New York Italians Children: Piccolini Play School

New York Italians: Piccolini Looking to have your child embrace another language? New York Italians offers a connection between language acquisition and the creative process through the integration of art and play into language classes. We offer Italian language immersion programs to children ages 18 months to 9 years old. Young children have a natural ease with learning a second language; therefore we offer immersion programs to our youngest students. During the early year...s, children enter a world of discovery; learning and play conducted entirely in Italian. Around age 6 months, infants are capable of discriminating the sounds of all the languages of the world, says Naja Ferjan Ramirez, Ph.D., outreach specialist for the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS) at University of Washington. In other words, babies are born with the potential to speak any language. But Ramirez also notes that at 12 months, the infant’s brain has begun to specialize and focus on the sounds of the primary language(s) she hears. (This concept is explored further in a language-learning study published in 2011 in the Journal of Phonetics.) Essentially, the earlier children are exposed to languages, the better their chances of retention and proficiency. Witnessing your child learn another language is exciting! Of course children learn languages at different rates, but your child will make strides that may surprise even you. First he or she will begin to understand words, then phrases, and then sentences. He or she will also begin to answer simple questions, speak in short phrases and then engage in simple conversation - and be on his way to becoming multi-lingual. As part of our Total Immersion approach, children will be taught entirely in Italian. Our curriculum is designed to revolve around the visual arts. Themes are developed through individual and group art projects involving painting, watercolor, collage and sculpture. Creativity, self-awareness and awareness of the others is enhanced through storytelling and theater games. We understand that children learn differently. Through observation and listening, we encourage each individual’s unique learning styles; while focusing on their physical, educational and emotional needs. For info email us [email protected]