The early years of a child’s life set the foundation for their later success in school and life, which is why we’re recognizing on Monday the start of the Week of the Young Child. This designation was created in 1971 to bring awareness to the importance of these early years of child development.
This year, Week of the Young Child runs from Saturday, April 2nd to Friday, April 8th. This annual celebration by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) empowers Head Start and Early Head Start centers to incorporate in their lesson plan and classroom activities each year’s unique theme, which for 2022 is Uplifting Families.
At CCRC Head Start, we’re celebrating this week by calling attention to the needs of young children and early childhood education. We look forward to showcasing the teachers and activities they organize that aim to build a social emotional and education foundation for children. Here’s how your family can participate:
Kick-off Saturday: Share how you plan to celebrate Week of the Young Child, explore NAEYC’s WOYC webpage, and explore advocacy opportunities.
Music Monday: Read about and dance to music from a different culture, explore instruments, make instruments using recycled materials, or write a song.
Tasty Tuesday: Cook with your child, taste a new food and explore recipes, read stories about food, write your own recipe, sing songs about food, or create a math activity cutting and sorting fruit and vegetables.
Working Together Wednesday: Build something with blocks or loose parts, complete a puzzle with your child, help a friend, work on a group art project, or clean up trash together.
Artsy Thursday: Paint or draw a picture, create a collage with recycled materials and scraps, create a sculpture, or draw something with sidewalk chalk to share with others.
Family Friday: Go on a family walk, read a book together, draw a family photo, discuss what makes your family special, learn about your family’s culture, or celebrate with other families.
We invite everyone to join our celebration by participating in the different themes, exploring advocacy, and using the hashtag #WOYC22 when sharing to social media. You can find out more information and ideas on how to celebrate at https://www.naeyc.org/events/woyc.
