It’s a common misconception that early childhood education (ECE) focuses only on children’s basic learning skills. It’s much more than simple preparation for primary school.
Early childhood experiences shape the structural development of the brain and yield both short and long-term positive effects. Because of this, preschool education has lifelong impacts on children, families, and communities too.
Preschool programs provide children an opportunity to develop social and emotional skills, at a time when their view of the world is shaped by their surroundings and interactions.
Adverse experiences are part of everyone’s lives, but adversity during early childhood can have negative, lifelong impacts on social and emotional development. Some negative impacts are chronic diseases later in life. In the short term, adverse experiences in early childhood increase the likelihood of cognitive delays.
An early childhood education program can provide an environment where children are taught to navigate adversity and cope with stress. Children learn emotional and social skills like sharing, managing emotions, and how to build healthy relationships.
These are crucial skills for leading a healthy, holistically well-rounded life. This includes building healthy, safe relationships with teachers too.
Brain Development
During preschool years is when a child’s brain is the most flexible. It is estimated that more than 1 million new connections in the brain are formed each second in the first few years of a child’s life.
High-quality early childhood education can capitalize on these years when children are most susceptible to learning.
ECE programs address literacy, numeracy, fine motor skill development, and cognitive development. During these years, children pick up the majority of their communication skills like speech patterns, letter recognition, and vocabulary too.
Supportive learning environments provided through preschool education can reduce the risk that a child will experience delays in any of these areas.
Consistent Childcare
Early childhood education programs provide consistent and available childcare. While this is important for working families, it isn’t about the economic impacts this can have.
Because children are born learning and early childhood experiences shape the way a child will learn to view and interact with the world, consistent care provides stability for children.
This can mean that a child is free to develop and learn skills that last a lifetime in a safe, familiar environment both at home and during preschool program hours.
Economic Impact
In the long term, children who attend preschool are less likely to repeat a grade in later schooling years, ultimately saving K-12 schools and districts money. An investment in early childhood education programs can yield over $7 per every dollar invested.
Lifelong impacts on the child who attends an early education program include higher rates of graduation and secondary education. This can mean better jobs and higher earning potential for children who attend preschool programs.
Support For Working Families
For working families, limited or inconsistent access to early childhood education increases the chance that a parent or parents will miss hours of work. This can ultimately mean a decrease in household income or even a risk of job loss.
Preschool education programs can help close this gap.
Learn More About Our Preschool Education Program
Our preschool program focuses on providing the early education foundation children need to navigate primary school and develop lifelong skills for healthy kids, healthy families, and thriving communities in Broward County and beyond.
At JLP Inspiring Minds, our friendly staff is committed to providing a high-quality curriculum to encourage the holistic development of every child. JLP Inspiring Minds is aligned with Florida State Standards and includes a focus on international studies as well as the arts. We also offer the All Sports After Care Program.
When you’re ready to learn more or apply, visit us here. JLP Inspiring Minds is proud to offer loyalty discounts for families with children enrolled at All Sports After Care, a sibling discount, active-duty military, and a prepaid discount. Call us at 954-933-2982 or get in touch through our contact page.