschool programs can enhance children's’ lives, build social skills and enhance their development. When children are able to socialize they build many necessary tools they will use through out the rest of their lives. Preschool helps prepare children for future years in school. Preschool aged children grow and develop at a very fast rate. The preschool years is a critical stage in emotional development for children. During this time children begin to understand the body, mind and feelings are their own. Children at this time become better at identifying their own feelings – such as happiness, sadness, fear or anger.... ... middle of paper ... ... Children have such strong resources for growth and learning that with a nurturing environment and reasonable support the majority will succeed remarkably. Works Cited Barnett, W. S. (2002). Early childhood education. In A. Molnar (Ed.), School reform proposals: The research evidence (pp. 1–26). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing, Inc. Barnett, W. S., & Camilli, G. (2002). Compensatory preschool education, cognitive development, and “race.” In J. M. Fish (Ed.), Race and intelligence: Separating science from myth (pp. 369–406). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Shonkoff, J., & Phillips, D. (Eds.). (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early child development. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Wortham, S. C. (2002). Early childhood curriculum: developmental bases for learning and teaching (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill/Prentice Hall.
I am a firm believer that the quality of the child care directly affects the child’s development in the classroom. By eliminating the need for competing preschools to continue to improve their curriculum and to remain relevant in the field of early childhood education, we risk falling into the same trap K-12 education has fallen into. In other words, individual classroom freedom will be lost when teachers are forced to follow the governments blanket and mandatory regulations. I choose this concept because I feel it is important to allow a wide variety of options to families in order for them the find the right fit for their
Hedges, Helen. ""You Don't Leave Babies on Their Own": Children's Interests in Early Childhood Education." Early Education. Ed. Janet B. Mottely and Anne R. Randall. New York: Nova Science, 2009. N. pag. Print.
Rao, H., Betancourt, L., Giannetta, J.M., Brodsky, N.L., Korczykowski, M., Avants, B.B., Gee, J.C., Wang, J., Hurt, H., Detre, J.A., & Farah, M.J. (2010). Early parental care is important for hippocampal maturation: evidence from brain morphology in humans. NeuroImage, 49, 1144-1150. Skuban, E.M., Shaw, D.S., Gardner, F., Supplee, L.H., & Nichols, S.R. a.
The value of preschool is often overlooked as parents consider it for its utilitarian purposes. Although most preschools do function as a daycare, the merits gained from an early education follow children throughout their entire lives. Children at this ripe age are eager to learn, excited about the buzzing world aroun...
There are a few types of preschool programs. First there are structured preschool programs that focus on emphasizing an actual school setting and classroom activities in order to prepare the child for kindergarten or first grade. There are also day care centers, which are not as structured as preschool centers. Daycare’s focus mainly on child’s development through social interaction with children and caregivers. Then there are head start programs that are geared to give children a foot in the right direction in order to be ready for preschool or kindergarten. The right kind of childcare can be a wonderful opportunity to promote the profound learning children experience from birth through age five (Selecting child care, 2002).
Early childhood education, although constantly evolving, was actually established and practiced as early on as the times of Ancient Greece and Rome. The foundation that early childhood education is based upon is to instill in children the skills needed to succeed later on in life, while making sure young children enjoy their time in schooling. Throughout chapter 3 in the textbook Who Am I in the Lives of Children, the reader is capable of evaluating just how greatly the methods for teaching today’s youth have evolved and changed for the better.
McDevitt, T. M., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Child development and education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
Preschool is a beneficial tool for children because they learn social skills and gain an appreciation at an early age for the education system. The prefix “pre-“ means before or prior to. Preschool education refers to the education of children prior to the first grade of elementary school (Melton 181). By the time kindergarten started I was already comfortable with the idea and concept. I was not only ready, but excited to go to school to learn and meet old and new friends.
... (2009) The science of development. In R.V. Kail & A. Barnfield (Eds.), Children and their development (pp. 8 – 22). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
The results of quality preschool programs can be seen early after they begin. Children learn many important life le...
Eliason, C. F., Jenkins, L. (2008). A practical guide to early childhood curriculum (8th edition). New
Morrison, G. S. (1976). Chapter 6: Early Childhood Programs APPLYING THEORIES TO PRACTICE. In Early childhood education today (10th ed., pp. 5-31). Columbus, Ohio: Merrill.
...preschool years they will learn to initiate and carry out tasks based on experience or exposure to those tasks. Interactions with parents, teachers, peers, and other adults are important in a child's life. These relationships actually shape the brain and lay the foundation for later developmental outcomes, from academic performance to mental health and interpersonal skills.
Isenberg, J. P., & Jalongo, M. R. (2000). Exploring your role: A practitioner’s introduction to early childhood education. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Early childhood education plays a key role in a child’s academic development because he or she learns soft skills, job skills, and develop positive traits. Preschool is not like kindergarten, but instead a stepping-stone that prepares young students for the years of schooling they will have later in life. As more schools began to open families wanted to be able to verify that programs would benefit and protect their children. In response, the National Association for the Education of Young Children was made to help families find the best care for their children, by providing the early childhood educators with training and ensuring the quality of children’s daily experiences. (“NAEYC”5).