Monday, February 26, 2007
American Montessori Society
Annual Conference
March 1-4, 2007
New York
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The American Montessori Society plans a gala celebration of Montessori education’s first centennial – 100 years of innovation and inspiration. This is a major opportunity to convene the Montessori education community to reflect on our common history, to celebrate our achievements with children and youth, and to plan for the future. The conference will bring together individuals from around the country and around the world to celebrate Montessori education, an approach that is as innovative and inspirational today, as it was in 1907.
The conference will include presenters and participants from numerous Montessori organizations, American and international, and many other educational, government, parent, and community organizations.
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March 1st, Thursday
Tour 8 - New York City: Exploring Diversity; In and Out of the Early Childhood Classroom
Curriculum workshop followed by walking tour of NYC
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Tour New York City’s ethnic neighborhoods with Park West Montessori School early childhood teachers Mariel Carballo and Jessica Anub.
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The rich landscape of New York City is the perfect foundation for a cultural unit on diversity. Tour participants will see, touch, and taste their way through the city’s melting pot, collecting inspiring ideas and a wealth of materials to bring back to their own classrooms.
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In this special workshop tour, you’ll see and discuss an in-class curriculum with suggested materials before lacing up your walking shoes and taking a stroll through some of New York’s most diverse neighborhoods. We’ll visit busy Times Square, ethnic East Village, Little India, eclectic Soho, Chinatown, and the historic West Village. All of these neighborhoods will entice you with opportunities to purchase various classroom materials, so bring your wallet and prepare to share your New York experience with your children at school. Let New York’s sights and sounds awake you!
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March 2nd, Friday
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Session 1: 8:30am - 10am
Fairy Tales, Nursery Rhymes & Literacy: Little Pigs, Little Pigs! Let Me Come In!
DUNA ALKHUDHAIR, CANDACE LADOUCEUR, MARGOT MACK
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For centuries, fairy tales and nursery rhymes have been a foundation for literacy, and for good reason: they are inspirational, inherent sparks for imaginative play and storytelling. Teachers can capitalize on this by helping translate children’s dramatic instincts into writing exercises. Develop your own techniques to foster this conversion through the specific strategies and samples in this presentation of an extraordinary literacy development curriculum.
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Session 2: 10:30am - 12 noon
Creating a Peaceful Classroom Culture
KITTY BRAVO
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Whether or not you make a conscious effort to create it, a culture will be established in your classroom. Learn practical behaviors and activities, including role-plays, songs, and literature that teaching teams can use to foster grace, courtesy, and cooperation. Be reminded that our ultimate role as Montessori teachers is to prepare children to be peaceful, productive members of society.
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Session 3: 12:30pm - 2pm
Tips for Promoting Emergent Literacy from Infancy through Preschool
DR. ALICE STERLING HONIG
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Language is a great and unique human power! Language power and language richness are gifts that infant/toddler/preschool teachers can provide all day long in every caregiving situation. This workshop will focus on what language powers are and how language grows during the early years. We will reflect on how to use ordinary daily interactions, such as diapering, eating times, and playing games, in order to enrich a baby’s and preschooler’s receptive and expressive language.
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The importance of reading books aloud and singing will be emphasized. Dr. Honig will share reading techniques that can engage babies who are still cheerfully chewing on their picture books. We’ll learn how lullabies not only help babies and preschoolers sink into sleep, but also make language learning easier. Melody helps young children learn new words as we sing their favorite songs. Some children learn language better when we combine songs with sensorimotor experiences such as clapping or wiggling.
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We’ll discover how adults can enrich an infant’s language repertoire by labeling and gently exclaiming and explaining about the child’s world—of personal experiences such as baths, clothes, and food, as well as the world of toys, persons, nature, and picture books—and how adults can enrich the thinking skills as well as the language powers of preschoolers simply by engaging the children in conversation about things that interest them.
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March 3rd, Saturday
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Session 4: 11:30am - 1pm
Nurturing Scientific Thinking
ERIKA OHLHAVER, MARISOL ARTEAGA
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Join Erika and Marisol for an analysis of their collaborative research of the scientific process in Montessori upper elementary classrooms. When students are unable to move to the “next level,” what strategies can teachers employ to raise their cognitive abilities? Come examine your own classroom in this context: are we allowing our students to experiment in adequately diverse situations so that they can work at a “higher level?”
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Session 5: 1:30pm - 3pm
Sensory Integration in the Early Childhood Classroom
ALICIA NODDINGS, STEPHEN VIOLA
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What do classroom teachers need to know to aid sensory integration (SI) in their young students? After an overview of normal SI functioning and Sensory Integration Dysfunction, participants will investigate the relationship between SI and classroom behavior and explore works that can address SI concerns while benefiting the entire group.
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Session 6: 3:30pm - 5pm
Cucumber Ducks, Skateboarding Santas...Creative Writing in the Classroom
SAM SWOPE
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This workshop will touch on why teachers should—and how they can—tap into their students’ natural sense of the absurd and love of play to inspire wildly imaginative stories that spring from their young writers’ deepest hopes and fears. Teachers will try their hand at writing the absurd, too.
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March 4th, Sunday
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Session 7: 9:30am - 11am
Its All in the Game: Logical Thinking Activities For Early Childhood Learning
RITA SCHNEIDER, KARLETTE BRANNON
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If you’re looking to enhance the materials in your early childhood classroom, don’t miss this practical description and demonstration of fun activities designed to develop the logical thinking skills of three- and four-year-olds. You’ll learn pattern, guessing, and matching games, games of conflict and games of global quantification. You’ll be ready to take “Teddy Bear Bingo,” “Frogs and Turtles,” and the “What Am I?” game (just to name a few) right back to your classroom
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These are the workshops that i've signed up for.. It better be good.. I paid over 400USD just for these sessions. You (my dear teachers..) can check out other workshops and may also download session handouts for your own use @ http://www.amshq.org/nyc/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1. I bet i'm gonna buy so many montessori stuffs. All the teachers in my school that have been there said that, the exhibit hall is like a 'shopping haven' for all teachers.. Can't wait to check it out... Don't worry, i'll snap some pictures for you guys okie.. .
I'm kinda excited but a little down knowing that it's very very cold there. Sungguh la leceh nak pakai berlayer layer baju.. New york, the BIG apple! Our hotel is just around Town Square (the happening place!!) and 2 blocks away from Marriot Marquis Hotel (where our conference is held). Aunty G is planning to take me to a broadway show and the TRL building.. =) Well we'll be leaving on Wednesday morning and be back on Monday Evening. We would have sufficient time to roam around. I already told Aunty G that i wanna explore NY all by myself. It'll be fun.. =) Must act independent ma... =)
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Well more updates when i get back k... Ciao~!
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PS: - Thanks Ayah for the 'extra' $$$$.. Sungguh happy la saya! Anyone else wanna contribute? hehehe....