Professional Workshops for Childcare Providers

Exchange Family Center offers single session workshops for childcare providers, as well as ongoing training and coaching sessions, and some CEU opportunities. The standard available topics are listed below, but customized training is available as well.

Early Childhood Outreach Workshops

Toxic Stress and Early Brain Development
This session will provide an overview of what the American Academy of Pediatrics terms “toxic stress” and how the neurobiology of stress and trauma can create long-term problems in children’s development, affecting attention, memory, and impulse control.
 
Buffering Stress through Responsive Relationships
We will explore how caring adults can protect children from the effects of toxic stress by providing 1) protection, 2) structure, 3) comfort, and 4) coaching. This session includes specific strategies for fostering protective relationships, as well as how to help at-risk children develop emotional and behavioral self-regulation. (Part 2 – can be offered with or after Toxic Stress training)
 
Make and Take Series
These workshops include the creation of a visual support that can be immediately implemented in your classroom.  All sessions include training on the topic with examples of several visuals for the classroom.  Each participant can make one visual at the session. 
Topics: Positive Relationships; Supportive Environments and Emotional Literacy
 
Building Positive Relationships with Children and Families
Strong relationships are the base of a successful classroom.  Learn the ways teachers can shape the climate of their classroom with specific strategies to connect with the children and families.
 
Parent/Teacher Conferences — facilitating a successful conversation
This session includes a structure for conferences and techniques on how to have difficult conversations with families. 
 
Giving Directions: We’re not in the Army now.
Strategies on how to give directions that lead to increased compliance (and therefore, the need to give fewer directions!).
 
Classroom Transitions: Idle Hands are the devil’s workshop.
Transitions can take up to half of the school day.  Learn techniques to make them go faster, be less stressful and not allow children to go off track.
 
Successful Circle Times: who, what, when, where and why?
Making circle time a time to unite as a community while learning important academic and social skills.  Separate sessions for 1-3 year old classrooms and 3-5 year old classrooms. 
 
Using Visuals: A Picture is worth a Thousand Words.
Visuals in the classroom guide children more effectively through their day.  Learn the whats, whys, and hows of visuals.  What to create, why helpful, and how to teach and implement in the classroom.
 
Early Childhood Milestones
A review of the realms of development, red flags, and where to turn for more help. 
 
Social Emotional Development of Young Children
Discuss the stages of typical social emotional development and ways to support children in their development of self-help skills, social skills, and emotional regulation.
 
What are You Feeling? Increasing Children’s Emotional IQ
Before children can learn to stay calm and manage difficult situations they need to understand their feelings.   Learn strategies to teach children about their emotions and express them in an appropriate way.
 
Problem-Solving with Children, ages 2-5
“I had it first.” “She hit me.” The squabbles go on and on.  As adults we can spend our time breaking up fights or we can spend the same time teaching children how to resolve their own problems.  Make your day easier while teaching children lifelong skills.
 
Calm Down Techniques
It’s ok to be angry it’s what we do with our anger.  Emotional Regulation is a lifelong struggle for many of us.  Learn strategies to ease the road for our youngest children.  (First participants must take What are you Feeling and Problem Solving.)
 
School Readiness
Writing your name, knowing your letters…we can emphasize these items or we can focus what research shows is most important for school (and life) success.  Learn about the research and how to assist children with the social emotion skills needed to be ready for school.
 
Durham Community Resources, Birth-5
Parents come to you with questions and concerns.  The needs of the children in your class are greater than you can address.  Learn of the many services in Durham County for families with young children.  Leave with information that you can give directly to families so they can get the help they need.  For professionals who works with children ages birth-5 in Durham County.

CEU Opportunities for Childcare Professionals

Toxic Stress, Early Brain Development and Buffering Stress
This 5 hour class (done in one or two sessions) will provide an overview of what the American Academy of Pediatrics terms “toxic stress” and how the neurobiology of stress and trauma can create long-term problems in children’s development, affecting attention, memory, and impulse control. We will explore how caring adults can protect children from the effects of toxic stress by providing 1) protection, 2) structure, 3) comfort, and 4) coaching. This session includes specific strategies for fostering protective relationships, as well as how to help at-risk children develop emotional and behavioral self-regulation.
 
Teaching Pyramid
The Teaching Pyramid is an evidence based model that decreases challenging behavior by increasing social emotional competencies.  This 18 hour seminar (over multiple months and sessions) examines each level of the pyramid and strategies to strengthen your classroom.   On-site coaching occurs in the classroom between seminar sessions.