The National Head Start (NHSA) conference was amazing and San Antonio was such a fun place! We saw as many sites as we could after our trainings each day and as you’ll see in the pictures, everything is bigger in Texas. Especially the food! Texan hospitality is very much true and everyone was nice, accommodating and extremely helpful. The humidity was like nothing I have ever experienced. Imagine being in a room with a heater on, unable to open the window! But there was so much to see and do that the weather did not hold us back.
The first one that I went to was, “Musical Routines Leading to Secure Attachments for Children Who Need Them Most”. This presentation was given by Shawn Brown of the popular YouTube show the Super Fun Show. Shawn is a teacher’s best friend with songs about classroom clean up, circle time, putting things away in your cubby and my all time favorite, “It’s a Happy Day!” he is a true entertainer and it was honestly one of the best presentations that I have ever been to!
Another class that I took was, “Beyond Food and Dance, When Multi-Culturalism Meets the Challenge of Diversity in the Head Start Community and Beyond.” this was given by Ronald Mah. Ronald Mah was blunt, hilarious, honest and extremely relatable. Ronald Mah is also a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and author of several books for parents and educators. Mr. Mah grew up in the same culturally diverse Bay Area surroundings that I did and it was inspiring to see that I had so much in common with such a successful person.
I took a variety of science-in-the-classroom trainings. One of these was, “Going Beyond the Science Table! How to incorporate Science Throughout the Daily Routine” Kenneth Sherman shared with us his secrets to keeping science involved, and inviting, in the classroom. In one activity, he had us empty out our purses, bags etc. and put matching items into groups. i.e., my makeup was together, gum and mints, pen and notepad etc. he then pointed out that we just did a science activity without spending any money at all. The same can be applied to our classrooms.
Another science-based training that I took was, “Kids Love Rocks: So Will You!” this was a two-part class led by Dr. Robert Williams (co-author of “Mudpies to Magnets”) and Dr. Mary Hobbs. They had assorted rocks in baggies at each of our tables. They showed us just how much fun children can have with rocks whether it’s washing them, matching them up, sorting them, finding new ones etc. The second half of their class incorporated more found objects to use in the science area of the classrooms. This included everything from nuts and bolts, washers and screws, plastic bottles, rubberbands etc. they shared their website, http://bit.ly/SharingBLOCKS where they have all of their activities to print for teachers. It was a wonderful and very informative session!
Another session was “What’s Possible When Nutritional Professionals and Educators Work Together? Children Choose More Fruits and Vegetables.” Windy Wise, www.windywise.org, is a program for parents and educators that help encourage Smart eating. An owl puppet, Windy, helps encourage children to eat, and help prepare, healthy foods. Each month the parent or educator receive a box with the healthy foods that they need, an instruction card and learning objectives. I was able to view many slides and clips of various children enjoying the Windy puppet and program.
Lorraine Navarro
Teacher
Interested in Attending a National Conference?
How do you get to attend a National conference? You need to be part of the Emerging Leaders class. An essay is written about how the person will use and share the information from the conference. Two people are selected to go. If you want to learn more about the Emerging Leaders class contact Mycena Bell, ERSEA Manager (mbell@hsolc.org) or Tim Rochholz, HR Director (trochholz@hsolc.org)
