Thursday, April 3, 2025
8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. – Opening and General Session
Conference Welcome, Announcements and Wolf Trap Warm Up
Opening Keynote: Unmistakable Impact: Leverage Research to Nurture Learning in Early Childhood
Presenter: Dr. John Almarode, James Madison University
Early childhood is a uniquely sensitive time when young learners are rapidly developing across multiple domains. Knowing which teaching strategies work best and when can have a significant impact on a child’s development and future success, both in school and beyond. This is how we nurture early childhood, not by chance, but by design. This keynote examines how the latest research can guide our decisions as we plan, teach, document, and partner with families and colleagues so that we can have the greatest possible impact on learning and development of children. We will leverage the unique characteristics of early childhood environments and align those characteristics with coherent practices that form a strong foundation for learning over time.
9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Exhibit Hall Open
9:45 – 10:45 a.m. – Concurrent Workshops
Challenging Behavior or Cues for Connection? Flipping the Script on Managing Challenging Behaviors
Presenter: Sara Diamond
Co-Presenters: Christine Meyer, Nicole Shinn
Studies have shown that student behavior is one of the main stressors for educators, leaving them feeling overwhelmed and drained. The key to addressing these challenges lies in the power of meaningful educator-child interactions and effective classroom organization. By fostering strong connections and creating a structured environment, you can transform challenging behaviors into opportunities for growth and create a positive learning experience for all. In this interactive presentation, we’re talking all about behavior—what different behaviors can actually mean and what educators can do to both prevent and respond to behaviors that stem from big feelings.
Loose Parts: Using Open Ended Materials to Promote Creativity, Learning and Problem Solving
Presenter: Tammy Foster
The session will begin with a discussion of the theory of loose parts and its benefits to student learning. We will see how using loose parts spark children to ask “what if” and enhances their ability to use their imagination. Then, we will explore ways to involve your students and families. To conclude, we will investigate how to incorporate loose parts into your curriculum by planning developmentally appropriate provocations that are hands-on, encourage creativity, and create learning opportunities. This will be done through examples of activities (using photos and hands-on materials) as well as the sharing of other ideas from attendees.
Feedback for Moving Learning Forward in Early Childhood
Presenter: Dr. John Almarode, James Madison University
Your days, weeks, months, semester, and year are jammed full of those responsibilities associated with teaching in the early childhood classroom – from morning meeting to centers, from structured play to building the foundation for future learning. With very little down time, we must ensure that what we do in our centers and classrooms and how we do what we do in our teaching is both effective and efficient. This includes the giving and receiving of feedback that moves learning forward. In fact, for us, feedback is the one area that can cause the greatest strain on us. While we may acknowledge and believe that feedback is an important and essential part of the learning process, we are confronted with challenges in the giving and receiving of feedback in our own centers and classrooms – too many learners, too little time. Maybe you can relate to the following questions that are always on our minds:
- What type of feedback is most helpful in learning? Simply telling them that a particular response or action is not correct cannot be enough, right?
- How do we get our young learners to receive the feedback and integrate that into their future learning?
- What role do our students play in giving and receiving feedback on their own learning
9:45 – 11:15 a.m. – Concurrent Workshops
Hiring Processes That Get Results: Stabilizing Staff
Presenter: Lauren Small
Unlock the secrets to a streamlined, process-driven hiring system that will attract, select, and retain high-quality staff for your child care center. This workshop will equip you with the strategies needed to build a capable, reliable team while stabilizing staffing through consistent and proven processes.
Making a Difference Through Early Interactions
Presenter: Emily Chase
During this session we will discuss how and when language develops; and how language development impacts learning in the areas of cognitive and social-emotional growth. Also, we will be examining the Virginia Early Learning and Development Standards as we talk about language development.
Secondly, we know that children communicate in meaningful social or conversational interactions with adults. So, we will look at strategies to support shared language interactions with infants and toddlers. As we discuss these areas, we will be doing so through the lens of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) addressing Teacher Sensitivity with infants and toddlers. We will also be looking at the dimension of Early Language Support for infants and Language Modeling for toddlers.
Mistakes are Great!
Presenter: Lisa Plotkin
Mistakes are an essential way humans learn about self and the world. We NEED to make mistakes, and we need to practice being kinder to ourselves when we make them. Let’s be mindful and use our own humanness to create a welcoming and supportive environment for children, ourselves, and each other in how we acknowledge, embrace, and accept mistakes. We will build our muscles to offer ourselves and others grace in times of “oops”. We will recognize how vital it is for children to take risks, make and learn from their own mistakes, and witness their adults appreciating the value of mistakes in their own lives: a validating and much-needed hug.
Tattling: It's a Tool!
