Workshop Catalog

Toddlers are active learners who need many opportunities to engage with their teachers and each other while exploring varied materials in a language rich environment. Learn about how to support active learning in your classroom and put it all together with hands‐on experiences that you’ll be able to take back to your classroom and use immediately!

This interactive session session supports teachers to differentiating interactions to meet a child’s needs. This session will train and educate participants to identify and use modifications with children. Individual children learn and develop in different ways. As educators we need to be equipped to help them succeed in the most beneficial way. This session will show teachers how to view children through the lens of individuality, give them different ways to identify if children need accommodations, and demonstrate practical ways to use and understand accommodations to help children succeed.

Early childhood is a critical period in brain development, creating a foundation for development throughout life. This two-hour module explores how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress can jeopardize that foundation by overwhelming physiological stress systems, potentially altering brain structure and development. Participants will learn how ACEs have been found to be linked to lifelong challenges, as well as early prevention and intervention strategies that can significantly improve outcomes. This module will cover evidence-based strategies that can prevent ACEs by supporting individuals, families, and communities. Early Childhood Educators will also have opportunities to engage with strategies that build resilience in the classroom.

Have you heard of ACEs? Do you know how trauma affects the developing brain? Leaders and teachers participating in this three-hour session will learn the causes and consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma and their impact on brain development. In light of the current global health crisis, early childhood practitioners need to be able to recognize and respond to ACEs and trauma in ways that are developmentally appropriate. Armed with the right tools and understanding, practitioners are able to support the social-emotional skills necessary for young children to develop resilience.

What is anti-racism? Why create anti-racist classrooms? How do we begin that work? Focusing on clear definitions of racial equity and anti-racism, this session helps teachers and directors begin the journey to building anti-racist schools and classrooms. Session features suggestions for materials, activities, self reflection, and beginning dialogue with parents and colleagues.

Asking Questions is a two-hour session that focuses on using meaningful questions to increase the quality and duration of conversations with children to encourage higher level thinking. Come learn how to engage children in conversations that fosters language, cognitive and social development for your children. You will learn about asking questions, see it in action, engage in activities that help you develop strategies for asking questions, and receive resources to help you make and complete an action plan for improvement.

Asking Questions is a two-hour session that focuses on using meaningful questions to increase the quality and duration of conversations with children to encourage higher level thinking. Come learn how to engage children in conversations that fosters language, cognitive and social development for your children. You will learn about asking questions, see it in action, engage in activities that help you develop strategies for asking questions, and receive resources to help you make and complete an action plan for improvement.

Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2) are developmental screening tools that help families and teachers understand growth and development of young children ages 1 month to 5 1/2 years of age. Developmental screeners are designed to give teachers and families a quick snapshot of how children are developing and to help adults identify any “red flags” in a child’s development. Learn how to use the ASQ 3 and SE in your classroom as an observation tool that will help support your work with young children as you document their growth and development physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally.

Do you know that all behavior has meaning? During this session, you will be encouraged to think about how the infants, toddlers, or preschoolers in your classroom communicate their wants and needs, intentions and emotions, and how you respond to these communicative attempts. You will watch video clips of children’s behavior and explore the strategies teachers use while interacting with those children. We will also engage in activities to help you understand why behaviors actually help you understand what children are trying to communicate. This session will also offer effective practical strategies that you can use with your children every day.

Are you an aware teacher? Aware teachers watch for, and act on, the needs of their children in the moment. Responding quickly and appropriately to a child is an important component of building positive teacher-child relationships. This session focuses on the importance of noticing and responding to the individual needs and successes of children in the moment. When teachers are able to improve their awareness of children’s needs, positive teacher child relationships are strengthened and children’s engagement in classroom activities increases. Teachers who notice when children need support or encouragement in the moment can more easily connect with children to provide necessary teaching.

Conscious Discipline is the foundation of a happy, productive classroom. This session will introduce you to Conscious Discipline including the difference between discipline and punishment, the Seven Powers of Self-Control for you as an adult, and the Seven Skills of Discipline you can use in your everyday interactions with children. These techniques aren’t just about explicitly teaching children better self-management skills, you’ll also learn how to model them yourself so that children can see these strategies in action and you can build a culture of calmness in your room!

The development of the brain begins at conception and continues across the life span. If you want to understand the relationship between the developing brain and other areas of infant and toddler development and how to support healthy brain development, this full day session is for you! In this session, you will learn about activities and how to use the 5 “R’s” (relationships, respect, repetition, routines, and responsive interactions) with infants and toddlers that promote brain development in each of the three sensory learning modes to promote very young children’s healthy brain development.

Partnering with families is an important strategy to promote healthy child development. Building effective relationships with families is the foundation for these partnerships. In this full day session, participants will learn and practice active listening skills, the “parallel process”, and reflection as they develop strategies for establishing effective relationships with families.

Have you ever thought about why some children have more friends than other children? When do these children learn how to make friends, what characteristic do they have that makes them more prone to having friends? This session will look at what we can do to set the stage for successful social emotional growth and development to have secure social skills. Teachers will gain strategies to help infants and toddlers learn how to engage with others making friends and playing successfully.

One of the most critical things we can do as leaders is deliberately and strategically use the power of relationships to help staff do their best work with very young children and their families. Participants will be presented with the importance of relationships, attachment theory in Early Childhood, discuss the barriers to relationships and will be provided with strategies for building relationships.

Want to systematically create a positive school climate, dramatically increase teaching time, foster academic success, and decrease behavioral issues? Join us as we deliver a fresh perspective called “The School Family, ” creating a fundamental shift in education and classroom management. Step into a world where intrinsic motivation, helpfulness and connection govern your classroom. School climate impacts all achievement!

Children in our care can be challenging for many reasons. In this full-day session, we will reflect on our own beliefs and practices about challenging behavior while also learning some of the underlying causes of challenging behaviors. We will also learn about working with feelings, the parallel process, parent development, and helping parents cope with challenging behaviors. This is a 3-part session that includes a 30-minute break and an hour lunch break.

Ever feel like you do not know how or when to collect documentation for your children? Do you ever feel overwhelmed with curriculum and assessment? Well, we have a system for you! Master a system that makes it easy for you to link curriculum to assessment with intentionality. Learn to organize your plans so you can include not only the activities you plan for the week, but also the GOLD objectives linked to those activities. This will help you support and scaffold children during the activities and assess their progress and development at the same time! Participants MUST bring a completed lesson plan with them so they can use their new “system” to plan for assessment.

The very traits that are valued in our field—love of children, caring compassion, self-sacrifice—are also sometimes our greatest vulnerabilities. They are also the traits that sometimes keep us from self-care. This session will provide you with real tools to improve your classroom environment for both you and the children in your care.

Would you like to build your knowledge of brain development of children birth to age 5? Are you familiar with the key roles that individual differences and family, program, and socio-cultural contexts play in children’s development? In this 3-hour session participants will discover the process of typical brain development, the impact of the child’s environment, and how educators can support healthy development. Participants will leave this session with strategies to effectively build positive relationships with and between children and families to support health brain development.

Instead of dismissing children’s fears of the dark, of dogs, or even of hurricanes, we should seek to understand where children are coming from and why some things scare them. This session will help teachers identify and respect young children’s fears and explore ways to help children manage them. Geared toward teachers of toddlers and preschoolers, teachers will learn how to respond to children’s fears with curiosity and how to investigate children’s fears through curriculum activities.

Learn how the Classroom Assessment Scoring System aligns with any curricula! We will go over the CLASS Domains and Dimensions for the Infant, Toddler and Preschool CLASS tools, and then show you how CLASS and curriculum are linked. You will learn where to locate the dimensions of CLASS within any curriculum. Participants should be familiar with CLASS.

Have you ever wondered what those CLASS observers are looking for when they visit your classroom?  Or are you a new teacher?  If so, CLASS Overview is just what you need!  This session will provide you with an introduction to the CLASS tool so you can learn what CLASS observations are and why Louisiana uses them to measure program quality.  This session will also help you connect CLASS to your knowledge of how young children develop and learn.  We will do a “deeper dive” into the domains and dimensions of the Infant, Toddler, and Pre-K CLASS tools.

Things can get chaotic in the classroom during transitions; but your classroom will run like a “well-oiled machine” when your classroom is well organized and you have planned for transitions. In this session you will learn how to make transitions time-efficient, have learning opportunities built within, and have some fun!

