2013 Schedule

californiaAnaheim – November 13Pasadena – November 14 (Monrovia)

OregonPortland – November 15OR Professional Growth Hours Verification Available

WA Clock Hours Available

utahSalt Lake City – November 12UT Inservice Credit Available with District Approval

Engaging, Fun and Creative Strategies for Developing Early Literacy Skills!

(Preschool to Kindergarten)

NEW Seminar Presented by ConniE WiLkinSonOutstanding Teacher and National Presenter

Specifically designed for early childhood/Pre‑K and Kindergarten Teachers, Instructional Assistants, and Administrators

hh Fun, fabulous, fresh ways to engage your students in the power and joy of reading and writing through silly songs, playing with sounds and using highly engaging rhymes, rhythms and fanciful vocabulary

hh Playful, practical strategies, tools and new techniques for encouraging all levels of emergent readers and writers – lively ideas you’ll want to use immediately!

hh Energetic, easy‑to‑learn chants, poems, finger plays, songs, and other innovative methods to fully engage your children in sounds and symbols

hh Receive an extensive resource handbook packed full of super, timesaving ideas, tips, tools, and proven activities to develop your students’ literacy skills while increasing the fun of teaching and learning!

A wonderful, engaging seminar! Connie has great energy and enthusiasm and we learned so much that we can use in our classrooms!”

– Kathleen PernicK, PK3 teacher

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Ten Key Benefits of Attending 1. Build Oral Language Skills through FUN, EASY‑TO‑IMPLEMENT

ActivitiesLearn easy ways to use fun, joyful oral language development activities during your entire day … Dozens of terrific transitional songs, silly rhythmic chants, funny stories, and catchy finger plays you’ll want to use to build oral language skills

2. Create a Super Literacy‑Rich ClassroomDiscover a wealth of compelling ideas to design an inviting, literacy‑rich environment in your classroom … Connie’s best tips and tools to encourage meaningful listening, speaking, reading, and writing every day!

3. Use Environmental Print to Easily Teach Early Word RecognitionLearn classroom‑proven techniques that grab students’ interest and give them engaging experiences reading words commonly found in their environment … Enjoyable ways to make learning to read easy, fun and lasting

4. Teach Children Quick, New Ways to Connect Sounds and SymbolsHere’s how to use play‑driven activities to infuse lively sound and symbol experiences into the daily life of your classroom … Ideas that really work!

5. Energize Yourself – and Your Students – with Entertaining Songs and Movement ActivitiesLearn a wealth of active, energetic, language‑supporting activities involving song and movement … Create strong connections between oral and written language for your students, even if singing is not one of your strengths

6. Unleash the Power of Nursery Rhymes and RhymingDiscover how nursery rhymes and rhyming encourage positive experiences with sounds in fantastic, compelling ways … Learn activities that children will want to do again and again – guaranteed!

7. Ensure that Every Child LearnsUnlock the power of sounds and words in a wide variety of ways to motivate and challenge every student … Incorporate Connie’s easy‑to‑use brain research and multiple intelligence activities to reach the wide range of learners in your classroom

8. Discover Engaging Ways to Build Alphabetic KnowledgeLearn great games, exciting songs, and cool activities that require little preparation but give BIG results … How to build alphabetic knowledge the easy way!

9. Engage All Children in FANTASTIC Phonological Awareness ActivitiesSee how good, solid awareness is formed through engaging, interactive play and fun activities … Strong strategies that encourage children’s continuous use and awareness of sounds in their daily environment

10. Enjoy a Lively Day with Connie!Treat yourself to a great day with music, rhymes, chants, songs and verses; a wealth of practical teaching strategies; helpful tips; and no‑cost, low‑cost resources and materials that will enhance the joy of learning and teaching in your early childhood classroom! Connie will energize you and excite you with dozens and dozens of ideas you’ll want to use immediately