Presenter: Heidi Condrey
In this Conscious Discipline workshop, participants will discover how to utilize tattling and the everyday conflict moments that happen in the classroom as opportunities to teach. Participants will discover three primary types of tattling, the motive behind each type of tattling, and strategies for responding to each type of tattling that empower both of the victim and the aggressor. And finally, participants will discover classroom structures that support the skill of child assertiveness and how to use these structures to facilitate conflict resolution.
Engaging Black Families and Communities in Early Education
Presenter: Krystal Clemons
Authentic engagement with Black families and communities is key for student success, yet systemic barriers often stand in the way. In this presentation, we'll have real talk about why representation, trust, and cultural awareness matter when schools seek to partner with Black families, churches, advocacy groups, businesses, and neighborhood partners.
Building Relationships with Children
Presenter: Ashley Pearce
Participants will be provided concrete, easy-to-implement strategies to create and maintain their relationships with children while addressing challenging behaviors. These will help children build skills and learn new ways of interacting with the people and world around them.
Bare Necessities: Systemic Improvements to Support & Sustain Inclusive Preschool Programs
Presenter: Lisa Gehring
As we improve classroom quality with Virginia's unified early childhood system, programs are expanding to include children with disabilities in early childhood settings. This session will highlight five ways Early Childhood leaders and administrators can expand systemic supports for including children with special needs in high-quality programs: developing teaming structures, supporting organizational infrastructures, developing professional learning systems, engaging families, and using data-informed decision-making.
Pre-purchased box lunch pick up from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Noon – 1:15 p.m. – Lunch and Learn General Session
Public Policy Luncheon
Presenters: TBA
1:15 – 2:15 p.m. – Concurrent Workshops
Updates: Child Care Health and Safety Regulations and Code Sections
Presenter: Jessica Silva
Learn what’s happening in the world of regulations and Code related to child care in Virginia.
Recipe for Inclusion: Culturally Sensitive Meals, Snacks, and Celebrations
Presenter: Cynthia Snyder
Increase cultural competency by learning to plan meals and snacks which celebrate food diversity. Discover how to to adopt culturally responsive feeding practices through menu development and classroom celebrations. Gain tips for creating an allergen friendly environment and develop strategies to partner with families and the community to maintain inclusivity in all aspects of your nutrition program.
Everyone Can Play: Supporting ALL Students Through Self-Determination!
Presenter: Erin Saxon
Join us in exploring the inclusive early childhood learning environment to discover how self-determination can enhance intentional instruction and interactions. Learn to foster growth and development through play by teaching choice-making, problem-solving, self-regulation and more. Leave empowered to create an inclusive environment where every student thrives!
A Picture's Worth a 1000 Words: Using Visuals in ECE to Foster Connection and Cooperation
Presenter: Marina Natalia Santos
How do you get young children to listen? Is it a magic phrase, a potion, or simply a picture… Perhaps young children do not yet have the tools they need to SEE what adults are saying. Could it simply be that children under 5 are not ignoring but not “seeing”?
In this session, participants will see how and why young children think in pictures. Using Conscious Discipline Powers and Skills, they will learn how to incorporate visuals into their own classrooms and just how powerful a tool a picture is for brain development and learning.
Why are Child Assessments Important to the Future Success of Young Children?
Presenter: Amy Josephson
This presentation will cover the importance of assessments and their role in identifying young children’s individual needs, creating learning goals, and devising specific strategies for supporting them in reaching their full potential. This is a significant topic because early childhood educators play a prominent role in providing a solid foundation for young children that will carry over to their future.
Developmentally Appropriate Pre-reading and Writing for Preschool
Presenter: Michelle Spencer
This session will focus on what is developmentally appropriate for our youngest children when it comes to pre-reading skills. We will discuss what we can (and should) do, what we should not do, and what children are learning when we are teaching them these important skills through play. Session participants will share what they are currently doing, or what their current assumptions and practices are and will share ideas of what can and should be done. Participants will examine what NAEYC states is best practice and come up with ways to incorporate pre-reading and literacy skills for children during play.
Engaging Families as a Learning Partner
Presenter: Gina Kuchta
The research is clear: family engagement positively impacts student achievement. However, not all types of engagement impact student learning similarly. During this highly interactive session, participants will categorize their family engagement activities, identify which strategies most impact school readiness and student outcomes, and practice using materials and resources that build families' capacity to support learning at home.
CLASS It Up: Supporting Language Modeling in Any Environment
Presenter: Danielle Sentz
Are you curious about ways to enhance language modeling interactions with each and every child? With practical input from real-life examples, we will be exploring a variety of developmentally appropriate strategies to meet the needs of all children, including children with disabilities and language delays. Come learn how to compare how your daily practices align with the CLASS indicators and behavioral markers!
