About Early Childhood Education
Why Bilingual Early Childhood Education?
From birth to age 5, a child’s brain develops more, and more rapidly, than at any other time in life. And while genetics plays a significant role, scientific research has made clear that the quality of a child’s experiences in the first few years of life – positive or negative – helps shape how their brain develops. And that these experiences have lasting impact on their health and ability to learn and succeed in school and in life.
The human brain, the command center of the entire body, is the only organ not fully developed at birth. At birth, the average baby’s brain is about a quarter of the size of the average adult brain. Incredibly, it doubles in size in the first year and keeps growing to about 80% of adult size by age 3 and 90% – nearly full grown – by age 5.
A newborn baby has all of the brain cells (neurons) they’ll have for the rest of their life, but what really makes the brain work – and enables us to move, think, communicate and just about everything else – are the connections between those cells. And the early years of a child’s life are a crucial time for making those connections – about 700 new neural connections (synapses) every second, far more than at any other time in life.
Different areas of the brain – which are responsible for different abilities like movement, language and emotion – develop at different rates. Eventually brain connections connect with each other in more complex ways, enabling the child to move and speak and think in more complex ways.
All children develop differently – some will walk or talk earlier than usual, while others may take more time – but it’s clear that the early years are the best opportunity for a child’s brain to develop the connections they need to be healthy, capable, successful adults.
Recent scientific research has shown that the connections needed for many important, higher-level abilities – like motivation, self-regulation, problem solving, communication and self-esteem – are formed in these early years. And it’s much harder for these essential brain connections to be made later in life.
Starting from birth, brain connections are built through a child’s everyday experiences – by positive interactions with their parents and caregivers, and by using their senses to interact with the world around them. It’s a young child’s daily experiences – the amount and quality of care, stimulation and interaction they receive in their first years – that determines which brain connections develop and will last for a lifetime.
The most important influences on a child’s development are their relationships with the adults in their life. Loving relationships with warm, responsive, dependable adults are essential to a child’s healthy development. These relationships begin at home, with parents and family, but also include child care providers, teachers and other members of the community.
As mentioned previously a bilingual focus will take place. Studies have determined that dual-language students in Elementary School have higher test scores, better attendance and fewer behavioral problems.
We also follow a Preschool Curriculum that is aligned with the Arizona Early Learning Standards.