It is not estimated that approximately 58% of children in the United States from 0 to 5 years attend a childcare setting outside the home. These childcare settings include Head Start, public preschools, and private day care settings. Reversing the trajectory of adverse childhood outcomesĬurrently, millions of young children attend early childcare settings on a regular basis. By systemically addressing these needs through thoughtful planning, curriculum, and policy changes, it is possible to create a clear pathway for outcomes for children.Ģ. By taking a close look at the early education programming, curriculum, and physical environment, more deliberative decisions can be made. Unfortunately, positive outcomes will not occur without careful planning. Many caretakers and teachers erroneously assume children will naturally develop motor skills and are physically active through play. Arguably, critical needs of children are being ignored for a cookie-cutter school readiness checklist.įor young children, it is important to have a strong foundation to promote positive health, physical activity, and the motor skills eventually leading to school success. From a developmental perspective, focusing exclusively on academic performance at a young age is akin to building the walls of a house before the foundation has been poured. Unfortunately, by focusing on a narrowly defined academic curriculum, policy makers, educators, and childcare providers are compromising critical areas of child functioning and development. Why does this really matter? After all, our early education programs are supposed to focus on preparing children to be academically ready or kindergarten. Consequently, the emphasis on academic preparedness has resulted in “pushing down curriculum.” Essentially, this has resulted in the academic curriculum once taught in primary grades now taught in early childhood preschool programs and childcare settings. These goals highlighted specifically the need for children to be academically prepared upon entering school or “school ready”. Early reform efforts introduced in 1989 by the Federal government, such as National Goals 2000, identified the goal of all children being ready upon entering school by 2000. Over the past three decades, K-12 educational reform efforts in the United States have undoubtedly influenced early education curriculum. The lyrics to a popular early childhood rhyme that originated in the eighteenth century began with the chant, “Jack be nimble, Jack be quick.” However, many educators working with young children will quickly tell you that all too often Jack is overweight, Jack is slow, and Jack lacks the necessary skills to jump over anything, much less a candlestick! Moreover, many early educators and child caregivers might also be quick to add physical activity and motor skills are not part of the early childhood curriculum, and there is not enough time to address anything not related to school readiness in the curriculum.
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