Did you know? Brazil’s early childhood BNCC includes participation among six learning and development rights. That is a lovely starting point for parents: the child can contribute to an experience through a choice, an action, a question or an idea, even before a long spoken explanation becomes comfortable.
eduKateSG · Early years around the world · Parents of children aged 0–6
Find your next learning step
Start with the age range, then follow a family example towards a useful next step. Use the links to move at your own pace.
Where Educação Infantil and the BNCC fit
Brazil’s Ministry of Education describes creche provision for children up to three and preschool for four- and five-year-olds. The Base Nacional Comum Curricular, or BNCC places interactions and play at the centre of early childhood education. Its six rights concern living with others, playing, participating, exploring, expressing oneself and knowing oneself.
The BNCC connects these with five fields of experience covering self and others; body and movement; artistic forms; listening, speaking, thinking and imagination; and space, time, quantities, relationships and change. It groups objectives by approximate age bands and cautions against treating those bands rigidly.
For our zero-to-six parent branch, this guide focuses on early childhood experience and the bridge towards the next stage. The applications below are eduKateSG suggestions, not a translation of every BNCC objective or a description of all Brazilian settings.
Participation starts with a contribution the child can make
In an eduKateSG family example, prepare a small pretend celebration for a toy. Offer two suitable cloths and let a young child choose one for the table. An older preschooler might decide where guests sit or what should happen first.
The important mechanism is that the choice changes something real in the shared activity. If the adult asks for a choice but immediately replaces it with their own preference, the child’s role becomes unclear. Keep options manageable and accept a workable contribution.
If choosing is difficult, show the alternatives one at a time or let the child touch them. If the child wants an unavailable option, explain the boundary calmly and offer the available choices. Participation can include understanding a limit; it does not mean the child must control every part of family life.
The same experience can invite movement and expression
For a preschooler, continue the pretend celebration with a welcome song. Let the child invent a movement, a sound or a short greeting. Another person can copy it, then offer a different one. This gives each contribution a visible place.
If the child is reluctant to perform, invite a quieter role: choose a toy guest or show a gesture while seated. If remembering the sequence is difficult, keep just two actions. If taking turns is difficult, use a clear signal and model the exchange together.
You are adjusting the invitation rather than deciding the child is shy, unmusical or uncooperative. A specific description helps: “Today he chose the greeting and watched us copy it.” That observation leaves room for a different contribution next time.
From a choice to a plan, then into another situation
- Begin with one visible choice, such as where a guest sits.
- Invite a reason when the child is ready: why does that place work?
- Add a small planning problem, such as finding room for another guest.
- Ask the child to show the plan to someone who has not seen it.
- Notice whether planning appears in another family routine.
A child might explain a seating plan while still needing help counting the guests. The progression can be uneven. Offer help with the particular difficulty and preserve the part the child can already manage.
Transfer could appear when the child checks whether everyone has a place at a real family snack. It could also appear in language: “We need another one” becomes useful in a different game. Describe the new situation and the action rather than treating one success as a permanent skill score.
Ask how the setting makes children’s contributions visible
A parent can ask for an everyday example of participation. What decision did a child make? How did the adult respond? What did the group do with the idea? This makes a broad educational principle easier to understand.
- How do play and interactions guide the experiences you plan?
- How can a child participate through gestures or actions as well as speech?
- How do you respond when children have different ideas?
- What do you notice before deciding the next step?
- How do family languages, interests and routines enter the setting?
For parents comparing Brazil and Singapore, use the questions to understand practice. A national framework does not guarantee an identical experience in every centre. Ask how the specific provider adapts its programme and communicates with families.
Questions parents often ask
Does participation mean children decide everything?
In our examples, the adult provides a safe, manageable situation and clear boundaries. The child contributes within it. Choosing a cloth or explaining a plan can be meaningful without making the child responsible for the whole event.
Are the BNCC age groups fixed performance deadlines?
The document describes approximate groupings and cautions against rigid interpretation. Ask the practitioner how observations of your child inform support.
How can a baby participate?
A family invitation can begin with looking, reaching or responding during a calm exchange. Follow the baby’s response and keep the interaction manageable. The preschool celebration project is not an infant task.
Do we need a new activity every day?
A familiar experience can leave room for a new choice or a small problem. Try one manageable change and notice what the child contributes. Repetition does not have to mean reproducing every detail or demanding the same answer.
Continue through eduKateSG’s early-years ecosystem
- School of Childhood: the broad childhood journey
- Singapore’s whole-child preschool approach
- Teaching vocabulary to a five-year-old
- Birth to three: responsive care and the first learning world
Official sources and scope
Official sources checked on 6 October 2026. The eduKateSG family examples are suggested applications, rather than official national lessons, developmental assessments or promises of results.