Music and Movement

Music and Melodies with Tiny Tots, Melissa West & Karen Sutherland, Metropolitan Families, Participants will learn how to promote music development/recognition of instruments within the classroom and techniques for teaching music.

Wiggles and Giggles, Latrice Walker, PhD, In this workshop we will reintroduce some older games and introduce a few that may be new to you. Come and learn activities with easy sing-along songs, gross-motor and locomotor influencers, and contralateral movements that stimulate fully integrated learning.

Incorporating Games for Toddlers, Bridgett R. Scarborough, M.Ed., The goal of this workshop is to give teachers an opportunity to explore various movement games that are age appropriate for toddlers.  Through game playing toddlers can enhance their social/emotional growth, expressive and receptive language abilities and fine/gross motor skills.  Not to mention, have lots of fun. Upon completion of this workshop the teacher will be able to move their toddlers from parallel play to group interaction.

Deep Blue: Using Music to Create Secure Relationships, Anne-Marie Akin, Old Town School of Folk Music, Music Welcomes a child into your heart like nothing else. Learn to use music to create secure, loving environments for each child. Participants will learn a wide variety of songs and finger plays they can sing one-on-one, in mixed- or single-age groups, for active and quiet times.  

Development of Infants and Toddlers- The Optimal Period, Charlotte Metoyer, Ed.D. National-Louis University, Early childhood educators have known what new research has now confirmed; that infants learn from the moment of birth and possibly before birth. This workshop will provide caregivers and families who are engaged with our very youngest children ideas and tips to enhance the infant brain.  

Grow Your Brain With Brain Gym®, Barbra Bednarz, Experience Brain Gym®, which develops the brain's neural pathways through gentle body movements and processes. Used worldwide, Brain Gym® improves memory, concentration, listening, vision, cognitive, and physical coordination skills. It also releases stress which prevents us from functioning optimally.  Brain Gym® is also used with learning challenges such as dyslexia, AD/HD, autism and more. 

Sign Language, Malik Turley, Participants will be introduced to the concepts behind baby signing.  The benefits of using sign with young children will be discussed.  Participants will also learn the basic vocabulary needed to begin signing!  

Toddler Tune-Ups! Carol Peterson, Macaroni Soup, Toddlers need to move, learn group dynamics and practice skills that lead to literacy, socialization and language.  Macaroni Soup music with Miss Carol makes it FUN and EASY!  

Music Fun for Infants and Toddlers, Colleen and Uncle Squaty, This workshop will explore the importance of music and how to nurture it at a young age.  We will discuss how to build a curriculum through the use of developmentally appropriate music for infants through three years of age.  Lullabies, singing songs, finger plays, toe plays, bounces, action and movement activities, and singing with books will be discussed.  

Social & Emotional Development  

Looking at Children with New Eyes: Sensory Processing and the Theory of Sensory Integration, Dr. Jennifer Rosinia, Kid Links Inc, All behavior has meaning! The theory of sensory integration provides an alternative lens through which to observe and interpret behavior.  In this workshop we will learn about the sensory modulation and sensory threshold.  An interactive discussion of the possible meaning of challenging and confusing behaviors and, more importantly, how to help children who demonstrate these behaviors will also be included.

Children Exposed to Domestic Violence, Heather Flett, AM, LCSW, Studies indicate that between 10 - 20% of children are at risk for exposure to domestic violence in the home.  We know that this exposure can lead to emotional, behavioral, social, cognitive, and relational problems.  This workshop will review the impact of witnessing domestic violence on young children.  It will also discuss how this may manifest inside the classroom and strategies for assisting child witnesses.  The workshop will be interactive and discussion based.

The Importance of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Nancy Segall, Consultant, Understanding the crucial role that early relationships and the capacity to regulate one's emotions and actions plays in an infant's and young child's overall development can

Flexible, Fearful, or Feisty... What's Temperament Got to Do with It? Marianthi Korsitsaris, M.Ed. Plato Academy Principal/Teacher, Temperament is a major factor in the dynamics of an infant and toddler classroom.  Come learn identifying factors for each of these three temperaments, and how you can use these unique characteristics to your advantage when planning activities for the classroom. Strategies on how to work with each temperament will also be discussed.  

Infants, Toddlers and Their Emotional Outbursts, Gail Conway, Chicago Metro AEYC CEO, Learn what may be sparking emotional outburst and strategies you can do now to help children grow-up to be emotionally healthy adults. Be a part of this interactive hour of case studies and solutions in infant and toddler care.  

That's Me! Using Photos and Story Telling to Promote Positive Self-Image for Toddler and Two's, Joey Hager, Metropolitan Family Services, How do we promote a positive self-image in our youngest learners? This interactive workshop will introduce methods for story telling, recounting memories as well as physical materials that caregivers can make and use with children.  Participants will have the opportunity to experiment with multiple book making techniques to use in their classrooms. 

Partners in Care:  Supporting Fussy Babies in Child Care, Marsha Baker, OTR/L, M.Ed., Michelle Lee-Murrah, LCPC, Fussy Baby Network, This workshop will provide important information on crying, sleep and routines that will help you settle infants into child care.  We will also introduce you to tools that you can use with parents to begin communicating about their baby and their expectations for his or her care.  Throughout this workshop, we will talk together about ways to strengthen your partnership with parents in this most important job of becoming partners in care for their baby.  

Continuity of Care

The Things You Can't Learn in School! A Workshop about Classroom Management, Bridgett R. Scarborough, M.Ed., The focus of this workshop is for the teacher to develop classroom management skills to make the classroom environment as stress-free as it is successful. Most early childhood education courses teach what is expected of you as a teacher, yet fail to tell you how to meet those expectations.  Through role-playing, discussion, demonstration, group problem-solving, self-reflection and journaling, the teacher will explore creative ways to address some of the challenges of the classroom.  Upon completion of this workshop the teacher will have developed a personal action plan that will enhance the overall effectiveness of the classroom.

Normal Development of a Child Ages 0-5, Gilda Y. Figueroa, In this workshop the participants will learn the normal development of a child from birth to five years of age, including the different areas of development: cognitive, communication, fine and gross motor skills, and emotional.

From Resistance to Support-One Programs Journey of Implementing Continuity of Care, Rima Malhotra, M.Ed., Learn why all children have a right to continuity of care and why we as caregivers have a responsibility to do it!
 

Caregiver Mental Health Is Important Too-Five Secrets to Good Health and Permanent Weight Loss, Raul Beltran, Jr., Holistic Health Management, Caregivers need to take care of themselves in order to provide optimal care for the children in their classroom. Come learn how! This workshop will focus on the latest research on health, wellness, and diet.

Putting it All Together- Portfolios for Infants, Toddlers and Two's, Leah Shapiro M.Ed., This workshop will focus on developing focused portfolios for the Head to Toe set.  Sample observations, photos, work samples and other techniques will be utilized to demonstrate teacher friendly ways to gather documentation and organize portfolios for very young children. Hand-outs and usable portfolio forms will be distributed to participants.

From Resistance to Support-One Programs Journey of Implementing Continuity of Care, Rima Malhotra, M.Ed.,Carlina Rinldi, Learn why all children have a right to continuity of care and why we as caregivers have a responsibility to do it!  

Let's Have Fun and Play! Expanding Activities from Infancy to Preschool, Alesia Harris and Jacquii James, Metropolitan Family Services-The Children's Center, This Workshop will present traditional and innovative techniques to engage infants, toddler, and young preschool children in entertaining activates, which focus on learning basic skills. 

Easing Transitions