The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and other national early childhood education groups set the week of April 13-17 as the Week of the Young Child (WYOC) 2020. The purpose of the week is to celebrate young children and their teachers. This year will be like no other in the history of the annual salute. As COVID-19 moves across America, any sense of normalcy has disappeared. As with most events scheduled to happen during the last few and upcoming months, the focus of the WOYC has changed. Millions of young children are at home with a family member or trusted friend due to a massive shut down of schools, businesses and industry across the country. Questions concerning the plan for economic recovery in most towns and states are about to be asked, but not until the bigger one is answered: When will this pandemic be over?
Pandemic or not, children are children. Many are at home during these unsettling times and learning of some sort will take place, even if through an IPad or television video game. The Graduate Center has been posting daily on our Facebook page ,“Spotlight on Learning,” opportunities for parents and other family members to use developmentally appropriate activities on a daily basis with their pre-schoolers. These are one page activity sheets that have references to books read online and a follow up activity for parents or teachers to use. All of the activities are directly tied to the Mississippi Department of Education pre-kindergarten learning standards. These activities will continue to be posted through the third week in May and can be used in conjunction with lessons sent home from school.
According to a communication with the Mississippi Department of Health, Child Care Licensing, there are 941 licensed child care programs out of 1488 closed. This is a terrible blow to the overall economy as well as to the child care industry. Child care is the gas in the economic engine across the state. When businesses and industries are operating again, workers must be present and focused on their jobs if a successful reopening occurs. Workers can’t be on the job and leave their pre-school children at home unattended. We learned from Hurricane Katrina that without a viable network of early childhood programs, other businesses in a redesigned economy will falter. As we celebrate young children and those who teach them in this somber environment, the best news that can be offered from city and state leaders is that child care providers will not be forgotten.
by Dr. Cathy Grace