By Lisa Voortman, Director of Grow ECD. An experienced ECD owner and teacher, Lisa developed the award-winning Grow ECD curriculum, which is now available free to any ECD centre in South Africa.
The research is clear, Early Childhood Development (ECD) is the foundation for lifelong learning and central to effective early learning is play-based education. Learning in one’s early years is what shapes an individual’s cognitive, social, and emotional trajectory for the rest of their lives. Children learn best through play, therefore all strategies to improve learning must incorporate play.
Play-based learning is a fundamental component of early education that significantly contributes to cognitive development. Through play children explore their environment, experiment with ideas and engage in problem-solving, all crucial to intellectual growth. Learning through play encourages creativity, critical thinking, and the ability to adapt to new situations.
Parents are their child’s first teacher. Parents should act as children’s guides to finding the ‘fun’ in everyday life and bringing early learning to life. By interacting with adults and other children during play, children learn communication, negotiation and empathy, laying the groundwork for effective interpersonal relationships in later life. Play also allows children to develop self-regulation skills as they navigate rules and roles within their imaginative scenarios.
It is important that parents work with their children’s teachers, supporting teachers rather than outsourcing their children’s education to teachers. ECD teachers are often under-appreciated, but their impact can be felt for generations. Parents need to play an active role in their child’s learning and work with teachers to create positive, play-based learning environments for children.
Here are some practical strategies parents can use to help young children learn:
- Create a literacy-rich environment: Surround children with books, labels and written materials. Read to your child regularly and discuss the stories you have been reading. This enhances children’s vocabulary and comprehension skills. Alarmingly, the NGO Book Dash reports that 97% of households in Sub-Saharan Africa have two or fewer children’s books.
- Integrate literacy and counting into daily activities: Encourage your children to recognise letters and sounds as you go about your day. Ask them to identify letters on signs or on packaging and discuss what you find. Use everyday tasks, like cooking or shopping, to practice counting and simple arithmetic. Engaging children in games that involve numbers and letters makes learning fun and educational.
- Engage in storytelling and singing: Tell stories and sing songs to your children whenever possible. These activities promote language development and phonemic awareness, both essential components of literacy.
- Encourage questions and exploration: Foster a curious mindset by encouraging children to ask questions and explore answers through hands-on activities. Engage your children, don’t think that ‘children should be seen and not heard’. Ask questions where they can share their thoughts and ideas (not just “yes” or “no” questions.)
- Shared reading sessions and interactive storytelling: Make time to read with children every day, discuss the story and illustrations as you go to enhance comprehension and vocabulary. Let children make up their own stories or retell familiar ones to foster their imagination and narrative skills.
- Positive reinforcement: Celebrate progress and encourage children, this builds confidence and a love for learning. Don’t get too worried about milestones, they are just a guideline. Growing up and learning is not a race towards milestones – each child is an individual.
If you don’t have the resources, visit your local library or download the many free resources online from Book Dash (available in 11 languages) and Nal’ibali. Grow ECD also has an online library of free songs, videos, educational guides and tips that parents can download at https://resources.growecd.org.za/.