Closed
Early Learning: At the Heart of It All Conference!
Registration for the
Early Learning At The Heart of It All
has closed.
We may have limited walk-in spaces available on the day of the conference. Walk in Registration Fee is $30 and only cash payments will be accepted. Walk in registrants will be added if space is available and will be between 8:00-8:45 am. Those arriving after 8:30 am will not be able to participate in breakfast. April 20, 2024 - 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
(Registration and breakfast begin at 7:30 am
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Join us and engage with an Author's Panel and 30 breakout sessions designed to enhance your early learning expertise. Connect with over 300 early learning professionals at our Early Learning: At the Heart of It All conference on April 20, 2024!
Focus
Event will focus on equity, inclusion, language/literacy, social, and emotional learning with an emphasis on quality practices that best meet the needs of our diverse children, families, and the caring adults who work with them.
Who Should Attend?
Child Care Teachers, Family Child Care Home Providers; TK, Pre-K, and Kindergarten Teachers; Family Friend and Neighbor (FFN) Providers; Expanded Learning Staff; Administrators; Higher Education Professors; college students; and others who support the learning and development of young children.
Session Preference
Please select your breakout sessions to help us determine needed room size based on interested number of participants for that session. The session selection is only to inform and is not a guaranteee of a spot in the session. On the day of the conference, you can find the sessions in which you would like to participate. Session capacity will be first come first serve basis.
$25 In-Advance Registration ($30 Same-Day Registration)
Includes parking, buffet breakfast & lunch, a professional learning book, children's book and motivating speakers. Participants will have the opportunity to access resources, network with professional colleagues, and hear from experts in the field! A certificate for professional learning hours will be available to registered participants who attend the full day.
For information on scholarships or to pay by PO, email mcoronel@scoe.net
After completing your conference registration, you will receive a confirmation email containing a link to event materials and logistics. There you will find a pre-conference survey. Please complete this brief survey to assist us with data collection for our funders who make this conference possible. All participants who complete the survey and provide an email will be entered into a raffle for one of 10 prizes of early learning books or resources.
*There are no refunds. If individual is registered as part of a a school, school district or agency group, designated lead will be able to substitute participants, prior or up to the day of the event.
Sessions
Saturday, April 20, 2024
10:00-11:30 a.m. - Option 1: Beyond the Pages: Reading Aloud Techniques, Book Selection and Encouraging Inclusive Conversation
7 of 70 open seats
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Francie Dillon TBD
Participants will delve into reading-aloud techniques, the art of pacing, reading fluency, and vocal inflection, enabling them to convey the meaning of new words to children who may not know them. Participants consider their book selections and learn strategies fostering inclusive conversations, inviting every child to share their thoughts and feelings and to contribute their unique perspectives. The goal is to create a space where every child sees themselves within the stories and feel a part of the read-aloud experience.
10:00-11:30 a.m. - Option 2: Playful Ways to Build Oral Language
32 of 70 open seats
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Deirdre Marsh-Girardi, Ed.D. & Kou Vang TBD
Participants will be introduced to the early literacy skills of oral language, letter knowledge, and phonological/phonemic awareness. We will explore how oral language and phonemic awareness are interrelated and playful ways to teach and foster these early literacy skills throughout the day.
10:00-11:30 am - Option 3: Inclusion is at the Heart of it All!
36 of 70 open seats
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Shannon Daly TBD
This workshop will offer participants information on special education and how inclusion works within special education.
10:00-11:30 am - Option 4: Module 100: Trauma Responsive and Resilience Building Practices for Early Childhood Practices
58 of 70 open seats
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Sandra Gonzales-Pabon TBD
Offered in Spanish: This workshop will give an overview on trauma-responsive practices and social-emotional strategies that build resilience and support children with challenging behaviors.
10:00-11:30 am - Option 5: Building Resilience & Lowering Stress through Mindfulness & Relaxation Strategies
44 of 70 open seats
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Laura Bridges-Newhouse & Craig Newhouse TBD
Participants will be part of an engaging overview of research-based strategies that help to buffer against chronic stress and address acute, in-the-moment stress. Participants will use the Bridges Resiliency Self-Survey to examine a variety of self-care strategies and create a Self-Care Action Plan. This workshop includes mini mindfulness and relaxation experiences including a guided Heart-Attunement.
10:00-11:30 am - Option 6: Color of Emotions
43 of 70 open seats
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Rebecca Flores-Acosta TBD
Daily Social Emotional Check-in and their importance in ECE.
10:00-11:30 am - Option 7: Meet the Authors!
62 of 70 open seats
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Author's Panel TBD
You got a chance to hear the children’s authors during our plenary session and will hear from another during lunch. Come and meet them up close and personal! Find out more about each of these accomplished professionals in this informal session. To allow for opportunities for engagement with all of the authors, this session will utilize timed cycles to allow participants to rotate to different authors every 10 minutes.
10:00-11:30 am - Option 8: Outdoor Inclusion: Bringing the Classroom Outside
29 of 70 open seats
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Kimberly Fitzpatrick & Candace Calcagno TBD
Incorporating Inclusion into Outdoor Learning Settings
10:00-11:30 am - Option 9: Artfully Designed Engagement
44 of 70 open seats
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Claudia Readwright TBD
Participants will learn how to joyfully combinie Engagement Strategies, Artwork, Books and Thinking Routines to encourage a delightful interactive experience.
10:00-11:30 am - Option 10: Personalized Oral Languages Learning ( POLL)
60 of 70 open seats
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Mia Brown & Alexis Phillips TBD
This session is an introduction of innovative practices to support young Dual Language Learners through Personalized Oral Language(s) Learning (POLL). We will briefly explore POLL’s development and purpose, as well as concrete approaches that support learning in all environments for children birth to 5.
12:30-2:00 pm - Option 1: Fostering Reading Comprehension: Unlocking the Potential of Teacher-Student Interactions in Preschool Education
36 of 70 open seats
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM Deborah Doss & Dr. Lynda Stone TBD
Participants will explore how Debbie Doss, as a researcher/preschool teacher and her students developed reading comprehension competencies through engagement in reciprocal teaching strategies -- a pedagogy designed to foster reading comprehension. Highlights include how the teacher’s interaction with the students, and the students’ interactions with the teacher worked synergistically to positively impact children’s learning and development. Take-a-ways include strategies for becoming a reflective practitioner, methods for modifying instructional strategies to produce better outcomes for children’s learning and insights for better outcomes when implementing instructional tools.*
12:30-2:00 pm - Option 2: Read, Learn, and Grow: The Power of Early Literacy
33 of 70 open seats
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM Patrice "Patty" Yeung TBD
In this workshop, unleash the power of literacy for young children by learning how to create a literacy-rich environment, build strong literacy routines and foster growth through positive feedback and support. We’ll dive into research-based strategies for engaging and supporting diverse learning and discover the transformative impact of early literacy on cognitive development and social-emotional well-being. Ignite the spark of learning how to read and write!
12:30-2:00 pm - Option 3: Supporting the ECE Field: Everything about the CA ECE Workforce Registry
57 of 70 open seats
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM Angel Duran Ramirez TBD
Workforce Support and Data Collection: This session covers different aspects of the California ECE Workforce Registry that support the Early Care and Education field. The CA ECE Workforce Registry has different features that support engagement for all participants, including employers, training sponsors, and county level administrators. We will go over the following features and tools: Education & Training Report, Training Calendar, Employer Administrative Access, and the Stipend Module. We will shed light on the importance of being fully engaged in the process of collecting data on the workforce across the state, which can support in continuing to propel and empower the field through research, advocacy, and data representation.
12:30-2:00 pm- Option 4: Cooking Science: A Chinese Restaurant Experience
12 of 70 open seats
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM Jonelyn Yount TBD
Participants will discover and engage in how to use cooking as an inclusive activity for early learners.
12:30-2:00 pm- Option 5: Playful Beginnings
48 of 70 open seats
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM Heather Snipes TBD
Be a champion for California's youngest learners as we work together to pave the way for Universal Pre-Kindergarten for ALL! In this session, we welcome leaders, educators, and other early childhood partners to explore and strengthen their comprehension of the seamless connection between early childhood and K-12 practices. This synergy creates a unified system that acknowledges, celebrates, and wholeheartedly nurtures each child on their path toward readiness for college, career, and active civic engagement.
12:30-2:00 pm - Option 6: Color of Emotions
54 of 70 open seats
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM Rebecca Flores-Acosta & Cindia Isguerra TBD
Offered in Spanish: Daily Social Emotional Check-in and the importance in ECE.
12:30-2:00 pm- Option 7: My Social Emotional Development as a Teacher
6 of 70 open seats
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM Leica Jones TBD
Participants will learn how to address ways to apply social/emotional development throughout your day. Encourage children to communicate, acknowledge and deal with feelings. Discuss with teachers how to view social/emotional development as an essential part of teaching. Discuss and share ideas that promote social emotional development
12:30-2:00 pm - Option 8: Heads & Hearts: Strategies for Creating Better Relationships and Why It’s Best Practice
44 of 70 open seats
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM Aimee Walker & Evangelina Pena TBD
Participants will learn the: Science behind young children learn through relationships with secure caregivers and what benefits come from better relationships with children and their families; Tips on how to build relationships with children/families; Walk-about activity sharing personal best practices on a few topics related to building relationships;How deepening relationships leads to Individualized Care/Inclusion/Equity and a Brief explanation of fair, vs, equal, vs equitable.
12:30-2:00 pm - Option 9: Advocacy 101 - ECE Voices
65 of 70 open seats
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM Heidi Keiser & Juliet Terry TBD
Participants will engage in an advocacy training session to help those who previously haven't had the opportunity to engage in advocacy opportunities. The purpose of ECE Voices is to help ECE teachers of all varieties access opportunities to have their voice heard. The focus will be on how you can get into advocacy work even if you do not have any experience.
12:30-2:00 pm- Option 10: Dual Language Learners (Part 1)
64 of 70 open seats
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM Shahla Akhzari TBD
Offered in Farsi: Many young children enter childcare with a home language different from their provider's. Young dual language learners benefit from instructional strategies that support their learning and development. In this series you will be introduced to strategies that will help you nurture children’s home language and develop high-quality environments for all children.
2:15-3:45 pm - Option 1: Learning Language IS Child's Play!
1 of 70 open seats
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Beverly Weber TBD
Imagine this: Children laugh as they play rhyming games; listen for silly words and share their own; and jump excitedly when they hear a word that starts like their name. The time spent ‘playing’ those word games and activities IS literacy learning! In this workshop you will learn games and activities to teach literacy and bond with your young learners. Watch as the child’s love and understanding of language grows!
2:15-3:45 pm - Option 2: Dino Rhyme Flow
51 of 70 open seats
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Orlando Molina TBD
Early Literacy: Create a fun environment, understand each other and apply rhythmm rhyming, and music to help retain information and lessons for youth.
2:15-3:45 pm - Option 3: Module 100 of Trauma Responsive and Resilience Building Practices for Early Childhood Practices. This training is from the Center for Optimal Brain Integration Overview
30 of 70 open seats
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Sandra Gonzales-Pabon TBD
This workshop will give an overview on trauma-responsive practices and social-emotional strategies that build resilience to support children with challenging behaviors.
2:15-3:45 pm - Option 4: Building Resilience & Lowering Stress through Mindfulness & Relaxation Strategies
44 of 70 open seats
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Laura Bridges-Newhouse & Craig Newhouse TBD
Participants will be part of an engaging overview of research-based strategies that help to buffer against chronic stress and address acute, in-the-moment stress. Participants will use the Bridges Resiliency Self-Survey to examine a variety of self-care strategies and create a Self-Care Action Plan. This workshop includes mini mindfulness and relaxation experiences including a guided Heart-Attunement.
2:15-3:45 pm - Option 5: Supporting the ECE Field: Everything about the CA ECE Workforce Registry
66 of 70 open seats
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Angel Duran Ramirez TBD
Offered in Spanish: This session covers different aspects of the California ECE Workforce Registry We will go over the following features and tools: Education & Training Report, Training Calendar, Employer Administrative Access, and the Stipend Module. We will shed light on the importance of being fully engaged in the process of collecting data on the workforce across the state, which can support in continuing to propel and empower the field through research, advocacy, and data representation.
2:15-3:45 pm - Option 6: The Play Environment as Curriculum
24 of 70 open seats
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Nancy McColl & Vera Polishchuck TBD
Participants will learn how to intentionally design play spaces for children that are effective learning environments.
2:15-3:45 pm - Option 7: Empowering English Learners: A Holistic Approach to Phonics Instruction through an Assets and Needs Responsive Lens
60 of 70 open seats
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Anna Ampania TBD
The target audience is TK or K classroom teachers, support teachers, and instructional coaches. This session will be focused on Principle 1 of the English Learner Roadmap married with best practices in foundational reading skills instruction. Participants will learn and experience the progression of phonics blending routines from the sound level to the word level, but with an intention of amplifying instruction to meet the needs of their English-multilingual learners.
2:15-3:45 pm- Option 8: Dual Language Learners (Part 2)
50 of 70 open seats
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Shahla Akhzari TBD
Offered in Farsi: Many young children enter childcare with a home language different from their provider's. Young dual language learners benefit from instructional strategies that support their learning and development. In this series you will be introduced to strategies that will help you nurture children’s home language and develop high-quality environments for all children.
2:15-3:45 pm - Option 9: Overview of the YBOC publication
60 of 70 open seats
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Nate Gale & Kathy Carter Wilson TBD
Anti-bias Approach to Early Education: Overview of the YBOC publication
2:15-3:45 pm- Option 10: Math-terpieces and more!
31 of 70 open seats
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Julie Montali, Ph.D. TBD
Math, Arts, Creativity, and Imaginative Play