Early education highlighted during March

Zenaida Moya and her U.D.P. supporters were not the only ones parading through the streets of Belize City today. News Five’s Jacqueline Woods explains.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Principals, teachers, preschoolers, and parents brave the city?s afternoon heat to celebrate the start of Child Stimulation Month. The observance is held each March to promote early education.

Jacqueline Woods
?You know a number of parents still believe in keeping their children at home, how important is it for children to receive an early education??

Karen Lewis, Principal, Bethany Baptist Pre-School
?Jackie, learning begins from within the home, so the sooner the child can come to preschool the better it will be for that child. Because between birth and five years old is when that child learns almost all of what that child is going to learn and take her throughout life.?

The boys and girls will be involved in a number of activities, both in the classroom and on valuable field trips.

Karen Lewis
?Bring them out in the streets, we take different community workers, bring them into the classroom, take them into the community workers workplace, so that the children can really understand what the community workers do and so that the working public can understand what the preschoolers do.?

Parent involvement is equally important. Just ask paediatrician and a parent, Dr. Miguel Rosado.

Dr. Miguel Rosado, Paediatrician/Parent
?The kids need us at this present moment, not when their fifteen, twenty, twenty-one years of age; when their beginning. Their foundation is very important because whatever they will be in later life depends on what we give them at this moment.?

Adela Requena, Teacher, City Early Childhood Centre
?We have other activities; we?ll be going to the zoo. We talk to them about the animals that they?re going to meet there, so they could answer some questions, although lot of them knows about it.?

The parade took the children from in front of the Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts to the Memorial Park. Similar activities were also held throughout the country.

Catherine Clancy, Parent
?Well I thought that it was very important to come along with my son and share this event with him and it also gives him, you know, an early appreciation of his country and his flag. So I thought that, you know, I should share that with him.?

Adela Pilgrim, Principal, Kiddies Campus
?We have a lot of indoor activities, sports day, we have a picnic planned, we have cultural day, talent day. We have a calendar of activities for the entire month.?

Denise Trapp, Building Blocks Pre-school
?Very important, why I said it is very important, because as I said it?s a time that we share together, we let the kids them be themselves for that moment.?

As the educators do their best to prepare some of the city?s youngest students, they did express concerns about specific issues that have been affecting the work they do. Kiddies Campus Principal Adela Pilgrim spoke about an ongoing situation most teachers countrywide confront almost on a daily basis.

Adela Pilgrim
?Young parents needing parenting skills; that?s one of my burning concerns.?

Jacqueline Woods
?Why, what are some of the problems you?re seeing??

Adela Pilgrim
?I guess being somebody from another generation, if I may say so, some of the values that I have been thought I don?t see them from this other generation as such. I mean, and it?s a cross in all aspects of the child?s development.?

Jacqueline Woods
?I know that you find yourself being a foster parent for some of the kids.?

Adela Pilgrim
?More often than not.?

The celebration is taking place under the theme: Early Childhood Education: Your Choice. Jacqueline Woods for News Five.