S.T.A.R.S. Classes

Speaker Series: Reimagining our Work with Ann Pelo

Two evenings of Engaging Professional Development

October 10, 2019, 6:00 – 9:00 PM – From Teaching to Thinking: Reimagining Curriculum
February 20, 2020, 6:00 – 9:00 PM – A Culture of Conversation: Reimagining Relationships with Families

Please join us for presentations, networking, and hands-on activities. 3 STARS Hours Available each evening.
$100 for Both Evenings or $75 for Each Evening
These events are open to Friends, Families, Program Directors, Owners, and Staff. We will begin the evening with a Presentation from Ann in the Magic Lantern Theater. After the presentation we will gather in the Community Building Children’s Center (right next door) to engage with one another and the ideas presented. Light food and beverage will be available.

Ann Pelo is a teacher educator, program consultant, and author whose primary work focuses on reflective pedagogical practice, social justice and ecological teaching and learning, and the art of mentoring. Her work is anchored by a commitment to the right of educators to be intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually engaged by their work.

Ann worked as an early childhood teacher and teacher mentor for sixteen years at a childcare center in Seattle. Currently, Ann collaborates with early childhood educators, teachers, and administrators in North America, Australia, and New Zealand, thinking with them about inquiry-based teaching and learning, pedagogical leadership, and the necessary place of ecological identity in children’s – and adults’ – lives.

Ann is the author of six books, most recently From Teaching to Thinking: A Pedagogy for Reimagining Our Work, with Margie Carter (2018). She is the Co-Editor of the Reimagining Our Work Collection, a series of books by early childhood educators that illuminate a pedagogical approach anchored by a commitment to social justice, deep listening, teacher research, and documentation that foregrounds educators’ thinking about children’s thinking.

30 Hour Child Care Basics – Hybrid

Meet Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) licensing requirements for new staff in a fun, engaging atmosphere. This training is suitable for centers, family child care, and school-age programs. All classes are held in our training room. Work outside of class is required.
Students must attend all classes to receive their certificate and be eligible for reimbursement from DCYF. Classes may be made up the next time the class is offered at no extra charge.  Registration is required.

Saturdays, 8am – 3:30pm each day
Next Series: TBD

30 STARS credits – $250

The Growing Brain

The Growing Brain, by ZERO to THREE, is an innovative professional development opportunity being offered through a partnership between Child Care Aware of Eastern Washington and Blueprints for Learning. Bobbi Cobb, M.Ed. and Shannon Blewett, M.A.

In this course, you will learn:

• The science of how the brain develops, along with ways you can encourage healthy brain development in young children.
• The skills and strategies you need to:
  • reduce children’s stress
  • support language and cognition
  • promote healthy social-emotional development in very young children.

Did you know that early childhood music research shows that ALL children are musical? And that YOU can help children learn to sing in tune and keep the beat? This hands-on class teaches how music learning supports all learning! The Music Together curriculum supports the Teaching Strategies GOLD™ Objectives for Development as well as other standards of quality within the early childhood field. Good for infant, toddler, and preschool teachers/administrators seeking to improve quality through participation in Early Achievers.

4 STARS credits – $80

The Environment Rating Scale (ERS) provides foundational guidelines that help you set up your program according to best practices for early care and learning. This includes insight into your environment, schedule and routines, activities, and interactions. This 10-hour class will provide information about the ERS rating scale as it relates to either preschool, infant/toddler, or family child care programs so participants can self-assess their classrooms, set goals, and make improvements. ERS scores counts for 15 points on the Early Achiever rating scale.

We offer class series’ that are specific to the Infant/Toddler ERS (ITERS), the Early Childhood ERS (ECERS), and the Family Child Care ERS (FCCERS).

10 STARS credits – $100

C.L.A.S.S. (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) measures the relationships and interactions in early learning programs that relate to better outcomes for children and provides guidance for improving these elements of your program. This 10-hour class will help teachers identify their strengths and set goals. Participants will be asked to work on their goals between sessions and share their experiences with their peers. C.L.A.S.S. counts for 40 points in the Early Achiever Rating Scale, which makes it the most heavily weighted component of the rating.

We offer class series’ that are specific to the Toddler C.L.A.S.S. and The Preschool C.L.A.S.S..

10 STARS credits – $100

Make & Takes
Come enjoy hands-on experiences with hands-on activities. Learn how each content area fits into the framework of Early Achievers. You will leave with activities that you can put right to use in your classroom and plan an activity that helps you engage children in observing, predicting, and experimenting.

Each of these classes will focus on a different content area and participants will learn how each area relates to the Early Achiever standards and the overall framework of best practices for early learning. Participants will understand the content area and how it relates to the Early Achiever standards. Participants will plan and prepare an activity in the content area to execute in the classroom. Participants will execute the activity in the classroom before the next class meeting in order to discuss the successes and failures of the activity. Participants will be confident in the content area and the execution of activities in the classroom related to the content area as well as how to scale the activity for the age and ability of the students in their classrooms.

Part 1 will provide a framework for the content area aligned with the Early Achiever standards, participants will have hands-on experiences with a variety of materials, then plan and prepare activities for their programs.

In Part 2 participants will share their stories about impact of the activities and materials they introduced in their programs.

Each class is 5 STARS credits – $50

Science

Math

Arts in Education + Mentoring

We believe that the arts are an important vehicle for young children’s construction of knowledge and helping children see themselves as thinkers. These workshops will allow teachers an opportunity to explore four materials in order to increase their confidence when using them with children. In this workshop, participants explore the qualities of the material, learn tips for managing it, and are offered a variety of possibilities for the use of it with children that will help lay a foundation of critical thinking and problem solving. This class includes a mentoring opportunity for teacher participants, which includes release time so that teacher participants can work side by side with our Art Studio Mentor as she guides young children using our arts-based curriculum.

The series will include:

• The Language of Paint
• The Language of Clay
• The Language of Paper
• The Language of Loose Parts
• The Language of Light

Challenging Behavior
When children exhibit challenging behaviors, it can have a negative impact on an entire program. The quicker we can address the issue by figuring out what the child is trying to tell us through his/her actions, the quicker we can resolve the problem. This two-part class will provide concrete ideas for finding out what lies under the behavior and strategies for supporting children in getting their needs met in positive ways. Participants will make a plan for dealing with a challenging behavior in Part One of the class. Part Two will be spent sharing how you implemented the plan and how it impacted the child and the rest of the group.

5 STARS credits – $50