Sessions & Strands | SOAR 2027 ECE Conference Jeddah

Browse all SOAR 2027 sessions across three strands: Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Innovation in ECE and Early Childhood Leadership. Workshops, keynotes and showcases.

SOAR 2027 — AISJ Early Childhood Education Conference takes place on Saturday, April 17, 2027 at the American International School of Jeddah (AISJ), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 600+ early childhood educators, 40+ practitioner-led sessions. Previously planned for April 16–17, 2026.

Sessions

• The importance of conscious conversation in Early Years and oracy integration into curriculum — Basma Serafi (curriculum)

  Drawing on Jean Gross’s insights into the power of Oral Language this session high lights how intentional high quality conversation shapes early learning and inclusion . We will identify how to strengthen vocabulary, comprehension and the confidence of Early years learners, particularly those with English as an addition language. We will examine strategies such as inclusive questioning, modelling,

• Thinking and Talking Through Play — Carine Husseinovitch (wellbeing)

  This interactive session explores how playful, hands-on experiences help young children (ages 2–6) develop logic, reasoning, and language skills. Participants will engage in child-led activities such as sorting, predicting, storytelling, and problem-solving while practicing strategies to scaffold thinking, model vocabulary, and encourage verbal expression.

• Little Learners, Big Magic: Bringing Early Learning Classroom to Life with AI — Nancy Nasser (technology)

  What if your classroom objects could talk, your students’ drawings could dance, and children’s wild ideas could instantly turn into stories they can see and hear? This hands-on session shows educators how to use simple, accessible AI tools to boost engagement, movement, imagination, and listening skills in the classroom. Through live demos and audience participation, educators will see how AI can

• Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Development in Early Childhood: What Every Parent Needs to Know — Afia Khalaf Almkhzome (development)

  This session explores how cognitive and socio-emotional development are closely connected in early childhood. Parents and early childhood educators will gain a clear understanding of how children’s thinking, emotional regulation, and social relationships develop together, and how everyday interactions at home and in preschool settings shape learning and behavior. The session bridges developmenta

• Bridging Standards and Practice: Quality Self-Assessment as a Leadership Tool — Stephanie Olmore (leadership)

  This workshop introduces quality self-assessment as a practical leadership strategy. Quality improvement is a core leadership responsibility, whether you lead a classroom or a program. Participants will explore key quality dimensions including learning environments, interactions, curriculum, and family engagement as the bridge between standards and children's daily experiences. Through guided refl

• The Role of School Counselors in Reducing Educational Inequality in Early Childhood Settings — Ghada Assaad (inclusion)

  Educational inequality often begins before formal schooling due to socioeconomic, familial, and linguistic factors. This presentation examines the role of school counselors in early childhood education (ECE) in reducing inequality through early identification, family–school collaboration, advocacy, and inclusive practices. Grounded in ecological and social justice frameworks, it emphasizes prevent

• AI in Early Childhood: What Leaders Must Do Now — and What the Next 20 Years Will Demand — samia kazi (innovation)

  Artificial Intelligence is no longer experimental; it is shaping how schools operate and how children will learn and live. For early childhood leaders, AI is a strategic decision, not a tech trend. This session delivers a practical roadmap to implement AI now—improving efficiency, quality, and competitiveness—while protecting developmental integrity. It also examines what early childhood must prep

• From Brain Science to Classroom Practice: Applying Neuroplasticity Principles in Early Childhood Settings — Nawal Kabbani (dap)

  This workshop explores how neuroplasticity principles can be applied in early childhood classrooms to increase engagement and enhance learning. Participants will learn how brain-based strategies support language, communication, and inclusive learning through meaningful, everyday classroom practices.

• Trust by Design: Early Years Technology, Data Protection, and Responsible AI Awareness — Toluwalogo Daramola (innovation)

  The session centers on digital safety, screen time balance, and shared responsibility, in alignment with Saudi Data Protection law and early childhood best practices. Participants will explore how everyday classroom decisions, such as documentation, screen use, communication tools, and digital workflows, shape children’s long-term relationships with technology, privacy, and learning.

