Center-Approved PD

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.

Making Transitions Magical

Transitions are teaching opportunities, and they abound in the early childhood classroom environment! They may be different than other learning opportunities in purpose, length and frequency, but they are just as important. By attending this workshop, teachers will learn some new strategies for transition times and be able to decide which type to use depending on the type of transition that is involved (e.g., arrival, waiting, active, quiet).

Successful Strategies for Feeding Young Children

Feeding young children can be a notoriously tricky job. In this workshop, we will explore the best practices for nutrition and feeding style for children 0–5 years.

S.O.S. — Smiling on Stress

Who couldn’t benefit from lowering their stress level on the job, or in their personal life? This workshop will assist you in identifying some of your stress triggers and help you develop strategies to help you de-stress, both in the moment and as long-term goals. We will also discuss strategies that help not only adults de-stress, but children too, such as deep breathing, spending time outdoors on mindfulness walks, and yoga movements. One additional feature of these strategies is the art of aromatherapy, which will conclude the workshop.

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.

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.

School-Age Care: Learning By Design

Understand the school-age child and how to create an environment that engages the whole child and fosters learning. Examine how to encourage exploration, uncover interests, and support peer relationships in a school-age environment. Identify the basic needs of school-age children and learn how to create an environment that supports these needs. Assess the role the environment plays in learning and describe an ideal, quality learning environment for school-age children. Explore a variety of strategies and activities to support peer relationships, self-esteem, literacy and math learning, and physical development. Through interactive learning activities, group discussion forums, scenarios, and reflective writing exercises, participants will gain a solid understanding of the school-age child and creating an environment that supports personal needs, learning, and development.

Enriching Play

Enriching Play advances the role of the teacher as a play facilitator. In this course, participants will explore how to establish classroom conditions that promote rich play, when and how to join child-initiated play without disrupting it, and how to purposefully plan and initiate play that captures and expands children’s imagination. Finally, the course offers strategies to support those children who might be overlooked or misunderstood because they are unable to engage in play. Enriching Play is based on the Dutch Piramide Approach to Early Learning, a scientifically based approach that deepens and broadens young children’s learning.

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.

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.

Create Healthy Habits: Developing a Wellness Plan for your Early Childhood Program

Early childhood programs are uniquely positioned to promote healthy habits among children birth to 5 years old and their families. This training will guide program coordinators and directors in the creation of a wellness policy and action plan for their site, and provide resources for successful implementation.

What’s All the Fuss about EF? (Executive Function)

Have you heard people discussing the importance of executive functioning skills, but were confused as to what this topic is all about? This workshop will answer many of your questions by offering an overview of executive function, briefly discussing the architecture of how the brain develops, and offering resources and strategies for children that are struggling with self-regulation, attention issues, and creative thinking.

Character-Building: 10 Crucial Concepts Regarding Character Education for the Early Childhood Classroom

The early childhood years provide a solid foundation for what a child needs to learn regarding social, moral, and intellectual development. By attending this workshop, participants will learn how to develop the type of environment and daily learning opportunities that teach children character values such as respect, responsibility, and courtesy. Participants will share their own ideas for promoting character building, and will learn new strategies along the way to take back to their classrooms.

Devereux Center Upcoming and Archived Webinars

The Devereux Center for Resilient Children offers both live and archived webinars for early childhood educators. Early childhood development experts share information on promoting social skills for children, healthy emotional development, and resilience. From the website, you can access and view recorded presentations, or register for upcoming live webinars. Downloadable handouts also are available. Webinar topics include supporting early learning with challenging behaviors, promoting resilience in adults who care for children, and promoting resilience in children and families involved in the child welfare system.

EarlyEDU Alliance Online Courses

Beyond Bottles and Baby Food: Setting the Nutritional Foundation for Lifelong Wellness

This webinar provides important information for families, caregivers, and communities to have about nutrition and feeding for infants and very young children. Developed as part of the Little Voices for Healthy Choices Initiative, the webinar features Paula Mydlenski, a registered dietician, and teaching artists from the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts. This webinar is available in English and en Español.

Certificate of Completion: No

Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness

The National Center on Parent, Family and Community Engagement has developed a new interactive learning series to enhance your knowledge around family homelessness and the McKinney-Vento definition of “homeless” as it refers to children and youths. The series also explores other relevant federal regulations for Head Start, Early Head Start, and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) programs.

