Related topics or keywords - early years

This report by the Canadian Council on Learning examines many of the factors that contribute to successful lifelong learning—from early childhood, through the school years and into adulthood. It also takes a special look at the link between health and learning, and at the learning challenges faced by Aboriginal Peoples in Canada.
(NB: published in both English and French)

Parents are vitally important throughout a child’s life—as sources of love and security, as teachers and as role models—but they are particularly important in the earliest years. This article discusses various parenting styles and examines programs directed at helping parents to achieve better outcomes for their children.
(Source: Canadian Council on Learning)

Play enhances every aspect of children’s development and learning, however, it is increasingly rare for children to have long, uninterrupted blocks of time to play indoors and outdoors, by themselves or with their friends. Although children learn to play naturally, we all have a role in ensuring that children have enough time and opportunity to play.
(Source: Canadian Council on Learning)

In Canada today, there are over 2 million children under the age of six and two-thirds of these children have a mother who works. Child care is now undoubtedly a significant factor in the way many Canadian children live, learn and grow. This article explores recent studies examining the effects of early child-care experiences on young children.
(Source: Canadian Council on Learning)

There is much truth in the cliché that parents are a child’s first teachers. Simple activities such as reading storybooks or singing songs to a child can have significant impact on a child’s ability to develop language and literacy skills, but there are many more things parents do and can do to ensure that their children get off to a good start on the road to speaking, listening, and reading.
(Source: Canadian Council on Learning)

There are two major contexts in which preschool learning occurs for many children: the first is the family, the second is early learning and child care programs.The objective of this review is to determine the current state of knowledge about the effects of these types of programs on early childhood learning and development, and then to recommend directions for future Canadian research to expand this base of knowledge.

NB: to view this report, look down the provided CCL webpage for the link to the Early Years Review

(Source: Canadian Council on Learning)

There is more material now about the nature of human learning than at any previous time in history. Why, therefore, do we have a “crisis” in education? John Abbott, discusses what is known about how humans learn and develop from birth through adulthood and how our education systems have it “inside out and upside down”.

On the face of it, Sweden’s attitude to teaching nursery children is incredibly relaxed and informal. Could the absence of testing, inspection and excessive paperwork, combined with a strong emphasis on play and relaxation, be the very secret of their success?

Watch a fascinating video report on the British Teachers TV website: Early Years Education in Sweden

In 2007, the Council for Early Child Development published Early Years Study 2: Putting Science into Action, a report that focuses on the scientific evidence supporting the importance of early learning and care as it relates to childhood development. This report is a follow up to the 1999 Mustard/McCain Early Years Study, a groundbreaking report that recommended an integrated system of community-based early child development and parenting centres linked to the school system.

Hailed as the best pre-schools in the world by Newsweek magazine in 1991, the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education has attracted the worldwide attention of educators, researchers and just about anyone interested in early childhood education best practices. Today, the Reggio approach has been adopted in USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia and many other countries.

“ While schools and parents elsewhere push young children to read, write and surf the Internet earlier in order to prepare for an increasingly cutthroat global economy, some little Germans are taking a less traveled path — deep into the woods. Germany has about 700 Waldkindergärten, or “forest kindergartens,” in which children spend their days outdoors year-round. Blackboards surrender to the Black Forest. Erasers give way to pine cones. Hall passes aren’t required, but bug repellent is a good idea.”

*Read full article” by clicking below.

(Source: Wall Street Journal)