The Week of the Young Child™ is here! This annual celebration, hosted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), celebrates early learning, young children, their teachers, and families. This year’s event is April 16–20, 2018 and we are excited for a week-long celebration of our youngest learners. Join the fun and start planning your celebration with these ideas and activities:
Music Monday! Sing, dance, celebrate, and learn.
Through music, children develop math, language, and literacy skills – all while having fun and being active! Make up and record your own unique version of a song or write your own. TRY THIS: Find the beat to connect music, movement, and math. Practice clapping, drumming, or stomping to the beat of the music while counting.
Tasty Tuesday! Healthy eating and fitness at home and school
This fun, food-themed day is about more than just cheese and crackers. Cooking together connects math with literacy skills, science, and more. With the rise in childhood obesity, you can encourage healthy nutrition and fitness habits at home and in the classroom. TRY THIS: Measure your ingredients while making your snacks! Ask children if they’d like the same or different amounts of each ingredient.
Work Together Wednesday! Work together, build together, learn together
When children build together they explore math and science concepts and develop their social and early literacy skills. Children can use any building material—from a fort of branches on the playground to a block city in the classroom, or a hideaway made from couch pillows at home. TRY THIS: Practice organizing blocks by size! Try building a block tower with large blocks on the bottom and little blocks on top!
Artsy Thursday! Think, problem solve, create
Children develop creativity, social skills and fine motor skills with open-ended art projects where they can make choices, use their imaginations, and create with their hands. On Artsy Thursday celebrate the joy and learning children experience when engaged in creative art making. Use any materials—from crayons to paint, clay to crafts! TRY THIS: Bring art outdoors! Offer dark and light paper, chalk and pastels, and suggest children create their own versions of the day and night sky!
Family Friday! Sharing family stories
Engaging and celebrating families is at the heart of supporting our youngest learners. NAEYC applauds family members’ role as young children’s first and most important teachers. TRY THIS: Invite parents for a Family Friday breakfast, where children can prepare and share breakfast treats with their families!
We know there will be tons of fun this week as children, families, and teachers celebrate in Durham! Be sure to share all of your Week of the Young Child fun on NAEYC’s Facebook page and post to Twitter using the hashtag #woyc18. For more ideas, tips, and resources, please click here.
