13th Annual Project ACT Early Childhood Conference
September 23, 2023
8:00am-4:00pm
New Location
Sheraton Baltimore North
903 Dulaney Valley Road
Towson, MD 21204
Over the past three years, Project ACT has been on a journey; we want to share that with you and invite you to join us in this journey of changing the world. This conference is in person, and in a new location that will provide ample space and technology. This year’s theme will focus on Project ACT’s values, philosophy, and mission.
Resources & Vendors • Raffles & Prizes • Zen Zone
6 COK Hours • Eligibility for 1 PAU for Attending a Local Conference
8:30 - Keynote Speaker
We Are the Change Makers
by Holistic Life Foundation
The Holistic Life Foundation is a BIPOC run Baltimore-based nonprofit organization committed to nurturing the wellness of children and adults in underserved communities. Since 2001, The Holistic Life Foundation has provided yoga and mindfulness education in the Baltimore community, across the nation, and globally. Through a comprehensive approach that helps children and adults develop their inner lives through yoga, mindfulness, and self-care, the foundation develops and provides evidence-based, trauma-informed, and multi-faceted programming and curriculum of high quality. Speakers will share about their program, their knowledge of mindful practices and how to implement them into your life, and their motivation.
COK: 1.5 Professionalism
Morning Sessions
10:15 - 11:45
Ableism: Adapting Art Materials and Techniques to Foster Art for ALL
Katie French
1.5 Hours Special Needs
In this workshop I would aim to demonstrate a variety of standard art materials and how they may be modified to suit children of all ability ranges. Additionally, I’ll demonstrate art-making techniques that encourage participation in the creative process and discuss the many benefits of creative exploration amongst ALL children. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of why art is vital to a child’s development and how they may better facilitate creative exploration with children of all ability ranges. A list of resources, children’s literature relating to art and emotion, as well as print-outs of materials modifications and visual aids will also be available take-aways.
Joyful Learning, Cultural Sensitivity, and the new DAP
Melissa Lebowitz
1.5 Hours Curriculum
In this engaging session, participants will explore how our understanding of Developmentally Appropriate Practice has expanded our capacity to meet the needs of our youngest learners. Joyfulness in teaching and learning is front and center, while creating more space for inclusiveness and cultural sensitivity. Join us to experience this for yourself!
Beyond Ever After - Building Connections through Multicultural Picture Books and STEAM
Dr. Diane Jackson Schnoor
1.5 Hours Curriculum
Beyond Ever After! Learn how to build connections between multicultural fractured fairy and folk tales, authentic STEM/STEAM experiences, and learning through play while using materials you already have in your early childhood setting. You'll explore strategies to get your young students fully engaged and wanting to learn more; and walk away with a new perspective on traditional stories and their fractured cousins, as well as strategies and ideas guaranteed to awaken your sense of wonder and to help you immediately build science and STEAM connections in your early childhood setting. Learn how to connect science and math to literacy, oral communication, gross motor skills, and dramatic and artistic play — all while keeping the child learner front and center.
Children of Promise vs. Children at Risk: How Changing the Words We Use Changes What We Do
Petrea Hicks
1.5 Hours Community
Language can change the world. The way we speak about something, or someone can create a vision of expectation for the listener, eliciting an action or response into existence. Participants will navigate from language that is antiquated and may not yield positive outcomes for children to language that is more aligned with a vision of new opportunities for children.
In this workshop we will transform the professional vernacular born from the industrial age of learning with unrealistic expectations to a more receptive alignment that position the child at its core. The terms to discuss are children at-risk, challenging behaviors, disabilities, school readiness and play where we respect children’s bodies instead of controlling children’s bodies.
Together we will create a new cultural of learning where we rethink what is and move to what’s possible with the words we use.
Please come ready to participate in an engaging robust conversation that promises to garner what we know about children into the 21st century of learning and beyond.
Lunch Break, Networking & Vendors
11:45 - 12:45
Afternoon Sessions
12:45 - 2:15
Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Child’s Perspective
Rashi Sharma
1.5 Hours Special Needs
This workshop will explore the world of autism as seen through the eyes of a child with a focus on the range and variance of symptoms as a spectrum disorder. Hands on classroom strategies and environmental adaptations through active participation will provide participants with an in-depth understanding of how to meet the needs of children with this developmental disorder.
