Center-Approved PD

Autism 101

Once considered a rare disorder, the most recent study on autism prevalence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 1 in 59 children are living with it. Most of us likely know someone – a friend’s child, a neighbor, a family member, a student – who has been diagnosed. The “phenomenon” of autism seeming to be everywhere leads to many questions: Is it becoming more common? What is it, anyway, and what causes it? Is there a cure? What are some strategies for working with a child who has autism who is already in your early childhood classroom? Autism 101 attempts to answer these questions and more. We hope that after taking this course, you are not only more knowledgeable about autism but that you’re inspired by the incredible strengths of this very special group of individuals.

Inspiring Creativity: All the World is a Stage

Explore how creativity develops through playful experiences, rather than concern for the finished product. Creativity is not talent, skill, or intelligence. It is about thinking, exploring, discovering, and imagining. Creativity is self-expression that arises out of interaction and exploration of self, others, culture, and environment. Through interactive learning activities, group discussion forums, classroom examples and videos, and reflective writing exercises, participants will learn how to inspire creativity through tasks and activities that engage children in learning that is targeted and fun.

How to Effectively Handle Children with No “Off” Button

Do you have a particularly challenging child in your class this year? One moment he’s playing in the Block Center with his friends, the next moment he is tearing everyone’s structures down. During Circle Time, he might be okay for two minutes, and then he is hitting, kicking, and doing anything else one can think of to annoy his peers. What’s a teacher to do??? Come to this workshop to learn and share some new strategies.

Essentials of Leadership in Early Childhood Education

Explore leadership competencies both broadly and in the early childhood setting. Leadership essentials include awareness of self, others, and the profession; communication and team-building skills; cultural competence; and ethical conduct. These characteristics are embedded in everything the leader does. Learn to address the challenges of being a leader through practical application of these concepts; learn to lead with integrity, inspiration, and purpose.

Family Engagement: The Road to Better Outcomes for Children

Family engagement refers to the reciprocal relationship between families and early childhood educators. It occurs when families are purposefully included in the decisions, plans, and activities that promote their child’s learning. Research has shown that engaging families in their child’s education improves school readiness and later academic success. To implement successful family engagement practices, program staff need effective strategies to bring teachers, families, and community members together to support children. In this course, participants will learn the key characteristics of family engagement practices and research-based strategies to successfully engage families.

Mindful Teachers/Mindful Children — The Art of Teaching Mindfulness to Young Children to Help with Social/Emotional Skills

You’ve most likely heard about “mindfulness” but may have thought it was just the latest buzzword in the world of education. Mindfulness is about paying attention to the here and now (also known as being “present”). Mindfulness reconnects children to their five senses, bringing them into a moment-by-moment awareness of themselves and their surroundings through breathing exercises, visualization activities, and learning how to focus on learning opportunities, such as Circle Time, Small Group Time/Learning Centers, and Large Group Time. Research shows that mindfulness helps children be more attentive, less anxious, and better able to handle their emotions and self-regulation. As children build and strengthen these skills, they become capable of exhibiting empathy, compassion, and patience, and acquire better emotional and social skills.

All About the ITERS-3: A Fun, Hands-On Overview of the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale for Improving Quality

This workshop series provides an overview of the ITERS-3 tool so that participants will be able to self-assess their own classrooms and set goals and timelines for quality improvement. (Please Note: This offering does not meet the BrightStars Learning Environments training requirement which begins at Level 2 in Standard 1: Learning Environment.)

All About the ECERS-3: A Fun, Hands-On Overview of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale for Improving Quality

This workshop series provides an overview of the ECERS-3 tool so that participants will be able to self-assess their own classrooms and set goals and timelines for quality improvement. (Please Note: This offering does not meet the BrightStars Learning Environments training requirement which begins at Level 2 in Standard 1: Learning Environment.)

Establishing and Sustaining Exceptional Relationships with Families: Going Beyond Johnny Had a Good Day

This training will help participants gain knowledge of basic communication skills to be applied in their daily interactions with families. In addition, participants will learn how to build and sustain relationships with families by providing strategies for communication in a variety of ways.

Understanding Child Abuse and Prevention

In this course, participants will learn how to identify the signs of abuse and neglect, describe how abuse and neglect impacts development, implement strategies to build resilience in children suffering from abuse and neglect, and identify the mandated responsibilities of reporting cases of abuse or neglect. Early childhood teachers have a unique opportunity to affect the life of a child suffering from abuse and neglect. Many children spend as many as 10 hours a day in early childhood programs, and children depend on their teachers to provide a safe, nurturing place to grow and learn. Unfortunately, some of those children come to child care with experiences of abuse and neglect. High-quality child care centers, with professionals who have action-oriented information, can make a difference for children that has long-lasting benefits. The principles discussed and the strategies described will help teachers understand the importance of their role and build resilience in young children suffering from abuse and neglect. This course provides training suitable for anyone related to or involved in the field of early childhood education.

How to Integrate Yoga in the Classroom and Appreciate the Benefits

This two-part training will introduce participants to the benefits of yoga, and offer poses and sequences that participants can incorporate into their classroom routines and activities.

Challenging Behavior: Reveal the Meaning

Children express their needs through words, facial expressions, body language, and behavior. When communication is sent in the form of challenging behavior, understanding the message can be difficult. This course explores the ways children speak to us through behavior and examines the role teachers play in the two-way conversation. Participants will learn how to interpret children’s behavior, how to effectively teach social skills, how to develop an environment that supports cooperative and meaningful learning, and how to build partnerships with families. Through case studies, interactive learning activities, group discussion forums, and reflective writing exercises, participants gain a solid understanding of what challenging behaviors communicate and how best to respond. This course provides training suitable for any professional working within the early childhood education field or with young children, directors, family members, and parents.