Transitions can be a stressful time in your classroom, and sometimes they can provoke challenging behaviors. Attend this session to learn new strategies to promote smooth transitions between classroom activities and routines. During this session, you will reflect on transitions in your own classroom and develop plans for how to use transitions to promote learning.

Do you ever get asked about why the children play all day in your program? Do you use the MyTeachingStrategies GOLD Assessment tool? If so, come to this session to learn new strategies for helping families understand what their children are learning, and how the work you do every day builds children’s knowledge and skills.We will cover a variety of techniques to improve communication with families about child outcomes, including ongoing communication with families, conferences and reports you can generate to share at those conferences. We will also discuss tricks and tips for communicatingwith a variety of families. Please bring whichever type of technology you normally use to access TS GOLD, whether that’s your laptop or iPad.

This presentation is designed to provide early childhood teachers who work with children ages birth to 5, including mixed-aged groups information about children with disabilities or developmental delays, laws and procedures that guide their early education, and support families and caregivers through this process. Topics addressed during the session include Early Development and the Importance of Early Intervention: Screening, Referral and Eligibility; and Supporting and Communicating with Families.

Composure is being able to remain calm and in control of yourself no matter what is happening around you. Keeping your composure can be difficult with all of the different things that take place in your classroom. In this session, we will examine ways to stay calm so we can help children to learn important social and emotional skills. This session is part of our Conscious Discipline session series.

Young children are naturally curious and passionate about learning. Their inquisitive nature leads them to explore the world using the scientific method long before they are even aware of what they are doing. In this presentation you will not only learn how you can capitalize on your children’ natural inquisition to explore and experiment by incorporating the five steps of the scientific method into your teaching practice. You will also learn how the CLASS dimension of Concept Development is demonstrated whenever you are asking questions or encouraging thinking in supporting your children while they use the scientific method.

Do you want your preschool children to learn how to generate their own ideas to resolve classroom conflict, but you’re not sure where to begin? This session will give you strategies to teach children problem solving steps, to be able to think of alternative solutions, and to learn that solutions have consequences.

This session takes a closer look at the Louisiana Birth to Five Early Learning Development Standards (ELDS) as they relate to infants and toddlers. Learn how to use the standards to plan and identify developmentally appropriate experiences, while also considering the multiple influences on children’s development. Leave with more confidence in using standards to develop learning outcomes for children and to connect standards to their current curriculum and assessment tools.

This three-hour session takes a closer look at the Louisiana Birth to Five Early Learning Development Standards as they relate to preschoolers. Learn how to use the standards to plan and identify developmentally appropriate experiences, while also considering the multiple influences on children’s development. Leave with more confidence in using standards to develop learning outcomes for children and to connect standards to their current curriculum and assessment tools.

Learn why it is important to create a caring community for preschool children and master new strategies that you can use to create a supportive environment in your classroom. In this session, participants will reflect on the importance of community, learn about why and how to teach children to care, and leave with some examples of activities that can be used to help create a caring classroom.

Environment plays an important role in the development of the young child. This session explores the impacts of environment on child development of infants and toddlers. Participants will gain a better understanding of how the classroom environment can support different ages and stages of development in infants and toddlers, and how to design a classroom to support their optimal growth.

Learn to create a language- and print-rich environment that supports language development in infants and toddlers. We will look at how to develop language, why teacher child interactions are important, and what a print-rich environment looks like for infants and toddlers. We will identify ways to support early language support and language modeling in the environment and relate it to CLASS. 

Have you ever generated rules with your children? Would you like to learn effective ways to create rules for your classroom? This session will provide participants with engaging activities that will provide opportunities to learn how to create and enforce meaningful classroom rules through a process called GUIDE. Creating rules is a fundamental part of a well-organized classroom, and it supports effective behavior management.

This session will give you the information and tools you need to implement Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers, & Twos in your classroom. This session is intended for teachers and administrators who are working in centers that have already purchased Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers, & Twos, or who are considering it. Participants will need to bring the following Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers, & Twos materials: Volume 1 (The Foundation), Volume 2 (Routines and Experiences), and Volume 3 (Objectives for Development and Learning).

This session will walk participants through the information and tools to effectively implement Creative Curriculum for Preschool in their classrooms. This session is intended for teachers and administrators who are working in centers that have already purchased Creative Curriculum for Preschool or who are considering it. Participants will need to bring the following Creative Curriculum for Preschool materials: Volume 1 (The Foundation), Volume 2 (Interest Areas), Volume 3 (Literacy), Volume 4 (Mathematics), Volume 5 (Science and Technology, Social Studies, and the Arts), and Volume 6 (Objectives for Development and Learning).

The foundation of any good curriculum is based on sound research and theory regarding child growth and development. This session will focus on how Creative Curriculum reflects best practices and current early childhood research by providing appropriate environments, schedules, and activities for infants, toddlers, and twos.

The foundation of any good curriculum is based on sound research and theory regarding child growth and development. This session will focus on how Creative Curriculum reflects best practices and current early childhood research by providing appropriate environments, schedules, and activities for preschool children aged 3 – 5.

Are you aware of all of the opportunities you have to get to know and partner with the families of the children you teach when you use Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos? In this two-hour session, we will explore varied ways to welcome and orient new families and methods you can use to communicate with and involve families in your program.

Are you aware of all of the opportunities you have to get to know and partner with the families of the children you teach when you use Creative Curriculum for Preschool? In this two-hour session, we will explore varied ways to welcome and orient new families and methods you can use to communicate with and involve families in your program.

Planning for infants and toddlers can be challenging. It takes a deep knowledge of child development and the knowledge of individual children in order to plan appropriately to support each child’s development and learning. Learn to use the helpful guides and planning tools in the Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos to make planning a breeze and provide the children with high quality environments and experiences. You will also explore how the curriculum is directly linked to the progressions in TS GOLD and how this can help you in your planning and ongoing child assessment.

Planning for young children takes time, knowledge of your children and the ability to think about each child individually when planning activities and experiences to support their continued development and learning. Learn to use the helpful guides and planning tools in the Creative Curriculum to make planning a breeze and provide the children with high quality environments and experiences. You will also explore how the curriculum is directly linked to the progressions in TS GOLD and how this can help you in your planning and ongoing child assessment.

As an early childhood educator, the environment you create is one of the most important tools in your toolkit. A well-designed environment can help your room operate like a well-oiled machine. This session provides an overview of how to design physical spaces with appropriate classroom contents and how to strategically arrange groupings to create a more effective early learning environment.

Do you have trouble deciding which GOLD objectives align with the documentation you have taken? Do you look at a note and think it might fit 20 different objectives? Want to improve your skills? Come to this session to spend time determining which objectives are actually reflected in documentation provided for you. This will be an interactive session with small groups and pairs looking at documentation, deciding which objectives are reflected in them, and checking to see if you were correct! If you want to hone your objective identifying skills, this session is for you!

Have you ever thought about why some children have more friends than other children? When do these children learn how to make friends, what characteristics do they have that make them more prone to having friends? This session will look at what we can do to set the stage for successful social-emotional growth and development. Teachers will gain strategies to help preschoolers learn how to engage with others, make friends, and play successfully.

Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) is at the core of being an excellent early childhood professional. It is grounded in the research on child development and learning and in the knowledge base regarding educational effectiveness. This session will explore teacher-child relationships as foundation for DAP and look at some key strategies facilitate DAP in the infant/toddler classroom.

If you want to know what developmentally appropriate practice looks and sounds like in preschool classrooms, this session is for you! We will explore developmentally appropriate practice as it relates to the preschool classroom environment, materials, schedules, and activities that support children’s development and learning throughout the day. During this session, we will look at examples of high-quality classrooms; learn about developmentally appropriate small group, large group, and center times; and identify strategies to support learning through daily routines as well!

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Developmentally Appropriate Practice “involves teachers meeting young children where they are, both as individuals and as part of a group; and helping each child meet challenging and achievable learning goals.” Developmentally Appropriate Practice is the foundation of high-quality early care and education. This session provides background knowledge, interactive discussion, and real-life application to help you move toward best practices with preschool children.

Learn about assessment and what observation-based assessment means. Participants will review the ages and stages of development, using both the Louisiana ELDS and TS GOLD® color bands. Participants will discuss when and how to conduct observations, how to use Tier 1 curricula to aid assessment, and how to use observation data to make curriculum adaptations with supplemental activities. Finally, participants will discuss how to evaluate development reliably.

