Yeah Baby! is a specialist conference concerned with the education and care of our infants from birth to three years of age. This one-day conference runs from 9am-3pm on a Saturday and includes trade fair, and great seminar and workshops style presentations. The format for the day ensures delegates will return to their early childhood settings affirmed and inspired with up-to-date research as well as practical advice, guidance and solutions all relevant to work and play with children under 3. New information is shared each year and each programme varies according to region.

Programme: 

9am-10.30am: Toni & Robin Christie - Respectful people, places, and things

The New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum, Te Whāriki, refers to “people, places and things” as the learning context for young children. How do people show respect for children and their families? What kind of places are respectful spaces for children? What things are available to children within the environment, where have they come from, and who made them? How do they demonstrate respect for diversity, culture and the child? This opening address will inspire participants with practical ideas, and prompt us to examine our own ideas about what respect looks and feels like for our youngest and most vulnerable citizens.

10.30-11am: morning tea

11am-12.30pm: Toni Christie - Music and movement for infants and toddlers

Music is crucial for infant development and encourages joyful and secure attachments between children and educator. Music and movement stimulate various aspects of a baby's development, including cognitive abilities, social skills, motor skills, emotional regulation, and language acquisition, all while providing a fun and engaging way to interact with their environment; essentially laying the foundation for future learning through rhythm, pattern recognition, and sensory stimulation. This session will explore recent research and rationale for incorporating singing and dancing in your ECE programme, as well as offering participants the opportunity to share and practice songs and finger rhymes for joyful engagement with infants and toddlers. 

12.30-1.15pm: lunch and a chance to check out the trade fair

1.15-2.45pm: Robin Christie - Power and Place: Recent Thoughts on Infant and Toddler Learning Spaces

Our infant and toddler environments reflect who we are as a learning community – curious, functional, and beautiful! This lively presentation will share recent work from the Childspace Workshop in Wellington and explore the rationale behind these designs. From designing outdoor sleep spaces to the importance of indoor/ outdoor transition zones, from the role of physical symbols in emerging literacy to outdoor nappy change units - join teacher and ECE environment designer Robin Christie to find out what’s been keeping him up at night!

General admission price: $330

Subscriber's price: $290

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