Starting early childhood education

In this section we focus on the experiences of young children and their families as they begin attending an Early Childhood Education (ECE) service. The following links are resources for parents and educators.

Resources

Understanding temperament
One aspect that parents and educators may overlook when settling children is the aspect of temperament.

One of the booklets developed for S.K.I.P (Strategies for Kids; Information for Parents) is on the topic of temperament.

A collection of articles from website Zero to Three provides insight into how children can react to change. Helping parents and children understand that there is a range of responses to new situations and supporting individual difference can lay the foundations for successful transitions now and in the future.

Off to a good start
The Off to a good start factsheet can be found in the Parents Section on the Ministry of Education website. It provides information for parents about what they could expect in the first few weeks of starting ECE.

New Zealand research
Carmen Dalli's qualitative research on settling young children into an early childhood setting provides a New Zealand perspective on how different teaching philosophies interact with parent perspectives and child temperament.

Supporting infant and toddler transitions
This short article Helping Babies Make Transitions from the National Association for the Education of Young Children's Beyond the Journal website applies a familiar perspective (using slightly different terms) on supporting the transition of infants and toddlers.