Have you ever found yourself scrambling when it’s time to finalize checkpoints in GOLD? Learning how to organize your observation notes can improve how you use GOLD, and make checkpoints a breeze! In early childhood environments, we observe many things throughout our day, and it can be hard to remember it all at the end of the day. Having organized observation notes can help you better understand where each child is developmentally. By the end of this session, you will be able to develop an Efficient Assessment System for You (E.A.S.Y.) that helps you document child growth and development with ease!

Wondering how to engage in conversations with infants and toddlers? Want to know more about engaging in conversations with preschoolers too? This two-hour session focuses specifically on how to increase the length and quality of conversations with children, including young infants and toddlers. You will learn about the key elements and benefits of having meaningful conversations with young children of all ages including strategies to use to engage in conversations with infants, toddlers, and preschool children and how to identify and take advantage of opportunities for conversations during daily activities and routines.

This two-hour presentation focuses specifically on basic strategies for engaging children in conversations in order to increase the length and quality of conversations. Participants will engage in learning activities that offer participants opportunities to discuss and practice strategies by responding to videos, and engaging in role play.

This five-hour session focuses on engaging adult-child interactions that make a difference in children’s development and learning. Purposeful, engaging interactions can create a caring and responsive environment, provide social and emotional support, and purposefully extend children’s learning. Participants will leave this session with strategies that promote behavioral regulation, exploration, meaningful learning, and language development in infants and toddlers. Two short breaks and a lunch break will be provided during this session.

Young children learn what they live, and those who spend time in child care and preschool spend many valuable hours of their lives interacting with the educators in those environments. Educators who foster security, engagement, and learning offer children the confidence and competence they need to develop into their best selves. Participants will leave with information and suggestions for creating high-quality interactions with children they can immediately use to promote their engagement and learning. This full day session will include a short morning and afternoon break and a lunch break.

This session is designed to support the teacher in providing support for infants and toddlers as they develop social acceptance and empathy. We will discuss the importance of developing emotional literacy in infants and toddlers, identify strategies to develop emotional literacy in infants and toddlers, identify ways to use indirect instruction to teach emotional literacy and reiterate the importance of validating emotions in children.

Do you know the difference between interactions and relationships? Do you know about relationships specifically related to infants and toddlers? Do you know how to build secure relationships with your children? Do you know what you need to know about attachment? Do you feel competent in building and sustaining relationships with the families of the children in your care? If you answered yes to all of these questions, you do not need to take this class! However, if you have questions or would like to learn more about any of these subjects, taking this three-hour CSEFEL session could be very helpful to you, the children and families you work with every day! You will leave with new strategies for forming close relationships with families of the children in your care and gain increased awareness about your important and valuable role in supporting the child’s first relationship – the relationship the child has with his/her parents and/or other important family members.

This 3-hour workshop introduces family engagement as a relationship-based process. Understanding family engagement as relationship-based means adopting strengths-based attitudes with families, reflecting on your own perspectives, learning about families’ perspectives and funds of knowledge, and identifying strategies to create a welcoming environment. Come learn strengths-based strategies you can use to engage families in meaningful ways.

Do you want to know some effective ways of interacting with families around children’s behavior? This 3-hour workshop focuses on ways that early childhood educators can partner with families to understand and respond to children’s behavior as communication. Teachers who attend this session will learn that all children’s behavior has meaning and how to communicate that with families. The importance of responsive relationships between parents and educators for children’s emotional well-being and development, effective ways to communicate with families about children’s behavior and ways to partner with families when adults find a child’s behavior to be challenging will also be addressed.

There are many different ways teachers can engage children in learning. One way is by following children’s lead. This session will introduce you to three main strategies you can use to follow children’s lead: building on children interests; providing children with choices; and encouraging children to express ideas. Participants will see strategies in action and engage in activities that provide opportunities for discussion and practice of those strategies too!

This two-hour session provides teachers with three main strategies they can use to foster children’s thinking: using the scientific method, problem-solving, and applying knowledge. Participants will watch video clips that illustrate interactions where teachers foster children’s thinking skills and engage in learning activities that provide opportunities to discuss examples of and practice applying the strategies that are introduced.

Building relationships with preschool children is the first step to creating an engaging learning environment. In this session, you will learn to define what it means to create meaningful connections with children, to identify why building positive relationships with children is important, and explore effective ways to cultivate connections with children. You’ll engage in activities to help you create a plan to create lasting and meaningful connections with the children in your classroom.

Would you like to know the key elements of conversations that foster learning in young children? Want some strategies you can use to engage in those meaningful conversations with children? Participants will be provided with the “how” of conversations and view and practice three strategies for increasing language development.

An inclusive classroom can make a world of difference to the children in it. Come learn about what inclusion is and why it is important. We’ll also discuss the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, and explore scenarios, so you can see what best practice looks like in action. This class is intended for teachers and leaders of all experience levels.

Have you ever thought about why some children have more friends than other children? When do these children learn how to make friends, what characteristic do they have that makes them more prone to having friends? This session will look at what we can do to set the stage for successful social-emotional growth and development to have secure social skills. Teachers will gain strategies to help infants, toddler, and preschoolers learn how to engage with others making friends and playing successfully.

Do you know everything you have in your frog Street curriculum? Do you know how to use everything you have? Are you using everything in the ways the Frog Street developers want you to in order to help your children grow and learn? This two-hour session offers a brief overview of all four Frog Street curricula and provides resources you can use after the session to guide you to develop a deeper understanding of the components of your curriculum and the Welcome Guide or Book that accompanies it.

This session examines how to prepare your classroom for a positive experience using Frog Street curriculum. Participants will practice classroom organization, creating a schedule, creating and finding goals, and reading the correlation with TS Gold.

This two-hour session will give you the information and tools you need to implement Frog Street curriculum for Infants and Toddlers in your classroom. This session is intended for teachers and administrators who are working in centers that have already purchased Frog Street or are considering it and want to become familiar with the curriculum itself. Please note: Participants will need to bring Frog Street Curriculum Infants, Toddlers, Twos materials and the Infant, Toddlers, Twos Theme 1: Teacher Guide “My School and Me.”

This session will give you the information and tools you need to implement Frog Street Curriculum for Pre-K in your classroom. This session is intended for teachers and administrators who are working in centers that have already purchased Frog Street and can access it for the session.

This session will give you the information and tools you need to implement Frog Street curriculum for Preschool in your classroom. This session is intended for teachers and administrators who are working in centers that have already purchased Frog Street or are considering it and want to become familiar with the curriculum itself. Please note:Participants will need to bring Frog Street Curriculum PreK materials and the PreK Theme 1: Teacher Guide ‘My School and Me’.

This session will give you the information and tools you need to implement Frog Street Curriculum for Threes in your classroom. This session is intended for teachers and administrators who are working in centers that have already purchased Frog Street and can access it for the session.

The foundation of any good curriculum is based on sound research and theory regarding child growth and development. This session will focus on how Frog Street reflects best practices and current early childhood research by providing appropriate environments, schedules, and activities for infants, toddlers, and twos.

The foundation of any good curriculum is based on sound research and theory regarding child growth and development. This session will focus on how Frog Street reflects best practices and current early childhood research by providing appropriate environments, schedules, and activities for preschool children aged 3 – 5.

This two-hour session will help participants to implement the Frog Street curriculum correctly. There is emphasis on the Greeting Circle, Practice Centers, and Small Group work. Participants will be actively engaged in discussions and activities that directly relate to what they need to do to prepare and ensure children are learning and will be prepared for Kindergarten.

In this two-hour session session, teachers will learn how to implement the Frog Street Toddler Curriculum using a hands-on approach. Participants will explore and practice facilitating greeting circle, center activities and large and small group activities included in the curriculum so they can use all components of the curriculum with fidelity.

This session explores all of the forms provided in the Frog Street Curriculum for Infants and Toddlers. Participants will look at the content of the forms and talk about how and when to use them. We will go onto the Frog Street Portal to look at where the forms are and how they are organized so you can use them to communicate and partner with your children’s families.

This session explores all of the forms provided in the Frog Street Curriculum for Preschool Threes and Pre-K. Participants will look at the content of the forms and talk about how and when to use them. We will go onto the Frog Street Portal to look at where the forms are and how they are organized so you can use them to communicate and partner with your children’s families.

Planning appropriately for infants takes time, knowledge of your children, and flexible thinking on the part of every teacher. Learn to use the helpful guides and planning tools in Frog Street to make planning a breeze and provide the children with high quality environments and experiences. You will also learn how the Frog Street Assessment system supports and is correlated with Teaching Strategies GOLD.

