New research and a fresh outlook by the American Academy of Pediatrics confirm that screen time for young children is rapidly increasing at younger ages. This course will provide strategies for staying current on this rapidly evolving topic. In addition, it will provide attendees with tools for supporting caregivers of today’s youngest and most vulnerable media users. Participants will also hear reputable research findings related to the impact of technology on early child development.

Culture impacts all of us and who we are. It is important to consider culture in early learning as young children are developing their identity and sense of belonging. After an overview of what is and why use culturally responsive teaching, this course provides numerous practical ideas to be responsive and inclusive of all cultures when working in an early childhood setting.

This course addresses the challenges of working with young boys in early childhood programs. After discussing some of the many reasons why young boys are more difficult to care for and educate than young girls, a variety of suggestions are provided to address this dilemma, from overall policy and school-wide program changes to curricula, instruction, and the environment alterations.

This course discusses the challenge of meeting the unique needs of twice-exceptional students in early childhood programs. These students are both gifted and talented, and have one or more special needs or developmental delays. Several approaches to teaching these children are provided, including three specific teaching models.

Block play is essential to every child’s physical, social-emotional, and cognitive development and key in building important 21st-century skills such as initiative, persistence, creative thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. This course will explore the benefits of block play and help teachers acquire or expand expertise in arranging the block area, selecting materials, establishing rules, and providing time for open-ended exploration. It will also identify the stages of block play as well as the components of a play-based, teacher-guided learning experience with blocks.

Screen-time is a buzzword in the media and in child development circles, with differing opinions, conflicting research findings, and professional biases. Today’s lecture will dispel myths and confirm reputable research findings related to the impact of technology on early child development.

Behavior is frequently the first sign of underlying emotional difficulties in early childhood. Many times these early symptoms are signs of diagnoses such as ADHD. This course will provide information regarding ADHD, the common manifestations of ADHD symptoms, the neurological impact of ADHD, common interventions for ADHD and potential differential diagnosis.

Building vocabulary for children and adults is important for success in school and life. Explore effective strategies and generate ideas to increase the number of words used by children, parents, and yourself.

A large and complex feeling vocabulary is a prerequisite skill to emotional regulation and successful interpersonal interactions for children and adults. This course will provide information on the value, as well as evidence-based strategies, in resolving and preventing challenging behaviors in young children (ages 18 months through 7 years of age) by recognizing, acknowledging, and supporting children’s development of social-emotional literacy.

A large and complex feeling vocabulary is a prerequisite skill to emotional regulation and successful interpersonal interactions for children and adults. This presentation, the second in a two-part series, will provide further information and specific evidence-based strategies for early childhood educators to utilize as they support babies and young children’s development of social-emotional literacy.