Reflection On Early Childhood Education

When I first encountered the term ECE, my first thought was, YAY! I will be learning education content intended for young children. Specifically, formal school age children, kindergarten through fifth grade. Kindergarten is when education starts, right? I had always assumed “early childhood” to be a term used to describe children five to eight. To me, the term early childhood education (ECE) was primarily in regards to the education of elementary children. My understanding of early education, was constricted to my personal experiences with the term elementary, and how I synonymously used it with early education.
First, I loved elementary school! Being able to play at recess, have snack, and less assessment driven instruction, made me relish learning. Second, in my early education school years, I excelled in academics, interpersonal relationships, and was a great football player. I was one of the only “girls” who was picked to play school yard ball with the boys. The years that followed, not so much. After, elementary it was not cool for girls to play

I learned in the class discussion that play is one of the ways early learners make discoveries and develop socioemotional skills. I also learned that young infants need space to move, gross motor, push and pull, and cause and effect toys. I found it interesting that infants need to view still pictures of emotions and watch the older children play outside. This enables the infants to imitate the bigger kid’s physical skills, like running, jumping, and climbing, as well as imitate their social skills. All while their educators/caregivers speak to them softly. All of this information changed my view on early education topics and theories. I am now a huge advocate, and value the importance of preschool and pre-k. I am eager to apply this information to my pedagogy and career as an