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Outdoor Learning Activities for Children

Spending school hours outside sure sounds like fun. What could be better than an entire day examining plants and flowers, looking for bugs, or learning about different types of clouds? There are many benefits of outdoor education, let’s dive in and see why!

Learning in nature has several benefits for children. Studies show that walking and playing in natural settings helps kids lower their stress levels, reduce anxiety, become more focused, and even reduce ADHD symptoms. If that isn’t enough, research also shows that outdoor learning makes kids more motivated to learn and more willing to learn independently – even once they’re back inside your classroom. In fact, researchers have found that schools with lots of green space have higher graduation rates and standardized test scores, regardless of the socioeconomic status of their students.

Why does outdoor learning provide these benefits? Research suggests that students feel more connected to their world while learning in nature. They also suggest that they feel energized by natural sunlight and the exercise they get while they’re outside – and that they look at these outdoor learning experiences as special treats that keep them engaged. This is key because these studies also suggest that students who don’t get motivated by traditional indoor learning gain the most from the benefits of outdoor education.

There are many advantages to outdoor learning, but how can you make sure that your students reap the benefits of outdoor education? When it comes to learning in nature, there are numerous  activities to choose from that will keep your students interested and engaged. Try these fun outdoor learning lessons:

• Plant a class garden: This is a great way to teach your students about plant science. You can have your kids put down the soil, teach them how to insert the seedlings, and then observe how they grow. If you play your cards right, your students will be able to eat the (literal) fruits of their labor!
• Take the kids on a nature hike: Not only is this a great way to get in some exercise, it can also provide a great lesson in observation. What do they see? What do they hear? You can help your kids look for certain animals, trees, rocks, or flowers, or listen out for birds.
• Build a bird feeder: This is an activity that your class can do as a group. Make a bird feeder by tying a string around a pine cone, spreading mashed banana all over it, then rolling it over a plate of birdseed. Once you’re done, hang the pine cone from a nearby tree branch. Your kids will love observing the birds as they feed.
• Teach your students about gravity: Kids love figuring out whether objects will sink or float in water. Present a list of random objects and have your little ones predict which ones will float and which will sink. Record their observations, then dunk each one in a bucket of water and see how many they predicted correctly. Then, have them observe each object to figure out why it floated or sunk. Eventually, their predictions will become more accurate.
• Create compost: Teach your students how to make compost for their class garden. It’s easy: All you need is a large glass jar, some dirt, a few fruit and veggie scraps from lunchtime, some old newspaper, a cup of fresh water, and a permanent marker (you can have the kids gather the scraps and dirt from your class garden). Layer the soil, newspaper and lunch scraps (in that order) until you’ve nearly filled the jar. Pour the water into the jar and close it tightly. Once you’ve punched a few small holes in the lid and drawn a fill line to the top of your compost, stick the jar somewhere sunny and have your students observe how the contents change.
• Run some numbers: Take your students outside and write basic numbers on the pavement outside in sidewalk chalk. Ask the kids to spread out and grab a stick of chalk. Assign each child a number to write on the pavement with the chalk. (Make sure they write the numbers out as large as they can, so everyone can see them). Call out each number and let the children run to each one you call. Then, have them stand in place on the number until you call the next one.
• Hunt for bugs: Have your students go outside and see how many different bugs they can identify. If you like, turn it into a contest! You can also do this with rocks and bring them back to your classroom to paint as an art project.
• Stack some rocks: During your next class nature hike, have your students collect rocks of different sizes. Show the kids how to stack and balance the rocks to make stone sculptures, then have them build their own. This will spark your students’ creativity and provide a cool lesson on gravity as well.
• Make sandcastles: If your school’s playground has a sandbox, you can teach your students how to mold sand into something solid and turn it into a sandcastle. They can observe the texture of the sand and how it changes when it’s wet, and they can admire their building skills as that sand transforms into a structure.

The fact that you’re teaching your students about nature doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re limited to science or math lessons. If you want to use nature to teach your students about art or even words, try these simple outdoor learning activities:

• Play games with sight words: Make a set of flashcards featuring sight words, or words that preschoolers can recognize without sounding them out. Then go outside with your students, a bucket of water (a spray bottle also works), and some sidewalk chalk. Write out the words on your flashcards on the ground and show the flashcards to your students (make sure they repeat the words after you). Then, see if your students can identify the words you’ve written on the ground. When the kids see the words on the ground, let them splash water on them. The kid who makes the most splashes wins!
• Design an alphabet hunt: Take a set of foam letters and hide them around your outdoor play area. The game ends when they’ve found and assembled the entire alphabet.
• Hunt for colors in nature: Print out a color wheel or write out a list of colors. Have your students head outdoors with you and find the colors in a natural setting.
• Make Play-Doh nature imprints: Hand your students a handful of Play-Doh and go outside. Have them make imprints of tree bark, branches, flowers, rocks, or whatever they can find. Once you come back in, pile up the imprints and have your students guess the object that made each one.
• Gather flowers for an art project: You can do this during a nature walk, or use it as a fun activity on its own. Have your kids look for certain flowers and have the little ones paint over them. Try having your students make cute flower collages or painting them as a “still life” art project. You can also identify flowers and the differences between them.
• Paint with bubbles: Have your students paint bubble art masterpieces! Start by combining water, dish soap, corn syrup, and food coloring in some containers. Tape 4-6 drinking straws together and hand a set to each child. Have the kids place the straws into the solution you made, then blow into the straws. As the bubbles form, have them blow them out onto a canvas or piece of paper. All the colors and bubbles will combine to form a one-of-a-kind print that the entire class can enjoy.

The benefits of outdoor education go far beyond doing cool stuff outside. Learning in nature opens your students’ eyes to the world around them and awakens their powers of observation. They can learn about plant life, the sky above them, the rocks on the ground, and even the animals that share the outdoors with them. As a teacher, you can use all of these things and more to fuel your little ones’ creativity, open their minds, and kickstart a lifelong love of learning.

At CCEI, we offer a number of courses to help you incorporate these sorts of activities into your curriculum, such as outdoor learning and fostering a maker mindset in young children. You can also take classes like discovering life science with young children and outdoor STEAM activities that give early childhood educators like you the tools to literally open the world up for your students.

Visit ChildCare Education Institute to learn more about the offerings above, as well as CCEI’s entire catalog of courses.

