2017 Summer Conference
“The generosity of parent gifts to our professional development fund allowed four teachers to head to Boulder, Colorado for the 2017 Boulder Journey School Summer Conference, a 4-day workshop on Reggio Emilia Philosophy.” – Martina Albright, P.h.D., Director
Here is a quote from one of the Apple Orchard teachers who attended:
“Upon arriving at the school, you were surrounded by beautiful displays of children’s saved artwork and quiet resting places surrounded by nature and soft pillows. From the ceilings hung tree branches set up with curtains, artwork, or even pictures of children. There was a geo board made from doorknobs that they called the Knob Wall.” One of the most important take aways was how important it is for teachers to be learners and not know-it-alls. We need to observe children and see what they are truly interested in doing. I was proud to see that many of the activities they were saying were so good for the children are things that we do at Apple Orchard. One of the sessions was called, “Risky Dialogues.” We learned how important the difference between risk and hazard are when we are talking about activities for children. Risk is an activity in which the outcome is uncertain while hazard is a danger which is likely to cause harm. “Open-ended risky play empowers children and I feel proud that Apple Orchard does such a great job of letting children experiment with their own bodies.”
“I want to thank the Apple Orchard Teacher’s Trust for sending me to this conference. I left feeling excited and cannot wait to implement some of what I learned into my classroom. …What we do as teachers is so important and I feel lucky to be able to continue to learn new techniques and gain knowledge from so many interesting people from around the country.”
