A Fantastic NAEYC Conference

Last week brought early childhood educators to Orlando, Florida, for The National Association of the Education of Young Children® conference. Over 8000 excited and enthusiastic individuals travelled from their homes and gathered for a few days of learning, listening, networking, and soaking in all the early education world has to offer.
The conference kicked off with a concert by true legends in the early childhood music world. Hap Palmer took the stage first followed by Ella Jenkins, The Learning Station, and Greg and Steve. With thousands of young children in the audience, these music heroes had everyone singing, dancing, and moving to the beat!
The Exhibit Hall opened at noon, a change from previous years, to huge crowd of anxious shoppers. Booths were busy with attendees eagerly looking at new products for their classrooms. The excitement continued to build with the opening keynote by Vivian Gussin Paley, reknowned author, whose presentation on “Who Will Save Kindergarten” was filled with inspiration and hope for the future. With that inspiration, the Exhibit Hall reopened to attendees seeking new and innovative equipment and early childhood education supplies.
The conference was then in full swing with hundreds of fantastic sessions to attend on topics ranging from Language & Literacy to Professional Development to Environmental Education for Children. Many quality presenters shared information with conference attendees and fostered group discussion and sharing.
The energy from the people at the conference was amazing. It’s refreshing to see such hope and promise in the early education industry. As the conference drew to a close, there is optimism that the energy will continue to flow back to the children.