Allusio Live: Your Child’s Favorite Learning Program
Most virtual programs that exist right now overwhelm you with worksheets and rote learning activities that are not developmentally-appropriate for your child. While these tasks can supplement a child’s education, their effectiveness is limited.
Before COVID-19, experts were warning families to avoid the flashy virtual preschools that were popping up across the country. They named risks associated with excessive screen use, such as sleep deprivation, behavior issues, and social-emotional delays.
“It just goes against everything we know about child development and what’s best for children,” said Josh Golin, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. “Children at that age learn best when they’re engaging all of their senses, when they’re using their hands, when they’re in social situations with peers and caring teachers.”
-Jackie Mader, in The Hechinger Report (2018)
Specifically, these programs lure parents into learning that is “rote memorization”,
rather than developmentally-appropriate and grounded in educational psychology.
The same Hechinger Report quotes Diane Levin, a professor of early childhood education at Boston University’s Wheelock College and co-founder of Defending the Early Years. Levin said, “Young children learn best when they have hands-on, concrete real experiences with the world. The more in-depth the learning from that is … the more solid the foundation is so that when they get older, they can move on to the next stages of cognitive development.”
In fact, some research suggests that, by second grade, children who focused explicitly on reading skills perform at about the same level as their peers who had a more well-rounded education (Crone & Whitehurst, 1999). More importantly, early reading—while associated with early academic success—correlated to less lifelong educational attainment and worse midlife adjustment (Kern & Friedman, 2008).
Our point? Critical cognitive skills and connections are gained in the first years of life.
Young children need enrichment experiences in their formative years.
Our children deserve more than virtual programs that
send home literacy worksheets and pre-recorded storytimes.
Where does that leave us in a quarantined world?
Allusio Live: virtual circle time with real-time educators
At Allusio Live, we offer your child daily live sessions that are diverse and grounded in progressive philosophies. We introduce them to circle time, one of the most powerful tools in a preschool classroom. This small-group setting creates a space for them to practice turn-taking, relationship-building, and peer communication. Your Allusio teacher will get to know them as an emergent learner.
Just like in a traditional preschool, our 40-minute classes will incorporate storytelling, critical inquiry, music and movement, scientific exploration, creative expression, cooking classes, and mathematics and literacy building.
Children learn through play. And as teachers, we will translate that play into positive learning.
Our weekly lesson plans, designed by a high-quality educator, will cater to your child’s needs and offer daily strategies for you to expand their education. We will share weekly toolkits to help you develop their literacy skills, cognitive learning, and critical thinking.
We understand that many families are transitioning to remote learning. We are committed to supporting you in this journey through research-based, child-centered pedagogies. As you look for educational access for your child, Allusio Live is here to bring you the best of preschool.