frequently asked questions
Why prioritize math in early childhood?
"We find that preschool mathematics ability predicts mathematics achievement through age 15, even after accounting for early reading, cognitive skills, and family and child characteristics. Moreover, we find that growth in mathematical ability between age 54 months and first grade is an even stronger predictor of adolescent mathematics achievement. These results demonstrate the importance of prekindergarten mathematics knowledge and early math learning for later achievement." - What's Past is Prologue: Relations Between Early Mathematics Knowledge and High School Achievement
"We find that early math skills predict reading, math, and science achievement as well as grade retention from kindergarten through eighth grade.... The fact that early mathematics knowledge and skills are the most important predictors not only for later math achievement but also for achievement in other content areas and grade retention supports a greater emphasis on mathematics than is currently the case in many kindergarten classrooms. It also suggest the possibility that focusing more on advanced number, pattern recognition, and measurement might develop skills that will benefit students in the later years of schooling." - How Important is Where You Start? Early Mathematics Knowledge and Later School Success
"Kindergarten mathematics skills are important for subsequent achievement, yet mathematics is underemphasized in kindergarten classrooms... Although the vast majority of children entered kindergarten having mastered basic counting and able to recognize simple geometric shapes, their teachers reported spending the most mathematics time—typically about 13 days per month—on this content. On average, exposure to this basic mathematics content was negatively associated with math achievement across kindergarten." - Teaching Students What They Already Know? The (Mis)Alignment Between Mathematics Instructional Content and Student Knowledge in Kindergarten
"A sequential process growth curve model showed that kindergarten number competence predicted rate of growth in mathematics achievement between 1st and 3rd grades as well as achievement level through 3rd grade. Further, rate of growth in early number competence predicted mathematics performance level in 3rd grade... The findings show the importance of early number competence for setting children’s learning trajectories in elementary school mathematics." - Early Math Matters: Kindergarten number competence and later mathematics outcomes
"The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) affirm that high-quality, challenging, and accessible mathematics education for 3- to 6-year-old children is a vital foundation for future mathematics learning." - Early Childhood Mathematics: Promoting Good Beginnings
"These data suggest a need for enhanced attention to higher level mathematical concepts explored in early childhood settings." - Mathematical Language in Early Childhood Settings: What really counts?
"The results indicated that math performance showed high stability and increasing variance over time. Moreover, the growth of math competence was faster among those who entered preschool with an already high level of mathematical skills." - Developmental Dynamics of Math Performance from Preschool to Grade 2
"Across all 6 studies, the strongest predictors of later achievement are school-entry math, reading, and attention skills. A meta-analysis of the results shows that early math skills have the greatest predictive power, followed by reading and then attention skills. By contrast, measures of socioemotional behaviors, including internalizing and externalizing problems and social skills, were generally insignificant predictors of later academic performance, even among children with relatively high levels of problem behavior." - School Readiness and Later Achievement
"We find that early math skills predict reading, math, and science achievement as well as grade retention from kindergarten through eighth grade.... The fact that early mathematics knowledge and skills are the most important predictors not only for later math achievement but also for achievement in other content areas and grade retention supports a greater emphasis on mathematics than is currently the case in many kindergarten classrooms. It also suggest the possibility that focusing more on advanced number, pattern recognition, and measurement might develop skills that will benefit students in the later years of schooling." - How Important is Where You Start? Early Mathematics Knowledge and Later School Success
"Kindergarten mathematics skills are important for subsequent achievement, yet mathematics is underemphasized in kindergarten classrooms... Although the vast majority of children entered kindergarten having mastered basic counting and able to recognize simple geometric shapes, their teachers reported spending the most mathematics time—typically about 13 days per month—on this content. On average, exposure to this basic mathematics content was negatively associated with math achievement across kindergarten." - Teaching Students What They Already Know? The (Mis)Alignment Between Mathematics Instructional Content and Student Knowledge in Kindergarten
"A sequential process growth curve model showed that kindergarten number competence predicted rate of growth in mathematics achievement between 1st and 3rd grades as well as achievement level through 3rd grade. Further, rate of growth in early number competence predicted mathematics performance level in 3rd grade... The findings show the importance of early number competence for setting children’s learning trajectories in elementary school mathematics." - Early Math Matters: Kindergarten number competence and later mathematics outcomes
"The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) affirm that high-quality, challenging, and accessible mathematics education for 3- to 6-year-old children is a vital foundation for future mathematics learning." - Early Childhood Mathematics: Promoting Good Beginnings
"These data suggest a need for enhanced attention to higher level mathematical concepts explored in early childhood settings." - Mathematical Language in Early Childhood Settings: What really counts?
