Before starting the ECE program at Seneca I honestly had no idea what an ECE was. I didn't know that ECE's in daycares had formal training, I didn't know the importance of a child's first 5 years of life, I didn't know that ECE's were teachers because society diminishes their positions. Many people think that ECE's are babysitters, we clean noses, we prepare food, we supervise children. It's true we do those things, but we also do so much more. People don't understand that we teach children too, with play based activities that help develop many different skills. The two year program prepares us to observe, plan, implement and document children's learning and development. We learn about the 5 foundations of development (Physical, Emotional, Social, Cognitive and Communication) and the four foundations of learning (Belonging, Expression, Engagement and Well-Being). We take all of these principles into account as we plan and implement children's learning. We are trained and educated to know age and development appropriate activities to help support children's development.
For example, implementing a fine motor (development of the fingers) activity for an infant and a preschooler would be very different. Both children are still developing the same skill but at different levels. Just like going to school, Kindergartens are learning math but at a different level then children in grade 8. Society has categorized ECE's as "less than teachers" but I want to people to understand that we aren't so different. No, we do not have the formal training to make assessments (report cards) but we know curriculum and we know how to implement it in ways for children in various age groups to understand it.
Part of the job is to be a caregiver to these children. Their parents are dropping them off early in the morning and don't pick them up until late in the evening. Many children that have been in my care are with me for 8+ hours. That is a very long time to be with a child and this is why people assume we are babysitters. In those 8+ hours, many things occur that people don't see. Not only are we teaching but we are caring for and we are developing strong relationships. Unless you have a child of your own who is placed in daycare or full-day kindergarten then you won't truly understand the work of an ECE. You won't truly appreciated the amount of work we do for children and how much we love doing it. At times we are watching up to 30 children and we have a bond with each of them. It frustrates me that people downgrade ECE's, many of them have no clue what we do, and I used to be one of those people. I want society to start considering ECE's as teachers, as role models and as professionals.
What people also don't understand is how important the first 5 years of a child's life is for further development and learning. If the foundation for learning is not set in the first 5 years, then a child will struggle in future studies. Which is why the job of an ECE is so crucial because we are shaping the minds of young child to ensure they strive in their future studies. We like to call ourselves "Brain Developers" lol. This is why we plan and implement play based activities because not only is it fun for the child but its embedded learning. Every time you see an ECE planning an activity for children, there's always a reason for it, whether it's to develop fine motor skills, or gross motor skills, or social skills, or cognitive skills etc. It's not developmentally appropriate to sit down a toddler, pull out a work book and start explaining how to sort objects into groups. However you can introduce a simple activity like sorting foam animals by colours and asking the child, "Can you give me all the yellow animals in this pile?" Without the child knowing they will be developing their sorting skills but in a fun way! By doing this, you are setting the foundation for further learning and development.
Because of COVID I know many parents are home with their children as daycare and schools are closed. I will be posting learning experiences shortly for various age groups so that if you have a child, or know of someone with children you can implement these activities or forward these activities to not only occupy some time in your child's day but to ensure that they are still learning while at home! Also let's start showing some more love to ECE's because we are awesome and often go unnoticed!
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