[Photo: Supplied: Ministry of Education Facebook Page]

Investment in early childhood must begin in the first years of a child’s life, with play and a safe learning environment key to their development.

Mobile Kindy Founder Mrs Analesi Tuicaumia says children from birth to eight years learn best when they are given the freedom to play, explore and learn in a prepared environment.

Speaking during the Fiji Head Teachers Association Annual Conference in Nadi, Tuicaumia says play is becoming less common in early childhood education, despite its importance in building skills children need later in life.

She says schools and parents must work together to create environments where children feel safe and are able to learn through play.

Tuicaumia says children also learn through nature, which gives them opportunities to explore and develop their understanding of the world around them.

“We now see later on in lives that sometimes they are bored, that they don’t want to do any more things again, but nature continue to give and give generously to them. There is so many things that they learn. Children learn through nature and then they need to be safe at all cost”

She says the transition from early childhood education to Year One must also be handled carefully, as children carry the skills and imagination developed through play into formal learning.

Tuicaumia says eight is too late to start investing in a child’s development and that action is needed now.

“As we advocate on the importance of early years of life, that eight is too late. The time to invest is to invest now. We need to take the power of imagination. We need them, we need all our children to take in the power of imaginations into the classroom”

Tuicaumia says it takes a village to raise a child and calls on educators, parents and communities to work together to help children reach their full potential.