See you TOMORROW at the Early Childhood Summit, from 2-6 p.m., in Worcester, Mass.
Click here to learn more and register.
It’s time for the Babies and Toddler Conference! Be sure to sign up.
Sponsored by the Greater Boston Early Educators Network (GBEEN) in collaboration with Roxbury Community College, the conference is a great chance to learn more about early childhood development, network with colleagues, and be inspired by great speakers and workshop leaders.
The conference is Saturday, November 1, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Roxbury Community College. The fee is $75 for individuals and $65 each for groups of four. Some scholarships are available. You can learn more here and register here. We blogged about last year’s conference here.
The conference’s keynote speaker is Anthony Toombs, Sr., a Founding Member and Growth and Expansion Strategist of The Life is Good Playmaker Project, which helps kids heal from childhood traumas.
“I’m super excited about Anthony being our keynote speaker because we need to be uplifted right now,” Gloria Valentin says. She’s president of GBEEN’s board and a Family Child Care-Success Partner at Ellis Early Learning as well as an alum of Strategies for Children’s Advocacy Network for Early Childhood. “People feel anxious these days, and they are being pulled in so many different directions. We need someone who’s going to pump us up to take the next steps, and Anthony is the perfect person for that.”
The conference’s morning and afternoon workshops include:
- “Let’s have fun reading to babies – The fundamentals of pre-literacy for infants and toddlers!” led by Rosemary Montero Hernandez
- “Teaching Emotional Intelligence: The Power of Feelings in Early Childhood Education,” led by Becca Leibowitz Taber
- “Piecitos pequeños, Caminos grandes: Cuidado Informado por el Trauma para la Primera Infancia en Contextos de Desplazamiento y Migración,” led by Priscilla Rodriguez
- “STEAM Adventures for Infants and Toddlers,” led by Rita Rzezuski, and
- “Move and Groove with Babies and Toddlers to Promote Growth, Joy and Skill Development,” led by Anna Adler
The conference will also feature vendors as well as Children’s book author Ellen Mayer. Mayer’s publisher Star Bright Books will be there. Star Bright publishes books for infants and toddlers in multiple languages. Staff from the Boston Children’s Museum staff will be doing interactive activities with conference participants. And in addition to providing space for the conference, Roxbury Community College will also be handing out gift bags to participants.
Valentin says it’s vital to host in-person professional development opportunities, especially because so much was done online during the pandemic, so GBEEN is planning more events. One example, GBEEN hosted a mini STEM conference that will be expanded and offered again.
“In-person events help people connect,” Valentin adds. “Educators can engage in hands-on learning opportunities. And we also want to acknowledge that educators should have time to reflect on what they’re getting out of workshops, and they should have time to share these reflections with each other.”
Valentin says GBEEN is exploring the idea of hosting follow-up webinars to help educators translate what they’ve learned into action in their programs.
“We don’t want the conference to be a one-time thing,” Valentin says. “We want it to help educators grow.”