Your little ones are becoming quite the readers! Yes, your charges might be all of three years old, but you’ve already spotted several budding bookworms. Once upon a time, you could pull out a random, age-appropriate story and read uninterrupted until naptime. Not anymore. Now, you’ve got a bunch of inquisitive toddlers who grab at your book as you try to read, attempt to trace or sound out words over your shoulder, close the book when your back’s turned, or even read along with you.     

Some of those may seem more like rebellion than the actions of book-loving tots, but those storytime interruptions actually represent the first signs of literacy in children. No, toddlers can’t necessarily read full sentences yet, but their ability to understand the simplest things about books – how to hold them up correctly, how to handle them with care, what those squiggly lines on the page mean, what a page is in the first place – is an important first step on the road to literacy.

This process of figuring out how books actually work (or, what literacy experts call book handling) doesn’t seem like much for a child who may be tackling The Very Hungry Caterpillar in a few short years, but this is a key aspect of print awareness that children must master before the work of learning how to read can begin.

Teaching proper book handling skills means understanding the role print awareness plays. Print awareness is a catch-all term for the basic rules that govern early childhood literacy and how children learn to understand words. These rules make sure that readers and writers alike understand how text on the page should be read. At its core, print awareness means that children understand words and letters on a page – even if they have yet to learn what they are – relay a message. Book handling is but one of these rules. If they can understand that words have meaning, they will soon be able to understand how to use books to get to those words, which will lead to being able to understand exactly what those words mean. That, in essence, is learning how to read.

To fully master print awareness, children should also have an instinctual feel for the way print is oriented on the page; for readers of the English language, that means knowing words flow from left to right. Adults can see this instinct in action if a child can tell that a book or page is upside down and tries to fix it. You may also see a child take more control over the reading process by trying to sound out words, tracing words along the page as you read, turning pages, or even snatching a book from you in an attempt to figure everything out without your help. These developing instincts show burgeoning print awareness in children – and those attempts to grab your book and read along at storytime shows that they’re learning the concept of book handling. (All that grabbing may also make it a good idea to show them how to care for books properly.)

Research shows that children develop many aspects of print awareness on their own before the age of three. This makes sense: kids see printed words all around them from birth. Even if they can’t necessarily read a stop sign, they know that big block letters on a red octagon usually means “stop.” They can probably figure out that a printed list at a restaurant means “menu” and that printed pages in a bound book can tell a story – even if they can’t read it themselves. When they’re able to access books on their own, their newfound print awareness lets them know that books should be read and handled in a certain way. It all seems instinctual, but can parents and child care professionals actually teach book handling skills?

The good news is that your children’s emerging print awareness should make teaching book handling skills fairly easy – especially if you already have a classroom filled with books. Placing books in a child’s toy box along with all those dolls, toy trucks, and stuffed animals encourages little ones to explore a book as thoroughly as any other toy. And if the child sits down to “read” one of those books during playtime, you’re already on the right track.

Another key to teaching book handling skills is to surrender a bit of control over storytime. If a little one wants to grab the book and turn the pages, let it happen! Just make sure that you encourage the child to be gentle to teach proper caring for books. If you’re not quite ready for that, make storytime more of a bonding experience by sitting next to the child and tracing the words as you read aloud. Eventually, the little one will make the connection between what you’re tracing and what you’re sounding out – and will probably try to figure out how to pull off that cool little trick independently. As children get older, you can point out the most important parts of the book, like the front cover, title, illustrations, and page numbers.

You can even point out the author and illustrator’s names and explain how those people brought the book to life. If you haven’t done so already, this is a great time to explain how to take care of books.

You can also teach children book handling skills by expanding the child’s print awareness. By helping your little ones understand that letters form words and words form sentences, you’re encouraging them to interact with letters, words, and sentences as much as possible – and what better way to do that than reading books? You can do this by adding some alphabet blocks to the class toy box so kids learn to turn letters into words independently. You can also point out printed signs and their meanings inside and outside the classroom, which may make children excited to encounter more printed words on a page. Furthermore, you can decorate your classroom with word walls and alphabet displays to drive home the importance of the written word.

Sometimes, using more of a hands-on approach to book handling might work best. Instead of commanding the room during storytime, try giving your students a copy of the same book and reading it as a group. You can use it to go over every part of the book together, from the front cover to the back. You can even drill down on identifying things like page numbers, and demonstrate how to properly hold a book and turn its pages. Eventually, your students will be able to identify words and capital letters. Here are some other activities you can try:

• Act out the books you read during storytime to further demonstrate the connection between spoken and written words.
• Use books to help children recognize words that are important to them.
• Help your students create a list of their favorite words from their favorite storytime books and place them on a word wall.
• Go beyond alphabet blocks and use magnetic letters and word/alphabet games to demonstrate the relationship between words and letters. You can go a step further and find alphabet blocks and games with both uppercase and lowercase letters.
• Quiz students on finding capital letters and specific words in the books you read in class.
• Ask your students to predict a book’s story by looking only at the front cover.
• Bring in a newspaper or magazine (keep it short!) and have students look for certain words or punctuation marks.

You can also try putting together a class library, as long as you set out clear rules for students on caring for books they check out. As they begin to evolve from simple print awareness to being able to decipher words on a page, they’ll need to learn more about how to take care of books, which may lead to a couple of lectures about dog ears and crayon marks. In any case, by kindergarten, your students should be able to:

• Identify all the parts of a book, including front/back cover, title page, spine, illustrations
• Hold a book correctly
• Recognize how text should be read (left to right, and top to bottom)
• Know the relationship between spoken and printed words
• Understand that printed words have meaning
• Understand the importance of caring for books
• Know the difference between letters and words, and between words and sentences
• Understand how punctuation marks means a sentence has ended
• Identify when to start and stop reading
• Know that stories have a beginning, middle, and end

For many children, the road to literacy begins with a series of simple discoveries: what letters are, how those letters form words, how those words form sentences – and that all those things have meaning. That spark of print awareness often leads children toward learning more about how those words and sentences form the stories they love. Teaching book handling skills (and how to take care of books) involves taking that emerging print awareness and channeling it toward the printed page.

Understanding the basics of the printed word teaches kids to seek words out wherever they can, which means learning as much as they can about books and how they work. Book handling skills involve far more than caring for books. Learning to turn pages, fix upside-down books, and recognize a book’s basic parts may seem inconsequential, but these tiny realizations (and yes, caring for books) are the first steps in a process designed to turn your budding bookworms into refined readers.

