Early Childhood Education

Types of Early Childhood Education

Public Preschool
Public preschool programs are gaining in popularity in states across the United States. These programs tend to be state-funded, and are primarily available to lower-income families. Some states provide the programs to all children within the district. Availability differs from state to state, and then district to district within each state. Names for such programs can include Universal Prekindergarten, Universal Preschool and Public Preschool. The programs are currently available in states such as New York, Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois, California and West Virginia, with more states looking to add them. Teachers apply the best early childhood practices they know, in an attempt to better prepare the children for their kindergarten year. Most programs tend to include children at age 4, with some starting to take children at age 3.

Head Start Programs
Head Start programs are publicly funded with federal money. They are geared toward families who are at a lower income level, with children under the age of 5. Early Head Start focuses on women who are pregnant and children ages 0-3 years. People wishing to enroll their children in Head Start or Early Head Start programs need to contact their local Head Start office. Some of the services can also be located by some local departments of human services, if available. Children who receive some kind of public assistance, due to medical or psychological conditions, are often also eligible. Each local office will determine a child's eligibility. Head Start programs aim to prepare the child for kindergarten, as well as to educate parents about their responsibilities and about child development.

Montessori Early Childhood Programs
Most Montessori early childhood education programs are designed for children ages 3-6. Some schools also offer toddler programs. A few offer an infant program. Within these programs, children are directed through a sequence of materials that offer hands-on learning. Teachers are known as directresses, as they direct children to appropriate activities, instead of constantly teaching. Direction comes as a result of the teacher's observations and carefully maintained notes. Children tend to stay with their teachers for three years. While most of these programs are provided through private schools, a few public school systems are implementing Montessori into their programs.

Waldorf Early Childhood Programs
In Waldorf education, the teacher demonstrates practical, domestic and artistic activities, which the children are to imitate. Imagination is encouraged through storytelling and dramatic play. Toys used are created from natural materials only. Children often bring from nature their own items with which to play and to explore in the classroom. Curriculum is based on the three developmental phases of childhood: birth to 6 or 7 years of age, ages 7 to 14 and 14 to 18. Waldorf founder Rudolf Steiner believed that children in this first phase of childhood learn best through imitation.

Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood
The Reggio Emilia approach is another one with Italian roots, like Montessori. In this type of program, teachers, parents, and children collaborate in the learning process. if children show an interest in an activity, teachers will provide ample learning opportunities across the curriculum to feed that interest. Schools also provide information to parents, based on their questions and needs, to help them assist their children in the learning process. Parents can also frequently be found participating in the classroom. Assessments are made via photographs, videotapes, tape recordings, and written documentation. Children also stay with their teachers for three years. Many Reggio Emilia programs are found in private schools, though some public schools around the country are starting to adopt this method.

Obama's early-childhood education plan

Obama's early-childhood education plan, Using a method similar to California's to fund early-childhood education, President Obama is proposing a tax hike for his "Preschool for All" plan in the budget presented to Congress.

The proposed 94-cent hike on cigarettes is projected to generate more than $78 billion over 10 years.

Some Los Angeles-based early-childhood education providers praised the proposal for its plan to fund education for preschoolers across all types of socioeconomic backgrounds.

“The president’s plan falls right in line with what [Los Angeles Universal Preschool] has been doing for nearly a decade, and the new budget is a tremendous step forward for our nation’s children,” said Celia C. Ayala, chief executive for LAUP.

Established by First 5 LA, which receives funding through the voter-approved tobacco tax initiative Proposition 10, LAUP has provided more than 60,000 children with free or low-cost preschool for the last nine years.

The president's plan would extend programs such as Early Head Start, home visitation services for at-risk families and universal preschool.

The proposal "is an important affirmation of the educational, social and economic benefits associated with quality early learning programs," said First 5 LA Director Kim Belshe.

"We have long known that investment in quality early childhood education boosts our kids’ success in school and has even more long-term benefits," she said.

A Georgetown University report showed that by 2018, 63% of job openings will require workers with a higher education and that children who attend quality preschool are twice as likely to attend college.

The president's budget reflects the comments during his State of the Union address that support early-childhood education, though implementing a nationwide program may be difficult.

"It's complicated for the federal government because there's a spectrum of readiness across the states," said Kris Perry, executive director of the First Five Fund.

"Some states have been doing it successfully, like New Jersey, but there are others that don’t have any program in place," Perry said.

The funds will be allocated to states and distributed to local school districts and other preschool service providers.

The Department of Education also announced it would award $750 million to states to strengthen their early learning initiatives.

"It will do some good, but will never cover all the needs," Perry said.

