September 1, 2020 Stress Management Tools and Techniques Are you interested in learning evidence-based tools parents, teachers, and children can use to self-soothe and regulate their emotions? Join Coach Troy Byer on September 22 for “Stress Management Tools and Techniques.” About In this webinar, Mind Care & Emotion Regulation Expert Troy Byer will highlight tools and tips parents, teachers, and children can use to self-soothe and regulate their emotions – especially when confronted with stressors, threats, or challenges. Coach Troy will help participants learn exercises focused on self-soothing and emotion regulation techniques that address confusion, anger, anxiety, depression, and help children regulate their behavior. Participants will complete this webinar with a toolbox of organic, quick, effective, and fun techniques. Featured Topics This webinar will feature the following topics: how to use Emotion Regulation Finger Holds, how they work, and why they work so well; how to distinguish emotional triggers and how to deactivate a trigger before it is expressed negatively; and the importance of maintaining a state of peace and right brain/left brain coherence and how to organically regulate the experience. Registration To register, visit the event webpage.
Virtual Community of Practice Meetings Are you interested in discussing topics of interest and current trends with fellow professionals in the early childhood field? Join ELRC Region 5 for their virtual Community of Practice sessions! About Community of Practice sessions provide early learning professionals with opportunities to discuss topics of interest, current trends in the early childhood field, and offer insight and inspiration to their fellow professionals. In November, these virtual sessions will discuss how to create Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) plans using approved program observation instruments, creating goals from the results of those instruments, identifying the steps it will take to reach the goals, and who is responsible for ensuring the goal is implemented. Participants will learn about the importance of including staffs’ professional development plans and how to use the CQI throughout the whole year. Available Sessions Saturday, November 14: Continuous Quality Improvement Plan 10 a.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session Thursday, November 19: Continuous Quality Improvement Plan 10 a.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session 1 p.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session More Information For questions, contact ELRC Region 5 at elrc5@alleghenycounty.us or 412.350.3577. Share this flyer with your network.
August 31, 2020 Virtual Community of Practice Meetings Are you interested in discussing topics of interest and current trends with fellow professionals in the early childhood field? Join ELRC Region 5 for their virtual Community of Practice sessions! About Community of Practice sessions provide early learning professionals with opportunities to discuss topics of interest, current trends in the early childhood field, and offer insight and inspiration to their fellow professionals. In October, these virtual sessions will focus on tips, how-tos, and tools for participants to navigate through Provider Self Service (PSS), where you can apply for or renew child care licensing, submit ELRC online attendance invoices, submit Keystone STARS requests, and update provider profiles; and STARS Management and Reliability Tracking (SMART), a document uploader for the Keystone STARS Designation process. Available Sessions Saturday, October 10: SMART Document Uploader, Provider Self Service & Keystone STARS Supporting Documents 10 a.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session Thursday, October 15: SMART Document Uploader, Provider Self Service & Keystone STARS Supporting Documents 10 a.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session 1 p.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session More Information For questions, contact ELRC Region 5 at elrc5@alleghenycounty.us or 412.350.3577. Share this flyer with your network.
Virtual Community of Practice Meetings Are you interested in discussing topics of interest and current trends with fellow professionals in the early childhood field? Join ELRC Region 5 for their virtual Community of Practice sessions! About Community of Practice sessions provide early learning professionals with opportunities to discuss topics of interest, current trends in the early childhood field, and offer insight and inspiration to their fellow professionals. In September, these virtual sessions will discuss the most current school-age care updates, information, trends, resources, and professional development opportunities. Participants will connect with out-of-school-time partners and professionals, and they will receive support as new or existing school-age care programs. The session will also focus on supporting virtual learning, daily schedules, and keeping the children engaged. Available Sessions Saturday, September 12: School-Age Care Updates 10 a.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session Thursday, September 17: School-Age Care Updates 10 a.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session 1 p.m. | Zoom Meetings | Attend the Session More Information For questions, contact ELRC Region 5 at elrc5@alleghenycounty.us or 412.350.3577. Share this flyer with your network.
August 20, 2020 First Up Annual Conferences (Virtual) Due to current concerns, First Up has transitioned the First Up Annual Conference to a virtual platform for 2020-21. The Conference will feature multiple half-day virtual conference experiences on a range of topics. Available Conferences Family Child Care Conference Saturday, September 26 | 8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Ticket Fee: $15 – $30 Early childhood professionals are invited to join First Up at the first Family and Group Child Care Conference. This event will be a time of inspiration, reflection, and learning as participants begin their day of honoring the Trailblazers of Family Child Care and hearing their wisdom and advice. Personal Empowerment for the ECE Professional Saturday, October 3 | 8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Ticket Fee: $15 – $30 Early childhood professionals are invited to join First Up for a morning of personal empowerment and professional development. Featuring workshops on financial stability, professional communication, and other best practices in ECE, this Conference will help you achieve your personal and professional goals. Online Event Platform The First Up Conferences will be held via an immersive event platform called Accelevents. To learn more about Accelevents and what to expect, visit their website. To access the full experience, it is recommended that attendees participate via a computer or laptop. Receiving Credit Each Conference will offer 4.5 PA Keys (PD Registry) and/or PA Act 48 credit hours. If you are interested in receiving credit, you must indicate the type of credit you would like to receive during registration. Any credit requests made more than 30 days post-event cannot be guaranteed. A Certificate of Attendance will be available for download in the Conference Platform or by email following the event. Registration To register and learn more, visit the First Up website. More Information For more information, visit the First Up website or contact rebecca.tyrrell@firstup.org.
Facts about COVID-19 and Quality Child Care Are you looking to access child care services during the COVID-19 health crisis? Join the Pennsylvania Child Care Association on September 2 for their webinar, “Facts about COVID-19 and High-Quality Child Care.” About Child care is highly regulated in Pennsylvania and the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has responded to COVID-19 with updated regulations and guidelines to keep children and providers safe. However, some of these are suggestions, not requirements; some clash with best practices for child development; and some are difficult to implement with very young children. In this webinar, participants will learn about the pros and cons of different child care settings, what to expect from child care providers, and which questions to ask if you’re still searching for one that’s right for you and your child. The session will feature Susan Coffin, MD, MPH, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s leading expert of COVID-19 and a great resource in creating CHOP’s FAQ for centers and families; a parent; and child care providers from both center-based and home-based settings. Register This webinar is best suited for parents and caretakers of children birth to age five. To register, visit the event webpage. Submit A Question You may ask questions in advance (anonymously if you prefer) by emailing shawn.towey@pacca.org, or you can enter them in the chatbox during the session. Share this flyer with your network.
August 19, 2020 Why Care about Child Care? Are you a parent who needs child care? Are you interested in learning how to get help paying for child care? Are you worried about your child’s kindergarten readiness? Join the Pennsylvania Child Care Association on August 26 to explore these topics and more in their webinar, “Why Care about Child Care?” Register This webinar will act as an introduction for parents and other caregivers (grandparents, guardians, foster families, etc.) to the child care landscape in Pennsylvania. To register, visit the event webpage. Submit A Question You may ask questions in advance (anonymously if you prefer) by emailing shawn.towey@pacca.org, or you can enter them in the chatbox during the session. Share this flyer with your network.
From Mourning to Meaning-Making Join Highmark Caring Place on September 2 for their webinar, “From Mourning to Meaning-Making: How to Meet the Needs of Grieving Families.” About This webinar will discuss the ways in which grief and mourning are both unique and universal. Presenters will look at Alan Wolfelt’s six “reconciliation needs” and discuss the ways mourners can recognize and address these basic grief needs in order to find hope and healing. This is a free webinar. When registered, you will receive a Zoom link the evening before the webinar. No Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be provided. Presentation materials can be provided upon request. Learning Objectives By attending, participants will be able to: explore both the personal and the communal elements of grief, understand Alan Wolfelt’s “reconciliation needs” model of mourning,” and discuss creative and helpful ways of addressing the needs of mourning. Registration To register, visit the event webpage. Registrations must be submitted no later than September 1 at 6 p.m. More Information For questions, contact Patrick McKelvey at patrick.mckelvey@highmark.com. Share this flyer with your network.
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 17, 2020 Online CDA Credential Courses Available Are you an early educator who is working with young children? Are you looking to advance your career? Join Trying Together for our nine-month online CDA courses to complete coursework with an experienced instructor and receive a nationally recognized credential upon completion! Available Courses Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential Course (FULL) September 8, 2020 – May 31, 2021 | Online | This course is full. Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential Course: North Side* September 14, 2020 – May 31, 2021 | Online | This course is full. More Information For questions or more information, please contact Theresa Hetler at theresa@tryingtogether.org.
