2010 Opening Minds Conference Workshops

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Interactive Conference Planner now available!

With Opening Minds' Interactive Conference Planner, you can:

• Search by Workshop Title, Description, Presenter, or Day

Search across the entire event schedule (across days and venues) by typing your search word into the search box near the top of the planner page. This includes searching by event title, venue/address and event description.

• See Full Descriptions of Workshops

Simply hover your mouse over the workshop entry to see the entire description, when and where it will held, and who is presenting.

• Create/Save a Custom Schedule

Create, save, and share your personal schedule by signing up for an account on the very top of the planner page. Then you simply click on an event to add it and reclick on it to remove. There's a link to your custom schedule in the very top of the planner page that you can view at anytime, load on your mobile device or print out.

• Print Your Schedule/See it on Your Phone

Once you have saved your personal schedule, you can view it on your mobile device or print it out.

• Search by Professional Audience

Click on the "Audience" menu to see workshops that appeal to Administrators/Directors, Head Start practitioners, Mental Health practitioners and Principals. (Note: There are workshops for everyone--and everyone is encouraged to attend ANY workshop they choose.)

• Share your schedule on Facebook, Twitter and more

Talk with your friends and colleagues about which workshops you're planning to attend, set up networking opportunities, and more. by exporting your schedule to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.

For more information or assistance, feel free to contact us.

Sneak Preview

Inclusion: Successfully Integrate Children with Special Needs into the Classroom

Panel, Department of Special Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Teachers struggle with providing the support that children with special needs require while meeting the needs of all children in the class - room. Learn from the experts at the University of Illinois about inclusion strategies which enrich the learning environment for all.

Bringing it Home: International Awareness in the Early Childhood Classroom

Meredith Polley and Nora Ryan, Academy for Global Citizenship

Help children to move beyond flags, festivals and food and into an in depth understanding of the world around them. Kindergarten teachers Meredith Polley and Nora Ryan share their experiences of bringing their travels into the classroom. We will focus on helping students to first understand themselves and their communities. These understandings serve as a basis for comparison and connection to cultures abroad.

Bridging Teaching with Learning: Instructional Assessment in Pre-K to 3rd Grade Classrooms

Dr. Gillian McNamee and Dr. Jie-Qi Chen, Erikson Institute

This session guides teachers in Bridging, an assessment tool that informs classroom activities in the arts, literacy, math, and sciences. The tool helps teachers understand key concepts in each subject.

¿Hace Música?

Carole Peterson, Macaroni Soup and Giovanna Garcia, Chiqui Baby Learning Academy

“Mi cuerpo, mi cuerpo hace música,” Carole se ha asociado con Giovanna García para introducir canciones apropiadas y actividades de movimiento que son sencillas de aprender para proveedores de habla Español. Cantaremos canciones en ingles y aprenderemos estrategias y técnicas para el manejo del aula e información relacionada con el desarrollo infantil en español. Carole Peterson, Macaroni Soup and Giovanna Garcia, Chiqui Baby Learning Academy

Evidence-Based Practices to Reduce Challenging Behaviors

Dr. Lise Fox, Division of Applied Research and Educational Support, Department of Child and Family Studies, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida

What essential characteristics and support structures do programs and practitioners need to have in place to be evidence-based practitioners? How can they promote social-emotional development in preschool children with and without disabilities? Learn what best practices are, where they come from, and what approaches you can take to change children’s challenging behavior.

Hundreds of Quality Workshops Including:

• Language and Literacy Acquisition: Preschool English Language Learners - Cecelia Westby, Ed.D., Rasmussen College, St. Paul, Minnesota
• Building a Bridge Between Home and School - Diana Brannon, Ed.D., Elmhurst College
• The ABCs of Art: Learning Through and About Art -Jeanne Poole, Living Springs Preschool
• Let the Resources of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Help You Open Your Eyes to Nature - Carole Valerie Keener, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
• Snazzy Snapshots: Digital Documentation in the Classroom - Kara E. Lehnhardt, MBA, McCormick Tribune Center for Early Childhood Leadership, National-Louis University
• Child Care, Parenting and Childhood Obesity - Dr. Julie Lumeng, University of Michigan Department of Pediatrics, Division of Child Behavioral Health
• Early Intervention: The Sooner We Start, The Further We’ll Go - Patricia Singler, Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago
• The Fair Labor Standards Act: What Program Administrators Need to Know - Kim Leffert, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP
• Desarrollando lenguaje en infantes y caminadores a través del uso de lenguaje por seña - Gilda Figueroa