Planning for young children can be challenging. Learn to use the helpful guides and planning tools in Frog Street to make planning a breeze and provide the children in your program with high quality environments and experiences. You will also learn how the Frog Street Assessment system supports and is correlated with Teaching Strategies GOLD. Please note: Participants should have access to the following Frog Street Curriculum materials in order to participate fully in the session: ‘Welcome Book’ and Theme 1 Teachers’ Guide.

Planning appropriately for infants and toddlers takes time, knowledge of your children, and flexible thinking on the part of every teacher. Learn to use the helpful guides and planning tools in Frog Street to make planning a breeze and provide the children with high quality environments and experiences. You will also learn how the Frog Street Assessment system supports and is correlated with Teaching Strategies GOLD.

Planning appropriately for toddlers takes time, knowledge of your children, and flexible thinking on the part of every teacher. Learn to use the helpful guides and planning tools in Frog Street to make planning a breeze and provide the children with high quality environments and experiences. You will also learn how the Frog Street Assessment system supports and is correlated with Teaching Strategies GOLD.

Learn strategies to promote higher quality interactions with infants during activities and routines throughout the day. Put it all together with hands-on activities and experiences that you’ll be able to take back to your classroom and use immediately.

Engage your busy and curious toddlers by taking an active role in facilitating their experiences. Learn how to support children’s growth and development in both activities and routines. Specifically, we will explore strategies related to the Facilitation of Learning and Development, Quality of Feedback and Language Modeling dimensions of the Toddler CLASS tool.

Do you know it is important to provide children with responsibilities but can’t figure out how to do it? This two-hour session describes strategies teachers can use to give children responsibilities in the classroom by engaging them in classroom activities and routines. Three main strategies are discussed: offering meaningful roles, letting children lead, and encouraging children to help each other.

Did you know that how an adult responds to a child’s emotions can either negatively or positively impact a child’s social development, self concept, self confidence, problem solving skills, and even physical health? This session will introduce teachers working with children from birth to age 8 to the important idea of granting children their expressed emotions. We will explore strategies for increasing trust, learn how to understand and respond to emotions, and consider the effects and ethical issues of not taking children’s emotions seriously.

This session will help teachers understand the importance of hands-on materials in early childhood, and also create and analyze activities that are developmentally appropriate for infants and toddlers. Participants will learn about how children learn, and how to identify what materials are appropriate for different ages. Hands-On activities will be analyzed and participants will create their own activity(ies) in a Make and Take section.

This session will help teachers understand the importance of hands-on materials in early childhood, and also create and analyze activities that are developmentally appropriate for preschoolers. Participants will learn about how children learn, and how to identify what materials are appropriate for different ages. Participants will analyze and create their own hands-on activities in a Make and Take section.

Do you recognize the importance of physical activity for infants and toddlers and want to know more about how to promote and support it in the infants and/or toddlers you work with every day? This full day workshop will help you identify the role you play in promoting and supporting physical activity in the infants and toddlers you serve and to develop the skills needed to implement best practices around physical activity in early childhood. You will learn how to effectively communicate with families about children’s physical activity, define and implement policies that reflect best practices, and take time to reflect on what you currently have in place in your program and what opportunities for change there might be

Do you recognize the importance of physical activity for preschool children and want to know more about how to promote and support it in the preschool children you work with every day? This full day workshop will help you identify the role you play in promoting and supporting physical activity in the preschool children you serve and to develop the skills needed to implement best practices around physical activity in early childhood. You will learn how to effectively communicate with families about children’s physical activity, define and implement policies that reflect best practices, and take time to reflect on what you currently have in place in your program and what opportunities for change there might be.

Teaching preschoolers how to regulate their emotions is the key to building healthy social and emotional skills. This session is designed to give teachers concrete and actionable tools to support preschoolers as they develop social acceptance and empathy. We will discuss the importance of developing emotional literacy in preschool children, identify strategies to support emotional literacy, identify ways to use indirect instruction and emotion literacy to teach emotional literacy, and reiterate the importance of validating emotions in children.

This two-hour session will provide participants with strategies to help children understand what they are learning. Three main strategies to help children focus on learning goals are discussed: setting the stage before the activity; making targeted statements to direct focus during the activity; and providing “wrap-up” statements at the end of the activity.

A child’s temperament influences not only his or her style of interaction but the very way in which he or she understands and experiences the world and the people in it. This full day session provides child care professionals with an introduction to the concept of temperament and to five key temperament traits. In this session, participants will become aware of how their own temperaments, their reactions to others’ temperaments, and the child care environment can interact to support a child’s healthy development.

Have you taken a close look at the environments and routines you’ve created for the children in your classroom? This engaging session will provide specific strategies and resources on how to design a high-quality, supportive and responsive environment that promotes infant and toddler social and emotional growth.

Want to learn more about how to support concept development in preschool chlldren? This session provides opportunities for participants to learn how to broaden children’s understanding rather than concentrate solely on recalling facts and getting the right answer. Bloom’s Taxonomy will be utilized to explore the relationship between concept development strategies and higher-order thinking skills. Participants will explore how to use a children’s text to plan future conversations and lesson activities that promote problem solving and critical thinking skills.

This two hour session will help participants learn about MVPA (Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity). We will explore who, where, and how this should be done. Materials that can be used will be explored, as well as music that enhances movements.

Want to know how to structure the environment and activities so that ALL young children can participate regardless of their ability level? Come to this two-hour session to gain an understanding of how to vary, modify, and adapt physical activity and motor skill development to differing ability levels of young children. You will leave with strategies you can implement that increase skills, development, and physical activity participation for ALL young children.

Body Language teaches the correct vocabulary for the movement and activities that we do with preschool children. Participants will also learn basics of teaching children to move and participate in activities that help to prepare them for elementary school.

The brain and body can be thought of as a coordinated unit. The brain needs the movement as well as controls movement. Participants in this two-hour session will learn about early brain structure, brain functioning, and how movement enhances the brain. They will leave with strategies to implement activities with children that stimulate the brain and support cell development.

In this session participants will review research about the importance of outdoor play in early childhood. They will learn how to prepare an outdoor space for play and movement opportunities and how to supervise structured and unstructured play.

Do you have a Tier 1 curriculum for your classroom? Do you feel like you know how to use it the way the developers intended so you can implement it with fidelity? Implementing a curriculum with fidelity means that teachers follow the guidance related to what and how to teach and assess and make adjustments or adaptations to meet children needs without changing the nature and intent of the material. The Louisiana Department of Education has developed a Curriculum Implementation Scale that can help guide full implementation of your curriculum. This session will introduce you to strategies and tools (including the LDE Curriculum Implementation Scale) you can use help you make sure you are fully implementing the curriculum you have.

Have you ever wondered what those CLASS observers are looking for when they visit your classroom? Or are you a new teacher? If so, Infant CLASS Overview is just what you need! This session will provide you with an introduction to the Infant CLASS tool so you can learn what CLASS observations are and why Louisiana uses them to measure program quality. This session will also help you connect CLASS to your knowledge of how infants develop and learn. We will do a deeper dive into the Dimensions of Infant CLASS.

Learn about your own temperament traits and how to recognize temperament traits in the children in your classroom. This will give you a better understanding of how these individual traits impact the relationships you build with children. Use your new knowledge about temperament to improve the Relational Climate and Teacher Sensitivity in your classroom, which are both dimensions of the Responsive Care Giving domain of the Infant CLASS assessment.

The emotional lives of infants and toddlers are complex. As they develop and learn to become more independent, their behaviors can be challenging in the classroom. This session will explore the causes of infant and toddler behavior, help teachers make meaning of the behaviors, and provide strategies for decreasing challenging behaviors in the classroom.

Behavioral expectations are the appropriate behaviors expected from children during specific activities and routines. We will discuss how to adapt the infant environment so that infants are kept safe from undesired behaviors. We will also discuss how and why to state behavioral expectations for toddlers. You will leave this session with strategies that you can use to design a physical and social learning environment that is safe, supportive, and stimulating.

Effective, engaging interactions and environments are the foundation for all learning in early childhood programs. These high-quality practices include a well-organized, clean, safe, and managed learning environment; social and emotional support; and instructional interactions and materials that stimulate children’s thinking and skills. One hallmark of a well-organized environment is the use of a schedule and established routines. Schedules and routines provide a safe and predictable environment for children to develop relationships and engage in learning. This session will help teachers learn how to use schedules and consistent daily routines to support their children’s development and learning.

Engage your children by taking an active role in facilitating infants’ experiences. Learn how to support infant growth and development through well-managed activities and routines. Specifically, we will explore strategies related to the Early Language Support and Facilitated Exploration dimensions of the Infant CLASS tool.