"The results indicated that math performance showed high stability and increasing variance over time. Moreover, the growth of math competence was faster among those who entered preschool with an already high level of mathematical skills." - Developmental Dynamics of Math Performance from Preschool to Grade 2
"Across all 6 studies, the strongest predictors of later achievement are school-entry math, reading, and attention skills. A meta-analysis of the results shows that early math skills have the greatest predictive power, followed by reading and then attention skills. By contrast, measures of socioemotional behaviors, including internalizing and externalizing problems and social skills, were generally insignificant predictors of later academic performance, even among children with relatively high levels of problem behavior." - School Readiness and Later Achievement
Why Stem in early childhood?
"a statistically significant difference was found between the experimental and control group Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking pretest/ posttest total scores (p < .05). The results revealed that the effect of STEM education on the creativity of 5-year-old children attending kindergarten is positive and this effect is permanent." - Exploring the Effectiveness of STEM Education on the Creativity of 5 year old Kindergarten Children
"Despite evidence showing that a rigorous, integrated STEM curriculum promotes cognitive development and curiosity, very little STEM or engineering instruction occurs in classrooms for three- to five-year-old children, and few studies include teachers in the curriculum design process. Research has shown that, when children experience an engineering curriculum, they show an increase in engagement, in the number of engineering behaviors displayed, and in persistence in completing activities."
- An Iterative Participatory Approach to Developing an Early Childhood Problem-based STEM Curriculum
"Results showed that the experimental group children made a significant improvement in their math skills compared to those in the control group. The children's awareness and interest in science-related subjects as well as technology use such as ‘Googling’ to search or educational software games increased as the study progressed." - Preparing children for success: integrating science, math, and technology in early childhood classroom
"Impact of STEAM learning:
Improve vocabulary, collaboration, and transmit learning into future experiences.
Increased language development, social- emotional development, motor development, and self-confidence.
Influences the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the early childhood education.
Offers many opportunities for students to be active and involved, and to take initiatives in their own learning... Improve creativity." - STEAM Learning in Early Childhood Education: A Literature Review
"Despite evidence showing that a rigorous, integrated STEM curriculum promotes cognitive development and curiosity, very little STEM or engineering instruction occurs in classrooms for three- to five-year-old children, and few studies include teachers in the curriculum design process. Research has shown that, when children experience an engineering curriculum, they show an increase in engagement, in the number of engineering behaviors displayed, and in persistence in completing activities."
- An Iterative Participatory Approach to Developing an Early Childhood Problem-based STEM Curriculum
"Results showed that the experimental group children made a significant improvement in their math skills compared to those in the control group. The children's awareness and interest in science-related subjects as well as technology use such as ‘Googling’ to search or educational software games increased as the study progressed." - Preparing children for success: integrating science, math, and technology in early childhood classroom
"Impact of STEAM learning:
Improve vocabulary, collaboration, and transmit learning into future experiences.
Increased language development, social- emotional development, motor development, and self-confidence.
Influences the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the early childhood education.
Offers many opportunities for students to be active and involved, and to take initiatives in their own learning... Improve creativity." - STEAM Learning in Early Childhood Education: A Literature Review
Why one on one literacy tutoring?
https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01247.x
Why is your early childhood campus screen-free?
Children in early childhood learn through experiences. Screens can damage the developing brain. Despite the overwhelming research, schools continue to provide children in early childhood with tablets and install screens in every classroom because it's cheaper & more convenient. Books, paper, materials, toys, and teachers are very very expensive. Screens reduce the need for those resources.
"Higher ST [screen time] exposure at early childhood is associated with later emotional and behavioral problems. In particular, sustained high ST exposure is a risk factor for behavioral problems. These findings suggested the importance of controlling ST to prevent the occurrence of emotional and behavioral problems in the early years."
Liu, W., Wu, X., Huang, K. et al. Early childhood screen time as a predictor of emotional and behavioral problems in children at 4 years: a birth cohort study in China. Environ Health Prev Med 26, 3 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12199-020-00926-w
"Early experiences and behaviors play a crucial role in shaping a child’s developmental trajectories. Our study, drawing from a large-scale early childhood study, shows a negative association between longer screen time and young children’s developmental health in five core domains: physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development. These findings underscore the importance of limiting screen time in early childhood "
Kerai, S., Almas, A., Guhn, M. et al. Screen time and developmental health: results from an early childhood study in Canada. BMC Public Health 22, 310 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12701-3
"This study found an association between increased screen-based media use, compared with the AAP guidelines, and lower microstructural integrity of brain white matter tracts supporting language and emergent literacy skills in prekindergarten children. The findings suggest further study is needed, particularly during the rapid early stages of brain development."
Hutton, John S., et al. "Associations between screen-based media use and brain white matter integrity in preschool-aged children." JAMA pediatrics 174.1 (2020): e193869-e193869.
"These findings shed new light on the shared neural overlaps between ADHD symptoms and prolonged STU, and provide evidence that the polygenic risk for ADHD is related, via white matter microstructure and the ADHD trait, to STU."
