September 11, 2020 How to Design Socially Distanced Classrooms Are you interested in learning how to create a socially distanced classroom that works for your students? Attend the webinar “How to Design Socially Distanced Classrooms During COVID-19” on September 17 to hear practical strategies for educators. About By the end of the presentation, viewers will be able to: define physical distancing versus social distancing; identify potential classroom design mistakes; apply suggested solutions for classroom setup; and encourage classroom community while practicing physical distancing. This webinar will be of interest to preschool and pre-k teachers, librarians, and school and district leaders. Time for questions will be provided. Registration To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.
March 31, 2020 Understanding the Impact of Coronavirus on K-12 Education As of early March, the COVID-19 coronavirus has put about 300 million students out of school around the world, as communities and whole countries try to contain its spread. Join EdSurge for weekly live webinars on how K-12 schools are coping, the move to remote learning, and how students and educators are being impacted by the virus. EdSurge K-12 Editor Stephen Noonoo and other editors and reporters will host different panelists each week to discuss the latest developments in this rapidly evolving situation. Series Topics Some of the topics series panelists will discuss include: equity; special education; universal design for learning; parent communications; social-emotional learning; remote instruction for early learning; and lessons learned from Chinese educators (Wednesday, April 8 at 7 p.m.). Registration To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.
February 20, 2020 (re)Designing Space(s) Recognize that your space isn’t fitting your organization’s needs as well as it could be? Have you or your team thought about making changes, imagined improvements, or started a plan? Join APOST and their guest presenter Heather Mallak of PUBLIC STUD/O at Sarah Heinz House for this interactive workshop aimed to support your space design efforts! About In this training, participants start with a tour of Sarah Heinz House’s facilities to see how rethinking space design has improved their program, then review some examples of low to high budget, high impact transformations that focus on supporting the identified “design drivers” in your space to help you better mold it to fit the needs of your youth. Participants will gain insights from collaborating professionals—architects, designers, and informal learning space providers–who have undertaken larger scale redesign efforts. You’ll leave this session with insights, techniques, and resources for use in co-designing with your intended audience to improve experience. Lunch will be provided and free parking is available. Registration To register, visit the Eventbrite page. More Information For more information, contact APOST at 412.456.6876.
August 14, 2019 A Tapestry by Design (Online) In this online professional development course, participants will discuss early education content and pedagogy, based upon an understanding of how young children grow and learn. Topics such as interculturalism, family engagement, inclusion, and the importance of play will be highlighted. Three PQAS and Act 48 hours will be awarded. Course Timeline This course will be available online from October 28 through November 15, 2019. More Information For more information, contact Jasmine Davis at 412.567.3933 or jasmine@tryingtogether.org. Share this flyer with your network. Registration To participate in this course, complete the registration process below.
December 20, 2018 Inclusion Course Series Available on EITA Portal The Early Intervention Technical Assistance Online Learning Portal now features a five-course professional development session on Collaborating for Inclusive Practices in Early Childhood. These courses, designed for professionals working across all Pennsylvania Early Childhood and Early Intervention programs, will lead participants through activities and assignments that support the application of learning directly to the early childhood environment. Courses The Inclusion Course Series consists of the following courses: Working Together This online course provides a framework for successful collaboration to provide quality inclusive opportunities for every child. Focus on Attitudes & Beliefs This online course looks at how our actions are shaped by our attitudes and beliefs, and how societal attitudes and beliefs have shaped service systems. Building Relationships to Support All Children This session focuses on establishing, building, and maintaining positive relationships to support children in inclusive classroom settings. Universal Design for Learning in Early Childhood Settings This session provides early childhood educators with information, insights, and opportunities for practice related to the implementation of universal design in early childhood settings. Individualizing for Meaningful Inclusion Participants will be provided with information, tools, and resources to guide them through the process of making adaptations to the classroom environment, routines, and/or activities that support individuals or groups of children who are experiencing challenges. This session requires the completion of activities in an early childhood classroom environment. Learn More To learn more about each course and register, visit the Professional Development page of the EITA Portal. These courses are listed under the Collaborating for Inclusive Practices in Early Childhood section.
November 20, 2018 KaBOOM! Announces Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge Winners KaBOOM! recently announced the winners of the Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge. As part of the Challenge, 10 grantees in Allegheny County were selected to receive a combined total of $200,000 in prize funds. Trying Together is pleased to announce that the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative was awarded one of these grants for The Neighborhood Play Stop Project. Learn more about it and the other grantees below. Challenge Winners The Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge selected nine organizations as winners, with a total of ten ideas: Trying Together (Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative) The Neighborhood Play Stop Project Glassport Community Outreach, Inc. Families Will Go Gaga to Play GaGa Pittsburgh Fulton PTO From Pittsburgh to Paris and Beyond! Garfield Jubilee Association, Inc. James Sensory Park Grounded Strategies MACS Discovery Walk Race Me! Pitcairn Green Playce Community Forge Number Mountain Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Ping Pong in the Plaza UniversalWit Play! to End Blight Focus on Renewal POW! (Place of Wonder) The Neighborhood Play Stop Project The Neighborhood Play Stop Project will reimagine existing spaces within Hazelwood by using play stops to encourage community engagement and playful interaction. These play stops may be featured in public spaces near businesses and civic locations such as grocery stores, green spaces, fire stations, and more. Conversations are underway to identify the finalized play stop locations. Impact By placing play stops in spaces that are not typically associated with play, this project will prompt community members of all ages to rethink their daily routines. For children, it’s an opportunity for imaginative play. For adults, it may be a space where they can take a mental break and play chess or engage in a calming playful activity. Similar to the Little Free Library movement, these play stops will be stewarded by various entities (the businesses where they are located, Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative member organizations, interested community members, etc.). A Closer Look Each stop will be based upon the common concept of play and will have playful interactive parts that relate to the location and the party stewarding the installation. For example, a stop outside a grocery store may include play items such as plastic fruits and vegetables to “purchase,” paper and pencils to create grocery lists, and laminated sheets of information about grocery store products. However, if a stop is located outside of a fire department, their play items may include play items such as firefighter helmets, a mini fire drill tower, and fire safety facts. Each stop will include a chalkboard with permanently affixed prompts for participants to write their thoughts. Prompts may include statement starters such as “When I play outside I like to…” or “At the grocery store I can find these colors…” About the Challenge The Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge is a design competition that took place in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania—presented by Keurig Dr. Pepper and KaBOOM!—to develop innovative ideas for making play easy and available for kids and families. This challenge is about creating opportunities for free, unstructured, unplanned play to ensure that all kids, no matter where they come from or where they live, get the active play they need to thrive. Learn More To learn more about the challenge winners and their ideas, read KaBOOM’s post.
May 30, 2018 Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge Dr Pepper Snapple Group and KaBOOM! have announced the, “Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge”, a design competition taking place in Allegheny County. 10 grantees will be selected to receive a combined total of $200,000 in prize funds to develop new ideas to make play more accessible for kids and families. The “Let’s Play Everywhere Challenge” is about creating opportunities for free, unstructured, unplanned play. It is about ensuring all kids, no matter where they come from or where they live, get the active play they need to thrive. June 29 – Early Bird Idea Form Deadline August 10 – Idea Form Deadline September 21 – Final Application Deadline for Top Candidates Week of November 12 – Winner Notification November 2018 – October 2019 – Implementation Apply and learn more.
