TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN 2019

Gone are the days of traditional education where students were only taught from books. The ever-changing landscape of early age education has given rise to much better & practical concepts that result in the development of students at a young age.

Parents are increasingly understanding the importance of after school programs in shaping their child’s future. The engaging & hands-on activities prepare children to achieve academic & co-curricular success where they might struggle in absence of proper training. With the help of early childhood education, children can understand their strengths and gain an early victory over their weaknesses.

Trends that will make early childhood education better

Early childhood education has evolved twofold in recent years. Changes in the teaching methodology, focus on experiential learning & technologically oriented curriculum, among several others, have emerged as significant contributors in providing children with a positive learning experience. Here are a few other early age education trends that you should look forward to in 2019 for your child’s lifelong success –

1. Play-based learning
   The books have been kept aside and tools like the abacus, play-doh, building blocks, educational toys, and instruments have taken their place. Active playing is now a part of every after-school curriculum as they strengthen the connections in the brain, increase flexibility & allow children to realize their potential.
2. Robotics learning
   STEM learning not only provides programming skills but expands a child’s brain through creative problem-solving. Robotics is the future of technology and STEM education at an early age will stimulate children to choose a career in this field.
3. Physical fitness
   Afterschool programs are continuously focusing on developing the physical health of children in an environment where the opportunities to play outside are rare. Sports activities like running, swimming, dancing, and martial arts are included in the curriculum to keep children fit & stimulate their brain power. Practicing these activities develops confidence, self-discipline & drives them towards greater pursuits in life.
4. Outdoor Exploration
   Outdoor activities are increasingly gaining relevancy in early age education. Afterschool programs are now focusing on introducing children to the world with enjoyable activities like basic gardening, taking care of pets, bird watching, outdoor games & much more.

Early education has touched stellar heights with an increasing focus on providing children with an experiential learning environment. In today’s dynamic & competitive world, afterschool programs boost a child’s chances of success by guiding them in the right direction for advancing their career. UCMAS is a holistic brain development and an afterschool program that contributes to the cognitive development of children and provides them a path towards lifelong success.

WAYS TO BID ADIEU TO MATHEMATICS’ FEAR

Most of us dread hearing or come across anything that is related to math or numbers, and so do children. But whether you like it or not, mathematics is omnipresent and utterly significant. From our everyday lives to scientific and technological discoveries, Mathematics is the foundation of everything around us.

One cannot imagine life without Mathematics, so it’s better to come to terms with the fear and accept the subject’s importance. Math anxiety and its more severe forms such as math phobia have kept many students from opting for challenging disciplines where mathematics plays a fundamental role. If your children are afraid of or dislike math, this blog will throw light on how to cope up with that fear and develop a liking for the subject.

Recognize & address the problem:

Hearing your child say ‘I can’t do Math’ or making excuses to avoid the subject, can be early signs of Math Anxiety. To address this problem, you must talk about the significance of the subject and teach children to have fun with numbers. The parents can even talk to the tutors and help children understand the basic concepts of math, to simplify the process.

Do mental calculations in everyday life:

Go beyond the books and find a way to use numbers and calculations with your child in everyday life. This will help children take interest in the subject. You can take your children grocery shopping and try to beat the shop-keeper in his speed of calculation, make them keep a score of soccer matches, calculate the time they will take to reach the school, etc.

Regular exposure to such things can make understanding statistics simpler in future.

Positive encouragement:

People believe that only some children have the ability to be good at math, which is nothing but a myth. This theory’s even knocked down by research, but many teachers still believe it.

Instead of being negative when the children get something wrong, talk about the problems with them and emphasize the aspects that they got correct. Positive encouragement is a great way to help children overcome the math phobia.

Make math fun:

In math, the ability to play around with numbers is vital for mental arithmetic as well as real-life. Playing games that are numbers oriented is an excellent way to make math fun. Whether its old

school card and board games or multiple puzzles found online, these games will ease out the complications and make math concepts easier to understand.

While this activity may seem less educational, they will still be effective for your child’s learning as they arouse an interest in the subject – which is the first step towards independent and active learning.

Build confidence:

If your child has always done badly in math, then it is natural for them to dislike the subject. As parents, you have to identify the weak areas and simplify it for them. You can also give them incentives for every equation solved correctly to motivate them further.

Every successful calculation will build their confidence and thereby make them like the subject.

Thus, it’s an established fact that being skillful, or at least, competent in math is necessary to survive in modern life. Its better if we start helping children with math in their early years since it is scientifically proven that 75% of the brain develops most rapidly in the first few years of a child’s life.

