NAEYC is committed to a future in which the early childhood profession exemplifies excellence and is recognized as vital and performing a critical role in society. Here are 10 ideas and inspirations from our blog, journals, and website to foster your professional renewal in the new year:

1. Your work is powerful! Listen as NAEYC members speak from the heart about the power of the profession in children’s lives in this video recorded at NAEYC’s most recent Annual Conference.

2. Research confirms the value of playful learning. Read about guided play and its role in children’s learning in the introduction to Spotlight on Young Children: Exploring Play.

3. See playful learning in action in this video and blog post. Learn how teachers in Louisiana created rich experiences about food by visiting a local food truck in celebration of Taco Tuesday during last year’s Week of the Young Child™.

4. Reveal your inner leader! Read this blog post and learn 10 ways you can lead, every day.

5. Laugh out loud! Here are eight ways to revitalize your classroom with laughter from Teaching Young Children, and don't miss the more in-depth teacher research article on laughter.

6. Be an advocate. Champion developmentally appropriate practice’s academic rigor with principals and primary school colleagues with the ideas in this article from Young Children.

7. American voters strongly support higher wages for early childhood educators. Read and share this new research from NAEYC highlighting widespread support for making investment in the early childhood education profession a national priority.

8. Engage families! The NAEYC For Families website offers tons of ideas to share with families.

9. Renew your commitment to anti-bias education. Consider how one reader used anti-bias ideas as she thought about what it means when we say “Dolls are for girls,” and reflect on these great ideas for honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day with young children.

10. Flex your political muscles! Join the Early Ed for President campaign in support of the profession ahead of the 2016 presidential election.