Early Care &
Education
Conference
Community Child Care Solutions/Child Care Connection’s
annual Early Care and Education Conference
is held every fall. The day-long professional development opportunity offers a wide spectrum of educational workshops for child care professionals. This year’s conference keynote will be simultaneously translated in Spanish. We will be offering sessions in Spanish and an Administrator’s Track for center directors/ leaders. Attending Keynote, Session A, and Session B provides 5 contact hours of professional development.
Come reconnect, be inspired, and be entered for a chance to win door prizes!
Schedule
2023 Conference for Early Care and Education
Diocese of Metuchen's St. John Neumann Pastoral Center
October 28,2023
8:00 A.M. - 8:30A.M.
Registration, Continental Breakfast and Exhibits
8:30 A.M. - 8:45 A.M.
Welcome
Keynote Speaker
Karen E. Stone
President/CEO, SoftStone Inc.
10:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.
Training Session-Workshop Group A
12:15P.M. - 1:15 P.M.
Lunch, Exhibits and Raffle
1:30 P.M. - 3:30 P.M.
Training Session-Workshop Group B
Attending Keynote, Session A, and Session B provides five contact hours toward licensing requirements.
Current CDC Covid-19 recommendations will be followed. Please do not attend if you have any signs or symptoms of Covid-19 or have been exposed to someone with Covid-19
Group A Workshops
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
A1: AN IN-DEPTH DEMONSTRATION OF THE “VOICES OF CJ” PROGRAM: CAREGIVERS LEARNING HOW TO HELP CHILDREN MANAGE THEIR OWN EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
Karen Stone will present her “Voices of CJ” program for children ages 2 ½ - 6. This fun, engaging and easy to use program assists children in developing the 7 attributes of emotional intelligence formulated by Daniel Goleman. CJ stands for “Creator of Joy” and is a 7-pointed plush star. Each point of CJ’s star is a voice that helps develop the emotional brain, which is growing the fastest from birth to six. Research shows that EQ/SEL is 80 percent the reason we are successful in life, and that EQ raises IQ.
Karen E. Stone
President/CEO, SoftStone, Inc.
A2: EMPODERANDO A LAS CUIDADORAS Y EDUCADORAS LIDERES DE LA PRIMERA INFANCIA PARA QUE SATISFAGAN LAS NECESIDADES DEL DIVERSO GRUPO DE LATINOS QUE CUIDAN EN DIFERENTES ENTORNOS EDUCACIONALES (LINGUISTICAMENTE Y CULTURALMENTE)
Nuestra meta es la de enorgullecernos de nuestra identidad Latina como educadoras de la primera infancia, y al mismo tiempo reconocer la riqueza de nuestras culturas y cómo enriquecen las experiencias de los niños y las niñas que están bajo nuestro cuidado. Compartiremos investigaciones en el tema y la Herramienta Educacional SESEBA, una auto evaluación para el Desarrollo de niños bilingües desarrollada en el Instituto NIEER.
Carmen Espinosa
Research Project Coordinator, National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER)
A3: MANAGING CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS IN THE CLASSROOM
What drives children's “bad” behavior? Learn to uncover the hidden factors and root causes of common misbehaviors. Use brain science and compassion to understand and solve children’s behavioral challenges with a trauma-informed lens. Interactive, engaging and practical. Packed with real life examples to help participants in real life classrooms. Powerful solutions and strategies for cultivating emotional regulation, empathy, resilience and promoting social-emotional development.
Anna Seewald
MEd, MPsy, Authentic Parenting
A4: IMPLEMENTING MUSIC AND MOVEMENT AS A SELF-REGULATION STRATEGY
Early childhood educators are facing an increase in negative behaviors in the classroom such as extreme separation anxiety, aggressive behaviors such as hitting, pushing, etc, and a lack of social skills among their students. By implementing musical activities with more intention, children will learn how to better control their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, resulting in better academic success.