Focusing on the Strengths of Others for Success

We live in a society in which we are always trying to improve and acquire new skills; basically, to get better, or “fix” someone. This workshop focuses on a different approach, that of what is already working well and is inherently a person’s strengths. When we focus on a person’s strengths, we can learn to have a more positive approach to supporting others, communicate more effectively, and focus on the positive.

Professionalism and Boundaries for Early Childhood Educators

Reflecting and understanding all that it means to be an early childhood professional is crucial to our work each and every day. This includes understanding how to maintain appropriate boundaries and roles with children, families, and coworkers. This workshop will explore both of these topics through discussion and specific scenarios.

Creating and Supporting a Developmentally Appropriate Infant Room

This training will demonstrate a developmentally appropriate learning environment for an Infant classroom. At Dr. Day Care, we refer to this as an Infant Model Classroom. From this training, you will learn about the typical routines and daily expectations in an infant classroom.

Creating and Supporting a Responsive Toddler Room

This training will demonstrate a developmentally appropriate and responsive learning environment for a toddler classroom. At Dr. Day Care, we refer to this as a Toddler Model Classroom. From this training, you will learn about the typical routines and daily expectations in a toddler classroom.

Responsive Caregiving: Nurturing Relationships with Infants and Toddlers

Responsive caregiving is the foundation of quality infant and toddler care. Nurturing relationships, one component of responsive caregiving, creates a secure base for infants and toddlers to develop socially and emotionally. When infants and toddlers spend time in the care of others in various settings, caregivers and families share the responsibility of developing nurturing relationships. This course begins with an overview of responsive caregiving, then goes deeper into the aspects of developing nurturing relationships with infants and toddlers. Participants will explore Attachment Theory which is at the heart of responsive caregiving, examine the role of the caregiver in understanding social and emotional development, and review a variety of communication strategies that foster nurturing relationships.

Effective Parent-Teacher Communication

Participants will learn skills to effectively communicate with the families of children in their classrooms (ages birth to 12). This training will focus on types of communication skills and tips for effective communication with parents.

Creating High Quality Learning Experiences for Children

How do you create high quality learning experiences for children? Learn about how to structure your classroom to best meet the needs of all children. Learn about how policies, procedures, and regulations help inform your daily practice. This training is geared for teachers of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school age students.

Growing Language for Infants and Toddlers

Watching the development of language in young children is truly inspiring. From day one, an infant begins trying to figure out the code that sets humans apart from other creatures. Learning to talk is one of the marvels of human development. This course will focus on the developmental sequence of expressive and receptive language, understanding the child’s form of communication and strategies for families and teachers to support development. The window of opportunity for language development begins before birth. Infant and toddler teachers have an opportunity to significantly impact language acquisition for the children in their care by creating a stimulating, language-rich, and responsive environment. Learning about strategies—such as talking with children during routine care, extending vocabulary by using rich descriptions, tuning into individual methods of communication, and making story-reading a central focus—will support language acquisition for our youngest children. This course provides training suitable for teachers working with students in the field of early childhood education, but it specifically focuses on young infants, infants, and toddlers.

The Developing Infant and Toddler

As infants and toddlers grow and develop, they are establishing a foundation for learning that prepares them for success as they enter school and later in life. Beyond establishing responsive care and a nurturing environment, infant and toddler educators also have the responsibility to provide experiences that stimulate the developing brain and create pathways for learning. In order for teachers to effectively support infants and toddlers as they learn, they must increase their knowledge about theories of learning, brain development, and teacher practices that support learning. In this course, participants explore the basis for how infants and toddlers learn and the developmental goals and observable teacher behaviors that support school readiness. There is a focus on three areas of infant and toddler development that underpin learning and the associated competencies for infant and toddler educators.

Developmental Milestones: Teacher, Teacher, What Do You See?

Teachers will expand their knowledge of developmental milestones and be able to find free, high-quality tools to use in this process. View photos and videos of milestones to ensure you recognize milestones “in action.” Explore how to have difficult conversations with parents and think through responses to a variety of scenarios you may face with the families you serve. You will be knowledgeable of where to refer families for additional help. Practice tracking the milestones of one child, review the process with other course participants, and discuss how to begin tracking the milestones of the community of children in your care.

Piramide: The Power of Play

In this course, we will explore the role of play in child development, the developmental stages of social play, and the different types of play. Then, using the Piramide Approach, we will assess the richness of different types of play. Participants will know the types of play and how they progress from “nearness” (concrete, here and now) to “distance” (abstract and imaginary). They will be able to identify the preconditions that promote play and use a checklist to assess the types and richness of play behaviors in their classrooms. This course provides training suitable for teachers working with students from infancy through kindergarten.

Dual Language Learners

The number of dual language learners in early care and education programs and public schools in the United States has risen over the past 20 years, with some states experiencing over a 200% rate of growth. Currently, nearly one out of three children enrolled in preschool programs come from homes in which a language other than English is spoken. Regardless of whether a child began learning multiple languages at birth or was first exposed to English upon entry to an early care and education program, the same strategies can be used to help her become proficient in her home languages and in English.

This course covers separating myths from facts, creating a supportive environment, supporting English language and literacy acquisition, supporting the home language, and assessment. Participants will be able to define dual language learning in the early childhood education classroom. They will learn to assess the roles of parent, child, and teacher in supporting dual language learning. They will be exposed to the components of best practice for including more than one language in the classroom. Finally, they will learn to implement a variety of activities that support dual language learners.

Teaching with Intention

Learn what it means to teach with intention. Teaching is not only familiarity with content, it is also the way teachers think about and approach the act of teaching itself. This session provides several ways to learn about and experience this thoughtful approach to teaching. This course provides training suitable for individuals working within a learning environment designed for students from infancy to kindergarten.