As ECE professionals, we have an abundance of constantly evolving early childhood topics to consider as we prepare for another successful school year. Creating responsive classrooms and developmentally appropriate early childhood environments for all children isn’t easy by any means. According to ChildCare Education Institute, the industry leader for online professional development, there are 10 essential topics all ECE professionals must know this school year to offer all children opportunities to succeed.
10 Essential Topics ECE Professionals Must Know This School Year
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ChildCare Education Institute shares 10 essential topics every ECE professional must know and incorporate into their own early childhood environments. Whether you teach in a public or private school, Head Start, provide childcare at home, or teach in a center-based child care classroom, these 10 essential topics will offer necessary tools for helping each and every child succeed this year.
Essential Topics in ECE for Supporting Mental, Emotional, and Social Health in Early Childhood Environments
- Mindfulness: Mindfulness practices are critical tools to implement from the very beginning of the school year. Mindfulness practices can help children move toward self-regulation of behaviors, increase focus and engagement, and promote a feeling of ownership and empowerment for all children. When mindfulness is integrated into early childhood environments, a sense of community, empathy, and kindness ensues. ChildCare Education Institute’s course SOC 106: The Value of Mindfulness in Early Childhood explores calming and reflective approaches that can be implemented immediately for a successful start to the school year.
- Spirituality: Spirituality is important to the holistic development of all young children, although it is often overlooked. The relationship between spirituality and the quality of life in respect to emotional, physical, and social interactions is gradually gaining necessary recognition in ECE. ChildCare Education Institute’s course CHD 109: Supporting Spiritual Development in Early Learning Environments is based upon the work of Deborah Schein, author of the book, Inspiring Wonder, Awe, and Empathy – Spiritual Development in Young Children. The course explores what spiritual development is and why it is important to the overall development in children.
- Trauma Informed Care: Relationships with our kids matter. Before any curriculum can be effective, ECE professionals must observe and get to know our kids. ECE professionals work with diverse groups of students from all walks of life. Statistics show 26% of children living in America will experience some sort of trauma prior to age four. ECE administrators, teachers, and childcare staff must learn appropriate trauma informed practices for successful early childhood environments. ChildCare Education Institute offers the course SOC108: Establishing Trauma Informed Practices in Early Learning Environments which focuses on crucial tools to incorporate trauma informed practices into interactions with children.
- Bullying in the Classroom: Bullying can be physically harmful, but it can also occur as verbal or social in nature, too. Although bullying has been around for years, today’s ECE professionals are more proactive about reducing bullying and recognizing the differences between bullying and “rough and tumble” play. ChildCare Education Institute offers the course GUI 100: Bullying in the Preschool Environment to help assist in bringing empathy and compassion to all early childhood environments to reduce bullying behaviors.
Essential Topics on Diversity in Early Childhood Environments
- Diversity and Inclusion: Culturally responsive early learning environments recognize, celebrate, and respond to cultural references in all aspects of learning. ChildCare Education Institute offers the course CCEI 1640: Creating a Multicultural Environment which supplies necessary tools for ECE professionals to define the goals of multiculturalism, plan and implement an anti-biased classroom, and integrate multiculturalism in order to promote cooperative social skills in diverse environments. This course is a must for ECE professionals to support all children from the very beginning of the school year.
- Dual-Language Learning: In some ECE environments, non-native English learners may comprise a majority of the classroom. Gaining tools to support children’s home languages and adjusting developmentally appropriate practices to meet the needs of diverse children is necessary. ChildCare Education Institute’s course CHD102: Dual Language Learning in the Early Childhood Environment provides ECE professionals with strategies and crucial tools for helping young children develop language and literacy skills in English
Essential Topics to Support Physical Health in Early Childhood Environments
- Attention Disorders: It’s necessary for ECE professionals to be informed about what attention disorders look like in the early learning environment, and how it is often confused with other things that influence a child’s behavior.ChildCare Education Institute’s course SPN109: Attention Deficit Disorders assists ECE professionals in understanding the symptoms, subtypes, and common treatment strategies associated with attention disorders to support children and families during the school year.
