Week of the Young Child 2023

The Week of the Young Child® is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world's largest early childhood education association, with nearly 60,000 members and a network of 52 Affiliates. 

The purpose of the Week of the Young Child® is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.

NAEYC first established the Week of the Young Child® in 1971, recognizing that the early childhood years (birth through age 8) lay the foundation for children's success in school and later life. The Week of the Young Child® is a time to plan how we—as citizens of a community, of a state, and of a nation—will better meet the needs of all young children and their families.

Today we know more than ever before about the importance of children's earliest years in shaping their learning and development. Yet, never before have the needs of young children and their families been more pressing.

The Week of the Young Child® is a time to recognize that children's opportunities are our responsibilities, and to recommit ourselves to ensuring that each and every child experiences the type of early environment—at home, at child care, at school, and in the community—that will promote their early learning.

We have planned some fun activities for next week and would love your participation whenever you are able!  List of days and themes are below and attached.

Please let me know if you have any questions!  Thank you for celebrating your children with us!

Week of the Young Child April 17th-21st  

Monday:                   Creative Art and Music Day

We will spend the day on Monday doing lots of creative art!  If you have any art mediums you would like to donate, we would love that!  We will also be celebrating all different types of music!  If you have a special talent in the music field and would like to share with us, please coordinate with your child’s teacher.

Tuesday:                   Read Aloud and dress as your favorite book character Day

Bring in your favorite book to share and dress as your favorite book character!  We will be reading rock stars on Tuesday.

Wednesday:                        Trike-A-Thon

Our annual Trike-A-Thon is to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  Our goal this year is to raise $5000!! .  All donations will be online this year.  Visit stjude.org/trike click “find your school” and then “register.  The classroom that raises the most money will get a Pizza Party!!  Share on your social media platforms!

The preschool children will bring in a riding toy (tricycle, bike, but nothing electric) and they will ride around the front parking lot.  Please plan to have your children dropped off and the parking lot clear by 8:45am that morning.  The preschoolers will park their tricycles or bikes in the front of the center by their classroom label.  You must have a helmet for your child as well.  Please label both trike and helmet.

Preschool C will ride from 9:00am-9:20am,

Preschool B will ride from 9:25am-9:45am

Preschool A will ride from 9:50am-10:10am.

(*no walking or running allowed) 

The younger children may bring in a riding toy to play with on the playground on Wednesday.  You can take this riding toy directly to your child’s classroom on Wednesday when you drop off. Please label your riding toy.

Thursday:                  Field Day/Picnic Lunch (picnic lunch for toddlers and older)

Today will be spent doing all the fun things outdoors!  We would love donations of playground balls, chalk, bubbles, and anything else your children love to do outdoors. 

Please join us for a picnic lunch on the playgrounds at 11:00am.  You may bring lawn chairs, blankets, etc…  Children ages toddler and up will need to bring in a packed lunch with drink.  *No peanut products*  

Friday:                       Science Day and Ice Cream Social   

We will end the week with a bang!  We will be conducting science experiments.  If you have any ideas for us, please let your child’s teacher know!  We would love to have you come conduct an experiment with us! We will also have an Ice Cream Social at your child’s snack time.  MCDC will provide the ice cream and we will have a sign up for toppings. 

We appreciate all the support and participation this week of celebrating our most precious ones!!