WOYC Overview
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NAEYC invites you to celebrate and shine a spotlight on your classroom, advocacy, and family engagement activities via our social channels. We can't wait to see all the creative ways you recognize the importance of community and give hope to our children during what are uneasy times.
Again this year, NAEYC asks its members, centers, higher ed programs, and everyone else in the early education community to Step It Up (SIU) during WOYC®. We've kept the same daily themes, but we challenged YOU to expand them! Congratulations on spreading the word about the importance of high-quality early learning, and the critical role early childhood educators play in a child’s development and learning.
Children learn so much as they enjoy music, explore food and cooking, build together, create art, and celebrate their families! We hope you continue to be inspired by the activities below.
Discover our Daily WOYC Themes!
Kick-off Saturday
Things you can do on Kick-off Saturday
- Post a video, blog or social media post sharing why you celebrate Week of the Young Child and what you do to prepare
- Plan a virtual event with your social media community
- Share your local proclamation
- Take some time for yourself, reorganize and re-energize so that you’re ready for the week ahead
- Create a dancing playlist for Music Monday
- Search your kitchen for ingredients for your Tasty Tuesday activity
- For Work Together Wednesday, work with other educators in your program to draft a group letter to your elected officials, emphasizing the need to #InvestinECE
- Gather your arts and crafts for Artsy Thursday
- Draft an email to parents explaining what they should expect during #WOYC22 and how they can prepare for your Family Friday activities.
Music Monday
When children sing, dance, and listen to music, they develop their language and early literacy skills while being active and encouraging movement. Make up and record your own unique version of a song or write your own, and share it on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the #WOYC22 hashtag.
Visit our resources page for inspiration.
Music Monday Sponsored by
Tasty Tuesday
This fun, food-themed day is about more than just cheese and crackers. Cooking together connects math with literacy skills, science, and more. With the rise in childhood obesity, you can encourage healthy nutrition and fitness habits at home and in the classroom. Create your own healthy snacks and share the recipes and photos of your creations on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the #WOYC22 hashtag.
Visit our resources page for more ideas on healthy food creations and activities!
Work Together Wednesday
When children build together they explore math and science concepts and develop their social and early literacy skills. Children can use any building material—from a fort of branches on the playground to a block city in the classroom, or a hideaway made from couch pillows at home. Build and share pictures of children’s creations on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the #WOYC22 hashtag.
Visit our resources page to learn more on how teamwork develops young children's social and early literacy skills.
Work Together Wednesday Sponsored by
Artsy Thursday
Think, problem solve, create! 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. On Artsy Thursday celebrate the joy and learning children experience when engaged in creative art making. Use any materials—from crayons to paint, clay to crafts! Create and share photos of your children’s creations on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the #WOYC22 hashtag.
Visit our resources page for articles on encouraging imagination and creativity in children.
Artsy Thursday Sponsored by
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. Share pictures and stories about your family on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the #WOYC22 hashtag.
Visit our resources page celebrations for more ideas on celebrating young children and their families.
Family Friday Sponsored by
By participating in this event and posting video and/or photos, you are representing that you have written permission from each person in the video and/or photos, and if a child, written permission from the child's parent or legal guardian, to post the video and/or photos and use the likeness of such person therein. By posting the video and/or photos, you grant NAEYC the right to use the video and/or photo and/or any portion thereof in any manner it so chooses, including, without limitation, posting or sharing the video on NAEYC's website, Facebook page, or Twitter account.