The Week of the Young Child is a national event promoting the importance of high-quality early learning sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). This year the Maine Department of Education and the Office of Child and Family Services are teaming up to support early childhood educators across the state to join the celebration and promote the vital work they do every day in their child care programs and Pre-K through 3rd grade elementary school classrooms.
The event takes place during the Week of April 6th – 12th with a kickoff on Saturday and interdisciplinary daily themes for the following week.
We hope that you will join us in celebrating the Week of the Young Child! To help elevate the importance of high-quality early learning and care for the great community, please share photos through this form to show how your early learning program/classroom celebrates the Week of the Young Child by utilizing high-quality practices and strategies to build positive relationships and a sense of community in your early care and education setting.
We can’t wait to see the positive impact Maine’s early educators are making with the children and families in your program or classroom! To celebrate your efforts, we will be running a raffle for each day of the week. Your name will be entered once for every submission you make on the link above and the winner each day will receive a package of SWAG with items provided from the Office of Child and Family Services, the Early Learning Team at the Department of education, Maine Roads to Quality and the Maine Association for the Education of Young Children!
Don’t forget to mark your calendar for Early Childhood Education (ECE) Day at the State House on Thursday, March 21, 2024. This is an opportunity for early childhood educators, families, and ECE supporters to work together to elevate the need for high-quality early care and education opportunities and for the importance of a strong ECE workforce. Join us to celebrate the successes and call attention to the ongoing needs. For more information visit the events section of the MaineAEYC website.
If you have questions or would like more information on the Week of the Young Child, please reach out to one of the members of the Early Learning Team and/or a member of the Office of Child and Family Services listed below.
Early Childhood Specialist, Nicole.Madore@maine.gov
Family and Community Engagement Program Manager, Megan.Swanson@maine.gov
Maine DOE Newsroom 