Jim Jackson is a local Elder living in Toowoomba. He has always believed that parents and families have a big role to play in their child’s education, especially in the early years.
Jim said that when he became a parent, he made a commitment to ensure his children had an education that would set them up for life.
‘When you have children, you’ve got to make a commitment to them, and it’s a very big commitment, so those party days are out the window,’ he said.
‘I don’t think I was any different from anyone else, I had my wild days, but once I got married and we had children, we made a commitment that we were going to support them 100%.
‘I had 4 children and they’re all very successful, so we try and do the same with the grandchildren now.
‘Whatever they do, whatever they decide to do, we support them in everything.
‘It’s up to the parents, friends, everyone, to support the children.’
When it comes to early learning, Jim said kindy is a wonderful place for the children and their parents to learn.
‘Kindy is very important,’ Jim said.
‘Children need the family support, so it’s important that parents get involved in the kindy too.
‘Having the parents come as much as possible and become involved gives everyone an opportunity to talk.
‘It’s absolutely great to see all the kids in kindy and you see them all wide eyed.
‘They come to kindy ready to learn and you can see it.
‘They’re very smart, they’re very switched on, they’re inquisitive, they’re very fast learners and they want to come.
‘It’s very important to start them off in the right education and get them ready for the big schools.’
Is your child old enough to start kindy? Find out using the
kindy age calculator.
Ask your local kindy how you can get involved in your child’s early education.
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