This workshop will be devoted to helping us develop the postures and attitudes necessary to move in healthy ways through work and conversations related to equity. Erin will share elements of her personal journey into this work but also strategies she uses with children and adults to help them have the hard conversations that are necessary, through the lenses of grace and mercy. You will have tools and strategies you can use immediately in your own life and as you raise your children.

In this session we will use the 4 Anti-bias goals to explore how to create a home or classroom where every child feels valued and seen. We will look at how our language, interactions, curriculum, environments, and relationships impact the children in our care and how to make changes so that all children feel valued and see.

As social workers, struggling with issues similar to the people we are trying to help is a rarity in this field. The pandemic and events of the last 18 months leveled the playing field in many ways, leaving many of us searching for answers when there were few to be had. The impact of trauma only served to heighten the severity of the experience. In this workshop, we will focus on lessons learned from helping people during such a challenging time frame, skills to keep us on the right track, and how we grew from living through the uncertainty and pain.

During the last year both families and schools have been impacted by COVID-19, schools have developed new opportunities to deeply engage and connect with families. We will explore tangible ways that families can interact and engage with schools in a way that can support strong educational outcomes for students. In this interactive session you will learn more about the ways that schools can/should be engaging with families to support the learning of all students.

What practical steps can you be taking, both in the classroom and in your life outside of your own ‘germ-pod,’ to limit your risk of contracting Covid-19? In this workshop we will discuss the most recent guidance from CDC, DOH, WHO, your local health jurisdictions and DCYF. We will also discuss how it impacts your time both in and outside of early learning settings. Come prepared to do some myth busting and talk through some of the latest suggestions, ideas, and trends in the world of COVID-19 as it applies to the early childhood field.

In this session we will examine ways that LGBTQ+ family structures are often invisible or overlooked in the broader culture, and therefore underserved or served poorly. We will explore family structures and value systems that are common in the LGBTQ+ community and identify opportunities to better serve such families. Topics of discussion will include: donor conception, surrogacy, gender neutral language.

This workshop will support parents and providers (teachers, childcare providers, etc.) recognizing when children’s stress and the drivers of stressors in children especially within the context of COVID. Much of the presentation will focus on specific skills adults can utilize to mitigate stress in children and build resiliency including: empathic listening, targeting sequences of escalated behavior, understanding and managing power struggles, finding each child’s unique “spark”, etc.

This workshop will provide solid practical advice for educators on how to create a school climate in which students can become self-disciplined, compassionate, responsible, resourceful, resilient human beings who can act in their own best interest, stand up for themselves, and exercise their own rights while respecting the rights and legitimate needs of others.

The traditional view of parenting labels moms as the nurturer and dad as the provider, with dad stereotyped as being nothing more than the financial provider. But science and a modern understanding of human development has shown us: that men communicate with their babies in utero; the hormone levels of men change when they become fathers, bonds between dad and daughter can determine what kind of man the daughter will marry as well as when she starts puberty. And when fathers know their potential for being a positive influence in their child’s life, the outcome for that child, for that father and for society as a whole is monumental!

This workshop provides an introduction to foundational themes in the field and practice of infant and early childhood mental health, including the critical influence of early experiences and relationships on the developing brain; on babies’ and young children’s understanding of themselves, others and the world; and on their ability to self-regulate and to cope with stress and challenge.

Presenter will share the major milestones in regards to social and emotional abilities in birth through 8 year old’s while giving ideas in helping to grow these skills in multiple environments. Topics such as attachment, friendships, sharing, play and emotional intelligence will be addressed.