The families who rely on early childhood services will likely appreciate the skills and professionalism involved. But as a community, we do not value this work.
Marek Tesar, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Research consistently shows access to early childhood education can effect literacy, schooling and life in general. Its relative absence in a budget supposedly focused on education is baffling.
Affordability targets have been surpassed with $10-per-day child care the norm in much of the country, but depending on where you live, finding care can be onerous. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits a child-care centre in Dartmouth, N.S. on April 2, 2024.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kelly Clark
The Early Childhood Education Report offers detailed profiles capturing how each province and territory are doing with implementing Canada-wide early learning and child care.
Child-care wait lists have ballooned across Ontario since the province signed on to the national $10-a-day program, as demand due to the lower fees appears to be far outstripping the creation of new spaces in many regions. Children play at a daycare in Coquitlam, B.C., on March 28, 2018.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Governments need to co-operate to prioritize access to high-quality child care for low-income families, and sustain not-for-profit care centres with well-paid educators.
‘Back to basics’ language used by the government distracts from the importance of continuously updating and revising curriculum.
(Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages)
We need to ensure the best scientific research in play-based learning and early reading is leveraged, and teachers receive supports to meet children’s developmental and academic needs.
A person walks past a child care centre in Toronto in April 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
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.
For vulnerable and marginalized groups, access to early learning and child care remains uncertain. Inclusive access must become a top priority to achieve affordable care for all families.
When four- and five-year-old children are provided with a full day of schooling, space is freed in child-care centres that is instantly filled by younger children.
(Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages)
Access to schooling for four-year-olds is inconsistent across Canada. Families need to know children are immersed in high-quality early learning, and they shouldn’t be exhausted searching for it.
Having a vast and deep vocabulary affords precision and nuance in making meaning of the world, and this is key to children becoming proficient readers.
As toddlers form peer relationships, social pretend play and games increase.
(Shutterstock)
A unique dataset from 32 children on 36 different play dates provided the opportunity to study how young children develop peer relationships, and how consistent they are with different children.
If children love boxes and other upcycled items, do parents really need to invest in ‘eco toys’?
(Shutterstock)
How should we understand what toys or ‘loose part’ materials support children’s play, and what’s the relationship of parents’ education and income to this? A study aims to find out.
When we walk together in a good way, we learn to see the world from multiple perspectives.
(Walking Together/Emily Kewageshig/Annick Press)
‘Etuaptmumk’ or Two-Eyed Seeing is the gift of multiple perspectives in the Mi’kmaw language. A key practice of this in an early childhood outdoor program is walking together and sharing stories.
Early play-based learning helps children develop skills and knowledge before elementary school, and provides an essential foundation for learning in later years.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg
Early childhood education isn’t about warehousing children so adults can go to work. There is an ethical imperative to support a paradigm shift in how our society values educating young children.
It’s counterproductive to push your child to read a whole chapter book independently if they are not ready. You might turn them off reading altogether. Here’s what to do instead.
Adjunct Professor, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at Ontario Institute for the Study of Education (OISE) and Senior Policy Fellow at the Atkinson Centre, University of Toronto
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary