Ever since the anticipation of Bryan’s arrival, I’ve been taking many early childhood education (ECE) classes at UC Santa Cruz. As a result of those classes, I have had to go to some pre-schools to make observations. Today I went to Explorer Pre-school where my instructor is teaching at. What a fun place! It makes working with computers (and adults at that) such a boring job. Two-year-olds can be such a delight as observation subjects.
The latest proven teaching method is what’s called “the whole child”. Its focus is not so much on the academics as it is on the developmentally appropriate “learning” opportunities for the children. And the approach places emphasis on individual child’s needs as opposed to a curriculum that the teacher has to follow (there really is a lot more than it sounds). The Reggio Emilia Approach has been what everybody in the ECE field is talking about for the past 10-15 years. Its success is unparalleled.
It’s really cool to see “the whole child” approach in action in contrast to the more traditional academic schools. Though academics is essential eventually, there’s also a lot to be learned for two-year-olds to just be two-year-olds with proper guidance of an experienced educator.