NAEYC’s Week of the Young Child: Celebrating Early Learners and Their Educators

Did you know that next week, April 10th through the 16th, is the Week of The Young Child™? The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) sponsors this annual event to celebrate early learning, our youngest students, and their teachers and families.

As an organization, NAEYC’s goal is to promote the highest quality standards in early learning programs, advocate for legislation promoting equitable access to high-quality programs, and offer resources and professional development opportunities to support those who work in the field. Week of the Young Child supports these goals by raising awareness, initiating conversations, and building excitement around early learning. NAEYC has great themes and activities planned for each day of the Week of the Young Child. Here’s a quick overview:

April 11th: Music Monday!

Celebrate the power of music to develop math, language, and literacy skills—and have fun in the process! Try sharing our Reading Eggs ‘M’ Song with your students to reinforce foundational literacy skills.

April 12th: Taco Tuesday

Teach your students about a healthful lifestyle by connecting cooking and fitness with math, literacy, science, and other skills! Check out these 5 Tips to Promote Healthy Habits to help get the conversation started.

April 13th: Work Together Wednesday

Collaboration is key to STEM learning. Encourage your students to explore a STEM topic and build something together to help them develop key social and communication skills! EducationCity’s Topic Tools feature is a great classroom resource to help facilitate this kind of learning.

April 14th: Artsy Thursday

Arts and “craft-ivities” are about much more than keeping students entertained for an hour or two. These projects help young learners develop creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and fine motor skills! We’ve got lots of great project ideas on our STEM & STEAM Pinterest board!

April 15th: Family Friday

Family members are every child’s first teachers. Celebrate the key role that family plays in all young learners’ journeys by sharing pictures and stories about your family! Looking for ideas to get family members more involved in your early childhood classroom? Check out these 10 tips!

At Edmentum, we’re passionate about the importance of strong foundational learning experiences. That’s why we’re excited to take part in these celebrations, and we hope you’ll join us! Throughout next week, we’ll be sharing more resources and activities related to early learning on our Facebook and Twitter channels. And, be sure to check out the Week of the Young Child webpage for details on all of the great events NAEYC has planned!

Interested in learning more about Edmentum’s online programs to support early learners and their instructors? Check out our foundational literacy program, Reading Eggs, or explore EducationCity, our engaging solution for connecting teaching and learning across six elementary subjects!