Practical StrategiesThis lively, fast‑paced seminar has been designed to help you develop, enrich and strengthen your early literacy program in fun, exciting ways! By enhancing current, best teaching practices through the use of literacy‑enriching activities, songs, finger plays and captivating sound/word play, you will gain an even greater sense of enthusiasm for developing your students’ early literacy skills. While giving you dozens of engaging, highly effective ways to help all your students learn the complex skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, master preschool and kindergarten teacher Connie Wilkinson, will show you how to use the magic of sounds, words, stories, songs, chants, rhymes, and rhythm to enhance children’s phonological awareness skills, strengthen their phonemic awareness skills, and improve their vocabulary and comprehension. The wealth of activities and songs Connie shares are quickly learned and easily used, even by those who have little background or experience in storytelling or music, and the many strategies you’ll receive are practical and proven, based on sound, research‑enhanced theory. The focus of this seminar is on entertaining tools and hands‑on techniques to significantly increase your students’ acquisition of emerging literacy skills while increasing participation, fully engaging your students in learning, and helping each child acquire a love of language. You’ll leave this jam‑packed seminar with new insights, innovative teaching strategies you’ll want to use immediately, plus an extensive resource handbook guaranteed to excite you with new ways to teach literacy skills in your own classroom!

To Register, call Toll‑Free

1-800-735-3503

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Outstanding Strategies You can use Immediately

hh Dynamic, easy‑to‑use ideas to strengthen early literacy skills

hh Simple, fun ways to create literacy materials using inexpensive, easy‑to‑find and often recycled materials for your literacy‑rich classroom environment

hh Highly engaging strategies for using environmental print to teach early word recognition and reading skills – ideas you’ll love!

hh Innovative techniques to significantly enhance children’s understanding and use of sounds, symbols and words

hh Actual video clips of real classrooms that demonstrate easy ways to get children engaged in authentic literacy activities

hh Highly practical ideas to make literacy instruction the most FUN part of the day – for you and your students

hh A clear description of the developmental stages of literacy development and how those stages can be enhanced with irresistible activities, songs, music, chants, and rhymes

hh Fun, innovative ways to enhance the literacy development of four‑ and five‑year‑olds in your classroom with lively verses and movements

hh A variety of “take right back to your classroom” ideas to incorporate fun, easy nursery rhymes and rhyming experiences in your students’ daily activities

hh Easy ways to build alphabetic knowledge using games, letter name songs, and imagination in engaging activities that require little preparation

hh Successful techniques to meet the needs of all learners from all types of cultural backgrounds

hh Strategies to easily involve families in your literacy activities and strengthen those critical home‑school connections in creative ways

hh Outstanding interactive movement activities – consistent with current brain research – that your students will love!

An extremely informative and engaging day! I have so many wonderful ideas to use in my classroom!”

– Marissa Forbes, Kindergarten teacher

Bureau of Education & Research915 118th Avenue SE • PO Box 96068 • Bellevue, WA 98009-9668Phone (800) 735-3503 • Fax (425) 453-1134 • www.ber.org

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A Message From Seminar leader,

connie WilkinsonDear Colleague:

Are you ready to have fun and eager to learn new ways to teach children the fundamentals for learning to read? Are you ready to sing, even if singing is not one of your strengths, and ready to move, play and experiment with dynamic techniques to develop your students’ early literacy skills? If that’s the case, I can promise you a lively, enriching and worthwhile day!

I am very pleased to be able to share with you some of the many exciting, innovative ideas I have collected to enhance the teaching of literacy skills through easy‑to‑learn, practical activities. Many of these experiences I have personally created and used; others I have observed from fellow teachers in my twenty‑five years of work in multiple pre‑K and kindergarten classrooms.

So much of what children learn about listening and comparing sounds can be experienced through music, so you’ll find a wealth of activities you’ll want to use involving music and singing. In fun, enticing musical experiences, children find wonderful sounds, rhythms, rhymes, patterns, and repetitions. There are letters, vocabulary, context, sequence, and sentences for students to master and songs have a magic way of putting all these things inside a child. You’ll be introduced to many highly effective ways to make this happen in your own classroom.

