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The Magical World of Young Children

Early Childhood Education

By Morgan AlberPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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Children playing at preschool.

Early Childhood is that magical time between birth and age eight when the world begins to make sense and the helpless infant grows into an autonomous person in their own right. Stop and think for a moment how much learning and growing takes place in those few short years.

From only being able to cry in order to try and communicate a need to not only being able to discuss the world around them in depth but even write those thoughts down on paper. From being able to only wave your arms and legs around to being able to run, jump, climb and dance.

Each new milestone building upon the one before in a dizzying sequence of thought and movement. So many things that we do as adults without thinking, takes tremendous effort for the children.

I throw on a jacket without thought. A three year old has to break that movement down into small, simple steps and put those steps into the proper order to be able to get that jacket on. Just getting the jacket right side out and right side up is a challenge. It is not an easy task.

I climb up a set of stairs without looking, but a two-year-old has to contemplate each step, remember how to lift his foot, maintain his balance and move his body carefully so he doesn’t fall.

I can hold a pencil and write and draw a representation of my thoughts. A four-year-old has to spend five minutes remembering how to hold the pencil before he can even begin. By the time he has all the steps down, he may not remember what he wanted to draw in the firsts place.

Learning to cut with a pair of scissors is a monumental task. First of all, holding the scissors and the paper requires two separate skills to learn and then put together. Then moving the scissors up and down while holding the paper at the correct angle so the scissors will cut through it, two more skills. On top of those four skills, the child has to make sure his own fingers don’t get under the blades and get cut.

I can fix myself dinner if I am hungry, but a child is dependent on me to get the food ready to eat. Then he has to remember how to hold the fork and get that food into his mouth. There is a lot of coordination required for this task.

I can skim through a paragraph in moments and instantly comprehend what is written. A six year old has to look at each letter, remember the sound it makes, string those sounds together to form a word, remember what the word means and then try to remember each of those words as he reads a sentence. By the time he has figured out the last word in the sentence, chances are he has forgotten the first three and has to start over! Yet by age seven most children will be reading. Seven years and the child goes from crying to reading and writing. It is mind boggling. It is magical.

Everything adults do without thinking actually requires several separate movements or skill sets that has to be learned in the right sequence in order for the child to complete the task. It takes tremendous effort for a child. Each little step has to be learned and understood before the next one is tackled. Everything is new, everything is a challenge.

Welcome to the magical world of children, the world of learning, the world populated by books, bubbles and blocks. Welcome to Early Childhood Education.

Please visit my blog, Books, Bubbles and Blocks for more articles and ideas about Early Childhood Education. https://booksbubblesandblocks.com

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About the Creator

Morgan Alber

I taught preschool and reading for 19 years in a small rural school in Southern Colorado.

I have a B.S. degree in Biology, an AA in Anthropology, and a Master Herbalist Degree.

When I am not playing with my granddaughter, I love to read.

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