The early years of children’s lives have a fundamental impact on the people they will grow to become. Early-childhood education should therefore be focused on ensuring that children are equipped with the skills, knowledge and qualities they will need to begin their lifelong journey with positivity and confidence.
Here are five more benefits of quality early-years education.
Resilience
Providing a fair, secure and consistent social space that also has predictable consequences and clear expectations will help children to develop the skills to manage their emotions. Educators should strive to establish an environment that is challenging enough to ensure that each child has the opportunity to learn resilience through experiences. This knowledge will help them to develop personalised strategies for coping with future challenging life events.
Concentration
As they are eager to explore new places and have new experiences, children’s minds are imaginative and lively. It is essential, however, that this zest for life is appropriately balanced with key listening and concentration skills that will ensure they also know how to follow directions, complete important tasks and participate appropriately in valuable group activities.
Patience
Learning how to exercise patience at an early age through a range of social experiences will set children up for future success, as adult life provides an array of situations that require patience. This valuable social skill is best taught by example, experiences and role modelling. In an early-years education environment this might look like sharing the attention of an educator or calmly queuing to play a game. As this Sydney Morning Herald article discusses, the role of play in early education shouldn’t be undervalued or overlooked.
Confidence
Gloucestershire private schools, including those such as https://hopelands.org.uk/, understand that encouraging a strong sense of internal wellbeing is vital to ensure that children have the confidence to fully explore their interests, skills and talents. Creating a positive environment that encourages positive interactions with teachers and other children will teach them to approach even the most difficult problems and situations with a confident and positive outlook.
Diversity
The ability to value diversity and difference is critical to the development of well-rounded children who will go on to positively contribute to society. Early education will help children to both recognise and appreciate that everyone is special and unique, with their own thoughts, beliefs and values.