WAEYC has fully entered the technological world with its monthly virtual book club webinars on Ellen Galinsky’s new book, Mind in the Making. Although I am a huge fan of this book, I’m still a bit hesitant about using computers to participate in group discussions. So, when I was asked to facilitate an in-person discussion on Mind in the Making at the WAEYC 35th Annual Conference, I wanted the session’s title to reflect the “real” world, as opposed to the “virtual world” of our webinars. Thus, the title “Up Close and Personal”…
In her book, Galinsky identifies seven life skills that she considers essential for all children. In this session, we’ll take a look at the skills each of you consider essential for children, and see how those fit with the skills Galinsky identifies in her book. We’ll also take a close look at the one brain function that Galinsky believes serves as the foundation for all the other skills necessary for success in school and in life. How does this function in the brain develop? What is its relationship to the social/emotional skills and other “soft skills” that are foundational for achievement in the content areas of school? What are the kinds of activities and experiences you can provide your young students that will help develop these critical foundational skills? We’ll also look at some fascinating research that shows how these skills develop in very young children, before teachers and parents might expect.
We invite all of your to participate in our “up close and personal” conversation on October 29th from 11:00am-12:30pm at the WAEYC Annual Conference, whether you have read the book or not. If you haven’t read it, we hope this will motivate you to read what is sure to become a landmark research book in our field! See you at the conference! http://conference.waeyc.org/
Blog post written by: Leslie Meisner
Head Start/ ECEAP Director, Tacoma Public Schools
Former WAEYC President
