April 7, 2021 Parenting Together Pathway Provides Information for Parents In April 2021, as part of Month of the Young Child, Trying Together launched the Parenting Together Pathway to provide high-quality information on early childhood topics for caregivers. The Parenting Together Pathway provides families the opportunity to learn more about: brain development; play; interactions and relationships; technology; child care; and advocacy to better support their children’s healthy growth. Additional videos will be released through 2021. Course Content The Parenting Together Pathway currently includes six topics related to early childhood. The Beautiful Brain This presentation provides an overview of how the brain develops during early childhood. Caregivers will learn about the impact of interactions, environments, and trauma on a child’s brain, and develop an understanding of how strong brain development can be effectively supported through fun and engaging activities. It’s More Than Just Play: The Role of Play in a Child’s Life This presentation provides an overview of the types of play and how play benefits young children. Caregivers will learn about how they can support playful learning. Everyday Interactions Matter: Noticing the Simple and Ordinary This presentation provides an overview of positive interactions between children and their caregivers. Caregivers will learn to recognize moments of connecting, sharing, growing, and belonging in everyday moments. The Role of Technology in Caregiving and Caregiving Experiences This presentation provides an overview of how technology can be resourceful in caregiving experiences. Caregivers will learn how integrating technology into children’s daily routines, including play, can be fun and supportive towards their development. How to Choose High-Quality Child Care This presentation provides an overview of important characteristics to look for when searching for child care. Caregivers will learn about the various aspects of child care that attribute to high quality interactions and experiences. Becoming A Child’s First Advocate This presentation provides an overview of advocacy, its definition, and the role it plays for young children and their families. Caregivers will learn about various campaigns related to early childhood and how they can become and advocate for all children. Additional Information Please visit the Trying Together website to view video content for the Parenting Together Pathway.
March 2, 2021 Study Opportunity: Parents Promoting Early Learning Are you interested in participating in a fun, compensated research study? Sign up for the University of Pittsburgh’s Parents Promoting Early Learning study! About Parents Promoting Early Learning studies how parents and their two-year-old children (up to 38 months) interact and how such interactions help prepare the child for school. Due to COVID-19, this study will be conducted online. Laptops and WiFi are available by request. Requirements Study participants will be compensated and must complete: two to three online video calls where the parent and child complete games and assessments, questionnaires and interviews about the child’s development and activities, and a one-year follow-up visit for more games and assessments. Enrollment If you are interested in enrolling, complete the study contact form. More Information For questions, please contact ppel@pitt.edu or 412.204.6845. Share this flyer with your network.
August 19, 2020 Virtual Back to Out-of-School-Time Conference Join Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School-Time (APOST) from August 24–September 10, 2020 for their Virtual Back to Out-of-School-Time Conference! About Over a period of three weeks, the Virtual Back to Out-of-School-Time Conference will offer relevant workshops to assist professionals in continuing to provide high-quality programming for youth during this challenging time. This Conference is open to any youth practitioner who desires to increase their skills in working with youth in out-of-school-time programs or mentoring relationships. If there is a workshop that you would like to attend but are not able to due to schedule conflicts, recordings and resources for all workshop offerings will be available for at least one month after all of the workshops have concluded. Available Workshops A Summer in Review: Conducting In-Person Programming in the Foreseeable Future Monday, August 24 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. Wellness for Black Young People in a Racist Society during COVID-19 Tuesday, August 25 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. How to Handle Your Workforce Post COVID-19? – Organizational Skill Gaps with Leaner Staffing Wednesday, August 26 | 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Outdoor STEM in an Online Classroom Thursday, August 27 | 2 – 3:30 p.m. Keeping Kids Entertained and Learning During COVID-19 and Beyond Friday, August 28 | 1 – 2 p.m. Engaging Your Students with Project-Based Learning Online Monday, August 31 | 1 – 2:30 p.m. What You Need to Know about the Current Pandemic Tuesday, September 1 | 1 – 2 p.m. Lessons Learned: OST in the Virtual Space and Zoom into Hands-On Learning Wednesday, September 2 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. Increasing Program Enrollment by Advertising on the Allegheny County Child Care Finder Thursday, September 3 | 1 – 2 p.m. Deep and Simple Interactions in OST Virtual Programming and Yes, And’ing a Virtually New Normal Tuesday, September 8 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. PBS 101 Middle School Track Wednesday, September 9 | 1 – 2 p.m. Making Academic Content Exciting with Narrative Games Thursday, September 10 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. Registration To view all workshop descriptions and register, visit the full Conference Agenda. Registration links will be included at the bottom of each event description. More Information For questions, contact Jaron Paul via email at jaron.paul@unitedwayswpa.org.
