by Katie Brazerol
The National Association of Education for Young Children (NAEYC) celebrates the Week of the Young Children each year. Consider celebrating in your own home or child care setting with some of these suggestions!
- Take advantage of the nice spring weather and go for a walk to the park for extra play time.
- Pack a blanket and picnic lunch to eat outside or on the floor of your setting.
- Ask families to share baby photos or home videos of the children as babies. Create a slideshow or watch the videos together. My, how they have grown!
- Ask your local home improvement store to save a refrigerator box for you. Invite the children to decorate it as they wish for dramatic play.
- Make arrangements to visit a local retirement center or nursing home to perform a concert. Invite children to sing familiar children’s songs, and invite the audience to sing along!
- Follow the FunShine Express® April
Theme Up and Away or Up in the Sky and fly a kite together.
- Invite parents to cook a special breakfast for the children at your setting. The parents can serve the children and sit with them before heading to work.
- Decorate your setting with streamers and other party decorations for the week.
- Ask each family to record a special audio message. Play the messages for the children, and have them guess who they’re from.
- Make a gigantic fort together.
- Hold a talent show. Invite children to practice their skills and perform for the group at the end of the week.
- Make simple sock puppets with fabric markers.
- Provide a variety of art materials and invite each child to create a masterpiece. Check to see if you can display the artwork in the public library, in a store window, or somewhere else in town.
- Ask the children how they’d like to celebrate! Use as many of their ideas as possible for fun activities and special foods to serve.
- Visit www.naeyc.org/woyc for more ideas and resources.
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