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The early years of a child offer a unique opportunity to shape their development. Within my program, three to 8 year-olds will gather the building blocks of social, emotional, physical, financial and academic literacy.
My ideal Early Childhood Program (with an expanded budget) would be a public or private school (dependent on education policy restrictions) that would encompass Pre-K to Kindergarten until Grade 3. It would be interdisciplinary, and create a smoother transition from Kindergarten to the Primary years of Grades 1 to 3. Furthermore, it would extend elements more common within a Kindergarten, such as, the design of the classroom, the schedule and the continued inclusion of play to those primary grades.
The aim of the program would be to develop the whole child, collectively building the academic and functional-motor skills, with a strong focus on the development of social-emotional and 21st century skills. This would incorporate a fusion of academic and holistic approaches, following selected standards derived from the NAEYC and Common Core. These would be influenced by the theories and concepts of Piaget, Vygotsky and Gardner.
Diversity and inclusion would be embedded within the curriculum, rather than an add-on, along with culture, and supported with visual materials, books, other resources, and teachers would have adequate and appropriate training on, for example, teaching differences in positive and respectful ways, or on differentiation for ELLs, or student’s with learning- and special needs. It would have and provide access to support programs such as IEP, GATE/TAG, and other services to support children with emotional or behavioural issues.
It would also include teaching financial literacy across varying subject areas from K2 onwards in activities and projects that are developmentally aligned, and include collaborations with the community. It would add yoga and mindfulness within Physical Education, and would have a culinary class at least twice a week wherein students would not only make some foods/drinks themselves, but also learn about nutrition and the importance of a healthy lifestyle (with good eating habits and exercise) from a young age.
The physical space or classroom would be quite large and spacious, in a long rectangle, rounded on the smaller sides surrounded by large windows to provide natural light. It would have some visuals and posters on some of the walls, and have hanging areas to display projects and other crafts or arts the students will create per term throughout the year. It would have various areas set up within the classroom, from a mat area for circle time to areas for imaginative play (kitchen, music, building, arts/mark-making, library) as well as a part of the area with desks and chairs for some classes, sensory play, fine-motor development or station learning. It would also include some plants, and I am undecided about the inclusion of animals (i.e. pets) within the school facilities. Though I have seen research from various programs which incorporate this, and the benefits it harnesses, particularly for early and primary year students support SEL development, and provide real-world experiences to support the curriculum.
As grade levels progress, the access to materials within the immediate classroom would increase (shelves around the classroom with materials to get themselves), allowing for more student-directed interest during exploratory play, free time or creative classes. It would also include a SMART Interactive board, storage for teacher materials, student iPads, yoga mats, etc. Similar to the Kindergarten classroom, the teacher will not have a desk within the classroom, and instead have a common teacher room to meet, collaborate, lesson plan and prep.
Staffing would be dependent on the grade and age level, and takes the safety of students into account. For example, in a Nursery and Pre-K classroom with 15 to 20 students, there would be 2 main teachers, 2 TAs and a life teacher, whereas for a K3 class, two main teachers or one main teacher and a TA could suffice. A good ratio of adults in the room ensures that a good level of safety within the classroom can be maintained, and that additional support is available for the main teacher, questions, or for struggling and/or special needs students, etc. The school will have at least two guidance counselors and certified specialised teachers.
Parents and teachers by themselves cannot support the continued growth and development of young children and students. Each plays a significant role, and I think it is fundamentally important that we work together and support one another towards the best interest of their child. Transparent and open two-way communication will be an important element of the classroom and school. Parent involvement would be encouraged and more opportunities to do so will be actively provided, such as, parents and/or PTAs involvement in panels for the school policies, ideas or cooperation in school events, activities, sponsoring/fundraisers, and invitations to lead an activity, class or be a part of ‘career day’ events, etc.
The focus would be to cultivate a strong and authentic relationship between the school/teachers and parents, in ways that enhance the culture and ideals of the school, and be participants in their child or children’s educational journey. It would utilise a standard communication app such as Class Dojo or SeeSaw because of the overall benefits of such platforms, and provide the standard PTC meetings at the beginning of the first term and at the end of each other. Parents will be provided with a survey and the report a day/two before the meeting to maximise the PTC time.
As well as, PTA-Teacher coffee meetups to discuss and collaborate on upcoming calendar events and activities, and/or discuss any issues/challenges some parents may be experiencing. It would also create two to three workshops per term on curated topics which can be led by experts, teachers or another parent, or a combination.
Teachers will actively communicate the positive developments of their students to parents throughout the school year, and will be trained on how to raise issues to parents in solution-oriented ways, and be supported by management and administration in this regard. Places (and people) in the community will be included in the providing real-world experiences to students in correlation to the curriculum.
I want young children to be able to explore and expand their learning and knowledge in a multitude of ways, while simultaneously ensuring they are prepared for the pace, rigor and test-focused school system they will eventually join.
I want to provide choice and cultivate independent thinkers who have empathy and make considerations for the world (people and environment) around them, with a higher consciousness of who they are and the value they bring as themselves - to socially and economically empower young children who act as agents of change in their own lives for a more equitable world.
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