Part 2: How a Preschool Child's Brain Actually Develops — The Science Behind Early Learning

In the first few years of life, more than one million new neural connections can form every second. [1]

A young child's brain develops at an extraordinary pace.

During these early years, experiences, relationships, language, play, movement, and interaction all help shape the developing architecture of the brain. Neural connections that are repeatedly used become stronger, while others are gradually refined through a normal process known as synaptic pruning.

This does not mean that a child's future is decided by age five. The brain remains capable of learning and changing throughout life.

But research is clear on one important point: the early years are a particularly important period for building the foundations of later learning, behaviour, communication, and social-emotional development. [1]

For parents, this leads to an important question:

What kinds of experiences are helping to shape your child's developing brain?

How Young Children Learn: Piaget and Vygotsky

Two of the most influential thinkers in developmental psychology — Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky — helped educators understand how young children think, interact, and learn.

Their ideas continue to influence modern early childhood education.

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Piaget proposed that children's thinking develops through a series of stages.

For most preschool-aged children, the relevant stage is the Preoperational Stage, approximately ages 2 to 7.

During the preoperational years, children make enormous progress in language, imagination, symbolic thinking, memory, and their understanding of the world.

A cardboard box can become a car.

A drawing can represent a family.

A block can represent a building.

A spoken word can represent something that is not physically present.

These may appear to be simple childhood activities, but they represent important developments in cognition.

This is one reason preschool learning works best when children can talk, listen, move, explore, create, classify, count, imitate, experiment, and play with ideas rather than simply memorize information.

Vygotsky: Learning Is Social

Lev Vygotsky placed particular emphasis on the social nature of learning.

One of his best-known ideas is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).

The basic principle is straightforward: there are things a child can already do independently, things that are currently too difficult, and an important area in between where the child can succeed with appropriate guidance and support.

That support is often described as scaffolding.

A teacher might:

• ask a question that encourages a child to think a little further;

• demonstrate the first step of an activity;

• introduce new vocabulary during play;

• give a hint rather than supplying an answer;

• model how to solve a problem;

• gradually reduce assistance as the child becomes more capable.

The goal is not to do the work for the child.

The goal is to provide just enough support for the child to take the next step.

This principle helps explain why the quality of interaction in early childhood education matters so much. Children benefit not simply from being surrounded by toys, books, or activities, but from having responsive adults who talk with them, listen to them, ask questions, introduce ideas, and encourage them to explore.

What Modern Neuroscience Adds

Modern developmental science has added an important biological dimension to what educators such as Piaget and Vygotsky observed.

1. The Brain Builds Connections Rapidly

During the first few years of life, the developing brain forms more than one million new neural connections per second. [1]

Not every connection remains.

As development continues, frequently used networks are strengthened and the brain gradually becomes more efficient through pruning and reorganisation.

Early experiences therefore matter because experiences help shape which neural networks are repeatedly activated and strengthened.

2. Relationships Matter

Brain development does not happen in isolation.

Responsive interactions between young children and adults — talking, responding, playing, reading, making eye contact, asking questions, and taking turns — help support developing brain architecture. [2]

In other words, interaction is part of learning.

A conversation at age three is not merely conversation. It can involve vocabulary, memory, attention, emotional regulation, social understanding, and turn-taking — all at the same time.

3. Timing Matters

Children remain capable of learning throughout life, but biological sensitivity to experiences changes as children grow.

The early years are a period of particularly rapid development, making safe, stimulating, responsive environments especially valuable during this stage. [3]

This is a more accurate way to understand the idea of a developmental "window."

The opportunity does not suddenly disappear at age five.

Rather, some forms of learning are especially efficient during particular periods of development.

4. Executive Function Begins Developing Early

Young children are also beginning to develop executive-function skills — including attention, working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control.

These abilities are associated with children's learning and academic performance, although researchers continue to study exactly how these relationships work. [4]

Preschool environments can support these abilities through activities that require children to:

• listen and remember instructions;

• wait for a turn;

• switch between activities;

• solve simple problems;

• follow sequences;

• complete tasks;

• work and play with others.

These skills extend far beyond the classroom.

They are part of learning how to learn.

Language Development in the Early Years

Language is one of the most visible areas of early childhood development.

Between toddlerhood and the beginning of primary school, children typically make remarkable progress in vocabulary, sentence structure, listening comprehension, pronunciation, storytelling, and communication.

Language also supports learning in other areas.

When a child learns words such as larger, smaller, before, after, under, beside, equal, different, yesterday, tomorrow, because, and why, those words give the child tools for thinking as well as speaking.

This is particularly relevant for children growing up with more than one language.

A well-designed bilingual environment gives children frequent, meaningful opportunities to hear, understand, speak, and eventually read and write in both languages.