August 18, 2020 Virtual UnConference: Caring in a “New Normal” Join Trying Together from September 14–23, 2020 for our second free Virtual UnConference: Caring in a ‘New Normal’. PQAS and Act 48 credit hours will be available. Registration is required. About Virtual UnConference: Caring in a ‘New Normal’ will feature a panel discussion and three workshops on topics including finance, interacting with young children, and social-emotional health during the COVID-19 health crisis. This UnConference will build on guidance shared during our first Virtual UnConference: Re-Opening to Our ‘New Normal’. To watch a recording, visit our UnConference page. Featured Workshops Positive Interactions During the Pandemic Monday, September 14, 2020 | 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. | Register In this workshop, Sarah Grubb from ELRC Region 5 will walk early childhood educators through the essential elements of positive interaction, the educator’s role in co-regulation, and strategies for supporting children best through positive, day-to-day interactions. A Conversation on How to Support the Social/Emotional Needs of Children Thursday, September 17, 2020 | 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. | Register Join Diana Schwab for a conversation and Q&A focused on the social and emotional needs of children. In this workshop, participants will discuss early childhood social and emotional development with a particular focus on how children communicate social and emotional needs through behavior. This workshop will also discuss how to focus a child’s behaviors as a communication of developmental strengths and vulnerabilities, as well as mental health needs. Building a Foundation for Your Organization’s Financial Wellness Monday, September 21, 2020 | 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. | Register This workshop will discuss the importance of building a business plan and budget as the foundation of your organization’s financial wellness, especially during this time of changing external forces due to COVID-19. Presenter Chris Pentrack of Supporting Strategies will suggest beginner tools and methods to build these items, as well as resources for additional assistance. Presenters will discuss topics such as profit and loss statements, balance sheets, monitoring, and forecasting cash for the organization. Providing Safe and Healthy Care in Child Care Now and Beyond the Pandemic Wednesday, September 23, 2020 | 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. | Register This workshop will feature a panel of directors who will discuss the measurements currently being followed to prevent the spread of illness in their individual child care programs. A portion of the conversation will include health and wellness tips that can help support your staff and teachers during these challenging times. The discussion will conclude by identifying which health and safety practices will most likely be permanently incorporated into everyday practice moving forward beyond COVID-19. Registration Registration for this UnConference is being completed on the PD Registry. If you do not have a PD Registry account, please complete this online form to create one. If you are unable to create an account, please contact Jasmine Davis at jasmine@tryingtogether.org for more information. Click the links below to register for each workshop you are interested in. Registration is required. Positive Interactions During the Pandemic Monday, September 14, 2020 | 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. A Conversation on How to Support the Social/Emotional Needs of Children Thursday, September 17, 2020 | 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Building a Foundation for Your Organization’s Financial Wellness Monday, September 21, 2020 | 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. Providing Safe and Healthy Care in Child Care Now and Beyond the Pandemic Wednesday, September 23, 2020 | 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. More Information For questions, contact UnConference Director Yu-Ling Cheng at conference@tryingtogether.org.
June 22, 2020 WIDA Communication Strategies to Support Multilingual Children Are you interested in learning developmentally appropriate strategies to support multilingual children in your early learning program? Join Trying Together Innovative Learning Strategist Mimi Loughead from July 13 through August 3 for a three-week online course, “WIDA Communication Strategies to Support Multilingual Children.” About During this three-week online course, participants will identify and apply developmentally appropriate academic language demands of routines, social interactions, and learning experiences for multilingual learners. Also, participants will learn about language supports to use in their environments to provide multiple meaningful opportunities for multilingual learners to use their own languages through the use of WIDA Early Years resources. Course Details Timeline: July 13 – August 3, 2020 (Three Weeks, Self-Guided) Instructor: Mimi Loughead CKC: K5.3 C2 and K5.7 C2 Keystone STARS Alignment: SQ. 3.4.3 CDA Subject Area: Understanding principles of child development. Three PQAS and ACT 48 hours available. Registration To register, visit the event webpage. All registrations must be submitted by Friday, July 10. Space is limited. More Information For more information, contact Community Engagement Assistant Rosie Hogan at rosie@tryingtogether.org.
