Posted or edited: 07.31.08 ... PJC Information Services
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This past Saturday’s childcare conference at Paris Junior College, “As A Child Grows,” was an overwhelming success, according to PJC Program Developer Rita Pringle.

“We had over 150 attendees engaging in a number of activities designed to improve their childcare skills,” said Pringle.

Sponsors included AgriLife Extension Services and North East Texas Workforce Solutions, in addition to PJC.

The participants started the morning with a motivational presentation about “Making the Difference.” Connie Lott, from Worth Casualty Company in Fort Worth, addressed four basic principles to promote a climate for making a positive difference. She had the students move with music, then brought tears to their eyes with some of her stories about children.

Dr. Stephen Green from Texas A&M University in College Station presented an interactive session about Early Childhood Brain Development, having volunteers compete in the “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” game to test their knowledge of the subject.

The morning was filled with several breakout sessions including: “Make and Take Math”; “Helping Children Resolve Conflict”; “Moving from Surviving to Thriving in Childcare”; and “Scrapbooking for Child Development.” Sessions included a variety of hands-on activities with many take-home ideas.

Alice Kirk of Texas A&M University presented the afternoon session, “Promoting Healthy Weight in the Young Child.” This session was packed full of activities to motivate children to remain active, even on a rainy day. Volunteers were recruited from the audience to test several of the games and ideas presented during the afternoon. The afternoon hit was the three-headed race where two participants put a ball between their heads and had to run a figure eight around the cones. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded.