June 12, 2020 Allegheny Child Care is Growing As of this week, we are excited to announce that we have expanded the Allegheny Child Care search tool to include: after-school; out-of-school; and summer programs! If you provide one or more of these services and have not already confirmed your information, we ask that you update your listing as soon as possible at providers.alleghenychildcare.org. Promote Your Out of School & Summer Programs Now If your program re-opened as part of Allegheny County’s move to the “green phase” last week, we hope that your first week back has been a welcomed return for you and your children, families, and staff. By updating your information, the Allegheny Child Care tool will assist you in promoting and marketing your program(s) to families. In turn, this will allow you to expedite the process for getting children enrolled, thus making an often stressful task less burdensome for families especially at this time. If you have any questions or issues please: email us at info@alleghenychildcare.org; review our FAQ guide; or join us for our next Virtual Director Roundtable discussion on Tuesday, June 16 at 6:00 p.m. when we will share details on the recent updates to the Allegheny Child Care tool and answer questions. Thank you for your assistance. Updating Your Information In order to add the after-school, out-of-school, and summer-time programs to the platform, we pulled public data currently available from our partners at Allegheny Partners for Out of School Time (APOST) and United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. As information may have changed due to COVID-19, we would appreciate you taking a few minutes to review the information listed for your program(s) on the platform and then updating it accordingly at providers.alleghenychildcare.org. In particular, please update your: current operational status (open/closed and availability); age group(s) served; and basic profile information. You will receive regular email reminders to update your vacancy information so parents searching for care can find your program. More Information From the COVID-19 crisis, Allegheny Child Care is a unique pilot project that has been developed to support the child care needs of families. Caregivers and parents of young children can now search available child care spots at Allegheny County early learning programs in real-time with the Allegheny Child Care tool.
May 27, 2020 Virtual Home Visits and Socialization Activities Are you interested in learning how to plan virtual home visits and socialization activities with families? Join the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning (NCECDTL) on June 10 for their webinar, “Planning Virtual Home Visits and Socialization Activities with Families.” About In this webinar, participants will learn how to plan and individualize virtual home visits and socialization activities with families. Presenters will explore effective virtual engagement practices and review available resources to assist participants’ continued work with families. Both This webinar is best suited for program directors; education managers; home visitors and their supervisors; teachers who are engaging virtually with children and families; and regional T/TA staff who support home visiting programs and home-based program staff. English and Spanish captioning will be available. Featured Topics Planning a developmentally appropriate virtual home visit as well as socialization activities with families. Exploring tools to increase family engagement in home visits and socialization from a distance. Reviewing resources to support home visitors and their work with families. Registration To register and learn more, visit the Home Visiting Webinar Series webpage.
Growing Together: Lunch & Learn Series Join the Women & Girls Foundation, Pathways PA, and MomsRising on Fridays at noon for a “lunch and learn” series to discuss how families are adapting, how communities can come together to support each other during this time, and what resources are available to help families thrive. About Every week presenters will discuss a hot topic for working people and families, including paid leave, eldercare, parenting young kids, and more. Stop by to connect to resources, ask questions, meet others, and share what you’re experiencing. Supporting Our Elders During COVID-19 | June 5, 2020 | Special Guest: AARP Parenting Young Kids During COVID-19 | June 19, 2020 | Special Guests: Trying Together and PennAEYC Registration To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.
Supporting Children and Families Enduring Traumatic Experiences Join Sesame Workshop and Brazelton Touchpoints Center on June 10 for their third webinar in the Caring For Each Other series to explore Resources on Supporting Children and Families Enduring Traumatic Experiences. About Together with early childhood experts from Abriendo Puertas and the United Way Greater Houston Bright Beginnings Program, Brazelton Touchpoints Center and Sesame Workshop will address the importance of helping children feel safe, secure, and hopeful, and encouraging parents and families to take care of themselves. Presenters will share some of Sesame Workshop’s easy-to-use and accessible resources that remind children—and families—of the circle of care that surrounds them. This webinar will include content in both Spanish and English. Registration To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.
Working With Young Children During COVID-19 Join HiMama on May 28 for their HiMama Helps webinar, “Working With Young Children During COVID-19.” About This session will explore ways to support young children as new guidelines refine what “normal” looks like in child care. Presenters will discuss the following: how to prepare young children to return to a child care setting, how to support families and staff during the pandemic, what it means to serve essential workers, and additional tips through a community Q&A session. Registration To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.
May 21, 2020 New Portal Helps Allegheny County Families Find Child Care Caregivers and parents of young children can now search available child care spots at Allegheny County early learning programs in real-time with the Allegheny Child Care tool. Emphasizing Access Child care needs for families are varied, and may change at any time. The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created a situation where many early learning programs have had to close abruptly or drastically adjust their operations. In turn, this has left many families without continued care and education for their young children. From the COVID-19 crisis, Allegheny Child Care is a unique pilot project that has been developed to support the child care needs of families. The Partners That Made This Possible The child care initiative will be managed by Trying Together in partnership with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, with additional support from the City of Pittsburgh, and was developed in collaboration also with Child Care Aware of America, the Endowments and technology partners Bowtie, BrightHive, and BridgeCare. More Information The Allegheny Child Care tool may be accessed online. For more information about the launch of Allegheny Child Care, read the full press release. Additional support for finding and/or funding your child care needs can be found at the Early Learning Resource Center Region 5 website or by calling 412.350.3577.
May 12, 2020 Connections and Conversations: Virtual Check-Ins Connections and Conversations: Virtual Check-Ins are interactive sessions that highlight topics of interest to the field of early childhood education. Participants will engage in virtual discussions via Zoom with child development experts while interacting with early learning practitioners to share questions, experiences, and expertise about the highlighted topic. After registering, participants will receive a Zoom Meeting link via email from the session instructor. Each session will offer one hour of PQAS credit. Act 48 credit will not be offered for these sessions. Available Sessions Trauma and the Effects on Brain Development Wednesday, 6/17 | 3 – 4 p.m. | Instructor: Alison Babusci | Click here to register. The COVID-19 crisis has brought many new stressors into our lives. Participants will join Professional Growth and Advancement Strategist Alison Babusci to review how stress affects healthy brain development in children, learn about the brain’s response to stress, and talk about how early learning professionals can help our young children to cope. Session Rules and Guidelines These virtual discussions are designed to provide educators the opportunity to grow professionally and share knowledge on early childhood topics. During the meeting, participants should follow the guidelines below to ensure a successful virtual meeting for all participants. Please allow all participants a chance to speak. Listen respectfully and actively. Commit to learning about each other, not to debating the topic. Embrace differences of opinion as healthy and support each person’s authentic self-expression. Participants will be muted for the beginning portion of the session. Participants may use the “Raise Hand” feature in Zoom to request an opportunity to comment or ask a question. Individuals will be temporarily unmuted by the moderator. Participants may type a comment or question in the Chat or may send comments or questions directly to the moderator for them to share. To receive PQAS credit, you must complete an evaluation at the end of the session and include your PD Registry number. Have fun, make connections, and engage in the conversations! More Information For questions or more information, please contact Jasmine Davis at 412.567.3933 or jasmine@tryingtogether.org.
Connections and Conversations: Virtual Check-Ins Connections and Conversations: Virtual Check-Ins are interactive sessions that highlight topics of interest to the field of early childhood education. Participants will engage in virtual discussions via Zoom with child development experts while interacting with early learning practitioners to share questions, experiences, and expertise about the highlighted topic. After registering, participants will receive a Zoom Meeting link via email from the session instructor. Each session will offer one hour of PQAS credit. Act 48 credit will not be offered for these sessions. Available Sessions Creating Meaningful Virtual Learning Experiences for Children and Families Wednesday, 6/3 | 3 – 4 p.m. | Instructor: Katie Gullone | Click here to register. Early education practitioners are developing digital learning experiences with children and families in creative, innovative, and unique ways more than ever before. Join Message from Me Program Director Katie Gullone for a conversation on supporting relationships with children and their loved ones meaningfully through the use of technology and media. Trauma and the Effects on Brain Development Wednesday, 6/17 | 3 – 4 p.m. | Instructor: Alison Babusci | Click here to register. The COVID-19 crisis has brought many new stressors into our lives. Participants will join Professional Growth and Advancement Strategist Alison Babusci to review how stress affects healthy brain development in children, learn about the brain’s response to stress, and talk about how early learning professionals can help our young children to cope. Session Rules and Guidelines These virtual discussions are designed to provide educators the opportunity to grow professionally and share knowledge on early childhood topics. During the meeting, participants should follow the guidelines below to ensure a successful virtual meeting for all participants. Please allow all participants a chance to speak. Listen respectfully and actively. Commit to learning about each other, not to debating the topic. Embrace differences of opinion as healthy and support each person’s authentic self-expression. Participants will be muted for the beginning portion of the session. Participants may use the “Raise Hand” feature in Zoom to request an opportunity to comment or ask a question. Individuals will be temporarily unmuted by the moderator. Participants may type a comment or question in the Chat or may send comments or questions directly to the moderator for them to share. To receive PQAS credit, you must complete an evaluation at the end of the session and include your PD Registry number. Have fun, make connections, and engage in the conversations! More Information For questions or more information, please contact Jasmine Davis at 412.567.3933 or jasmine@tryingtogether.org.
Working with Diverse Families: Supporting Dual Language Learners In this online course, participants will engage in an interactive session to build and strengthen knowledge working with diverse children ages birth to five and families. In order to support early childhood practitioners serving this population, this session will focus on current research, strategies when teaching dual language learners, and techniques to engage families. Limited spaces are available. All registrations must be submitted by May 26 at 5 p.m. Course Information Timeline: May 28 – June 18, 2020 Instructor: Mimi Loughead CKC: K3.1 C2 Keystone STARS Alignment: SQ. 3.4.3 CDA Subject Area: Building Productive Relationships with Families. Three PQAS and Act 48 hours available. Registration To register, please visit the event registration page. More Information For more information, contact Rosie Hogan at rosie@tryingtogether.org.
May 7, 2020 Keeping Our Children Well During COVID-19 Join former American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) president, Colleen Kraft, MD, FAAP, for a discussion on how early care and education (ECE) providers can support families’ medical care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. About ECE programs can support families’ access to needed medical care. The AAP recommends children under 24 months maintain their Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) immunization schedule to prevent the breakout of communicable diseases. Many pediatricians are conducting well-child visits through telehealth appointments. However, families may be struggling to access these services. To learn how ECE providers can support families’ medical care during the pandemic, register to attend this webinar. Registration To register, visit the event webpage. The registration link can be used for both the live event and on-demand viewing. The recording will be available to watch on-demand starting 30 minutes after the live event ends, until May 31, 2020. Because access to the live event is limited and the session may be full, event hosts recommend watching the webinar on-demand. A version with English closed captions will also be posted on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) in the future.
