Bi-Stone Child Care Conference Sept. 27

By Paula Butler

September 20, 2008 07:40 pm

— In the fall of 1998, an idea was born and a committee formed which began as the annual Child Care Conference. It started with Extension in Limestone and Leon Counties together with the First Methodist Preschool in Mexia to provide educational programs for child care providers and directors. That first conference had 48 participants.
After a few years and some personnel changes, Freestone County Extension came on board with Limestone and the conference was renamed Bi-Stone Child Care Conference. First held once a year at First United Methodist Church in Mexia, the committee decided to offer the conference twice a year with a spring meeting in Fairfield and the fall in Mexia. Navarro County Extension joined the committee in 2006. Attendance now averages over 100 participants at each conference.
Celebrating 10 years of child care education in Central Texas, the Bi-Stone Child Care Conference will be held in Mexia on Sept. 27at the First United Methodist Church on North Kaufman. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. and conclude at 1p.m. with evaluations and certificates including five hours in-service training credits. The $25 non-refundable registration fee per person should be postmarked by Sept. 22 and includes snacks and resource materials. Registration postmarked after Sept. 22, or at the door, will be $35.
The conference will feature emergency plans for daycare centers presented by Matt Groveton, Limestone County Emergency Management Coordinator, poison control with Carolyn Insall from the Central Texas Poison Control Center and child passenger safety demonstrated by Paula Butler with the Texas AgriLIfe Extension Service, Navarro County. Sonia Reed with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services will lead a director’s session with updates on licensing and regulations, and the FRED program will be introduced by Colleen Longbotham from the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Limestone County.
Dr. Rick Peterson, Assistant Professor & Extension Parenting Specialist with Texas AgriLife Extension Service, will present the keynote with a presentation on Children with Challenging Behaviors.
To register or for more information on the Bi-Stone Child Care Conference, contact Colleen Longbotham at the Limestone County Extension office at (254) 729-5314 or Paula Butler at the Navarro County Extension office at (903) 654-3075.
We seek to provide reasonable accommodations for all individuals with disabilities for this program. Please contact the Limestone County Extension Office at (254) 729-5314 no later than September 23, 2008.
Educational programs of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age, or national origin. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating.