2018 Literacy Learning Conference
Wednesday, July 18 and Thursday, July 19
Greenacres Arts Center
Featuring Eric Rohmann, Candace Fleming, Will Hillenbrand, Barbara Reid, Jonathan Juravich and Matt Glover
The Greenacres staff and Greenacres Artists Guild are teaming with nationally-recognized children's book makers, the Mazza Museum at The University of Findlay, and Kent State University to provide professional development opportunities for K-12 classroom teachers and visual arts educators.
This two-day event will deepen educators' knowledge and understanding of the arts, and help them build and strengthen children's artistic and visual literacy skills.
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Ashland graduate credits available; $175 per credit hour.
Learn techniques that will help you:
- grow a deeper, more profound knowledge of writing and the arts
- energize student writing and breathe new energy into the writing workshop
- develop decoding skills of visual images
- cultivate strategies for guiding children to create their own illustrations and storylines
Eric Rohmann
"I make books I want to see that haven’t been made yet. I have some experience with kids (I was one once and have the photos to prove it) but I’ve been blessed that once in a while kids appear to like my books. In the end I make books for kids because they are the best audience: children are curious, enthusiastic, impulsive, generous and pleased by simple joys. They laugh easily at the ridiculous and are willing to believe the absurd. Children are not ironic, disillusioned or indifferent, but hopeful, open-minded and openhearted, with a voracious hunger for pictures.
"So this is what I do now and hope to do for as long as I live.
"Now back to the studio — a little room where I make my books — a simple ordinary place that I hope to make extraordinary things. Strange how that sometimes happens. Maybe strange beginnings work out in the end."
Candace Fleming
"I have always been a storyteller. Even before I could write my name, I could tell a good tale. And I told them all the time. As a preschooler, I told my neighbors all about my three-legged cat named Spot. In Kindergarten, I told my classmates about the ghost that lived in my attic. And in first grade I told my teacher, Miss Harbart, all about my family's trip to Paris, France.
"I told such a good story that people always thought I was telling the truth. But I wasn't. I didn't have a three-legged cat or a ghost in my attic, and I'd certainly never been to Paris, France. I simply enjoyed telling a good story... and seeing my listener's reaction.
"Sure, some people might have said I was a seven-year-old fibber. But not my parents. Instead of calling my stories 'fibs' they called them 'imaginative.' They encouraged me to put my stories down on paper. I did. And amazingly, once I began writing, I couldn't stop. I filled notebook after notebook with stories, poems, plays. I still have many of those notebooks. They're precious to me because they are a record of my writing life from elementary school on."
Will Hillenbrand
"I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where my family owned a barbershop. During the summer I would walk to the shop and deliver my Dad’s hot lunch. Then I would take a break and listen to the conversations. Many customers told 'big fish' stories laced with humor and exaggeration. I enjoyed drawing those stories at the kitchen table when I returned home.
"Later I went to art school, and after taking a class in picture book art, I decided to try illustrating children’s literature.
"After more than 65 books, I still feel lucky to do what I love."
Awards received: Gold Medal and other awards from the Society of Illustrators; ALA Notable Book Award; IRA Children's Choice Awards; Best Children's Book of the Year (Bank Street College of Education); and, Parenting Best Books of the Year
Matt Glover
Matt Glover is a full time educational consultant and coauthor with Kathy Collins of I Am Reading. He is the author of the Heinemann title, Engaging Young Writers, coauthor with Mary Alice Berry of Projecting Possibilities for Writers, and coauthor with Katie Wood Ray of Already Ready and Watch Katie and Matt…Sit Down and Teach Up, a video enhanced ebook that combines video and text to examine conferring with young writers. A nationally known literacy consultant, Matt is a frequent presenter at conferences and in school districts on topics related to nurturing writers and supporting children’s intellectual growth and development. Matt has been an educator for over 20 years, including 12 years as the principal and instructional leader of Creekside Early Childhood School. Matt lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife and four children.
Barbara Reid
“I like your pictures. They look so sticky out.” Claire, grade one
Barbara Reid is the author and illustrator of more than a dozen award winning picture books, and the illustrator of over twenty five including The Party, The Subway Mouse, Perfect Snow and Picture a Tree. Awards for her unique plasticine artwork include the Governor General’s Award for Illustration, the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People. Her interpretation of The Night Before Christmas won the Libris Best Picture Book of the Year. Barbara’s work has been published around the world, and her original artwork is represented in the Osborne Collection, and the Toronto Public Library Foundation. In 2013 Barbara was appointed to the Order of Canada for her contributions to children’s literature and 2015 became the Honorary Chair of Family Literacy Day. Picture the Sky is her newest book.
Jonathan Juravich
Inviting a box turtle to help teach art along with nature conservation is one of many novel strategies Jonathan Juravich employs at Liberty Tree Elementary School in Powell, Ohio to get children excited about learning.
“Jon Juravich is a one-of-a-kind teacher who inspires young children to see the world in a new light, color or shape,” said Liberty Tree Principal Terri Caton. “His enthusiasm and passion for teaching, as well as the arts, engages young minds and allows them to open themselves up to something new and exciting.”
Juravich conducts several annual outreach programs at Olentangy Local Schools and throughout central Ohio that showcase student artwork and get families involved with their children’s education. He develops art programs for the Columbus Zoo and Columbus Arts Festival, and he serves as a leader in the Ohio Art Education Association.
Juravich was honored with the Ohio Teacher of the Year award in 2017.
Juravich received a bachelor’s degree from Otterbein University and a master’s degree from the Art Academy of Cincinnati.