Anyi Yang, Edmund T. Rolls, Guiying Dong, Jingnan Du, Yuzhu Li, Jianfeng Feng, Wei Cheng, Xing-Ming Zhao,
Longer screen time utilization is associated with the polygenic risk for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with mediation by brain white matter microstructure, eBioMedicine, Volume 80, 2022, 104039, ISSN 2352-3964, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104039.
In both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, children who watched over 2 hours of television per day had increased odds of low communication scores.
Duch H, Fisher EM, Ensari I, et al. Association of Screen Time Use and Language Development in Hispanic Toddlers: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Study. Clinical Pediatrics. 2013;52(9):857-865. doi:10.1177/0009922813492881
" Among boys, longer screen time at 1 year of age was significantly associated with autism spectrum disorder at 3 years of age. "
Kushima M, Kojima R, Shinohara R, et al. Association Between Screen Time Exposure in Children at 1 Year of Age and Autism Spectrum Disorder at 3 Years of Age: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study. JAMA Pediatr. 2022;176(4):384–391. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.5778
"More than 1 h of ST [screen time] per day is considered excessive for children aged 2–5 years.... the children with excessive screen time had significantly increased odds ratios for having conduct and peer relationship problems"
O. Tezol, D. Yildiz, S. Yalcin, A. Oflu, M. Erat Nergiz, N. Caylan, S. Cıcek, D. Foto Ozdemır, Excessive screen time and lower psychosocial well-being among preschool children, Archives de Pédiatrie, Volume 29, Issue 1, 2022, Pages 61-66, ISSN 0929-693X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arcped.2021.10.003.
"screen time is related to autism-like symptoms and the DQs [development quotients] of children with ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder]. The longer the screen time, the more severe the symptoms of ASD (especially sensory symptoms), and the more obvious the developmental delay, especially in ASD children with a longer screen time and younger age, particularly in the language domain."
Dong H-Y, Wang B, Li H-H, Yue X-J and Jia F-Y (2021) Correlation Between Screen Time and Autistic Symptoms as Well as Development Quotients in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front. Psychiatry 12:619994. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.619994
"The findings suggest that exposure to excessive screen time in children can be associated with attention problems. "
Renata Maria Silva Santos, Camila Guimarães Mendes, Débora Marques Miranda & Marco Aurélio Romano-Silva (2022) The Association between Screen Time and Attention in Children: A Systematic Review, Developmental Neuropsychology, 47:4, 175-192, DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2022.2064863
" those children with inconsistently supervised screen time were significantly more likely to have suspected deficits in attention (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.3–8.2), intelligence (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.3–13.3), and social skills (OR 15.3, 95% CI 1.9–121.2)'
John, J.J., Joseph, R., David, A. et al. Association of screen time with parent-reported cognitive delay in preschool children of Kerala, India. BMC Pediatr 21, 73 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02545-y
" Overall increased screen time is associated with negative outcomes such as lowered self-esteem, increased incidence and severity of mental health issues and addictions, slowed learning and acquisition, and an increased risk of premature cognitive decline."
Neophytou, E., Manwell, L.A. & Eikelboom, R. Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Neurodevelopment, Learning, Memory, Mental Health, and Neurodegeneration: a Scoping Review. Int J Ment Health Addiction 19, 724–744 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00182-2
"Higher ST [screen time] exposure at early childhood is associated with later emotional and behavioral problems. In particular, sustained high ST exposure is a risk factor for behavioral problems. These findings suggested the importance of controlling ST to prevent the occurrence of emotional and behavioral problems in the early years."
Liu, W., Wu, X., Huang, K. et al. Early childhood screen time as a predictor of emotional and behavioral problems in children at 4 years: a birth cohort study in China. Environ Health Prev Med 26, 3 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12199-020-00926-w
"Early experiences and behaviors play a crucial role in shaping a child’s developmental trajectories. Our study, drawing from a large-scale early childhood study, shows a negative association between longer screen time and young children’s developmental health in five core domains: physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development. These findings underscore the importance of limiting screen time in early childhood "
Kerai, S., Almas, A., Guhn, M. et al. Screen time and developmental health: results from an early childhood study in Canada. BMC Public Health 22, 310 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12701-3
"This study found an association between increased screen-based media use, compared with the AAP guidelines, and lower microstructural integrity of brain white matter tracts supporting language and emergent literacy skills in prekindergarten children. The findings suggest further study is needed, particularly during the rapid early stages of brain development."
Hutton, John S., et al. "Associations between screen-based media use and brain white matter integrity in preschool-aged children." JAMA pediatrics 174.1 (2020): e193869-e193869.
"These findings shed new light on the shared neural overlaps between ADHD symptoms and prolonged STU, and provide evidence that the polygenic risk for ADHD is related, via white matter microstructure and the ADHD trait, to STU."
