Play's the Thing at Annual Early Childhood Educators' Conference

The Lehigh and Northampton Association of the Education of the Young Child (LANAEYC) will host a professional development day for early childhood educators in Northampton and Lehigh counties on Saturday, March 28, 2015.

The theme of the all-day conference, which will be held at The Holiday Inn Express, 90 Kunkle Drive, Easton, is “The Power and Importance of Play.” Conference attendees will participate in an interactive workshop led by Walter F. Drew, Ed.D. and Marcia Nell, Ph.D., co-authors of the book From Play to Practice: Connecting Teachers’ Play with Children’s Learning.

LANAEYC is a local affiliate chapter of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Pennsylvania State affiliate. Its mission is to provide an organization for early childhood professionals in the Lehigh Valley to come together to share and explore ways to meet the needs of children whom they work with, in all types of early care and educational settings.

Dr. Drew is the founder of the Institute for Self Activity Education and creator of Dr. Drew’s Discovery Blocks. Since 1975 he has pioneered the development of reusable resource centers as a sustainable community building strategy that provides a wealth of open-ended materials for teachers to enrich play and learning with children and families. He serves as a facilitator for the Play, Policy and Practice Interest Forum of NAEYC and the Reusable Resources Association.

Dr. Nell is an associate professor at Millersville University where she teaches graduate and undergraduate early childhood education courses and supervises student teachers. She serves as the Director of Research for the Institute for Self Active Education and is also a facilitator for the Play, Policy and Practice Interest Forum.

The cost to attend the conference is $55.00 for LANEAYC members and $65.00 for non- members. The registration fee includes breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon sessions and hand-outs. During lunch, participants will be able attend a vendor fair. For conference updates please go to https://www.facebook.com/lanaeyc. To receive a registration brochure please email terryathomas@earthlink.net.

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