EIU Child Care Resource and Referral

Time: 8 - 3 pm (lunch break included)

Establishing nurturing and responsive relationships within a caring community is the foundation of the Pyramid Model. This training focuses on practices for building relationships with children, promoting relationships between children, relationships with families that affirm family culture and identity, and relationships with team members.

Trainer: Lori Rothrock, Quality Specialist
CDA: 3 | 6.5 In-Service Hours | Gateways: E

Time 6-8pm via ZOOM

Credentials are a great way to prove that you are a professional in the Early Childhood system and funding is attached to these in the ExceleRate IL and Great START programs. This training will go over the credentialing options to become teacher qualified in childcare centers. Detailed information on the process of attaining the Child Development Associate (CDA) or the Child Care Professional (CCP) will be presented. Also, information and resources on how to achieve the Illinois Gateways to Opportunity credentials will also be covered. These include the Infant Toddler Credential, Early Childhood Education Credential, Illinois Director Credential, School Age and Youth Development Credential, and Family Child Care Credential.

Trainer: Melissa Coleman, Childcare Resource Specialist
CDA: 6 | 2 In-Service Hours

Time: 8-2:30pm (lunch break included)

Social-Emotional Growth and Socialization explores topics on social-emotional development in the first three years, temperaments of children and caregivers, socialization, guidance and discipline, environments, and gaining an understanding of children's behavior. Training will begin with an overview of the basic concepts of early social-emotional growth and socialization and their application to the group care context. An emphasis is placed on the development of a nurturing relationship between the infant and caregiver. The overview addresses the importance of responsive caregiving, the individualization of care through an understanding of infant temperament, the critical role of family and culture in early identity development, exploring developmentally appropriate play strategies with ages of infancy, creating supportive physical environments, and stages of emotional development.

Trainer: Vicky Foster, Infant Toddler Childcare Specialist
CDA: 3 & 8 | 6 In-Service Hours + 2 Hours for Online Assessment | Gateways: A

 Time: 6-9:30pm & 6-9pm via ZOOM

When it comes to behaviors, it’s all about social emotional development. During this training, we will reflect on the use of developmentally appropriate social and emotional techniques, how they impact and reinforce positive attachment relationships, and how they lead to changes in behavior. Caregiving relationships will be shown to support emotional regulation and social skills by modeling and encouraging positive behaviors in young children. By using visuals, group discussions, and case studies, you will be able to support meaningful social and emotional growth within your childcare program. Through examining your own beliefs, reflecting on various theoretical perspectives, and considering the realities of childcare programs, we can share tools that support culturally relevant ways to implement social and emotional learning.

Trainer: Carrol Tiggelaar, Mental Health Consultant
CDA: 3 & 8 | 6.5 In-Service Hours | Gateways: E

Time: 8-12pm

This training is for center-based programs and family childcare providers and offers an overview of the Environment Rating Scales. The Environment Rating Scales are user-friendly assessment tools that measure the quality of the learning environment for infants through school-age children. After completing this training, participants will be able to use the tool(s) for program self-assessment and improvement planning.

Trainer: Vicky Foster, Infant Toddler Childcare Specialist
CDA: 5 | 4 In-Service Hours | Gateways: C & E

Cost: $10  

Time: 6-8pm

I Love You Rituals Training based on the book by Becky Bailey PhD. I Love You Rituals are playful, one-on-one interactions that build loving bonds while increasing attention span, decreasing power struggles and promoting language and literacy at school or at home. These brain-building interactions facilitate optimal development for young children and create lifelong bonds between children and adults.

Trainer: Bea Sawyer, Mental Health Consultant
CDA: 3 | 2 In-Service Hours

Time: 8-2:30pm (lunch break included)

This module focuses on the practices for establishing high-quality supportive classroom environments that promote social-emotional skill development and prevent challenging behavior. Practices related to schedules, routines, transitions, promoting engagement, expectations, and rules are addressed in the workshop.

