Each morning, over 20 preschoolers between 2 and 4 years old are dropped off by their parents at the Makkasan Child Development Centre in Bangkok’s Ratchathewi district. Inside the classroom, three teachers guide the children through games, songs, dance, puzzles and other fun-filled activities.
The Centre offers a great opportunity for children to interact with their peers and develop valuable social skills, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic impacted them greatly in the past two years. The Day-care cost is only THB30 (US$0.8) per day and lunch is provided for all the children.
Many of the kids who come for day-care are from low-income families and families in difficulty and live within the community and surrounding areas. The school offers children a chance to grow up with a proper education and not get stuck at home due to poverty and hardship.
The teaching approach involves a lot of playful learning activities, such as singing and dancing along to an alphabet song or watching cartoons to learn basic English vocabulary. The children also interact among themselves to boost their social interaction skills.
This story is part of a photo exhibition that will be showcased at the World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education from 14 to 16 November 2022 Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The Conference will reaffirm the right of every young child to quality care and education from birth. It will urge Member States to expand their commitment and investment in ensuring that access of all girls and boys to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.
- More on UNESCO’s work in early childhood care and education