- Children and Allergies: Knowledge is the best defense considering the growing number of children diagnosed with allergies. Learning how food-borne or other allergies affect children is essential to providing a safe environment for children impacted by allergies. For some children, allergies can be life-threatening. ChildCare Education Institute’s course CCEI 119: Food Allergies in the Early Care Setting provides an overview of food allergies and basic safety principles to employ in the early childcare environment. All ECE professionals should keep up-to-date with allergy information before the school year begins.
Developing Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills through Technology in ECE
- Children and Technology/Digital Media in ECE: When intentionally integrating technology into any early childhood learning environment, all uses of technology must flow seamlessly into learning. The use of technology isn’t an afterthought, a babysitter when play is done, or just something to keep the kids occupied while more important learning is developed. Today, technology can bring wonderful learning experiences to young children. ChildCare Education Institute’s course CHD103: The Child’s Digital Universe: Technology and Digital Media in Early Childhood shares the latest research and recommendations regarding children’s use of technology and digital media and how it is reshaping early childhood education.
- STEM, STEAM, and Robotics in Early Childhood: STEM and STEAM Education utilizes interdisciplinary skills from Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and the Arts to engage children in inquiry and solution-based learning. By challenging children to explore, create, inquire, observe relationships, predict outcomes, and find solutions to problems, ECE professionals can promote critical thinking skills kids can then apply to their everyday world. Robotics doesn’t have to be complex to encourage crucial skills in the early childhood environment. Learning how to implement with ChildCare Education Institute courses helps ECE professionals start the school year off right! Try one of these courses today – CUR 113 – STEAM: Enhancing STEM Education with the Arts or CUR 123 – Robotics in Early Childhood Education: Hands-On and Playful Approaches.
Insightful and Engaging Courses for Essential Topics in ECE with ChildCare Education Institute
All ECE professionals need tools for the new school year in our own early learning environments. Gaining the tools and knowledge to help guide our kids can be achieved, entirely online, through ChildCare Education Institute in the comfort of your own home, and on your own time schedule – 24/7/365. The 10 Essential Topics for ECE professionals can be explored through the many courses offered above with ChildCare Education Institute. With CCEI, it’s easy to guide your own professional development and gain new credentials and tools for teaching and working with young children. With their platform offering guided videos, key question/answer components, and thorough (printable) hand-outs for each course, early learning professionals will gain appropriate practices to positively guide all kids toward the skills necessary for a successful school year. I’ve had the privilege of personally taking courses from ChildCare Education Institute. The courses are easy to navigate, yet thorough in content. I’ve always gained insights and excellent tools I can implement immediately into our own early childhood environment. I highly recommend ChildCare Education Institute’s courses for ANY professional development needs this school year.
Please note: Upon completion of each of the course assessments, a continuing education certificate can be printed from your own personalized dashboard at ChildCare Education Institute. In many cases, the hours can be sent directly to the gateway or registry entered for professional development.
ChildCare Education Institute provides high-quality, online training courses and programs, applicable to those who work in an array of childcare settings, including center-based care, Head Start, family childcare, Pre-K classrooms, after-school environments, and more. Over 150 English and Spanish training courses are available to meet licensing, recognition programs, or Head Start requirements. ChildCare Education Institute also has online certification programs that the coursework requirement for national credentials including the CDA, Director and Early Childhood Credentials. CCEI, a Council for Professional Recognition CDA Gold Standard training provider, is nationally accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) and is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET).
- 99 percent of students say they would recommend ChildCare Education Institute to others
- Over 5 million online course hours completed
- Graduated over 13,000 early childhood professionals from CDA and other certificate programs
- Web-based coursework is available 24/7/365
- IACET CEU’s awarded for completed coursework at no additional cost
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