Educators stress importance of preschool education

Preschool education in Belize is growing so popular that one day soon they’ll decide to just drop the “pre.” But while some parents bemoan the expense and others see it as a low cost babysitting service, the experts believe that getting three and four year olds into the classroom is definitely a good thing. News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports.

Kendra Griffith, Reporting
Today hundreds of preschoolers took to the streets of the old capital. Their purpose was not to protest against crime, government, or B.T.L. but rather to mark the beginning of Child Stimulation Month.

The event is spearheaded by the Ministry of Education’s Early Childhood Education and Development Department. Margaret Williams is an education officer.

Margaret Williams, Education Officer
“Our objective is to create public awareness and not only for parents but maybe even those people who are contemplating having children, just for them to understand the importance of getting their children into the early childhood centres as early as possible.”

According to Williams, preschool is more than just child’s play.

Margaret Williams
“They get their basic skills and when they move into the primary school, they are much more prepared to take on the challenges there.”

“It might look like they are playing, but in actuality they are learning, that’s how they learn. Play is the child’s work and so we encourage them to send them out and put them in our preschool centres.”

And while more parents are heeding that message, Williams says there are still too many toddlers missing from the early learning institutions.

Margaret Williams
“In some cases, it’s because parents consider their three year olds still their little babies and they don’t want to send them. But we are saying if they send them they will see a difference, so we encourage them to send them. At two years and nine months we take them in the centres; it makes a difference.”

Besides today’s parade, the month-long observation will include many other activities.

Margaret Williams
“We have church services on Sunday, we have hug day, flag day, we have the preschool Children’s Festival of Arts, which begins on the nineteen and runs through to the twenty-third. On the twenty-second we also have the early childhood educators award when we honour those people who have been involved with early childhood for twenty or more years.”

Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.

Child Stimulation Month ends on March thirty-first.