Immersive English-Español Education
Effective bilingual education when it matters the most!
- Immersive program (50/50 English/Español) for the youngest learners
- Expert teachers from Spain
- Comprehensive, proven, curriculum in both languages
Bilingualism researchers and experts on second language learning agree: the earlier, the better.
What is bilingualism?
Dominant language +
Time of exposure +
Context
It's an immersion partnership between two leading educational companies
- Experts in first school experience
- Early education and whole child development
- Proven program with strong ex-missions
- Leading Educational Network from Spain
- Experts in Bilingual Education with 35 schools around the world
- Focused on whole Family development
Preschool program
Pairing Montessori methods and materials with custom Playgarden educational tools, we introduce separation, daily school routine, group lessons and independent work in classrooms carefully prepared for young students.
Specialized Facilities For Individualized Education
- The Group Room focuses on core curriculum and peer-to-peer learning, while introducing little ones to classroom setting instruction
- The Montessori rooms promotes child-led, independent learning
- The Nutrition room reinforces learning by involving all the senses (taste, smell, tact) while introducing new foods, teaching life skills and promoting socialization
- Our movement room promotes gross motor skills through sports, yoga and dance
- Our custom music room allows students to explore instruments and musical theory while our art and sensory room allows for important sensory and cooperative learning
- Our teachers are trained to help guide and support each child throughout their distinct learning and language journey
Families at the Center
A child's family is their best educational tool
- We provide families with additional educational content to support at home learning
- We welcome and support families with all types of languages at home
- We are a community!
Want To Know More?
“The ability to hear different phonetic pronunciations is sharpest before age 3, and we lose the capacity to hear and produce certain sounds if we aren't exposed to them early on”
-François Thibaut, director of the Language Workshop for Children in NYC
Meet Your Teachers
“Relatively balanced exposure to the two languages is most likely to promote successful acquisition of both of the languages”
Elin Thordardottir, Ph.D. International Journal of Bilingualism
THE BENEFITS OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
More active and flexible brains!
Research demonstrated that bilingual individuals (children) show enhanced cognitive abilities in comparison to their non-bilingual counterparts. They have an easier time:
- Understanding math concepts and solving word problems;
- Developing critical thinking skills;
- Applying or using logical reasoning
- Focusing, remembering, and making decisions;
- Learning other languages.
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Research has found that infants raised in a bi-lingual environment show improved self-control, a crucial factor linked to academic success. As much as this is a true affirmation, many of the students won't come or will be raised in a bi-lingual household.
LEARNING
- Better able to block out irrelevant information
- Higher levels of abstract thought
- Flexible approach to thinking through problems
The classrooms
- We group little one base on their school readiness
- Young 2s, 2s, 3s, Pre-K
- We support all types of Spanish language learners (from beginners with no exposure at home to only Spanish mother tongue at home)
Do you want to know more?
Playgarden Prep Español is so much more! First Educational Experience in Spanish
- Enrichment classes 12-18 months
- Playmusic
- Afterschool
- Playdates
All en Español!
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
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Are bilingual children confused?
No! research has proven that code switching language discrimination is easy and natural for young learners
-
How easy is it to learn a second language?
Quality and quantity to exposure to the language matters. Daily exposure to relevant content in the new language is key to achieve long term, sustainable, proficiency.
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What is an immersion program?
At Playgarden Prep Español we strive for a 50/50 balance of language immersion, supporting bilingualism.
Multilingual Children in a Global World
Join us for a webinar on April 23rd via Zoom at 6PM EST, hosted by multilingual early childhood educator Dr. Bernadette Zermeño.
Dr. Bernadette will discuss a variety of topics, including:
- Will having multilingual early education affect a child's development?
- What are the benefits of having a second or third language early in life/the benefits of raising a multilingual child?
- How can parents help in the development of bilingual children?
- How can schools or caregivers help in the development of a second language?
- What should parents look for in immersion early education programs?
Please fill out the form to confirm attendance. You will receive a Zoom link via email on the day of the webinar.
RSVP Multilingual Children in a Global World
Dr. Bernadette Pilar Zermeño (she/ella) is a movement maker, community mobilizer, and early childhood educator. With over twenty years of experience in early education, she is an Adjunct Faculty with EDvance College that will share successes creating, developing and teaching Transitional Kindergarten Programs, literacy and biliteracy cultivation from home to 5th grade, especially within Dual Immersion Programs. She is passionate about facilitating lifelong learners beginning at the earliest age as a multilingual educator, teaching in PreK-University levels. She is innovative in curriculum creation with expertise in training Pre-K, Transitional and Traditional Kindergarten Teachers, and TK/K Teacher Aides, Teacher Candidates focusing on biliteracy and language development. As a trilingual, multiracial and first generation woman, she received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership with Emphasis in Early Childhood at Mills College and holds an MA in Education with a bilingual multiple subject teaching credential and a BA in Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. Bernadette is National Board Early Generalist Certified.
Bernadette builds open, trust-based relationships with students, caregivers, teammates, and community partners to support all learners, specially dedicated to helping newly arrived students and refugees with foundational social and emotional skills. Her passion and drive to support the earliest learners is taken outside of the walls of TK and into adult settings, focusing on Bay Area Preschool, TK and Kindergarten teachers.
She currently works within Oakland Unified as a Multilingual Specialist in Early Childhood department while also supporting teacher candidates at Alder, Cal State East Bay, Chabot, Merritt, and Las Positas College. She was a literacy specialist and Preschool and TK professional development provider with FLUENT SEEDS. She is currently working on gaining administration credential and can always be found advocating for the basic needs of the community.
She has presented at a national education conference on research focusing on dual language immersion in early education and continues to research new effective ways to support language as an asset.
Bernadette has an unbridled passion for early education and developmentally appropriate practices. She served on the California Kindergarten Association Board of Directors as Treasurer for over six years and now is a board member for Forest and Tree. When not teaching, Bernadette loves to scuba dive with sharks, read anything and everything and watch her children dance ballet folklorico or learn to skateboard. Bernadette truly believes in reflecting and building on assets, just like EDvance!