Sandy Malmquist sent in this report and these photos:
Week of the Young Child is held each year to honor young children and thank early childhood teachers and all those who make a difference in young children’s lives. The New Haven Early Childhood Council, with support from the City of New Haven Community Services Administration, hosted its annual Celebration of Early Childhood Educators at the Connecticut Children’s Museum on April 10, 2008. Over 120 early childhood educators, working in New Haven Public School’s early childhood centers, community-based preschool and infant/toddler classrooms and in family childcare homes throughout the City, were in attendance.
Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. joined the celebration, thanking teachers for their work on behalf of children and their families. Dr. Robert Windom, Co-Chair of the Council, spoke to the overflow crowd about the critical role each teacher plays in preparing children for school and to be lifelong learners.
Betty Baisden, Director of the United Community Nursery School, using the metaphor of nurturing children to help them to ‘grow’, talked about the important role of teachers in providing children with resources and learning opportunities. Ms. Baisden then presented forty early childhood programs with an innovative curriculum resource TREE BOX. Organized around the TREE theme, the box contained ten high-quality children’s picture books, science and art materials, wooden blocks and a giant Sequoia tree puppet, all for use in the early childhood classroom. In keeping with the TREE theme, an individual gift of appreciation was given to each early childhood educator – a live tree to plant, local maple syrup and a wooden tree spoon.
The New Haven Early Childhood Council’s mission is that “All children will enter Kindergarten with the skills, knowledge, love of learning and support necessary to succeed.” The annual Celebration of Early Childhood Educators honors the hundreds of teachers who help to make this goal a reality for our youngest children.
