Current Ohio Approved Trainings
Participants will understand the benefits of using STEM activities and their role as a facilitator of learning. Participants will create and develop STEM activity box for children grades K-6.
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Participants will understand how active play enables and encourages children to make connections between literacy and the components of literacy; Listening and Talking, Reading and Writing.
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Age Group: School Age
Participants will learn effective conferencing techniques and how to ask and listen to develop a deeper understanding of the needs of family members.
CDA Area: To establish positive and productive relationships with families
Age Group: Infant, Toddler, Preschool. and School Age
This session is designed to learn and create outdoor learning activities that are fun in addition to meeting the State content standards.
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Age Group: School Age
Outside Learning, Outside FUN provides teachers with educational fun learning games to play outside. Kids will be having so much fun playing games, they won’t even realize they are learning as well.
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Age Group: School Age
Cognitive development in the early childhood setting. How to use developmentally appropriate learning experiences and teaching strategies to promote curiosity, reasoning and problem-solving and to lay the foundation for all later learning. A look at their theory associated with cognitive development and executive function will be covered.
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Age Group: Infant, Toddler and Preschool
Candidate uses a variety of developmentally appropriate learning experiences and teaching strategies for children to explore music, movement, and the visual arts, and to develop and express their individual creative abilities.
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Age Group: Infant, Toddler and Preschool
Participants will use a variety of developmentally appropriate learning experiences and teaching strategies to promote children’s language and literacy learning and help them communicate their thoughts and feelings verbally and nonverbally. Dual language learners’ strategies will also be discussed.
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Age Group: Infant, Toddler, and Preschool
AfterSchool KidzMath offers expertly developed games and story guides that help kids practice mathematical concepts in engaging ways and build confidence in their abilities. The cooperative nature of the program fosters children’s ability to make decisions with others, be responsible for their own learning and behavior, and have equal time to practice math skills
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Age Group: School Age
KidzLit is an afterschool literacy enrichment program that helps children develop a love of reading while also building literacy skills, a sense of community, and shared values. It is creative, active and fun! The carefully selected books and unique activities spotlight children’s own lives and what matters to them. Children hear and read stories about people like themselves.
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Age Group: School Age
Do you know you are supposed to read books with children but are not sure how to select appropriate books or what to do with them once you have them? This introductory workshop will help you identify quality, age appropriate children’s literature, provide strategies for reading effectively and develop skills for making story time an interactive experience.
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Age Group: Infant, Toddler and Preschool
The Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) program is based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Coordinated School Health model. Participants will learn how to implement the physical activities and nutrition education into their afterschool program.
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Age Group: School Age
This training focuses on mindfulness in early childhood education. Participants will gain an understanding of what mindfulness is, why it is important and strategies to incorporate it into their classroom, with individual and group activities.
CDA Area: To promote social and emotional development and to provide positive guidance
Age Group: Preschool and School Age
Strong language and literacy skills are essential for children’s success in school and life. Participants will understand the components of literacy and how to incorporate language and literacy into all program areas.
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Age Group: Infant and Toddlers
A look at the Ohio Early Learning and Development Standards and implementation guide. Participants will learn strategies to link standards to everyday practices in the early childhood classroom to help their students become successful learners.
CDA Area: To ensure a well-run purposeful program responsive to participants needs
Age Group: Infant, Toddler and Preschool
An in-depth look at the ASQ:SE-2 Assessment system and the design and layout, and how to complete observations. Time will be spent practicing and scoring ASQ:SE-2 examples. Participants will learn how to use, score, and refer children (if needed).
CDA Area: Observing and Recording Children’s Behavior
Age Group: Infant, Toddler, Preschool
Participants will organize and uses relationships, the physical space, materials, daily schedule, and routines to create a secure, interesting, and enjoyable environment that promotes engagement, play, exploration, and learning of all children with special needs.
CDA Area: To establish a safe, healthy, learning environment
Age Group: Preschool and School Age
Candidate establishes a positive and cooperative relationship with each child’s family, engages in two-way communication with families. Encourage their involvement in the program and supports the child’s relationship with his or her family.
CDA Area: To establish positive and productive relationships with families
Age Group: Infant, Toddler and Preschool
“Help Children Get Ready to Read” is a workshop for improving the quality of language modeling and early literacy interactions in your preschool program. Participants will learn about early literacy research and best practices to inspire children to improve comprehension and response to language, books and stories”
CDA Area: Principles of growth and development
Age Group: Infant, Toddler and Preschool
Through the use of two popular children’s novels, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlotte’s Web, participants will learn how to develop literacy skills while incorporating STEM content. Participants will have “hands-on” experiences with STEM projects related to the novels. Participants will choose a novel of their choice and create a STEM activity to share with the group.
