Sonia and I just returned from a marvelous NAEYC Conference in sunny California. The sessions were wonderful and filled with enthusiastic early childhood teachers and a variety of others that work with young children.

Our Saturday morning session, “My brain is full of ideas! Unleashing young children’s creative thinking in an exciting learning environment”, was attended by participants from all over the world including Japan, Indonesia, China, Australia, and the US. We tried something new by inviting the folks to participate actively in a unique way. First, they created a “Fling-a-maginga” using colorful crepe paper and pipe cleaners. Then, they used their creations to positively respond to ideas they liked by shaking their Fling-a-maginga over their head! This produced a visually interesting effect, as these interactions were exhilarating for all of us!

 

During the session we discussed the essential need for creative thinking for the young children in our classrooms that will be living in a very different world in 2032. We investigated the amazing abilities of creative young children and shared ways to nurture their creative confidence in early childhood classrooms.

We also celebrated the creative teachers who are working with young children every day by inspiring the four C’s: Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, and Critical Thinking in their programs. These teachers are planning, questioning, and designing an environment that inspires creative thinking in their young children.

An important component of NAEYC’s conference is reconnecting with friends and colleagues.

Plan on attending NAEYC conference in Atlanta next year—we hope to see you there!

This Fall, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Pre K teachers in District 11 in beautiful Colorado Springs. It was a busy day for us filled with information about the creative process, discovering young children’s unique abilities, and investigating the importance of a stimulating environment. These teachers and their supervisors were bursting with so many ideas and possibilities – it was an exciting time for me. This experience reminds me again how early childhood teachers are creative and how young children are blessed in their classrooms!

I was thrilled with these teachers’ insights, understandings, and desires to continue growing professionally. At the end of the day, each teacher selected an idea, a new addition, a learning center, or special way to expand the 4C’s in their classroom: Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, and Critical Thinking.

In two months, I will return to these teachers and we will reflect on the creative projects they have implemented in their PreK classroom. Our next day together, January 3-4, 2017, we will be extending the discussions to include the Arts: Visual Arts, Music, Movement, and Drama. Integrating these areas will provide new opportunities for young to use creative thinking.

Kathy Howell and her expert team leaders have organized a collaborative professional development plan to extend learning over time, and to support PreK Teachers’ inspiring efforts. I am so happy that I have been a part of this great effort and have the opportunity to continue working with these dedicated educators!

Although my daughter Christy lives very close to me in Johnson City, TN, we have a difficult time finding time for real conversations. We are both busy professionals, authors, speakers, professors, wives and mothers. Every once in awhile, we actually find time to be together, converse, plan, remember, and reconnect.

This past weekend was one of these special times when we traveled together to New Mexico. Christy (Dr. Christy Isbell) was speaking at the University of New Mexico and I had an open period from my speaking and writing.  So, we planned a wonderful adventure together visiting Georgia O’Keefe’s Museum and attending a performance at the Santa Fe Opera in the open air theater surrounded by mountains.   We also were able to admire the beautiful creations on display in the International Indian Festival complete with Native American music and dancing.

This was a gorgeous place, with amazing cultural experiences, tasty southwestern food, and artwork to thrill the soul. But, the best part of our time in New Mexico was being with my daughter!

Take time to talk, eat, and laugh with your family. These are the memories you will treasure for a lifetime.

What an amazing month of May it has been.

First, I was in Moncton, Canada for an exciting conference sponsored by the Early Childhood Centre at the University of New Brunswick. During the planning and at the conference I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Ann Sherman who is on the faculty in early childhood education. Ann is a delightful person who carefully planned and implemented a wonderful conference!

My keynote was “Understanding, Supporting, and Inspiring Young Creative Thinkers”.  The educators who attended were so warm and responsive that they made it an exhilarating experience for me too. We interacted, laughed, shared ideas, and ate together.

Later in May, I went to the Manitoba Child Care Conference that included around a thousand early childhood educators from all over the Providence. Many educators traveled long distances for their yearly conference in Winnipeg—this was their 39th year! Karen was the conference planner who made the conference, sessions, activities, and market place run so smoothly. The timing, quality of sessions, and involvement of participants was so well orchestrated – we all knew where to be and what to do. Karen and her team certainly made the whole conference enjoyable as well as educational. Marilyn, conference committee chair, added her warm special touch to the conference, working to make everything flow.

The conference theme was “Be Inspired! Be Incredible!” My keynote was closely related, “Young Creative Thinkers Can Change Their World and the Future”. Since I was able to be involved for two days, I did a variety of two hour breakout sessions ending with “Hilarious Moments in Early Childhood Programs: Laugh, Love, and Be Happy.” This shared time together regenerated our joy for working with young children and being in our wonderful profession!

My time in Canada was certainly a joyful time!

 

Today I submitted the final editing of my new book: Nurturing Creativity: A Critical Mindset for Young Children’s Learning. It will be published by NAEYC with an anticipated Fall 2016 release.

It has been a long journey with many dips and highs to get this book completed. But I am excited about the message it conveys: Young children are creative and inspired by their Creative Early Childhood Teachers.

Often teachers will tell me, “I am not creative.”

Let me tell you: You are creative! When you work with energetic and curious young children you have to be creative, full of ideas, and flexible in your thinking. You use your creativity everyday as you build an interesting and challenging learning environment.

Please celebrate with me today! Tomorrow, I will get back to work on presentations, training, and handouts for the spring months…but now let’s celebrate!

Keep your creative juices flowing and your life filled with joy. Be inspired by the astonishing children who are an important part of your life!

Celebration Time! Come on! Celebration Time!