Leveraging Interactions to Drive School Readiness
Presenter: Sara Diamond
Co-Presenters: Christin Meyer, Nicole Shinn
This session will explore how effective educator-student interactions can enhance various aspects of student development and achievement. Participants will learn about the research-backed benefits of interactions, including improved performance in math, phonological awareness, print awareness, letter-word recognition, and listening comprehension. Through practical examples and video examples of early learning settings, educators will learn strategies to foster positive interactions that support overall academic success, with a focus on literacy and kindergarten readiness.
Anthem Healthkeepers Plus Session
Presenter: Josh Wright
Review of Anthem HealthKeepers Plus benefits and enhanced benefits.
2:30 – 4:00 p.m. – Concurrent Workshops
Conscious Discipline: An Introduction to Transformational Change
Presenter: Sara Royer
Conscious Discipline® is a longtime leader in the integration of classroom management with social-emotional learning, utilizing everyday events as the curriculum and addressing the adult's emotional intelligence as well as the children. Conscious Discipline empowers adults to consciously respond to daily conflict, transforming it into an opportunity to teach critical life skills to children. When it comes to discipline, if you ever thought, "There has GOT to be a better way?!" then join this interactive session to learn how to create safe, connected environments where problems can be solved with Conscious Discipline.
Building Relationships-Understanding People
Presenter: Amy Clay
Co-Presenters: Nate Clay
This session will address the importance of building relationships in the workplace. Because childcare and teaching are a public service, teachers have to be masters of how to work with people. Three types of relationships will be identified and described: colleagues, students, and their families. Their necessity and how to establish and develop these relationships will be discussed. You will leave knowing how to build connections and establish a rapport with your colleagues, your students, and their families through deliberate and purposeful practices and activities to help build a positive working environment.
Building Connections: Guiding Families through VQB5 Measurement System for School Readiness
Presenter: : Britney Patrick
Co-Presenters: Lauren Snellings, Marie LaMonica-Sarro
Participants will explore how to introduce families to VQB5: Virginia’s Quality Measurement and Improvement System. Through interactive activities and discussion, participants will develop talking points aimed to deepening family understanding of school readiness, navigate key resources like the Virginia Quality Profiles website, and learn about the role of Family Councils in shaping state initiatives. Participants will leave with practical messaging and resources to make family interactions impactful and supportive of Virginia's Quality Measurement and Improvement System for school readiness.
Preschool Inclusion 101
Presenter: Nora Bryant
Co-Presenter: Adrienne Quarles-Smith
Are you curious about how to include young children with disabilities in your classroom? This presentation will begin with a review of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), emphasizing the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and the continuum of placements. A current snapshot of early childhood inclusion in Virginia will be provided to set the context.
We will explore common barriers, myths, and the latest research supporting inclusive programs in the early childhood settings. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of effective inclusive practices that lead to improved outcomes for young learners.
Storytime STEM: Connecting Literacy, Science, and Executive Function for Playful Learning
Presenter: Dr. Diane Schnoor
What makes a natural scientist? Wonder, curiosity, a sense of purpose, and PLAY! We know that children learn best through a hands-on playful environment, but isn't that too much work to set up? When there is so much on teachers' plates, how can we connect science, STEM, literacy, and executive function in a playful, seamless way? In this workshop, participants will learn how to take a playful approach to integrating experiences across the curriculum -- while maintaining their own joy and ease. Join us as we develop a toolbox of practical ideas for connecting storytime STEM curriculum experiences that organically harness play to create opportunities for reading, writing, math, science, and executive function throughout the day. The workshop experience is hands-on and encourages active and engaged participation throughout.
Differences Enhance Greatness
Presenter: Dr. Mary Jackson
This workshop is designed to explain how your thought process affects the perceptions of how you view your students in your classroom. Participants will reflect on their biases that could be drawn from their own experiences.
Amplifying Providers Perspectives on VQB5: Using CLASS and Curriculum to Strengthen School Readiness
Presenter: Melissa Diamond
Co-Presenter: Lauren Snellings, Marie LaMonica-Sarro, Amy Edmondson
Through an interactive panel participants will hear from VQB5 participating educators and leaders about their experiences participating in the VQB5 system. Discover the connection between CLASS observations and curriculum, and how to use these tools to strengthen quality. In this session, you will learn how VQB5 is working to ensure that every child in Virginia is giving the opportunity to enter school ready. Leaders, teachers, and VDOE team members will highlight resources, encouraging participants to consider ways to use CLASS and curriculum to improve interactions and instruction.
Building a Winning Marketing Plan: Attracting Families and Filling Your Child Care Center
Presenter: Lauren Small
Learn how to develop a comprehensive low-cost marketing plan to attract and retain families for your child care center. Implement marketing activities to consistently achieve full capacity and create a waitlist of children needing child care services.