The objective should not simply be exposure to two languages.

It should be rich, purposeful communication.

What This Means at Liberty International School

At Liberty International School, these principles are reflected in the way our preschool program is structured.

Our early childhood curriculum is based on the California Framework and the Liberty Education (LED) International Preschool Curriculum, with a strong emphasis on language development, early literacy, early mathematics, science, creativity, physical development, and social-emotional learning.

Rather than treating preschool as a smaller version of primary school, learning is designed around the developmental needs of young children.

Language-Rich Learning

Children develop language through frequent opportunities to:

• listen and speak;

• build vocabulary;

• explore phonics and early literacy;

• hear and discuss stories;

• communicate ideas;

• develop early writing skills;

• use English and Khmer meaningfully throughout their learning.

Hands-On Mathematics and Problem-Solving

Young children need to experience concepts before they can understand them abstractly.

That is why early mathematics can involve:

• counting real objects;

• sorting and classifying;

• identifying shapes and colours;

• recognizing patterns;

• comparing quantities;

• sequencing;

• puzzles and games;

• solving simple real-world problems.

Children are not simply learning answers.

They are beginning to learn how to think mathematically.

Science Through Curiosity

Science is included throughout LIS's preschool and primary international curriculum.

For young children, science begins with curiosity:

What happens if...?

Why did that move?

Which one will float?

How are these two objects different?

Observation, comparison, prediction, experimentation, and discussion allow children to begin developing the habits of scientific thinking long before they encounter formal scientific terminology.

Creativity and Symbolic Thinking

Art, music, movement, storytelling, drawing, construction, and imaginative play are not simply breaks from academic learning.

For young children, they are part of learning.

These activities can strengthen communication, imagination, fine and gross motor development, confidence, social interaction, and symbolic thinking.

Social and Emotional Development

Preschool is also one of the first places where children regularly learn to function as part of a community beyond their immediate family.

They learn to:

• share;

• take turns;

• communicate their needs;

• listen to others;

• manage frustration;

• cooperate;

• develop friendships;

• follow routines;

• become increasingly independent.

These abilities form an important part of whole-child development.

The Cambodian Context

The importance of early childhood education is particularly relevant in Cambodia.

A 2024 World Bank-supported study of childcare in Cambodia reported that formal childcare coverage remains very low for the youngest children.

The latest national data available for children aged 0 to 3 showed formal childcare use of only 3.2% in 2012/13. The report also notes that approximately one-third of Cambodian children aged 3 to 5 are enrolled in preschool. [5]

The report identifies several barriers to wider participation, including availability, affordability, operating hours, perceptions of quality, and limited awareness of the developmental benefits of organized early learning.

This creates both a challenge and an opportunity.

For families, choosing preschool is not simply a question of getting a child "ahead."

A good early childhood program can provide something broader: a structured environment for language, relationships, movement, creativity, curiosity, early literacy, early mathematics, and learning how to learn.

Starting Early Does Not Mean Adding Pressure

There is an important distinction between early education and early academic pressure.

Good preschool education should not attempt to turn three-year-olds into Grade 1 students.

Young children need movement.

They need conversation.

They need repetition.

They need stories.

They need music and art.

They need opportunities to investigate.

They need supportive adults.

And they need time to play.

The purpose of early childhood education is to use these developmentally appropriate experiences to help children build the language, confidence, curiosity, knowledge, relationships, and learning habits that prepare them for what comes next.

Building a Strong Foundation

Piaget helped explain how children's thinking changes as they develop.

Vygotsky highlighted the importance of guidance, interaction, and learning with others.

Modern neuroscience helps us understand why the early years deserve so much attention.

Together, they point toward a simple principle:

Young children learn best through rich experiences, responsive relationships, purposeful interaction, and developmentally appropriate challenges.

That is the approach we work to provide at Liberty International School.

Because a child's brain is not simply waiting for primary school to begin.

It is learning right now.

Sources

[1] Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Brain Architecture. Research summary reporting that more than one million new neural connections form every second during the first few years of life.

[2] Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Serve and Return Interaction Shapes Brain Circuitry and related research on responsive relationships and early brain development.

[3] Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Timing and Critical Periods in Early Childhood Development. Research on changing biological sensitivity across development.

[4] Willoughby, M. T., Kupersmidt, J. B., & Voegler-Lee, M. Is Preschool Executive Function Causally Related to Academic Achievement? Child Neuropsychology, 18(1), 79–91; and subsequent research examining associations between executive function and academic achievement.

[5] World Bank / Cambodia Development Resource Institute. Supply of and Demand for Accessible and Affordable Childcare Services in Cambodia. 2024.

LIS curriculum references: Liberty International School Preschool Program materials and Liberty Education International Preschool Curriculum.