I look forward to exploring with you the connection between oral language and reading and writing, discovering what helps children develop skills and awareness to begin reading and writing on their own. Even though we all face many requirements and expectations for what our students must learn, I know that great activities and meaningful practice can make learning so much easier for children – and for us!

Throughout this fast‑paced day together, I will give you dozens of innovative ideas that will enliven and extend what you are already doing in early literacy and leave you feeling nourished, refreshed and full of new ideas for your work with young children.

I look forward to showing you how easy and natural it can be to significantly increase the literacy achievement of your students in fun, practical, fresh ways that are sure to positively impact your students.

Sincerely,

Connie Wilkinson

P. S. Remember, the day will focus on new, enticing tips and tools for creating powerful literacy experiences for your students.

Throughout this fast‑paced day together, I will give you dozens of innovative ideas that will enliven and extend what you are already doing in early literacy and leave you feeling nourished, refreshed and full of new ideas for your work with young children.”

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uniquely Qualified InstructorCONNIE WILKINSON is an energetic,

award‑winning preschool and kindergarten teacher who is well known for her fun, highly practical and engaging seminars chock‑full of ideas that teachers can use immediately in their own classrooms.

As a current teacher of 4‑ and 5‑year old students, Connie has created and gathered a large number of powerful ideas that are highly effective in using songs and music to stimulate children’s interest and excitement about reading and writing. Sometimes known as “the guitar lady,” she believes that all teachers, regardless of their singing ability, will benefit from using songs, rhythm and movement as an integral part of their literacy instruction. Connie is also known for her humor, her real‑life anecdotes from her daily work as a teacher and her strong belief that each student can succeed.

Connie is the author of Engaging, Fun and Creative Strategies for DEvEloping Early litEraCy SkillS! (preschool to kindergarten), the extensive resource handbook each participant will receive at the seminar. Her seminars are fast‑paced, fun and packed with ideas and resources you can use immediately in your own classroom. Connie will keep you thinking, moving, laughing, singing, and actively involved throughout the day as you gain new ideas for infusing critical literacy skills into your program.

What Your colleagues Say About connie Wilkinson

“a wonderful, recharging day, with so many ideas I can use within my classroom!” − Tracy Stewart, Kindergarten Teacher

“i loved being part of this seminar! i can’t wait to share all of the new ideas with my co‑workers and with our pre‑k class!”

− Kimberley Weaver, Pre‑K Teacher’s Assistant

“Connie has such great energy and is a pleasure to learn from! i’m walking away with many new strategies and activities i can use in my classroom!”

− Brittany Schneider, Preschool 3‑Year Teacher

“lots of useful ideas, easy to implement! a great day!”− Julie Lev, Kindergarten Teacher

“very informative! the day was filled with useful suggestions and a great exchange of ideas for immediate classroom use!”

− Kim Mensche, Kindergarten Teacher

“great presenter! a very informative, upbeat, practical seminar filled with great ideas i can really use!” − Dianna Davis, Preschool Teacher

“What a worthwhile day! i got so much valuable information for my classroom. thanks!” − Carolyn Turner, Preschool Teacher

“i can’t wait to get back to class tomorrow to use these ideas! When’s part ii?!” − Muffie Rabun, Junior Kindergarten Teacher

“the day flew by too quickly! Connie is so informative and fun. i learned so many new ideas and lots of twists on old ones as well!”

− Kristin Quiros, Lead Teacher

“very inspiring seminar! thanks for fulfilling your promise of giving us many ideas I can begin using tomorrow in my classroom!”

