Westmoreland County Month of the Young Child

Patty Graff, Better Kid Care Coordinator was recently invited to be a guest reader at the Barbara Thompson Early Literacy Center in Derry, and the Latrobe Kinder Schull in Latrobe, to help with their celebration of the Westmoreland County Month of the Young Child.  The story chosen was Elmer the Elephant by David McKee.  Elmer is a very colorful elephant who thinks the other elephants don’t like him because he is different.  After attempting to change himself he quickly finds out the other elephants miss him and his fun personality.  The children joined in the telling of the story as they all donned their gray shirts and acted out the part of the elephant herd.  At the end of the story Miss Patty had the children up and dancing around the room to an elephant song.

The Westmoreland County Month of the Young Child is an adapted version of the NAEYC Week of the Young Child™.  The Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world's largest early childhood education association, with nearly 80,000 members and a network of over 300 local, state, and regional Affiliates.

The purpose of the Week of the Young Child™ is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.  In Westmoreland County this event has grown over the years and has activities occurring all month long.

Take time to notice and cherish the young children in your community.