Purdue University North Central Department of Education will present its fourth annual Early Childhood Conference on Saturday, April 24. 
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. in the lobby of the PNC Library-Student-Faculty Building.
The conference theme is "Strength in Numbers" The day's events highlight strong communities, strong programs, strong teachers, strong families and strong children - minds, muscles and math.
The conference will be of interest to teachers of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners and the primary grades, child care providers, center directors, home-based providers, school principals, administrators, early interventionists, therapists and parents. Professionals may earn CEUs for attending. There will be a number of vendor booths on hand for participants to visit during the lunch break.
Conference registration completed by March 31 is $55, which includes lunch and admission to the community event following the conference. Registration on or after April 1 will be $65 which also includes admission to the community event following the conference, but there is no guarantee of lunch. Tickets for the "Family Fun Time," which begins at 3:30 p.m. in the PNC cafeteria, are $3 each.
The welcome and keynote address begins at 9 a.m., with speaker Hedda Sharapan presenting, "What Do You Do with the Mad that You Feel? Helping Children Deal with Angry Feelings" She will share practical help and insight into childhood anger from her stories of educators, parents and her video segments. She'll share strategies and activities to help children develop self-control and express their feelings in healthy ways.
Sharapan is director of Early Childhood Initiatives with Family Communications, Inc, (FCI), a nonprofit company founded by Fred Rogers. She's been affiliated with Fred Rogers for 43 years and was in on the beginning of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Her work includes writing for articles, books, websites, and professional development materials for early childhood educators.
The day will feature a series of morning and afternoon breakout sessions that will allow participants the opportunity to focus on their area of interest. Topics will include: Brain & Body Time; Is It Time for a Nap Yet?; Enhancing Early Childhood Learning; Engaging Math Activities for the Preschool Child; Tending the Garden of Growing Hearts; Grant Writing Tips; Building Interest through the LEGO Mindstorm; Lifting the Weight for Cognitive Delayed Children; Determining the Strength of Websites; Train the Brain with Games; Counting and Crickets; Show and Tell: Play Based Learning; The Importance of Early Intervention; Determining the Future Delinquents; Put the Steam Back in Your Team; Somatics Education For Young Children; Train the Brain with Games Galore; Strength in Literature: Connecting Math & Lit; Sensory Processing Disorder; Promoting Self-Regulation in Young Children; Caregiver Strengths; Service Learning Partnerships; Math is the Language of Many Professions and Management Skills for Child Care Directors.
The day concludes at 3:30 p.m. with a "Family Fun Time" with Don Monopoli from The Learning Station. This event is open to the public and adults are encouraged to bring children to enjoy. This will be an engaging, lively production that features singing, laughing and dancing in the aisles and members of the audience become the stars of the show.
The Learning Station is a multi award-winning, children's music recording and performing of internationally acclaimed songs including, "Tony Chestnut" " Get Funky" and "Singin' In the Rain."
To register or to obtain Information contact the Office of Continuing Education at 219.785.5200 ext. 5343, or visit the conference website www.pnc.edu/ce. Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact ext. 5343.