What does “Intentional Teaching” mean and how do you engage in it in a preschool classroom? Intentional teaching is complex with teachers having to keep many elements of practice in mind at one time. Come to this three-hour session to learn the what, why, when, where, and how of intentional teaching so you can be sure you are providing a dynamic, engaging classroom where all children thrive, grow and learn.

Learn how to build better brains! Experiences and interactions in the early years of life shape a child development. In this session, you will learn strategies to promote healthy brain development at this critical stage. We will also cover how you can use intentional teaching opportunities throughout the day to meet toddlers’ needs for exploration and growth.

This two-hour session is designed specifically to help infant and toddler teachers develop strategies to create language-rich environments for the children in their care. This session will provide background knowledge, exploration, and real-life application in how to support infant and toddler language development. Participants will discuss key research-based findings of oral language development, utilize Early Language Support and Language Modeling indicators to describe best practices for language development, and practice ways to engage in language facilitation and stimulation throughout the day and throughout the classroom too!

Designed specifically to help teachers develop strategies in creating language-rich conversations, this session will provide background knowledge, exploration, and real-life application in the art of conversing with prekindergarten children. Participants will discuss key research-based findings about oral language development, utilize language modeling indicators to describe best practices for language and vocabulary development, and practice ways to create engaging conversations throughout the classroom.

This two-hour session is open to all Early Learning Center Directors. In this session, Directors will be taken through how to use the Agenda for Children Registration Management System; NACCRAWARE; the Louisiana Alliance for Shared Resources (LAASR); and Louisana Pathways. Other topics that will be addressed will be; School Readiness Tax Credits, looking for quality in classrooms, and completing action plans with staff.

How many times have you stretched beyond what was healthy to care for children, parents and staff at your center? If you have sacrificed time and money and/or given up activities for the sake of the children and staff in your program, then it’s time to learn some techniques that support self-care. Join us for this informative session, which will give you real tools to manage your daily stress.

How are you ensuring good customer service throughout your center? Customer service is an important component in any business and is especially important when working with families and small children. During this session learn how to make customer service a priority for parents, children, and staff. We will also discuss the most underused customer service tool in the child care tool box: the Family-Teacher Conference.

How do you support your teachers with Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)? This session is designed for program administrators (Early Learning Center Directors, Head Start Directors, Non-public and Public School Leaders, and Early Childhood Supervisors), to learn what Developmentally Appropriate Practice is, what it looks like, what appropriate expectations are for teachers, and how to support teachers with DAP.

Do you feel like you know MyTeachingStrategies and GOLD inside and out? Do you know how to support your teachers with their child assessment and planning work using MyTeachingStrategies and GOLD? Would you like to know more? If so, then this session is for you! You will learn about the system and how you can use it to both supervise and support your teachers to improve their practice using GOLD and the entire MyTeachingStrategies system. In order to get the most out of this session, please bring a tablet or laptop and have your GOLD account user name and password accessible so you can access your program information during the session.

Have you purchased a Tier 1 curriculum? Do you feel like you know how to use it the way the developers intended so you can support your teachers to implement it with fidelity? Implementing a curriculum with fidelity means that teachers follow the guidance related to what and how to teach and assess and make adjustments or adaptations to meet children needs without changing the nature and intent of the material. The Louisiana Department of Education has developed a Curriculum Implementation Scale that can help you guide teachers in their full implementation of your curriculum. This session will provide you with strategies and tools (including the LDE Curriculum Implementation Scale) to support the implementation of the curriculum you have.

Learn how to strengthen your program by helping staff and teaching teams plan and conduct ongoing assessment tasks for the children in their classrooms. You’ll also learn how to become a data-driven leader by assisting staff in using data to improve teaching practices and by using program-wide evaluations to inform staff support.

This two-hour session provides program leaders with strategies can be used to support your teachers in improving CLASS scores in Language Modeling, Behavior Guidance and Behavior Management.

Learn about individual temperament styles and how they affect relationships both in and out of the classroom. Administrator will learn how to support teachers with strategies that improve CLASS scores in Teacher Sensitivity and Regard for child Perspectives.

This three-hour, interactive LDOE Key session session will outline the components of effective, high-quality adult-child interactions and focus on how adults can actively support children’s development and learning at a variety of levels. Participants will learn the benefits of high-quality adult-child interactions, evaluate adult-child interactions, and learn how to facilitate high-quality adult-child interactions that actively involve children and facilitate growth in all developmental areas. Strategies will also be given to aid participants in facilitating high-quality adult-child interactions throughout the day and in routines and activities.

Learn how to make learning meaningful for children in the classroom by engaging in activities and interactions that support children understanding of the world around them. Three main strategies are discussed: linking new learning to children’s previous experience, relating concepts to children’s lives, and providing children with hands-on learning.

Materials in the classroom should support all children learning. By selecting the right materials, you can keep children engaged, help children develop their creativity, foster positive interactions between children, and much more! This session will provide you with three main guidelines to consider when selecting materials for your classroom so that learning can be maximized.

This session will give preschool teachers a blueprint for success with young children in the early learning classroom. You will learn about the underlying causes of preschool behaviors, and effective techniques to prevent problem behaviors that sometimes occur in the preschool classroom.

This two-hour workshop focuses specifically on how to incorporate new and novel words in extended, back-and-forth conversations with children, including young infants and toddlers.

The purpose of this presentation is to provide participants with strategies for using novel words to engage in extended back-and-forth conversations with children. Learning activities offer participants opportunities to practice and plan for conversations that use novel and interesting words with preschool children.

What is observation of young children all about? It is about carefully paying attention to the details of what a child does, and to what their behavior tells us about how the child is feeling and thinking. Learn how to become an objective observer and become more astute at recording these observations in a meaningful and useful way.

Documenting information on child progress helps teachers become more effective in their work with young children. In this two-hour session, participants will learn how to use anecdotal records as a way to collect information on child progress. After this session, participants will be able to write anecdotal records to document observations of children’s behaviors and interpret that documentation to monitor and assess children’s progress.

Assessment information helps teachers both evaluate children’s development and identify effective teaching practices. This two-hour session focuses on how teachers can use video as one of the ways to collect assessment information. Participants will learn how to record, collect, and organize video clips of child behaviors and how to interpret and use the information from classroom videos to document child progress.

Assessment information helps teachers evaluate children’s development and identify effective teaching practices. Attend this session to learn how to use work samples to document child progress and collect that child assessment information. You will also learn practical and simple methods for collecting anecdotal records, and specific steps for writing anecdotal notes. This interactive session offers opportunities to practice writing complete and objective anecdotal notes.

Building partnerships between the teaching staff and family in the context of ongoing child assessment in the classroom is a wonderful way to build and maintain relationships with the families of the children you teach. Learn about family-staff collaboration in gathering assessment information on a child learning at home and in school. You’ll also learn about strategies that support two-way exchanges and information sharing.

Properly planning for assessments can make it easier to gather the information you need quickly and efficiently. Learn about planning tools and strategies that teachers can use to efficiently collect and use ongoing assessment information about children’s learning. We will discuss the main considerations for planning to gather information, including: how should you decide which skills to observe, which method of observation should you use to observe those skills, which time and location are best for observing, and who is responsible or documenting each observation. Participants will practice developing assessment plans and you’ll receive assessment forms to use in their own classroom.

This two-hour session focuses on how teachers can use checklists as one of the ways to collect assessment information. Assessment information helps teachers evaluate children’s development and inform effective teaching practices. Participants will learn how to create useful checklists and how to interpret and use checklist information to assess progess and inform planning.

Ongoing child assessment is a continuing process of observing children and documenting their knowledge, skills, and abilities. What do you do with all of this documentation? This two-hour session will help you see how to review and interpret child assessment information in order to understand each child’s development and then be able to adjust your teaching to meet them where they are and support further development.

Throughout this session, we will invite you to reflect on your knowledge of the children in your classroom – their personalities, unique characteristics, how they are alike, and how they are different. Children with special needs or disabilities, in many ways, just like all of the other children in your classroom. They have their own personalities, unique characteristics, similarities, and differences. The session starts with a warm-up activity to share what you already know about different disabilities, then we will discuss common myths and actual facts. Later, you will be introduced to services and supports for children with disabilities and their families, as well as recommended practices in early intervention services.

This session will help participants become familiar with the TS GOLD Objectives, Dimensions, and Progressions of Development and Learning through the use of varied and engaging hands-on activities.

