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More and more studies are proving the importance of early childhood education to the success of a child’s future. We believe that a strong academic program combined with lots of love can create an unstoppable force!

All of us at Canyon Creek are so proud to be dedicated to positively impacting the lives and futures of our students. Below is an article which supports the Canyon Creek Day School philosophy.

Benefits of Early Reading
Why teach your child to read? Teaching your child to read early and well has multiple benefits and is the key to your child’s academic future.

Educational Reasons:
Reading opens the door to your child’s early academic success, imparts a love of learning, and leads to higher grades in every subject. Numerous studies have shown that strong oral language skills are the basis for literacy development. When children learn to read at an early age, they have greater general knowledge, expand their vocabulary, and become more fluent readers. They also have improved attention spans and better concentration.

Only by mastering effective reading strategies can the child pick up the necessary knowledge and information, which will enable him or her to excel scholastically in the future. It is interesting to note that early readers not only become lifelong readers, but also lifelong learners. Longitudinal studies have shown that early readers continue to get higher grades than their peers through grade school.

Psychological Reasons:
A child who learns to read at an early age grows in self-confidence and independence. Reading promotes greater maturity, increases discipline, and lays the basis for moral literacy. It exposes the child to a range of problem-solving techniques. Early reading ignites the child’s creativity and imagination.

Social Reasons:
Even at a young age, children have social awareness. Children who are strong readers may receive awards and certificates, be called upon to choose books, or encouraged to write, illustrate, and read aloud their own stories. They may even be asked to help other children who may be struggling.

Early readers have the opportunity to relate to their peers on a more confident level as they are already being recognized. Such experiences increase the child’s social status among peers as well as his or her self-image and self-confidence.

Neurological Reasons:
Reading helps to develop a young child’s brain. In the first six years, children learn at a much faster pace than at any other time in their lives. Vital connections in the brain are made very early in life. These connections, which are a direct result of stimulation the child receives through early experiences, form the basis of all future learning and intellectual ability.

At a younger age, learning is faster than it will be as the child grows older. When a child is taught to read, the process of learning has a profound influence on the entire functioning and development of the brain.

Linguistic Reasons:
Children who can read independently and early have more opportunities to encounter the written word. The sooner children learn how to read, the more books, knowledge, and ideas they will be exposed to. The result? Improved linguistic skills in the form of a richer vocabulary, correct grammar, improved writing, better spelling, and more articulate oral communication. It has been shown that children with a richer vocabulary do far better in scholastic areas. Their stronger reading skills also enable them to communicate more effectively orally as well as in writing.

Cited from: http://www.teachreadingearly.com/benefits-of-early-reading.php