News

June 16, 2020

Allegheny Child Care Tool Expands Services

Are you interested in learning about child care, after-school, out-of-school, and summer programs in Allegheny County? Visit the Allegheny Child Care website to search for available child care spots at programs near you!

What is Allegheny Child Care?

Allegheny Child Care is a unique pilot project that has been developed to support the child care needs of families. Through this online tool, parents and caregivers can search for available child care spots at all Allegheny County early learning programs, including after-school, out-of-school, and summer camps. To search for a program near you, visit the Allegheny Child Care website!

Information for Early Learning Professionals

If your organization provides child care, after-school, out-of-school, and/or summer programming, update your listing as soon as possible on the Allegheny Child Care website. 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 your program to expedite the process of getting children enrolled, thus making an often stressful task less burdensome for families.

For questions or concerns, please read the FAQ guide or email info@alleghenychildcare.org.

Additional Resources

Trying Together developed the following resources to assist families in identifying high-quality early learning programs, as well as what questions to ask to better understand their program’s COVID-19 procedures.

For additional support in finding child care and/or funding your child care needs, visit the Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Region 5 website or call 412.350.3577.

More Information

The Allegheny Child Care initiative is managed by Trying Together in partnership with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, and Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST, an initiative of the United Way of Southwestern PA); with additional support from the City of Pittsburgh; and was developed in collaboration with Child Care Aware of AmericaThe Heinz Endowments, and technology partners BowtieBrightHive, and BridgeCare.

To learn more and search for programs near you, visit the Allegheny Child Care website.

News

June 10, 2020

Infant/Toddler Movement as a Foundation for Learning

Are you interested in exploring movement as the foundation of learning? Join the National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness (NCECHW) on June 23 for their webinar, “Tummy Time: Infant/Toddler Movement as a Foundation for Learning.”

About

Infants enter the world prewired and primed to move. In this session, participants will learn about the impact tummy time has on brain and muscle development and its influence on developmental milestone progression. Additionally, participants will learn their role in how to create an environment that stimulates, promotes, and supports motor development.

This webinar is best suited for early childhood education teachers and administrators; family child care providers; infant/toddler coaches, consultants, and specialists; Child Care Resource and Referral leadership and staff; parents; and guardians.

Featured Topics

Topics include the following:

    • gross motor development,
    • tummy time best practices,
    • creating an environment that supports an active child, and
    • the caregiver/parent’s role in tummy time.

Registration

To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.

More Information

For questions, contact NCECHW at health@ecetta.info or 888.227.5125.

News

June 4, 2020

Questions for Your Early Learning Provider During COVID-19

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, early learning programs across Pennsylvania are adding new operating procedures (as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)) to maintain the health and safety of their staff and the families they serve. To help parents and caregivers better understand these changes, Trying Together developed a Family Checklist that features questions families can ask their early learning providers.

Access the Checklist

The Family Checklist features fifteen questions caregivers can ask, including questions on how programs plan to communicate with families, meet the developmental needs of children, implement health screenings, and more. To see the full list of questions, view the Family Checklist: Questions for Your Early Learning Provider During COVID-19. [En Español]

Additional Resources

In addition to the Family Checklist, Trying Together developed the following news posts to answer common questions and highlight resources for families, caregivers, and early learning professionals:

More Information

For more information about COVID-19 and to view current case counts in Pennsylvania, please visit the Pennsylvania Department of Health website. To view current guidance for child care programs that remain open, please visit the CDC website.

News

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.

News

Connecting with Families Around What They Care About

Are you interested in learning family engagement strategies that value families’ passion for the success of their young children? Join Brazelton Touchpoints Center on June 8 for their course, “Valuing Passion: Connecting with Families Around What They Care About.”

About

Families demonstrate a wide range of emotions, both positive and negative, as they navigate through their ever-changing experiences with their child. The negative emotions that families sometimes show can be challenging for providers to manage. Reframing these emotions as coming from a family’s passion for their child can strengthen provider’s partnerships with families. In this webinar, presenters will explore ways that providers can value families’ passion.

Registration

To access the course and learn more, visit the Brazelton Touchpoints Center website.

*Information provided by Brazelton Touchpoints Center

News

Connecting with Families Through the Child’s Behavior

Are you interested in learning how to use a child’s behavior to open up communication with the family? Join Brazelton Touchpoints Center on June 1 for their course, “The Power of Observation: Connecting with Families Through the Child’s Behavior.”

About

When providers share with families specific details of what they notice about their children—such as their interests or temperament—they open the door to connecting. In this webinar, participants will learn specific steps for using the child’s behavior to open up communication with the family. Participants will learn about family engagement strategies for Connecting with Families through the Child’s Behavior that can immediately apply to their work.

Registration

To access the course and learn more, visit the Brazelton Touchpoints Center website.

*Information provided by Brazelton Touchpoints Center

News

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.

News

May 14, 2020

Virtual UnConference: Re-Opening to Our ‘New Normal’

News

May 11, 2020

Professionalism – Styles & Dispositions in the Workplace

This three-week online workplace professionalism course will allow early care and education professionals to communicate, reflect, and update the professional styles they may use or want to use to improve in the field of early childhood education. Today’s early childhood professional must demonstrate knowledge of the skills, styles, and dispositions required to succeed in the workplace. This requires a commitment to the profession, including commitments to their regular work environment and beyond. Using activities and resources, this course provides participants with strategies to adopt positive and ethical habits that will serve them personally and professionally.

Limited spaces are available. All registrations must be submitted by May 20 at 5 p.m.

Course Information

    • Timeline: May 22 – June 12, 2020
    • Instructors: Jasmine Davis and Theresa Hetler
    • CKC: K6.9 C2
    • Keystone STARS Alignment: SQ. 3.4.5
    • CDA Subject Area: Maintaining a Commitment to Professionalism.
    • Three PQAS and Act 48 hours available.

Registration

To register for this workplace professionalism course, please visit the event registration page.

Workplace Professionalism Styles & Dispositions

For more information, contact Jasmine Davis at 412.567.3933 or jasmine@tryingtogether.org. For more on Trying Together’s professional development programs, visit our courses page.

News

May 7, 2020

Preparation for Reopening SAC During COVID-19

Certified School Age Care (SAC) providers are invited to join the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) on May 7 for an online conversation with OCDEL Deputy Secretary, Tracy Campanini, to hear important information about preparing for reopening during COVID-19.

Registration

To join the conversation, visit this Zoom link and insert the password: 022124. Individuals can also join via phone by calling 312.626.6799 and inserting the Meeting ID: 957 4116 2918. Pre-registration is not required.

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