2020 Early Childhood Education Conference

Northeastern Junior College, along with the Early Childhood Council of Logan, Phillips and Sedgwick Counties, is excited to host the annual Early Childhood Conference on Saturday, Jan. 25 from 7 a.m. to 5:35 p.m. The conference is for child care professionals working with young children from birth to eight years old.

The theme of this year's conference is Nature and Nurture, and features a full slate compelling speakers with many practical, hands-on sessions!
Vendors will be on site during the conference.
There will be door prize giveaways, so attendees are encouraged to enter to win! (Entries must be present to win.)
Agenda
7 a.m. | Registration | |
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Light breakfast items will be provided. | ||
8 a.m. | Keynote: Think "OUTSIDE", No Box | Renee McLaughlin |
We will be taking a deeper dive into the importance of outside play.
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Morning Break-Out Sessions | ||
9:45-10:45 a.m. | Fun Activities to do Outside with Children | Renee McLaughlin |
This workshop will be full of hands-on activities. Practitioners will go home with lots of ideas ready to roll out on Monday morning. | ||
9:45-10:45 a.m. | Moving Past Paper | Michael Taylor |
Technology is often either broached in the ECE field as totally revolutionary or as another hurdle to jump through. In this presentation, Michael Taylor of Early Learning Ventures uses the accumulated knowledge of 500 providers to share a more realistic viewpoint of technology in the ECE field. | ||
9:45-10:45 a.m. | Growing the Brain |
Amy Nation, Erin Pounds and Cheryl Bills |
We will be discussing brain development and the areas of the brain. We will look at factors to improve and enhance development and adverse effects of media on brain development. | ||
9:45-10:45 a.m. | Autism | Michelle Kaiser |
Session information and presenter biography coming soon. | ||
12-1 p.m. | Lunch | |
Afternoon Break-Out Session | ||
1:15-3:15 p.m. | Developmentally Appropriate Practice | Shelli Krager and Emma Mackay |
This is a hands-on session with activities for a variety of areas of study and covering all developmental domains. | ||
2:15-3:15 p.m. | You Owe it to Yourself to Nurture YOU Like You Nurture Your LITTLES: Getting Off the Provider Burnout Superhighway! | Chris Swenson |
You are giving so much of your time and energy nurturing all those little ones around you. Perhaps you are very passionate about playing a role in their development and lives. However, don't forget about taking car of YOU. This will be a fun and entertaining session helping you regain your passion and energy for nurturing all those LITTLES and to feel better, too! | ||
3:15-4:15 p.m. | Drug-Addicted Families | Jessica Harder |
Session information and presenter biography coming soon! | ||
3:15-4:15 p.m. | Really Seeing Children | Ellen Coker |
The focus of this session will be to discuss and reflect on stories from early childhood settings. This interactive session will support participants in the exploration of ways to develop and deepen relationships with children through observation and interactions that nurture relationships. Strategies will be discussed for creating environments and experiences to reinforce best social and emotional development will be included as participants are actively engaged in this session. | ||
4:15-5:15 p.m. | Those Difficult Discussions with Families | Terry Curtis |
Join in on the discussion of when and how to talk with families on those difficult topics. How do you tell a parent you think their child needs services? Behavior issues? Social emotional issues? This session will be highly interactive. | ||
4:15-5:15 p.m. | No Small Matter: Advocacy | Michelle Sharp |
Session information and presenter biography coming soon! | ||
5:15-5:35 p.m. | Closing Remarks, door prizes awarded (must be present to win) |
Pre-Registration must be received BEFORE Jan. 18, 2020
Sponsored by:
Early Childhood Council or Logan, Phillips and Sedgwick Counties
Northeastern Junior College
Early Learning Ventures