Teaching children to read isn’t always easy, but CCEI courses like Environmental and Functional Print , The Read-Aloud Process: Building the Components of Literacy, and Storytelling for Enrichment, Early Literacy, and Fun can help you help your students become the best readers possible.

Visit the ChildCare Education Institute to learn more about these courses as well as our entire catalog of professional development offerings!

Language and literacy activities for preschoolers is one of our favorite topics because developing language and literacy skills in your students offers a number of important benefits. It supports their cognitive development, improves their creativity, builds their language skills, helps improve their concentration and problem solving skills and the list goes on.

And fortunately, teaching ABC’s can be as easy as, well, ABC. Plus, it’s a lot of fun!

There are a number of easy, fun and engaging literacy activities for preschoolers to help your students become strong readers and communicators. Below are 10 of our favorite language and literacy activities for preschoolers that will help your kiddos develop skills that will serve as a foundation for their entire educational journey.

Read Aloud to Them

First and foremost, read aloud to them. Yes, it’s easy and likely something you’re already doing, but its importance can’t be understated.

Reading to your class is probably the single most important way to build literacy skills in preschoolers. And while they might not understand everything being said, it’s a critical first step for helping them understand the written language.

As a rule of thumb, toddlers enjoy books that rhyme and have a good rhythm. Repetition is something else to look for. While selecting age-appropriate books is important, just like anything else, don’t be afraid to introduce more challenging books. Also, make sure the books you choose cover a wide range of topics. Not only will this keep them engaged, but it will help broaden their horizons by introducing subjects they’re unfamiliar with.

In addition to a wonderful preschool literacy activity, this is a great way to bond with your students, which is important to their development. Plus, a regular reading period gives them something to look forward to.

Kick the Alphabet Cup

This simple, fun activity from Fun Learning for Kids helps children identify letters and sounds. As a plus, it gets them up and moving. And best yet, it’s easy to set up and only requires a small ball, plastic cups and a marker.

You simply write a letter on each cup, line up the cups on the floor and have your students kick the ball to knock over a cup. You then have them pick up the knocked over cup and have them sound out the letter.

At first, you might have to sound out the letter with them. As they progress and learn their letters, you can instruct them to kick over a specific lettered cup, e.g. “now, can you kick over the ‘A’?”

Additionally, in this activity, as well as all the others, it’s a great idea to have them trace the letter as they pronounce it. This practice is wonderful for helping develop fine motor skills and eventually, handwriting.

Sing a Song

Not only does singing help communication skills, but kids love it. Partially because our brains are pre-programmed to appreciate music. Additionally, singing is closely related to cognitive development and when you incorporate it, it helps lessons stick better by reinforcing letter names and sounds.

There are a number of great ABC songs, including the classic, easy-to-follow Alphabet Song.  If you want to take a deep dive into other options and expand your repertoire, there are countless ideas on the internet, and one of our favorites is Jack Hartmann’s Kids Music Channel.

Regardless of the songs you sing, this is one of the best language and literacy activities for preschoolers. And don’t worry if you can’t carry a tune – your students won’t care!

Alphabet Playdough

This activity from No Time for Flashcards not only helps improve literacy skills, but it’s also a great sensory activity. Simply grab some playdough and alphabet cookie cutters and you’ll be on your way.

Give your students a glob of the putty and the cutters and let them loose. As they begin to press out letters, you can verbalize what they’re doing, e.g. “look at that, you’re making a ‘B’.”

Then, you can then instruct them to pick out specific letters and make molds as they learn and develop a better grasp of the alphabet.

When it comes to literacy activities for preschoolers, this one can’t be beat.

Scavenger Hunt

For this preschool literacy activity, have students take turns pulling out toys from the classroom toy bin. As they pull out an item, ask them to identify it. For example, if they remove a stuffed bear, you can say, “that’s a bear, and bear begins with ‘B’.”

As your students become more familiar with letters and the alphabet, you can ask them to find an object in the toy bin that begins with a specific letter, for example, ask them to pull out an object that begins with the letter ‘B.’

Finally, you can expand this activity in a couple of ways. First, you can ask them what color the object is or if it’s a toy animal, what sound it makes. Second, you can encourage your students to make up a story with the item, since storytelling is also an important part of building literacy skills.

Storytelling

Speaking of storytelling, this deserves its own place in the list of language and literacy activities for preschoolers.

In addition to reading your students stories, it’s also important to have them practice storytelling. This helps them build confidence and strengthens their ability to communicate their thoughts, feelings and ideas. It also helps them develop their creativity.

There are several amazing language and literacy activities for preschoolers that can help them develop their storytelling skills.

One of our favorites is using a prompt jar. Simply write easy words on pieces of paper or use pictures, and put them in a jar (for this activity, at this age, animals work well). Have your students take turns selecting prompts and telling a story based on what they select. If a student gets stuck, that’s perfectly fine. After all, at this age, they likely won’t be able to create complete sentences or complex sequences. If they do need a little help, you can always offer suggestions like, “what sound does your animal make?” and “show us how your animal moves.” And don’t be afraid to join in the fun!

Recite Nursery Rhymes

Nursery rhymes are an excellent preschool literacy activity and fun way to get your children using words since they’re easy to learn. Also, because nursery rhymes are made up of patterns, they are easy for preschoolers to grasp, and they help them develop an ear for language.

You likely have a nice collection of nursery rhyme books already, but if you want to branch out, Bilingual Kidspot has a great list of nursery rhymes here.

Play I Spy

This guessing game has been around for ages and is one of the first activities children learn to play.

Play I spy, and say, “I spy with my little eye, something that begins with a ‘B’.” Then see if your students can identify the object. They’ll likely miss and grab something that begins with a different letter, and that’s OK. Simply, in a re-affirming way, correct them.

This is a perfect preschool literacy activity since it also helps them build their vocabulary. Additionally, it’s a good exercise for teaching students how to take turns.

Go Fish

When exploring literacy activities for preschoolers, How Wee Learn shares a great version of a learning card game, which also happens to be one of the easiest and oldest ones in the book.  Also, since all you need is paper, scissors and markers, it makes for a quick, simple activity if you’re crunched for time.

Mail a Letter

This is our own take on another No Time for Flashcards activity.

During an arts and crafts lesson, have your students draw pictures, such as simple shapes or animals. Then, take each drawing and put it in a sealed envelope and on the outside, write the letter (both uppercase and lowercase) of the image. For example, if the picture is of a cat, label the sealed envelope with a “C c.”