CDA Area: To advance physical and intellectual development
Age Group: School Age
Participants will learn strategies to successfully prepare for parent teacher conferences, set goals with families and to keep families engaged in their child’s education.
CDA Area: To establish positive and productive relationships with families
Age Group: Infant, Toddler, Preschool and School Age
This 10-session web-based course will guide you through the core methodology of Conscious Discipline, a leader in brain-based social-emotional learning that’s proven to build resilience in children, families, educators and schools. Dr. Becky Bailey — an educator, author, child development expert and founder of Conscious Discipline — takes you to the heart of the powers, skills and structures that make Conscious Discipline a transformational powerhouse.
CDA Area: To promote social and emotional development and to provide positive guidance
Age Group: Infant, Toddler, Preschool, and School Age
The crucial development of the growing brain is one of the most important topics in early childhood development. Research on the topic is exploding, underscoring the need for early childhood professionals to stay up-to-date on brain development and strategies to best support the growing brains of the infants and young children in their care.
ZERO TO THREE’s The Growing Brain is an innovative professional development that provides a toolkit of how the brain develops, along with science-supported practical ways that early childhood professionals can encourage healthy brain development in children from birth to 5 years old.
The Growing Brain is an innovative course that provides a toolkit of how the brain develops step-by-step, neuron-by-neuron. The series of 7, three-hour units provides explanations of brain processes and the effects of outside influences.
This training curriculum covers:
• both the architecture and neurobiology of brain development
• supporting language, cognition, prosocial behavior, and social-emotional development
• reducing toxic stress that can negatively influence brain development of very young children
Unit 1 focuses on how the brain grows and develops from conception through 5 years old. In this training, you will learn the names of different parts or regions of the brain and their functions, gain an understanding of how nerve cells communicate and connect, learn about neuroplasticity and examine the role of early experiences in making connections between areas of the brain.
Unit 2 focuses on the key factors that affect brain development and how to support healthy brain development overall. In this training, you will identify factors that affect brain growth and development, understand how stress can affect brain development and learn strategies (the 5 R’s) for supporting healthy brain development.
Unit 3 focuses on communication and language skills that develop in the first 5 years, the brain’s role in the development of these skills, and how to support them. In this training, you will learn about specific communication milestones and when they typically emerge and how this relates to brain development, learn strategies for supporting early communication skills and gain an understanding of how multilanguage learning occurs.
Unit 4 focuses on how young children develop cognitive and executive functions in relation to the developing brain. In this training, you will learn how cognitive development unfolds in young children and how to support its development in young children, learn about executive functioning and its critical role in cognitive and overall development and how to support the development of executive functions.
Unit 5 focuses on how social-emotional development unfolds in the first 5 years and the brain’s role in this process. In this training, you will learn about the areas of the brain involved in social interactions and emotional reactions, explore the role of relationships and attachment in social-emotional development, the effect of stress on social-emotional development, the development of empathy in very young children and how to support social-emotional development in young children.
Unit 6 focuses on how children’s behavior is influenced by the brain. In this training, you will learn about basic brain anatomy, connections between areas of the brain and how these connections are expressed through behavior, key factors that influence behavior, the root causes of challenging behavior and effective strategies for helping children with these difficulties.
Unit 7 focuses on the stages and types of play that unfold in early childhood, the role of the brain in this process, and how to maximize children’s learning through play. In this training, you will learn about the development of play, the differences between free and guided play, and core skills children develop through play and how to promote these skills.
This training delves into the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma on brain development, behavior, and learning. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the neuroscience behind trauma, exploring how stress and adversity alter brain function and impact a child’s ability to focus, regulate emotions, and engage in learning.
Learn strategies to encourage children’s creativity through developmentally appropriate experience. Through this hands-on session, participants will understand the importance and benefit of process focused creative experiences for young children. Methods for introducing materials to encourage and motivate children’s creative thinking throughout the classroom will discussed.
We have all heard that reading and talking with infants and toddlers is important, but have you ever wondered how and why? This workshop will provide you with all the background knowledge and practical tips you need to start creating a quality language and literacy—rich environment for the infants and toddlers in your care.
