Celebrating Childhood: NAYEC's Week of the Young Child April 14th - 20th

Each year, the early childhood professional organization, NAYEC, celebrates the Week of the Young Child which promotes young children, their families and those who provide early educational services to them.

2013's theme is Early Years are Learning Years and allows centers and schools to share this inspirational message with others by hosting special events, inviting parents into their classrooms, and designing displays of juvenile artwork in order to spread the word about this momentous week-long event.

My center celebrated this week by developing a public display of the children's artwork. Splashes and slashes of bold paints, cotton ball creations and glitterfied (I know, totally not a word) paintings adorn the walls of our local library.

I visited this library today and was overcome by the beauty of the children's artwork. Each brush stroke was deliberately placed on the paper to ensure the message told by these young Van Goghs, which made the display even more beguiling.

I feel you should never underestimate the importance of art and young children. While some teachers may shudder at the thought of glitter or paints in the hands of a preschooler, I rejoice.

Youth is fleeting and childhood is a precious reflection of innocence, fragility and boundless learning opportunities. The sky is truly the limit and the children are the stars whose bright light and thirst for knowledge demonstrate the power of quality early childhood education.

To Learn more about The Week of the Young Child visit http://www.naeyc.org/woyc.

"Children who participate in (high-quality Early Childhood Education) programs are more likely to have the necessary skills-such as abstract reasoning, problem solving and communication-to meet the demands of tomorrows workforce."

~Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America

Source: http://intellokids.blogspot.com/2011/03/quotes-about-early-childhood-education.html