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Webs of Wonder at the ECEC Conference
By Gillian Prince
The Early Childhood Education Council held its 2007 annual conference at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary from October 25-27. The theme was "Weaving Webs of Wonder" and the power of building strong connections, creative flow, and the beauty and potential of early childhood education were interwoven throughout the speeches and workshops. Special guest speakers included William Brownridge, Canada's well-known hockey artist and children's author; Susan Bosak, children's author and creator of the Dream Exhibit, which is at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary from September 2007 to June 2008; and Elizabeth Dozois, who is a consulting analyst in the non-profit sector, and who is researching human learning ecology at the Action Studies Institute in Calgary. Workshops explored a plethora of educational intrigues including math through play, fluency, the magic of storytelling, archaeology, visual collages and journals, yoga, human virtue, citizenship, making music fun, kickboxing, simple machines, and Smartboards.
As a first year MT student, I was very excited to attend my first ECEC Conference. Elaborate displays of students' artwork laced the walls outside the conference room, prefacing the workshops with Wonder. Teachers wove in and out between pillars laden with paintings. Bold punches of colour in the fashion of Georgia O'Keeffe's flowers beckoned, and diminutive dips and strokes honoured the land and sky of Vincent van Gogh's masterpieces. Clay masks, plasticine relief maps, and papier-mâché crabs and sand dollars of the Atlantic Ocean captivated even the least art-oriented teacher. The story trees, pipe cleaners wound with brightly coloured handkerchiefs and hung with gems and trinkets that represented cherished stories, resonated with me as I entered the conference room to hear Susan Bosak speak about the importance of Dreams.
Her latest children's story "Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom and Wishes," was a touchstone during her lecture as she encouraged the room full of teachers to discover the goals and dreams of their students and, "help them springboard from all the things that are to all the things that can be." Springboarding, rather than scaffolding, allows children the energy to propel in their own unique style toward educational goals instead of climbing unidirectionally. This energy was evident in the students' artwork!
Connection between curriculum and creativity had produced a wonderful array of expression and curiosity. With ideas of dreams and personal wonder in mind, I particularly enjoyed Mary Hays' workshop entitled The Magical World of Storytelling and Rachelle Kearl's art workshop, What You See Isn't Always What You Get, which focused on learning through multiple artistic and academic methods. As I springboard along in the MT program, I will remember the artwork (and dreams!) I saw at the ECEC Conference, and work to inspire Wonder in my own classroom one day.
Gillian Prince is a Year 1 elementary student teacher placed at Catherine Nichols Gunn Elementary School in Grade 4.
The Early Childhood Education Council held its 2007 annual conference at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary from October 25-27. The theme was "Weaving Webs of Wonder" and the power of building strong connections, creative flow, and the beauty and potential of early childhood education were interwoven throughout the speeches and workshops. Special guest speakers included William Brownridge, Canada's well-known hockey artist and children's author; Susan Bosak, children's author and creator of the Dream Exhibit, which is at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary from September 2007 to June 2008; and Elizabeth Dozois, who is a consulting analyst in the non-profit sector, and who is researching human learning ecology at the Action Studies Institute in Calgary. Workshops explored a plethora of educational intrigues including math through play, fluency, the magic of storytelling, archaeology, visual collages and journals, yoga, human virtue, citizenship, making music fun, kickboxing, simple machines, and Smartboards.
As a first year MT student, I was very excited to attend my first ECEC Conference. Elaborate displays of students' artwork laced the walls outside the conference room, prefacing the workshops with Wonder. Teachers wove in and out between pillars laden with paintings. Bold punches of colour in the fashion of Georgia O'Keeffe's flowers beckoned, and diminutive dips and strokes honoured the land and sky of Vincent van Gogh's masterpieces. Clay masks, plasticine relief maps, and papier-mâché crabs and sand dollars of the Atlantic Ocean captivated even the least art-oriented teacher. The story trees, pipe cleaners wound with brightly coloured handkerchiefs and hung with gems and trinkets that represented cherished stories, resonated with me as I entered the conference room to hear Susan Bosak speak about the importance of Dreams.
Her latest children's story "Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom and Wishes," was a touchstone during her lecture as she encouraged the room full of teachers to discover the goals and dreams of their students and, "help them springboard from all the things that are to all the things that can be." Springboarding, rather than scaffolding, allows children the energy to propel in their own unique style toward educational goals instead of climbing unidirectionally. This energy was evident in the students' artwork!
Connection between curriculum and creativity had produced a wonderful array of expression and curiosity. With ideas of dreams and personal wonder in mind, I particularly enjoyed Mary Hays' workshop entitled The Magical World of Storytelling and Rachelle Kearl's art workshop, What You See Isn't Always What You Get, which focused on learning through multiple artistic and academic methods. As I springboard along in the MT program, I will remember the artwork (and dreams!) I saw at the ECEC Conference, and work to inspire Wonder in my own classroom one day.
Gillian Prince is a Year 1 elementary student teacher placed at Catherine Nichols Gunn Elementary School in Grade 4.