The negative effects children face by not receiving high-quality, early education, especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
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Toxic levels of stress young children are facing due to the COVID Pandemic has generated harmful consequences on all aspects of their lives. The outcomes depend on if and how schools provide students with appropriate and timely support needed to safeguard their overall well-being.
Evidence-Based Research
When children face harmful stress, the formation of their social brains tends to be limited. Moreover, limited impairment in the development of cognitive, behavioral, social, communication and academic skills.
Evidence-based research has shown that under the appropriate care and support of adults, including teachers who provide students with constant feelings of security and positive reinforcement, children's bodies quickly return to appropriate levels of functioning. However, when this support is lacking or inadequate, their body fails to return to normal levels, negatively affecting their cardiovascular and neurological systems.
Consequently, young children can experience irreversible loss of connections in their developing brain; thus, preventing them from reaching their full potential.
Importance of High-Quality, Early Preschool Learning Opportunities
During preschool years, children should be exposed to numerous opportunities for speaking, communicating and socializing with other students and teachers. High-quality, early Preschool education provides developmentally appropriate instruction with multiple experiences for children to develop a rich understanding of language, its meaning and use.
Furthermore, at a very young age, children need to learn to ask questions about things they do not understand and ask others for help. When children are not taught or stimulated properly, they grow up being insecure, quiet and even antisocial because they are afraid of being with other children. They also experience higher levels of separation anxiety.
Children need well-planned and coordinated educational play activities to express their creativity and imagination, to ignite their curiosity, and to develop vital cognitive and academic skills.
In addition, they need early stimulation opportunities embedded in an internationally recognized standards-based curriculum as well as wellness days where they can learn to identify feelings and develop appropriate coping skills.
All these amazing opportunities are offered by DelCampo School. Therefore, DCS students go onto Kindergarten and Elementary grades more experienced and readier to learn more complex things each year than other students from other schools.
For example, when DCS students finish Kindergarten, they can read and write in both English and Spanish and understand math and scientific concepts. They do so easily by progressing naturally in their optimal development.
Some people have doubts about the effectiveness of online learning in children. But investigations have shown that high-quality, early preschool experiences, whether online or in-person, help young children get comfortable with starting to grow up and get prepared for daily routines; from waking up to being on a schedule. This provides them with the consistency and stability to learn and grow to their fullest potential.
Missing out on these critical first years can be very difficult for children because when they go into the next grade level, they will undoubtedly be behind and will need extra time and energy to catch up with other children who already had the opportunity to develop the skills and understanding needed for mastery and school success.
I cannot conclude this blog without sharing valuable information on a crucial topic: the importance of early preschool children (2 to 4 years of age) having access to early high-quality learning experiences before entering Kindergarten.
We have all heard the phrase: “children’s brains before the ages of 5 are like sponges.” This is a true statement based on years of data compiled from brain research. 90% of your child’s brain develops by age 5. As a result, the first five years of a child’s life are critical to their healthy development.
Brain Research Findings
Recent research found that young children (ages 2 to 4) that did not attend early preschool, are at a disadvantage because they are not receiving appropriate educational opportunities including early childhood stimulation, which is vital for optimal brain function as well as all aspects of their learning.
These educational opportunities include linguistic, logical-mathematical, communication, spatial, physical and socio-emotional skills that when enhanced, children experience significant achievements and academic success at an early age and thereafter.
On the contrary, research shows that children without prior schooling before entering kindergarten, miss out on high-quality educational opportunities; which in turn, dramatically affect their learning outcomes.
This is evidenced in lower testing in early math and literacy development in both Kindergarten and early Elementary School years.
Importance of Strong Foundation in Early Preschool years (2 to 4 years of age)
Finally, a summary of research by the American Institutes for Research concluded that children are more successful in school and beyond if they are given a strong foundation in the earliest years of their life since quality early learning opportunities affect everything from language and math literacy to social-emotional skills.
Knowing this, DelCampo School developed a unique Program for Early Childhood Stimulation (PECS) for students ages 2-6
PECS is the only authentic Early Stimulation Program in Honduras embedded in DCS’s international, standards-based curriculum that focuses on fostering students’ essential developmental skills, which are the building blocks for future learning and academic success. This program was developed exclusively for DCS by experts from the University of Harvard.
Conclusion
Before concluding, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you about my next blog which will be published on July 22, 2021. How can high-quality, early education make a difference in a child’s life by providing the right resources to help them bounce back and close their educational gap post-COVID Pandemic?
For now, I would like to finish this blog by recommending you keep in mind that high-quality, early educational opportunities offered by a World-Class School and delivered by highly trained educators are fundamental for optimal child growth and the development of strong and lasting neural connections in a child's brain.
Let DelCampo School, The World-Class School in Honduras, show you how.
Time is of the essence; act now by sharing your contact information either at the bottom of DCS’s web site or by writing to: info@delcamposchool.org. One of our experienced educational specialists will gladly assist you promptly.
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About the Author
JACQUELINE CASANOVA, MSED
Bachelors in Psychology, Emory University, USA
Masters in Science & Education, University of Miami, USA