Language development isn't worksheets and passive listening, especially when it comes to language delays and struggling students. After a traumatic brain injury, guest Emily Cadiz learned first-hand how difficult it is to get back language skills, much less learn them in the first place.

Our pre-kindergarten children spend up to 4.5 hours a day in front of a screen, impairing their ability to use their language skills. The result is kindergarteners and primary school students who are far behind where they should be academically.

So Emily took what she learned trying to get her own language skills back and turned it into a fun, interactive curriculum that both teachers and parents can use. And to make it engaging, she used one of the most universal tools around: music.

Tune in this week to find out what happens in pre-k brains, how a former music professional developed curriculum for our most underserved (and overlooked) kiddos and teachers, and what dragons have to do with it.

About Emily Cadiz:

Emily Cadiz is founder and CEO of Finnegan the Dragon, which creates tone-based curriculum and gaming systems that support early childhood language and literacy development. Her first book, Finnegan the Singing Dragon, introduces audiences to the main character in this adventure-based learning system. Emily,and her team, use inclusive music and tone/singing as the interactive tool for classroom and online learning so that children develop the needed language skills for greater communication, literacy, and social and emotional growth. She created Finnegan the Dragon, leveraging her experiences as a professional musician and working with special needs children to develop a learning system that directly addresses passive screen time and the effects it has on language and overall brain development between the ages of 2-6. A graduate of Columbia University in the City of New York, Emily holds graduate degrees in Education, Special Education, and Inclusive Music. After 15 years of direct classroom experience, Emily shifted to the world of virtual education which makes her well-suited to understand virtual learning needs.

Jump in the Conversation:

• [1:40] - Who is Finnegan the Dragon
• [2:30] - Declining language and cognitive rates
• [3:08] - Kinder readiness is tricky
• [3:45] - Kids are spending too much time with screens
• [5:20] - In-person curriculum that supports real time language development
• [6:40] - Emily's journey
• [8:34] - Where Finnegan the Dragon came from
• [10:15] - What happens in pre-k brains
• [12:56] - Rewriting traditional songs so they work for language development
• [16:09] - Get free accessl
• [18:49] - Turbo Time
• [20:56] - You never know the value of something until you lose it
• [24:04] - What parents and educators need to do to support literacy
• [25:40] - Emily's Magic Wand
• [27:26] - Maureen's Takeaways

Links & Resources

• Finnegan The Dragon
• Connect with Emily on LinkedIn
• Follow Finnegan the Dragon on Instagram
• Follow Finnegan the Dragon on Facebook
• Ben's Bells
• Email Maureen

• Maureen's TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen's book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep