April 9, 2005 — St. Croix schools, daycare centers and youth clubs observed the Week of the Young Child, April 3-9. The week marked a national celebration that supports high-quality childcare, preschool and other early education opportunities for young children, from birth to age 8.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Croix capped off a week of celebration Saturday with a fun day at the Frederiksted location in Estate Smithfield. Earlier in the week, elementary schools, day care centers and preschools held fun days, invited parents to visit and have lunch, and hosted fun and games for the children.
There were two big events on Friday. The first was at the Sunshine Mall, where preschool children who marched from the old Sunshine Supermarket location had great fun participating in games, story telling and face painting. Over at the Agricultural Fair Grounds in Estate Lower Love, yellow school buses transported hundreds of kindergarten and first grade students for a day of kite flying, sack races, music, bouncing castles and snacks. The children especially enjoyed rides on the "soul train" that gave them a tour of the grounds.
The theme of the week was "Children's Opportunities – Our Responsibilities." In a statement released earlier in the week, Brenda Harrigan-Walwyn, program director for the office of regulatory services of the Department of Human Services, said, "Research and experience clearly show that children's earliest years are crucial learning years." That office advocates a comprehensive effort to "improve the quality of early childhood education," according to the release.
Nickole Traywick, Boys and Girls Club director, said the organization has a double celebration during the Week of the Young Child. "It's also Boys and Girls Club Week," she said. There were about 100 young people at the Frederiksted location of the club Saturday enjoying games, music and food. From the smiles of joy on the children's faces, they did not care what the celebration was all about – they just wanted to have fun.
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