My Personal Philosophy of Early Childhood Education Essay

“Children are like blossoming buds, waiting for nourishment to bloom and display glory and pride, their colorful petals. “

To achieve a garden of blooms the early childhood educator must be an honest reflector and a facilitator.

I believe the role of the Early Childhood Educator is to provide a rich environment and guide children so they can develop their confidence and build their resilience to become successful learners. As an Early Childhood Educator, it’s my responsibility to promote quality experiences and environments for young children while supporting children’s learning and development through interactions, communication, and providing a range of provocations and stimulating, problem-solving activities. This is supported by Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which states ‘the best interests of the child must be the primary concern in making decisions that may affect them….’. I believe that children show uniqueness and interests at an early age, therefore Educators should plan a child-centered curriculum that offers children the opportunity to make choices about what, how, and whom they want to play. This approach enables children to initiate and direct their own play with the support of interested and responsive adults. Educators foster children’s growth and development by building on children’s interests, needs, and strengths within a safe and caring environment. This reflects Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that states ‘children’s education should develop each child’s personality, talents and abilities to the fullest….’ And Outcome 4 of the Early Years Learning Framework that states children are confident and involved learners.

I believe every child is a capable and competent learner, they are unique individuals who develop at their own rate. Children are full of imagination, curious, connected with the environment from birth, and start to learn soon after they are born. Children are born with possibilities. The importance in early years is to shape up and stimulate these possibilities for them to grow up in all the developmental domains and become competent and responsible individuals in the future as global citizens. First, five years are very important for a child for their brain development. The more they are exposed to their environment and experience free play and exposed to different activities and materials the brain neurons will light up and connect new paths in the brain to make new connections. Good nutrition in the early years is important for this matter and for healthy lifestyles. Environment as the third teacher will be the main factor for the children to be competent learners. As educators, it is our responsibility to set up an environment stimulating, inviting, and connecting to the real world and includes children's interests as well. The relationships with adults will give them the opportunity to build trust and the children will become more comfortable to explore, communicate, and further enhance their learning to become competent learners. As a service and as educators it's our responsibility to provide the above environment for the children to become competent in their life.

Inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood, paying a great deal of attention to the look and feel of the classroom, ensuring that its aesthetic beauty is a part of the learning environment. An environment where children spend long periods of time needs to reflect an atmosphere of lasting friendships, a feeling of family, and strong relationships with teachers. I believe that my values affect the decisions I make about the arrangement of space, equipment, and materials in the classroom. Therefore, they need to be Inviting, natural, open-ended, creative, and multi-sensory experiences that reflect aspects of nature throughout them. The importance of the environment lies in the belief that children can best create meaning and make sense of their world through environments that support 'complex, varied, sustained, and changing relationships between people, the world of experience, ideas and the many ways of expressing ideas'.

I believe parent involvement is important so that learning can become reciprocal when parents and educators work together in supporting the child’s development and learning. My views come from Bruner who believed that interactions between children and an adult act as scaffolding to help the children go beyond what they can achieve on their own. They now enter what Vygotsky termed the zone of proximal development, that is, the area in which a child is able to perform with assistance at a higher level of mental functioning. I believe that children co-construct their knowledge with others and that with the right kind of assistance, they can reach beyond their present level of ability and move forward in their development. With strong communication between educators and families, this development can continue between the center and home.

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I believe families should be provided with information about their children in the program. Documentation of the children’s experiences should be visible to parents and families. Portfolios are an essential tool for communicating with parents about their children in the program. These portfolios should be accessible to the children so they can reflect on and show their families what they have been up to at the center. Portfolios also give children a sense of belonging as each child has their own.

I believe there is great potential when educators build relationships with other educators and with others in the community beyond the center. Educators who familiarise themselves with the customs and lifestyles of the people in the community surrounding their center may find richness and diversity to share with the children. Parents themselves may be the link to assist educators in learning the community’s people resources, as they disclose aspects of their home lives. Such as, educators could find neighbors experienced in traditional music who could share their interests with the children.

I believe businesses, shopping areas, transportation systems, construction sites, police and fire stations, parks and recreation areas, churches, zoos, museums, and residential streets offer numerous learning experiences. I believe teachers should use natural community resources to design a curriculum outside and inside the classroom. This could be done through excursions and incursions. My views come from Reggio Emilia's Approach that an 'education based on relationships' focuses on each child in relation to others and seeks to support children's relationships with other children, family, teachers, society, and the environment.

The Reggio Emilia Approach believes that children, teachers, parents, and the community interact and work together while building a community of inquiry between adults and children. I believe a file of pamphlets and referral information should be accumulated and kept at the center for reference by all staff. Frequently parents learn of sources of help through the information given to them from centres.

I always try to update myself with knowledge regarding children's development to create a caring and nurturing environment that enhances each child’s individuality, creativity, and self-image. I always try together with staff to reflect the needs and goals of children and families. I always work together for an integrated, comprehensive approach to a caring, cooperative workplace that respects cultural values and supports positive relationships and respectful interaction.

Children are our future CITIZENS. Proud to be an early childhood educator and I always try to build up GLOBAL MINDED CHILDREN WITH CULTURAL HEARTS. “I strongly believe that every child has a right to learn and there is a community for every single child. “