Then use a cardboard box to make a classroom mailbox. During your next literacy lesson, have students take turns pulling out the envelopes. As they remove them, you can say, “that’s a C,” (or ask them to identify the letter based on ability) and have them open the letter and remove the drawing, and say “‘C’ is for cat.”

This preschool literacy activity is a fun way to teach letters while also incorporating art. As a bonus, your kids will be excited to open the letters and see what’s inside!

If you’re looking for other resources for language and literacy activities for preschoolers, we offer a number of professional development courses related to this topic, as well as curriculum development and more.

In all, ChildCare Education Institute offers 150+ online courses in both English and Spanish that can help you incorporate literacy activities for preschoolers into your lesson plans.

Visit the ChildCare Education Institute for more information on all our offerings and to see why tens of thousands of early childhood professionals just like you trust CCEI for all their professional development needs. CCEI offers more than just language and literacy activities for preschoolers, learn more today!

If you’re a new teacher, there’s one thing all your seasoned colleagues will tell you if they haven’t already: lesson plans can make or break your school day (or week or even year). After all, it’s true what they say: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

A lesson plan is a roadmap for ensuring you cover everything you need to during your day in order to make sure your students meet all the goals of preschool education, including language, social skills, cognitive goals, and more.

Additionally, for early childhood education pros, lesson plans are critical because toddlers crave structure and predictability, and by making sure your day is mapped out, you create a more structured environment (which provides children with a sense of safety and helps reduce anxiety in your classroom).

Below are five lesson planning tips to help you use your curriculum and creativity to create plans your students will love.

Begin With the End in Mind

First and foremost, consider looking at the educational outcomes you want for your students (what they ideally will learn by the end of the year in order to be set up for success the following year), and work backward with those in mind.

This is one of our favorite lesson planning tips for a number of reasons. One, this will help you set clear, measurable learning goals. Two, this strategy is beneficial for mapping out how much time you’ll need to complete each lesson. By mapping out your time, it prevents you from dragging out certain lessons or trying to cram others in. And three, starting with the end in mind will better help you plan for assessing your students’ progress.

Understand How You’ll Assess Student Achievement

Assessment is a key ingredient in ensuring students meet their education goals. That’s why it’s imperative that lesson plans for new teachers incorporate assessments.

Assessment is the process of gathering info about a student – either during learning activities or observing them through play – and then using that information to plan age- and developmentally-appropriate activities for the classroom moving forward on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Like anything else, we gravitate towards the things we do best or prefer (and shy away from the things we don’t do as well or like as much).

The reason this is one of our important lesson planning tips is so you can understand yourself when creating your lesson plans.

As a child, you might have enjoyed art tremendously while shying away from math. Now, when it comes to classroom instruction, you may subconsciously focus on or spend more time with arts and crafts over math. And that time can add up over the course of the year, meaning less time spent on other subjects.

Just remember, you want to be aware of how much time you’re dedicating to various subjects and activities and try your hardest to ensure the time is split evenly.

Get Creative

More than any other grade in school, you have the flexibility to let your creativity run wild when lesson planning for toddlers. Not only is this one of the more fun aspects of lesson planning for new teachers, but it’s an extremely valuable strategy.

For instance, say you’re dealing with a classroom full of energetic students who can’t seem to sit still. Instead of forcing them to remain in their seats while you learn about animals, have them move around the room, imitating the animals you’re learning about.

Talk to Your Colleagues

As a new teacher, you might subscribe to the “fake it ‘til you make it philosophy.” After all, you don’t want to come across like you don’t know what you’re doing.

That’s why it’s important to understand that it’s OK if you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing because everyone’s been in the same boat as you.

Also, don’t be afraid to look to your peers for input and suggestions. After all, everyone is there for the same reason: to see the kiddos reach their goals. If you’re hitting a roadblock or just want some advice about a particular lesson plan, reach out and collaborate with your fellow educators.

Interested in learning more about lesson planning for new teachers? ChildCare Education Institute has you covered with a number of quick online courses!

For instance, our Bright Beginnings: Age Appropriate Activities for Infants and Toddlers course covers the importance of developmentally appropriate and individually appropriate activities in the classroom.

And our Active Learning Experiences in Early Childhood course covers practical methods for integrating movement, active involvement, and group games across all curriculum areas, including art, language arts, mathematics, music, science, and social studies.

Visit ChildCare Education Institute to learn more about all our 150+ courses and see why 99% of users would recommend us to a friend!

When you think about using social media in the classroom, preschool centers might not be the first thing to come to mind. But, incorporating social media into early education can have a number of benefits for both your students and staff.

At ChildCare Education Institute, we’re dedicated to providing early childhood professionals like you with the resources and tools you need to be the best possible educator. As a result, we’re constantly keeping up with industry trends and evolutions — including the pros and cons of social media in the classroom.

We’re sharing what we’ve learned in this brief guide in hopes that it helps you decide whether or not social media is something you’d like to incorporate into your next preschool lesson plan.

How can using social media in the classroom benefit students?

While most of the benefits of social media in the classroom primarily apply to older students (including building communication skills, engaging with news sources and more), there are still some that are relevant for students in early childhood care.

For example, social media can be a great way to introduce new concepts to kids in an engaging way — or to reinforce existing concepts visually. Let’s say you’re teaching your students about zoo animals. Incorporating a YouTube video featuring monkeys and elephants is an easy way to help visual learners in your classroom process the information in a new way.

By incorporating digital media into your lesson plans, you can also help spur your students’ creativity. For example, showing them a Facebook video about a child finger painting might inspire your students to make their own creations both in the classroom and at home.

Using social platforms can also be an effective way to introduce your students to the concept of diversity and cultural competence. With social media videos, you can show your students how children of other cultures live. It can also be a great way to spark conversation about how people of all cultures still share a lot of common ground despite their differences.

Finally, as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, digital media offers students the important ability to be able to continue their learning even when they can’t be in the classroom for instruction. Thanks to social media, students can watch videos at home and/or take part in distance learning using platforms like Zoom and Google Meet. They can also keep in touch with their classmates to continue building and strengthening their personal relationships.

How can social media in the classroom benefit teachers?

As a teacher, you can reap a lot of benefits by using social media in the classroom. For example, utilizing center or classroom accounts on Instagram and Facebook can be an easy way to keep parents informed and engaged about what goes on during their child’s school day. Social media can also be a great way for preschool directors to attract new students and share messaging about what makes their program and staff unique.