− Maggy McKinlay, Lead Teacher/PreK

“i highly recommend this seminar to all Early Childhood professionals! the content was so well organized and comprehensive. thank you for sharing your expertise!” − Ashante Butcher, Research Assistant

“thanks, Connie, for all your bright and brilliant ideas! they’ll be put to good use!” − Stacy Luna, Head Start Teacher

“i truly enjoyed my day and gained so many ideas to take back to my classroom. thanks for the tremendous resource book as well!” − Lisa Baker, ECSE Teacher

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can’t Attend?A related BER seminar, 101 Mini‑lessons to Strengthen your preschool or kindergarten program: Strategies that Work!, presented by Carolyn McMahon, is available on CDs with a comprehensive resource handbook at a cost of $99.00 plus $9.00 shipping and handling; for Wa State deliveries, please add 9.5% sales tax to the total amount. To order, call toll‑free 1‑800‑735‑3503 (Stock #A‑QMM‑1795) or use the order form on the back page.

Special Benefits of Attending

extensive Resource handbookEach participant will receive an extensive resource handbook specifically designed for this seminar. The handbook includes:

h• Original and traditional songs, music, chants, rhythms, and rhymes you can use immediately in your own classroom

h• Highly‑effective techniques to incorporate music and movement into teaching basic literacy skills

h• Irresistible strategies to engage your students in the power and joy of reading and writing

h• Highly practical ideas to make literacy instruction the most FUN part of the day – for you and your students!

Meet and ShareThis seminar provides an excellent opportunity for participants to meet and share ideas about teaching early literacy skills in their classrooms.

consultation AvailableConnie Wilkinson will be available at the seminar for consultation regarding the unique needs of your own literacy program.

Semester credit OptionOne graduate level elective credit is available with an additional fee and completion of a follow‑up practicum project. Details for direct enrollment with Brandman University, part of the Chapman University system, will be available at the seminar.

Meet Inservice RequirementsAt the end of the program, each attendee will receive a certificate of participation that may be used to verify hours of participation in meeting continuing education requirements.

Very useful ideas that can be used immediately in our classrooms! I loved the visual examples and hands‑on materials. Great job!”

− sharon o’toole, Pre‑K coordinator

Online learningBER offers educators a wide range of online courses that are affordable, fun, fast, and convenient. Now offering On Demand Video‑Based courses as well as Scheduled Instructor‑Led courses. You also may earn optional graduate‑level credits for most courses. See the catalog of available courses at www.ber.org/onlinelearning.

On‑Site TrainingMost BER seminars can be brought to your school or district. See the options at www.ber.org/onsite or call 877‑857‑8964 to speak to one of our On‑Site Training Consultants.

Engaging, Fun and Creative Strategies for Developing

Early Literacy Skills! (Preschool to Kindergarten)

RESouRCE HanDBooK

by Connie Wilkinson

Bureau of Education & Research

Program GuaranteeWe stand behind the high quality of our programs by providing the following unconditional guarantee: If you are not satisfied with this program, we’ll give you a 100% refund of your registration fee.

ReGISTeR ONlINe at: www.ber.org

PR E - R E g I S T R AT I O N R E Q U I R E D D U E TO L I M I T E D E N R O L L M E N T.

FO U R E A S Y WAYS TO R Eg I S TE R:

FAX this form to: 1‑425‑453‑1134

MAIl this form to: Bureau of Education & Research 915118thAvenueSE•POBox96068 Bellevue, WA 98009‑9668

PhONe toll‑free: 1‑800‑735‑3503 (Weekdays 6 a.m. ‑ 6 p.m. Pacific Time)

Program hoursAll seminars are scheduled 8:30 a.m. ‑ 3:15 p.m.Check‑in 8:00 a.m. ‑ 8:30 a.m.

FeeThe registration fee is $225 per person, $205 per person for groups of five or more registering at the same time. Call us at 1‑800‑735‑3503 for groups of ten or more. Payment is due prior to the program. No cash please. Fee includes seminar registration, morning coffee and tea, a personalized certificate of participation, and an extensive resource handbook.

cancellations/Substitutions100% of your paid registration fee will be refunded if you can’t attend and notify us at least 10 days before the seminar. Late cancellations can exchange for a certificate to attend another seminar or will be refunded less a $15 service fee. Substitutions may be made anytime without charge.

