Little Explorers: The Gift of Knowledge for Young Minds

The holidays are here once more, ushering in the joyful season of gift-giving!

Yet, all too often, when selecting gifts for our children, we restrict ourselves to the usual—toys, clothes, gadgets, or even cash. In doing so, we overlook one priceless gift that should be our priority: the gift of knowledge.

Corny? Perhaps. Cliché? Likely.

But the truth remains undeniable. As adults, we carry the important responsibility of imparting knowledge and wisdom to our children, and we must embrace this role with renewed vigor. There are many ways we can accomplish this. We can share invaluable life lessons directly with our kids and become actively engaged in their educational journeys. Alternatively, we can provide them with enriching learning materials, particularly books that will ignite their curiosity and foster a love for learning.

By gifting them with books, we are laying a solid foundation for our children’s lifelong learning at a pivotal time when their minds are most active and inquisitive. Early learning is crucial, with research showing that the scaffolding for complex learning is established during childhood and reinforced as kids grow. Remarkably, up to 90% of a child’s brain growth occurs before they turn five, making early childhood education an essential stepping stone for building knowledge in the years to come.

Educational materials, especially books, are instrumental in shaping our children into lifelong learners. It is our duty as parents, guardians, and teachers, to surround our children with captivating books that they can explore, enabling them to accumulate knowledge and ultimately embark on a lifelong appreciation for learning. Thankfully, there is a wide array of books available, featuring over a hundred exciting titles from the country's leading educational publisher, Rex Education, within its acclaimed Little Explorers series.

Launched in December 2022, the Little Explorers lineup is Rex Education’s dedicated brand of early childhood education resources tailor-made for young learners. Each title under Little Explorers is designed to be age-appropriate and aligned with the six developmental domains established by the Early Childhood Care and Development Council from its National Early Learning Framework. These domains are the following:

1. Physical Health, Well-being, and Motor Development: enhancing fine motor skills and hand–eye coordination
2. Social–Emotional Development: fostering empathy, self-awareness, and social interaction
3. Character and Values Development: promoting character-building and values inculcation
4. Cognitive/Intellectual Development: strengthening critical thinking and attention skills
5. Language Development: expanding vocabulary and conversation skills
6. Aesthetic Development: cultivating talent development and creative skills

“As a lifelong learning partner to every Filipino, Rex Education has always believed that investing in early childhood education (ECE) and the foundational development of our children is essential to prepare them for life,” said Don Timothy Buhain, Chief Executive Officer of Rex Education. “With the introduction of our new brand, we aim to spark discussions on the significance of early childhood care and development (ECCD) in the Philippines and empower parents and learning companions with quality, research-based, and age-appropriate learning solutions to kick-start their children’s education even before formal schooling begins.”

In essence, the titles within Rex Education’s Little Explorers series are crafted specifically for young learners, with the overarching goal of guiding them along the path to lifelong learning. Titles such as Meet My Family, World Around Me, and Me, Myself, and I nurture children’s critical thinking while engaging their cognitive and social-emotional development. They also encourage kids to articulate their feelings and enhance their self-awareness through enjoyable, interactive methods.

“We share the aspirations of our Edukampyon parents and guardians, who desire only the best for their children. Therefore, we believe that the richest learning experiences begin at home. Drawing from REX’s extensive research, experience, and partnerships in lifelong and early childhood education, we meticulously crafted Little Explorers to foster strong foundations and promote holistic development in our children as early as possible,” Buhain added regarding Little Explorers.

Ultimately, we all strive to provide our children with nothing but the very best. Yet, giving them the best does not always translate to toys, clothes, or gadgets. Often, our time with them and preparing them for the future represent an even greater gift—and gifting them books is one powerful way to achieve this.

Discover more about Rex Education’s Little Explorers series and their early childhood education initiatives by visiting rex.com.ph. Better yet, go to  https://estore.rex.com.ph/, https://www.lazada.com.ph/shop/rex-book-store, https://shopee.ph/rexbookstore and place your orders now, so you can get them just in time for the Holidays!

