Best Practices Inc. Consulting, Judy Harris Helm website, training, keynotes, resources for early childhood education, books by Judy Harris Helm


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Consultation & Professional Development for Early Childhood and Elementary Education


	Best practices in professional development Judy Harris Helm, Ed.D., President Incorporating best practices in professional development Research based Needs assessment and goal setting Professional development not just inservice training Support for change Time to reflect and collaborate Connected to child achievement More information on Dr. Helm is at the bottom of this page. About the Company Best Practices is a consulting and training company for early childhood and elementary schools begun by Dr. Judy Harris Helm. Services include school and program design, onsite observations; guided self-assessment of active, engaged learning; training in specific skills such as play intervention or project approach; early literacy, and implementation of authentic assessment systems. Workshops, keynote speeches and awareness presentations are also available. Best Practices Inc. has certification as a Women's Business Enterprise (WBE).Click here to go directly to workshops and keynotes. Click here to go directly to resources and materials selected by Judy Harris Helm Best Practices Inc. provides educational consultation on school design. Applications of Brain Research to Educational Environments Do you understand the implications of research on acoustics, color, and culture can shape your school design? Do you know how to acoustically enhanced environments to increase vocabulary and language development and contribute to better reading skills? Do you know how to design classrooms which reduce stress and behavioral problems? Do you understand the relationship between daylighting and reading comprehension scores? Do you think schools should feature primary colors or team colors? Do you know that choices of colors and patterns in your school can increase the probability that parents and the community will come to your school and contribute to your students education? As an educational consultant on your design project, Dr. Helm can serve as part of the architecture and design team or can work directly for the school to assure that your school or center provides the optimum environment for learning. Click here to request a call back about Best Practices Inc and your project. Best Practices Inc. is a certified WBE (Women's Business Enterprise). Time to Register for Open Door 2010 *"Open Door" A Day to Observe, Reflect and Implement* On Friday, May 7, 2010 Northminster Learning Center will once again host Open Door. This unique training allows educators from across the country to network, participate in small group seminars, and to observe children engaged in active learning. This year is especially exciting as we are focusing many of our sessions on our new adventure -- the addition of an Outdoor Explore classroom to our program! Click here to see more information about Open Door 2010. Click here to download a brochure Have your read these publications by Judy Harris Helm? Got Standards? Don't Give Up on Engaged Learning in the June issue of Young Children the journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. July 2008, pages 14-20. *Best Brains in Science Under Five: Helping Children Develop Intentionality* in the January February issue of Exchange Magazine pages 50 - 52. *Energize Your Professional Development by Connecting with a* *Purpose:* *Building Communities of Practice* in the June issue of Young Children the journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. pages 12 - 16. Read an excerpt from the article here. Breaking new ground: The evolution of the community school concept in one city. Helm, J., and Clark, D. In M. Cornish (Ed.), Promising practices for partnering with families in the early years: Family, school, community partnership, Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing, 2008. Free Documentation Display Templates Online Free templates for Microsoft Publisher to be used to create displays that show how real authentic learning is occuringin your classrooms are available by clicking here. Directions for using the templates are located in Building Support for Your School. Click here to order Building Support for Your School: How to Use Children's Work to Show Learning. What are you looking for? Click a topic to find workshops,keynotes or training on these topics General Topics on Assessment: Preschool, Kindergarten, Primary Grades Assessment System Training including Work Sampling System and Focused Portfolios Supporting Children and Families During Trama and Crises Understanding and Applying Brain Research and What We Know About Brain Development Integrated Teaching and Incorporating Standards The Project Approach Documenting Children's Learning For and About Parents and Parenting Supporting Language and Literacy Development in Preschool, Kindergarten and Primary Grades Inspirations from Schools of Reggio Emilia About Judy Harris Helm Judy Harris Helm, Ed.D., began her career teaching first grade then taught 4 year olds, directed, and designed early childhood programs and taught in teacher training programs. She served on the Task Force for the design of the Valeska Hinton Early Childhood Education Center eventually becoming Professional Development Coordinator for the school. For ten years she has been assisting early childhood and elementary schools in integrating research and new methods through her consulting and training company, Best Practices, Inc. Dr. Helm completed her graduate studies for both her M.A.T and Ed.D. at West Virginia University, College of Human Resources and Education . Teachers College Press, Columbia University, publishes her writing. She is co-author of Windows on Learning: Documenting Young Children?s Work and Teacher Materials for Documenting Children?s Work; co-author with Lilian Katz of Young Investigators: The Project Approach in the Early Years; co-editor of The Power of Projects: Meeting Contemporary Challenges in Early Childhood Classrooms, co-author of Teaching Your Child To Love Learning: A Guide to Projects at Home and the recently released Teaching Parents to Do Projects at Home: A Tool Kit for Parent Educators. Dr. Helm served as the primary design consultant for The Power of Documentation: Children's Learning Revealed Exhibit at Chicago Children's Museum which was funded by the McCormick Tribune Foundation. Her work has been translated into five languages and she provides consultation and training throughout the country and internationally. Dr. Helm is past state President of the Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children. Awards recently received include the Outstanding Service to Young Children Award from the Chicago Association for the Education of Young Children and the Peoria Woman in Leadership in Arts and Education Award from the Peoria YWCA. Dr. Helm serves on Illinois Director's Commission for the state of Illinois and the Quality Enhancement Committee for the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies. Best Practices Recommended Books and Resources CLICK HERE to go straight to Amazon.com Click a topic below to see resources, books, videos and websites recommended by Best Practices Books and videos by Judy Harris Helm Brain development and early childhood education The Project Approach Documenting children's learning The preschools of Reggio Emilia The general topic of early childhood education Children and Families in Crisis Early or emergent literacy resources Resources on standards in early childhood Assessment systems Resources for working with toddlers \| Foreword \| \| Return Home \| Our Philosophy \| What's New \| Services Resources \| Contact Us \| Download Page \|