Early Childhood

The importance of early learning at home

Providing learning support at home can help children better cope with the changing national curriculum that the UK government is planning to introduce from 2014.

Whether the changes go through quickly or not, we can expect the schooling system to be in a certain state of flux for several years as teachers adapt to the new material.

That’s why early childhood learning can be beneficial. By introducing basic ideas from the new curriculum at home and creating a home environment where learning is encouraged, children can have a head start on the school curriculum. And starting to learn in a positive way at home can prove vital for future progress within the school system.
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Not just another language acquisition lesson!

K-12 Reading Specialist Ana Adams, tells us that her experience tells her that with the support of parents, caregivers, early childhood educators, and with exposure to a literacy-rich environment, children progress from emergent to conventional reading.

With interaction through reading aloud and conversation, children are exposed to learning early. In this process, it is very important to read aloud to children and provide them with the opportunities to talk about the stories that they hear.

Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, and Wilkinson (1985) state, “The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children, especially during the preschool years”.

There is no doubt that this helps the children develop oral language, cognitive skills, and concepts of print and phonemic awareness.

Children read to develop background knowledge about various of topics and build a large vocabulary. These aid them in later comprehension and development of reading strategies. Children also watch how others read and therefore become familiar with the reading process, i.e. they are constantly learning.
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Continue ReadingNot just another language acquisition lesson!