Past Conferences

2023 Conference

2023 Conference
Relationships that Heal: Choosing Connection over Control

Online
June 20 from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET
June 21 from 12:00 PM – 6:30 PM ET
June 22 from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET

Post-Conference Session (On campus; additional registration required) June 23, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET

Keynote Presentation:

Deidre Quinlan

Attending to Attachment in Early Care: The Circle of Security
Because babies are hard-wired to be social creatures, it is literally unbearable for a human being to not feel connected to others in some way. We all learn behavior strategies to help us feel a connection with others and to protect ourselves from isolation. In this presentation, participants will explore through the lens of the Circle of Security® how behaviors feel from the inside—not just how they look from the outside—so that we can better understand how our own feelings and behaviors impact our relationships with children and how children depend on relationships with adults to grow and develop.

Featured Presentation

Soyoung Park

Letting Go of Control to Build Radical Communities of Care with Young Children
In this talk, we will explore what it means to create communities of care when we live and work in an unjust society that pushes us towards control. Through stories of children, families, and educators, we will consider how letting go of control can be liberating for both children and adults. This talk will offer us an opportunity to collectively reimagine institutions that aim to fix, control, and manage young children and families who are too often othered in our social systems. Through this collective reimagining, we will also reflect on our own personal responses to behaviors that challenge us. In so doing, we will begin a process of reframing, where fear becomes curiosity, perceived deficit becomes genius, and a desire to control becomes a desire to connect.

Workshops:

  • Bibliotherapy with Infants and Toddlers with Margaret Blachly
  • Introducing Equity and Inclusion into Your Organization (even if you think you can’t) with G Capone
  • Supporting Families from Birth through Potty Training and Everything in Between with Melina Gac Levin
  • Supporting Inquiry with Infants and Toddlers with Light and Shadow Investigations with Sonia Yoshizawa and Beth VanMeeteren
  • Understanding Intergenerational Issues in Infant, Toddler, and Young Child Care with Lesley Koplow
  • Supporting Positive Behavior: Proactive Strategies to Set Children Up for Success with Lori-Ann Mangal
  • Telling the Story of Infant/Toddler Development with Stephanie Kelley
  • Culturally Responsive Practices in Early Childcare Settings: A Look at Two Cultures with Mila Costa
  • Creating Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers with Lisa Laflamme and Daniela Leguisamo
  • The Early Intervention Program in NYC with Raisa Abad and Jeanette Gong
  • Welcoming Spanish Speaking Children and Families in the Classroom with Gabriel Guyton and Marcela Cuadra
  • Loose Parts and Other Interesting Materials for Toddlers and Twos with Savera Rost
  • A Teacher’s Path to Feeling Safe and Secure with Laura Martin and Ella Reid
  • A Developmental Lens on Cultivating the Poetic Spirit in Infant and Toddler Classrooms with Stefanie Horton
  • A Developmental Approach to Music with Infants and Toddlers with Margie Brickley
  • Using Strength-based Observations to Rebuild Communities with Kristina Satchell
  • Supporting Young Children with Disabilities through Affect, Anticipation, and Joy: The Basics of DIR Floortime with Rae Leeper
  • Social Justice with Infants, Toddlers, and Families with Alex Martinez
  • Designing Environments for Living with Infants and Toddlers with Skylar Belt and Anja Mayr
  • Navigating Difficult Conversations with Families with Laura Araman
  • Art and Sensory Experiences for Infants and Toddlers with Carolyn E. Tebbetts
  • Conscious Discipline with Alex Martinez  and Shelby Ward
  • Emotional Literacy from Page to Practice with Lauren Angarano
  • Supporting Early Math Awareness in Infant and Toddler Environments with Victoria Goode Ozeir
  • Apoyando a la Salud Mental de Bebés, Niños Pequeños y sus Familias with Emily Rodriguez
  • Supporting Healing and Resilience in Children and Families with Noelle Dean
  • Sensory Profiles through a Cultural Lens with Yasmin Dorrian and Katherine Rodriguez
  • Emotionally Responsive Play in Infant, Toddler, and Twos rooms with Gabriel Guyton and Ashley Parks