This series includes eight modules. Each module takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. You can spend as much or as little time as needed, depending on your level of experience. A Certificate of Completion can be printed after you complete all sections of each module.

Module Topics

• Overview of Family Homelessness
• Understanding Family Homelessness
• Understanding the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act’s Definition of “Homeless”
• Determining a Family’s Homeless Situation
• Identifying and Reaching Out to Families Experiencing Homelessness
• Enhancing Program Access and Participation for Children Experiencing Homelessness
• Building Relationships with Families
• Connecting with Community Partners

Key Features

• Transcripts: Printable text versions of the modules
• Resources: Helpful handouts available for download
• Federal policies: Direct links to the federal legislation and regulations referenced in each module
• Knowledge checks: True/false and multiple-choice activities
• Practice scenarios: Activities offering useful guidance for program staff members serving young children and school-age children

Target Audience

• Professionals in Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care programs
• Early childhood and school-age child care providers
• CCDF lead agency or designated entity staff
• Other key stakeholders

Early Essentials Webisodes Series

The Early Essentials Webisodes series offers key messages and helpful resources on the foundations of early childhood. The focus is on infants and toddlers and their families. Managers can use Early Essentials to design orientation experiences, or staff can participate on their own. The nine webisodes explore such topics as components of quality, building relationships, school readiness for infants and toddlers, learning environments, responsive interactions, and self-care and professionalism. Each webisode is about 20 minutes long and is accompanied by a Quick Start Viewer Guide. The series also includes a few short videos and accompanying practice guides that viewers can use to reflect on their practice. The webisodes are available in English and en Español.

Healthy Child Care America

The American Academy of Pediatrics has created specific health-related webinars, online modules, and other resources that can assist early childhood professionals in gaining specialized skills in health and safety. These webinars offer strategies and tips on how to keep children, their families, and early childhood educators healthy.

Traumatic Childhood Experiences: Homelessness

This one-hour webinar, presented by SchoolHouse Connection in partnership with Sesame Street in Communities, provides important information on how to help children experiencing homelessness. SchoolHouse Connection is a national organization working to overcome homelessness through education, and Sesame Street in Communities provides multi-media resources for families and providers on several topics aimed to support young children’s growth and development.

Teacher Time Series

Teacher Time is a web-based professional development series that explores topics relevant to today’s early childhood educators. The recorded webinars focus on: (1) implementing a responsive curriculum, (2) fostering social and emotional skills in children, (3) promoting children’s development and learning for school readiness, and (4) using inquiry and experimentation through STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) to strengthen academic skills. The series includes separate episodes for infant/toddler teachers and family child care providers and for preschool teachers and family child care providers. The series are available in English and en Español.

Certificate of Completion: No

¡Mírame! Celebremos los Indicadores del Desarrollo y Compartamos las Inquietudes

Como proveedor de cuidados y educación tempranos, usted tiene un rol fundamental en la salud y el bienestar de los niños. También está en una excelente posición para ayudar a identificar a los niños que tal vez necesiten ayuda extra en su desarrollo. Este curso de capacitación en línea lo ayuda a desempeñar ese rol al proporcionarle las herramientas y las mejores prácticas para monitorear el desarrollo de los niños que usted cuida y hablar de eso con sus padres.

Certificado de Finalización: Si

ERS 101 Online Training

Developed and delivered by the authors as an introduction to the Scales! Each course is self-paced, so you can start and stop as often as needed. In total, each course takes about 5 hours to complete. Checks for understanding are embedded, along with the ability to email questions directly to the authors! You can be assured you are receiving an accurate and up-to-date training! Most courses are also available en Español.

Early Learning Language and Literacy Series

This professional development series helps early childhood educators recognize and foster the language and literacy development of young children. The online learning modules provide educators with current research and evidence-based strategies related to early language and literacy development. Each module provides accompanying activities, handouts, and readings. The 14-module series can be watched in its entirety (14 hours) or individually (1 hour per module).

Better Kid Care Lecciones en Español

Better Kid Care, una iniciativa de Pennsylvania State University ofrece entrenamientos en línea en salud y seguridad, como responder a las necesidades de las familias, las áreas de ciencias, diversidad, prácticas de cuidado de bebe, la investigación y mucho más. Para acceder los entrenamientos debe de abrir una cuenta en el sistema de Better Kid Care On Demand.

Certificado de Finalización: Si