Early child development sets the foundation for lifelong
learning, behavior, and health. The experiences children have in early
childhood shape the brain and the child’s capacity to learn, to get along with
others, and to respond to daily stresses and challenges.
Early Brain Development
There are some important concepts that help us understand
early brain development:
Beginning in the last trimester of the prenatal period, brain
pathways are formed by developing new connections. This growth increases after
birth and follows a predictable sequence.
At birth, newborns start with very similar brains and brain
structures.
There are “sensitive periods” during a child’s development,
when the wiring of the brain for specific abilities is established.
Providing responsive, nurturing, and stimulating experiences
establish the wiring of the brain connections. Children who are well supported
and nurtured physically, emotionally, socially, and intellectually will develop
a multitude of neural connections that will serve them well throughout their
life course.
A child’s interest and curiosity are the motivators that
create new connections to acquire new skills. Each new skill builds on a skill
already learned. The child’s environment can support and enhance his interest
and curiosity.
Early brain development establishes a child’s social
competence, cognitive skills, emotional well-being, language, literacy skills,
physical abilities and is a marker for well-being in school and life
resiliency.
Domains
of Development
Human development is complex and all aspects are
interconnected. Yet, in most texts and writings, early human development has
been artificially divided into developmental domains. This categorization can
assist professionals in ensuring that all areas of the child’s development are
observed and supported, thus furthering his whole development. Professionals
must keep in mind that all domains or areas of development are interconnected.
For example, learning to talk is usually placed in the language domain, but
involves physical, social, emotional and cognitive development. In this
resource, children’s development has been grouped into the following domains:
Early
Learning
In the past decade, there has been considerably more interest
and investment in the early years both in Canada and abroad. By supporting
young children and families now, society will benefit later with “healthy,
educated, confident and productive adults”.
Supporting early learning is based on the following facts and
premises:
·
Children are cared for as their families provide
nutrition, shelter, nurturing, stimulation and protection. The care they receive enables children to
learn and develop to their full potential with increasing influence from the
world outside the family.
·
Parents want to understand how their child
develops and learns. Prenatal and parenting classes, drop-in programs, home
visiting and many other opportunities can be explored to support parents from
various cultural, educational, geographic and socio-economic backgrounds.
·
High-quality child care settings and pre-school
education improve children’s developmental outcomes. Two longitudinal studies,
the High/Scope Perry Preschool project and the Carolina Abecedarian project,
compared children who received high-quality, early-years programs with children
who did not. When comparing the two groups of children over several decades,
key differences emerged. The children who received the quality program scored
higher on language, literacy, and numeracy tests throughout their schooling;
finished more years of school; and had higher rates of employment. In Canada,
Quebec has developed an educational program adapted from the High/Scope model
that fosters full and holistic development of children through an evidence-based
curriculum and has demonstrated positive results. Other studies have also found that participation
in quality early childhood education and care settings has been positively
linked to child outcomes such as improved language, literacy, and numeracy
development, school readiness and social skills.
·
Parent participation in early childhood education
and care settings not only improves children’s development, but also
strengthens families and parenting skills through connecting and sharing with
other families. When parent and family involvement is planned into the early
childhood education and care setting, and relationships between professionals family
members are built on trust and respect, the greatest benefits are reaped.
Clearly, when children have access to quality early childhood environments and
experiences, it can set the stage for positive trajectories later on in life.
Enjoy,
Ms. Nora Sierra
EC Assistant Principal
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