Letting Children Do What They Do Best
PlayCare is Fun and Exploration
PlayCare is an environment in which children learn in the context of self-expression, wonder, and play. There are no foreign language lessons, no reading lessons, no math lessons. Yet children become fluent in a second language, develop a love for reading and stories, become capable of numeracy, begin to develop a knowing relationship with nature, express themselves creatively, and acquire a conceptual understanding of how their body works. With skilled Mandarin or Spanish speaking teachers and caregivers by their side, they develop all of this in the course of play, song, walks, and loving care.
This Kind of Fun Can Occur in any Language
The young brain is primed for language acquisition. It doesn’t matter which language they play in. We play with them in Spanish and Mandarin. It all feels so natural to the children... Like a multicultural family.
Cognitive Development
Because they are learning another language, their cognitive capability increases in ways that research shows will lead to higher academic performance and standardized test scores during their elementary and secondary school years. Why? In part, because acquiring multiple languages leads to a mental agility that serves children in all academic areas, and particularly in acquiring fluency in a third or fourth language.
Intellectual Curiosity
Exploratory projects develop children's intellectual curiosity and intellectual confidence by cultivating four key habits of mind: being mindful of the world around us (young children are naturally mindful); formulating effective questions about it (young children are naturally inquisitive); developing a method for answering those questions; and then reporting discoveries to other children and adults. Teachers listen for the child's interests and questions, and help them design a method for exploring and reporting.
Shared Values Community
Research shows that being cared for, learning, and socializing in a community of shared values supports the emotional well-being of children. We are a community of families and educators who value the holistic, the child-centered, the organic, the creative, the multicultural, and the celebration of differences and commonalities.
How does Morningside PlayCare empower children?
Our approach empowers children from an early age to view themselves as creators and disseminators of knowledge and aesthetics. We use art, nature science and yoga to show them how to sustain their natural childhood inclination toward inquiry, mindfulness, and enjoying the present moment. We let them build their confidence by affirming them, teaching them how to affirm themselves; and by giving them opportunities to explore, be still, discover, report and create.
New Forest School for Ages 4.5 to 6.
After School for Children with Previous Mandarin or Spanish Exposure.
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