ADDISON COUNTY — Vermont is honoring its youngest learners during the Week of the Young Child, April 12-18. This nationwide event is sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children.
Joining together to celebrate and support this week with statewide events are early childhood organizations across Vermont, including Let’s Grow Kids, Vermont Early Childhood Alliance, Building Bright Futures, Vermont Birth to Three, Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children, and many local early childhood educators.
The goal of the Week of the Young Child is to “focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.” As a way to achieve this goal, NAEYC has created themes for each day of the week, with each emphasizing a different area of development. These include Music Monday, Taco Tuesday (celebrating healthy eating), Work Together Wednesday, Artsy Thursday, and Family Friday.
Vermont public education campaign Let’s Grow Kids, along with the Vermont Department of Libraries and the Vermont Early Literacy Initiative, will be collaborating with 35 town libraries across the state on a lecture series. These public presentations focusing on early childhood development will be held during established library story times, and will be given by members of the Let’s Grow Kids Speakers Bureau and other early childhood experts. All lectures will be free and open to the general public (details for these engagements are available at letsgrowkids.org).
“We’re excited to partner with Vermont’s libraries because they’re a central hub of their communities, and our goal is to educate all Vermonters about the importance of a child’s earliest years to his or her future success,” said Let’s Grow Kids Campaign Director Robyn Freedner-Maguire. “We’re looking forward to reaching hundreds of new people with this essential information.”
In honor of the Week of the Young Child, early childhood educators throughout Addison County are partnering with local libraries to display student work. Visit your local library to learn more about the creativity and competence of our youngest community members. The student displays are prime examples of the educational value of the high quality early childhood programs offered throughout the county.
Participating local libraries include Ilsley Public Library, Starksboro Public Library, Bixby Library, Lincoln Library and Lawrence Memorial Library in Bristol. Student displays will be viewable during the week of April 12-18.
To learn more about early childhood education and resources throughout Addison County, visit www.buildingbrightfutures.org/addison/.
Addison Building Bright Futures
Addison Building Bright Futures is part of the Building Bright Futures’ (BBF) statewide network. BBF is the only statewide nonprofit, public-private partnership organization focused solely on improving the well-being of young children and families by improving the system that serves them. Locally, Addison BBF is working to improve early childhood experiences and long-term child outcomes by connecting health, family and educational resources. The group is comprised of the Early Childhood Council, which works collaboratively among many area organizations and families supporting healthy child development.
Let’s Grow Kids
Let’s Grow Kids, a privately funded, statewide public education campaign, aims to raise understanding of the importance of the earliest years in the lives of Vermont’s children. Funded by a collaboration of private foundations, Let’s Grow Kids is working with Vermont communities, organizations, businesses and individuals to create positive lasting change that will allow all of our children to succeed in life. To learn more visit www.letsgrowkids.org.
Addison BBF and Let’s Grow Kids are partnering  to raise awareness about the importance of quality early experiences for every child so the brains of Vermont children can develop to their fullest potential.
Read More
To learn more about publicly funded preschool click here.
Dr. Jody Brakeley discusses brain development among the very young here.