Guest Post from Emily and Kathleen of Primrose Schools

As some of you may know, today is Yom Kippur and we are spending the day repenting and fasting.  I am happy to share with you this guest post about Bilingual Education and its importance for this generation.  Emily and Kathleen are Communications Coordinators for the network of Texas educational child care facilities belonging to the AdvancED® accredited family of Primrose educational child care schools.  Primrose Schools are located in 16 states throughout the U.S. and are dedicated to delivering progressive, early childhood, Balanced Learning® curriculum throughout their preschools.

Early Childhood Education – The Best Time For Bilingual Learning

Of course, nobody knows what the future will hold – but if current trends continue, your child will grow up to enter a workforce in which the competition for decent-paying jobs will be nothing short of cut-throat. Despite the calls for greater co-operation and "interdependence," human nature being what it is, it's a good bet that the economy of the the future will operate according to the Law of the Jungle. It goes without saying that a good education is one of the best ways to prepare that child for survival in that economic jungle of the future.

The Bilingual Future

One of the future trends that has become certain is the existence of a diverse, global society. Nowhere is this more true than in the United States. Almost from the beginning, the U.S. has been a land of immigrants, and while the "melting pot" has been an interesting theory, it has not happened in practice. On the contrary, most major U.S. population centers have become more of an ethnic and linguistic checkerboard; Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese and Chinese speakers represent some of the fastest-growing segments of the immigrant U.S. population.

In addition, with the rise of China, English may very well lose its preeminence as the  international language of business; at best, it will have to share that top status with Mandarin in decades to come.

Getting Ready

Traditional wisdom has been to start teaching a second language in middle school, or even high school. Yet numerous research studies clearly demonstrate that the optimal period in a child's life for multilingual education is during the preschool years – at exactly the same time they are learning their first language. Yes, it is possible to learn a second and third language later in life, but it is more difficult, because that neurological "window of opportunity" – when the brain is most malleable – has passed.

According to Dr. Fred Genessee, Professor of Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, it's as easy for young children to learn two or three languages as it is for them to learn one. He's not alone; educators throughout the world (in countries that often have two or even three official languages) have understood this for decades.

The way a child learns a second language is by actually speaking it in a total immersion environment. You may recall an episode of the animated series The Simpsons in which young Bart gets trapped on a farm in France – and by the end of the episode, finds he's actually speaking the language. While this was a fictional scenario, the phenomenon is real; anyone who has taken young children abroad to stay with relatives in a foreign country for any length of time has observed this happening.

Enrollment in a preschool program that offers immersion in other languages is the best way to get your child started.  This investment will make him/her much more competitive in the job market later on.

Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas

Guest Post from Misty at Baby Sign Language

I hope everyone is having a great Thursday, and Happy New Year to all of my Jewish readers!  We are observing the holiday today so please enjoy this guest post from Misty, chief editor of Baby Sign Language!  We only use a couple of signs here but I'm always looking for more ways to communicate with Eli and Jude and minimize tantrums.

Taming Tantrums with Baby Sign Language

Childcare experts all agree that toddler tantrums are usually caused by extreme frustration. At the heart of this frustration is the inability to communicate, as language skills are often a long way behind other skills such as mobility. Anything parents can do to improve toddler communication has to be a good thing for tantrum taming. And Baby Sign Language offers an ideal solution.

How Can Baby Sign Language Help With Toddler Tantrums?
Psychologists studying child development have for many years appreciated the link between symbols and learning. Famous child psychologist, Vygotsky, said that the social interaction between the learner and a knowledgeable adult is essential to cognitive development. In other words, your child needs to understand what it is he wants then he needs to be able to communicate this to you. Symbols and gestures give the child a means of doing this that is less sophisticated than language – it is easier, for example, for a toddler to picture milk in his head and then make a gesture to represent this than it is for him to search a growing vocabulary for the right word.

Communication And Confidence
Studies have shown that learning symbols and gestures has a significant effect on the early communicating abilities of even young children. Communication is a two-way process, and when a toddler’s attempts at communicating are successful – the parent understands what it is toddler wants – he grows in confidence. This confidence encourages him to communicate more often, and more creatively. It is a ‘win win’ situation for both parent and toddler.

Confidence And Tantrums
A confident toddler who has learned simple sign language is less likely to become frustrated when he can’t get what he wants. He has the means to tell you what he needs – by using Baby Sign Language – and the confidence to know that Mommy will understand him. Signing also gives Mom and Dad a way to cut through the confusion that words often cause to a stressed out toddler. He is more likely to respond to visual cues for behavior than worn-out words from a worn-out mom!

Start Young – If You Can
Teaching your baby to sign may well have the longer-term result that when he reaches toddlerhood he has the tools he needs to communicate successfully with you, avoiding many frustration-based tantrums. But if you haven’t already started to sign, and have a tantruming toddler, don’t despair. It’s never too late to begin. The signs to focus on now are those linked to emotions and basic needs, as the inability to communicate these are at the heart of frustration-based tantrums. Begin with the signs for Tired, Hungry and Sad. Repeat these signs often when talking to your toddler, using flash cards if necessary, to help him learn what each sign means. When he is tired, for example, reinforce this by saying ‘Frankie is tired’ and making the sign for tired.

Encouragement And Patience
Encourage his efforts at signing by giving lots of praise whenever he makes a sign – even if you’re not quite sure what he’s trying to say! Be patient – it can take a couple of months of exposure to a sign for a toddler to begin to use it himself. Don’t expect too much too soon.