Beyond “Just”: Rediscover Your Everyday Magic
Join early childhood specialist and advocate Rachel Giannini for the 2027 Early Childhood Educators Conference — a day of inspiration, creativity and practical learning. Rediscover the impact of your everyday interactions, explore budget-friendly ways to encourage classroom creativity and learn how thoughtful questions can bring books to life and deepen children’s thinking. Through engaging discussions and interactive activities, you’ll leave with fresh ideas to use right away and a renewed appreciation for the meaningful work you do.
Registration opens Dec. 1, 2026.
Agenda
8–8:30 a.m. — Registration and Networking
Check in and connect with other early childhood educators before the keynote begins.
8:30–9:30 a.m. — Keynote: “Just”
In this engaging and reflective workshop, you’re invited to rethink the language you use to describe your role. In the life of a child and their family, you are never just one thing — you are everything. Together, we’ll explore how everyday moments — often overlooked or minimized — are actually filled with meaning, connection and opportunity.
Through guided reflection, discussion and real-world examples, you’ll unpack the depth and impact of the work you do each day. This workshop creates space to recognize the magic in the mundane, helping you reframe routine interactions as powerful teachable moments.
9:40–10:55 a.m. — Reading with Children
In this engaging and thought-provoking workshop, you’ll explore the art of asking higher-order thinking questions to deepen literacy experiences. Moving beyond basic recall, you’ll learn how intentional questioning can spark curiosity, extend conversations and build stronger comprehension skills.
Through a series of interactive demonstrations and real classroom scenarios, you’ll gain practical strategies you can put to use immediately. This session bridges theory and practice, showing how small shifts in language can lead to big impacts in children’s thinking and engagement.
11:05 a.m.–12:20 p.m. — Fostering Creativity Without Breaking the Bank
In this high-energy, practical workshop, you’ll learn creative tips and tricks to enhance your classroom environment — without spending your own money. Together, we’ll rethink materials, reimagine spaces and uncover resourceful ways to elevate learning using what you already have.
As a group, we’ll dive into three different classroom explorations, breaking down the real cost behind each one and exploring budget-friendly alternatives that still deliver high-quality experiences for children.
12:20–12:30 p.m. — Wrap-Up and Door Prizes
We’ll close out the morning together and draw door prize winners.
Meet Our Presenter: Rachel Giannini
Rachel Giannini is a childhood specialist, an early childhood advocate and a video blog host. She currently splits her time as a public speaker, early childhood commentator, curriculum designer and the star of Spy School on Hellosaurus.
Rachel believes in the power of play, getting dirty, climbing trees, stargazing, pretending and the idea that learning is magical.
Rachel’s writing, expertise and videos have appeared in Vox, The New York Times, Too Small to Fail, HuffPost, Child Care Exchange and Chicago Parent. In addition, Rachel has a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Museum Education from the University of Illinois and is a volunteer hospital magician for Open Heart Magic.
Our Partner
This conference is hosted in partnership with Childcaring.
