JLE Dual Language GEMS: Early Childhood Faith-Based Dual Language Acquisition

Hi, I'm Dr. Nicole Benoit-Roy, the Dual Language Instructional coach for Christian families with children (0-5yrs). Thank you for your interest in JLE Dual Language GEMS: Early Childhood Faith-Based Dual Language Acquisition (ECFDLA) curriculum for children from birth to 5 years. 

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My Career

I began my teaching/leadership career as a New York City Public Schools substitute teacher. I ran my own group family daycare two years following my teaching debut. I went on to teach at the preschool and elementary levels in religious institutions and in private agencies for children with disabilities. I have been working in education for over 20 years. For over 10 years, I led the Children's Ministries Department at my local church. My love for teaching early childhood literacy and witnessing for Christ inspired me to author the Jesus Loves Everybody book series. It humbled me to have received the 2012 Sharp Writ Book Award for my first book, Jesus Loves Everybody: Especially Me. My books highlight Jesus’ love for humanity to soften the young learners’ hearts and lead them to accept Christ Jesus as their Savior. My hope is that they will become workers in His vineyard while they, themselves, are heaven-bound.

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My Education

I completed secondary school and higher levels of education in the US. I earned my high school diploma from George W. Wingate High School in Brooklyn, NY. I received my Bachelor’s Degree from Stony Brook University in upstate New York with concentrations in music and theater. I studied Early Childhood General and Special Education and graduated with a dual Master’s Degree from Touro College in New York City. After a long, seven-year journey, I earned my Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership from Andrews University in Michigan

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How JLE Dual Language GEMS: ECFDLA Was Born

The back story that inspired this program is that as a bilingual student, I faced academic hardship due to the language barrier. I emigrated from Haiti when I was fifteen years old. 15 is the age when you have not yet fully acquired the language of your own country and at the same time learning a new language is rather difficult. Being an introvert with limited English language skills, I struggled during my high school years. A couple of years after I earned my Bachelor's degree, I began working with little people. And, the more I work with them the more I realize the importance of teaching them a second language early in life. Hence the creation of this Early Childhood Faith-Based Dual Language Acquisition (ECFDLA) curriculum, JLE Dual Language GEMS, so they don't have to go through the struggles that I went through. Parents, guardians, or schools, remember to keep the lesson from the back story in mind as you go through this curriculum with your child(ren) or students. They don't have to struggle later in life if they start learning a second language early in life.

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What Qualifies Me To Create This Dual Language Reading Program?
For starters, I taught my son to read before I attended a teacher training program. He was only three years old. He went on to become the valedictorian at the Kindergarten graduation in his school while he was still in Pre-K. He was able to read the valedictorian speech on his own. He was doing so well academically, that during the Kindergarten graduation planning, his teacher mistakenly included him on the list of graduates not realizing he was only four years old. His reading skills continued to soar and benefit him throughout his college years. These skills also helped catapult his writing skills as writing played a huge role during the process of teaching him how to read. I used to read the Great Illustrated Classics book series such as Mutiny on Board HMS Bounty to him every night. Then one evening, he surprised me when he started reading along with me. I was flabbergasted. I didn’t know that reading to him while making sure I touched each word as he watched and listened was going to make him a three-year-old reader. That’s when I became intentional in teaching him how to read. Teaching my son inspired me to become a preschool teacher. And since then I endeavored to create early readers as a preschool teacher to my mainstream students and those with special needs.
 

Testimonials

"My daughter loves to work with Sister Roy. She has a way about her that motivates children and their families to fall in love with the Word of God. She encourages and engages young children in the reading of God's Word and in turn, produces excitement in them to want to read the Bible on their own. Her work with children and families highlights her commitment to helping them draw closer to Jesus." 

-JV