The Benefits Of Enrolling Your Child In An Early Childhood Education Program

    There has been some debate over the year about whether children should actually begin an education program before they get to kindergarten. However, studies have shown that children begin learning and mental development shortly after birth. In fact, during the first three years of a baby’s life is when essential brain development occurs.

    However, opponents of sending young children to pre-school are based on programs that concentrate on academics. They believe that an escalated curriculum—one that provides early-age courses to children, who may not be matured enough to grasp them, creates a whole new series of problems, including students that are frustrated and overly stressed, causing them to act out in aggressive ways.

    In looking at how other countries in the world handle early education, we can all take a page from Finland’s lesson book. Instead of pushing academic-based learning on young children, we should be focusing on “learning how to learn.” This would potentially include teaching young children about nature, animals, and the circle of life. Breaking away from academic-based learning and utilizing a child’s natural curiosity helps to develop the whole child, including their mind, body, and spirit.

    Why should we care about what Finland is doing? A 2012 study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) assessed the educational systems in 50 different countries across the globe. Factors they reviewed included standardized test scores, literacy rates, and graduation rates. Finland ranked number one, overall. The United States? We came in 17th.

Kids studying in the classroom at Strelitz International Academy

    There is hope though. One alternative that already exists in the U.S. and around the world is a program offered by elementary schools called the International Baccalaureate (IB®) Primary Years Programme (PYP). The International Baccalaureate (IB®) is an international, non-profit educational program that provides a foundation for building critical thinking skills.

    By providing an environment where children learn by doing, they can build a variety of skills that will help them advance to the next levels of their education. Some of these skills include socialization, the concept of cooperation, enthusiasm for lifelong learning, respect for others, teamwork, resilience, concentration, patience, self-confidence and self-esteem, and exposure to diversity.

    Parents looking to provide the best opportunities for early education should search for private elementary schools in their area that offer the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. Most of these schools encourage parents to schedule a tour and bring their child out to see the campus, review the curriculum, meet or watch teachers in action, and ask plenty of questions. If affordability is an issue, many private elementary schools have endowments or fundraisers that help them offer tuition assistance through scholarships.

    The bottom line is that parents must decide for themselves what sort of early childhood education their child should receive. If an IB® PYP school sounds promising, you owe it to yourself and your child to investigate the idea further.