Image of the Child Date:   Wednesday , September 02, 2015 Each one of us has inside us an image of the child that directs us as we begin to relate to a child. This theory within us pushes us to behave in certain ways; it orients us as we talk to the child, listen to the child, observe the child. It is very difficult for us to act contrary to this internal image. For years now young children have been thought of with a predetermined thought as empty vessels and believed that as educators and parents, we pour in the knowledge. Hence, we interact as Instructors rather than Facilitators in the early years of a child. The theory of the \'Image of the Child\' applies greatly to Preschool Education in India today. There is a great need for Educators today to change their \'Image of the Child\' and see them as individuals full of potential, competence and capable of building their own theories and constructing knowledge. Young children must be recognized as individuals, who learn from their own experience, and thus active participants in the organization of their identities, abilities, through relationships and interaction with their peers, with adults, with ideas, with objects, and with real and imaginary events of the world.Each individual child has an extraordinary wealth of inborn abilities and potential, strength and creativity. Early childhood Education Young children have an innate desire to learn. That desire can be supported or undermined by early experiences. Playschools or preschools should ideally be holistic, responsive, and developmentally appropriate and focus on the healthy development of the whole child – social, emotional, physical, intellectual and spiritual development. Collaborative efforts from children, family members and early childhood educators help in enriching children\'s learning and growth. The learning experiences of the preschool years can influence the rest of a child\'s life. This early period in development provides a foundation that guides children academically, socially, and emotionally. The exposures, opportunities, and guidance a preschooler is given, contributes greatly to the person he or she will grow up to be as an adult. Importance of good quality of early childhood education needs to be emphasized. Thoughtful attention to their circumstances begins early. Young children are able and motivated to learn. Informed efforts by parents and teachers to build on that desire plays a valuable role in providing children the proper foundations for early childhood education and life success. Changing from \'A Teacher to Facilitator\' Young learners, given appropriate, meaningful, and interesting activities are capable language learners, good problem solvers, and eager participants in offering their ideas. The educator\'s belief about young children is a foundational and critical component of high quality learning in a preschool classroom. When educators view children as competent and capable, the learning becomes a place of wonder, excitement and joy for both the child and the educator. Preschools today should ideally look at a shift in the role of their educator/teacher from an Instructor to a Facilitator. Only when the teacher facilitates learning for young children can there be purposeful learning in preschools. We generally tend to concentrate more on end results, a change in the focus of preschools, educators and parents more on the learning process, then would be rich learning experiences for young learners. Educators who establish stimulating environments that support positive self-identities in children develop confident learners. When they build on children\'s accomplishments, this strengthens connections to learning and to the sense of belonging in the classroom. The role of the teachers will prove to be meaningful when as an advance planner it changes from developing all of the activities and themes, to exchanging ideas, sharing knowledge and negotiating projects with children and adults. Parent and Teacher Partnership-Finding Our Way in the Forest All of this is a great forest. Inside the forest is the child. The forest is beautiful, fascinating, green, and full of hopes; there are no paths. Although it is not easy, we have to make our own paths, as teachers, children and families, in the forest. Sometimes we find ourselves together within the forest, sometimes we may get lost from each other, sometimes we\'ll greet each other from far away across the forest; but it\'s living together in this forest that is important. And this living together is not easy. We have to find each other in the forest and begin to discuss what the education for our child actually means. The important aspect is not just to promote the education of the child but the health, happiness and development of a whole child. In quality Preschools, educators honor the parents\' role as children\'s first teachers and collaborate with them to provide consistent support and culturally sensitive learning opportunities. The same applies to Parents, where their extended support to the educators in the learning process for their young child, enables the children\'s feeling of security to increase as they observe trust developing between parents and educators. Preschool years are impressionable years of transition from home to preschool schooling. Most children arrive in filled with curiosity, wonder, and an enthusiasm to learn about themselves, others, and the world, hence responsibility of Preschools is to nourish this hunger for knowledge, and to motivate and challenge the students, keeping their focus on learning process as facilitators.