Erin Hamel, Jingjing Xu, Liwei Zhao, Andree Champagne, Hong Tran, and Emily Adah Miller write about“ Integrating Climate Change Conversations into Kindergarten and the Primary Grades.” Based on their study of project-based learning, they showcase how an elementary school educator developed integrated literacy, art, and science learning grounded in students’ experiences with flooding in their community.
Ben Mardell offers a final practitioner reflection in“ What We Talk About Grows: The Critter Count,” sharing how children and adults started to attend to the animals in their city and how that attention— and the explorations and learning from it— grew over a year.
“ Supports for Farm to Early Care and Education: Planting the Seed for Healthy Environments,” by Meagan K. Shedd and Cynthia Greene, describes how early learning programs connect to their local communities and sustainable practices through the food they provide. The authors also outline the policies and investments required to help achieve these and other farm to early care and education goals.
Educators are increasingly faced with curricular and operational challenges, such as extreme weather events, poor air quality, and flooding. Policies can be implemented to support programs, educators, and children in this evolving environment. As this issue shows, educators( and children) are showing resilience and hope. I hope both the policy and practical suggestions give you ideas and inspiration for your setting.
— Annie Moses
Children in Ms. Andrea’ s 3-year-old class played with a mixture of sand and shaving cream as part of a sensory and art experience.
Is your classroom full of children’ s artwork? To feature it in Young Children, see the link at the bottom of the page or email editorial @ naeyc. org for details.
We’ d love to hear from you!
Send your thoughts on this issue, and on topics you’ d like to read about in future issues of Young Children, to editorial @ naeyc. org.
Would you like to see your children’ s artwork featured in these pages? For guidance on submitting print-quality photos( as well as details on permissions and licensing), see NAEYC. org / resources / pubs / authors-photographers / photos.
Winter 2025 Young Children 5