Annual Conference Keynoter:

Dr. Thomas Moore

Bio: Dr. Thomas Moore is nationally recognized as an early childhood consultant, author and children’s recording artist. From a keynote address to 1200 k-12 teachers at Harvard University, to a study tour of child care in China, to teacher-training workshops in Nigeria, St. Croix and Germany, to a solo voice recital at Carnegie Recital Hall, Dr. Moore creates learning experiences that educate and encourage those who teach young children. 

Moore earned a Bachelor of Music from Manhattan School of Music, a Master of Education and a Ph.D. in Elementary Education with specialization in early childhood from Indiana State University. After graduating, he worked as Assistant Professor of early childhood education at the University of Southern Mississippi, Associate Professor of child and family studies at Georgia Southern University and coordinator of the North Carolina Head Start Collaboration Project. 

He is co-author of Where is Thumbkin?, Do Your Know the Muffin Man? Cow Jumped Over the Moon, three resource books for teachers. He is also a contributing author Wright Group/ McGraw-Hill curriculum, DLM Early Childhood Express and author of the Music Movement and More, a literacy program. He is a former columnist for Children and Families, the official magazine of the National Head Start Association. Moore has written articles for Young Children, Early Childhood Today, and Child Care Information Exchange and was quoted in Parents Magazine, Dallas Morning News and New York Daily News. Our speaker has also written cover story articles for Early Childhood Today and Parent and Child magazines and is a former community columnist for the Charlotte Observer newspaper. Copies of his articles can be downloaded on www.drthomasmoore.com. 

Dr. Moore has produced nine educational recordings and a DVD. These recordings are used in early childhood classrooms throughout the world. Some of his most requested songs are “Humpty Dumpty Dumpty”, “I Am Special”, “Rock ‘n Roll Patacake”, and “Dream for Children”. His newly released DVD, “Come Sing and Dance with Us” includes dance movements of some of your favorite children’s songs.

His honors and awards include:

• Charlotte JC’s Young Man of the Year
• Charlotte NAACP Humanitarian Award 
• Indiana State University Distinguished Alumni Award 
• Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award (North Carolina’s most distinguished civilian award). 

However, his most prized honor is the “Angel Among Us” award, presented by Mrs. Fullagar’s K-2 class in Laurinburg, North Carolina.

Keynote title: Celebrating What We Learn from the Children We Teach

Keynote description: This speech is designed to encourage participants to observe and reflect on their observations of children.   Through stories, songs and creative movement, we will laugh, dance and sing about what we learn as we observe children.  Then we will put the pieces together.  As we reflect, we make connections between our observations, and children’s development of literacy, math, science and social skills.

Session title: Integrating The Curriculum With Music, Movement and Problem Solving

Session description: This presentation is structured to increase the integration and quality of music throughout the early childhood curriculum. The musical activities presented are practical and designed specifically to encourage teacher’s creativity, share the ways that musical experiences enhance children’s total development and enhance teacher’s knowledge of appropriate uses of music. The participants will be introduced to ways that creativity aids teachers in providing musical experiences that are age and individually appropriate. Activities in this workshop are designed to encourage participants to respect diversity and based on child development principles. This participatory workshop is designed to demonstrate appropriate uses of music throughout the day and to promote the use of music as an aid to social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.