Finally, digital media allows educators like you to be more creative with their lesson plans without having to put in additional work. For instance, if you’re planning a lesson around different places in the world, you can easily source a video with clips of different locales and include it in your presentation. Before social media, you would either have to create that video on your own, or you’d have to stick to a purely auditory presentation.

Are there any downsides to using social media in the classroom?

As with any learning tool, there are certainly pros and cons of social media in the classroom. One of the biggest downsides is that children could easily access content that’s not appropriate for their age and stage of life. That’s why it’s important that any social media use in the classroom is closely monitored. We recommend that you always oversee use (rather than allowing students to surf the platforms freely). But, if you’re planning to include any digital media in your free play centers, be sure to install content blockers or parental controls ahead of time.

Another potential downside to social media in the classroom is overuse. Before building out your lesson plan, take a look at the daily recommended screen time for your students’ age ranges. Then, ensure any screen time you allow kids during the day doesn’t exceed the maximum limit. For most preschoolers, the recommended daily limit is one hour.

While there are pros and cons of using social media in the classroom, most of the downsides can be eliminated with proper monitoring and planning.

How can I incorporate social media into my preschool classroom?

As we’ve alluded to, there are a number of ways you can incorporate digital media into your daily classroom routine. The first (and perhaps easiest) is integrating YouTube videos into your lesson plans. Whether it’s a catchy song to help your students learn basic math skills or a wacky science experiment to help them grasp STEM concepts, these videos are a fun way to keep students engaged and add another layer to your curriculum.

Music streaming services like Spotify or Pandora are another easy way to incorporate digital media into your classroom. If your lesson plan has a theme, try creating a music playlist that matches. Then, while your students are working on independent assignments, play the music in the background. This can help further immerse students into each theme and can help them stay focused on their tasks. These services are also helpful to use during music time when introducing new instruments or genres of music.

Finally, as a teacher, you can incorporate social media into your classroom by creating private Facebook groups or Instagram pages for parents to follow. Then, you can share fun videos and photos of your students throughout the day on your page, along with information about upcoming events, at-home activity recommendations and important deadlines.

Want to learn more about using social media in the classroom? We have two online courses that can help!

For more information about best practices, we recommend taking a look at Technology and Social Media Policy in the Early Care and Education Environment. If you’re interested in reading more about how digital media is reshaping child development, try The Child’s Digital Universe: Technology and Digital Media in Early Childhood.

All of our courses are available 24/7 from any device — and earn you IACET CEUs at no additional cost. To learn more about our offerings, and to get started, click here.

It’s no secret that learning a second language can have a myriad of benefits for children — but did you know it can also help them better understand their native tongue?

At ChildCare Education Institute, we’re dedicated to helping educators like you get the training you need to set your students up for success, both in and out of the classroom.

That’s why we’re sharing our top tips on how to teach Spanish to preschoolers, and why exposure to Spanish words for toddlers the language can be so beneficial for your students.

Why should you include Spanish in your curriculum?

Enhanced language skills aren’t the only benefit your students can gain by learning a second language. Studies have also shown that bilingual students have better problem-solving skills, cognitive abilities and abstract thinking skills.

Additionally, students who learn a foreign language early in life tend to perform better in math, reading and standardized testing later on.

Finally, toddlers who pick up a second language are more likely to develop increased empathy skills. In fact, when you expose your students to a new language, you’re also exposing them to other cultures and building a backbone for future lessons on cultural awareness and diversity.

What should the lessons look like? 

Start with the familiar

The easiest and most effective way to start Spanish lessons in your classroom is to introduce a few words or phrases for terms your students already know and understand. For example, if your students are already familiar with colors, start them with a lesson on the Spanish words for colors. This will help them more easily connect the new vocabulary with their existing understanding. It will also help provide them with context that can help with comprehension.

Include physical props

As you’re introducing new Spanish words for toddlers, try incorporating real objects or visuals that you can show your students in-real time. Going back to the color example, have different colored objects (or posters) that you can point to and pass around as you introduce the word. If possible, use these props the first two or three times you introduce a word to your kids to help them with comprehension and recollection.

Rely on repetition

Repetition is an important concept in preschool classrooms, and Spanish lessons are no exception. Start each new lesson with a review of your previous terms and concepts to help students become more familiar with the vocabulary and confident in their knowledge. This can be done through group review sessions or individual review activities/worksheets.

Get your students moving

To keep your students engaged and active, incorporate movement into your Spanish words for toddlers lesson plan for when possible. For example, if you’re teaching your students the Spanish words for different parts of the body, have them stand up and point to the body part as you say the word. This will keep them engaged in the lesson and will help them put the word in context with its meaning. You can also incorporate movement by taking regular “wiggle” breaks during the lesson. During this time, students can get up from their seats, jump and wiggle about, and then return to their seats feeling focused and ready to learn more Spanish words for toddlers.

Incorporate unique activities

Once you’ve introduced a set of Spanish words for toddlers to your classroom, guide your students through unique and fun activities that involve the words from their lesson. These activities can include songs, games, videos, stories – whatever you think will best resonate with your kids. Whatever activity you choose, be sure to keep it short (so you can keep your students’ attention) and try not to pick the same type of activity every time. We’ve found that the most effective and enjoyable lessons include a combination of individual/quiet activities (like worksheets) and movement-based activities.

Find a routine and stick to it

As an early childhood educator, you know firsthand how important routines are for your students and your program as a whole. Your Spanish lessons are no different. Set aside a specific time each day (or each week) that will be dedicated to helping your students work on their Spanish. Then, try to structure each lesson as similarly as possible. For example, you could open each lesson with a quick review session, then go into new word introductions, then into a group activity and round it out with an individual activity. This will help your students know what to expect each time they start a lesson.

What are some popular activities to include?

