THE Early Childhood Development Association of Region three, in collaboration with the Childcare Protection Agency, hosted an expo and cultural event, on Sunday at the West Demerara Secondary school, which saw over 50 childcare facilities displaying the different aspects of early development, such as art, craft and storytelling.

According to Zalika Williams, the Registration Officer of Region Three for Early Childhood Centres, persons have a perception that early childhood centres and daycare Centres are all about child minding.

She added that early childhood centres are institutions that aid in the stimulation of children’s early cognitive and psychical development. They are institutions where children can learn through play.

“You might find them colouring identifying shapes, foods, vegetables, community workers, participating in activities that will help to build their strong motor muscles in their hands and their large motor muscles. So it’s not just childminding, bathing them, changing them and taking them home,” Williams stated.

Williams related to the Guyana Chronicle that it was the first early childhood expo in region three, as the early childhood centres were privately owned, up until recently when the government would have built early childhood centres, in most of the regions across Guyana.

There was no government subvention for such events, hence the Early Childhood Development Association and Childcare Protection Agency embarked on the initiative to host an expo.

“The agency sought the initiative, and, considering that we are licensing them and we have to register them, we saw it fit to bring them together, as in unity there is strength. Such a strategy allowed them to be recognized as one unit and provide them with the opportunity to showcase what they have to offer, thus encouraging parents to bring their children to early childhood centres and pre-school and not wait until nursery. By the time they get to nursery, they will be well socialized,” Williams stated.

Lisa Mahadeo of the Tiny Tots playgroup, one of the pre-schools which participated in the expo, stated that the pre-school was created some 25-years-ago by a single mother, whose goal was to be stay-at-home-mom and provide excellent care for other children in her neighbourhood of Meten-Meer-Zorg because they were no such early childhood centres in her neighbourhood.

Naushadalli Boodhoo of Boodhoo’s playgroup, which is situated in Bell West Housing Scheme, Canal #2 polder, told the Guyana Chronicle that the pre-school was established nine years ago with the intention of creating an environment where learning was fun.
She added that the expo gave pre-school teachers the opportunity to interact with parents and other teachers so they could learn from each other and discuss some of the challenges they faced.

“We are very happy to be a part of this programme and we’re learning a lot of things in terms of sharing ideas from other schools from various locations. They would be facing challenges that are different from us and so we walk around and observe, take our photographs, interact and share ideas so that when we go back, we’ll improve ourselves,” Boodhoo stated.