April marks a special time at Raising A Reader MA (RAR-MA) – the Week of the Young Child!
This annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a fun week that celebrates early learning, young children, their teachers, families, and communities. At RAR-MA, we also see this special week as an opportunity to build on the connection between parents/caregivers and young readers. To help, we provided daily posts with resources that could be used to make this week one filled with learning and fun.
Here’s a look at what each of the days looked like on our social media pages with the resources that were highlighted:
It is Get Ready Sunday!
Today, we are getting ready for the Week of the Young Child (WOYC) with our friend, Holden A. Book – our WOYC guide who loves reading and sharing the power of literacy with families across MA.
As we celebrate 20 years of raising readers, we are sending Holden on a fun scavenger hunt that YOU can help solve. Every day this week, work with Holden to collect a special letter from each post. At the end of the week, the letters you collected will reveal the final WOYC activity for your entire family to enjoy!
To continue the early learning festivities post WOYC, please visit us at https://raisingareaderma.org/families to find resources that support families to build, practice, and grow reading routines with their children. Enjoy and happy reading!
Happy Music Monday of the Week of the Young Child!
Enjoy this story time with former volunteer Alexandra Lopez reading Happy Day by Ruth Krauss. Holden is visiting Chelsea, the community where RAR-MA began. Remember, music helps develop a child’s brain. Just like how the animals sang and danced when they saw a flower, create a song and dance to celebrate the spring season.
Remember to be on the lookout for Holden’s special letter in this post!
Happy Tasty Tuesday of the Week of the Young Child! Join Holden as he listens to the Spanish storytime Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola, read by Program Manager Tatiana Keane Forero. Our program’s books are offered in 7 different languages, so the books reflect the families and communities we serve.
Family meals are a unique time to connect with one another. They encourage turn-taking, listening to others, and expressing ideas, all of which are important social skills. Children learn how to participate in conversations, ask questions, and respond appropriately. What is your favorite meal to encourage conversation?
Remember to be on the lookout for Holden’s special letter in this post!
Happy Work Together Wednesday of the Week of the Young Child!
Check out the Family Literacy Calendar all-year-round on our Family Resources Page for fun, collaborative activities that build language-rich environments every single day. Today’s activity is to take turns talking about your favorite foods to eat. What foods do you like? Are there foods that you make together?
To download your family literacy calendar and more, please visit us at https://raisingareaderma.org/families/calendar/ to find resources that support families to build, practice, and grow reading routines with their children.
Remember to be on the lookout for Holden’s special letter in this post!
Happy Artsy Thursday of the Week of the Young Child!
Watch this storytime with a former RAR-MA volunteer, Holden Hodgson, as he reads Not a Box by Antoinette Portis. A small rabbit shows that a box will go as far as the imagination allows. Celebrating the power of creativity, continue the fun by drawing shapes like a triangle or circle, and together, use your imagination to transform the shapes and share.
Remember to be on the lookout for Holden’s special letter in this post!
Happy Family Friday of the final day of Week of the Young Child! Remember to be on the lookout for Holden’s special letter in this post!
Did you find all the letters along the way? What do they spell?
As we celebrate 20 years of raising readers, every S-T-O-R-Y shared brings our mission to life and makes a lasting impact on families. What is your favorite story? Have a conversation with your family and take turns sharing your much loved parts. Comment below with your favorite book.
To continue the early learning festivities beyond WOYC, please visit us at https://raisingareaderma.org/families/calendar/ to find resources that support families to build, practice, and grow reading routines with their children.
Enjoy – and happy reading!