Circle Time: It's More than Calendar and Weather
Presenter: Tracy Cheney
Circle Time: It CAN be More than Calendar and Weather! = Circle time presents some unique learning opportunities for learning, especially regarding social and emotional skills. It is often a scheduled time in the daily routine for communication and cooperation (i.e. speaking, listening, asking and responding to questions, taking turns), and many content areas can be taught in developmentally appropriate ways. A key to doing so is to observe the cues of the children so that expectations regarding the content and length of time are appropriate.
Surviving & Thriving in Early Childhood: Trauma & Resilience Part 1
Presenter: Misty Jewell
In this training, child care professionals will learn: what trauma is; an overview of ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) and the effects of toxic stress; the impact of trauma on a developing child; and the importance of trauma-responsive care in early childhood. Note: A proposal is also being submitted for Part 2 of this training.
4:15 – 5:15 p.m. – Concurrent Workshops
Sheepwrecked! Wooly Important Ideas for Adding STEAM to Your STEM
Presenter: Dr. Diane Schnoor
Co-Presenters: Ashley Belote
Baa-hoy, mateys! Join best-selling picture book author Ashley Belote and nationally recognized STEM educator Dr. Diane Jackson Schnoor on a treasure hunt for the best strategies for connecting picture books and STEM. Using Sheepwrecked as our guide, we will explore wooly fabulous early childhood connections like sink and float, graphing, engineering and design, habitats and biomes, and unplugged coding (along with some baaadly needed strategies for boosting executive function). Your treasure will include lesson ideas you can immediately bring back for connecting STEM and literacy through Sheepwrecked, Frankenslime, Witch and Wombat, and more!
Expanding Literacy through Art and other Activities
Presenter: Paula Simmons
After reading a story to your students, what next? Extend the literacy experience for your students through art and other activities. Learn ways to tell a story using lap stories, felt/flannel boards, and simple props. Session will include instructions for making materials you can use with your own students.
Intentional Early Learning Design for Social-Emotional Growth and Sensory Regulation
Presenter: Rachel Waff
Co-Presenter: Christine Murray
Join us for an engaging session merging best practices in designing learning environments, teacher-child relationships, and the development of self-regulation. We’ll focus on creating effective spaces, routines and visual resources to help teachers and children build a toolbox of strategies for supporting social-emotional and sensory development. Examples include breathing practices, big body movements, problem-solving approaches, and designing intentional space for co-regulation.
Leaders: Create a Safe Respectful Culture with Effective Communication
Presenter: Shirley Smith
You can create a workplace where teachers want to work by building a felt sense of safety. Use Conscious Discipline Powers and Skills to shift your perceptions of common behaviors, strengthen your effectiveness and improve the culture of your program. Transform your communication with staff members so that it is effective and respectful. Clear communication accompanied by visuals can increase staff member’s success in their jobs.
Inquire Within! Inquiry and Play Based Learning
Presenter: Elyssa Brinn
This workshop is designed to equip early childhood educators with the knowledge and and foundations of inquiry-based and play-based learning. Teachers will learn how to create learning environments that encourage curiosity, problem solving, and critical thinking through play. Participants will dive deeper into making connections to conceptual frameworks and also learn different documentation strategies along the way.
4:15 – 5:30 p.m. – Concurrent Workshops
Strategies for Supporting Mandated Reporters of Suspected Child Abuse
Presenter: Alan Guttman
Child development and learning occurs when children are healthy and safe. This workshop will ensure that providers establish policies and procedures that protect children when abuse is suspected. Participants will also discuss and learn strategies to protect themselves in their roles as mandated reports. It is vital that providers are supported so that they may fulfill their role as mandated reporters. In this highly engaging workshop, participants will learn why individuals sometimes fail to report suspected abuse. Video vignettes and research will be presented to inform discussions around the development of strategies, policies, and procedures to ensure consistent reporting.
Dramatic Adventures – Creating Original Stories with Children
Presenter: Ali Oliver-Krueger
In this professional development workshop, educators use select drama strategies to create lively stories and miniature plays with young children. The story-building process provides children with opportunities to practice key literacy, cognitive and social emotional skills; using their imaginations, collaborating, and having fun! Educators will practice guiding young children through this creative development process from start to finish.
Nurturing Young Children in Nature: How To Do It and Why It Matters!
Presenter: Michele Lucia
Participants will investigate current research on the benefits of interacting with the natural environment and how this practice fosters healthy development for young children. They will explore practical activities and accessible materials that promote engagement with nature and support growth and learning across all developmental domains.
Surviving & Thriving in Early Childhood: Trauma & Resilience Part 2
Presenter: Sharon Howell
In this training Part 2, Childcare Professionals will learn strategies for responding to behaviors that may present as discipline issues and learn proactive strategies for teaching self-regulation.