The importance of a child’s early years of life is something that is often taken for granted, yet these youngest years have consistently been shown to be the cornerstone phase of development for all human beings. Our development as young children is an essential part of the process of becoming adults. Most often, how a child physically progresses follows a common sequence: the child is born, crawls, walks, talks, etc. Yet as older children and then as adults, paths and personalities begin to look very different from one another. We can all agree that the complexities of human development are remarkable, going far beyond what most of us can imagine.

Here at Brainy Little Stars Preschool, we are rooted in the belief that each child charts a unique course which is predominantly based on the experiences met between birth and adolescence. The emotional, social and physical development of young children certainly has a direct effect on the adults they will ultimately become. This is why understanding the importance of early education is so important.

There is consistent and strong evidence which shows that:

• Brain development is most rapid in the early stages of a child’s life. When the quality of stimulation, support and nurture is lacking, there can be detrimental effects on overall development.
• Learning delays can be greatly reduced with the help of early intervention. At the beginning stages of kindergarten early academics, children who did not participate in an Early Childhood Education program lag behind their peers who have attended an ECE program.
• Children who are enrolled in an Early Childhood Education program achieve more success at school. As adults, they have better career opportunities, improved health, and lower levels of dependence and crime rates than those who do not attend an early education program.
• Efforts to improve early child development are an investment, not a cost. Investing in ECE helps promote economic growth while also helping to target the development of character and cognitive skills necessary for future success.

At Brainy Little Stars Preschool, our methods and models of teaching and nurturing our youngest students are firmly mirrored by the above evidence. We are dedicated to providing our young learners the gateway to lifelong love of learning through social growth and experimentation, the development of early academic learning through everyday interactions, leading to organic experiences that solidly prepare students for their future classwork and elementary school years.

Modern research in neuroscience and early childhood development corroborate the foundational influence of the early years on the rest of our lives. We are continuously receiving new understanding about the incredible ways in which young minds develop. We now know that infants and toddlers have the capacity for, complex thought.

According to a recent report from the American Institute of Medicine*, they can understand other people’s intentions, reason about cause and effect, and intuit the more basic aspects of addition and subtraction. We also know that the earliest years are a period of intense and rapid neural development. M.R.I.

studies suggest that 80% of all neural connections form by Age 3. It is also becoming increasingly clear that a child’s ability to capitalise on these formative years is directly related to his/her environment.

Brainy stars aims to be a thought leader in early years education and a champion of preschooling that truly harnesses the raw potential of children in their formative early years.