Empowering Young Minds: Teaching Early Childhood Professionals and Children about the Power of Growth Mindset and Mindfulness
Tara Ward
1.5 Hours Child Development
In this workshop, we will learn about the importance of growth mindset skills and mindfulness. We will learn ways to implement these skill sets into our own lives and how to model them to children. “The more we empower ourselves, the more we can empower the children in our lives”.
Building Bridges for Dual Language Learners
Hwaida Hassanein
1.5 Hours Curriculum
As our world becomes smaller, the amount of dual language learners in our schools and programs increases. In an effort to help teachers become more inclusive of all learners, we developed this workshop to give child care teachers and providers the tools they need to successfully integrate dual language into their classrooms for the benefit of all children.
Step One...Self-Reflection: The Developmental Journey towards Becoming an Anti-Racist Early Childhood STEM Educator
Dr. Orinthia Harris
1.5 Hours Community
There is no such thing as a racist baby. While babies as young as three months can distinguish faces by color, and 3-year-olds are fully capable of understanding racial categories, and even the hierarchies that come with them, it is nurture, not nature that allows this natural categorization to mutate into racism. Racist ideologies and attitudes are learned from parents, schools, media, and culture.
What we know from Human Behavior studies is that any learned behavior can be unlearned, and new behaviors learned in their place. Through anti-racist education, early childhood educators are uniquely positioned to shape America’s next generation in such a way that our society can truly manifest our nation’s most coveted tenants, liberty and justice for all. In order to create anti-racist early childhood spaces, educators must first prioritize becoming an anti-racist educator.
Becoming an anti-racist educator starts with acknowledgment. Educators must recognize systemic racism and its impact on us individually and collectively as Americans. This requires mindful self-reflection that addresses personal bias, unconscious bias, and systemic bias. This practice encourages educators to get uncomfortable because mindfulness helps people tolerate the discomfort that comes with deeper discussions about race.
Afternoon Sessions
2:30 - 4:00
Visual Communication Tools: Steps for Easier Learning
Margie Powell
1.5 Hours Special Needs
Delve into the use of “visuals,” a universally used strategy proven to support children’s abilities to comprehend and process information more easily, follow (appropriate) directions with greater ease, and strengthen relationships. Help children shift to feel and be more competent, reduce challenging behavior, be more joyfully engaged, and develop self-regulation skills. Participants will learn the steps to design a visual for a child or group of children.
Courageous Self Care: The Art and Science of Joy
Kristi Jenkins
1.5 Hours Professionalism
This is a very interactive workshop that highlights the neuroscience of self-care. Why do we need it? What happens if we neglect it? How do we start? What should we expect?
These questions are answered during a series of self-study quizzes and experiential learning opportunities. Evidence based mindfulness tools of movement, breath, and awareness will be examined and explored. Take home a self-care plan that targets your strengths and your goals to grow.
Keeping the ING in TeachING
Dawn Baker
1.5 Hours Professionalism
We will explore the ING (denoting a verbal action) (material used for or associated with a process) in our teaching. We will travel through all the areas of the curriculum and investigate how we can begin to teach, or continue to teach with the definition of ING-a verbal action! We want to be teachers who teach with action and intention.
Step One...Self-Reflection: The Developmental Journey towards Becoming an Anti-Racist Early Childhood STEM Educator
Dr. Orinthia Harris
1.5 Hours Community
There is no such thing as a racist baby. While babies as young as three months can distinguish faces by color, and 3-year-olds are fully capable of understanding racial categories, and even the hierarchies that come with them, it is nurture, not nature that allows this natural categorization to mutate into racism. Racist ideologies and attitudes are learned from parents, schools, media, and culture.
What we know from Human Behavior studies is that any learned behavior can be unlearned, and new behaviors learned in their place. Through anti-racist education, early childhood educators are uniquely positioned to shape America’s next generation in such a way that our society can truly manifest our nation’s most coveted tenants, liberty and justice for all. In order to create anti-racist early childhood spaces, educators must first prioritize becoming an anti-racist educator.
Becoming an anti-racist educator starts with acknowledgment. Educators must recognize systemic racism and its impact on us individually and collectively as Americans. This requires mindful self-reflection that addresses personal bias, unconscious bias, and systemic bias. This practice encourages educators to get uncomfortable because mindfulness helps people tolerate the discomfort that comes with deeper discussions about race.