Now enrolling for Summer Scouts summer program and Fall 2026-2027 school year!
NOW ENROLLING
A new chapter begins at CHPK! For the first time since opening in 1962, we are welcoming infants and young toddlers. Our dedicated teachers provide a safe, loving, and supportive environment where every child is respected, nurtured, and encouraged to reach important developmental milestones while building a strong foundation for lifelong learning.
How Does Early Education Shape a Baby's Mind?
Science has shown that the relationships with the important people in a baby's life literally shape and form the architecture of the infant's brain.
Deceptively simple, moment-to-moment interactions with responsive caregivers build the brain, creating or strengthening it one connection at a time. By the time children are 2 years old, the structures of their brain that will influence later learning are mostly formed. This means that the most important brain growth and development, the kind that will physically form the brain, begins long before a child ever picks up a pencil, reads a book, or goes to school.
Why Is Early Childhood Education Important?
The years from birth to five are critical for a child's long-term health, development and wellbeing. Particularly for children who are at risk, high-quality early childhood education and care can help ensure the best start to life possible.
Decades of evidence show that the first few years of a child's life are critical in supporting their physical, mental, and emotional development long-term. Because of how quickly children's brains and bodies are growing – particularly in the first three years of life – the experiences they have can have lifelong effects. One of the experiences that can help is high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC).
Why early childhood education and care matter | UNICEF Europe and Central Asia