Teachers & Directors

Join fellow early educators to learn and discuss strategies to establish and maintain a happy, well-functioning classroom. Room organization, classroom rules, daily routines, establishing a kind and caring environment, routine check-ins on emotions, call-and-respond transition ideas, understanding passive vs. active engagement, and the importance of daily storytime are among the topics covered.

virtual, 2 credit hours

This workshop discusses the importance of establishing a daily reading routine in early childhood classes from the earliest ages, building a strong foundation of literacy that will support continued learning throughout a child’s lifetime. Attendees will become “Book Detectives,” learning to identify valuable content in children’s literature, including using plot and characters’ social-emotional experiences in the book to understand life situations.

in-person/virtual, 2 credit hours

Begin with a book to ignite imaginations and inspire creative thinking and play throughout your classroom. Participants will receive guidance on extracting learning potential from a variety of children’s books, including past Read-At-Home (RAH) titles distributed through our Storytime Program. This workshop focuses on creating a literacy-rich lesson plan to explore Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math through play.

in-person/virtual, 2 credit hours

This workshop addresses the issues of toxic stress and trauma that impact all children/families/teachers we serve, beginning with understanding those concepts, recognizing possible signs of stress/trauma (as well as recognizing our own stress/trauma we bring with us into the classroom). Using Storytime to choose books focused on a classroom issue, but engaging children in brainstorming how the book’s characters could have made different choices to produce different outcomes. Another goal of this workshop is to help teachers recognize the impact healthy, positive classroom routines and communications can have in creating a calming, nurturing environment within their classroom, lessening the debilitating effects of trauma.

in-person/virtual, 2 credit hours

Literacy is a gateway to equity, but many students are removed from learning environments due to a myriad of social-emotional and learning issues. This workshop explores the “Preschool to Prison Pipeline,” and how teachers and directors of early learning facilities may unknowingly be feeding into the harmful routine of meeting behavioral problems with exclusionary tactics. The positive focus of this workshop is learning how to use children’s literature and implement a dedicated Storytime routine in your daily classroom, leading to consistent conversations about emotions, feelings, and finding alternatives to suspension/dismissal for struggling children and families.

virtual, 2 credit hours

This workshop details the importance of using photos, labels, schedules and routines, calendars, and other environmental print throughout the classroom, from birth through kindergarten, to engage children’s imaginations senses around letters, numbers, words, and more.

virtual, 2 credit hours

Participants will learn to implement a mix of fiction and non-fiction books during daily storytime to jumpstart imaginations and play-based explorations of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Math) topics. The group will read/discuss a variety of children’s books to strengthen teachers’ confidence in choosing appropriate literature, and practice using open-ended questioning to encourage students to think more deeply while exploring new materials and concepts.

in-person/virtual, 2.5-2 credit hours

Participants will learn the value of emotional literacy in building solid, strong social-emotional foundations for students. In addition to using children’s books to open discussions about emotions, attendees will be reminded to view each child as an individual, with unique needs and ways of learning. Teachers will brainstorm games, music, movement and additional activities that can help children recognize their emotions, attach a “name” to each emotion, and learn to process their emotions in calm, healthy ways, leading students to complete their educations and continue learning throughout their lives.

in-person/virtual, 1.5 credit hour

Add some music, movement and imagination to your Storytime sessions! Begin with a book, add some rhythms, songs, movement, conversation, and role playing to get kids’ imaginations turned on and their brains working effectively. You don’t need a music/movement specialist to engage children in creative thinking and play, just a new way of looking at how music and movement can be implemented to keep students connected and working positively as individuals and members of a group.

in-person, 3 credit hours

in-person/virtual, 2 credit hours

The number of children affected by trauma grows each year, impacting their relationships, ability to self-regulate, sensory processing, learning, and especially behavior. This workshop explores how trauma changes your brain, and helps teachers recognize signs of stress/trauma that may be exhibited in the classroom. By learning about trauma, we can move from asking, “What is WRONG with this child?” to “What has HAPPENED to this child,” enabling us to serve their needs and lead them to developing simple, practical routines to gain self-control.

in-person, 3 credit hours

The number of children affected by trauma grows each year, impacting their relationships, ability to self-regulate, sensory processing, learning, and especially behavior. This workshop explores how trauma changes your brain, and helps teachers recognize signs of stress/trauma that may be exhibited in the classroom. By learning about trauma, we can move from asking, “What is WRONG with this child?” to “What has HAPPENED to this child,” enabling us to serve their needs and lead them to developing simple, practical routines to gain self-control.

virtual, 2 credit hours

2 credit hours