Pre-kindergarten kids have a lot going on in terms of their brain development. It is a crucial age wherein they begin to understand basic manners, but at the same, their minds are still occupied by playtime and leisure. Some parents leave their young kids in daycare centers because these facilities help in nurturing a child’s development while allowing them to play. Children who had attended daycare centers are found to have a better vocabulary by fifth grade compared to those who had not.
One method in developing a child is using the holistic approach. A child care center in Salt Lake City, in particular, supports holistic development in children. In this approach, children learn and interact with the natural world, and see opportunities for challenges, risks, and ultimately, social development.
What is Holistic Development?
Being grown-ups, we would notice that we tend to learn best when we are motivated and inspired. Children are no different. They’d rather play, explore, and discover things without pressure.
Holistic development emphasizes the importance of a child’s emotional, physical, and psychological well-being. It is focused on the child’s mind, body, and spirit, as opposed to traditional learning approaches which are focused on a child’s academic milestones and intelligence. In the holistic approach, real and authentic developmental opportunities are embraced, regardless of their culture, socioeconomic background, gender, and age.
As stated previously, it is all about learning and interacting with the natural world. That’s because holistic educators connect a child’s mind to their natural environments. They will be highly involved in their interdependence between other people, plants, animals, and the overall environment.
For these reasons, the holistic approach is seen to provide a safe, interactive, and positive learning environment for pre-kindergarten kids.
Why Is Holistic Development Important?
The holistic approach is in tune with the child’s unique needs and skills. It seeks to empower children to develop their emotional and social development by using their academic learning as a stepping stone.
Grading systems, memorizations, and other traditional educating methods are found to be unhealthy for a child’s psychological well-being. Holistic development aims to redefine learning by teaching children how to learn to begin with. Rather than putting pressure on children to learn a certain subject, the holistic approach would instead motivate children to learn them.
Simply put, children are being allowed to learn at their own pace. Each child’s learning style will be respected and developed, instead of making them adhere to a systemized learning style that may hinder their mental development.
Apart from core subjects like sciences, mathematics, and literature, the curriculum in a holistic learning program contains additional subjects that would enrich a child’s creativity and imagination. The additional subjects could be dance, stage performance, photography, or painting, to name a few. This is because the holistic approach is centered on developing a child’s strengths and skills.
The holistic approach has a lot of long-term benefits. These include better communication and social skills, both of which enhance a child’s confidence. They will perceive learning and challenges in a positive light. In turn, they would be driven to stay curious and inquisitive, and eventually, grow to be innovative adults.
Overall, the principal goal of the holistic approach is to make learning fun. It challenges the traditional educational system by effectively teaching children academic subjects while still allowing them to play. The effect is that children would continue to seek learning even when they’re already out of the classroom; something that traditional schools may be unable to do.