Trainer: Lori Rothrock, Quality Specialist
CDA: 3 | 6 In-Service Hours | Gateways: E

Time: 6-9pm via ZOOM

This training gives early childhood practitioners an overview of the revised learning and development standards for preschool children ages three to five. Through discussion and small group activities, training participants will learn how to connect the standards with daily practice in their programs.

Trainer: Paula Schnicker-Johnson, Training Coordinator
CDA: 5 & 7 | 6 In-Service Hours | Gateways: A, E & C

Time: 8-2:30pm (lunch break included)

Group Care introduces special considerations in caring for infants and toddlers and six program policies that support the development of emotionally secure relationships and mental health in the group care setting. An overview of the content of Module 2 explores the ideas of primary care, well-designed learning environments, positive impact of responsive caregiving routines, and individualized care on the well-being and development of children from birth to three. Attention is also given to how the policies of primary care, small groups, continuity of care, culturally responsive care, and inclusive care of children with special needs prove the foundation for high quality infant/toddler care. At the end of this module, participants will have the tools to use primary care in their home or classroom, make engaging environments, assist children in daily routines, and individualize care for all children.

Trainer: Vicky Foster, Infant Toddler Childcare Specialist
CDA: 1 | 6 In-Service Hours + 2 Hours for Online Assessment | Gateways: E

Time: 6-9pm; final session: 5:30-9:30pm via ZOOM

The Strengthening Business Practices for Centers training addresses basic concepts in fiscal and operational management of childcare programs. The purpose of this training is to strengthen childcare provider’s foundational knowledge of fiscal terms, concepts, and practices. It encourages providers to realize the importance of fiscal planning to the sustainability of their business operations. It provides tips and best practices in fiscal, organizational, and financial goals and human resource documents in order to help break down the fiscal processes into manageable steps.

Trainer: Melissa Coleman, Childcare Resource Specialist
CDA: 5 | 13 In-Service Hours | Gateways: G

Time: 6-7pm

The Bystander Intervention training will help you go from inaction to action when you witness harassment. * This training is a collaborative training with the EIU Academy of Lifelong Learning and will be open to the community to join along with providers.*

Trainer: Tina Johnson, Director of Prevention & Volunteer Services at Prevail Illinois
CDA: 7 | 1 In-Service Hour

Time: 6-8pm via ZOOM

This training gives early childhood practitioners an overview of program guidelines for children birth to age three. The training creates a foundational understanding for providers and practitioners in the field of what children birth to age three are expected to know and do across multiple domains.

Trainer: Jamie Nichols, Infant Toddler Childcare Specialist
CDA: 7 & 8 | 4 In-Service Hours | Gateways: A, C, & E

Time: 8-3pm (lunch break included)

Promoting social-emotional development is core to the Pyramid Model. This module provides training on the practices for teaching friendship skills, emotional literacy, self-regulation, and problem-solving.

Trainer: Lori Rothrock, Quality Specialist
CDA: 3 | 6.5 In-Service Hours | Gateways: E

Time: 8-3:30pm (lunch break included)

This session explores brain development, early learning and language development, and appropriate curriculum planning for infants and toddlers. PITC’s view of infants as active, self-motivated learners is explained and the role of the caregiver in supporting infants’ desire for exploration is considered. The perspective that is presented can be summed up in the following way: “All children are born wired for feelings and ready to learn” when provided nurturing relationships and a peaceful but engaging environment that supports all learners, including infants with special needs. Engaging discussion and activities support participant’s learning.

Trainer: Vicky Foster, Infant Toddler Childcare Specialist
CDA: 8 | 6 In-Service Hours + 2 Hours for Online Assessment | Gateways: A

Time: 6-8pm

This will be an interactive training where we will learn about secondhand trauma and compassion fatigue, symptoms, and incorporate some strategies for developing compassion fatigue resilience. We discuss trauma informed care in the workplace and with children, learn some techniques that work with children such as Brain Dance, and Mindfulness in letting go, as well as compassion satisfaction, tips for transitioning from work to home and home to work to leave compassion fatigue behind, and many ideas for self- care. This training will leave you informed and inspired.