As we mentioned earlier, one of the most effective tips for how to teach Spanish to preschoolers is to include engaging activities that allow them to put what they have learned into practice. Some of our favorites include:

• Spanish Color Word Mats: These interactive mats from Look We’re Learning are a great way for your students to practice matching Spanish words with the colors they represent. The best part? They also double as a fun fine motor skills activity!
• Spanish Yoga: With these yoga cards from Fun For Spanish Teachers, you can help your little ones work on their Spanish, practice mindfulness and get active all at once. Each pose represents a different word that can be called out in Spanish for your students to recognize and then mimic.
• Bingo: Once you’ve introduced your students to the Spanish words for numbers, create randomized bingo cards using the numbers 1-10. Then, create pieces of paper with the Spanish words for each number and call them out. Your students can practice comprehension and mark off the numbers on their bingo cards as you call them out.
• Sing-alongs: Get your students singing and dancing with videos from Canticos, a free channel with bilingual songs made just for preschoolers.
• Storytime: Bilingual board books are a great way for your students to hear the vocabulary words they’re learning in context and understand a story in both languages. Some of our favorites include ¡Me gusta cómo soy! by Karen Beaumont, Me gusta cuando . . . by Mary Murphy and ¿Cómo estás? by Angela Dominguez.

How can parents help?

Parents can be a helpful resource when it comes to helping your students master Spanish. To show families how they can get involved and to encourage active participation, we recommend creating “How to teach your child Spanish at home” packets that you can give to each student. Inside the  “How to Teach Your Child Spanish at Home” packet, include a rough timeline for when the students will be learning what sets of words, activities they can do with their child at home and links to resources they can take advantage of (including YouTube videos, songs and more).

Want to learn more about timely classroom topics like how to teach Spanish to preschoolers and how to create a multicultural environment? Or perhaps you’re a parent and want to know how to teach your child Spanish at home? Our online courses can help! Click here to explore our catalog of over 150 courses in Spanish and English.

Do you know why you can’t trust atoms? It’s because they make up everything!

*Pause for laughter*

While our science humor might be a bit silly, one thing that isn’t is incorporating both indoor and outdoor STEM activities for toddlers into your curriculum.

There are a number of reasons you should promote STEM education among your students. First, STEM in early childhood education curriculum encourages curiosity, exploration, discovery and problem-solving, which will serve your students well throughout their schooling. Second, math and science tend to be the courses that give kids trouble later in their educational journey, so it’s important to give them a strong foundation early on.

At this age, introducing STEM projects for toddlers, as well as STEM concepts, should be a top priority. After all, your kiddos’ brains are like sponges and are primed to absorb new information. That’s why we’re sharing five of our favorite indoor and outdoor STEM activities for toddlers below.

Coke and Mentos

Volcano projects are always fun, and this is perhaps the most well-known one. If you’re not familiar with it, all you do is drop three to four candy Mentos into a plastic bottle of Coca-Cola, stand back and watch the explosion happen. It’s a simple project, and your students will be fascinated by the fizzy reaction. Also, you likely want to consider adding this to the list of outdoor STEM activities for toddlers since it can be quite messy.

Cloud in a Jar

We love this weather-themed STEM activity from Gift of Curiosity. There are two different variations, both of which require easily accessible materials. Regardless of which one you choose, this is one of our favorite STEM projects for toddlers since it demonstrates how clouds are formed.

Coding a LEGO Maze

In this activity from ResearchParent, children learn the basics of coding, a skill that is becoming more in-demand every passing day. This exercise is super easy to prepare and only requires a printable, which can be found at the link above, as well as LEGO or DUPLO blocks.

Pipe Cleaner Counting

Here’s a super easy and fun activity from Laughing Kids Learn that will help teach your kiddos counting and ordering. As a bonus, it also helps with motor skill development. Here’s the gist: children add beads to pipe cleaners then count. It’s that easy! And while this might seem simple, it’s a great activity to help your students develop their numeracy skills.

Building with Marshmallows (or Jelly Beans)

Last but not least, is one of the most popular engineering exercises for kids. Here, you simply give kids toothpicks and marshmallows (or jelly beans), and let them build structures. Lemon Lime Adventures perfectly describes how to conduct this classic engineering stem projects for toddlers as well as older age groups. One note, since you are dealing with toddlers, you want to pay close attention since toothpicks are sharp. We also prefer marshmallows instead of jelly beans since they are larger and easier to insert the toothpicks.

Are you ready to incorporate these indoor and outdoor stem activities for toddlers into your curriculum? If so, ChildCare Education Institute has you covered with a number of courses.

For starters, check out STEM in Early Childhood Education. This two-hour beginner level course covers basic info about STEM education so you have a foundation and can promote the development of science and math skills in young children.

We also offer STEAM: Enhancing STEM Education with the Arts, another two-hour beginner level course. This one offers tools and insights necessary to enhance STEM related learning outcomes through the integration of a wide variety of art activities.

So what are you waiting for? Click HERE to learn more about these offerings, as well as CCEI’s catalog of 150+ courses in English and Spanish that can be taken anywhere, anytime.

As an early childhood educator, chances are you’re no stranger to imaginary friends, make-believe pets and other pretend characters dreamt up by your students. But did you know encouraging that behavior among your students can have drastic impacts on their development?

At ChildCare Education Institute, we’re dedicated to providing educators like you with the tools and training needed to help your students grow and thrive in the classroom.

That’s why we’re sharing this guide to the benefits of pretend play for toddlers, and how you can easily encourage it in your classroom.

What is pretend play?

Pretend play, also commonly known as dramatic or imaginative play, is a form of loosely structured symbolic play where young children use an action, object or toy to represent something else.

This is, quite simply, when kiddos play make believe.

This activity takes many shapes and forms. For instance, this could be a child riding a broomstick horse, pretending to fly to the moon, impersonating super heroes, hosting stuffed animals for tea time or any other sort of fantasy play.

The progression of pretend play for toddlers tends to follow the same pattern in all children.

It begins with imitation. This is when toddlers replicate something they’ve seen an adult do,  like putting an empty spoon or toy cup to their mouth copying the act of eating or drinking (even though they might not be cognizant of the reason for doing so).

Second, they will begin pretending by themselves. A common example of this is taking a “sip” from an empty cup. Next, they’ll use items to represent something else, e.g. pretending to sweep the floor using an empty paper towel holder. This is what’s referred to as symbolic play.

Then, usually around the time a child turns one, they begin involving others in pretend play. For example, after they take a “sip” from an empty cup, they’ll pass it over to you so you can have a drink too.

Following this phase, children then begin acting out sequences. For instance, a child might “bathe” and read a bedtime story to a stuffed animal before “putting it to sleep.” As a child gets older, these sequences will become more complex.

Why pretend play is important?

