Early education in the face of a pandemic: What is best for my child?

In the midst of a pandemic, most parents are in a dilemma. Should they keep their children at home and miss out on education, or go to school and risk exposure?

Essentially, early childhood care and education is more than preparation for primary school. It aims at the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and well-being (UNESCO, n.d.). In the first five years of life, children’s brains develop at a greater and faster pace than at any other time in their lives. The things they see, hear, touch, smell and taste, stimulate their brains, creating millions of connections.

Understanding that early education needs to be consistent, how then do parents go about their children’s learning during this period? Most parents are not educators by trade; therefore, a strong supportive school system is crucial to ensure quality early education, even at home.

ELFA had a robust Home-Based Learning (HBL) programme from toddler to kindergarten. For children aged three years and above, online lessons were conducted daily by their teachers. Children received an HBL kit with resources such as activity sheets, craft materials and readers to supplement their children’s learning at home.

For the younger children, they had an online session once a week with their teachers. Parents will be equipped with a wide variety of interesting activities with which they can engage their children.

Additionally, teachers will meet parents online to receive regular updates on their children for the purpose of developmental tracking. Furthermore, parents can share their HBL experiences so that teachers may lend a helping hand when needed. Such meetings help increase consistency between the home and school environment, making the change in routine manageable for parents and children. Likewise, when it is time to go back to school, children will adapt to the school routine with more ease and delight.

Apart from HBL, ELFA’s in-house parenting app has a chat option where parents can seek help easily. Parents are also notified via the app of the latest information should there be any updates from the government.