TAASPYC News
The Biggest Voice for the Littlest People!
#TAASPYC
Vision Statement
TAASPYC is the leading professional organization that provides the highest quality resources for Early Childhood advocates to support and empower our youngest scholars and their families.
Mission:
TAASPYC strives to help grow and support Early Childhood leaders in developing a successful program that sets the foundation for our youngest scholars by providing current research-based practices and opportunities to learn while networking with professionals. #GoBig!
March 19, 2023
A Note from Our President
Hello 2023-2024 TAASPYC Members!
We look forward to seeing you at the 2023 Symposium: Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow, in just 1 week! We sent out a digital agenda to those who have registered to attend. This year we are jam-packed with learning and networking opportunities and expect this will be the BEST conference you attend in 2023.
This week I included a message from Cody Summerville of TXAEYC regarding the upcoming hearing on HB2729 which would remove the certification requirements for prekindergarten teachers. Follow the links to learn more and how you can advocate for our early childhood educators and students.
I am excited to bring back the Celebrate the Good column this week with the Lewisville ISD PreK Playdate. Thank you to leadership team from Lewisville ISD for sharing this wonderful event with us. If you are doing something great on your campus or district, please send us a short write up and pictures! We want to celebrate with you!
Finally, we have updated our newsletter to include more opportunities for professional development, podcasts, webinars, "chats, and articles on leadership and learning. We hope you find it to be a valuable resource.
Best wishes,
Heather Hennesey, Ed.D.
TAASPYC Board President
HB2729
The House Committee on Public Education is hearing HB2729 on Tuesday, March 21st at their 8:00am meeting. This bill would remove certification requirements for prekindergarten teachers. TXAEYC strongly believes that this bill is harmful to both young children and early childhood educators. Under this bill, an 18-year-old with only 30 hours of training could serve as a prekindergarten teacher in Texas. You all know that teaching prekindergarten requires specific training and skills and is an incredibly important job. This also reverses progress made over the past three legislative sessions to strengthen the quality of public prekindergarten programs in Texas.
I am reaching out to ask if you and/or your organizations will join TXAEYC in voicing opposition to this bill. You can act in the following ways:
- Testifying in-person on Tuesday (It would be wonderful to have some prekindergarten teachers testify!)
- Submitting public comment through the House Public Comment portal between now and Tuesday
- Contacting members of the House Committee on Public Education
TAASPYC 2023 Sponsors
Symposium Welcome Reception ~ Sunday
Symposium Evening Reception ~ Monday
Learning Without Tears Events in the Houston and the DFW Areas
Learning Without Tears would like to invite you to a special breakfast and networking experience in Houston on April 4 and at the Hurst Convention Center on Wednesday, April 5. Please use the links below to register. Dr. Chase Young will give a presentation on the "Art and Science of Teaching Reading." Please use the links below to learn more and to register.
Porch Play Chat Conversations from the International Play Association
The International Play Association was formed in Denmark in 1961. The US organization began in 1973. The mission is to protect, preserve and promote play as a right of all children. Advocacy is one of their main objectives and they have an ej-ournal, annual conference and a newsletter, along with Porch Play Chats, Speaker Symposium and other events.
Below is a list of upcoming Chats. Please tune in to these informative discussions with Early Childhood Leaders from across the world, including our very own TAASPYC Board Member Sharon Jackson!
May 8, 2023 Porch Play Chat with Jesse Danger The Game of Life
May 15, 2023 Porch Play Chat with Heather Bernt Santy Reframing 'Misbehavior' Using Schema Play Theory
May 22, 2023 Porch Play Chat with Angie Nastovska ECE risk-taking and its impact on Education and Life
May 29, 2023 Porch Play Chat with Nadiyah Taylor on Anti-Bias Education and Play RePlay
June 5, 2023 Porch Play Chat with Lindsay Brauer Dzielski Pop up Play Days, Bringing Play Back to the Community
June 12, 2023 Porch Play Chat with Sharon Jackson Building Advocacy for Play Among Pre Service Teachers
June 19, 2023 Porch Play Chat with Rachel Larimore Small Changes toward Nature Play
June 26, 2023 Porch Play Chat with Sally Haughey Why Process Art Matters
July 3, 2023 Porch Play Chat with Meynell Walter Developing an understanding of play and playwork Replay
July 10, 23 Porch Play Chat with Walter Drew The Art and Joy of Self Active Play
Celebrate the Good!
