
We are proud to be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of @NAEYC Week of the Young Child! We can’t wait to see the activities you have planned to celebrate early learning. Get ready for a fun filled week!
Remember to tag us in your posts showing how you are celebrating early learning, young children, their teachers, families and communities so that we can feature them all week long! Check out available resources to help you plan #WOYC21 activities below and at naeyc.org/events/woyc
Music Monday
Music Monday is more than singing and dancing, it’s a way to encourage children to be active while developing their early literacy skills and having fun with friends and family!
Featured Resource: https://youtu.be/tDeCVrIipig
Step It Up Activity
Make sure your state and local elected officials are all singing from the same songbook! Join the chorus for change and work with your states’ Affiliates to help policymakers sign proclamations that honor and advance the early childhood education profession as part of the WOYC®. Get inspired by what NAEYC’s affiliate leaders and partners did in 2020 to move beyond “thanks and recognition.” Also, don’t forget to access the new 2021 Proclamation Toolkit, an easy-to-use resource that will help you secure a proclamation to educate the public, bring attention to our issues, and provide an effective advocacy tool for the future!
Articles on Playing and Learning with Music
Inspiration from the Classroom:
- Singing and Moving in the Time of COVID-19
- Now Read This “Books That Connect Music with Nap Times and Bedtimes
- Now Sing This! Ella Jenkins
- Experiencias Musicales
- How to Use Music Throughout the Daily Routine – a blog from the Music Monday Sponsor HighScope
For Families at Home
- Playing with Music at Home
- 在家里玩音乐游戏 (Playing with Music at Home)
- Support Math Readiness Through Music
- Sing With Me Baby!
- 10 Ways Babies Learn When We Sing to Them
- Message in a Backpack™–Make Animal Music
- رسالة في حقيبة الظه (Message in a Backpack™) اصنع موسيقى من أصوات الحيوانات (Make Animal Music)
- 书包金点子 (Message in a Backpack ™) 制作动物音乐 (Make Animal Music)
- Mensaje en la mochila™: Los sonidos y la música de animales
View our 2020 Music Monday recap for inspiration.
Tasty Tuesday
Tasty Tuesday isn’t just about eating your favorite snacks together. It’s also about cooking together and connecting math with literacy skills and science while introducing ways to incorporate healthy habits into children’s lifestyles. Use the tips, resources, and recipes below to get started.
Featured Resources:
Download: Alternatives to Using Food as a Reward
Download: Dig In at Home: Why Garden?
Download: Division of Responsibility in Feeding
Download: Healthy Eating for Preschoolers
Step It Up Activity
Explore the culture specific foods that the young children in your classroom may enjoy at home. Connect with families by engaging them in the history and tradition of meals from their countries of origin. Consider having families share a story or recipe about their favorite dish and the history behind it. Introduce your class to new ingredients and discuss where they are grown. Create a recipe book using images the children draw and share the book with the community. The creative opportunities are as endless as the meals themselves.
Articles and Resources on Cooking and Nutrition
Inspiration from the Classroom:
- Taco Cookbook
- Tacos Anyone? Preschoolers Investigate a Taco Truck
- 14-Day Salad: Using Project-Based Learning to Grow Microgreens
- Cultivo de vegetales en 14 días: cómo usar el aprendizaje basado en proyectos para cultivar micro vegetales
- أربعة عشر يومًا لاستنبات نباتات السلطة:استخدام التعلم القائم على المشاريع لاستنبات نباتات المايكروغرين
- Centros de aprendizaje: Cocina
For Families at Home:
- Baking Math for Families and Young Children
- Buon Appetito: Sharing a Love of Food with Infants and Toddlers
- Let’s Eat (Well)!
- Message in a Backpack™–Learning through Everyday Activities
- Mensaje en la mochila™: El aprendizaje en actividades cotidianas
View our 2020 Tasty Tuesday recap for inspiration.
Work Together Wednesday
Work Together Wednesday Sponsored by Walden University
When children build together they explore math and science concepts and develop their social and early literacy skills.
Featured Resource: Breaking Down STEAM for Young Children
Step It Up Activity
The young children in your classroom aren’t the only ones who succeed when they work together. Take a moment to join NAEYC in advancing our profession by signing up for Power to the Profession; supporting your peers through the discussions on HELLO; reaching out to elected officials about the importance of investing in ECE; or inviting someone new to become a member. Working together makes us stronger together, and that means the impact we make can be monumental!