• Game On or Game Over? OT, Early Childhood, and changing the narrative of Video Games — Matthew Day (innovation)

  Video games are here to stay. This session reframes gaming through an occupational therapy lens, exploring how digital play can intentionally support regulation, motor skills, executive function, and social engagement. Rather than avoiding screens, participants will learn how to leverage technology to supplement development and shape meaningful outcomes.

• Safeguarding children — Ejalal Kmik Jalal (leadership)

  This workshop explores child safeguarding as a core leadership and governance responsibility within educational institutions. Moving beyond compliance, it positions safeguarding as a strategic quality indicator that strengthens institutional credibility, regulatory alignment, and public trust.

• Connection Before Correction: Guiding Behavior in Early Childhood — Sinae VanHaastert (wellbeing)

  How prioritizing trust, emotional safety, and co-regulation creates early learning environments that support children’s development. Intentional shifts in tone and presence strengthen agency and emotional growth. When connection is centered, behavior is understood as communication, enabling educators and parents to address underlying needs and transform challenges into meaningful learning opportun

• When Leaders Build Teams, Classrooms Thrive — Sihui Qian (leadership)

  This session explores how intentional leadership investment in teams shapes school culture, classroom environments, and children’s experiences. Drawing on real early childhood leadership practice, participants will examine how leadership presence, trust, and shared vision influence teacher growth and classroom practice. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to strengthen team culture, sup

• The Digital Atelier: Merging Natural Inquiry with Modern Tools — Allison Fuller-Mulloy (innovation)

  Can technology be as organic as clay or a charcoal pencil? In this session, we re-envision digital tools as "Digital Loose Parts," materials that complement and enhance natural inquiry. Learn to design a "Self-Documenting Classroom" where children independently use lenses and audio to capture their own ideas and theories. Discover how to beautifully merge analog play with digital tools to make lea

• “Beyond the Book: Developmentally Appropriate Children’s Literature as a Bridge to Play and Inquiry” — Bushra Mourad (curriculum)

  This workshop explores how developmentally appropriate children’s literature can be a powerful starting point for play-based, inquiry-driven, and transdisciplinary learning in early childhood classrooms. Participants will discover how thoughtfully chosen stories can naturally spark curiosity, invite questioning, and extend learning across literacy, math, science, social studies, and social-emotion

• Safe to Learn, Safe to Lead — Elizabeth DenHartigh (leadership)

  This session engages Early Years leaders on psychological safety—the foundation for a collaborative staff community. We explore practical strategies: clear protocols for voice/accountability and purposeful communication to recognize efforts. By creating this safe climate, leaders empower staff to feel "Safe to Learn" and "Safe to Lead," driving superior educational outcomes and organizational grow

• Secrets of responsible children — Rafah Alshareef (dap)

  In this session, we will explore how to raise a responsible child with confidence and love—without yelling or control. We will discover practical steps to nurture accountability, encourage independence, and build a strong personality capable of making decisions. A session full of realistic ideas that can be applied immediately at home.

• "Actions Speak Louder Than Words" Listening to the Whole Child Through Brain, Body, and Being. (Mapping the Way Forward in Early Childhood Education) — Aneeqa Du Toit (development)

  Inspired by the belief that actions speak louder than words, this keynote invites the audience to truly listen to the whole child. Through movement, body language, and play, children reveal who they are and what they need. Participants will leave empowered with practical strategies to nurture whole-brain development, recognise early signs of need, and teach with purpose, compassion, and vision ali

• The Journey of Establishing a Successful Early Childhood Center — Sahar Saad Alammar (leadership)

  The Journey of Establishing a Successful Early Childhood Center It is the process of planning and creating a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment for young children. It includes setting a clear vision, preparing an appropriate learning space, choosing a suitable curriculum, hiring qualified staff, building strong partnerships with families, and ensuring continuous improvement to provide h

• Seeing the Able beyond the Label — Emily Alkashkary (inclusion)

  Seeing the Able Beyond the Label is a reflective and practical session that challenges educators to look past diagnoses and behaviors to understand the whole child. Through real case studies and simple, sustainable strategies, this workshop highlights how small mindset shifts can transform inclusion, strengthen teacher confidence, and create classrooms where every scholar feels seen, valued, and t

• Abstract: Building Inclusive Workplaces – A Lifelong Approach to Neurodiversity — Uzma Akser (leadership)

