Each child is an individual with unique interests and abilities, strengths and weaknesses. It is therefore important that the child care learning program provides a place for all children to learn, across all areas of their development. It should be clear to parents how a centre provides for children’s learning within each of the following developmental areas;
Cognitive: developing thinking and reasoning skills
Language: speaking and listening development, and all areas of literacy
Physical: experiences which develop both gross motor skills involving large body muscles and movements (e.g. kicking, running, hopping) and fine motor skills involving small movements of the fingers, hands, wrists in co-ordination with the eyes (e.g. drawing, threading, sewing)
Creativity: a wide range of creative experiences representing art, music, dance and drama
Social: supporting children of all ages in their development of self as a member of a community
Emotional: learning to recognise and express emotions in socially acceptable ways.
In appreciating the individuality of each child, educators should recognise that there is not one way, but indeed many ways, for an individual to achieve learning outcomes, and as such show awareness of and sensitivity to the;
- Developmental stage,
- Knowledge, skills and interests,
- Strengths and areas of need,
- Family and cultural background,
- Motivations and experiences, and
- Values and beliefs
… of each child within their care. Each child as an individual and equipped with limitless learning potential.
The ABC of Child Care series of posts aims to illustrate for parents what quality child care looks like in practice as both a tool for parents looking for child care for the first time and as a resource for all parents with children in care. As someone who ran a high quality centre for many years, I believe we all share a responsibility to ask questions and expect results when it comes to the environment and people caring for and educating our youngest and most impressionable citizens.
Find the other posts in the ABC of Child Care series here.