Has Concept Development got you down? Want to know what higher order thinking is? Would you like to engage in more interactions with children that support analysis and reasoning? If, so, this session is for you! Participants will walk through the CLASS dimension of Concept Development and learn which behaviors teachers engage in to support concept development in preschool children. This session also includes practice identifying effective classroom interactions associated with the Concept Development indicators and behavior markers. Participants will also evaluate their own practice and make a plan to provide intentional opportunities to facilitate children’s understanding during their school day.

Want to develop a deeper understanding of Instructional Support? Come to this two-hour session and learn that Instructional Support is not focused on curriculum content or learning activities provided but, instead, looks at how teachers implement curriculum lessons and activities to facilitate and support children’s thinking and language throughout the day. Teachers will learn how to engage with children in ways that help deepen their understanding, learn to problem solve, think, and reason, and promote more complex language. Teachers will leave with strategies to use to provide feedback that expands both children’s learning and participation in learning activities.

Would you like to know how to be more intentional when speaking with children in the preschool classroom? Need help in understanding what self-and parallel talk or advanced language looks and sounds like in the clasroom? This session will provide you with a look at the indicators and behavior markers included in the Language Modeling CLASS dimension so you can see what you are already doing well and identify other interaction strategies you might want to add to your “interaction toolbox.” Participants will see effective interactions associated with Language Modeling indicators and behavioral markers, practice identifying classroom interactions, and evaluate their own interactins in order to plan for improving their practice.

Confused about Quality of Feedback? Want to hear and see it in action? This session develops participants’ specific knowledge and understanding of the Quality of Feedback dimension within the Instructional Support domain of the CLASS tool.Learn how to move beyond “good job” so that children can deepen their learning, while also increasing their persistence and participation in activities. This session includes practice identifying classroom interactions associated with Quality of Feedback indicators and behavior markers. Participants will be able to reflect on their current classroom practices and establish action steps for future interactions.

Have you ever wondered what those CLASS observers are looking for when they visit your classroom? This Full-Day experience will first provide you with an introduction to the Pre-K CLASS tool so you can learn what CLASS observations are and why Louisiana uses them to measure program quality. We will then takea deeper dive into the Domains and Dimensions of Pre-K CLASS, and learn how CLASS indicators and behaviors are used throughout the day in everyday activities and routines. You will learn how to use CLASS to guide your interactions with children throughout their daily routines, including center time, snacks and meals, clean-up and circle time. And lastly you will learn how CLASS aligns with whichever curriculum you care using.

Have you ever wondered what those CLASS observers are looking for when they visit your classroom? Or are you a new teacher? If so, Pre-K CLASS Overview is just what you need! This session will provide you with an introduction to the Pre-K CLASS tool so you can learn what CLASS observations are and why Louisiana uses them to measure program quality. This session will also help you connect CLASS to your knowledge of how preschool children develop and learn. We will do a “deeper dive” into the Domains and Dimensions of Pre-K CLASS.

Learn how CLASS indicators and behaviors are used throughout the day in everyday activities and routines. High-quality interactions can (and should) happen at almost every moment of the day, from the time a child arrives in the morning until they leave in the afternoon. You can use CLASS to guide your interactions with children throughout their daily routines, including center time, snacks and meals, clean-up and circle time. This session is very interactive, so participants should come with a general understanding of CLASS and be ready to put knowledge into action!

The profession of early childhood education is one of the most important professions around! It’s also always evolving, as we learn more about how to best support young children and their families. In Louisiana, we’ve seen a lot of changes in recent years as the state works to make Louisiana a state in which all children arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed. Many of these changes are designed specifically to help teachers improve, and we want to make sure you know about all of the opportunities available to you! This session will give you an overview of the early childhood profession in Louisiana, including what Act 3 is, how to get scholarships for your CDA or degree, how to obtain your Ancillary Certificate and what the Louisiana career ladder is all about. This session is perfect for anyone who is either new to the field or looking to take the next step in their career.

This three-hour interactive session supports teachers to effectively use language and early literacy activities to increase instructional support for preschool children. Participants will engage in hands-on experiences and reflective discussions to identify how they are currently addressing early literacy in their work. Participants will analyze a demonstration read aloud and follow-up shared writing activities for evidence of indicators of Instructional Support as defined by the Pre-K Classroom Observation Scoring System (CLASS). They will be invited to use strategies presented in this session to plan their own lessons to incorporate concept development, quality of feedback, and language modeling into read aloud and shared writing.

Rating children’s level of development along the GOLD Progressions of Development and Learning is essential to using GOLD effectively. Accurate ratings help teachers plan and use the MyTeachingStrategies system to generate activities that meet children exactly where they are developmentally, supporting their further development. During this session, we’ll practice rating children’s level of development using different forms of documentation.

Are you ever confused about why your infants are crying or fussing? Wish you knew why your toddlers are biting each other every time you turn around? Infants and toddlers communicate their preferences, likes, dislikes, interests, questions about how the world works, and goals through their behavior. The deeper a teacher’s understanding of behaviors and patterns of typical development, the easier it will be to respond with sensitivity and consistency whenever the need arises. Just as each child’s personality and temperament varies, so must teachers’ responses. This three-hour CSEFEL session will provide you with the knowledge and strategies to do just that!

This session defines the stages of feeding development for infants and toddlers. Participants will learn about grasping strategies, the important role that environment plays in feeding, and how language and feeding are related.

This session will provide preschool teachers background knowledge, exploration, and real-life application in developing techniques for expanding feedback loops with preschoolers. Participants will identify key research-based components of high-quality adult-child interactions, practice applying best practices to adult-child conversations in the classroom and determine strategies to expand feedback in the classroom.

This two-hour session focuses on redirecting children behaviors as an effective strategy to maximize children engagement and learning in the preschool classroom. Redirecting behavior is a proactive strategy that helps prevent challenging behaviors before they escalate or continue. Participants will learn four types of redirection strategies they can use immediately upon returning to the classroom.

Would you like to know how to take care of yourself by reducing stress? Did you know that minimizing stress helps you become a more resilient teacher? Resilient teachers are more capable of creating and maintaining nurturing, supportive, and effective learning environments while also prioritizing their own well-being. Learn how to “teach from the inside out” by building your core resilience skills. By the end of this session, you should be able to describe the negative and positive impacts of stress, use mindfulness practices to help develop calm and centered states, and lead children in at least one mindfulness practice.

How can you best engage with families when you or they have concerns that a child is at risk for a disability or developmental delay? This session will give you the tools you need to communicate with families about children’s development and the benefits of screening, identify effective practices for talking with families about developmental concerns, and provide support and resources for families whose children may need further evaluation and special services.

Have you ever heard of scaffolding in early childhood? Would you like to learn what it means to scaffold infants’ learning and development? If so, this session is for you! This session provides strategies to promote children’s learning by providing the right type and level of support at the right time. During the session, participants will become familiar with the concept of scaffolding, view and discuss examples of teachers scaffolding children’s learning, and learn and practice strategies to scaffold infants in their classrooms in ways that support their development and learning throughout the day.

Scaffolding is a strategy that helps children learn by providing hints, offering a range of answers, and encouraging children to use additional resources. This two-hour session will provide participants with the knowledge to understand how to scaffold children’s learning. Three main scaffolding strategies will be defined and practiced: providing hints, offering a range of answers, and encouraging children to use additional resources.

Have you ever heard of scaffolding in early childhood? Would you like to learn what it means to scaffold toddlers’ learning and development? If so, this session is for you! Learn how to promote children’s learning by providing the right type and level of support at the right time. During the session, you will become familiar with the concept of scaffolding, view and discuss examples of teachers scaffolding children’s learning, and learn and practice strategies to scaffold toddlers in their classrooms in ways that support their development and learning throughout the day.

A consistent daily schedule with established routines area key features of a well-organized classroom. A consistent classroom schedule with established routines provides predictability and a sense of wellbeing that enable children to learn. Learn about the components of a daily schedule and routines, as well as how to teach them to preschool children.

Social-emotional development begins at birth and continues throughout life. The foundation for healthy social-emotional development laid in the first three years helps a child establish meaningful relationships with parents, caregivers, and peers and supports his or her learning, both in and outside of school. Participants will learn about the importance of healthy social-emotional skills for a child’s overall growth and development, identify indicators of social-emotional development that require further assessment, and develop a procedure for responding to concerns about social-emotional development.

