Your Name and Title: Heidi Echternacht, Kindergarten Teacher
School or Organization Name: #Kinderchat
Co-Presenter Name(s): Amy Murray, Matt Gomez, Mardelle Sauerborn
Area of the World from Which You Will Present: NJ, Calgary, Texas, BC, Canada
Language in Which You Will Present: English, French
Target Audience(s): Teachers of Young Children, Administration
Short Session Description (one line):
#Kinderchat is an International Network of Early Childhood Educators who regularly discuss learning and teaching Young Children.
Full Session Description (as long as you would like):
Our session will outline the journey we have gone through as a community, the foundations. organization and relationships of the group and the eventual formation of the projects among classrooms. These projects include:
Kindergarten Around the World (Amy Murray)
- In its 2nd year, Kindergarten Around the World is a smashing success! Featured in the Toronto Star, Amy's Project connects Kindergarten classrooms globally. A self described "Yenta Santa" Amy matches Early Childhood classrooms and has them create a character to introduce, teach and share their classroom with their partner class.
The Play Project (Heidi Echternacht, Mardelle Sauerborn)
- In its 1st year, the Play Project is an invitation for International Early Childhood classrooms to play together in an informal, dynamic way. This Project unifies various collaborative spaces under one roof with Head Teachers creating "Play Spaces" for International classrooms. The Play Project launches in early November.
Networked Gaming
- Still in its early stages, Matt Gomez has been collecting and curating games for Early Childhood classrooms.
Facebook Family Forum (Matt Gomez)
- Now shut down by Administration due to its success, Matt created a Facebook Family Forum where he could give snapshots into his students day to his parent body. Matt worked tirelessly on this project and was extremely successful in the integration into his classroom. Kinderchat is still working to create an ongoing, dynamic place to interact with Parents of Young Children.
Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:
Blog: Kinderchat
Projects: Kindergarten Around the World (2nd year project) The Play Project (1st year- launches Nov) Facebook Family Forum, Symbaloo Networked Games
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