Week of the Young Child is an annual week-long celebration with themed days hosted by NAEYC to spotlight early learning, young children, their teachers, families and communities. The themes are “Music Monday,” “Tasty Tuesday,” “Work Together Wednesday,” “Artsy Thursday” and “Family Friday.”
For “Artsy Thursday,” Mati Vassallo, Family Support Bilingual Referral Counselor, visited Chapel Hill Cooperative Preschool where Kathryn, a 2-3 year old teacher, and Silva, a 3-5 year old teacher, shared how they celebrate through an annual children’s art show. They invited families, friends and the community to celebrate and explore the children’s creative expression.
“This art show is a celebration and a great example of the work we do here at the preschool. It aligns with our philosophy of celebrating each individual child, exploring their strengths and abilities and bringing out their best work,” said Kathryn.
“It’s not only a time…to celebrate the richness of the children’s work and their creations, but it’s also really a time to celebrate art and to celebrate community. It goes so much beyond just the artistic creations in the way that it draws us and everyone together…That is something we really enjoy and love to do,” said Silva.
For “Family Friday”, Katie Thayer, UNC intern and Family Engagement Counselor, visited Director Ada Terry and Lead Teacher Crystal Boycher in the Durham PreK classroom at Childcare Network #57 to discuss their family engagement strategies. In addition to having a School Improvement Team and Parent Advisory Board, they send out daily newsletters, invite parents to volunteer, provide resources to families and host celebrations for their families and children.
Crystal’s favorite family engagement activity at Childcare Network #57 is asking the parents to help with school improvement plans, such as redoing the playground and painting the fence. “We also invite parents out to visit the classroom. For Week of the Young Child, we are doing an ice cream social on Friday,” said Crystal.
Save the date for next year’s Week of the Young Child April 13-17.
