Early childhood educators and parents with young children, mark your calendars: next weekend on August 16-17, China’s first-ever International Preschool Education Conference (IPEC) will take place at Sofitel Wanda Beijing. Co-sponsored and organized by Etonkids Educational Group, the theme of the conference is encouraging creativity in children. IPEC is a chance for parents and teachers to share ideas and explore trends in early childhood education.
The weekend will be organized into two days. On Saturday, August 16, the event will kick off with an opening ceremony, welcoming speeches, and presentations by international experts in early childhood education. Sunday, August 17 is mainly reserved for a series of family education workshops.
Following introductory activities in the morning, Saturday afternoon will be largely geared toward educators. Presentations will cover topics such as how teachers instill creativity in students to using creative technology in the classroom.
Sunday’s workshops will offer practical tools and ideas for parents to integrate creativity in their children’s home lives. Though most presenters speak English, there will also be English to Chinese translation provided when necessary (and vice versa).
Early childhood education experts from around the world, leaders in bilingual education, as well as members of the Chinese Association for Non-Government Education will attend the IPEC conference.
One of the speakers is Dr. Marlene Barron, an expert in early childhood education with over 45 years of experience as a consultant and educator, and over 30 years as Head of School at West Side Montessori School in New York. Dr. Barron has written books for Montessori teachers and published numerous articles about Montessori education. She will be IPEC’s first presenter on Saturday and will speak on the topic of innate childhood creativity. Currently, Dr. Barron is also Chief Academic Officer for Etonkids Educational Group.
On Sunday, Dr. Heather Bastow Weiss will lead the morning with a talk on the importance of the home environment in fostering a child’s creativity. She will later hold an afternoon workshop on the same subject with emphasis on what parents can do to develop a child’s creativity. As Founder and Director of Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) and Senior Research Associate and Instructor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Weiss and her colleagues work toward ultimately improving practice, intervention, and policy supporting children’s successful development.
A third speaker who might be of interest to parents is Dr. Julie M. Wood, an international education consultant and director of the Jeanne Chall Reading Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Dr. Wood recently directed a school reform project for young children at HGSE called “Three to Third.” She is also is a published author and has also been featured in multiple educational-based publications. She will lead Sunday’s workshop on how parents can use educational media and software effectively at home.
The conference runs from 9am-4.30pm on August 16 and 9am-5pm on August 17. Lunch will be served on both days from 12-1:30pm. The IPEC conference will end on Sunday with a Chinese musical performance called “The Awakening of Spring.”
For more info, email info@ipecchina.com or call 5681 2485.
Photo: Courtesy of Etonkids Educational Group