Stating behavioral expectations in advance is a proactive strategy that helps prevent behaviors before they may happen. Participants will learn the four main steps to this strategy: anticipating behaviors, developing a plan, teaching expectations, and recognizing children’s appropriate behaviors. When you use proactive strategies like stating behavioral expectations, your day will run more smoothly, and you will support your children to be successful throughout their day!

Children naturally engage in inquiry, reasoning, and problem solving every day. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. This two-hour session introduces the STEAM components and how they share a common approach and focus. Videos of teachers fostering STEAM skills and thinking and children engaged in STEAM thinking as they play will be viewed and discussed. You will leave this session with strategies you can use to support children’s STEAM skills and thinking and ways to foster STEAM skills by providing engaging environments, nurturing, responsive, effective interactions, and learning experiences/activities.

Program leaders attending this “Strengthening Business Practices” session will focus on fiscal management in the area of budgeting. Participants will be presented with a process for building a budget and how to use it for decision-making throughout year. This session also includes guidance on how to project business costs, generate additional income, and plan strategically for future goals.

This session is designed to strengthen participants’ foundational knowledge of fiscal terms, concepts, and practices. Participants will learn about the importance of fiscal planning to the sustainability of their business operations and leave with tips and best practices that will help break down fiscal processes into manageable steps. Participants will be introduced to financial reports that can help them better manage their center’s finances and to the concept of internal controls and how those controls can strengthen a center’s fiscal health.

During this session, we will discuss the definition and value of marketing efforts that are focused both externally and internally. We will explore various ways to articulate your programs features and benefits, and more importantly, how to use each as a marketing tool. Lastly, we will learn how data can inform marketing efforts in order to achieve greater success, become more cost effective and use time more effectively.

During this session we will explore best practices related to recruiting, interviewing, and hiring new employees. We will also investigate a framework for building an effective orientation plan for new employees, and become familiar with the components of a staff handbook. Lastly, we will identify strategies for providing feedback to employees.

Do you keep asking yourself why are there so many behavioral disruptions in your preschool classroom, and don’t know what to do about it? During this session, teachers will learn how to design a learning environment that will allow children to learn and interact with each other. Teachers will learn that focusing on positive behavior and routines will help a classroom have less stress and children have more fun!

As early childhood educators, we can start building a strong foundation for literacy from the moment children enter our classrooms, whether they are two months old or four years old. This session will help you learn new strategies to incorporate literacy throughout the day in your classroom at every stage of young children’s development, from infancy through preschool. All of the the strategies and activities we will cover are aligned to GOLD, and will help you in your efforts to accurately assess the young children in your classroom.

Emotional literacy is the ability to identify, understand, and express emotions in a healthy way. It is the foundation of emotional development. Young children are just starting to develop this knowledge, and teachers have an important role in supporting that development. This session provides an overview of emotional literacy, then takes a deep dive into how teachers can intentionally teach emotional literacy throughout the course of the day.

Ever wonder how to help families understand what they can and cannot expect their child to know and be able to do at any age? This workshop outlines the sequence of skills that children can be expected to acquire as they develop in four developmental domains (social-emotional, physical, language/communication, and cognitive) and ways to support that development from infancy through 5 years old. Teachers will leave with information and activity ideas they can use in their classroom and that they can share with families too!

In their daily work with parents and children, child care professionals have a unique window into families’ strengths and challenges. When we witness a troubled interaction between parent and child it can be difficult to understand how the parent can react in ways we may believe are negative or hurtful to their children. This full day session will give participants an opportunity to use the skill of self-awareness to reflect on past experiences with children and to recognize the wide range of feelings evoked by these interactions, monitor their own thought and reactions in response to witnessing a troubled parent-child interaction, think about parenting practices, and outline the legal definition of child abuse and neglect.

This session provides early childhood educators with a foundational understanding of early childhood development and learning and the Louisiana Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS). Learn about theories of early childhood development and learning, developmentally appropriate practices, and the purpose, structure, and uses of the Louisiana ELDS. Educators will learn why this information is key to their work as early care and education providers and will practice putting their newly acquired knowledge into practice through hands-on activities that can be easily transferred into practical applications within their classrooms.

Everyone has day-to-day stress to manage but did you know stress can affect teachers’ relationships with the children in their care? In fact, research, suggests that young children’s early attachment bonds have deep and lasting effects on their ability to manage stress, communicate with body language, stay tuned ­in to their emotions, and easily forgive or let go of grudges as adults. Because the quality of these primary relationships is heavily dependent upon a caregivers’ physical and mental well-being it is critical that teachers are able to: 1) focus on meeting their own needs and the needs of the child simultaneously; and 2) appropriately manage stress so that it does not adversely affect the relationship between the child and themselves. Participants attending this 2-hour workshop will develop a better understanding of their own stressors and signs of stress, techniques and strategies they can use to lessen their levels of stress, and will leave with an individualized action plan for managing stress in the future.

This two-hour session focuses specifically on how to increase the length and quality of conversations with children, including young infants and toddlers. Participants will learn the key elements and benefits of meaningful communication and conversations with infants, toddlers, and preschool children, understand strategies teachers can use to engage young children in conversations and identify opportunities to have conversations with children during daily activities and routines.

This two-hour interactive session session will provide participants with high-level early language support in infant classrooms, through a deeper understanding of the Infant CLASS tool and high-quality teacher-child interactions. session participants will practice realistic strategies for implementing self-talk, imitating and initiating sounds or words; modeling turn-taking, and effectively using toys for expansion and extension of language. This session will also show how early language support strategies connect other Infant CLASS dimensions.

Would you like to learn how to use positive behavior support strategies with your preschool children to help them understand and control their emotions? Do you know what your hot buttons are and how they affect how you interact with your children? This three-hour session is designed to introduce preschool educators and family child care home providers to strategies that can be used to help children learn: to follow rules, routines, and directions; to identify feelings in themselves and others; to control anger and impulse; and to engage in social problem solving. Participants attending this session will leave with hands-on materials they can immediately use in their classroom to support children’s positive behaviors.

In this two-hour session participants will learn strategies to provide feedback that supports children’s engagement and learning. Three main strategies are discussed: engaging in frequent back-and-forth exchanges with children; asking children to explain their thought processes; and encouraging children’s efforts.

This session is specifically designed for teaching teams. If you do not have a partner in your classroom, this session will not be helpful to you. The purpose of this session is to help teachers engage in ongoing and effective communication with each other to support quality teaching and learning in the classroom. Two main types of teacher communication will be described: communication that supports general classroom organization and teamwork and communication that supports children’s learning. Participants will watch video clips that illustrate a variety of examples of teacher talk and engage in learning activities that will offer participants opportunities to discuss and practice effective ways to communicate with each other.

Designed specifically to help preschool teachers develop strategies in creating language-rich conversation that support children’s oral language development, this session will provide background knowledge, exploration, and real-life application in the art of conversing with preschool children. Participants will discuss key research-based findings about oral language development, utilize Language Modeling indicators to describe best practices for language and vocabulary development, and practice ways to create engaging conversations throughout the classroom.

Learn how activities should be planned by a teacher. This three-hour session uses videos of the development of a physical skill (riding tricycles) to illustrate the concept of sequence and scaffolding. A second video shows a teacher interacting with children in a way that develops math skills to illustrate how to take advantage of children’s interest and to include supporting activities in the curriculum. One activity supports participants’ understanding of alignment. The session includes an opportunity for participants to use the concepts and create a plan they can use in their classroom.

Research shows that one of the most integral parts of an early learning environment is the positive teacher and child interactions. In this session, teachers will learn appropriate and meaningful ways to interact with the children in their care to ensure optimal social and emotional development.

This session outlines the sequence of skills that children can be expected to acquire as they develop. Participants will learn strategies to use in the classroom that support a child at each stage of development, and promotes their growth in all five developmental domains (physical, social/emotional, adaptive, communication/language, and cognitive).

As the early care and education field becomes increasingly diverse, the ability to collaborate effectively with parents and children from different backgrounds is increasingly critical to providing quality services. This full day session offers child care professionals the opportunity to explore how one culture influences care giving style. Participants will also learn about culture and child maltreatment.

Do you want to learn how to overcome toxic stress and trauma across your program? Leaders attending this three-hour session will learn the role that Emotional Intelligence plays in building resilience and will leave with concrete strategies they can immediately use in their daily practice.

It is recommended that you take the All About ACEs and Trauma workshop before attending this workshop so that you are armed with the knowledge and understanding you need to get the most out of this session. In this 3-hour workshop, you will be introduced to the “Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework” and the Frog Street “Six Building Blocks of Family Engagement”. You will also learn helpful strategies to engage families in the learning process which is critical in mitigating the effects of the adverse conditions children and families face every day.

