Meet the Speakers! Greg & Steve

VAAEYC Admin/ October 25, 2021/ Events, Music and Arts

Greg & Steve’s music says “Let’s Move”! With high energy, participatory songs for children, Grammy nominated Greg & Steve have been entertaining kids, teachers, parents, and grandparents alike for over 30 years! Their singable lyrics and catchy melodies set to contemporary beats (blues, country, rock & roll, and reggae) provide a fun way to encourage movement and teach physical education.

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Meet the Presenter: Salina Yoon

VAAEYC Admin/ October 14, 2021/ Uncategorized

Salina Yoon is a Geisel Honor-winning author/illustrator of a dozen picture books and early readers and nearly 200 innovative novelty books, with over 4.5 million books sold worldwide. KIKI AND JAX, THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP, a picture book she co-authored and illustrated with international tidying superstar and bestselling author, Marie Kondo, released November 2019. Other awards include the Award

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As I Look at the Calendar, All I Can I Do is Simply Shake My Head

VAAEYC Admin/ August 5, 2021/ Professional Development, Tips and Tricks

(Contributed by VAAEYC member and Professional Development Lead Kim Thomason) Ahh, the smell of a new box of crayons… As I write this blog post a new box sets on my desk as a self-reward for getting some much needed “to do’s” done.  The sight of school supplies, preschoolers with new backpacks, and college kids returning to Blacksburg always triggers

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NEW NAEYC Child Care Survey: Take It Today!

VAAEYC Admin/ June 17, 2021/ Early Childhood News

Early childhood educators, will you take a few moments to complete the newest NAEYC survey on the ECE field, available in English and in Spanish? Your responses and your voices make a huge difference in helping policymakers and the public understand the continued urgency of the challenges you face, how relief is helping, and how much more is needed. As

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Embracing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Listening to Powerful Voices Through Stories

VAAEYC Admin/ May 25, 2021/ Diversity

Excerpted from the recent NAEYC Affiliate Connections Newsletter. Melanie Felton is a member of the Affiliate Advisory Council. Opinions expressed are those of the author. As an early childhood teacher educator, I have promoted “anti-bias education” (Olsen, Derman-Sparks & Goins, 2020) for decades. Yet honestly, I was teaching from “head knowledge” because as a white teacher, my “heart knowledge” related

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Post-Conference Reflections and Takeaways

VAAEYC Admin/ March 23, 2021/ Events

Conference Circle Lead Christy John shares her post-conference reflections and takeways.   Your Conference Circle Members had been hard at work planning the 65th annual VAAEYC conference for more than a year.  We reflected at the end of the conference in March 2020, how fortunate we were to have had that time together just before it seemed that the world

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Finding Joy in the Process

VAAEYC Admin/ March 9, 2021/ Events, Music and Arts

Kim holds a B.S. in Early Childhood Education and an M.S. in Family Relations and Child Development, both from Oklahoma State University. As a Certified Child and Parenting Specialist, she worked as a Domestic Violence and Therapeutic Foster Care Counselor, Regional Director for Service Learning for the Oklahoma Department of Education, Consultant for National Resource Center and Center for Early

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The Five Elements of Emotional Intelligence

VAAEYC Admin/ March 2, 2021/ emotional development, Events

Dr. Marcia Bennett is the CEO and Management Consultant for SMOI International. Her firm specializes in professional development training and facilitation, strategic planning, and workforce development research. Over the past six years, Dr. Bennett has served as a professional development trainer and conference speaker.  She works with businesses and organizations training their employees in the areas of time management, productivity,

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The Brain Loves a Song!

VAAEYC Admin/ March 1, 2021/ Events, Music and Arts, vaaeyc News

Join us on Friday, March 12, at 12:35, as Maryann “Mar.” Harman presents “The Brain Loves a Song!” – and to get you excited, check out the sneak peek below! Maryann “Mar.” Harman is a music educator with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music and a Master’s in Education, with an emphasis in Early Childhood, and is certified in Level I

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Q & A with Valerie Branch, Wolf Trap Master Teaching Artist

VAAEYC Admin/ February 9, 2021/ Events, Music and Arts

Valerie Branch, who will present the closing keynote for VAAEYC’s 2021 Annual Conference on Saturday, March 13 at 2:55 p.m., has been a Master Teaching Artist with Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts since 2014 and is Director of the Maryland Wolf Trap Affiliate. Valerie is a professionally trained dancer who has performed all over the world.

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