One-on-one Learning
See why quality time between an educator and child is so beneficial in the early years.
BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE
Whether you choose a little early learning service, or a large one, it’s really important that your under-five gets some individualised attention while at daycare.
The team should know about your child’s current needs and ever-evolving interests.
And although the educator-to-child ratio rules mean it’s common for one educator to be caring for five under-threes, or up to 11 preschoolers (see the specifics here), you want your child to be getting some quality time with one educator, day-to-day.
This is because one-on-one experiences go hand-in-hand with high-quality early learning.
One-on-one time supports a secure, responsive relationship between educator and child.
And as well as being positive for that partnership, this kind of educator-child interaction will build the foundation for strong relationships with other children, and support a happy, confident early learning experience.
So, how does one-on-one learning actually work in a busy, group environment?
Well, Aurora Early Education Rowville in Melbourne shows us how it’s done!
In Victoria, there’s a ratio of one educator to every four children under 36-months-old, and this high-quality early learning service prides itself on the strong relationships educators build with every single child in their care.
One-on-one engagement supports this relationship-building in a big way, and the educators see each one-on-one interaction as a valuable opportunity to:
- Respond to the child’s cues
- Use intentional teaching strategies to support their learning and expand on their interests
- Support the child’s emotional regulation and wellbeing, and
- Extend their thinking, language and problem-solving skills in an individualised way.
The one-on-one interactions can be planned or organic, depending on the day, but here are three ways that individualised experiences often play out at Aurora Rowville:
1. An educator will build language with a ‘you-and-me’ activity.
One-on-one conversations, storytelling and shared reading are all great examples of this, and these individualised activities help to develop a child’s expressive and receptive language, early literacy, and thinking powers.
2. An educator will lean in to emotional regulation and care routines.
There are lots of physical transitions and emotional changes during a childcare day, and Aurora Rowville’s educators provide calm, individualised support whenever a little one needs it.
This could mean comforting cuddles at drop-off, fun chatter during a nappy change, or a soothing “Shhhhh” at rest time; and these kinds of one-on-one moments help a child to develop emotional literacy, self-regulation skills, and a feeling of safety and security.
3. An educator will challenge a child’s development with individualised attention.
One-on-one time provides a great opportunity to encourage a child to try something new or grow in some other way.
And one example of this, is when an educator holds a child’s hand as they tackle an obstacle course, giving them the confidence to attempt a challenge they wouldn’t have tried alone.
In the interests of relationship-building, the educators at Aurora Rowville also support children to have one-on-one interactions with each other.
This is really good for each child’s social wellbeing, and by spending time with one other child, they learn how to make and maintain friendships, and slowly understand the social fabric, with things like sharing and turn-taking woven in.
For this reason, Aurora Rowville’s educators actively encourage children to collaborate, communicate and solve problems as a pair (as well as a group), and these are all key 21st century skills.
So, make sure you consider one-on-one time when choosing childcare; and if you’re looking for a place in Melbourne, Aurora Rowville is a high-quality option with a truly personalised approach.
You can easily book a tour of Aurora Early Education Rowville using the free KindiCare App or kindicare.com, and this will give you an individualised experience of their Seamist, Moonglade and Willow-walk rooms (for ages 0-3, 3-4 and 4-5 respectively).
And depending on where you’re located, you might also be interested in Aurora Early Education Doncaster or Aurora Early Education Melbourne QV.