Opportunities for math and science lessons are numerous and quite readily available to perform throughout a day. The integration of math and science into other basic curricular components can be incorporated and experienced with ease—in literature, art, centers/interest areas, outdoor explorations and activities, mealtime, transitions, normal rituals and routines, conversations, and other miscellaneous, everyday events. Because math and science often “looks different” in a preschool setting versus time in later years, teachers, caregivers, and parents can expect to apply and direct activities in a fun yet informative manner. Concepts such as number, patterns, similarities and differences, cause and effect, grouping, counting, seriation, representations, hypotheses, outcomes/results, research, inquiry, and analysis tend to combine both science and math ideas. Participants will learn how to incorporate those concepts into any curriculum while at the same time using materials that tend to be readily and/or already available in most classrooms.
Children’s learning potential is greatly increased when all persons in a child’s life are working together to provide the best for the child—learning is always experience, content, and context determined. Whether a child is at home, in a classroom, exploring a neighborhood, on a family outing, or just involved in daily life events, learning is taking place. By engaging families in the learning process, teachers and caregivers can enhance curriculum and provide those experiences and options that offer unique and creative avenues of learning. But in order for a program to be successful and provide effective and meaningful family engagement, educators must take into consideration a variety of factors—who is the family, community demographics, trust levels between educator and family, uniqueness of families, school/classroom/teacher perceptions by family members, quality of program, and collaborative and reciprocal communication. This session is designed to provide multiple suggestions and practical ideas on how to effectively set up and maintain family engagement that will support every child’s learning potential and help family members feel needed and an important part of their child’s learning life.
Outdoor play is a critical component of early childhood programs. Participants will learn the benefits of risky play and how to support all areas of learning and development.
Looking for ways to tap into children’s natural sense of curiosity? Loose parts may just be the answer you have been searching for. Within a responsive learning environment, the use of loose parts strengthens creativity, problem-solving skills, divergent thinking, independence and critical thinking skills. Explore the theory and implementation of loose parts with infants and toddlers in this hands-on workshop.
Embark on a transformative journey to deepen your connection with yourself and others while uncovering the joy that comes with growth.
Through guided activities, group discussions, and personal reflection, you’ll learn how to:
• Build pathways that align with your values and aspirations.
• Shape a future rooted in resilience, creativity, and intention.
• Rediscover and cultivate joy as a powerful force for personal growth.
Join us to shape a future filled with possibility and build meaningful connections along the way!
In this class, participants will explore the fundamentals of writing objective observations in early education settings. Objective observations are essential for accurately documenting children’s actions, behaviors, and interactions without bias or interpretation. This session will provide best practices for crafting clear, factual, and actionable observations that support assessment, planning, and communication with families.
Through practical examples and hands-on activities, participants will learn how to:
-Differentiate between objective and subjective observations.
-Use descriptive, precise language to record children’s development and learning.
-Avoid assumptions or judgments in their documentation.
This course is designed for early childhood educators seeking to enhance their observation and documentation skills to better support children’s growth and learning.
Unleash creativity and critical thinking in school-age children through hands-on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) activities! This interactive workshop is designed for educators and program leaders looking to inspire curiosity, collaboration, and problem-solving in their afterschool programs. Participants will explore a variety of age-appropriate, engaging STEAM activities that foster innovation and critical thinking. Learn how to guide students through the process of thinking critically, building creatively, and solving challenges effectively—all while making learning fun and meaningful!
Discover how the physical and emotional environment of a classroom shapes learning outcomes and fosters a sense of belonging. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore the concept of “place” and its impact on student engagement, creativity, and success. Learn how to design classrooms that inspire collaboration, promote inclusivity, and empower every learner
This engaging, hands-on workshop introduces participants to the concept of loose parts and the benefits of their use for infants and toddlers. Loose parts are open-ended materials that encourage exploration, creativity, and problem-solving, fostering early cognitive and motor development. Participants will learn how to select, present, and use loose parts to create rich sensory and developmental experiences tailored to the youngest learners.
Discover the limitless potential of loose parts play in early childhood education! This interactive workshop explores how simple, everyday materials can spark creativity, problem-solving, and independent thinking in young learners. Participants will learn the principles of loose parts theory, explore hands-on activities, and gain practical strategies for integrating open-ended play into preschool settings.
Early childhood screening plays a crucial role in identifyingdevelopmental strengths and areas that may require support.This interactive workshop provides a comprehensive overviewof the Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3) and Ages &Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional, Second Edition(ASQ:SE-2)—two widely used tools for assessing youngchildren’s development and social-emotional well-being.
Learn how effective transitions throughout the day will increase positive behavior and increase learning opportunities. Participants will have ready to use ideas for making the movement through the day go smooth!
