Findings of a study suggest using a ‘hundreds chart’ showing numbers one through 100, beginning with one in the top-left corner, fosters children’s counting by 10s.
The system has several elements and many problems. Making it fit for purpose will take a lot of work and even more resources than those that have just been announced.
Research confirms that a focus on restoring the well-being of educators is vital to deliver the gains promised by huge new investments in early childhood learning and care.
The two biggest states have jointly committed to a huge investment in early childhood education and learning over the next decade. But delivering high-quality universal preschool access won’t be easy.
A chasm has opened up between early childhood learning and the first years of compulsory schooling. Kids go from playing to being tested in the blink of an eye, and their learning is poorer for it.
Choosing child care when returning to paid work can be hard and to the uninitiated the terms can be confusing. One alternative to long day care in a larger centre is known as family day care.
With parents trying to work from home while schools and daycare services are closed, some children may get more screen time than usual during COVID-19 social distancing.
Quality preschool can deliver $2 for every $1 from government. But families are paying more for it than if they sent their child to private primary school. Some forego quality for affordability.
Hide the credit cards and instead build traditions with your kids. Supporting a child through gift disappointment is important to their emotional, cognitive and social development.
Research shows early childhood educators are among the lowest-paid Australians, with some finding better pay in other fields such as night-time retail work.
Supporting early childhood literacy is not just about reading to your child. Research has found there are many and varied ways to increase literacy in early learning.
Jenita Chiba, University of Johannesburg and Jacqueline Moodley, University of Johannesburg
Child support grants are an income resource that enables caregivers to make healthier food choices and provide the means to send their children to school earlier.
Two years of high-quality preschool is one of the most effective strategies we have to change the trajectories of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Government funding of childcare is seen as something that helps get mums back into work, instead of setting children up for learning before they start school.