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A pre-school playgroup, or in everyday usage just a playgroup, is an organised group providing care and socialisation for children under five. The term is widely used in the United Kingdom. Playgroups are less formal than the preschool education of nursery schools. They do not provide full-time care, operating for only a few hours a day during school term time, often in the mornings only. They are staffed by nursery nurses or volunteers, not by nursery teachers, and are run by private individuals or charities, rather than by the state or companies.
In the United Kingdom, since around the 1980s, the traditional territory of the playgroup has been encroached on by the expansion of more formal nursery education, and playgroups often now cater only for two- and three-year-olds before they move onto a nursery school. Over the same period there has been an increase in the state supervision of playgroups.
In the United States, a playgroup is an organization of parents with the expressed intent to have the children come together and play. There are playgroups that cater to specific categories of parents, particularly including stay at home dads, stay at home moms, and working moms. In areas of the US where homeschooling is popular, it is not unusual to see groups specifically for homeschooling families. These can be part of localized or even national playgroups. Churches, rec centers, and other community organizations sometimes sponsor weekly or monthly playgroups. Age limits are determined by the individual group. Some groups have upper age limits and some do not. It is not unusual to see groups where, in addition to activities for the children, there are social events for the whole family or for parents only. In highly mobile communities, playgroups can be an important tool for building the social networks of young families who have recently relocated to the area. There are a number of resources online for parents to find playgroups in their area - including Playgroups USA and Social Toddler - both directories and social networks for parents in playgroups.
In The Netherlands, international or expatriate parents form small groups, local to their area, for the purpose of providing a play space for babies and toddlers up to the age of 4-5, as well as offering a support network for the parents themselves. Meetings are usually held weekly in a hall or other public venue, and the groups usually organize other social activities such as Ladies Nights Out, visits to local parks and zoos, summer barbecues etc. In Maastricht, for example, the Maastricht International Playgroup was established more than 10 years ago as a way to cater to the needs of expatriate families living in and around the area.
Another International Playgroup is First Friends in Voorhout (in the Leiden area).
Playgroup Australia is the national peak and administrative body for playgroups in Australia. [1] Playgroup is an informal session where mums, dads, grand parents, caregivers, children and babies meet together in a relaxed environment. [2]
Playgroups are set up and run by parents and caregivers, with children choosing from a range of activities set up to meet their varying needs. Activities at playgroup are either free or low cost, and may include music and singing, imaginative play, outdoor and free play, art and craft activities or outings. [2]
Playgroups can be held anywhere that is safe for children and where groups of people can meet – community and neighbourhood centres, health clinics, women's centres, preschools and kindergartens, church halls and even in someone's house. In a playgroup, parents and caregivers stay to interact with the other adults and to play with the children. No child is too young for playgroup. All children from 0–5 years, including babies, love new experiences and benefit from developing sensory, social and communication skills through activities at playgroup.
March 2003 saw a dramatic increase in the number of mothers attending playgroup. [2]
In Hong Kong, pre-school children (0 – 3 years) join playgroups to study (mostly foreign languages) in an interactive environment before they go on to kindergartens.
In the Philippines, typical playgroup activity centers can be usually seen in malls where parents can leave their children for a few minutes to a few hours in an interactive environment where they can play and learn together with random group of children. There are also toddler playgroup class in several schools which offers a combination of Family Music, story telling, sensory activities, simple puzzles, match and sorting activities.
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th century in Bavaria and Alsace to serve children whose parents both worked outside home. The term was coined by the German Friedrich Fröbel, whose approach globally influenced early-years education. Today, the term is used in many countries to describe a variety of educational institutions and learning spaces for children ranging from 2 to 6 years of age, based on a variety of teaching methods.
Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to eighteen years. Child care is a broad topic that covers a wide spectrum of professionals, institutions, contexts, activities, and social and cultural conventions. Early child care is an equally important and often overlooked component of child's developments.
A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school. It may be publicly or privately operated, and may be subsidized from public funds.
The Reggio Emilia approach is an educational philosophy and pedagogy focused on preschool and primary education. This approach is a student-centered and constructivist self-guided curriculum that uses self-directed, experiential learning in relationship-driven environments. The programme is based on the principles of respect, responsibility and community through exploration, discovery and play.
Pre-school Education in Denmark is voluntary and takes place in different types of schools or day care centres covering the time before children enter compulsory education. Today, preschool is where most children enter the Danish education system.
Baby videos are educational tool which can be used for teaching babies as young as six months by introducing the alphabet, different sights, shapes and colors, numbers and counting. Baby videos can be used for helping babies learn important educational skills, comprehension, introduction to the environment, as well as music. Some parents use baby videos to help develop their children's motor skills and open their young minds to the world. Certain preschools, educators and caregivers find baby videos to be a useful tool, but medical professionals have yet to determine whether or not baby videos are beneficial to children or not.
