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Celebrating the Week of the Young Child
Pre-school children who attend the USD 234 4-Year-Old Preschool got the chance to color a corner of their world on Wednesday.
In observance of the National Association for the Education of Young Children's 2009 Week of the Young Child, which is observed April 19-25, Angie Simon, teacher of the 4-Year-Old Preschool, set up an outdoor painting activity for the children who attend school in her classroom. Week of the Young Child celebrates children as well as raises awareness about their needs, according to the NAEYC Web site, www.naeyc.org.
After using clothespins to suspend large sheets of paper to the chain-link fence that surrounds the playground, Simon equipped her students with brightly colored paints. In no time, the students in Simon's class began creating colorful masterpieces, which were on display for any motorist driving by to see.
According to Simon, allowing the children to create their artworks outside can heighten their senses of creativity and generate a greater awareness of nature. Also, children find new enjoyment in familiar activities when they are done with a little twist of something new, Simon said.
"Most indoor activities can be brought outside to create a different kind of experience for the children," Simon said. "Painting outside allows children to nurture their appreciation for the natural environment. We encourage children to observe their surroundings and create what they see."
Outside learning can have a big influence on young children and should be used in conjunction with indoor learning activities, according to USD 234 4-Year-Old Preschool para-educator Star Bowden.
"The outdoor environment can be just as impactful to a young child's early education as an indoor classroom," Bowden said.
According to Simon, when a teacher allows his or her students to have periodic outdoor learning experiences, which include play time, that teacher is helping the students to acquire knowledge about many different subject matters.
"Many meaningful things happen all at once when you allow a group of children to explore the outdoor environment freely," Simon said. "Language is developed rapidly when teachers introduce new vocabulary. Good teachers will purposefully use words such as 'soil' and 'insect' with the children as opposed to words the children are familiar with like 'dirt' and 'bug.'
Simon added that emotional and social development takes place while the children are allowed to play together on the playground. Learning to share playground equipment such as swings and tricycles or working together to build a fort in the sandbox all help the students to mature emotionally and socially. Outside play time can also be a good opportunity to build a child's self-esteem, Simon said.
"(The children) gain a sense of pride and accomplishment when they learn to pump a swing," she said. "Outdoor play provides much more than the physical development of running, jumping and climbing."
Week of the Young Child give educators an opportunity to support those policies which most benefit the children in early childhood education programs, Simon said.
"Public awareness events like NAEYC's Week of the Young Child give early childhood educators a chance to advocate for policies that allow teachers to do what has been demonstrated to be the most effective way to teach young children," she said.
According to the NAEYC, quality early childhood programs promote positive relationships among children and between children and adults.