The curriculum allows parents to recognize and utilize the key areas of learning and work with caregivers to provide children with the essentials they need for a healthy, happy childhood.
The curriculum will help you ensure that your children grow to their full potential as it:
- provides information for parents on the importance of early childhood development and for understanding their pivotal roles in the lives of their children. This knowledge will build parents’ confidence, and will help ensure the best start in the lives of their children;
- encourages parents to understand what responsive care looks like, that is, how to respond to cues and clues – a child’s own signals. It encourages parents to listen attentively to children and to take their feelings seriously. The participation of parents is essential in making sure that children’s needs are met. Their participation will ensure that cultural and linguistic identities are supported in the home, and extended into child-care settings;
- stresses that babies learn from the moment they are born. Parents’ emotional closeness with their baby can strongly influence the child’s intellectual development;
- emphasizes showing respect to children. Responding to them, being sensitive to their growing independence, letting them lead, and allowing them to make decisions;
- guides parents in helping children explore the consequences of their actions, and developing strategies with children for solving problems;
- helps child-care facilities create a supportive climate for healthy child development, allowing parents to feel good about their children’s care. Safe and caring environments shape children’s learning and well-being, where emotional and physical health, positive identities and a sense of belonging are nurtured and protected;
- recognizes that families are children’s primary caregivers, and the concept of parents as partners in child care;
- encourages parents to be active partners by participating in the activities of the child-care facility, and developing trusting relationships with child-care providers;
- complements the kindergarten and elementary school curriculums; and
- provides additional references to child-care resources for parents.