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Today's Child


                                                                                young children with a curriculum more
                                                                                suitable to older students is entirely
                                                                                counter-productive,” Eagle says.
                                                                                When looking for an early learning
                                                                                campus, parents should search for a
                                                                                school that is not only aesthetically
                                                                                pleasing but, more importantly, where
                                                                                the child’s well-being is placed at the
                                                                                forefront.
                                                                                “Young children learn best when
                                                                                provided with opportunities to ‘play’ –
                                                                                where they can explore, discover, and
                                                                                experiment in order to make sense of
                                                                                the world around them. The school
                                                                                and the teachers need to be cognisant
                                                                                of this and facilitate the child’s
                                                                                personal learning journey through
                                                                                careful observations and by providing
                                                                                meaningful and relevant learning
                                                                                opportunities.”
                                                                                Other things to look out for
                                                                                when searching for the right ECD
                                                                                environment for your child, include:
                                            they will send their young child from
                                            next year, and they will have to do     •  Teachers who are appropriately
                                            their homework carefully to ensure the     qualified to teach in an early
                                            school they choose approaches ECD          learning environment;
                                            from a child-led learning perspective.
                                            This will ensure that the child starts   •  Teachers who have a caring
                                            their academic journey appropriately       and positive disposition;
                                            for their age, that they build strong   •  A place where the child is
                                            foundations, and that they have            viewed as competent and
                                            positive associations with going to        capable;
                                            school.
                                                                                    •  A place where there is a strong
                                            “Schools have different programmes         sense of community, where
                                            and approaches, and parents may be         teaching is engaging, relevant
                                            seduced by the idea of sending their       and interactive; and
                                            child to a strictly academically-focused
                                            ECD institution which will turn their   •  A place where the school
                                            little one into a mini Einstein before they   follows a positive discipline
                                            even head to big school. However, these    policy – where children
                                            good intentions are likely to fall flat, as   are guided positively and
                                            this is not the correct age-appropriate    supported as they develop their
                                            approach,” says Lynda Eagle, Academic      social and self-regulation skills.
                                            Advisor at ADvTECH Schools.
                                                                                “For parents who may be concerned
                                            For pre-schoolers, there are 5 key areas   about the ability of schools to adapt
                                            of development:                     to the new paradigm, they can be
                                                                                reassured that the inclusion of the
               he transition of Early           •   gross motor skills, for example
               Childhood Development                crawling, jumping or running;  younger years into their programmes is
               (ECD) from the Department                                        doable if the right approach is followed.
        Tof Social Development to the           •   fine motor skills, such as
         Department of Basic Education is now       writing and drawing;        Approaches to teaching and learning
         in full swing, and will change how                                     in the early years – such as the Reggio
         the academic development of young      •   speech and language;        Emilia approach – are well documented
         children is approached in South Africa.   •  cognitive and intellectual skills,  and provide schools with prime
         The transition will become effective       such as counting or identifying  examples of best practice. Here, the
         from 2023, and among the changes           shapes;                     emphasis is not on equipping a school
         that will be introduced by the move,                                   with expensive resources, but rather
         is the obligation on parents to send   •   social and emotional skills,  connecting the student with natural
         their children to school from Grade 00,    such as playing and interacting  elements in meaningful ways, with rich
         as opposed to school attendance only       with other children.        learning experiences, and helping the
         being compulsory from Grade 1, which                                   school to reimagine and repurpose
         has been the case until now.       “The early years are exceptionally   available materials – resulting in rich
                                            important, but learning should as far   learning opportunities and possibilities,”
         Parents now need to consider where   as possible be play-based. Bombarding   Eagle concludes.

    40 DPL issue 5 2022
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