LPS celebrates national Week of the Young Child

Teachers and children across the 69 Lincoln Public Schools preschool classrooms celebrated national Week of the Young Child this week with a variety of daily celebrations.

No one was celebrating the week more than Alyssa Hatcher, a preschool teacher at Belmont Elementary School since 2018.

“The most rewarding thing about teaching students so young is that preschoolers are so excited about all their learning,” Hatcher said. “I am their first experience with school and every day I watch someone learn something, like a new friendship skill or a new letter or new success in writing their name. And when they realize they did that, that they know this new thing, their faces light up and they are so proud.”

Hatcher said one reason she chose to teach preschool is because of how involved she can be with families, which allows her to get a more complete picture of her students.

“I also enjoy getting to focus on teaching social and friendship skills for a large part of my day, because in our curriculum and developmental expectations I have time for that,” she added. “I feel like I'm setting up my students for better success throughout their school career by spending all this time teaching them how to be in school and how to get along with others and solve problems.”

For national Week of the Child there were themes each day: Music Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Work Together Wednesday, Artsy Thursday and Family Friday.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children first established Week of the Young Child in 1971. The week’s purpose is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families, as well as to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. It’s a time to plan how we - as citizens of a community, a state and a nation - will better meet the needs of all young children and their families.

This year LPS is serving almost 1,300 preschoolers. Overall, LPS serves nearly 1,800 young children, ages birth to five, and their families.

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