Music, kindness among childhood conference topics

The conference is designed to provide current information and inspiration to everyone who is involved in the care and welfare of children, said Dr. Kim Madsen, the conference coordinator.

The conference will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20 with a session entitled “Music and Movement for All” presented by Bonnie Czekanski, professional consultant and trainer from Alexandria, Va. The presentation will be open to the public without charge. Entire families are encouraged to attend.

Opening Saturday’s program will be a keynote address by Marjorie Kostelnik, dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Kostelnik said her talk, titled “The Kindness Connection: Promoting Children’s Prosocial Behavior,” will look at helping, cooperating, comforting, encouraging, sharing and taking turns, all elements of what she called “the kindness connection.”

Participants will have two programs to choose from later Saturday morning. One, “When Push Comes to Shove: Coping with Childhood Aggression,” will be presented by Kostelnik, and the second, “Connections… Creating a School Family,” will be given by Czekanski.

Four sessions are scheduled for Saturday afternoon. Czekanski will speak on “Curriculum … Language, Literacy and the School Family; ” Jeanne Murray, UNL extension educator from Alliance, will discuss “Fit and Healthy Kids;” Cheryl Svoboda, coordinator of the Nebraska Autism Spectrum Network, will discuss “Autism Spectrum Disorder;” and Beth Grass of Panhandle Community Services will speak on “Maximizing Infant-Toddler Brain Power”

The conference will include a resource and display area. Individuals who wish to have a display or provide resources are requested to contact Lisa Anderson at the Chadron Head Start at 432-5218.

College credit, Continuing Education Units and Professional Development Units will again be available.

Registration forms and the conference brochure may be accessed on-line at www.csc.edu/ecc, by contacting any co-sponsor or contacting Madsen at Chadron State College, 1000 Main Street, Chadron, NE 69337, 308-432-6372 or kmadsen@pipeline.csc.edu

The co-sponsors are: the CSC Family and Consumer Sciences program, Panhandle Early Childhood Interagency Team, Western Community Health Resources, the Early Development Network, Panhandle Family Day Care, Northwest Nebraska Community Action Head Start and Early Head Start, University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the Nebraska Department of Education, the Dawes County Family Preservation Project, the Panhandle Early Childhood Training Coalitiion, the Early Childhood Training Center, the Chadron Child Care Providers Association and C Pride – 21st century grant.