Parents

Parents are a child’s first educators, and our research has shown that parents from all backgrounds seek early childhood environments that support whole-child development and prepare children not only for school but for life.

If you are looking for an early learning environment for your child, this resource explains what to look for in a high-quality program.

If you are interested in parents as educators, please get to know approaches like AVANCE, which supports parents of very young children in culturally-responsive ideal learning environments through their innovative Parent-Child Education Program. You can learn more about all of the early childhood approaches who participate in the Ideal Learning Roundtable here, to see if these programs are available where you live.

In addition, Trust for Learning’s research on parent motivations helps make the case for the expansion of ideal learning programs in the public sector. Our 2017 report details our findings.

Finally, the Principles of Ideal Learning, drawn from progressive, whole-child early childhood traditions, can help to support your child’s learning and growth at home. Another resource — Ideal Learning in Principle and Practice — contains examples of how ideal learning looks across home, classroom, and center environments. If you are looking for a new learning environment for your child, you may want to consider these elements.