Articles on Building Together
Inspiration from the Classroom:
- STREAM Education at Work—No, at Play! A Toy-Making Unit
- Breaking Down STEAM For Young Children
- Explicando STEAM a los niños en edad escolar
- Engineering in Preschool: Building the Basis for Lifelong Problem Solving
- Planting the Seeds for Research Skills: Introducing Hypotheses in Preschool
- The Power of Joyful Reading – a webinar from the Work Together Wednesday Sponsor Walden University
For Families at Home:
- Five Essentials to Meaningful Play
- Message in a Backpack™ Choosing the Best STEM Activities for Your Child
- Mensaje en la mochila™ Cómo elegir las mejores actividades STEM para sus hijos
- پیام در کوله پشتی ™ (Message in a Backpack™) انتخاب بهترین فعالیت های علم ، فناوری ، مهندسی و ریاضی برای کودک خود
- How to Support Children’s Approaches to Learning: Play with Them!
- 10 Prop Boxes for Ideas: Mini Learning Centers at Home
- 10 Cajas Temáticas para Aprender
- From United States Census 2020: At-Home Activities That Showcase the Country’s Diversity
View our 2020 Work Together Wednesday recap for inspiration!
Artsy Thursday
Children develop creativity, social skills, and fine muscles with open-ended art projects that let them make choices, use their imaginations, and create with their hands.
Featured Resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV7suBStnUA
Step It Up Activity
Find ways to display your classroom’s art projects for the community to see, and while you have their attention, educate them about the importance of high-quality early childhood education. Here are some suggestions to get started:
- Set up a gallery at a local business or public library to share your classroom art creations. Check out how one center set up an exhibition last year in their student center.
- Include information about high-quality care as part of your art displays in community. Need brochures? Visit our online store: NAEYC.org/shop.
- Create a digital gallery on social media or on your program’s website. Share using the hashtag #woyc21.
- Create a print book to share with the community. Tip: Sell the book for fundraising your trip to an NAEYC conference!
Articles on Art and Creativity
Inspiration from the Classroom:
- Every Color on the Canvas: Using Art to Explore Preschoolers’ Understanding of Differences
- Centros de aprendizaje: Arte
- Mathematical Masterpieces: Exploring Math Through Art
- How Process Art Experiences Support Preschoolers
- كیف تدعم التجارب الفنیة التي تركز على المعالجة الأطفال في مرحلة ریاض الأطفال
- Preschoolers as Eco-Artists
- 让学龄前儿童成 为生态艺术家
- The Making of an Art Museum: A Preschool Project
- Inspired By Museums—Both Outside and Inside the Classroom
- Art at the Heart: Creating a Meaningful Art Curriculum for Young Children
For Families at Home:
- Preschool Play Plans: Chalk Play
- Meaningful Art Projects Parents Can Fit Into a Busy Day
- Supporting the Development of Creativity
- 如果把颜料涂在手上会有什么害处吗?” 1-3岁学步儿在家参与感官活动的指南
View our 2020 Artsy Thursday recap for inspiration.
Family Friday
Engaging and celebrating families is at the heart of supporting our youngest learners. NAEYC applauds family members’ role as young children’s first and most important teachers.
Featured Resources:
Engage Children’s Communities with Friends and Family Day!
Message in a Backpack™ Helping Your Child through Change
Step It Up Activity
Extend your NAEYC family! The early childhood education community doesn’t end outside the doors of your classroom. Connect with your local affiliate, encourage families to join our Family level membership, learn how to engage with your local policymakers, and more! There are endless opportunities to keep your entire community in-the-know about early childhood education. See how the The Akron Art Museum and the NAEYC’s MaineAEYC engaged their communities.
Articles on Engaging and Celebrating Families
Inspiration from the Classroom:
- Principles of Effective Family Engagement
- Using Technology to Engage Families
- Engage Children’s Communities with Friends and Family Day!
- Increasing Family Involvement in School
- NAEYC Topics: Family Engagement
For Families at Home:
- Am I Really My Child’s First Teacher?
- Explore the Great Outdoors with Your Child
- Message in a Backpack™–Bubbles
- رسالة في حقيبة الظهر (Message in a Backpack™) الفقاعات (Bubbles)
- 书包金点子 (Message in a Backpack ™) 泡泡 (Bubbles)
- Mensaje en la mochila™: Receta de burbujas
- Message in a Backpack™ Helping Your Child through Change
View our 2020 Family Friday recap for inspiration!