Brenda Limaldi
Owner and Educational Consultant, Musically Mindful; Preschool Music and Enrichment Specialist, North Brunswick Public Schools
A5: “THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE RULES THE WORLD" BUT WHO ROCKS THE ROCKERS?
We as early childhood educators give all that we have of our whole-selves to the children in our care and to our life outside of work. How do we make sure that we are taking care of? How do we become resilient?
Sereeta Cantres
Consultant/Trainer, Cantres Center for Professional Development
Group B Workshops
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
B1: BUILD THE BRAIN: INTERACTIONS AS CHILDREN PLAY
When children play, there are endless opportunities to deepen their thinking. Teachable moments are about more than memorizing facts. They are about building the brain through inspiring conversations. Help children extend their understanding of the world during your interactions. Learn how to help them develop thinking routines that will serve them well as students and when they are adults.
Cindy Terebush
Early Childhood Consultant, Helping Kids Achieve
B2: LA IMPLANTACIÓN DE MÚSICA Y MOVIMIENTO COMO ESTRATEGIA PARA LA AUTORREGULACIÓN
Educadores de la educación preescolar están enfrentando un aumento de comportamiento negativo en el salón como ansiedad de separación, comportamiento agresivo (pegando, empujando, etc.) y una falta de habilidades sociales entre sus estudiantes. La implantación de actividades musicales, los niños pequeños pueden aprender cómo tener control sobre sus pensamientos, emociones, y comportamiento, resultando en éxito académico.
Brenda Limaldi
Owner and Educational Consultant for Musically Mindful; Preschool Music and Enrichment Specialist for North Brunswick Public Schools
B3: STEM: BRINGING THE FUTURE INTO YOUR ECE PROGRAMS
Preparing our children for their future begins now! STEM is much more than its individual components of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. It is the integration of these concepts across the curriculum and in various contexts to solve real world problems. Integrating STEM into the classroom and outdoors is not only easy and inexpensive, but fun to do and a very exciting way to increase enrollment. Anyone can incorporate STEM into the classroom. Go beyond digging in the dirt and watching plants grow to real problem solving and engineering types of STEM!
Dr. Tamar Andrews
American Jewish University
B4: ENGAGING DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGS
Early Childhood teachers will learn strategies to provide a supporting, stimulating and equitable educational environment. Participants will develop a deeper understanding of Dual Language Learners. They will learn practical strategies to support social emotional development by respecting the home language, culture and family composition of each child in ways that support the child's health and well-being. Participants will be engaged by becoming familiar with books, songs and poems.
Del Pickens- Dover
Educational Consultant, D. Pickens Dover Associates
B5: THE STOP, DROP, AND ROLL APPROACH TO ADDRESSING BEHAVIORS THAT CHALLENGE
Behaviors that are challenging often feel like a crisis, and we can often feel like we are ‘putting out fires’ all day long, similar to clothes being on fire. So we packaged strategies within a Stop, Drop, and Roll framework that aim to help adults “extinguish” concerns that arise. In this workshop, we will discuss and practice how to Stop and take a pause, Drop to reduce stress, and Roll to respond to the child's needs.
Carmela McCleary
Lead Infant and Early Childhood Consultation Specialist, Montclair State University’s Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health
ADMINISTRATOR’S TRACK
Session A: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
AA1: TEAM BUILDING STRATEGIES FOR EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS
This workshop will provide hands-on activities that team leaders can bring back to their early childhood staff. Participants will be sensitized and explore personality insights, perception, and professional maturity. Connections will be made between how the professional approach, team building, and communication enhances program quality.
Alicia Jenks, Early Childhood Specialist, Community Coordinated Child Care of Union County
Session B: 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
BB1: TURNING WHINERS INTO WINNERS
Do you have staff that never seems happy? Does he/she bring negativity to your program? Let's take a closer look at why people whine and what effects it has on the children and adults in your program. Evaluate whether your behavior can influence your staff and explore strategies you can put in place to change whiners into winners.
Debbie Silver, Early Childhood Professional Development Consultant
