Early Childhood Education Essay Example for Free

Early Childhood Education Essay A Catholic Early Childhood Program endeavours to provide an environment and educational experience that is concerned with the development of each child as a whole person, and which acknowledges his/her innate spirituality. It seeks also to foster a religious awareness through meaningful everyday life experiences. This religious education experience endeavours to complement and support that which is offered through the home environment. Early Childhood Education lays the foundation for further schooling and provides the initial interface between home and school in a child’s life. Recognising parents as the first educators of their children, early childhood education seeks to build upon home learning. In establishing programs for young children it is important to remember that Catholic schooling is intentionally directed to the holistic development of students from within, assisting them to become fully integrated human persons. Our Early Childhood Program will provide an environment and educational experience which acknowledges the innate spirituality of every child, fosters the child’s ability to wonder, experience awe,overcome difficulties, love others and reflect God, their Creator. The Program will: ? Recognise that learning is a gift from God and the role of parents, as the first Educators of their children, is seen as vital. ? Recognise, value and build upon the child’s prior knowledge. ? Understand the: o Importance of developing problem solving and thinking strategies through play. o Structure through which young children experience their world. o Experiences necessary to give form to the child’s world which are expressed symbolically  through language, numbers, representations, movement, models and metaphor. ? Listen to children and their families, respecting their values, cultures, experiences and provide opportunities which support learning. ? Closely observe, describe and record the children’s efforts and achievements by monitoring progress and planning experiences which build on their knowledge, understandings, skills, attitudes and values. ? Facilitate a challenging environment which motivates and enriches learning and gives the child the opportunity to experience: o Independence and guidance o Free choice and direction o Incidental moments and planned activities o Child initiated and teacher navigated o Individual and group work o Free inquiry and explicit teaching The aims of our Early Childhood Education Program are to encourage children to: ? Develop a positive self image. ? Love learning and value their individual learning styles. ? Be responsible for their learning. ? Respect their own knowledge, background and culture. ? Take risks, persist and be self-paced with their learning.? Know, understand and use their personality, talents, personal ways of being creative. ? Learn through problem based play activities by doing and being actively involved. ? Learn through adults and others who scaffold their endeavours. ? Respect, value and accept all people. ? Experience the joy in the mystery and wonder of the universe. ? Feel valued and safe. PRE KINDY PROGRAM Pre Kindy is an educational program for children aged three years. The program is play based and provides children with meaningful experiences that promote the development of spiritual, social,  emotional, language, intellectual, creative and physical skills. These sessions focus on the child’s unique stage of development and the understanding that all children vary in their individual development. The teachers will create a caring, safe and stimulating environment that will nurture the child’s disposition to wonder, explore and construct meaning about the world. KINDERGARTEN Our Kindergarten Program aims to provide a relaxed, secure environment where children can develop at a pace appropriate to their uniqueness. Our Kindergarten Program will focus on all areas of human development – spiritual, emotional, physical, social, creative and intellectual with activities designed to assist your child to experiment and explore in ways that foster learning in an informal and fun way. PRE-PRIMARY CENTRE Infant Jesus School offers five full days of Pre-Primary experience from the beginning of the year. A close working relationship between Pre-Kindy, Kindergarten, Pre-Primary and Primary staff and students facilitates a smooth transition to Year One.