Educating Young Children Volume 1 – Spring 2025 | Page 87

We can use this time to deeply observe the children in the classroom. Are there patterns in the ways they interact with materials? What does a child’ s play teach me about their home life, background, beliefs, and family? How do I interpret their [ CS: IS THERE BRANDING FOR WOYC THAT SHOULD social interactions? How might I interpret them differently, using

ACCOMPANY THIS BLURB?] a different lens? How can I really settle into my role as facilitator and [ TITLE know ] when Week to of push the Young in and Child when ® Is to Here exit! play?

MELISSA Join us, PENNSYLVANIA

for NAEYC’ s 2025 Week of the Young Child ® celebration April 5 – 11! Our annual event, started in 1971, celebrates early

I used to keep a clipboard and pencil handy. When I saw an learning, young children, their teachers, and families. Learn opportunity to step aside, I would write notes on what I saw and more about WOYC activities, proclamations, and daily themes even try to capture full conversations between children. Looking at [ URL TO COME ]. Follow and engage with us on social media back over these notes, I was astounded by the complexity: I using the hashtag # WOYC2025. Your voice helps elevate early could see how an idea developed and changed, which children childhood education in our communities, states, and nation. were driving innovation, which children became interested or disinterested as the play evolved, what vocabulary was being used or missed. What I learned about the relationships and interests that I culled from my notes allowed me to plan organically for new experiences as well as to think about how to support child-to-child relationships.

KAREN, PENNSYLVANIA

Copyright © 2025 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See permissions and reprints online at NAEYC. org / resources / permissions.

NAEYC’ s HELLO online forum is a great place to have conversations and create connections with peers around important early learning issues. Excerpts from HELLO have been edited for style and length.

Do you have questions or suggestions to share with your peers? Are you simply interested in reading different takes from early childhood educators around the country? Tap into the vibrant discussions on HELLO at hello. NAEYC. org / welcomehello.