Ever wonder where to begin to support children’s social-emotional competence and positive behavior? This session introduces The Pyramid Model, and will provide research-based strategies and resources from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations of Early Learning (CSEFEL) for you to put into use in your classroom. Discussions and activities will provide information and include strategies that will help you build a solid social emotional foundation for preschool-aged children.

It is recommended that participants take the All About ACEs and Trauma workshop before attending this workshop so they are armed with the knowledge and understanding they need to get the most out of this session. In this 3-hour workshop, teachers will be introduced to the “Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework” and the Frog Street “Six Building Blocks of Family Engagement”. Teachers will also learn helpful strategies to engage families in the learning process, which is critical in mitigating the effects of the adverse conditions children and families face every day.

Do you want to help children in your classroom overcome toxic stress and trauma? Teachers attending this three-hour session will learn the role that Emotional Intelligence plays in building resilience and will leave with concrete strategies they can immediately use in their daily practice. Building resilience is a process that teachers must develop in themselves before they can provide the social-emotional support that young children need to develop their own resilience.

Conversations are the bedrock of effective teacher-child interactions. This session will give you new ideas you can use to increase the length and quality of conversations with children, including young infants and toddlers. Having “thick” conversations with lots of back-and-forth helps children develop their communication skills, develop higher-level thinking skills, improve their vocabularies and grammar, and much more. Come to this session to learn how to define an “extended conversation” and find out what makes a conversation “thick.”

Feeling like you do not know what to say or do so that your preschoolers follow the classroom rules? This session will help you see the role that the classroom routines, transitions, schedules, and structure play in supporting positive behavior. You will leave this session feeling prepared to make changes to the way you run your classroom so that you can minimize misbehavior and run a well-oiled preschool classroom.

Have you ever wondered what those CLASS observers are looking for when they visit your classroom? This Full-Day experience will first provide you with an introduction to the Toddler CLASS tools so you can learn what CLASS observations are and why Louisiana uses them to measure program quality. We will then take a deeper dive into the Domains and Dimensions of Toddler CLASS, and learn how CLASS indicators and behaviors are used throughout the day in everyday activities and routines. You will learn how to use CLASS to guide your interactions with children throughout their daily routines, including center time, snacks and meals, clean-up and circle time. And lastly you will learn how CLASS aligns with whichever curriculum you care using.

Have you ever wondered what those CLASS observers are looking for when they visit your classroom? Or are you a new teacher? If so, Toddler CLASS Overview is just what you need! This session will provide you with an introduction to the Toddler CLASS tool so you can learn what CLASS observations are and why Louisiana uses them to measure program quality. This session will also help you connect CLASS to your knowledge of how preschool children develop and learn. We will do a “deeper dive” into the domains and dimensions of Toddler CLASS.

Creating a language-rich environment, encouraging children to talk and teaching them how to use language to communicate is what Language Modeling is all about. Sounds good but what does it look like in your everyday practice? In this two hour session, participants will build understanding of the Toddler CLASS Dimension Language Modeling and be provided with strategies to take home and put into use in your classroom as soon as you get back!

Responding to what children say and do in ways that deepen their understanding or encourage them to persist is what Quality of Feedback is all about. Sounds good but how do you do that? What does it look like in your everyday practice? In this two hour session, participants will build understanding of the Toddler CLASS Dimension Quality of Feedback and provide you with strategies to take home and put into use in your classroom as soon as you get back!

Engage your busy and curious toddlers by taking an active role in facilitating their experiences. Learn how to support children’s growth and development in both activities and routines. Specifically, we will explore strategies related to the Facilitation of Learning and Development, Quality of Feedback and Language Modeling dimensions of the Toddler CLASS tool.

Learn how CLASS indicators and behaviors are used throughout the day in everyday activities and routines. High-quality interactions can (and should) happen at almost every moment of the day, from the time a child arrives in the morning until they leave in the afternoon. You can use CLASS to guide your interactions with children throughout their daily routines, including center time, snacks and meals, clean-up and diapering. This session is very interactive, so participants should come with a general understanding of CLASS and be ready to put knowledge into action!

Learn about your own temperament traits and how to recognize temperament traits in the children in your classroom. This will give you a better understanding of how these individual traits impact the relationships you build with children. Use your new knowledge about temperament to improve Teacher Sensitivity, Regard for Child Perspectives and Behavior Guidance in your classroom, which are dimensions of the Emotional and Behavioral Support domain of the Toddler CLASS assessment.

This 2-hour interactive training module is designed to assist school administrators and center directors in increasing teaching effectiveness. While all administrators have access to observation scores, not all understand how to use this data effectively. Few have sufficient understanding of the CLASS® instrument itself to understand what is needed to improve teaching. Administrators will learn to access and use scores from the CLASS® to make data-driven decisions about teachers’ needs and develop strategies for efficiently observing teachers and providing instructional leadership.

Are you a program leader with concerns over your staff’s wellness and stress management during these trying times? If so, this 2-hour workshop Is for you. This session will present information to help leaders develop a better understanding of the relationship between staff wellness and effective teaching practices and explore how to ensure that teachers receive the support that they need in order to establish and maintain the same type of positive climate in their classrooms. Participants will learn about the role stress plays in the lives of adults and children, examine the relationship between staff wellness and effective teaching practices, and learn strategies to support staff wellness so teachers can then be able provide a safe, emotionally supportive positive climate for the children in their care.

Learn how to use formative assessment to support curriculum planning. Participants will engage in hands-on experiences and reflective discussions to identify how they are currently using child and group assessments in their work. In this session, you will analyze a recent CLASS Profile Report from GOLD® to complete a self-reflection exercise and identify potential areas for growth and focus for group and individual planning. You will use assessment data to critique your learning environment, instructional materials, and strategies for creating small groups to individualize each child’s learning opportunities.

Teachers will learn to use TS GOLD weekly planning forms to complete lesson plans and use the results of the Class Profile, Development, and Learning, and Documentation by Objective/Dimension Reports to inform those plans. They will find activities that support children development and learning based on TS GOLD assessment results for their children and generate weekly lesson plans for the children in their class. Participants should be familiar with GOLD and already have completed a checkpoint to take this class. This session requires participants to bring their computer, or IPad; however, they utilize TS GOLD.

Promoting children’s social and emotional competence and preventing and addressing challenging behaviors is an important topic that touches every early care and education program in every classroom across the country. This session introduces The Pyramid Model, and will provide research-based strategies and resources from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations of Early Learning (CSEFEL) for you to use in your classroom. Discussions and activities focused on understanding social emotional development and building brain connections in infants and toddlers will provide you with information and strategies that will help you in your daily work.

When you hear “Social Emotional Climate,” what do you think of? The social emotional climate is how caregivers, families, and children feel in the setting. When infants, toddlers and adults feel the climate supports them and meets their needs, they are more likely to act in positive ways. Social emotional climate includes: how children and adults feel about themselves and the work they are doing (whether it is playing, teaching, or parenting), how behavior is recognized and valued, how conflicts are resolved, how children and adults are spoken to, how positive behaviors are encouraged, how children’s needs are responded to, and how emotions are discussed and validated. The social and emotional climate (including the relationships that contribute to the climate) contributes greatly to how infants and toddlers behave. This session will take you through the key elements that support a positive social emotional climate so that you can meet your children’s needs.

Not sure what to do when conflicts occur between children in your classroom? Wish there was an easier way to take care of these? This session can help! This session focuses on how to become more proactive and effective in your classroom behavior management and how you can help children learn how to engage in conflict resolution. Participants will be introduced to and practice five straightforward steps, called THINK FIVE, that can then be used to effectively work with children to solve problems when they arise in the preschool classroom.

Calling all new teachers! Take a journey and explore the world of early childhood education. You will learn about the assessment tools used in Louisiana for the growth and welfare of young children. You will also design a classroom, learn about intentional teaching, practice strategies, and how to engage in meaningful conversations with children. This session offers essential information and hand-on activities designed to help you understand what a high-quality classroom should look like, and what tools are available to help you improve. This is a full-day experience.

This two-hour session introduces zoning as an effective practice for lead teachers working with other teaching staff in a classroom to use in order to establish an organized and effective classroom that maximizes learning for children. Participants will view videos, examples of organizational charts, and maps and practice creating their own charts and maps too! This is a great session for co-teachers to attend together to enhance collaboration among staff.