Celebrating #WOYC21!

Check out our Kick Off Saturday video as Connie Prairie, Morgan Wilson, and Ross “Chad” Nunamaker invite you to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Week of the Young Child!

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. 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.

Check out our Music Monday video! Music Monday Today is all about singing, dancing, and listening to music—all of which help children develop their language and early literacy skills while being actively engaged in movement.

Traditionally in Dayton, we hold a Week of the Young Child event called Safe on Saturday. So, today’s video starts with a safety message, especially for the families and caregivers of young children, provided by Dayton Children’s Hospital and the Safe Kids Greater Dayton coalition. Then, we’ll hear a song about the Ohio-native great blue herons from our friend Chris Rowland, Outreach Naturalist from Aullwood Audubon.

Special thanks to Dayton Children’s Hospital, the Safe Kids Greater Dayton coalition, and Chris Rowlands of Aullwood Audubon.

Check out our Tasty Tuesday video! Tasty Tuesday is all about preparing, cooking, and eating healthy foods—together! Cooking together connects math with literacy skills, science, and more.

Traditionally in Dayton, we hold a Week of the Young Child event called Safe on Saturday. So, we’ll start today with a lesson on kitchen safety featuring Emily Callen, Community Food Equity Manager, provided to us by Dayton Children’s Hospital and the Safe Kids Greater Dayton coalition. Then, we’ll go on a nature walk & talk with Sam Romeo, Environmental Educator from Aullwood Audubon, and learn about the fascinating way that butterflies use taste to identify plants.

Special thanks to Dayton Children’s Hospital, the Safe Kids Greater Dayton coalition, and Sam Romeo of Aullwood Audubon.

Check out our Work Together Wednesday video! Work Together Wednesday is all about working and building together. When children build together, they explore math and science concepts and develop their social and early literacy skills.

Traditionally, we hold a Week of the Young Child event called Safe on Saturday. So, we’ll start today with a video, provided to us by our friends at the Washington Township Fire Department and the Safe Kids Greater Dayton coalition, of fire fighters demonstrating how they work together to help others—who doesn’t love fire fighters? Then, we’ll have a sing-a-long with our friend Chris Rowlands, Outreach Naturalist from Aullwood Audubon, about an animal whose famous for building: the beaver!

Special thanks to Washington Township Fire Department, the Safe Kids Greater Dayton coalition, and Chris Rowlands of Aullwood Audubon!

Check out our Artsy Thursday video! Today is all about thinking, problem solving, and creating! Children develop creativity, social skills, and fine motor skills with open-ended art projects where they can make choices, use their imaginations, and create with their hands.

We’ll start today with a message from the Springfield Museum of Art, in Springfield, Ohio, where we’ll learn about the museum’s fun, family-friendly activities. Then, we’ll meet up with our friend Chris Rowlands, Outreach Naturalist from Aullwood Audubon, for some art in nature as he shows us how he draws Nigerian Dwarf goats—and one of the goats even tries to eat his paper! You won’t want to miss this!

Special thanks to the Springfield Museum of Art and Chris Rowlands of Aullwood Audubon!

Check out our Family Friday video! Family Friday is all about engaging and celebrating families! We applaud family members’ role as young children’s first and most important teachers.

Traditionally, we hold a Week of the Young Child event called Safe on Saturday. So, we’ll start today with a message, provided to us by our friends at the Washington Township Fire Department and the Safe Kids Greater Dayton coalition, about summer weather safety tips. Then, we’ll hear from our friend Chris Rowlands, Outreach Naturalist, about the family-friendly things to do and see at Aullwood Audubon.

Special thanks to Washington Township Fire Department, the Safe Kids Greater Dayton coalition, and Chris Rowlands of Aullwood Audubon!