EARLY LEARNING MATTERS WEEK
From 26 to 30 July, early childhood educators, parents, carers and community leaders around Australia come together to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of early learning.
Organised by Early Childhood Australia, Early Learning Matters Week is a great opportunity to celebrate our wonderful early childhood educators who support children every day to be confident, enthusiastic learners, building the foundations for wellbeing and achievement throughout their lives.
Annmarie Riddiford is a bestchance Early Childhood Educator at Noble Park Community Child Care and Kindergarten and has been working there for the past 35 years. Growing up in the area and living there her whole life, Ann has loved watching the community grow and change over time. “I am now teaching children at the same place I taught their parents, so I am involved with three generations of families and no matter where I go in the area I am always bumping into families that I know,” Ann says, “I have built up a good rapport with a lot of the families in the area.”
Experienced educators like Ann are crucial to create and facilitate new learning experiences to encourage constructive learning, imaginative play and the development of resilience and social skills. Ann says early learning matters because it “sets children up for life”. It will help them learn skills that they will build on throughout their lives, develop language and listening skills, confidence and independence, physical and creative skills, support their desire to learn and discover, and the ability to work cooperatively with other children and adults.
According to research from Harvard University on brain development, the early years (1 to 5 years of age) are a crucial time for “building blocks” for future educational achievement, lifelong health, and wellbeing throughout the lifespan; therefore, attending early childhood care and kindergarten are important steps in a child’s development.
Ann is dedicated to making the experience for children in her area the best it can be. “I really do this for the children and I just love it,” she says, “As a team, we reflect at the end of every session and discuss how we can improve for the next day. We are constantly assessing what we are doing to make sure we provide the best experience to our young learners.”
bestchance child care and kindergarten programs are responsive to the needs and interests of each child and our high-quality educators are always looking for ways to make the programs better and more relevant to the individual needs of each child every step of the way. Early learning programs will help your child to develop language and listening skills, confidence and independence, physical and creative skills, and support their desire to learn and discover.
Thank you to all our early childhood educators for the work that you do every day.
For any additional info about our child care or kindergarten programs click here or call us on 1300 224 644.
