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Week of the Young Child 2023 Resources

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:

Day 1 (April 1): Welcome to Week of the Young Child! As RAR-MA is dedicated to supporting the families of our youngest learners, we look forward to sharing with you each day this week some of our favorite early literacy resources. Our Director of Programs, Katee Duffy, always encourages families to view our entire shared reading collection at https://raisingareaderma.org/families/  and to explore the numerous ways to make reading fun. Enjoy, and happy reading!

Day 2 (April 2): We’re excited to be celebrating Week of the Young Child again this year. Each day, our staff will be sharing some of their favorite resources to help you and your family read and learn more with wonderful books and fun activities. Check back each day starting tomorrow.

Day 3 (April 3): It’s Music Monday of the Week of the Young Child! Please look at our StoryTime playlist on YouTube. Pete the Cat: I Love my White Shoes is a fun book with a sing along song, and it’s a favorite resource of Senior Program Manager Guadalupe Panameño. Remember, music helps develop a child’s brain, so sing and have fun with Pete the Cat.

Day 4 (April 4): It’s Tasty Tuesday of the Week of the Young Child! Dive into your kitchen and cook something fun with your children. Let your child lead the process. Talk about the ingredients, textures, and have fun building a conversation. Enjoy the book Pancakes for Breakfast – a favorite of Community Ambassador Coordinator Claudia Chavarria – and check out this video of children making their own funny pancakes! Pancakes for Breakfast: https://youtu.be/yHiFG8tePwU

Day 5 (April 5): It’s Work Together Wednesday of the Week of the Young Child! Warmer months are around the corner and soon we will see butterflies. Here’s one fun activity connected to the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which is a favorite resource of Program Managers Amy Dolan and Tatiana Keane Forero. Work together with your child to transform paper into beautiful indoor butterflies. Making Butterflies: https://youtu.be/daRE7B7NYHA

Day 6 (April 6): It’s Artsy Thursday of the Week of the Young Child! A Day With No Crayons is an all-time favorite book of Associate Program Director Isaí Jiménez that can be used to talk about art, nature, and imagination. Also, this book is a great reminder that art is EVERWHERE. Check out our StoryTime videos here:

Day 7 (April 7): It’s Family Fun Friday of Week of the Young Child! Our Associate Program Director Maria Mombeleur loves to share our Family Literacy Calendar, which is filled with daily activities that are enjoyable for the entire family. Today, it encourages families to play a sound guessing game: Have your child cover their eyes while you make a familiar sound, like closing the door or sneezing. Ask the child to identify it. Take turns! Check out the calendar for more daily engaging activities. Find the calendar here: https://raisingareaderma.org/families/calendar/.

Though it’s exciting to highlight our resources as part of NAEYC’s annual Week of the Young Child celebration, they’re available to use with your family each day of the year. We encourage you to spend time with your family to build literacy skills and reading comprehension while also having lots of fun!