child life conference

CLC2017

It’s almost time again for the national Child Life Conference and this year it’s in Las Vegas, Nevada! To see the (super exciting) program for conference click here. I still haven’t decided if I’m going to be attending this year’s conference, but if I don’t, the Association of Child Life Professionals has a wonderful backup plan for those that can’t make it all the way to Vegas this May. After you register for the conference, for $50 more you can purchase the “All Access Pass”. With this pass, you are able to watch all of the sessions that were at the conference and receive professional development units (PDU’s) for them! I purchased the “All Access Pass” for last year’s conference (which I was able to attend in person) and I HIGHLY recommend it. You have 1 year before the sessions expire and you can watch them all on your own time at your own speed. Now if we can just get them to mail us our complimentary tote bags and SWAG from all of the exhibitors we’ll be all set!

Whether you’re planning on attending or not, here are some conference tips:

Students: If you’re financially able to go to conference, GO!!!! I cannot stress this enough. I truly wish someone had told me when I was a student to attend one of these conferences. They’re incredible and you’ll leave ready to take on the child life world! Plus, not only is it a great place to network, and learn, it’s also something you can add to your resume that will prove to potential practicum/internship coordinators that you are truly interested in the field of child life.
Looking for a new job? Go to the conference! As I mentioned above this is a great place to network and there are even boards where you can post up your resume for potential interviews!
For those who cannot attend this year, try and do the all access pass! This is the option I’m leaning towards and yes, it’s not as fun as actually going to the conference, but the sessions this year really are phenomenal. Look at the program and highlight the sessions you’d be interested in – if you highlighted your entire program in yellow like I did, get the all access pass!
For those of you that are going to the conference, HAVE FUN! I was in Las Vegas last year for vacation – in fact, that is where the photo above came from! I highly recommend the Beatles love cirque du Soleil show – I laughed, cried, and fell in love again with the Beatles – 100% worth it. I also highly recommend checking out red rock canyon, which is about an hour outside of Vegas. They have tours and breathtaking views – do your research and get your desert fix.
Hurry! Prices for the conference will rise on April 1st, 2017! Register ASAP!

34th annual child life conference

As many of you probably already know, this year’s national child life conference was in Orlando, Florida. Only 4 hours away from where I live, I was very exited that conference was in my home state this year. Unfortunately due to a prior engagement I was only able to attend the conference Thursday and Friday, but thankfully I got a lot done in those two days and I have my All Access Pass purchased.

There were many exciting things going on this year at conference. One of the most things exciting being the reveal of the Child Life Council’s new logo and name! We are officially on the way to becoming “The Association of Child Life Professionals”!

Another fun surprise at conference this year is that I was able to meet some of my blogger friends like Child Life Mommy !!

Overall I had a fantastic time, learned a lot, and met some very inspiring child life-ers in the field.

I’m still not sure if I will be attending next year’s conference, but Vegas is always a fun idea!

Child Life Conference: Recap!

Just last month I went to the Child Life Conference in New Orleans. This was my first time attending conference and it was MAGICAL! I don’t know why I had never gone as a student – I guess I thought that going to conference was more of a professionals thing to go to, but I was wrong! To all of you Child Life Students out there reading my blog, GO TO CONFERENCE IF YOU’RE ABLE TO! They have a little session for students and it’s such an amazing networking opportunity for future internships, jobs, and schools.

Here’s a recap of all of the fun:

Location:

New Orleans was a BLAST to visit. I’ve been to NOLA before but it’s such a fun city full of culture, delicious food, and child life specialists (during conference anyways)!

Exhibit Hall:

Alright so, I love shopping just as much as the next girl… especially when it’s for Child Life things! The exhibit hall was full of vendors that tailor to Child Life Specialist. This was a great place to see what resources are out there in the Child Life world as a professional and for personal things like cute water bottles, child life badges, and postcards.

Some of my favorites from the exhibit hall were:
(I was not paid by any of these companies/organizations to promote them – although, that would be really cool if I was.)

http://www.alphabotz.com/ – no mess coloring play books

http://www.comfortkits.org/ – send free comfort kits to pediatric patients

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aquatic-Relief-Therapy/371079936335589 – fish tank on wheels!

http://www.monkeyinmychair.org/ – life size stuffed monkey to sit in (chronically ill patients) seat at school

http://www.projectsunshine.org/ – provide resources to children/families in hospitals

Conference:

Being able to choose sessions to go to and be surrounded by fellow CCLS was so exciting. I learned a lot from the sessions I went to and the CLC even handed out jump drives with all of the powerpoints/handouts from all of the sessions so you don’t miss out on anything. There were also many people at the CLC from around the world to participate in the international summit following the child life conference.