Curriculum and Instruction

Learning to Be the Boss of Me: Supporting Executive Functions in the Preschool
Classroom

Suzanne D. Adinolfi, Ph.D., VPK Regional Facilitator, Northwest, Office of Early Learning/Department of Education

Target Audience: New & Experienced Teachers, Directors

Executive function skills are fundamental to building a strong foundation for the early development of both cognitive and social competencies. Children who can focus attention, control impulses, follow the rules and adjust to changing demands, tend to be more successful in school and life. This interactive presentation invites early childhood educators to participate in multiple activities designed to support and enhance the executive functions of preschool-aged children. *This presentation is based upon research outlined in the following sources: Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University https://developingchild.harvard.edu/guide/a-guide-to-executive-function/. Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs, Ellen Galinsky 

Language Facilitation Strategies in Early Learning Programs

Target Audience: Teachers: New, Teachers: Experienced, Training & Technical Staff

Shucrea Victor- Cameron, Primary Teacher, Broward County Public Schools

Children come to school with a wide range of exposure and language experiences. Research on language developments has become a touchstone for practitioners attempting to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged children. One way to close the gap is through language nutrition. Language nutrition refers to language-rich interactions that facilitate language development. Participants will learn how to utilize language facilitation strategies to support individualized growth and development.

Adventures in Language and Literacy

Target Audience: Teachers: New

Ron Mohl, Lead Educational Presenter, Lakeshore Learning

In this session, attendees will be provided with hands-on experience as we dive into six key areas that are sequenced to support the development of language acquisition through phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, print awareness, classification, communication, and building vocabulary. Each area will be defined and provide activities and resources to engage young learners throughout the learning environment.

Increasing Readiness through A Three-Tier Approach: Parental Engagement, Teacher Support, and a Focus on the Child

Target Audience: Administrators, Directors, Family Support, Training & Technical Staff

Michelle Toral, Head Start Section Manager, and Dr. Maite Riestra-Quintero, Assistant Director, Miami-Dade County Community Action & Human Services Department

Attendees will learn information about three initiatives Miami-Dade County Head Start has implemented to support school readiness for children through parental engagement.  The three initiatives include literacy, STEAM, and social-emotional.  Each initiative has a multi-tier approach:  tier 1 focuses on the child, tier 2 focuses on the teacher, and tier 3 focuses on the parents. Learn the specific strategies used in each of the initiatives and view particular examples and strategies to support each layer.

The FUNdamentals of Preschool STEAM

Barbara Perdomo, Director, Preschool FUNdamentals

Target Audience: Administrators, Directors, Teachers: New, Teachers: Experienced

This engaging conversation will begin by discussing how the collaborative efforts between program leaders and the staff are pivotal in implementing fun, developmentally appropriate, and easy-to-do STEAM activities. This session will also provide attendees with strategies on how cross-curricular integrations can be play-based, hands-on, and engaging for children, all while helping them build and reinforce positive relationships with their teachers, parents, and amongst each other.

What We Give Them Today, They Will Keep Forever

Maryann Harman, Owner Music with Mar., LLC

Target Audience: Administrators, Director Service Providers, Directors, Teachers: New, Teachers: Experienced

Who we are going to be, our value system, our morality, is all in place by the age of 6 or 7. Children will remember what we teach them, intentionally and unintentionally. Be mindful of what you do with children. Make the time you spend with them be valuable, enhancing them cognitively, physically, and emotionally because they will keep it forever. In this session, participants will alternate between lecture and movement, followed by an active dialogue about what happened in the activity.

Balancing Act: Negotiating the Use of Power

Ana L Gonzalez-Mora, School Readiness Regional Facilitator, Department of Education/Florida Office of Early Learning

Target Audience: Directors, Teachers: New, Teachers: Experienced

How a teacher manages power affects children's experiences, behaviors, motivation, and curiosity. By attending to power dynamics in the classroom, a teacher creates a learning environment conducive for optimal learning. The presenter will examine how the use of power in the classroom affects children's abilities and feelings of self-worth. Learn the teacher's role in establishing norms and rules and in negotiating shared learning space as well as engaging scenarios, resolve dilemmas, present rationales, and self-reflect. 

Mathematizing Children's Books

Terri Konczak, VPK Regional Facilitator, Southwest Region

Target Audience: Teachers: New, Teachers: Experienced

Helping teachers use books to engage young minds to make math fun, interactive, and meaningful in their classrooms. The presenter will help strengthen the strategies you use to enhance the math skills of 4-year-old students and create activities that target math standards that can be incorporated with any PreK curriculum and used in a variety of preschool settings.

Individualizing Professional Development and Mentoring to Help Teachers Implement the Creative Curriculum® and GOLD® with Fidelity

Kathy Loeffler, Regional Professional Development Manager, Teaching Strategies, LLC

Target Audience: Administrators, Directors, Teachers: New, Teachers: Experienced

This session aims to give coaches, mentors, and administrators a greater understanding of the coaching role along with practical strategies for improving their work with teachers and caregivers at all levels of implementation. Participants will discover ways to enhance the quality of their coaching and tailor it to the individual strengths, needs, and opportunities they observe in their programs using Teaching Strategies® Coaching to Fidelity resources.