The 2009 NM PreK Institute will be held on Thursday, December 10 & Friday, December 11, 2009 at the Albuquerque Convention Center, located in the heart of downtown Albuquerque at 401 2nd St. NW. For directions click here.

The theme of the Institute is Teaching with Intention: Planning and Playing with Purpose and features innovative ways for teachers and educational assistants to create developmentally appropriate curriculum based on the needs and interests of the children.  Teachers will use observational assessments to determine children’s needs and develop curriculum that addresses these needs while following best practices.  Programming at the Institute will start with theory, then focus on the NM Early Learning Outcomes as a tool for developing curriculum and will also include practical, hands-on examples for use in the classroom. 

We will have inspiring keynote presentations by Sue Bredekamp from the Council for Professional Recognition, along with breakout sessions with Gaye Gronlund of ECE Consulting, Inc., and Debby Cryer and Cathy Riley of Environment Rating Scales Institute.

Participants will also attend hands-on activity sessions with the NM PreK Training & Development Consultants, Assessment Coaches and Teachers. Each of these sessions will have a fully equipped learning center. Using sample observations and lesson planning information from Gaye's and Debby's sessions, attendees will plan activities for specific interest centers including individualization for specific children (from sample observations provided). And best of all, the materials used in the learning centers will be raffled off to Institute attendees for use in their classrooms along with many other great tools.

A very special evening is planned for Thursday, December 10. At 5:30 pm in the Ballroom at the DoubleTree Hotel all attendees are invited to a Welcome Reception sponsored by Lakeshore Learning Materials. Join us for wonderful appetizers, great networking, good music and door prizes (you must be present to win). Entertainment will be provided by Wagogo, a local ecclectic group of musicians that make a rhythmic cocktail out of their Chicano influences, Northern Mexico folk songs, warm calypso island grooves and the captivating spirit music of Zimbabwe. Wagogo is led by Armando Ortega who is a preschool teacher at La Puerta de Los Niños in Albuquerque.

The deadline to register for the 2009 New Mexico PreK Institute is Thursday, December 3, 2009.

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