So, let’s start now and bring out the genius in your child.

HOW CAN BRAIN DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS NURTURE YOUR CHILD AT AN EARLY AGE?

At a young age, the brain is malleable & evolves rapidly. Children are highly susceptible to retain knowledge in adulthood if their right & left side of the brain is trained during an early age of increased brain activity.

Studies have shown that the fastest rate of brain development occurs since birth to age 6. A mental math program nurtures this process of brain development through stimulating activities that make the brain stronger over time. It allows children to effectively utilize both sides of the brain & become true geniuses in life – both on an intellectual & emotional level.

“When the right & left side of the brain work in harmony, the result is improved emotional intelligence & the ability to connect the dots through logical thinking.”

5 ways brain development programs nurture a child’s sense of genius

For the healthy development of a child’s brain, it needs to be continuously nurtured & stimulated. There is a plethora of math programs for kids that involves them in interactive activities which in turn create new neurotransmitter connections crucial for development.

1. The mental math programs lead to the overall development of the brain through abacus-based learning. All children fear math, but a brain training program involves interactive techniques that make math fun & easier.

2. Brain training activates both the left & right side of the brain and develops a healthy coordination between them allowing children to think clearly & enhances their creativity.

3. Brain health tends to decline with age. A good mental math program makes learning easier at an early age by training specific areas of the brain that remain strong during adulthood.

4. Researches have shown that at least 1 million neural synapses are made every second during early childhood years. Brian training leads to cognitive development by building new neural pathways in the brain at a young age and benefits children when they enter high school & college.

5. Benefits of early age learning also include better self-discipline, proficiency in math, improved self-confidence and a lifelong love of learning.

A child’s brain grows quickly & when trained perfectly, it can lead to a dynamic transformation in learning. Math programs for kids teach through a holistic brain development approach that integrates both the sides of the brain & paves a better pathway for academic & co-curricular success.

HEALTHY FOOD – A BETTER CHOICE FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Children in their early age grow quickly. This time is critically important as it builds a foundation for good physical and mental health in adulthood. Children, if nurtured properly, grow to be strong and have a healthy lifestyle.

During this span of development, the intake of healthy food by children is a vital matter, as eating a nutritious diet benefits them all through life. They get the right vitamins and minerals, which help them to grow and develop optimally. Therefore, it is quite essential for parents to instill a habit of eating healthy food in children from the very beginning. This blog will discuss in detail not only about the importance of eating healthy food but also mention a few tips for parents to encourage their children to have a proper diet.

Benefits of Eating Healthy Food for kids

Healthy food eating habits can have profound effect on child development, especially during their early years. Intake of healthy food can stabilize their energy, sharpen their minds and have a great effect on their sense of mental and emotional well-being. Nutritious diet leads to better immunity in children, which can help them in fighting any diseases, viruses or infections at the earlier stage itself.

Encouraging Kids to Eat Healthy Food

It is well said that, ‘It is easier to build up a child than it is to repair an adult’. Therefore, it is very important to encourage children to eat healthy food for them to be fit throughout their lives. Kids are never born with a craving for fast food or an aversion to vegetables or fruits, but it only occurs when they are exposed to unhealthy food choices. However, their unhealthy food cravings can be reprogrammed to healthier ones.

It is a fact that whether children are toddlers or in their teens, they develop a natural preference for the foods they enjoy the most. So, to encourage healthy eating habits, the parents need to go through this challenge of making nutritious choices appealing, and here are a few tips to do the same:

·      Parents must try to be a role model of their children, for they imitate quite strongly to what they see. Therefore, if adults eat healthy food then their kids will follow them too.

·      An idea to disguise the taste of healthier foods can encourage children to eat healthy, i.e. a boring food can be spiced up by adding oregano, black pepper, etc.

·      Restaurant or hotel food is cooked with more sugar and excess of oils. Therefore, it is better to cook such meals at home for that may have a huge impact on the kids’ health, and they will also enjoy variety of savors.

·      If kids get involved and develop interest in purchasing ingredients or cooking food, then they may be encouraged to intake healthy food. So, while shopping for groceries or preparing meals, get them along and teach them about different foods and how to read food labels.

·      To avoid kids from having unhealthy snacks like soda, chips, cookies, etc. avail them with fruits, vegetables or healthy beverages when they feel the need to have snacks.

Kid-friendly Junk Food Alternatives

Usually junk food is tempting for kids. Even though it is typically high in sugar, unhealthy fat & calories and low in nutrients, fast food will always be the first choice for children to eat. However, few healthy food preparation tips can ensure healthy eating habits in children, which can include:

·      Instead of French fries, give children ‘Baked Fries’ that are grilled in oven and salted lightly.

