At what age should children start school? Is it at 7, with the ringing of the first school bell in first grade? Or is it in preschool? According to the new policies, preschool education is now mandatory for 4-year-old children in the municipalities where all necessary conditions have been met.
The truth is that children are ready to learn from the very beginning.Even before they know how to walk, they can already be engaged in some form of educational activity. Of course, this doesn’t mean textbook learning. It means learning through play, movement and other age-appropriate activities. The role of the educator can be in the hands of a daycare teacher, mom, dad, grandma, babysitter or any other caregiver. What matters is that they encourage and stimulate the skills which are a natural part of early development.
The scientific evidence in favor of early learning is compelling. During early childhood, we have the unique opportunity to influence brain structure, or as experts call it, "architecture". A child's brain develops so quickly that more than a million brain connections form every second. The more often they are used, the stronger they become. However, these processes continue primarily until the age of 5, and brain architecture afterwards is considered essentially complete.
This means that in order to give children the best start, we should not miss the exceptional early period of rapid development.
Early childhood education provides a solid foundation for the development of personality. What children learn in the early years determines their ability to learn, remember and reason,when they grow up. Character traits such as confidence, responsibility, independence, diligence and self-control develop. Any knowledge and skills acquired in early childhood remain imprinted for life.
What are the main benefits of early education for children?
No matter whether your child attends nursery school, kindergarten, a playgroup, camp, a parent cooperative, or another organized educational program, there are huge benefits to their development. It’s important that learning takes place in a supportive environment and accommodates children’s needs.
Daycare and education for children, MIR Centre
Why should you enroll your child in an early education program? Because your child will:
- Be better prepared for preschool and first grade. School will be easier and your child will be more motivated to go;
- Improve their language skills, especially if Bulgarian isn't the language spoken at home;
- Become more independent and better at self-feeding, self-dressing, hygiene and toileting and other self-help skills;
- Learn how to communicate with other children and be a good friend;
- Learn how to follow rules and be better at controlling emotions.
Sources:
https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/inbrief-science-of-ecd/
https://nido.edu.au/news/5-benefits-of-early-childhood-education/
nmd.bg/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Early-Childhood-Development_BG_web.pdf
Cover photo by Aaron Burden from Unsplash
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