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Early Childhood Educators Invited to Participate in Year-Long, Monthly Virtual Workshop Series

Event Date: January 20, 2021 through December 15, 2021

For early learning workers in rural communities, access to ongoing training is critical to building the skills necessary to deliver high quality care. It is also hard to come by. To address the challenge and improve quality of care for all children, The Learning Lamp and Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC) will launch Insights and Innovations – An ECE Conference Workshop Series beginning in January 2021. The workshops can be accessed virtually by any provider, no matter how rural, so long as they have access to the Internet.

The monthly workshops replace a planned in-person ECE conference that was scheduled for March 2020 but canceled due to COVID-19. Delivered via Zoom, the sessions will meet from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month through December 2021. Early childhood education professionals including preschool, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and early primary grade teachers and administrators are encouraged to attend. To reserve a spot, visit https://thelearninglamp.org/events/. In addition to The Learning Lamp, event sponsors include the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, Free Spirit Publishing, Music Together, and Bank Street Graduate Education.

The series shines a light on the importance of early childhood education and will equip participants with an array of strategies to help strengthen teaching skills and the academic, social, and emotional learning of the region’s littlest learners. PQAS hours and/or Act 48 credits will be awarded to participants for each completed two-hour session. The monthly online workshop series includes:

  • It’s Not All About You…Functioning as a Member of a Team (K6 C2)
  • Leave it at the Door: Managing Personal Stress in the Classroom (K6.1 C1 & K6.2 C2)
  • Observing Young Children (K4.14 C1 & K4.15 C2 & STARS SQ.3.4.8)
  • Communication and Language Development Including Dual Language Learners – Ages Birth to 5 Years (K3 C2 & STARS SW.3.4.3; SQ.3.4.9 & EC.3.4.4)
  • Social and Emotional Development – Ages Birth to 5 Years (K1.9 C1/C2 & STARS SQ.3.4.4)
  • The Importance of Supervision: Indoors & Out (K7.1 C2 & STARS LM.2.4)
  • Cognitive Development – Ages Birth to 5 (K1.4 C1/C2 & STARS SQ.3.4.4)
  • Developmentally Appropriate Practices Basics-S (K2.9 C1 & STARS SQ.3.4.10)
  • Temperament: One Key to Understanding Children (K1.7 C2 & STARS SQ.3.4.4)
  • The Importance of Relationships: Creating Powerful Interactions to Support Children’s Learning (K2.02/C3 & SQ.3.4.5; SQ.3.4.9; SQ.3.4.10)
  • Behind the Scenes: Examining Underlying Causes of Challenging Behaviors (K2.13 C3)
  • Loving Places and Learning Spaces for Infants and Toddlers (K2 C2)

Early bird discounts are available for people who register before Wednesday, January 20, 2021. PennAEYC members can sign up for all 12 workshops for only $50. Early bird registration for non-members is $60 for all 12 sessions. Registration after Wednesday, January 20 or for those selecting individual workshops, the cost is $10 per session.

ECE Instructors include:

  • Rose Snyder, Director of Member & Educational Services, PA Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC). Rose is a veteran child care center director who also spearheads Pennsylvania’s SharedSource PA shared services initiative.
  • Karen Rucker, Owner of RespectingChildren.com and Professional Development Consultant. Karen has more than 30 years of experience in early care and education, having held multiple roles as teacher, director, education coordinator, trainer, mentor, and multi-site center manager.

The workshops were organized by The Learning Lamp, based in Johnstown, PA. The nonprofit manages 20 licensed child care and preschool programs across four counties, as well as a regional shared services initiative.

“Although the pandemic ultimately forced a change in schedule and format, the Insights and Innovations workshop series is a tremendous opportunity for early learning professionals to strengthen their skills and learn more about the latest thinking in the field of early care and education. What’s more, because the trainings are virtual, the series promises to benefit early learning providers and teachers not just regionally, but statewide,” said Leah Spangler, Ed.D, President and CEO of The Learning Lamp.

For more information on The Learning Lamp and the ECE conference, visit https://thelearninglamp.org/events/.

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