Pretend play for toddlers is critical to their development for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, pretend play helps them better understand the world around them. As they experiment with different scenarios, they learn about interests and what they like and dislike. Pretend play can also help them deal with confusing situations or cope with uncertainty by working out things that might be challenging or scary. One of the best examples of this is when a child plays doctor. Next time you see this happening, see how the child pretends to give their “patient” a shot. This is a prime example of a child working through what’s likely an unsettling experience for them.

Second, pretend play helps them develop language skills. When a child engages in pretend play, they strengthen their speech and vocabulary skills. Imaginative play also helps them learn to better understand and express their thoughts and feelings. If you watch carefully, you might observe them using words and phrases they picked up from you that you had no idea they knew.

Third, pretend play helps them develop emotionally and socially. As a child engages in imaginative play, they learn how to be more empathetic as they pretend to be different people and control objects and observe the results.

Fourth, pretend play helps with self-esteem. When you encourage pretend play, you give a child the room to be whoever they want to be and they have unlimited opportunities to experiment in a safe way that builds confidence. After all, what could boost confidence more than pretending to be Wonder Woman or Superman?

Finally, pretend play for toddlers encourages creativity and imagination. Pretend play enhances a child’s cognitive capacity and ultimately their creativity. When kids participate in pretend play, they get practice unlocking their imagination, a cognitive skill they’ll use for the rest of their lives.

How do I promote pretend play?

There are a number of ways to encourage imaginative play in children.

To start, don’t hamper who children play with. They might want to spend time alone pretending, talking to an imaginary friend; with other children engaged in pretend play; or they might want to involve you in their scenarios. In addition to building imagination, solo playtime helps kids learn self-entertainment, independence and even how to self soothe. And when they play with others, they develop those important social and emotional skills.

Exposing kids to new ideas, experiences and things can also help. This gives them material to pull from when they engage in pretend play. This includes fresh concepts as well as looking for ways to expand on their current interests.

Letting the child lead the play is also key. You might find yourself wanting to direct them, but that’s counterproductive to their development and the benefits of imaginative play. If they do ask for assistance, feel free to suggest prompts or gently guide them, but don’t take over the scenario.

You can also promote pretend play by praising them when they think outside the box. For instance, make sure to acknowledge and applaud them if they use a toy for something other than its intended purpose. Just like any other aspect of a child’s development, you want to reward positive behaviors so it encourages them

Finally, give them toys and props that help encourage them. While just about any toy can be used for something other than its intended purpose – after all, that’s the whole idea of pretend play for toddlers – there are certain items and objects that are better suited for it. More on that below!

What toys and activities encourage pretend play?

There are a number of great toys and items that foster imagination.

Stuffed animals

Kids’ stuffies are the perfect toy for pretend play because children can “care for” them during imaginative play. Stuffed animals make great guests for a tea party or other gathering as children’s imaginative play becomes more complex.

Costumes

Dress-up is one of the most common activities when it comes to pretend play. And the best part is, you don’t need expensive or elaborate costumes. You can pull together a variety of hats, ties, bags, old Halloween costumes and other accessories from around the house. Children can then use their imaginations to act out different scenarios and create stories about who they’re pretending to be.

Cardboard boxes

Anyone who’s spent any time around toddlers knows that sometimes, a plain cardboard box beats the brightest, loudest or most expensive toy. There’s a reason for that – a cardboard box has unlimited possibilities. It can be a castle, car, robot, rocketship or any number of other things. So, look for various size cardboard boxes and make sure you always have a nice selection in your classroom.

Want to learn more about the importance of play, how to encourage it and more? We have a number of courses that can help!

The Importance of Play in Early Childhood is a two-hour intermediate course that covers the benefits of play, different types of play and ways to promote more play in children’s lives. It also highlights the importance of play for promoting optimal development across all domains. Our two-hour Focusing on Expressive Play and Artistic Development course addresses why various forms of play are important for a child’s development with an emphasis on expressive play, which can be incorporated throughout most activities in the early childhood environment.

To learn more about these courses, as well as our entire catalog of online professional development offerings, click here.

Did you know American Sign Language (ASL) is one of the most commonly used languages in the United States? It’s estimated that ASL is “spoken” by 250,000-500,000 Americans across all ages — but not all of those users are classified as deaf.

In fact, a growing number of early childhood programs have begun implementing sign language into their curricula, largely because research has shown it can have a myriad of benefits for both hearing and hard-of-hearing preschoolers.

At ChildCare Education Institute, we’re dedicated to helping educators like you stay atop the latest industry trends and easily implement them into your classroom.

That’s why we’re sharing this guide on the benefits of sign language for preschoolers, along with a host of language activities for preschoolers that can help with retention.

What are the potential benefits of sign language for preschoolers?

Exposing students to sign language early on can have a number of benefits on their growth and development including:

Increased Communication Skills

If you’re looking for a way to help your students fast-track their speech skills, look no further. It’s been shown that exposure to sign language can help students better understand spoken words, while also making it easier for them to understand sentence structure and form longer sentences later on in life. Additionally, because sign language requires students to use multiple senses, it can help with vocabulary retention — and give them a larger bank of vocabulary words to use.

Lower Levels of Frustration

Most toddler tantrums occur when a child cannot effectively communicate what they’re thinking or feeling. With sign language, students will have the ability to better share what they’re experiencing with adults around them. This will not only help lower the frustration levels of students but also their teachers and parents. Being able to clearly communicate can also help strengthen the bond you have with your kids.

Improved Literacy

Because most letters in sign language resemble their written counterparts, teaching preschoolers to sign can help them better recognize and write their ABCs. The improved letter recognition can also help them with their reading and comprehension skills. In fact, studies have shown that students who know how to sign begin reading at an earlier age than those who don’t.

Enhanced Cognitive Skills

Bilingualism, whether with a signed or spoken language, has been shown to bolster kids’ cognitive skills, including creative thinking, problem-solving and more. In the case of ASL, children who know how to sign score an average of 17% higher than other students on early childhood standardized tests. It’s also been linked to potential IQ increases of up to 12 points on average.

Improved Attention One of the core skills needed to master sign language is the ability to focus on what the other person is signing. As a result, teaching sign language to toddlers can help them improve their ability to focus and observe the world around them. This can also translate into better listening skills.

 

Increased Cultural Awareness

When you promote sign language for preschoolers, you’re also giving them the ability to communicate with non-verbal and non-hearing students. This can be a great time to teach your students that, despite individual differences, there are a lot of commonalities between them. It’s also a perfect segway into conversations about how our differences make us unique and should be celebrated.

