The Chautauqua County Association

for the Education of Young Children

will hold the 20^th Annual Early Childhood Conference on

Saturday, October 3, 2009

8:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

McEwen Hall

SUNY Fredonia

With FEATURED PRESENTER – JANICE SMESTAD

As our featured conference presenter, Janice will present two sessions:

Understanding and Working with Children who have Special Needs in a Typical Classroom

Janice has 30 years of direct teaching experience with challenging students of all ages.

We will begin with a discussion of neurology….don’t get scared! We will get past the obscure and confusing technical jargon and get to clear and practical things that anyone can do to improve their practice with children.

A major focus of our discussion will be in dealing with behavior problems.  Whether the problems are neurological or environmental in nature we can improve difficult behavior in most situations.  We will focus on techniques that can be implemented on Monday morning.

Communicating Effectively with Parents about Difficult Subjects

Early childhood professionals are on the front lines. We are often first to talk with families about their child’s unique needs.  We are the first to bring up difficult subjects.  Learn techniques to ensure that it will be a productive discussion.

Janice wants to be sure that you leave with your questions answered.   She plans to stay after her presentation to continue to respond to any remaining questions.

Janice Smestad established Empathy Associates to provide hands on tools and techniques to help with real world issues that are encountered every day by people who live and work with children.  We create a safe environment where people feel free enough to share what’s *really* going on in the classroom or at home and then we work together through discussion, role play and activities to craft solutions that will work.

With over 30 years of experience in a wide variety of settings  Janice Smestad has the ability to communicate in laymen’s terms, eliminating jargon and cutting through buzzwords to clearly convey real information.  By actively listening to what’s really going on, she can connect with her audience on a gut level, often cutting through confusion and frustration to reach the core issue.  Her humor and energy along with her wide experience allow her not only to offer solutions based on her own experience, but to literally midwife solutions and techniques of the participants themselves.  By the end of the program, people will leave with a positive vision and concrete tools to improve their situation.

Whether we’re dealing with children who are gifted or challenged every child has strengths and weaknesses.  It is easy to lose sight of that as we struggle to educate, understand and discipline our kids.  Our wish as educators and parents is to draw the best from every child, no matter their talent or ability.  But how?

Joy and structure are key to an optimal learning experience.  We encourage teachers and parents to set high standards for children while recognizing that often it is up to them to hold a higher vision for that child until the child himself can embrace it.