Happy 2018 From ELLA!

Hi friends of ELLA! We hope that you are having a lovely 2018 so far. As we reflect on 2017 and prepare to have a productive 2018, we wanted to let you know what ELLA will be up to in the upcoming months.

ELLA Studies in 2018

Deconstructing Early Communication

• This is an ongoing study investigating the characteristics that are unique to how infants and parents communicate with one another.
• In just a few short months, we will begin conducting research  to look at how infants and parents interact via a digital interface.

Family Resilience and Wellbeing

• ELLA is seeking participants to be a part of a new study on family resilience and wellbeing.
• This study will involve two visits over a two-year time span. If your child is between the ages of 4 and 5, and you are interested, please contact us via email to hear more about this exciting opportunity.
• Families who complete the study will receive $250 in vouchers.

The Cooperation Study

• The cooperation study is an ongoing, longitudinal study here at ELLA that examines the development of prosocial behaviors (helping, sharing, and cooperating) in young children.
• ELLA director Dr. Annette Henderson, received funding at the end of 2017 that enabled us to extend the cooperation study to include and 6^th and 7^th visit. We are so excited to continue contributing to the body of research on children’s prosocial development.

Second Language Development in Early Childhood

• Did you know that the best time to learn a new language is in early childhood? In 2018, ELLA will be conducting a study to test the effectiveness of a new language-learning tool!
• If you may be interested in participating in this exciting study and have a child who is between the age of 3 and 4.5, please contact us via email.

To find out more about what we do here at ELLA and to recap on 2017 at ELLA, please stay tuned for the release of our Official ELLA Update in February.

Although our primary focus is child development research, there are many other things we are looking forward to in 2018. Throughout the year, ELLA will continue to report our findings in academic journals and at academic conferences, such as ISSBD. In March, ELLA will welcome a new group of volunteers and postgraduate students to our team. We are also looking forward to attending the Auckland Baby Show in August. And last but not least, we are looking forward to working with existing and new ELLA families.

We would love it if you could pass along our information to your friends and family. We are always looking for new families to get involved in ELLA research!
If you have any questions or would like to know more, please email us at earlylearning.nz@gmail.com.