Everyday Interactions Matter: Noticing the Simple and Ordinary Are you interested in learning how to maintain essential interactions with young children during this difficult time of masks and physical distancing? Join Trying Together on July 8 for our free online session, “Everyday Interactions Matter: Noticing the Simple and Ordinary.” About The primary ingredient of early childhood quality begins with the “everyday interactions” between educators and children. These simple and ordinary interactions that take place during play, transition, and daily routines form the very foundation of learning and growing. How can educators uphold these essential interactions with children during this challenging time of masks and physical distancing? Early learning professionals are invited to join Trying Together on July 8 at for our online module “Everyday Interactions Matter: Noticing the Simple and Ordinary” to engage with the Everyday Interactions Matter approach through a process of careful observation, discussion, and self-reflection. As a part of the “Connections and Conversations: Virtual Check-Ins” series, this session will encourage educators to recognize powerful moments of connecting, sharing, growing, and belonging in their everyday interactions with young children. Learning Objectives Observe video footage of children and their caregivers in authentic settings and describe positive interactions. Recognize moments of connecting, sharing, growing, and belonging in everyday moments in the early childhood setting. Registration To register, visit the event webpage. Registrations must be submitted by July 6, 2020. Space is limited. Participants will receive the course Zoom link via email within 24 hours before the start date for the course. For questions, contact Rosie Hogan at rosie@tryingtogether.org or Sarah Grubb at sarah.elrc5@alleghenycounty.us. Virtual Series Overview 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. Sessions will be offered biweekly and will offer one hour of PQAS credit. Act 48 credit will not be offered. 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 Rosie Hogan at rosie@tryingtogether.org.
May 4, 2020 Talking to and Supporting Children and Ourselves During the Pandemic On May 7, David J Schonfeld, MD, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician and Director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, will provide a webinar on talking to and supporting children and ourselves during the pandemic for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). About During the webinar, Schonfeld will provide suggestions for early childhood educators on how to talk with young children about the recent pandemic to promote their understanding and adjustment, as well as practical advice that can be shared with families on how to support their children’s adjustment and how they can serve as effective models of coping techniques. Adults are impacted at least as much as children, so a focus of the presentation will address professional self-care. Free resources available from the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement and the Coalition to Support Grieving Students will be highlighted. Attendees will receive a certificate of attendance for viewing this webinar. Registration To register, please visit the event webpage. For more webinar options, visit the Trying Together Events page. *Information provided by NAEYC
September 9, 2019 Women’s Rap Are you a single mom or caregiver in need of self-care? Women’s Rap provides a safe place for communication, encouragement, and reflection. Join us to build your confidence, gratitude, and supportive relationships with other women. Dinner is served between 5:00–5:45 p.m. and group starts promptly at 6:00 p.m. Parent-child interactions are from 7:00–8:00 p.m. More Information For more information, contact Toni Beasley at toni@tryingtogether.org or 412.727.6649. Share this flyer with your networks.
October 18, 2018 Stages of Youth Development Training Join APOST at United Way of Southwestern PA for one of three sequential trainings, Stages of Youth Development. In this workshop, you’ll learn about the various stages of youth development from childhood to adolescence, with a focus on the five domains – cognitive, social, emotional, physical, spiritual/connection to community. Develop an informed approach to working with children at various stages of development and practice positive interactions to build awareness at your own programs. Register here.
April 19, 2018 Fathers Trying Together Are you a single father or caregiver? Would you like to build positive memories with your child and learn healthy ways to cope with barriers and stress? Join us for adult group discussion and parent-child interaction activities such as: arts and crafts coding learning through play reading STEM This event is currently being held virtually via Zoom from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. on Fridays. Learn More For more information, contact Neil Walker at 412.728.2892 or neil@tryingtogether.org. Share this flyer with your networks.
