No doubt you’ll have been amazed by the questions your child raises, and marvelled at how quickly they absorb new knowledge and skills. Understanding how young children develop and learn is vital to providing them with the ideal early learning environment and framework.
So how do children come to understand the world around them in these early years?
Exploration and experiences: How to inspire children’s learning
Children naturally love learning. The key is to encourage and guide their curiosity into self-driven learning, supported by safe and high-quality interactions with educators.
The importance of play
Evidence has shown that an experiential learning approach with both structured and spontaneous teaching strategies results in the best outcomes. Play is a vital part of this, as it’s how children begin to develop their social, cognitive, logic, language and physical skills from a very early age. Our own early childhood program values outdoor spaces just as much as structured classrooms, providing diverse opportunities for both pre-planned and free play.
The importance of questions
Children have innate curiosity, and their questions help them form understandings about the world based on what they see, hear and experience. Our own curriculum, based on the Reggio Emilia educational approach, helps children to form and test their own hypotheses about the world through self-driven learning and expert guidance from educators.
The importance of relationships
As a child wonders and expands their knowledge, it’s crucial that they have solid, trustworthy relationships to ‘bounce off of’. It’s when a child feels safe, secure, supported and encouraged that their learning truly flourishes. We are highly selective in who we choose to join our team, as we know what a critical role caring teachers and educators play in children’s learning and development.
Other key factors in early learning
- The quality and diversity of the learning environment
- Healthy nutrition
- Physical activity and outdoor play
- Connection with the wider community, including intergenerational experiences.
Finding the ideal learning environments for your child
Our Early Learning child day care in Mornington, Ballarat and Penrith are equipped with experienced educators, environments, nutrition and learning frameworks to give your little one the very best start.