Wayne Community College's Child Care Conference set for Saturday
By Staff Reports
Published in News on February 28, 2015 10:47 PM
A creative education advocate is the keynote speaker at this year's Wayne County Child Care Conference, being held this week at Wayne Community College.
The March 7 conference -- offering sessions on dozens of topics -- is an opportunity for child care providers, teachers and the public to rediscover the joy of teaching and learning.
Mimi Brodsky Chenfield, a teacher with nearly 60 years of experience and the author of several books on teaching young children, will kick off the event.
Her presentation, "Joy is NOT a Dishwashing Liquid," will focus on learning as a joyful, life-long experience and encourage attendees to explore "everyone's gift of creativity, curiosity and confidence."
Ms. Chenfield began her teaching career in Albany, N.Y., in 1956, teaching fourth grade. She went on to teach adults and children of all ages and grades, from Head Start to Upward Bound, from New York to Hawaii. She currently teaches, consults and writes in central Ohio and conducts seminars around the country.
Her books, "Teaching by Heart" and "Teaching in the Key of Life," have been widely used in early childhood education.
In addition to serving as keynote speaker, she will lead a 90-minute session for teachers with an emphasis on creativity and fun.
Sherry Granberry, an early childhood instructor at Wayne Community College, called Ms. Chenfield a lively presenter and said having her at the conference was bound to inspire those in the audience.
"My goal in having Mimi here is to have the attendees feeling good about themselves and what they do when they leave," she said. "They just have to experience Mimi. It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance."
The Saturday event will feature 10 morning and 20 afternoon sessions on topics ranging from safe sleep practices for infants 12 months and younger to preparing children for kindergarten, and intervention procedures for challenging behaviors to building curriculum themes around books.
In addition to teachers in local centers, schools and colleges and personnel from education-related agencies, attendees can learn from experts from other fields, such as a health consultant, children's librarian, and educational outreach specialist from UNC-TV.
The workshops are designated for infant, toddlers, preschool, school age, combinations of age groups, or "all." Each workshop attended is worth 1.5 hours of training credit for a total of six training hours awarded at the end of the day if all are attended.
Following the keynote speech, breakout sessions run 9:45-11:15 a.m., 11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m., and 1:30-3 p.m. Lunch will be provided.
A complete schedule is available at www.pfcw.org or by calling 919-735-3371, ext. 227. Advance registration is due by March 4 and costs $30. The on-site registration fee is $35.
The conference is sponsored by the Partnership for Children of Wayne County-Child Care Resource and Referral and WCC.