How Children Learn in the Early Years

A vast body of research shows that children are always learning; there is no specific point at which they become “ready” to learn. Children are born with a natural ability to learn. 

Because children's early experiences also profoundly affect learning, caregivers of young children have critical roles.¹ Quality early childhood education can promote intellectual, language, physical, social, and emotional development, building a foundation for success in school and life. 

In Minnesota, this is illustrated through the Successful Learner Equation, which recognizes that successful learners are the product of families, communities, ready schools and programs, and a ready state with ready systems. Early learning standards provide the structure for supporting positive development and learning across these four components in the early years.^{2, 3}

Every moment for a young child is a learning opportunity. Every interaction and experience with their families, community, schools, and programs gives them information, increases their understanding, and provides them with foundational skills they will use for the rest of their lives. 

Children flourish in supportive relationships.^{5, 6, 7} Throughout this document, the term “caregiver” is used to describe any adult who supports a young child’s development. This includes early care and education professionals; parents, grandparents, other family members, and legal guardians; and it also may include librarians, bus drivers, and others who regularly interact with young children. Children benefit from the collective knowledge and perspectives of the caregivers in their lives. Through interactions with objects, the environment, and people, children begin to explore and understand how the world works. They also gain confidence in learning by being active participants in their own development.

No child develops in a vacuum. Children are affected by their home and school environments, the policies and practices that inform those environments, the cultural values that scaffold them, and the complex relationships between these factors.⁸

Play, exploration, and active learning

The most effective methods for engaging young children in learning are based on young children being active participants. Play—child-directed, teacher-directed, or guided— exploration, and constructive learning are critical activities for all young children; more so than teacher-led, passive learning experiences.^{9, 10}

"Early childhood educators who create ample opportunities for play allow their students to grow their interpersonal skills, develop higher-level vocabulary, and understand their worlds in deep and meaningful ways."⁹

For infants and toddlers, play and exploration are rooted in strong attachments to trusted caregivers. The young, non-mobile infant observes adult caregivers and explores their environment by using their senses and taking in everything around them. As older infants begin to crawl and walk, they are able to interact more with the physical environment and explore their surroundings, still needing the base of support provided by familiar and trusted adults. 

Toddlers are even more active as they play and explore with a greater range of motion and physical capabilities. Their increasing communication skills and growing independence allow them to be more adventurous and more able to explore with a solid base of adult support. 

For young children, play and exploration are the most meaningful ways for children to acquire skills and knowledge. Play and exploration also allow young children to practice skills and refine their understanding of new concepts. Links have been made between play and the development of basic literacy skills (e.g., vocabulary, phonemic awareness, word recognition, etc.), creative problem-solving, behaviors that help children get along within their environments (e.g., group entry, apologizing, listening, empathy, etc.), self-regulation, and executive function (e.g., skills that help us plan, pay attention, remember, and manage multiple tasks).¹¹ When children are given the opportunity to deeply engage in play, their curiosity increases as they experiment and predict what may happen next. Play provides strong motivation for learning and multiple opportunities for practice and skill development.

Caregivers and early education professionals should intentionally structure the environment with safety in mind and offer intriguing objects and experiences, appropriate for the developmental level of each child. They should interact with children as they play and explore, giving descriptions that increase vocabulary, engaging in longer conversations as children’s language usage increases, and encouraging curiosity and problem solving. They should observe children at play and during routines and use the ECIPs to identify the skills and knowledge that the child is demonstrating and what they are ready to do next. Based on their observations and reflections related to the ECIPs, caregivers can scaffold learning by individualizing play activities and carefully choosing materials, offering ideas, interacting with children, and observing their responses. The ongoing planning/observation/reflection authentic assessment cycle is at the heart of best practices.