Mdaeyc

04/17/2026

👨‍👩‍👦 What if families could experience what their children's learning looks like — not just hear about it?
That's what one early childhood program did: they invited families in for a Learning Center Night, where parents moved through classroom activity centers, observed what children do there, and received simple guides explaining what developmental skills each center builds. The result was a stronger shared language between home and school — and families who felt more confident extending learning at home.

This Family Friday, check out this practical, inspiring article from NAEYC's Teaching Young Children and think about one way you might bring families closer to the learning that happens in your setting every day:
👉 https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/apr2017/deepening-families-understanding

How do you help families understand what children are learning through play? Share your ideas in the comments! 💬

If families understand all that occurs in center activities and play, they will be able to support their children’s learning during play activities at home—to be learning partners with their children.

04/17/2026

🏆 Congratulations to our Artsy Thursday raffle winner — Angela Lamberti! 🎨

You've won the People Shapes Project Kit from Lakeshore Learning! Please PM us and we'll collect your information to get your prize to you. 🎉

Here's how we picked: we used the random name picker at commentpicker.com/wheel-of-names, entering the names of everyone who followed our page and liked and shared the Artsy Thursday raffle post.
Don't forget — today's Family Friday raffle is still open! Check out the raffle post above for one last chance to win this week.

04/17/2026

👨‍👩‍👧 Happy Family Friday — and Day 5 of our WOYC raffle! 🎉
We're wrapping up our virtual Week of the Young Child celebration with one final giveaway: the Families Theme Book Library from Lakeshore Learning! Enjoy reading these books with family themes to the children in your care.

To enter:
✅ Follow the MDAEYC page
✅ Like this post
✅ Share this post
One winner will be announced Saturday, April 18. Winners must live or work in Maryland to qualify. Good luck! 🌟

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04/17/2026

🏆 Congratulations to our Work Together Wednesday raffle winner — Lynda Davenport! 🤝

You've won the Parachute from Lakeshore Learning! Please PM us and we'll collect your information to get your prize to you. 🎉
Here's how we picked: we used the random name picker at commentpicker.com/wheel-of-names, entering the names of everyone who followed our page and liked and shared the Work Together Wednesday raffle post.

Didn't win today? Check out today's Artsy Thursday raffle post for another chance to win!

04/16/2026

The Power of Play! We'll be listening in. Dr Hirsh-Pasek is one of the foremost experts on playful learning.

Play isn’t a break from learning. It is the learning!

On Artsy Thursday of , we’re celebrating the creativity, curiosity, and expression that fuel how young children grow and thrive.

In Episode Two of Small Talk: Big Ideas About Little Learners, Michelle Kang sits down with Kathy Hirsh-Pasek to explore the science behind play and why it’s one of the most powerful ways children learn. From storytelling and dramatic play to drawing, building, and imagining, these everyday moments are shaping brains, building skills, and sparking joy.

It’s not just art. It’s language. It’s math. It’s connection. It’s learning in action.

🎧 Tune in and see the power of play through a new lens: https://bit.ly/4mx229B

04/16/2026

✂️🖌️ What happens when you put out a pile of cardboard tubes, empty boxes, and yogurt containers — and just ask, "What will we make?"

That's the question at the heart of a wonderful article from NAEYC's Teaching Young Children magazine. A preschool classroom embraced process art — open-ended, child-driven creating with minimal teacher direction — and the results were rich in learning across every domain. The teachers found that children didn't need expensive supplies; they needed time, space, and the freedom to follow their own ideas.

This Artsy Thursday, try it yourself: gather some recyclables, set them out, step back, and see what the children create. You might be surprised. 🎨
👉 https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/winter2023/what-will-we-make
Share a photo of something your children made today! We'd love to see it. 🖼️

This article shares ways in which process art can help children grow in their expressive language, nurture social and emotional development, and encourage thinking skills.

04/16/2026

🎨 Happy Artsy Thursday — and Day 4 of our WOYC raffle! 🎉
Today's prize: the People Shapes Project Kit from Lakeshore Learning! Make people collages with this fun set.

To enter:
✅ Follow the MDAEYC page
✅ Like this post
✅ Share this post
One winner will be announced tomorrow. Winners must live or work in Maryland to qualify. Good luck! 🌟

04/16/2026

🏆 Congratulations to our Tasty Tuesday raffle winner — Samantha Joy! 🍎
You've won the Let's Go Shopping Fruit Basket from Lakeshore Learning! Please PM us and we'll collect your information to get your prize to you. 🎉

Here's how we picked: we used the random name picker at wheelofnames.com, entering the names of everyone who followed our page and liked and shared the Tasty Tuesday raffle post.

Didn't win today? No worries — check out today's Work Together Wednesday raffle post for another chance to win!

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04/15/2026

🧱 When young children work together — building with blocks, acting out a story, solving a puzzle as a team — something important is happening beneath the surface.

Cooperative play builds social skills, language, problem-solving, and the ability to understand someone else's perspective. These are foundational skills that children will draw on throughout their lives — in school, in friendships, and in their communities.

NAEYC's research on the power of playful learning makes the case for why giving children time and space to collaborate is one of the best investments educators and families can make:
👉 https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/summer2022/power-playful-learning
How are the children in your setting working together today? Tell us in the comments! 🧩

This excerpt from Developmentally Appropriate Practice illustrates the ways in which play and learning mutually support one another and how teachers connect learning goals to children’s play.

04/15/2026

🤝 Happy Work Together Wednesday — and Day 3 of our WOYC raffle! 🎉
Today's prize: a Parachute from Lakeshore Learning! Eight children can work together to shake the chute!

To enter:
✅ Follow the MDAEYC page
✅ Like this post
✅ Share this post
One winner will be announced tomorrow. Winners must live or work in Maryland to qualify. Good luck! 🌟

04/15/2026

🏆 Congratulations to our Music Monday raffle winner — Christina Milan! 🎶
You've won the Rhythm Sticks Activity Set from Lakeshore Learning! Please PM us and we'll collect your information to get your prize to you. 🎉

Here's how we picked: we used the random name picker at wheelofnames.com, entering the names of everyone who followed our page and liked and shared the Music Monday raffle post.
Didn't win today? No worries — check out today's Tasty Tuesday raffle post for another chance to win!

04/14/2026

🥦 Cooking with young children is so much more than making a snack — it's math, science, literacy, and social-emotional learning all in one!

When children measure, pour, stir, and observe, they're building hands-on knowledge about the world around them. Cooking also builds independence, sequencing skills, and confidence — and it gives children something to be genuinely proud of. Plus, it's delicious. 🍓

On this Tasty Tuesday, the Early Childhood Coalition in Oklahoma has a great piece on why — and how — to bring cooking experiences into your setting in developmentally appropriate ways:
👉 https://www.eccstillwater.org/ecc-blog/cooking-with-children-1-fh735

What are you cooking up with children today? We'd love to see a photo! 📸

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Week of the Young Child by Peggy Emde