S.T.A.R.S. Classes

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