How can I teach my students sign language?

The easiest way to begin teaching your preschoolers to sign is by incorporating regular instruction time into your weekly schedule. For example, you can set aside 20 minutes each Tuesday to introduce new signs and work with your students to reinforce previous ones.

When teaching your students new signs, we recommend starting with no more than five key words or phrases — all of which should be easily linked to objects and basic needs. While demonstrating the movements, be sure to have them repeat the word aloud with you to help with retention. If possible, also provide them with a visual printout of the movements associated with the sign.

Once you’ve introduced new signs, spend the next few sessions reinforcing them through activities and other related games. Then, when you’re confident your students have mastered the phrases, introduce another batch of sign language for preschoolers to learn.

If you can, keep parents informed as to which signs their child is learning so they can continue to practice the signs with them at home.

What are some easy sign language activities for preschoolers?

Students learn best when they’re actively engaged in the material, so be sure to pack some fun and engaging language activities for preschoolers into your lesson plans when possible. Some of our favorite language activities for preschoolers include:

Flashcard Fun

To play this game, create large index cards with images representing some of the words/phrases your children have learned. Then, pick a card at random and show it to the class. Have them sign the image and then work together to spell the word using signed letters. If you want to make the game into a competition, offer a prize for the first student to correctly sign the item on the flashcard.

Picture Bingo

Your students will love this fun take on a classic game! First, make bingo cards with pictures representing some of the signs your children have learned (including food, colors, animals, etc.). Be sure each student’s card contains a different set-up so you only have one winner. Then, pull a sign out of a basket and perform it in front of your classroom. It’ll be up to your students to recognize the sign and mark off the corresponding square on their sheet. Once someone calls bingo, have them come up and perform the signs they’ve marked off to win.

Sign Language Songs for Toddlers

Chances are you already utilize songs in your classroom to help reinforce learning concepts — so why not use them for sign language, too? There are a number of sign language songs for toddlers that can help your kids master the language, including:

• ABC Song by MyGo! Sign Language for Kids
• Sign the Colors by Jack Hartmann
• Please and Thank You by Miss Patty
• Baby Shark by Learn How to Sign
• Talkin’ Bout the Weather by Laura Berg Life

Want to learn more about important classroom topics like language activities for preschoolers, building an inclusive environment and creating active learning experiences? Our online classes can help!  Click here to explore our 150+ courses in English and Spanish.

Parent-teacher conferences can be stressful for both teachers and parents, especially if a child is struggling.

But they don’t have to be. In fact, you should look forward to these conversations.

For many teachers, the parent-teacher conference is the only significant contact with a student’s parents, other than brief interactions when they drop off and pick up their kiddos.

These meetings give you an opportunity to discuss a child’s academic and developmental growth, strengths and areas for improvement, and more, while you have their parents’ undivided attention. Through this process, you’ll be able to better involve parents. After all, research shows time and time again that better communication with parents in the classroom leads to improved family involvement, one of the most important factors in a child′s success.

Additionally, it gives you a chance to better understand why a student might be behaving the way they are by gaining insight into their lives outside classroom walls.

Successful parent-teacher conferences will help you build partners in the educational process, which benefits you, the parents and most importantly, the children.

Below are three key things to remember when conducting parent-teacher conferences.

Preparation wins the day

First and foremost, you want to have a plan in place. Know exactly what you want to discuss and make sure you have supporting documentation such as observation reports, classroom work and more.

It’s also helpful to create a simple agenda to follow, and share with the parents at the outset of the meeting and ask if that sounds good to them. While you want to make sure you have structure so you stay on track, you don’t want to come across as too rigid because that might make parents feel like it’s a one-way street.

When thinking about how you’re going to present the information, remember to lead with the positive and what their child is doing well. In the same way you give positive encouragement to little ones, you want to do the same with parents. If you launch right into a child’s problems or struggles, you’ll likely put parents on the defensive and make it much more difficult to keep a conversation focused and productive.

Also, if this is the first time a parent is visiting the classroom, take a moment to show them around and point out things like where their kiddo sits and their child’s artwork. This will make them feel more comfortable before immediately sitting down and getting to brass tacks.

Practice active listening

While parents may expect you to do most of the talking, it’s crucial that both teachers and parents talk during this time. In order to create fruitful communication with parents in the classroom, invite them to share their thoughts, concerns and ideas with you.

During this time, you want to make sure you practice active listening, which is a process where you make a conscious effort to hear not only the words they’re using but the entire message being communicated. This includes paying attention to their body language, making sure you understand what they are saying by asking follow-up questions and acknowledging the points they’re making. There are a number of great resources online about active listening, including this one from MIT.

By comparing and discussing each other’s viewpoints, your conference will be much more successful.

Communicating with non-English speaking parents

Something else to think about is if you’ll be communicating with non-English speaking parents or families who speak minimal English. If you know you’ll be conducting a conference with someone whose primary language is something other than English, you want to take this into consideration beforehand.

For starters, ask the parent in advance what their language preference is. Just because English is their second language doesn’t mean they aren’t comfortable speaking it. If they prefer to use their primary language, you’ll need to find an adult translator who can be present. Depending on your school’s resources, you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time to identify this person. If all else fails, you can ask the parent if they have a family member or friend who is available to join the conference and translate.

Second, regardless of if there’s an interpreter present or not, you should anticipate these meetings taking longer, so you’ll want to schedule extra time just in case. By giving yourself some cushion, you can go at a comfortable pace making sure parents understand what’s being communicated and both sides have ample time to cover everything that needs to be discussed.

Third, make sure you use simple documents and incorporate plenty of visuals. Using easy-to-understand reports and visuals helps all parents, but it’s especially beneficial for non-English speaking parents.

Finally, at the conclusion of the conference, make sure you let them know how much you appreciate their child being part of the classroom and value the cultural diversity they bring.

Getting to know your students’ parents is important for any child’s success. If you’re interested in learning more about preparing for the family conference, CCEI has you covered!

PROF110: Family-Teacher Conferences is a two-hour, beginner-level course and participants will learn the primary goals of family-teacher conferences along with strategies associated with planning for, conducting, and following up after conferences. In addition, the course will cover recommended practices for sharing assessment results with families, including when and how to make referrals to early intervention agencies.  Additionally, CCEI offers this course in Spanish.

Click here to learn more about this offering, as well as CCEI’s entire catalog of courses designed to help you be the best educator possible!