If we want to increase our children’s literacy competences, we should start by strengthening the reading culture inside their families. In Flanders (Belgium), literacy is a top priority for education and child care, which should not be postponed until after
Early morning. Nursery cloakroom. The nervous mom quickly and tensely unbuttons Jack’s jacket. The boy stands motionless, as if absent, tugged by his mother’s impatient moves. Nothing seems to be happening, but the teacher is worried about it… How to
Prematurity is the leading cause of peri and postpartum morbidity and mortality. About 9% of newborns are born prematurely, that is, born with less than 37 weeks of gestational age (GA). The number of gestational weeks determines the development and
Several studies show there has been a decline in the (gross) motor skills of children over the past years. The lockdowns during the current COVID pandemic seem to speed up this process. But why is (gross) motor development important for
During the preschool years, children’s self-regulation skills develop at a rapid pace. How to support this development, in particular in vulnerable children? In Belgium, a consortium of teacher trainers and researchers has been developing an approach to support self-regulation in
What comes to mind when we have to buy a birthday gift for our child’s friend? For many parents (even if they are ECEC professionals), the first instinct is to make a decision based on the child’s gender, and decide
This blog post was contributed by Nadine Correia (ISCTE-IUL). Participation rights are enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child [1] and constitute one of the 3Ps (Provision, Protection, Participation). In fact, from an early age, children have the right
What is your earliest memory? One of the first ones I have is of my caregiver from crèche holding me in her arms and cradling in the rocking chair because my jaw hurt a lot (I think my teeth were
Based on the Dutch Early Years Blog written by Melissa Be and Anouk van Dijk Dani (4) is building a tower on the floor. Very carefully she places one block on top of another as the tower is already at
As preschool children’s mathematical development is already in progress, high-quality early childhood education should involve math activities. We share with you a very popular blog post by teacher trainer Astrid Cornelis (Thomas More), published earlier on the Flemish blog Kleutergewijs.
