This week is designated annually by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC, the national quality rating accrediting body for child care providers) as the Week of the Young Child, a time to celebrate and focus on young children and their unique needs and value. This year we will recognize the Week…
Before we get going on food and activity resources, we want to share some important news that $1 million in urgent local funding is being directed to child care providers to cover the child care needs of essential personnel right now. You can read about the initiative here and see an interactive map of providers…
Early childhood efforts reach children at critical ages Young children are not exempt from the nationwide childhood obesity epidemic. The prevalence of obesity among U.S. preschoolers has doubled in recent decades. It may be tempting to dismiss the numbers and assume that very young children will outgrow their weight challenges, but research suggests otherwise. Preschoolers…
A great deal of research supports the idea that high quality early childhood education experiences are good for young children’s development. There are myriad benefits for children in high-quality programs, including, age-appropriate engagement for social and emotional health, brain development, and gross and fine motor skill development. Children learn important soft skills in a high-quality…