Anyi Yang, Edmund T. Rolls, Guiying Dong, Jingnan Du, Yuzhu Li, Jianfeng Feng, Wei Cheng, Xing-Ming Zhao,
Longer screen time utilization is associated with the polygenic risk for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with mediation by brain white matter microstructure, eBioMedicine, Volume 80, 2022, 104039, ISSN 2352-3964, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104039.
In both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, children who watched over 2 hours of television per day had increased odds of low communication scores.
Duch H, Fisher EM, Ensari I, et al. Association of Screen Time Use and Language Development in Hispanic Toddlers: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Study. Clinical Pediatrics. 2013;52(9):857-865. doi:10.1177/0009922813492881
" Among boys, longer screen time at 1 year of age was significantly associated with autism spectrum disorder at 3 years of age. "
Kushima M, Kojima R, Shinohara R, et al. Association Between Screen Time Exposure in Children at 1 Year of Age and Autism Spectrum Disorder at 3 Years of Age: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study. JAMA Pediatr. 2022;176(4):384–391. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.5778
"More than 1 h of ST [screen time] per day is considered excessive for children aged 2–5 years.... the children with excessive screen time had significantly increased odds ratios for having conduct and peer relationship problems"
O. Tezol, D. Yildiz, S. Yalcin, A. Oflu, M. Erat Nergiz, N. Caylan, S. Cıcek, D. Foto Ozdemır, Excessive screen time and lower psychosocial well-being among preschool children, Archives de Pédiatrie, Volume 29, Issue 1, 2022, Pages 61-66, ISSN 0929-693X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arcped.2021.10.003.
"screen time is related to autism-like symptoms and the DQs [development quotients] of children with ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder]. The longer the screen time, the more severe the symptoms of ASD (especially sensory symptoms), and the more obvious the developmental delay, especially in ASD children with a longer screen time and younger age, particularly in the language domain."
Dong H-Y, Wang B, Li H-H, Yue X-J and Jia F-Y (2021) Correlation Between Screen Time and Autistic Symptoms as Well as Development Quotients in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front. Psychiatry 12:619994. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.619994
"The findings suggest that exposure to excessive screen time in children can be associated with attention problems. "
Renata Maria Silva Santos, Camila Guimarães Mendes, Débora Marques Miranda & Marco Aurélio Romano-Silva (2022) The Association between Screen Time and Attention in Children: A Systematic Review, Developmental Neuropsychology, 47:4, 175-192, DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2022.2064863
" those children with inconsistently supervised screen time were significantly more likely to have suspected deficits in attention (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.3–8.2), intelligence (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.3–13.3), and social skills (OR 15.3, 95% CI 1.9–121.2)'
John, J.J., Joseph, R., David, A. et al. Association of screen time with parent-reported cognitive delay in preschool children of Kerala, India. BMC Pediatr 21, 73 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02545-y
" Overall increased screen time is associated with negative outcomes such as lowered self-esteem, increased incidence and severity of mental health issues and addictions, slowed learning and acquisition, and an increased risk of premature cognitive decline."
Neophytou, E., Manwell, L.A. & Eikelboom, R. Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Neurodevelopment, Learning, Memory, Mental Health, and Neurodegeneration: a Scoping Review. Int J Ment Health Addiction 19, 724–744 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-019-00182-2
Why is my child calling Brain Builders academy, "rainbow school" and "rainbow forest"
We let our current students design the interior of the school. They unanimously chose a "rainbow theme" because "rainbow" is their favorite color.. The kids started calling it "rainbow school", and the name just stuck.
When will you be offering tours?
The school is scheduled to be ready for parent tours October.
What is Tuition and what is included?
Private reading, math, and piano lessons.
Lowest student to teacher ratios in Chicago.
All supplies and materials.
Daily science experiments & STEM projects.
Weekly field trips to the forest preserve.
Full day learning from 8am-6pm
Daily art classes
Light lab
Makers Lab
Engineering Lab
Robotics & Technology Lab
Tuition: $3,000/mo
Lowest student to teacher ratios in Chicago.
All supplies and materials.
Daily science experiments & STEM projects.
Weekly field trips to the forest preserve.
Full day learning from 8am-6pm
Daily art classes
Light lab
Makers Lab
Engineering Lab
Robotics & Technology Lab
Tuition: $3,000/mo
WHAT IS THE HAWAII EARLY LEARNING PROFILE?
"HELP is a flexible curriculum-based assessment tool that identifies needs, monitors growth and development, and establishes a plan to address assessment results." - cite
"HELP® 3-6 (2nd Edition) is a comprehensive, on-going, curriculum-based assessment for use with young children and their families." - cite
"HELP® 3-6 (2nd Edition) is a comprehensive, on-going, curriculum-based assessment for use with young children and their families." - cite