Rex Education Launches “Little Explorers’ to Educate and Empower Homes on Early Childhood Education

Scientific studies have shown that 90% of a child’s brain development happens before the age of five. From 1 to 2 years old, babies begin to explore and discover things. At 2.5 to 3 years old, toddlers start to develop their personalities and expand their vocabulary. When they turn 3.5 years old, they start to interact with other kids and adults.

This underscores how vital early childhood education (ECE) is for every child’s lifelong learning development. In fact, a 2019 study published by Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) found that learners who were reported to perform early literacy and numeracy tasks very well scored over one standard deviation higher than their peers who could not do these tasks well. This is proof that the urgency of calling attention to ECE is not just a local conversation, but something that is being championed on the international scene.

Mr. Don Timothy Buhain 
Chief Executive Officer - REX Education 

“As a lifelong learning partner to every Filipino, Rex Education has always believed that investing in ECE and the early development of foundational skills in our children is crucial in making sure they are ready for life. As we launch our newest brand, Little Explorers, we hope to fuel the conversation on the importance of early childhood care and development (ECCD) in the Philippines and empower parents and learning companions of our children with quality, research-based, and age-appropriate learning solutions to start their children’s learning even before formal schooling,” said Don Timothy Buhain, chief executive officer of Rex Education.

Little Explorers: Learning starts at home 

Parents are the most critical contributors and champions of education for children at home. Little Explorers hopes to inspire parents and guardians to be more purposeful about enhancing the learning environment of the kids and to observe ECCD practices at home, so children can start their journey early in becoming Filipino whole learners-healthy, safe, engaged, supported, challenged, and values-oriented.

With over 100 titles for release, Little Explorers offers solutions to help children develop the six developmental domains identified as critical in the National Early Learning Framework (NELF) policy document of the government-mandated ECCD Council:

o Language Development: Develop and grow vocabulary and conversation skills through age-appropriate exercises

o Physical Health, Well-being, and Motor Development: Develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination

o Character and Values Development: Impart an understanding of honesty, manners, love, respect, and other good morals

o Cognitive/Intellectual Development: Boost critical thinking and attention skills

o SocialEmotional development: Develop and improve empathy, self-awareness, and social interaction

o Creative-Aesthetic development: Develop a child’s innate talent and Creative skills.

“We share the hearts of our Edukampyon parents and guardians, who want nothing but the best for their children, this is why we believe that the best learning experiences start at home.

Using REX’s wealth of research, experience, and partners on lifelong and early childhood learning, we carefully crafted Little Explorers to help establish strong foundations and promote proper holistic development in our children as early as possible,’ adds Buhain.

Unlock the potential of our little explorers 

To kickstart every Filipino child’s learning journey at home, REX launched Little Explorers on December 1, 2022, at Novotel, Cubao. With the theme, “Early Childhood Education matters: Strengthening the development and foundations for learning of young children,” the event aimed to spark conversations on the importance of ECE and put Little Explorers in the hands of every young learner and every Edukampyon parent and learning companion who wants to set their children up for success Media guests and influencers were invited to step into the world of our kids, so they can explore and understand better what young learners need-and how Little Explorers can help address those essentials.

Carnival Booth Games

During the event, carnival booth games and other activities were put up to encourage attendees to tap into their inner child. Young children were also present and had a fun time during the activities. Giant book covers of Little Explorers titles were set up for guests to scan so they can enjoy augmented reality experiences.

Atty. Dominador Buhain 
Chairman- REX Education 

A panel discussion with the Gender Studies Chairperson of the Philippine Social Science Council Dr. Excelsa Tongson, DSL Chief Operations Officer of Richwell Philippines Inc. Maye Yao Co Say, and Senior Sales Manager of WOOP Mama Club Stephanie Alviso was also held to share and exchange knowledge on the topic: “How to unlock our young learners’ potential by focusing on Early Childhood Education.”

To learn more about Rex Education’s early childhood education initiatives, visit rex.com.ph and follow their social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.