Little Sponges® CEO to Speak at the GaETC Conference!
On November 9th, Natalya Seals, Little Sponges Founder and CEO, will be presenting “Online Curriculum for Early Learners on the Path to Biliteracy” at the Georgia Educational Technology Conference. Bilingual education is quickly becoming a national priority. 32% of young students in US are Dual Language Learners. Schools are facing many challenges with educating them due […]
32% of Young Children in US are DLLs! Are You Equipped to Teach Them?
From 2000 to 2017, the young dual-language-learner population has increased from 8% to 32% in the United States. The Washington-based Migration Policy Institute classifies the nation’s young dual-language-learners as children under 8 years of age, who have at least one parent that speaks a language other than English. It is no secret that knowing more […]
Little Sponges® – Presenting at the NAEYC Conference!
The National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) Annual Conference is the largest gathering of education leaders, classroom teachers and faculty, administrators, and other important practitioners in early childhood education. These specialists spend four days engaged in informative sessions, networking, and exploration of the conference with more than 175 exhibit booths. 32% of […]
3 Fears About Screen Time for Kids- and Why They’re Not True
We check our phones upwards of 50 times per day — but when our kids play around with them, we get nervous. Are screens ruining childhood? Not according to children’s media expert Sara DeWitt. In a talk that may make you feel a bit less guilty about handing a tablet to a child while you […]
When Kids are Bilingual, Everyone Wins
A walk through Heritage Elementary School in Woodburn, Oregon, can make you feel like you’re touring Europe. In one classroom, a group of third-graders learn to read in Spanish. In another, students recite multiplication tables in Russian. In other parts of the school, students are receiving instruction in English. Heritage Elementary School isn’t a fancy […]
Treating Language as a Strength: The Benefits of Bilingualism
So much of the discussion on English language learners in U.S. schools focuses on what they don’t have (for example, academic English) or what they haven’t been able to do (such as graduate in rates comparable to proficient English speakers). These are real problems that deserve our attention. But, sometimes it is important to turn […]