Education is one of the best investments you can make in your children. It opens doors for them and helps them build a prosperous future.
Children’s cognitive (thinking) skills develop through play and exploration. They use their growing language and communication skills to learn more about the world around them.
Learning to Think for Yourself
Kids learn best when they’re able to think for themselves. This enables them to solve problems and navigate the real world. They can even use these skills in school, which is why ECE is so important.
Social development teaches kids how to get along with others and respect their differences. It also helps them develop self-control so they can manage their emotions and cope with frustrations.
UNESCO works with countries to ensure quality early childhood education and care (ECCE) for every child. This includes supporting ECCE as part of the education sector plan, using developmentally appropriate pedagogies, and fostering partnerships with sectors like health, nutrition, social services and community organisations.
Learning to Respect Others
In order to be successful in the classroom, kids need to know that others deserve respect. This skill helps them to learn and also allows them to work together.
Teaching children to respect each other promotes a diverse world and builds empathy. It also teaches children to stand up for themselves and their beliefs.
To teach children the definition of respect, ask them to discuss what it looks, sounds and feels like. You can use pre-made cards or make them yourself to help them examine different situations and determine whether they are respectful or not. Encourage them to share their ideas with a partner and then as a class.
Learning to Communicate
Communication is a critical part of children’s holistic development. It involves many different skills including listening, speaking, gesturing and reading and writing. It is influenced by both children’s cultural environment and their interactions with others.
Children are natural communicators who soak up the language around them. They enjoy sharing stories and ideas, playing games that help them develop their vocabularies and asking questions to learn more about their world. Research shows that responsive adult communication is essential to children’s learning and well being.
Learning to Respect Different Cultures
Children need to learn how to respect different cultures. This can help them overcome the problems associated with racial prejudice and prevent them from making stereotypical jokes about people who are different from them.
ECE programs encourage kids to participate in activities that are culturally sensitive. They can learn about other cultures through practical activities, such as sorting materials into things they can build with and things they can decorate with (classifying). They can also experiment and observe their surroundings to develop scientific mindsets.
Exposing children to different cultures early on can help them become familiar with their own. This can be done by talking to them about family traditions and allowing them to visit their ancestral homes.
Learning to Interact with Others
Children learn to interact with others through their daily experiences. For example, a child who plays with another child learns that they need to work together for the game to be successful. This is an important lesson because it will help them when they are older and are in a working environment.
The same is true for learning math concepts and science experiments. This is because research has shown that a child is more likely to be able to understand and remember information when they are interacting with it in person rather than being exposed to videos or recordings of it. In addition, the development of friendships will also contribute to their overall education because it will teach them how to interact with people.