Trainer: Bea Sawyer, Mental Health Consultant
CDA: 6 | 2 In-Service Hours

Time: 5:45-9:15pm & 5:45-8:45pm via ZOOM

Children’s lives are directly impacted by exposure to traumatic events. By using a diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) lens, we can consider how these traumas are felt unequally across the diverse communities that childcare providers serve. We will examine trauma and resilience, screening tools, look at the research on the impacts of trauma, review a case study, and consider the ongoing traumatic impacts of COVID. We will consider the important roles that childcare providers play in recognizing the signs of traumatic exposure, promoting infant mental health, supporting young children and their families, and creating caregiving environments that support resilience. Understanding the ways that individual’s family history, cultural backgrounds, language, home environment, community supports, and heredity play in their development, resilience, and response to trauma will support providers in understanding the strengths of the children and families they serve. We will also reflect on our own responses to trauma, the importance of resilience, the challenges of vicarious trauma, and resources that can support the work of childcare providers. Using discussions, videos, data, and reflective moments, we will examine the impact of trauma through multiple perspectives and learning styles.

Trainer: Paula Schnicker-Johnson, Training Coordinator
CDA: 3 & 8 | 6.5 In-Service Hours | Gateways: A

Time: 6-8:30pm

This module guide practitioners in how to individualize instruction on social-emotional skills for children who need more targeted support. Practices that are taught include: teaching systematically, peer-mediated intervention, planning for embedded instruction, and progress monitoring.

Trainer: Lori Rothrock, Quality Specialist
CDA: 3 | 2.5 In-Service Hours | Gateways: E

Time: 8-3:30pm (lunch break included)

This training focuses on culture and its implication for families and providers. Participants will learn how family experiences, knowledge, and childrearing beliefs and practices can be incorporated into early care and classroom settings. Cultural expectations and biases will be explored, and participants will have the opportunity to increase their cultural awareness in terms of how their assumptions may affect their interaction with young children and families. Participants will demonstrate their understanding of how family structures, diversity in social, cultural, linguistic, or religious backgrounds influence family approaches to parenting in children birth to three, each other, and the community. Participants will gain an understanding of how relationships among caregivers, infants/toddlers, and families can impact other child-family, child-practitioner, and practitioner-family relationships.

Trainer: Vicky Foster, Infant Toddler Childcare Specialist
CDA: 4 | 6 In-Service Hours + 2 Hours for Online Assessment | Gateways: F

Time: 1-3pm

This training is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary self-regulation program that integrates social-emotional learning, school culture and discipline. It helps teachers and administrators build schools based on the internal resources of safety, connection and problem solving instead of external rewards and punishments. It is based on brain research that indicates our internal states dictate our behavior. The goal is to provide systematic changes in schools by fostering the emotional intelligence of teachers first and children second. In this training you will learn how to become aware of Conscious Discipline as a model to understand and better relate to children you care for. During this training we will compare differences in traditional forms of discipline vs. Conscious Discipline, identify the brain states and the role brain development plays in child behavior, and recognize and discuss ways to implement Conscious Discipline in the classroom.

Trainer: Bea Sawyer, Mental Health Consultant
CDA: 3 | 2 In-Service Hours

Time: 8-3pm (lunch break included)

This module provides the practices for understanding child challenging behavior, how to respond to challenging behavior, becoming aware of bias in responding, de-escalating behavior, and the components of developing a behavior support plan for children with persistent challenging behavior.

Trainer: Lori Rothrock
CDA: 3 | 6.5 In-Service Hours | Gateways: E

Time: 6-7:30pm

In this module, practitioners learn about the steps of Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Young Children (PTR-YC) and how PTR-YC is used as a manualized process for conducting a functional behavioral assessment and developing a behavior support plan

Trainer: Lori Rothrock, Quality Specialist
CDA: 7 | 1.5 In-Service Hours | Gateways: C