Join us for the Turning Pages, Growing Minds virtual conference, designed to meet your active lifestyle and keep you engaged in learning. This Zoom conference aims to help you form a close relationship with infants and toddlers, which is essential for their healthy development in the early years. You'll get to enjoy hands-on activities that are not only for you but also for the children you care for. The cost of the conference is $30.00. So, are you ready to stretch your mind and connect with our youngest learners?
These classes are accepted in Nebraska and South Dakota.
Sponsored by the Nebraska Early Learning Connection/Northern ELC Coordinator
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Conference Schedule (4 hrs)
Saturday, February 21, 2026
All 4 classes on February 21 are required
February 21, 2026, 8:00 am CST - February 21, 2026, 9:00 am CST
Using Storybooks to Engage Children in Math
Storybook reading is a fun way to engage young children with early math concepts. During this class, participants will learn and share about strategies for integrating math into reading and using children's literature to support children's math development.
Class Objective:
- Participants will identify strategies for integrating math concepts into storybook reading.
- Participants will develop questions to prompt children's math thinking during storybook reading.
February 21, 2026, 9:10 am CST - February 21, 2026, 10:10 am CST
Discover and Design: Introducing Artists and Masterpieces in Early Childhood
Children can meaningfully engage with famous artists and masterpieces from an early age. This session focuses on using Discover and Design lesson plans to connect children's books with artists and works of art.
Class Objective:
- Participants will gain practical ideas for fostering creativity, curiosity, and exploration while supporting developmentally appropriate art experiences in early childhood settings.
February 21, 2026, 10:20 am CST - February 21, 2026, 11:20 am CST
Dive Into Discovery: Using Ocean STEM Imagination Guides to Turn Stories into Science
Participants will explore how Ocean-themed STEM Imagination Guides transform children's literature into hands-on science investigations. Through a live make-and-test activity, educators will experience how storytelling, engineering, and inquiry naturally blend to spark curiosity, creativity, and early scientific thinking. This session provides practical strategies that can e immediately implemented in early childhood classrooms.
Class Objective:
- Identify at least two ways STEM Imagination Guides integrate literacy with hands-on science exploration.
- Design a simple ocean-themed STEM activity using everyday classroom or household materials.
February 21, 2026, 11:30 am CST - February 21, 2026, 12:30 pm CST
Culturally Connected Reading: Growing Active Readers Everywhere
Discover how culturally diverse stories can spark curiosity and engagement in young readers. This session will explore practical strategies for incorporating multicultural literature and interactive activities that promote active reading and nutrition habits. Participants will leave with ideas to create inclusive reading as well as nutrition and physical activity experiences that celebrate global perspectives.
Class Objective:
- Identify at least two strategies for using culturally diverse texts to foster active reading in early childhood settings.
- Demonstrate one hands-on activity that encourages engagement and comprehension across different cultural contests.
Homework (2 hrs)
Optional
Conference Follow-Up
Monday, March 30, 2026
2 hours Optional
March 30, 2026, 6:30 pm CDT - March 30, 2026, 8:30 pm CDT
From Neurons to Narratives: Brain Development, Language, and Literacy
In this presentation, participants will learn about how early brain development fosters early language and literacy skills that lay the foundation for later reading. Practical guidance for creating environments and engaging in adult-child interactions that promote infant, toddler, and preschooler brain development for language and literacy will be discussed.
Class Objective:
- Identify key aspects of brain development that support language and literacy learning
Participants will be able to describe how areas of the brain involved in speech, listening, reading, and writing develop over time, and how this development influences students’ language acquisition and literacy skills. - Explain the relationship between brain development and language and literacy outcomes
Participants will be able to explain how factors such as neural plasticity, executive function, memory, and phonological processing affect students’ ability to develop oral language, reading, and writing skills. - Apply knowledge of brain development to instructional practice
Participants will be able to use an understanding of brain development to select and implement developmentally appropriate strategies that support language and literacy growth in the classroom.