Alternative education is the different education option to mainstream, traditional or private school. It focuses on using more playful and explorative education techniques to help children learn new skills and knowledge. This type of education is often given to students who have barriers to traditional education such as children who have been excluded from school or any student struggling with social, mental, special educational or disability problems that impact their education. Children with disabilities can find it incredibly hard to integrate themselves within a traditional school, so they need to be somewhere that can support them and give them guidance. Carers who are with them will collect progress notes to check on their well-being and see what can be done to make it easier on them as they navigate through school as well as in their personal lives.
Alternative education is provided in child care centers. It is the perfect location for children to learn through an alternative education framework in a child care center as they can develop through play. Playful activities help improve the development of social, physical, mental emotional and cognitive skills, something that can often be lacking from students from traditional schooling.
Child care centers also tend to have workers who have undergone designated safeguarding lead training. Such trained educators and carers understand best practices for preventing abuse and promoting the welfare of children, which is more of a necessity in the case of alternative education. Under their trained care, children can learn through play and fun activities in a co-operative and warm environment, thus fostering a better chance to develop simple social and cognitive skills, while the parents can be assured of their safe development.
Play
Traditional education focuses on learning from books and strict timetables whereas alternative education gives a student more freedom. All children around the world play. As soon as children are able to play, they run, pretend and build to have fun and play. This is very prominent in child care centers where children are encouraged to play such as Explore & Develop. Play activities help children develop their social, physical and emotions skills.
With the increased access of technology to children, less time outside of education is being spent playing. This is why it is of such importance for education system give children the chance to be free, explore and have fun through play. Child care centers are heavily focused on alternative education methods including play to help children develop.
Play is often known as the foundation for building a lifetime of learning and it also enjoyable for children. Unlike the handwork and stress that comes from mainstream education, alternative education involving play allows children to enjoy their time in education and often learn more because they are enjoying their learning process through play.
Better Life Skills
Alternative education provides children with better life skills in child care centers. Children in child care centers are at a young and influential age so it is important that their social, emotional and physical needs are met. Alternative education through child care centers helps children develop social skills, enjoy outdoor learning, work with other students and develop teamwork and problem-solving abilities and learn how to respect one another and form relationships with peers and teachers.
If children do not attend child care centers before going straight into mainstream school, they can often struggle. If the child has not had the chance to develop simple social and cognitive skills through play and exposure to different environments and people then they will find it hard at mainstream school. Child care centers help introduce children to learning through play and being in an environment with others cooperatively. This helps them develop the skills they need to move up in the education system successfully.
Alternative education is becoming more popular due to the research findings from around the world showing the importance of play. Play helps young children develop key skills needed for the rest of their lives. By developing these in child care centers they can successfully move through the education system and succeed in life.