Rankin Childcare Directors Association

🚗 Register for the 73rd Imagine Conference!

Join the Mississippi Early Childhood Association (MsECA) for the 73rd Imagine Conference – Rockin’ Road Rally on October 8–9, 2026 at The Mill in Starkville, MS.

🎟️ Registration Rates

Early Bird Registration: $125.00
Available through July 31, 2026

Regular Registration: $150.00
Begins August 1, 2026

Student Registration: $40.00
(Valid student ID required)

✨ What to Expect

Engaging workshops and sessions

Networking opportunities with professionals across Mississippi

Commercial and non-commercial vendors

Resources, tools, and inspiration for early childhood professionals

🔗 Register Today

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/73rd-imagine-conference

Please note: Zeffy may automatically suggest an optional contribution to support their platform. This fee is optional and may be adjusted to $0 before checkout.

📞 Questions?

April May
📱 601.832.2707
📧 [email protected]

Start Your Engines!! You do not want to miss this ride. Keep your eyes on the road. Registration information is headed your way!

YOU CAN JOIN US, BUT ONLY IF YOU'RE GOOD???

Dear Educators,

When you have “end of year”, “end of semester” or “end of testing” parties, and base participation in those events on “good behavior”, you’re making some children feel TERRIBLE and alienating them in the process.

Your students want to do well. ALL KIDS WANT TO DO WELL! The students who were “bad” were having a hard time meeting your expectations. They were trying their best. You may not BELIEVE it, but they were. It doesn’t do a teacher, a school administrator or anyone ANY good to think a child is being bad for the sake of being bad, or to seek negative attention, or any other judgement we may have. They need your help. They need to feel safe with you and they need to know you will help them, and you’re threatening that relationship and their feeling of safety by excluding them. It may be an unintended consequence, but it’s true.

When you don’t let kids participate:
You’re telling them they don’t belong.
You’re telling them you can’t be with your friends, that you’re not one of us.
You’re telling them you only love the kids with “good behavior”, and they are NOT one of those kids.

Since the overwhelming majority of behavior in young children is stress behavior and not volitional, you are telling children that, even though their behavior was because of stress, a learning difficulty, emotional regulation challenges , sensory overwhelm, or a thousand other “invisible” reasons that you may not know about, they can’t make it right. You’re wielding your power and making them feel helpless, embarrassed and sad.

And if you think that will improve behavior, you’re wrong. Neuroscience says you’re wrong.

Please stop making kids who are struggling sad. They need your help, not your punishment.

Am I saying that the child who didn’t have “good behavior” should be allowed to participate in all the events, and field trips, and recess, without ANY punishment?

That’s exactly what I’m saying!

Let them participate and help them when they’re having a hard time.

They need our compassion.
They need to feel included.
They NEED to participate.

If you need support finding alternatives, this page is filled with them! We’re here to help!
Greg Santucci, Occupational Therapist
Founding Director, Power Play Pediatric Therapy
www.gregsantucci.com

🧠 Note:
This isn’t about blaming people for their struggles. It’s about recognizing how vital emotional education is—for everyone. Teaching regulation isn’t a luxury or a “soft skill.” It’s prevention, healing, and survival.

Imagine a world where we learned how to name our feelings, sit with discomfort, and communicate without shutting down or lashing out. That world starts in the classroom, at home, and in us.

Let’s raise emotionally safe humans—not just smart ones.



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