MonticelloLive

School of Education at the University of Arkansas at Monticello will celebrate Arkansas Children’s Week April 13-19. The event is designed to recognize the needs of young children and to thank educators and others involved in their education and care.
            Arkansas Children’s Week coincides with the national Week of the Child and is part of a nationwide and statewide celebration by thousands of local organizations working to improve opportunities for young children.
            During the week, UAM education faculty and teacher candidates will be reading to children in area schools. The UAM chapter of Kappa Delta Pi educational honorary society will host a Scholastic Book Fair in the Caucus Room of the John F. Gibson University Center each day from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Donations will be accepted with proceeds used to purchase books for at-risk students.
            April 19, UAM faculty members Pam Beard, Deanna Duncan and Dr. Sue Martin will take part in “Family Play Day” from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Warren. Beard, the School of Education’s science specialist, and Duncan, a math specialist, will coordinate a number of learning activities for children. Persons planning to attend should contact the church at (870) 226-3774 or the church’s child care center at (870) 226-2277.
            “Early learning experiences are crucial to the growth and development of young children,” said Martin, assistant professor of education and coordinator of the UAM’s P-4 early childhood and teacher education programs. “Arkansas Children’s Week provides opportunities for all of us to recognize the importance of the early years, and to work together to build better futures for our children.”
            As part of Arkansas Children’s Week, early childhood programs across the state, including child care and Head Start programs, preschools and elementary schools, will hold special events to bring awareness to the needs of young children. “Young children and their families across the state depend on quality education and care,” said Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. “Arkansas Children’s Week is a time to recognize the people, programs and policies that are helping to build better futures for children.”