THE IMPORTANCE OF FEELING CHALLENGED 

Early years education plays a critical role in a child’s development, as it  sets the foundation for their future learning and growth.  

One crucial aspect of this education stage is the need to challenge  children appropriately, by providing them with stimulating and engaging  experiences. This article highlights the significance of challenging children  in this stage. 

Challenging children during early years, encourage the development of  cognitive skills by presenting them with age-appropriate tasks and  activities that are slightly beyond their current abilities. In Fontenebro  International School infants we have created a special spot within our  learning corners called “I want to know more corner” where children can go voluntarily while working in corners, and carry out activities that  challenge them and involve another point of difficulty when carrying out  the proposed activity. 

The areas in which we have implemented this new learning corner are: Visuospatial area (with activities of longitudinal distances, capacity and  mass, concept maps, etc.), logical-mathematical area (double entry  boards, pattern copying, etc.) attention area (associations, search for the  intruder, mazes) and difficulty resolution area, with more dynamic  activities such as treasure hunts, sudoku, improvised dramas. 

And throughout the school term, various activities are added to motivate  the children and to make sure they always have several options to  continue challenging themselves day after day. 

Children who are exposed to challenges early on, are more likely to  develop a growth mindset positive attitude towards learning and  willingness to take on new challenges in their academic journey.

Janina Ramirez

Early Years Teacher