October 8: Lehigh Valley Early Care & Education Host 6th Annual PD Day Event
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
By: Jan Schwartz

Join us for the professional development event at the Lehigh Carbon Community College!

Approximately 250 early childhood educators from Northampton and Lehigh counties will take part in the sixth annual Lehigh Valley Early Care & Education Professional Development Day on Monday, October 8, 2012 from 7:30am-4:30pm at Lehigh Carbon Community College.

Child care center directors and early childhood educators will hear keynote speaker Katharine Beals, PhD, author of "Raising a Left-Brain Child in a Right-Brain World: Strategies for Helping Bright, Quirky, Socially Awkward Children to Thrive at Home and at School" Katharine has taught math, computer science, social studies, expository writing, linguistics, and English as a second language to students of all ages, both in the U.S. and overseas. She is currently a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and an adjunct professor at the Drexel University School of Education.

The theme of this year's one day conference is "Leading Children to Discovery." Early childhood educators can earn six DPW credit hours while learning to engage children developing an appreciation for scientific inquiry. Participants will engage in hands-on sessions with instructors from local organizations that support the use of the environment as a tool for the education of young children.

This professional development day for early childhood educators was started six years ago through a collaboration with Penn State Cooperative Extension, The Northeast Key, and child care center directors, who wanted to be able to provide the professional development hours required of early childhood educators during a day long conference.

To attend the conference you must pre-register and pay the conference fee of $35.00. No walk-ins accepted the day of the conference. Registration will begin August 1 and the registration fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, afternoon refreshments, all sessions and hand-outs. For more information please contact Denise Continenza at 610-391-9840 or dhc128@psu.edu.