What are your go-to resources when it comes to online early childhood professional development?
Please let me know down below in the comments.
I LOVE online learning. These days I learn everything from how to do a handstand (ok, still working on that one but true confessions I did buy an online course on it - ha!) ...to business advice... to all things early childhood - all online! I love learning through webinars, online courses, downloadable digital products and resources, and also podcasts (I love podcasts! Do they count as "online"? Let's say yes for the purpose of this discussion.)
I love pressing play on my phone or laptop while I'm snuggled under a blanket on my coach, on a long drive, cooking, doing dishes or doing other household chores (picture me unpacking or packing again).
In this post I'm sharing my top 7 go-to places for online early childhood learning.
Then, at the end I have a question for you!
1. Online Conferences and Summits. These time-specific events (like the 2018 Transform Challenging Behavior Online Conference (#TCBOC), which many of you took part in!) are SUPER fun to me. I just love the binge-watching element (another true confession) and I have been partaking in online conferences and summits for years (mostly to learn about things like mindfulness and mediation but also business, and more recently I learned about the ones in the ECE world - woo hoo!) I am going to announce the 2019 TCB Online Conference dates soon but in the meantime for those of you who are directors, administrators, coaches, quality managers, site supervisors and teacher-leaders check out the EC Leadership Conference, November 11-15.
2. The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations Family Engagement.The Backpack Connection is a series of 1-page downloadable PDFs for everything from Biting to Whining to Following Directions. They're written with families in mind but are also a great teacher resource.
3. Early Childhood Investigations Webinars. I've been honored to present for them twice (just search my name). A few you might want to check out: social-emotional screening (ties in with the ASQ screening tool), Trauma-Informed care in ECE, and Biases in ECE.
4. Barbara Kaiser and Julie Sklar Raminsksy's blog on challenging behavior. Check out this post on why implicit bias is everyone's problem.
5. Fairydust Teaching. Not a site focused on behavior per se but Sally Haughey's ideas just delight me. Just for fun here's a post on woodworking! Woodworking used to be something that was commonplace in ECE classrooms (or just highly recommended?) but now I rarely see it.
6. NAEYC, our national professional organization, of course! This is my go-to for many many topics but here's a round up on guidance and challenging behavior.
7. The Preschool Podcast. I've also had the honor of being on this twice. Have you listened to the one on supporting families when a parent and child are separated? Relatedly, there's another on the trauma that results from children in migrant families being separated from their important adults.
(There are TONS of other great sites. UGH. Do I really have to stop? Ok. For now.)
So, here's my question:
When you look at the above resources and consider your own go-to sites: what's missing?
I'm on a mission to help early childhood professionals get access to the information and strategies they need to set themselves and children - especially those that exhibit challenging behavior - up for success.
So, as I am recruiting speakers for the 2019 TCB Online Conference and thinking about writing blog posts, creating downloadable PDFs and creating online courses I would love to know what information you need that you cannot currently find online.
Please let me know in the comments below what topics you'd like to see addressed in online resources or ECE learning opportunities!