What Are Three Fundamental Areas of Learning in Childcare?

“Anthony, what did you do at daycare today?” A mother asks her son as she drives home after a long Monday afternoon. Her son, distracted as he looks through his bag of snacks for a fishy cracker, replies “Nothing mom”. Why is it when a parent asks their child what they did in their day, their response is always “nothing”? Parents know their child’s day is filled with activities and fun but knowing what they did for the last eight hours can truly be a mystery. A child can show many different emotions during pick up, leaving parents assuming how their child’s day went. I will simply break down three fundamental areas of learning in a child’s day.

Children love to explore, fostering curiosity. Despite a new environment being intimidating at times causing a fluctuation of emotion, it allows a child to explore different areas of their curiosity in a safe and controlled atmosphere. Exploring different subjects contributes to learning opportunities that affect many different areas of growth. Art, science, literature, and free play are main areas where exploration comes naturally. Art teaches motor skills (e.g., cutting with scissors), imagination, critical thinking and engagement to become more aware of their five senses. Science instructs how to form questions using language to engage in conversation or simply learning to focus, compare, and predict. Literature exposes vocabulary, concepts (e.g., colors, shapes or counting), and writing to spell their own name. Lastly, free play constructs understanding in problem solving, sharing and de-stressing by bonding with their peers. These distinctive areas in education help to harbor learning through exploration and curiosity with their body and mind. This also reflects on a child gaining self confidence naturally.

Seeing different people in a childcare setting allows children to build relationships with their peers and educators. At home, a child may only see the same set of faces daily, but childcare allows children to be exposed to different people, genders, cultures, and ages. Children become attached to others creating stable friendships with their classmates and caring relationships with their teachers. This builds a community in the classroom and a sense of belonging. Children can learn to identify emotions through the relationships they build and perspective in observation when emotional struggles arise. Bonding with peers strengthen cooperation, sharing, group work and mindfulness. Relationships are a foundation to social skills through their interactions.