Early childhood intervention (ECI) is a support and educational system for very young children who have been victims of, or who are at high risk for child abuse and/or neglect as well as children who have developmental delays or disabilities. Some states and regions have chosen to focus these services on children with developmental disabilities or delays, but Early Childhood Intervention is not limited to children with these disabilities.
Forest kindergarten is a type of preschool education for children between the ages of three and six that is held almost exclusively outdoors. Whatever the weather, children are encouraged to play, explore and learn in a forest environment. The adult supervision is meant to assist rather than lead. It is also known as Waldkindergarten, outdoor nursery, or nature kindergarten.
Music education for young children is an educational program introducing children in a playful manner to singing, speech, music, motion and organology. It is a subarea of music education.
Magda Gerber was an early childhood educator in the United States and is known for teaching parents and caregivers how to understand babies and interact with them respectfully from birth.
The Harold E. Jones Child Study Center is a research and educational institution for young children at the University of California, Berkeley. It is one of the oldest continuously running centers for the study of children in the country. The Jones Child Study Center has a special relationship with the Institute of Human Development as a site for research, training and outreach to the community, parents, and teachers. The Institute of Human Development's fundamental mission is to study evolutionary, biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors that affect human development from birth through old age. Research conducted at the Institute of Human Development and the Jones Child Study Center is interdisciplinary: psychology, education, social welfare, architecture, sociology, linguistics, public health, and pediatrics. The primary audiences for the findings include scholars and parents. Faculty, postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students observe and test children attending the preschool for their research projects. Undergraduate students in Early Childhood Education may also gain experience in the classrooms as teachers' assistants.
The Long Beach Public Library is the public library of Long Beach, New York, serving the civic, cultural, educational and recreational needs of the community. The central library has two branches: one in Point Lookout, New York and the other at the West End of Long Beach, off New York Ave.
The Beaconhouse School System is a private school system mostly operating throughout Pakistan. It was established in November 1975 in Lahore, Pakistan as the Les Anges Montessori Academy for toddlers by Nasreen Mahmud Kasuri, wife of former Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri. It has now expanded in many different countries.
Learning through play is a term used in education and psychology to describe how a child can learn to make sense of the world around them. Through play children can develop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally, and gain the self-confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments.
Brainworks Kids creative learning was established in May 2008 by Better Value brands. Started with 14 company owned outlets in Western India, Brainworks launched its franchising drive in October 2008. It offers facilities like a playschool, nursery, KG, day care and hobby classes for children.
In the framework of the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) the leading activity is the activity, or cooperative human action, which plays the most essential role in child development during a given developmental period. Although many activities may play a role in a child's development at any given time, the leading activity is theorized to be the type of social interaction that is most beneficial in terms of producing major developmental accomplishments, and preparing the child for the next period of development. Through engaging in leading activities, a child develops a wide range of capabilities, including emotional connection with others, motivation to engage in more complex social activities, the creation of new cognitive abilities, and the restructuring of old ones.
A late talker is a toddler experiencing late language emergence (LLE), which can also be an early or secondary sign of an autism spectrum disorder, or other developmental disorders, such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disability, learning disability, social communication disorder, or specific language impairment. Late talkers are children who are not intellectually disabled, but do not show signs of normal language development for their age. Lack of language development, comprehension skills, and challenges with literacy skills are potential risks as late talkers age. Outlook for late talkers with or without intervention is generally favorable. Toddlers have a high probability of catching up to typical toddlers if early language interventions are put in place. Language interventions include general language stimulation, focused language stimulation and milieu teaching.
Rosalie Community Kindergarten and Preschool is a heritage-listed kindergarten at 57 Elizabeth Street, Paddington, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Arnold Edward Brooks and built in 1935 by Ralph Alexander Lind. It is also known as Rosalie Kindergarten and The Little Citizens Free Kindergarten. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 27 September 2002.
Kindergarten readiness refers to the developmental domains that contribute to children's ability to adapt to the kindergarten classroom, which is often a new and unfamiliar environment. There is no single agreed upon definition of Kindergarten readiness. The domains often included in the definition comprise: academic skills, social-emotional development, and physical development. In addition to these competencies, the child's environment and opportunities for learning should also be considered. This includes the child's home environment and their interactions with teachers and peers.
A pre-school, also known as kindergarten or child care centres in Singapore, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school. All Singapore Citizens born after 1 January 1996 and living in Singapore must attend a national primary school unless an exemption is granted.