Early Childhood Education

[00:00:00] Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: Welcome to The Parenting Brief. I’m your host, Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez, an Arizona working mom and Chief of the Office of Children’s Health at the Arizona Department of Health Services. This is the podcast that turns your questions into the solutions every parent needs.

[00:00:23] Today, we’re back with the second episode of our childcare series. Early childhood education helps your kiddo develop social, cognitive, and physical skills. For the first five years of their lives, kids are soaking up information, and early childhood education gives them a strong foundation for a future of learning.

[00:00:45] Today we’re talking to Ruth Ray, the Program Director at Candelen. Thank you so much for being here today. 

[00:00:51] Ruth Ray: Thank you. 

[00:00:52] Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: We know that no matter what the environment is, our children are learning and taking in so much [00:01:00] information. Is there a difference between childcare and early learning or early education programs?

[00:01:08] Ruth Ray: Jessica, that’s a great question because it’s something that in the early childhood field we talk a lot about, and there’s this idea that there is a difference between childcare and early childhood education.

[00:01:22] But really at the end of the day, the adults, the caregivers that are working with children are providing rich and engaging experiences for children that really foster their growth. And so this idea that there’s a difference is not necessarily succinct because really, they’re caring for children in various capacities and how that looks might look different.

[00:01:50] The childcare setting or the environment might look different, some of those activities might look different, but really the end focus is that you’re supporting [00:02:00] children in their growth and development, and the caregiver plays a key role in that. 

[00:02:06] Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: So how do early learning experiences impact a child’s development? 

[00:02:11] Ruth Ray: Yeah, so zero to five is a key developmental milestone for children.

[00:02:17] This is the time that they are growing rapidly in all of their development, including brain development, and so caregivers have a huge role in shaping brain development, shaping the child’s experiences so that they have healthy outcomes, healthy attachments, and it’s really important that during this time caregivers are fostering that growth and development.

[00:02:44] Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: And you had mentioned that really it is that caregiver who impacts these experiences. Does it require somebody with a specific background or education or level of experience in [00:03:00] order to help a child in those early learning childcare settings? 

[00:03:06] Ruth Ray: Yeah, it’s definitely both education and experience. It’s really valuable for the caregiver to have a knowledge base of what to expect as children are growing and what to expect as they’re developing.

[00:03:23] So knowing how to support them through that development is really important, but it’s also important that they’ve had experience working with children in a childcare setting, that they’ve had experience in navigating how to individualize their support with children. So both of those together are really key in providing quality care for children.

[00:03:45] Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: Are there questions that a family should ask that are the same or different when they are looking for care for their child that is different if they’re looking for that childcare setting versus that early [00:04:00] education experience? 

[00:04:02] Ruth Ray: Yeah, I think for families looking for having their child in a childcare setting, the questions are really the same.

[00:04:11] Looking to see what schedules look like for children, making sure that there’s a balance of free play, which is how children in this age group zero to five, learn best. And that really looks at, you know, engaging in materials throughout the day. But it also means that families should be asking how involved teachers are, what activities are the teachers facilitating, and how responsive are they to children’s needs?

[00:04:41] Are they supporting them when they are experiencing behavior challenges? Are they supporting them when the child’s upset? And so looking for ways that the teachers are interacting with children throughout the day in a positive, responsive way.[00:05:00] 

[00:05:00] The last thing I would say is really looking at the environment. Does it feel cozy and warm and inviting, and somewhere that children feel like they have a safe space to engage and learn and grow, and that setting can really be in a variety of ways. It can be in a home-based childcare setting. It can be in a center, it can be in a school district. They all benefit children really, if it’s just how the teacher is engaging with those children and fostering their growth. 

[00:05:33] Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: We know that being in either a in-home childcare setting, a preschool setting, in a childcare center setting, that those are options for parents to choose. But we also know that there are parents who choose to or need to stay home with their child instead. How can parents make sure that their child is [00:06:00] getting all of that same level of learning experience being at home as opposed to with somebody who may have that background and education and experience? 

[00:06:12] Ruth Ray: For parents staying home with children, that is some parents’ ideal preferred childcare setting. And I would say that really focusing on how you are engaging with your child throughout the day. Are there activities that you can do that really support brain development? And when I talk about activities, it can be something really simple that you already have at home.

[00:06:38] Like let’s sort our laundry together as we’re putting away laundry. And so it doesn’t have to be these really structured activities that you think of in a formal childcare setting, but ways that you are increasing language, increasing interactions, talking about emotions, using books to have those [00:07:00] discussions.

[00:07:00] So a lot of times families already have these materials and have opportunities to engage, and so it’s really just thinking about, “How can I be a little bit more intentional when I’m spending time with my child at home?” 

[00:07:14] Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: There’s lots of options that families can choose from when looking for care and education. How can a family decide if they should select a home provider or center-based? 

[00:07:24] Ruth Ray: Yeah, so, I think that there’s a lot of needs that families have when they’re looking for childcare. One of them would be, what kind of schedule are you needing? Home providers offer more flexible hours and non-traditional hours, whereas centers, you know, have more of the traditional hours.

[00:07:44] I would say the other piece is that the environment looks very different, and so if a family is looking to have something similar to their home environment, then a home provider might be a better fit for them.[00:08:00] 

[00:08:02] Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: Click on the show notes for more information on early childhood education. The next episode will be the end of our childcare series. Make sure to tap the follow button so you don’t miss out on our how-to for finding childcare. Until next time, this is Jessica. You’ve got this.