Starting your child in early education can be monumental. Children beginning at age 2, can comprehend many basic fundamentals. By the time they are preschool or headstart age their minds kick into full learning mode. That is why at age four, preschool is the best option. It is the foundation that starts off a lifetime of learning.
In headstart, depending on the curriculum of the school district, children began to learn their alphabets and numbers. These kids also began to write and spell their names, addresses, and phone numbers. Next comes learning simple words such as “cat” and “hat”. This sets up their development for literacy. Math comes next. Not only do they learn numbers and their spellings but also basic addition and subtraction. Counting is part of a process as well. Kids who do excel in math usually start learning it before they hit kindergarten. Their development is critical in this area if we as a country are going to stay competitive with the rest of the world.
Music is the best part. A simple kids song can help keep a four year old’s mind active in learning. The alphabet song is an example of how children remember the order of their letters. A math song will remind children where each number stands from least to greatest. My seven year old still sings the alphabet song when putting her words into alphabetical order for her homework. Science is also important to a young child’s education. I do not believe that there is a kids song for science, but children can make up one. This is where they can learn to be creative and use their imaginations. This is where innovation comes from.
So how did early childhood learning came to be? President Roosevelt Johnson started the headstart program in 1965. It was made for low income families to take advantage of. This was a half day program that included nutrition and social services for these families. Due to the program not having enough funding, states across our vast country came up with their own version of the program. However, young childhood learning took off and it is no longer low income families seeking to put their children in school early. Today regardless of income class, most parents are looking for their children to succeed. The idea of early learning has taken off and most children go to pre-kindergarten to get used to being and learning in a school setting. It is in the classroom where they get to learn about interacting with children in a diverse environment. Children start to make friends and learn teamwork as well as share ideas. Children get to learn that everyone will have a different opinion from what they have to say and will appreciate others thoughts. Sharing and being considerate is also taught in headstart if is not already emphasized at home. There is so much a child can learn from being in a headstart program. This program is definitely a real winner.