“Learning opportunities for children up to age 4” is a project of the Department of Education of the Canton of Zurich.

Films for parents and professionals

The video clips are two to four minutes long and are available in 13 languages. They are available in Switzerland’s four official languages (German, French, Italian and Romansh) as well as in nine other languages: Albanian, Arabic, English, Portuguese, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Spanish, Tamil, Tigrinya and Turkish. The video clips are designed for parents and caregivers of small children, as well as professionals in early childhood education, care and upbringing. They are intended to be a source of information, i.e. to provide information and encourage adults to recognise and pick up on the educational processes concerning young children in daily life.

2014 and 2019 video clip series

The Department of Education of the Canton of Zurich published video clips on learning opportunities in daily life for children up to age 4 for the first time in 2014. The video clips on early language acquisition supplement the first series. There is now a total of 65 video clips available on early childhood learning. In addition, there will also be six video essays with explanations on childhood language acquisition.

Framework

The 2014 video clips on learning opportunities relate to the “Orientierungsrahmen für die frühkindliche Bildung, Betreuung und Erziehung (Orientation framework for early childhood education, care and upbringing)” (2012) published by the Swiss Commission for UNESCO and the Swiss Childcare Network. The educational concept “Early language acquisition” (2017), which was developed by the Thurgau University of Teacher Training (PHTG) and the Marie Meierhofer Institut für das Kind on behalf of the Department of Education of the Canton of Zurich, is the specialist reference point of the “Frühe Sprachbildung 2019” (Early language acquisition 2019) films.

Contact

For parents and caregivers of small children: If you have any questions, please contact one of the support centres for parents: e.g. family support, parental counselling or education. These centres are available here:
www.kjz.zh.ch/angebote-4

For specialists in early childhood education, care and upbringing: Information on further training offers is available here:
www.bfs-winterthur.ch/weiterbildung

For information on or suggestions regarding the video clips:
info@kinder-4.ch

Discussion and collaboration with others

With the project “Learning opportunities for children up to age 4” the Department of Education of the Canton of Zurich wants to make a practical contribution to early childhood development. It does so in collaboration and exchange with many other institutions and organisations:

Child and youth support centres in the Canton of Zurich (kjz)

Parents of small children from all regions of the canton will find individual councelling and practical support.

Parent education Canton of Zurich and in Switzerland

Parent education provides guidance and practical support.

Marie Meierhofer Institut für das Kind (MMI)

The MMI has been committed to the welfare of children and their families since 1957: it provides services for children, parents and professionals, as well as education, practical support and much more.

Swiss Commission for UNESCO and the “Netzwerk Kinderbetreuung”

With the Orientierungsrahmen für frühkindliche Bildung, Betreuung und Erziehung these two organisation have published a valuable educational basis for the care of small children up to age 4.

Lotteriefonds of the Canton of Zurich, the Jacobs Foundation and the Stiftung Mercator Switzerland

These three organizations make important contributions to the cohesion and development of our society. The project “Learning opportunities for children up to age 4” was realised with the financial support of these foundations.

Vocational School in the City of Winterthur: Berufsfachschule Winterthur (BFS)

In the Canton of Zurich the BFS Winterthur contributes in a crucial way to the education and training of professionals working in early childhood care and education.

kibesuisse – Verband Kinderbetreuung Schweiz

This is the national association for day care and day care families. It defines quality standards in child care and works towards their implementation.

IG Spielgruppen Schweiz

As a centre of excellence the IG provides practical support for professional playschool work.

SSLV Schweizerischer Spielgruppenleiterinnen Verband

As a professional body the SSLV campaigns for the needs and interests of playschool teachers across Switzerland.

SIKJM Schweizerisches Institut für Kinder- und Jugendmedien, Family Literacy

This is the Swiss centre of excellence for child and youth media. Interested parents may also profit from its offers.

A:primo

As a nonprofit association A:primo supports the development of socially disadvantaged children. In Switzerland A:primo offers the programme “schritt:weise”, which includes games and tutorials.

Caritas

Caritas offers a range of projects that provide access to education for poor families.

Pro Juventute

Pro Juventute supports parents and children with a range of offers. For instance, it publishes the letters to the parents on early development from childbirth.

FemmesTische

Women talk about health, parenting and prevention – an offer that is open to women in the Kanton Zürich and other regions of Switzerland.

Zeppelin – familien startklar

This specialist unit supports and strengthens families with children aged between 0 and 3 in particular stressful situations.

conTAKT-kind.ch

The conTAKT-kind.ch project aims to sensitise immigrant parents in Switzerland in particular to topics related to education.

Project partner

A project of the Department of Education of the Canton of Zurich

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With financial support from

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In collaboration with

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Frühe Sprachbildung 2019

Lotteriefonds Kanton Zürich; Stiftung Mercator Schweiz; Marie Meierhofer Institut für das Kind Zürich, Pädagogische Hochschule Thurgau, Netzwerk Kinderbetreuung Schweiz

Lerngelegenheiten 2014

Lotteriefonds Kanton Zürich; Jacobs Foundation; Stiftung Mercator Schweiz; Viktor Dürrenberger-Stiftung Zürich; Marie Meierhofer Institut für das Kind Zürich; Partnerprojekt des Orientierungs-rahmens für frühkindliche Bildung, Betreuung und Erziehung der UNESCO-Kommission und des Netzwerks Kinderbetreuung Schweiz.