National Black Child Development Week: Day 4

All week, be on the lookout for this daily NBCDW newsletter. Don't miss chances to win giveaways of children's books, music CDs and other resources to support young children's creative development.

We hope you enjoyed yesterday's NBCDW 2021: Toddlers and the Arts featuring Boo-Boo! by Carol Zeavin & Rhona Silverbush. Today's focus is Preschoolers & the Arts.

Please join us tomorrow for our final feature: School-agers & the Arts!
Daily Tip: Creative Development & Preschoolers

Quality early education programs provide opportunities, throughout the day, for young children to engage in creative experiences. Labeled learning centers with safe space for creativity in dramatic play, art, block play, music and movement increase the development of essential skills, including positive relationships between adults and peers, independence, turn-taking, negotiation, decision-making and problem-solving.

What can YOU do?
You can design creative play around a book - ANY BOOK! Just think of the book as your theme or study and incorporate related activities, such as:
  • Clapping a steady beat and/or chanting
  • Rhythmic games, finger plays, and sing-a-longs
  • Instrument playing - real, homemade and child-made
  • Dancing to culturally relevant and diverse genres of music
  • Moving to cue-and-response songs to build brain connections

How long should you focus on the book as your theme or study? For as long as the children are interested.
Storytime Feature for Preschoolers
Join us TODAY at 11AM for a virtual read-aloud by BCDI-Atlanta President Dr. Bisa Lewis.

Creative Development Experiences

Before and/or after the read-aloud of Do You Love the Dark? by Maya Lawrence...

  • Review the animals and critters in the book. Encourage children to mimic their moves and sounds. Play various rhythms and tempos of music to enhance creativity.


  • Review the book or tell a new story, animating it using toy animals and/or puppets.



  • Engage children in stargazing. Encourage them to journal and draw what they see.

  • Shadow Tracing: Tape butcher paper to the wall and/or floor. Dim the lights, and shine a light source (flashlight, LCD projector, desk or table lamp...) on varying objects for children to trace and/or color.

  • Shadow Moves: Clear the floor. Dim the lights, and shine a flashlight on the floor and/or wall at varying speeds and positions. Encourage children to move at the pace and direction of the light. Note: Shining light on the ceiling is a safety hazard. Looking up can cause dizziness and lead to falls.

  • Shadow Dancing: Dim the lights. Shine a light source, while engaging children in shadow dancing to songs of choice.

  • Shadow Building: Dim the lights, and shine a light source on the wall. Encourage children to build a construction of blocks to project. Rainbow blocks work well for this activity.


  • Please send us pictures or videos to info@bcdiatlanta.org. Just type NBCDW 2021 in the subject line and include a description of your photo(s) or video(s) in the body of the email. We'll send a special package of goodies to anyone who shares their NBCDW media footage with us.

Thanks to the experts at Abridge Club and WINGS Curriculum for providing this developmentally and culturally appropriate content!
Giveaways
In honor of BCDI-Atlanta’s 40th Anniversary, the first 40 stakeholders to complete this Giveaways form TODAY will receive a FREE Do You Love the Dark? children's book, thanks to our Mayor's Summer Reading Club partnership.
Social Media Engagement: #NBCDW2021

Engage with BCDI-Atlanta, NBCDI and its National Affiliate Network by typing #NBCDW2021 in the search area of your Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. You'll see all the posts from this year's National Black Child Development Week. We'll see you online!
Choose “Black Child Development Institute-Atlanta” as your charity.
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