Further QuestionsCall the Bureau of Education & Research (800) 735‑3503 or visit us online at www.ber.org. The Bureau is North America’s leading presenter of seminar training for professional educators. Programs are based on sound research, are highly practical in content and consistently receive excellent evaluations.

Meeting Sites and hotel AccommodationsSeminars will be held at the following sites:

hh Anaheim: Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, (714) 535‑0300

hh Pasadena: Courtyard Marriott – Monrovia, (626) 357‑5211

hh Portland: Ambridge Event Center, (503) 239‑9921; hotel accommodations available at Courtyard Marriott‑Convention Center, (503) 234‑3200

hh Salt Lake City: Red Lion, (801) 521‑7373

If needed, please make your own hotel reservations by calling the appropriate hotel listed above.

Who Should AttendEarly Childhood/Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers, Instructional Assistants, and Administrators.

Possible Funding SourcesRace to the Top grants; Elementary and Secondary Education Act funds, including Title I School Improvement Grants; Title VI; Title VII; Restructuring grants; At‑Risk grants, Bilingual/ESL and Migrant Education funds; IDEA; Demonstration School Funds; Parent Teacher Organizations; and Inservice Training funds.

PLEASE DO NOT DETACH MAILING LABEL (Just make corrections as needed)

915 118th Avenue SE • PO Box 96068Bellevue, WA • 98009-9668 •

FOuR eASY WAYS TO ReGISTeR: PhONe toll‑free: 1‑800‑735‑3503 (M-F 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. PST)

FAX this form to: 1‑425‑453‑1134 MAIl this form to:

Bureau of Education & Research915118thAvenueSE•POBox96068Bellevue, WA 98009‑9668

ReGISTeR ONlINe at: www.ber.org

E-MAIL ADDRESS

HOME MAILING ADDRESS

CITY & STATE ZIP CODE

IMPORTANT: PRIORITY ID CODE Fill in the six digit number on the mail label next to the word “ID” (even if the brochure wasn’t addressed to you)

Registration confirmations are sent via e-mail. If you would like a confirmation, please provide your e-mail address.

SCHOOL NAME

SCHOOL MAILING ADDRESS

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SCHOOL PHONE NUMBER HOME PHONE NUMBER

( ) ( )

List additional registrants on a copy of this form

FIRST NAME M.I. LAST NAME

POSITION, SUBJECT TAUGHT GRADE LEVEL

SEMINAR LOCATION NUMBER: (Please see list above)

A check (payable to Bureau of Education & Research) is attached

A purchase order is attached, P.O. # (Be sure to include priority ID code on the P.O.)

Charge my: MasterCard VISA Discover

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/Please print name as it appears on card Signature (required for credit card purchases)

Registration (QAW4F1) 1. Anaheim, CA – November 13, 2013 2. Pasadena (Monrovia), CA – November 14, 2013 3. Portland, OR – November 15, 2013 4. Salt Lake City, UT – November 12, 2013

cAN’T ATTeNd? I’d like to order the CD version of the related seminar, 101 Mini‑lessons to Strengthen

your preschool or kindergarten program: Strategies that Work!, by Carolyn McMahon, $99.00 plus $9.00 shipping; for Wa State deliveries, please add 9.5% sales tax to the total amount (Stock #A‑QMM‑1795).

© 2013 Bureau of Education & Research. All rights reserved. QAW4F1

MeThOd OF PAYMeNTThe registration fee is $225 per person,

$205 per person for groups of five or more registering at the same time. Payment is due prior to the program. No cash please.

IMPORTANT: PRIORITY ID CODE EQAW4F1

engaging, Fun and creative Strategies for developing early literacy Skills!

(Preschool to Kindergarten)

engaging, Fun and creative Strategies for developing early literacy Skills! (Preschool to Kindergarten)

A lively, Worthwhile day for

Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers with

connie Wilkinson!

QAW4F1