Early childhood education investment

Over the past decade many studies have reached the conclusion that investing in high-quality early childhood education is a successful hedge against poverty.

Students who attend Head Start, America's comprehensive early childhood education and development program for poor children, are far better prepared to learn when they enter kindergarten. They are referred for special education services less frequently and they are also more likely to graduate high school.

As adults they are less likely to be incarcerated and more likely to be successful, contributing members of society than those who do not attend such programs.

Programs such as Head Start help to break the poverty cycle. For every dollar we invest in early education programs there is a return of between $7 and $16. Head Start programs and services are not entitlements but prudent investments in the future of our children and our nation.

As President Barack Obama and congressional leaders consider where to cut federal programs, they should make sustaining funding for Head Start a national priority.

5 Foundations of Any Child’s Education

Child’s Education Foundations “Is the education of a child important?” This might just be the most ridiculous and obvious question ever asked. Ask any parent this question and for sure, you will get the same answer again and again. However, if the question had asked for the reason behind this importance, there will, without a doubt, be many different answers. One parent may say “So he will be able to easily get a job”. Another may say that it is important so that his child will learn responsibility. Another reason could be that the child’s learning will help him make good decisions. Parents have countless other reasons for a child’s education but ultimately, they mean the same thing—to prepare the child for adulthood.

Some might disagree with this; in fact, many parents do not want to think of adulthood yet, saying they do not want their children to grow up fast. Well nobody said anything about reaching adulthood fast. Rather, it is progressing from childhood and growing up to be adults. You have to bear in mind that in the end, only two things can happen: your child grows up with you, with your guidance, or your child grows up without you, guided by his friends. Which ending do you want for your child?

Surely, you want your child to grow up guided by you. If you are to prepare them to become responsible adults, you must make them learn, understand and live by five essential things. The proper education of a child involves the teaching of values, morals, ethics, problem-solving, and decision-making.

Values are the feelings, thoughts and opinions which your family has determined important. The values of one family may, of course, differ from those of another. A child needs to learn what the things he values are. Morals refer to what things are right and what are wrong. Usually, our morals are shaped by a bigger community’s standards and beliefs. Every child must be able to distinguish right from wrong. Ethics refer to the ideology of how one should behave. These are the principles of conduct and manners. A child will follow what he sees. If parents are not there to show the child how one should rightfully behave, he will then follow those whom he sees; he will pattern the way his peers behave.

Problem solving is the ability to come up with a solution for a particular task or difficulty AND the ability to do everything required to carry it out. Knowing that sand can put out a spreading fire is useless if you do not know where and how to get that sand. A child must be able to determine what must be done with a problem and know to do it. Lastly, decision-making is the ability to make sound decisions that will be for the betterment of all. A good decision is one that is based on the first four essential principles. A child must learn have the ability to make good judgments and sound decisions so that he will be able to determine which direction to follow.

These five elements shape the entire education of a child. Without these five, your child may grow physically and biologically, but he will never grow from being a child to becoming an adult.

Fundamentals of Early Childhood Education

Anyone who’s driven north from downtown Wausau toward Bridge Street may have seen the billboard there featuring the smiling face of a young child and the word “YoungStar.”

The relatively new program of the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families is designed to be a resource for parents and to create a system of incentives for child care providers. The state rates child care providers that receive state subsidies based on a number of different assessments largely focused on how they approach early childhood education. The state provides help for providers to improve their ratings, and there’s a financial incentive, too: Those who score highly receive more state tax credits; those with low scores can lose funding.

YoungStar got a big boost last week when Wisconsin won a $22.7 million grant in federal Race to the Top funding to be spent in the next four years on expanding the program and improving its data collection system.

As our understanding of brain development has become more sophisticated in recent years, the importance of early childhood education has been amplified. Young brains — from birth to four or five years old — are building connections and forming habits that have the potential to have long-term effects.

One way that’s measured is in what’s called “readiness,” a measure of the skills children bring with them when they enter kindergarten. Those who start kindergarten at a disadvantage can struggle to catch up even a decade or more into the future.

Another way to think about this is that kindergarten is not some magical threshold: Learning doesn’t begin when a child is enrolled in kindergarten. Creating the right environment for a child to learn literally begins in the womb, and proceeds at exponential pace throughout early childhood. We need an education system that recognizes that.

In Wausau, the Marathon County Early Years Coalition is a group of many different local organizations tackling this issue. Parents or anyone interested in seeing ratings of local child care providers can go to http://dcf.wisconsin.gov/youngstar/ to find YoungStar online.

There are not many more foundational goals than improving early childhood education. It’s good to see Wisconsin’s system given a boost, and we all can hope this grant will help Wisconsin’s children move forward.