  This session examines neurodiversity as a lifelong continuum, emphasizing the importance of sustained, holistic support from education through to employment. It explores how developing executive functioning skills enhances learning, independence, and workplace preparedness, and draws on evidence from coaching initiatives and inclusive corporate practices to illustrate how coordinated efforts and e

• From Chaos to Calm: Integrating Wellness into Classroom Management — Alison Drury (dap)

  Discover how to transform classroom transitions and behavior challenges into moments of mindfulness and growth. In this hands-on session, educators will learn creative ways to help students regroup and self-regulate through gratitude, affirmations, movement, breathing, and sensory experiences. Walk away with a toolkit of wellness-infused strategies that nurture both teacher and student well-being.

• Future Readiness and Curriculum Design, Shaping Tomorrow in Early Childhood Education — Michelle Bugby (innovation)

  Challenging traditional views of Future Readiness, this session positions it within the Global Childhood Curriculum as a catalyst for bold curriculum design in early childhood education. Rather than preparing children for predetermined futures, participants explore how curriculum can empower children to shape what comes next through creative design experiences that foreground inquiry, STEAM thinki

• Small Movements, Big Impact: Supporting Early Motor Development Through Play — Gewiria Fadl (dap)

  This interactive session helps educators and parents learn how to observe children’s movement through a physical therapy lens. Participants will explore early signs of motor challenges, watch real-life movement examples, and engage in play-based strategies that support strength, balance, coordination, and participation in daily routines.

• Leading for Impact: The Invisible Work That Shapes Children’s Lives — Juliana Sawaya (leadership)

  This session explores leadership in early childhood education as a responsibility that goes beyond management to shaping the emotional, professional, and relational conditions of daily practice. It examines how leadership influences educator wellbeing, team culture, and family partnerships, and how these factors affect children’s experiences.

• Wonder, Wiggle, and Welcome: Morning Meetings that Create Connection and Community — Chelle Jones (curriculum)

  Morning message and circle time are powerful daily routines that shape learning, belonging, and engagement in early childhood classrooms. When designed with intention, these moments support social-emotional development, language growth, inquiry, and executive functioning. In this session, participants will explore hands-on strategies, examine real classroom examples, and collaborate to design mean

• Beyond Rewards & Punishments: Building Cooperation through Connection — Colleen Steigerwald (family)

  Beyond Rewards & Punishment shifts discipline from control to connection, building mutual respect. Traditional methods often gain temporary compliance but fail to teach values. We examine behavior through neuroscience: "misbehavior" is often a dysregulated nervous system. Since children cannot learn without safety, our role is co-regulation, not forced obedience. Learn practical tools like the Pea

• Beyond EYFS. Building a Global Early Years Curriculum for Today’s Children — Kathryn Peckham (curriculum)

  This session introduces the Global Childhood Academy Early Years Curriculum, a future-focused framework inspired by EYFS but redesigned for today’s global world. Participants will gain practical ways to embed children’s inborn strengths, cultural identity and meaningful learning into everyday practice.

• The importance of Social Perception in the classroom — Nancy Gudino (dap)

  Ultimately, social perceptiveness is not just an interpersonal skill; it is a core component of effective kindergarten teaching. It enables teachers to respond thoughtfully rather than reactively, nurture children’s emotional well-being, and create a classroom climate where students feel seen, heard, and respected. In such an environment, children are more likely to thrive academically, socially,

• “The First Stories We Tell: Weaving Identity and Culture into Early Childhood” — Fatima Vohra (leadership)

  The early years are where identity begins to take shape. Children absorb powerful messages about belonging, difference, and value long before they can name them. This keynote explores how early childhood settings can nurture strong identities and embed culture and diversity into everyday practice. Through practical strategies and reflection, educators will learn to create inclusive environments wh

• The Inquiry Architect: Designing English Literacy through Finnish & Montessori Frameworks — Eman Mohammed (leadership)

  Introduces early childhood Edu. to innovative, inquiry-based approaches to promoting literacy, drawing on Finnish & Montessori FW. Emphasizes active participation through hands-on activities & collaborative design of literacy stations. Assess classroom environments, create effective inquiry stations & apply V.thinking routines for Y.L. Aims to equip practical strategies, reflective practices & blu