Lawrence County Early Childhood Academy joined the community, state and nation celebrating the Week of the Young Child, April 12-18. Lawrence County Early Childhood Academy’s 11 sites coordinated tailored activities and events to meet their own needs.

For example: Music Monday, Transportation Day, I’m Moving I’m Learning with CHOOSY mascot (Choose Healthy Options Often and Start Young) promotes healthy eating and physical movement at school and home, Reading is Fun with Briggs Library, St. Mary’s TIPS, volunteer fire departments, sheriff’s office, Smokey Bear and Friday Field Day which includes sack races obstacle course, parachute, bean bag toss, etc.

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 80,000 members and a network of over 300 local, state, and regional Affiliates.

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

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.

Educators say more than ever before is 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 the community’s responsibilities, and to recommit 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.