The Purdue University North Central 8th Annual Early Childhood Conference, "Cooking Up Quality" will be Saturday, April 26.
The conference will provide high-quality professional development for the region's early childhood community. Quality teachers are a critical ingredient for strengthening programs, families and children and this conference presents a superior training opportunity for the adults who work with children and families who desire to provide support necessary for children to succeed.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. and includes a continental breakfast.
The keynote speaker will be Jim Aylesworth who tells his stories with generous doses of loud sounds, rhythms and rhymes. His teaching career taught him that these are the elements children like in a story - especially when it is being read aloud.
Aylesworth's experiences as a teacher gave him an appreciation for children's books. He believes that books help children learn and is amazed how a good book will make a room full of children sit and pay attention. Aylesworth wanted to be a bigger part of this world of children's stories and decided to write his own books. His first work, "Hush Up!," was published in 1980. Knowing the types of books children like, he has since published "Hanna's Hog" "Hickory Dickory Doc" and "Old Black Fly."
In addition, there will be a variety of breakout sessions throughout the day for participants to learn about current research and best practices in early childhood education. The breakouts sessions include the Environment; Music; Early Interventions; Parenting and Teaching. Visit https://www.pnc.edu/gel/center-for-early-learning/early-childhood-conference/ for detailed breakout session and speaker information.
The conference concludes with a family event from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. featuring the "Sizzling Fajitas." This kid-friendly band presents a lively show of interactive songs with musical/cooking instruments children can take home. This one-hour comedy show and concert, "Cooking Up Beats" will have kids and kids at heart laughing, singing along, dancing and - keeping a beat. Playing together for 10 years, Sizzling Fajitas is led by current teachers and part-time musical chefs affectionately known as Dave Con Carne and Dave Ala Mode.
The conference fee is $60 for those who register before March 28. The fee includes a box lunch and entrance to the Family Fun Time Event. The fee is $70 for registration completed after March 29 and there is no guarantee of lunch. A group rate of $55 per person is available for groups of five or more registering by March 28.
Tickets for the Family Fun Time Event only are $3 each.
Cancellations received on or before March 28 will be fully refunded. Cancellations received after March 28 but before April 6 will be subject to a $25 service charge. After April 6 cancellations are subject to the full conference fee.
Further information about the conference may be obtained by visiting the PNC Graduate and Extended Learning website at http://www.pnc.edu/gel.
Registration for individual attendees can be completed online at: https://faculty.pnc.edu/gel/registration/ContEdRegistrationForm.php.
The regular mail-in registration form and the group rate registration form are both available to be downloaded on the above website. These forms can be faxed, scanned and emailed, or mailed in.
Contact the Graduate and Extended Learning office at 785-5200, ext 5343 or mail gel@pnc.edu. The fax number to return completed registration forms is (219) 785-5418.
Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact ext. 5343.