Bilingualism

Half of the world’s population is bilingual, with 2/3 of children born in a multilingual context. Monolinguism has now become the exception. We now know that the earlier a child learns a language, the more comfortable he or she will be in life and open up to the world.

All children at Wonderful Minds are immersed in both English/Hebrew languages.

Studies have shown that bilingualism develops certain cognitive abilities and improves children’s concentration and attention. So why not teach them a second language from an early age? In addition, learning a second language makes it easier for the brain to develop, and children will have facilities in other areas later on.

In our Nursery, native English and native Hebrew speaking staff work side by side. The activities are carried out naturally in both languages. English is not taught separately but rather experienced cognitively and emotionally as a lived language in a formative context. We use Montessori materials in both English and Hebrew. The individualized learning process that marks the Montessori method naturally lends itself to the implementation of the bilingual approach.

The various activities offered are:

•  Songs and rhymes >

We know that children learn much more easily than adults. Wonderful Minds highlights singing being a fun way to learn and get the best pronunciation and rhythm. Repetition allows the child to remember the words

•  Group games >

Wonderful Minds advocates the discovery of new games from new cultures allowing the child to learn by having fun spontaneously and to integrate rules of play (and life) in other languages. Playing ball, psychomotricity exercises,

•  Cooking new recipes >

At Wonderful Minds, the emphasis is on the development of the senses through their stimulation, which is also a good way to learn new words. Immerse yourself in the culinary culture by smells and senses. The pleasure experienced by taste allows the child to easily remember the words. Discovering and making an English carrot cake, a German Strudel or Spanish churros gives another dimension to language learning.

Maintaining or learning a second language is a way to cultivate open-mindedness and thinking. Bilingualism is a positive force that improves not only children’s cognitive and linguistic development, but also performance, especially in mathematics. Studies have shown that bilingual children are better at solving tasks that require attention and that they show a faster speed of execution when complex tasks need to be solved.

Finally, bilingualism is a strong asset in today’s globalized world. Speaking a second language will provide facilities for children in the future, both personally and professionally.

•  Gardening >

Our purpose is to give the experience of the joy of gardening, but also how fun it can be to garden and watch their faces in amazement when a plant produces vegetables from a small seed. We teach the children a few things that they can do and enjoy in the garden,  like cucumbers, apples, green beans, potatoes and tomatoes, and they can have fun with too.

For any information request, please contact us here