Category Archives: ACA Blog

With more and more dual-working families, daycare is becoming a necessity for young parents who need (or want) to continue working. While family leave policies for employees in governmental agencies can sometimes run for twelve weeks (unpaid), such generous leave policies are rarer in the private sector. In addition, small businesses can rarely afford to […]

What is play? Play is what children do when they find themselves with time, space, and encouragement to follow their own curiosity, interests, and whims in exploring the world around them. The might play alone, with friends, or even with their parents, but the focus is on the child’s self-motivation. How does play benefit a […]

In an increasingly competitive educational environment, parents are rightfully concerned about giving their children every possible advantage in the academic world. But when kids could be taking lessons in Mandarin Chinese, filling out sight-word worksheets, and learning how to use a microscope, it’s easy to wonder: Who needs playtime? The Purpose Of Play There’s a […]

The Montessori Method of teaching has been around for over one hundred years, so it’s no surprise that there are a large number of successful, creative and very famous alumni. Many of them credit the tenets of the method for starting them down the path of their success. Jeff Bezos This chairman and chief executive […]

Learning is a predictable sequence from one academic and developmental milestone to the next, building on the former skills to achieve the latter. That’s why psychologists and educators have set up a series of cognitive milestones by which to measure a child’s growth. Although every kid learns at a different rate, these guidelines can help […]

It goes without saying that, as parents, we all want to instill self-discipline and impulse control in our children. Learning how to willingly delay gratification and maintain control of emotions encourages patience and long-term thinking. But a recent book by Amy Chua (author of The Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother) and Jed Rubenfeld (a […]

Often the benefits of early childhood education are framed academically, as if developing fundamental reading and math skills is the primary goal. But there are a whole lot of other lessons your toddler is learning in his first classroom experience: Lessons in social skills that may have a deeper impact on your child’s future success […]

As a parent, you know there will come a day when your child will leave the safety and comfort of your home. Whether she’s setting off for three weeks at summer camp, moving into a dorm room, or even signing his first lease, you’re going to worry how he or she is going to manage […]

Unfortunately, not every child has an easy time in school. Some kids struggle with specific academic subjects, others struggle with time management, and still others may grapple with organizational issues and feel overwhelmed by increasing levels of responsibility. There may come a time when, as a parent, you’ll wonder whether your child would benefit from […]

With the ferocious rise in technology over the past few decades, never has it been more important to encourage kids to develop number, reasoning, pattern recognition, and other math skills. Faced with this truth, parents often wonder if they’re doing enough to prepare their children. Can playing a few online math games or board games […]