Lewisville ISD PreK Family Engagement Play Date
Spring is a perfect time for an outdoor, family engagement PreK Play Date! On March 4, 2023, Lewisville ISD’s Early Childhood Program and Environmental Learning team hosted PreK families at an outdoor PreK Play Date at LISD’s Outdoor Learning Area (LISDOLA).
The play date was a huge success! While EC Programs & the Environmental Learning team manned the two hour event on the day of, PreK teachers helped get the word out by sharing info about the free Saturday morning event and inviting families. On the day of, EC Programs manned a sign in table and provided families with information about all they could do while the Environmental Learning team provided the family friendly activities in the onsite classrooms for the visiting families to explore at their own pace.
Close to 40 families attend with around to 100 visitors total counting adults and children! Families went on guided trail walks led by Master Gardener Regina Dale, played outside together, did hands on activities in the classrooms such as searching "Under the Log" to observe worms and beetles in buried in dirt tubs, enjoyed Story Time with Amanda Reaka and Heidi Veal, met Sheldon the LISDOLA turtle, got up close with the pond, and explored multiple LISDOLA classroom displays and natural artifacts. It was a truly inclusive morning as ALL adults, students and their siblings were able to participate. It was so precious to see classmates find each other and their teachers at the event too. They hugged and were so excited.
LISD Early Childhood Programs and the Environmental Learning team look forward to making the outdoor Play Date a new tradition by doing it again next year on the first Saturday of March.
- Six Ways to Create and Sustain Community on Edutopia
- Embedding Voice and Choice in Professional Learning
- How Administrators Can Make Professional Learning More Collaborative
- Using a "Yes, and..." Approach to Facilitate Change in Preschools
- How Puppets Can Help Kids Express Emotion
- Check out this tweet about what makes a classroom walkthrough valuable to teachers
- Some playful discoveries HERE on Twitter
- Missing out on early childhood education can negatively impact children's lifelong growth
- People do what people see on Twitter
- Moving from attention-seeking to connection-seeking from Conscious Discipline on IG
- Agency - a first critical step to assessing children from NAEYC on IG
- Tips for helping young children learn science outdoors on IG
- Effective supervision and its correlation to job satisfaction on IG
- Modeling for your school community requesting feedback and valuing their voices on IG
Podcasts
Providing meaningful and well done professional development for teachers and others in your school is an important element of quality…but doing it all ourselves can be exhausting! Check out some of these events to find excellent training for your staff—and mostly for no cost!
Free Leadership Webinars
Leaders of Diverse Learners w/ Dr. Lynmara Colon
Recruiting & Hiring w/ Leonard Galloway
Leader to Self (Self-Care) w/ Mike & Nita Creekmore
Free NAEYC Webinars
The largest and oldest organization for early childhood professionals, NAEYC has a variety of free webinars. Check out the link below to find something perfect for your staff or to support individuals.
https://www.naeyc.org/events/trainings-webinars/recorded-webinars
Texas School Ready Early Childhood Summer Institute
Be watching for registration for the FREE and high level conference especially designed for early educators. Save the Date: June 14-16, 2023. Spots go very quickly! https://tsrsummerinstitute.org/
DEC's 39th Annual International Conference on Young Children w/ Special Needs & Their Families
This is an excellent conference opportunity and it is nearby for 2024:
DEC's 39th Annual International Conference on Young Children with Special Needs and Their Families September 17–20, 2024, New Orleans, LA
For other events, watch these sites for more information:
https://ectacenter.org/events/conferenc-es.asp--This group often sponsors conferences on inclusion or focused on teaching children with special needs.
Upcoming Hunt Institute Webinars
Lakeshore Furniture Expo
You’re invited to an exclusive Lakeshore Furniture EXPO at On the Levee event venue in Dallas, TX.
Join us for this hands-on exploration of our popular classroom furniture lines—featuring mobile, traditional & outdoor options for early learning and innovative options for K-12 learning spaces!
Just choose the date that works best for you: April 12th or 13th • Open 9 am–4 pm.
Space is filling up fast—so RSVP today by clicking the link below!
****LINK: https://go.lakeshorelearning.com/l/726563/2023-02-01/7jvgxc