Last  chance to  sign up for One-Day Summer Institute! Registration ends tomorrow at 4 p.m.

Date: Thursday, June 27, 2019

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

(coffee only in a.m.; lunch included)

Place: Western Suffolk BOCES Conference Center, Wyandanch

Registration fee: $75 per person

Click here for more information and to register now.

Early educators are well aware of the importance of language learning, and that's why having conversations with children who aren't yet proficient in English is considered an "essential skill" by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). In the May 2019 edition of Young Children magazine, it offers five suggestions for early educators, including:

Use children's home language as a resource. Even if you don't speak Haitian-Creole or Hindi, you can learn some important words from family members or others. What's more, you can still respond to children's communications even if you don't understand their words. "You can do so with body language and other ways to communicate, such as using pictures and objects. Responding to children's multicultural contributions sends the message that diversity is valued in your classroom."

Use small groups. Including a multilingual child in a small group (no more than six) can relieve some of the performance pressure children feel when asked to contribute in the whole group or one-on-one, says NAEYC. And it suggests you consider the seating arrangement. "Experiment with different arrangements and notice how the children respond. Some may contribute more when they are right next to you. Other children may prefer direct eye contract from you to cue them to contribute..."

Click here for the other three tips, plus advice on engaging multilingual families.

So says nature educator Caylin Gans,writing for the Child & Nature Alliance of Canada. Gans runs an after school program for 5- to 10-year olds, and over the years, she's observed what happens when adults step in and make rules to try to stop certain behaviors--for example, throwing snowballs. "The behaviors that aren't banned don't really stop...and then the adults have to be the police that keep an ever watchful eye." The ultimate result: "...a lack of accountability, a deterioration of empathy, and an adult who holds all the responsibility for deciding the outcome of the situation."

Instead, Gans has learned to take a deep breath and let a conflict play out. When the children come to her to complain about, say, a snowball that hit someone in the head, she asks questions instead of imposing a solution. For example, "What do you need to stay safe?" And the children begin to answer these questions for themselves.

"THEY'VE decided the rules. So THEY enforce those rules...and THEY then stop their behavior when it upsets someone else." Click here for the full story.

These days, the only place children may see an old-fashioned analog clock--like the one shown below--is at school, points out an article from lifehacker.com. Time management experts say this is undermining students' sense of the passage of time.

In other words, the digital display on your smartphone or microwave gives you only one time--the present moment. The analog clock, on the other hand, allows kids to visualize the passage of time, making them more aware of this moment relative to the present and future. "It can give them a feel for how long it takes to complete certain tasks--say, washing the dishes or writing a book report--and plan accordingly," says time management specialist Leslie Josel. "Seeing time as a one-hour pie can also help them break down projects into smaller tasks more intuitively." Read more.

Building Capacity for Pre-K to 3rd Grade Standards Implementation

Dates: July 16 & 17, 2019

Place: College of St. Rose, Albany, NY

Keynote: Kristie Kaurez, National Director of the P-3 Institute at the University of Colorado, Denver

Who should attend: Teachers, curriculum and instruction specialists, administrators

Click here for more information and to register.

Stony Brook Child Care Job Fair Open House

Positions available for Full-Time Early Childhood Education Teachers

Date: Thursday, July 25, 2019

Place: Stony Brook Child Care, SUNY Stony Brook

Time: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Email RSVP by July 11 to josefina.gallardo@stonybrook.edu or call 631-632-6930

• Your name
• Your position
• Your e-mail and phone number

• The name of your school and the town it's located in. You can include your web address, if you have one.
• A very brief description of the position or positions you want to fill. (For example: "Part-time Teacher Assistant" or "Full-time Pre-K Teacher."
• Information about how potential applicants should contact your for details or to apply. (For example: "Call Jane Smith at 631-xxx-xxxx" or "Send e-mail to jane.smith@schoolname.org")