Catching up, new device touted to improve pandemic learning loss

writing at school
Some children experienced an academic and developmental delay due to the pandemic. A new device from Animal Island Learning Adventure assists with improving literacy, problem solving, and creativity in young children.
Thomas G./Pixabay

NewsUSA - A year after the coronavirus pandemic turned education upside down, educators and parents are assessing learning loss and the need to help young children get on track and meet milestones they may have missed because of closed or limited daycare centers and preschools.

Many preschoolers missed out on not only academic development, but also social/emotional education with opportunities for engagement and support.

The Animal Island Learning Adventure (AILA) Sit & Play interactive device offers a unique and effective solution to the challenges of promoting early childhood development at home and in the daycare or preschool setting.

AILA is a hands-free device designed as an early education tool for children ages 12 months and older to build the skills they need to proceed to school. The content is attentive, supportive, and responsive; it meets children where they are, and gets them where they need to be. The curriculum includes literacy, numeracy, problem solving, story time, collaboration, communication, creativity, and music, and addresses social as well as academic development. Children are engaged in active, not passive, screen time.

"What is really rewarding is to impact people's lives in education early on," says Helen Fu Thomas, CEO of DMAI, Inc.

"Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, AILA helped tens of thousands of American households and many daycare centers educate the toddlers and preschoolers effectively," she adds. AILA is the no. 1 New Release on Amazon in the Toddler Electronic Learning System category.

Daycare providers can use AILA as a simple solution to help combat pandemic learning loss.

"I work with inner-city kids from middle- and low-income families," says Maria Benjamin, director of the Next Generation Learning Center in Richmond, VA. "These families deserve the best. I believe they can have a promising beginning and a good foundation of learning, and I'm very thankful they can get a head start with AILA."

AILA has no advertising or inappropriate content, and requires no subscription fees. An accompanying app lets parents set content and check in on their child's progress and activities remotely.

Visit animalisland.us for more information and for a special offer on AILA Sit and Play.


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Dolly Parton's Imagination Library comes to Champaign County

URBANA - The Imagination Library, founded by Country music legend and humanitarian Dolly Parton, is now available to Champaign Country residents. Funded by Parton and the Dollywood Foundation, who cover much of the overhead costs and administration needs, the cost for books and postage is taken care of by local programs, the United Way of Champaign County.

Each month, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library mails a high-quality, age-appropriate book to all eligible registered children at no cost to the family. Books are carefully selected and mailed addressed with the child's name.


Photo Cottonbro Studio/PEXELS

Parents who read to their babies and young children lay the neurological pathways in the brain for building effective language use as well as reading and writing proficiency.

Eligibility is open to all children under the age of 5 who live in Champaign County, Illinois. Books are sent monthly until the child turns five years old and as long as they live within the covered geographic area.

Some titles include Baby! Talk!, Pudgy Pat A Cake, Who Says Quack?, and Look at the Animals for kids born this year to In Our Garden, Wild Horses, You Can Be ABC, Wonder Walker, and I’m Not Scared, You’re Scared for children in the the age four to five group.

The Champaign County program is funded by donors via the Community Impact Fund and The State of Illinois. Parton's initiative has gifted over 224,249,899 books since its start in 1995 in Parton's hometown of Sevier County, Tennessee.

Studies have shown that kids whose parents or guardians read to them regularly during their early years perform better academically as they progress through the educational system. It is never too early or too late to read to children.

Parents interested in registering the children can follow this link to register today. The first book should arrive approximately eight to twelve weeks after registraion and will arrive monthly.


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