Are you a child care provider, caregiver, or early childhood educator? Join us for a dynamic, in-person learning experience designed just for you!
This free, full-day summit features a keynote by renowned author and early childhood expert Dr. Angela Searcy.
You’ll leave with:
Space is limited — reserve your spot today!
Meet Our Keynote Speaker: Dr. Angela SearcyDr. Angela Searcy (she/her) brings more than three decades of experience in education, child development, and mental health to her work. She is the author of
Dr. Searcy a sought-after speaker, educator, and media contributor, featured on WGN, WTTW, and Chicago Public Radio. Her work blends neuroscience, equity, and practical classroom wisdom to help educators thrive. She holds a master’s degree from Erikson Institute with a specialization in infant studies and a doctorate in education with a specialization in assessment and response to intervention. Additionally, Dr. Searcy is a current candidate in the Master of Jurisprudence in Child Law and Policy at Loyola University Chicago.
You don’t want to miss this event! Remember, space is limited. Register today.
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is critical for school readiness but is often overlooked. This interactive workshop explains how all behavior is communication. It will support parents and child care providers in identifying the emotions behind behaviors while providing tools to implement with young children to build their capacity for emotional regulation … and calm adults too!
We are sensory beings. Sensory input is a powerful stimulus for emotions and behaviors – both positive and negative. Understanding this is the key to self-regulation for children as well as adults. We can diffuse and shift big feelings and negative behaviors by increasing self-regulation skills through sensory play and activities.
When kids “act out,” they’re often communicating what they don’t yet have words for. This session explores how trauma and stress show up in play, and how adults can use play to co-regulate, support healing, and restore safety. We’ll unpack practical tools for recognizing stress behaviors, adapting play environments for nervous-system support, and using open-ended materials to guide children toward connection, self-trust and resilience.
Children build identity and self-worth when they can pretend, imagine and be fully themselves. This session explores how dramatic and imaginative play nurtures emotional confidence, empathy and peer connection, especially for neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, and culturally diverse children. We’ll discuss how to support healthy identity development through play, address bias without shame, and make room for children to explore who they are in a safe and affirming way.
Rediscover the joy of play while exploring how adult presence, curiosity, and connection shape children’s social-emotional growth. This interactive session invites providers and parents to play, reflect, and reimagine playful interactions as powerful tools for co-regulation, relationship-building, and emotional safety—from the inside out.
Redescubre la alegría del juego mientras exploramos cómo la presencia, la curiosidad y la conexión del adulto influyen en el desarrollo socioemocional de los niños. Esta sesión interactiva invita a proveedores y familias a jugar, reflexionar y reimaginar el juego como una herramienta poderosa de co-regulación, vínculo y seguridad emocional desde adentro hacia afuera.
This interactive session invites parents and child care providers to explore the transformative power of self care as a tool for racial healing and collective liberation. Together, we will examine how radical self care can support personal well-being, strengthen relationships with children, and foster healthier, more equitable communities. Participants will leave with practical strategies to integrate restorative and culturally grounded self-care into both their home and caregiving environments.
The FLIP IT strategy is an effective four-step process for addressing challenging moments with young children, and it can be used to address additional challenges you experience with yourself and with other adults. The four steps are embodied in the FLIP mnemonic, which stands for F-Feelings, L-Limits, I-Inquiries, and P-Prompts. No matter what kind of challenge you are facing, these four supportive steps can help you identify underlying feelings, establish healthy limits, explore alternate solutions, and gain healthy coping skills. FLIP IT can become your go-to strategy for creating healthy coping habits with young children, yourself, and with other adults during challenging moments.
IAFC’s community engagement team invites early care and education leaders to participate in this advocacy learning opportunity. This training will further develop grassroots organizing and advocacy skills, confidence, and leadership of early care and education advocates to create change through public policy and community organizing. During this two-hour training, providers will learn more about organizing, advocacy, and how to influence public policy for change. Participants will also increase their knowledge of the early childhood field.
El Equipo de Participación Comunitaria de Illinois Action for Children invita a los líderes de educación y cuidado infantil a participar en esta oportunidad de aprendizaje de abogacía. Esta capacitación desarrollará aún más las habilidades de organización y abogacía, la confianza y el liderazgo de los defensores de cuidado y la educación de primera infancia para generar cambios a través de políticas públicas y organización comunitaria. Durante esta capacitación de dos horas, los proveedores aprenderán más sobre organización, abogacía y cómo influir en las políticas públicas para el cambio. Los participantes también aumentarán su conocimiento sobre el campo de la primera infancia.
In this engaging and energizing one-hour keynote, Dr. Angela Searcy explores how play and imagination are not just tools for childhood joy—they are essential pathways to emotional regulation, social connection, and lifelong learning. Rooted in the latest research and grounded in real-world classroom experience, this keynote highlights how playful practices can build emotional intelligence, foster creativity, and strengthen relationships among children and educators alike. Participants will leave inspired with fresh insights and practical strategies to create emotionally responsive learning environments where imagination thrives and every child feels seen, heard, and supported.
