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(This is a brief summary and a pictoral record of the conference).
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"Valuing Early Childhood:
An Invitation for Community Dialogue"
Asilomar Conference Grounds
Pacific Grove, California
June 16 - 18, 2011
planned in collaboration with Reggio Children
and First 5 Monterey/CCAEYC.
The Seventh NAREA Summer Conference in Pacific Grove, California, was an enlightening and stimulating experience to the many teachers, directors, teacher educators and other interested people involved in studying the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education. On June 16, the program included presentations by the two keynote speakers from Reggio Emilia, Italy, Elena Giacopini and Anna Orlandini on The Reggio Approach to Education and Introducing "The Wonder of Learning - The Hundred Languages of Children" Exhibit.
These photos will take you through day one of the conference--June 16th
Asilomar Conference Grounds is part of the California State Park system. It includes 107 beautiful acres of a natural ecological environment. The large gatherings of the conference took place at Merrill Hall. Both the exterior and interior of the building were beautifully designed by the noted Arts and Crafts architect Julia Morgan.
  
NAREA staff member Cheryl Rapaport organized the registration tables for a smooth check-in.
  
General questions about the area were addressed at the local information table (left), questions about earning CEU's from Sonoma State University were answered at the CEU table (center), and samples of some of the Reggio Children resources available from Learning Materials Workshop were on display for browsing at one of the tables at the rear of Merrill Hall (right).
   
One very popular part of the conference was the stone table. Participants had been asked to bring with them a stone from their context. People enjoyed seeing the many different types of stones, comparing them, and stacking and playing with them.
  
Early arrivals waited in their seats (left); others looked for seats in the crowded hall (center), and NAREA co-chairs Barb Action and Margie Cooper prepared to speak at the start of the conference (right).
  
Speakers and staff were in place to make sure that everything ran smoothly during the conference.
Speakers from Italy (left), Elena Giacopini (l) and Anna Orlandini (c) sit with their interpreter Leslie Morrow (r). NAREA staff member Judy Kaminsky (center) coordinated the organization of the conference. Interpreters (right) translated the presentations into Spanish.
After Elena Giacopini and Anna Orlandini completed their morning presentations, conference participants picked up box lunches outside of the social hall and loaded buses for the trip to visit the "The Wonder of Learning - The Hundred Languages of Children" exhibit in Salinas.
  
The National Steinbeck Center is located in a charming area of Salinas, and many of the conference partipicants enjoyed the beautiful California weather after they finished visiting the exhibit (left). Here are some of the participants as they begin to tour the exhibit (center). Conference speakers Elena Giacopini and Anna Orlandini visited the exhibit with Lella Gandini, Reggio Children Liaison in the U.S. for Dissemination of the Reggio Emilia Approach and NAREA Board Member (right).
  
   
Photography is prohibited in the exhibit. However, the NAREA staff tried to capture some of the personal interactions as visitors studied, recorded, and discussed their thoughts.
  
A reception honoring the official opening of the exhibit concluded the day in Salinas for conference participants. The center photo is of just three of the many volunteers who made the conference such a success. Melanie Allison (l), Cathy Nyznyk (c), and Susan Bates (r) are from the Central Coast Association for the Education of Young Children (CCAEYC) Board.
The day did not end there. Participants took buses back to Asilomar in time to eat dinner at the Crocker Dining Hall. The evening ended with small group discussions supported by facilitators and journals kept prior to the conference.
Please see the upcoming July and August issues of the NAREA eNewsletter
for further coverage of the Seventh NAREA Summer Conference.
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in collaboration with 