APRIL IS
Month of the
Heather Wilson
Lansing Public Schools
©
Young Child
®
Special Events
Each April, Michigan’s communities celebrate the
Month of the Young Child®. MOYC® 2016 focuses
our attention on children’s development.
Celebrating Our Youngest Learners!
2016 MOYC® Focus Weeks
Aprill
1 – 9 Physical Development
April
10 – 16 Social Development
April
17 – 23 Emotional Development
April
24 – 30 Cognitive Development
Help celebrate the Month of the Young Child® !
For information, contact:
(517) 351-4183 or (800) 336-6424
MOYC@MiAEYC.org
www.MiAEYC.org
Purple Ribbon Campaign
Displaying a purple ribbon shows you care about young children
and are aware of their needs. Place a purple ribbon on your lapel,
on your car or in your window; place one on your briefcase,
handbag or door. Ask your child to wear a purple ribbon too!
Child Care Job Shadow Day
(Various days in April)
A job shadow day allows community leaders to “work” in child
care centers or with home providers. This allows them to see the
complexities and the skills involved in the child care profession.
Kite Day
(Various days in April)
All who work with and care about young children are encouraged
to sponsor a Kite Day at their homes, centers, schools or in their
communities. Contact MiAEYC for information.
Month of the Young Child® and MOYC® are registered service marks of
the Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children
Month of the Young Child® 2016
Celebrating Our Youngest Learners!
The Month of the Young Child® (MOYC® ) is an annual celebration sponsored by the Michigan Association for the Education
of Young Children (MiAEYC). The purpose of MOYC® is to focus public attention on the needs and rights of young children
and their families, and to recognize the early childhood professionals, programs and services that meet those needs.
Today, more than ever, we know and understand the importance of children’s earliest years in shaping their learning and
development. Month of the Young Child® is a time to recognize that children’s opportunities are our responsibilities, and to
recommit ourselves to ensuring that each and every child experiences the type of early environment–at home, at child care,
at school, and in the community–that will promote early learning.
The MOYC® 2016 Focus Weeks are:
Week
Week
Week
Week
1
2
3
4
April
April
April
April
1–9 10–16
17–23
24–30
Physical Development
Social Development
Emotional Development
Cognitive Development
The Focus Weeks highlight the domains of children’s development–physical, social, emotional and cognitive, recognizing that*:
• Development occurs in a relatively orderly sequence, with later abilities, skills, and knowledge building on those
already acquired;
• Development proceeds at varying rates from child to child;
• Early experiences have both cumulative and delayed effects on individual children’s development, and that
optimal periods exist for certain types of development and learning;
• Development proceeds in predictable directions toward greater complexity, organization and internalization;
• Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural context
• Children are active learners, drawing on direct physical and social experience as well as culturally transmitted
knowledge to construct their own understandings of the world around them;
• Development and learning result from interaction of biological maturation and the environment, which includes
both the physical and social worlds that children live in;
• Play is an important vehicle for children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development, as well as a reflection
of their development;
• Development advances when children have opportunities to practice newly acquired skills as well as when
they experience a challenge just beyond the level of their present mastery;
• Children demonstrate different modes of knowing and learning, and different ways of representing what they
know; and
• Children develop and learn best in the context of a community where they are safe and valued, their physical
needs are met, and they feel psychologically secure.
For more information, contact MiAEYC:
(517) 351-4183; (800) 336-6424
Web: www.MiAEYC.org
Email: MOYC@MiAEYC.org
Month of the Young Child® and MOYC® are registered service marks of the
Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children.
*Adapted from Principles of Child Development and Learning that Inform Developmentally Appropriate Practice, NAEYC Position Statement