Early Childhood Journeys

Episode 10: We've made it to 10 episodes and to commemorate, Marissa shares an interview with Kindergarten teacher, Stacey Heath from Blue Ridge Unified School District. Stacey shares how she shifted her teaching practice of mundane worksheet and repetitive kill-joy teaching style to a more meaningful and engaging experience for both her students and herself after attending The Kindergarten Experience training sessions. "There's not a lot of joy in worksheets" and other notable remarks made in this episode that most kindergarten educators can relate too.

For more about the kindergarten experience visit: thekindergartenexperience.com

For more about Dr. Judy Harris Helm and The Project Approach visit: bestpracticesinc.net

For past Podcast Episodes visit us at: www.earlychildhoodjourneys.com/podcast

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For Episode 9, host Marissa Calderón gives a brief recap of the VSAEYC and AZAEYC State Affiliate Early Childhood Mixer event that is annually done after the first day of the First Things First Summit in Phoenix. This includes information about the Arizona Early Childhood Registry, Arizona Toolkit, upcoming Nutrition workshop called Eat, Move, Love from Alesi Group and an interview with Havasupai Head Start Program Director Carlos A Powell Sr. Marissa also mentions how remote this Early Childhood program is and the need to hire quality teachers. Please forgive her if she mis-quotes the actual location of the Head Start program of it being at the bottom of the Grand Canyon when Mr. Powell states it's on the top of that area. She would love to visit the area in general!

More information about the Havasupai Head Start Program and job positions contact: [email protected]

More information about the Arizona Early Childhood Workforce Registry at azregistry.org

More information about the Arizona Toolkit and the state affiliate for NAEYC at azaeyctoolkit.org

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In Episode 8, host Marissa Calderón features Kindergarten Teacher, Donna Bateman from Pendergast Elementary School District in Phoenix Arizona. Donna has been teaching for over 13 years and shares her experience and insights on how she manages to stay reflective in her work. In this candid conversation, Donna provides parents and other educators with a reminder on how they can work together to support kindergartners learning as well as recognizing that the beginning of the school year can be hectic for everyone. Her journey is admirable, inspiring, very relatable and worth taking note of. It should also be noted wine and tequila was discussed!

For more about The Kindergarten Experience visit: www.thekindergartenexperience.com

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In this episode, Marissa sits down for a very candid conversation with fellow Arizona Children's Association Statewide Director of Permanency Services, Imelda Cordova. The conversation is filled with parenting jokes, her first position in the early childhood field working with teen moms, the experience she gained with Kith and Kin (Friends and Family) population and how she manages to juggle her new responsibilities with her family. The work is heavy and does not end at 5:00PM. Arizona's current Foster Care and Adoption system can feel overwhelming for educators and families and it is a relief there are wonderful people like Imelda and the team that works with her to support the work. One of the more bi-lingual episodes filled with plenty of laughs and reflections the listener will find inspiring if not hopeful for our most vulnerable of populations.

To learn more about Arizona's Children Association visit: https://www.arizonaschildren.org/about/

To learn more about the Association for Supportive Child Care including the Arizona Kith and Kin Project visit: http://asccaz.org/.

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In Episode 6, Marissa Calderón chats with Kindergarten Teacher Terry Duggan from Amphi School District in Tucson, AZ. Terry talks about the 20 plus years of her teaching career and how she managed to teach a different grade for six of those years! She shares her insights on how she's maintained the joy of teaching, advice for new and seasoned teachers as well as advice for parents of a new kindergarten child. A few favorite classroom resources shared including an obsession for Jenna Bilmes book, Beyond Behavior Management. Terry provides the listener with an authentic perspective on the profession and how she works to stay balanced.

For more information about Author and Early Childhood Consultant Jenna Bilmes, visit her website at: http://www.kidsfromtheinsideout.com/

To purchase the sign language book discussed called, ABC Phonics, Sing, Sign and Read! Using American Sign Language visit: https://www.amazon.com/ABC-Phonics-Signs-Supports-Literacy/dp/1932354271/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502260344&sr=8-1&keywords=abc+phonics+sing+sign+and+read

To learn more about The Kindergarten Experience Classroom Redesigns visit: https://www.pinterest.com/kdgexperience/classroom-redesigns-flips/

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In this episode, we uploaded the LIVE Facebook Audio from the Lunch Panelists from the AZ Ed Tech Conference at Rio Salado College on August 5, 2017.

Panelists:

Tim Jehl- Engineering and Advanced Tech at Perry High School in Chandler, AZ

Mark Gresko- Director of Tech for Avondale School District

Lennon Audrain- Recent High School Graduate, completed his AA on Elementary Education, Current ASU student and the national Educator Rising president.

Curi Araza- IT Specialist and Computer Informations Systems Instructor at Paradise Valley School District

For complete panelist bios: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cTqcpXLMo0QPUs7SYy1s1X7B2Kuv6cIjRXqACvVl1KI/edit

Panelists discussed how Education Tech has affected their current positions, their reservations on tech use and also provided their background amongst the discussion presented.

For a brief conference recap and to access conference Ed Tech Resources including platforms and Apps visit Marissa Calderón's blog post at: https://medium.com/@marissacalderon/my-az-k-12-ed-tech-conference-recap-at-rio-salado-college-bfa0fca3dc0

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I have a candid and humorous conversation with fellow Early Childhood Educator, Alma Quintana. Alma recently became the Quality Assurance Manager for the City of Phoenix's Human Services Department, Education Division, Head Start Birth to Five Program. If you think that's a mouthful, so does she. Alma shares her journey on how she is handling the new position, how she stays reflective personally and professionally including the stress of starting a Master's program while learning a new position. Her story is relatable, inspiring and admirable for others in the field who are also in similar situations and want to do an awesome job for children and their families.

For more information about the City of Phoenix's Head Start Birth to Five Program visit: www.phoenix.gov/humanservices/programs/head-start

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Discussion with Consultant Debbie Everett from Alesi Group on the redesign process of "flipping" kindergarten classrooms through Arizona's "The Kindergarten Experience." Tips and strategies are discussed including what things kindergarten educators should consider.

For more about Alesi Group: www.alesigroup.com

For more about kindergarten classroom redesigns: https://www.pinterest.com/kdgexperience/kindergarten-classroom-redesigns/

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