50 Years of Week of the Young Child
It’s Week of the Young Child (WOYC), a week where we shine a light on all the possibilities children can learn in the classroom. Children learn so much as they enjoy music, explore food and cooking, build together, create art and celebrate their families.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Week of the Young Child (April 10-16), the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation and Firestarter Interactive are partnering with The Hunt Institute and Smart Start and The North Carolina Partnership for Children to make the new documentary film Starting At Zero available for the month of April to anyone in North Carolina.
Additional state partners include NC Early Education Coalition, North Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children (NCAEYC), North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and Office of Early Learning, Think Babies NC Alliance, Moms Rising, NC Department of Health and Human Services: Division of Child Development and Early Education, NC Early Childhood Foundation and Child Care Services Association (CCSA).
Sign up to watch the film here.
For Week of the Young Child (WOYC), we interviewed experts in the field for each themed day of the week. Thank you to the experts for meeting with us virtually to celebrate 50 years of WOYC! We hope you will join in the celebration and watch and share these expert video interviews below.
Music Monday
In this video, we celebrate Music Monday with Erica Berry, the director of Jammin Baby, LLC at Music Together, a program where Erica teaches music classes to young children. Here Erica talks about how she found her passion for music, her favorite instrument and more!
Tasty Tuesday
In this video, we celebrate Tasty Tuesday with Lisa from CCSA’s spoonFULL kitchen in Durham. Lisa walks us through April’s Harvest of the Month—radishes—and shows us an easy, quick and delicious recipe parents can involve young children in at the market, in the garden, in the kitchen and at the table. Learn more about spoonFULL here.
Work Together Wednesday
In these videos, Mrs. Nancy Bullard, a.k.a. @mrs.b.tv, joined us. Mrs. Bullard is a K-5 science lab teacher in Charlotte, N.C. Once the pandemic hit, she created @mrs.b.tv on TikTok and Instagram to connect with her students outside the classroom and share exciting science projects almost anyone can do. Since then, she has amassed more than 2 million followers on TikTok and her Instagram is getting close to 100,000 followers. Check out her TikTok and Instagram for some science projects you can do working together with your child.
Also for Work Together Wednesday, Tatyana Kasperovich from The Scrap Exchange in Durham, N.C., joined us in these videos to share what we can do to promote creativity, environmental awareness and community through reuse by working together!
Artsy Thursday
In these videos, we celebrate Artsy Thursday by interviewing Renu Blankinship, a.k.a. @makermint. Renu makes many art projects with her children and shares them on her Instagram. Renu talks about her favorite project that she’s made and a project she thinks is perfect for young children.
Family Friday
We close out the Week of the Young Child on Family Friday with special guest, Kim Hughes, Conscious Discipline Master Instructor. Kim shares tips for families on creating safety and connection, handling squabbling siblings and things parents can do today to build positive communication with their children. Learn more here and watch the interview by clicking on the image below.
