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Service learning is usually thought of in contexts of older kids, or university students, applying an educational lesson in the classroom. However, there is no reason service learning can’t happen in early childhood, or even in childcare settings. Taking on preschool community service projects can be a great way to achieve interdisciplinary learning. Educators and daycare workers can also use … [Read more...] about Community service learning ideas for early childhood education and daycare

We use the word “development” all the time when speaking about early childhood education and health. We talk about developmental stages, social development, sensory development, skills development, developmental impairment, normal development and a host of other topics. But we don’t often take the time to define the basis for what we’re referring to in these cases. They may be obvious to some, but … [Read more...] about What is cognitive development in early childhood?

There are many lists that describe what a child should be able to do or understand at infancy, as a toddler or as a preschooler, and so on. Many of these are based on Jean Piaget's research. Piaget was a psychologist in Switzerland. The cognitive development stages he proposed reach up to adulthood, and sometimes overlap with each other. Taken from Wikipedia, they are: Sensorimotor stage (ages … [Read more...] about What are cognitive developmental milestones in early childhood?

Daycare doesn’t always mean a classroom full of toddlers and preschool-age kids. It can mean before and after school care too, which means older kids are involved too. At our daycare centres, we implement buddy times, when older kids mentor preschoolers. We do this for a reason; it has many benefits to both the older kids and younger kids at our centres. We thought we’d write an article to explain … [Read more...] about 4 Benefits of daycare ‘buddy time,’ when older kids mentor preschoolers

Early childhood is a wonderful time of life, because everything is new to the learner. That means you can teach subjects that most adults may overlook as nothing special, but are actually quite scientifically interesting! In this article we’ll discuss ideas for teaching preschoolers about shadows. This makes for a great and easy early childhood science lesson. Introducing preschoolers to the … [Read more...] about Teaching preschoolers about shadows – a great early childhood science lesson

These days, parents and educators can be concerned about children spending too much time indoors, and with screens. Experts are beginning to question whether traditional, structured learning is best for young, developing minds. Have we lost touch with nature? Is this how we were meant to learn? And why are we so afraid of spending time outside, especially if the weather is bad? Well, as it turns … [Read more...] about 4 Top benefits of outdoor education in early childhood