We are so excited to be attending the upcoming Parent Child Preschools of Organization(PCPO) conference this Saturday March 3rd. The lineup of parenting experts is amazing, and as the parent of a 3 1/2 year old, I can use all the parenting advice and help I can get right now! Although pre-registration for this event is closed, there’s still walk-in registration available. PCPO members and alumni can attend the all day conference for just $40, general public for $60.
In addition to a full day of wonderful workshops for parents and teachers, there will be some great vendors including us! Come visit us at our table and enter to win some fabulous prizes including a basket of preschool aged goodies from The Learning Palace, a seat at an upcoming workshop in Positive Discipline with Laurie Davala, a family storytime for your child’s school and children’s books from Dawn Prochovnic, MA, or a copy of “Boys Alive!” from author Janet Allison.
Here’s just a snapshot of the workshops available at the event. You can see the complete registration brochure here.
Adult and Child Develop Together – Josette Luvmour, PhD is a developmentalist, consultant, and educator who specializes in child development and sustainable family relationships. Promoting well-being in students is about relationship. Everyone accepts that the educator influences the student, but few realize how much the student changes the educator. The hidden benefits for the teacher occur when he or she supports the child’s developmental needs. Relationships that promote learning in the student also promote adult development in the teacher.
Creative Reuse - Keri Piehl is the Education Coordinator at SCRAP, Portland’s creative reuse center. Creative reuse is a time-tested way for children (and adults!) to explore their environment, use their imaginations, and make the most of the resources at hand. Workshop session will include a presentation and practical tips for setting up a reuse center in your home or child center. Take home projects to get you thinking about how to reuse at home.
Get Ready to Read… It is all fun and games! - Sharon Henegar spent more than 30 years as a children’s librarian and is passionate about the importance and joy of reading. Children need six skills in order to learn to read: vocabulary, letter knowledge, print awareness, narrative skills, print motivation, and phonological awareness. In this workshop, parents and caregivers learn to develop these skills through songs, games, rhymes, and play, woven into daily life.
Healthy Food-Healthy Kids – Cassandra Mick, CNE is a certified nutrition educator, helping people create vibrant health and thriving families. A jam-packed nutrition starter course: Best foods for junior brains, bodies, and behavior. Food intolerances: their effect on health and how to tell if your children have them. Expanding the menu: strategies for introducing foods that even the pickiest kids will eat and love.
Introduction to Positive Discipline – Laurie Davala is a Certified Positive Discipline Parenting Educator. Explore concepts underlying Positive Discipline, a parenting approach based on mutual respect, and learn strategies for applying them to everyday parenting challenges. Discover how difficult behaviors provide opportunities to teach values, build competence, and foster connection.
Read to Me-Hands on Tips for Enriching Story Time – Dawn Prochovnic, MA, is the author of 16 children’s books and the founder of SmallTalk Learning. Join the children’s author as she shares a selection of engaging, literacy-based story time modules. Explore the American Library Association’s six key skills for preparing children to become readers when they enter school, and gain practical ideas for enriching circle times and lap times with songs, sign language, and developmentally appropriate literacy/early literacy activities.
Shopping on Driveways – Sharon Henegar spent more than 30 years as a children’s librarian and is passionate about the importance and joy of reading. You can find wonderful bargains at yard sales, estate sales, and thrift stores. Furnish your home, dress your family, build a library, and find endless entertainment for pennies on the dollar. Learn about online resources, how you can get the best deals, and even find items to resell.
Sign Language-Beginner Basics for Literacy (and Fun!) - Dawn Prochovnic, MA, is the author of 16 children’s books and the founder of SmallTalk Learning. In this fast-paced workshop, the founder of SmallTalk Learning will share the benefits and ease of incorporating American Sign Language into daily activities at school and at home. Participants will learn a variety of practical techniques for using ASL as a tool to support routine transitions, improve behavior, and enrich early literacy activities.