·      Yogurt, sorbet and fresh fruit smoothies could be perfect substitutes of an ice cream.

·      Baked or grilled chicken is as tasty as fried chicken but is healthier than it.

·      Chocolate-Chip cookies are replaceable with fig bars, vanilla wafers, fruits and caramel dip.

·      Baked vegetable chips or nuts could serve as delicious alternative for potato chips.

In a nutshell, there are several ways in which parents can prepare food that balances nutrition of healthy food as well as taste of junk food. Healthy food habits can be really critical for children, which will not only help their physical & brain development, but also lead a healthy life.

Stepping up the ladder of success with abacus brain development program

Let’s face it. Mathematics has never been a favorite subject among children and the subject is known to bring anxiousness. Parents face daunting challenge of making children take interest in math and excel in it. But is there a way to eliminate this math nervousness? What if, children developed an inclination towards math learning & succeeded in life like never before? That’s where abacus for kids comes into action.

Building a strong foundation bead-by-bead with the abacus

The use of Abacus dates 2000 years back, when people started using it as a calculating tool. Today, a well-designed abacus math program provides similar lessons to kids but in a much more powerful way. It builds a strong foundation of math that strengthens their cognitive skills for complex calculations in the future.

A lot of students face problems in advanced math, which involves several complex equations. Kids trained in the abacus math classes grasp these concepts effectively as they develop a firm understanding of numbers and calculations. Along with strengthening math skills, abacus learning also promotes whole-brain development in children, making them sharp, quick and accurate.

Benefits of abacus training for kids

The major advantage of abacus training is that it helps in boosting math calculation skills, thus making children quicker & accurate like never before. Abacus turns math into play for kids as they start identifying patterns, making it easier to solve a problem. When they touch abacus beads and rapidly calculate, it also stimulates various acupoints on the fingers that result in activating the cerebral cortex. These acupoints further stimulate various body organs including, liver, kidney & the heart.

Apart from these, children who regularly attend abacus math classes enjoy a plethora of cognitive benefits. They develop sharper memory, become self-confident and grow into self-reliant individuals. Abacus training makes understanding of concepts easy and makes them curious to learn more about different subjects.

Is your child an abacus wizard yet?

Abacus training can drastically improve a child’s performance in mathematics. As kids progress through different levels of abacus learning, they will show significant improvement in academics & extra-curricular activities. A good abacus math program will enrich their lives by providing benefits that will only steer their life in the direction of lifelong success.

HOW CAN MENTAL MATH CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR CHILD’S LIFELONG SUCCESS?

Mental math is an ancient technique for calculation and offers significant benefits to its practitioner. It eliminates the use of paper, calculators, abacus, and other calculating devices, therefore, developing a reliance on mental calculations as the primary source of finding answers to mathematical problems.

According to the UNESCO Institute of statistics, 617 million children & adolescents worldwide are incapable of gaining the minimum level of proficiency in math and reading. This barrier to learning is slowly diminishing with the inception of several brain development programs for children. They have stepped in to teach mental math and offer countless other benefits along the way.

Mental Math is performed using visualization techniques that aid children in computation. At initial stages, it is taught with the help of abacus. As children step into progressive levels, the trainers utilize flash cards, activity books, arithmetic logic & number manipulation to make children adroit in mathematics. Children are able to perform complex calculations quickly, which escalate their brain development during early critical years.

Making children the champion of math & life

Afterschool programs that make children adept in mental calculations enable them to utilize both the right & left hemisphere of the brain. This increases their creative side as well as improves their rational thinking capabilities.

·  Mental math makes children focused & improves their concentration as they deliberately practice calculating specific problems. This develops them into individuals who become better at accomplishing the task at hand.

·    The brain development programs stimulate children to utilize their cognitive skills that develop new neural pathways in the brain. This makes them sharper, increases memory & quicker at doing larger calculations.

·   As children continue to accomplish projects, they develop higher self-confidence that makes them more sociable & have better relationships. They learn to effectively communicate their thoughts and become better at expressing among groups & people.

·  Afterschool program for math makes it easier for children to understand the relationship between numbers. They nurture their mathematical ability by developing a keen sense of numbers. This also results in better problem-solving skills in day-to-day life.

Learning mental math at an early age equips children with the skills that assist them in every endeavor of life. Self-discipline, multi-tasking, creativity, and visualization are a few among the numerous benefits that result from the program. It’s time for you to end the wait and enroll your child in the program that makes them a winner at life; Enroll your child in UCMAS – World’s leading and most trusted mental math program.

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