2020 Training Dates
The Douglas-Sarpy Learning Child Team offers several Early Child Professional Development programs throughout the year. All classes are preapproved by NDE for DHHS In Service hours.
| Date | Time | Topic | Description | Cost | In-Service | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/09 | 6:30 – 8:30 pm | Don’t just survive, thrive this winter!! Indoor and Outdoor activities to celebrate winter in Nebraska | One of the great things about Nebraska is that we get to see and experience 4 distinct seasons throughout the year (sometimes all in one day!). Winter can be an especially hard season to embrace in early childhood settings, and we often feel like we just need to survive during those last few months before spring. In this class, we are going to take a close look at all the great things the winter season can inspire in your program, indoors and out! (Snow Date, January 16th) | $10/person | 2 hrs. | Katie Krause - katie.krause@unl.eduorRegister Here |
| 01/21 | 6:15 – 8:45 pm | Project Learning Tree (in partnership with Keep Omaha Beautiful) | Watch the website for more information. (Snow Date, January 28th) | Katie Krause - katie.krause@unl.eduorRegister Here | |
| 02/05 | 6:15 – 8:45 pm | Growing Up Wild (in partnership with Keep Omaha Beautiful) | Watch the website for more information. (Snow Date, February 19th) | Katie Krause - katie.krause@unl.eduorRegister Here | |
| 02/12 | 6:30 – 8:30 pm | Supporting our youngest learners in child care settings: Focusing on Infants and Toddlers | This session is geared specifically towards those working with children ages birth to age. Participants will take time to explore their image of young children, observe very young children and better understand the crucial role they play as adult caregivers in the development of our youngest leaners. Hands on activities will address appropriate environments and materials. (Snow Date, February 26th) | $10/person | 2 hrs. | Katie Krause - katie.krause@unl.eduorRegister Here |
| 03/18 | 6:30 – 8:30 pm | Look Who’s Hatching: Early Childhood Embryology (Egg hatching!!!) | Hatching out chicks is a wonderful experience for young children. It’s even more fun, and full of learning opportunities when you don’t tell the children what kind of animal is going to hatch out of the eggs and spend the time the eggs incubate learning about a variety of oviparous (egg laying) animals! During this session, we will review the new curriculum from Nebraska Extension: Look Who’s Hatching, and learn how to implement the curriculum in your program. Participants will have the opportunity to hatch chicks in their own program for an additional fee. This training is designed for those working with children ages 2 - 6. | $10/person | 2 hrs. | Katie Krause - katie.krause@unl.eduorRegister Here |
| 03/31 | 6:30 – 8:30 pm | Cultivating Healthy, Intentional, Mindful Educators (CHIME) | The CHIME Program provides education and guidance on how to incorporate mindfulness and reflective practice into your daily routine, teaching and caregiving. Engaging in mindfulness and reflective practice has many benefits for health and well-being of both providers and young children — including reduced stress, improved emotion management, better sleep quality, increased focus and attention, and enhanced relationships. There is a 2-hour introductory course and an optional follow up course, over 7 weeks. You can attend JUST the 2-hour course, but you must attend the 2-hour course to attend the 7 weekly sessions. | $10/person | 2 hrs. | Katie Krause - katie.krause@unl.eduorRegister Here |
| 04/07, 04/14, 04/21, 04/28, 05/05, 05/12, 05/19 | 5:30 – 7:00 pm (time may change to 6:30 - 8:00 pm depending on participants needs) | CHIME Follow Up Sessions | Limited spots available, participants should try to attend all 7 sessions if possible. | $75/person | 14 hrs. | Katie Krause - katie.krause@unl.eduorRegister Here |
| 04/09 | 6:30 – 8:30 pm | Showing Children’s Learning Through Documentation | Documenting Children’s learning is a crucial tool for planning and assessment. We will talk about a variety of ways that you can document children’s learning, including digital documentation through various apps. Be sure to bring along some raw documentation, such as photos, examples of children’s work, and notes as we will spend time creating a small documentation panel to bring back to your program. An introduction to documentation video can also be viewed here, if you’d like some more ideas about what kind of raw documentation to bring. http://go.unl.edu/thelearningchild - look for the link on the class information under the upcoming child development classes button. Earn 1 in-service hour for completing online course, for no charge!! | $10/person | 2 hrs. | Katie Krause - katie.krause@unl.eduorRegister Here |
| 05/20 | 6:30 – 8:30 pm | Creating a Natural Learning Environment in Your Outdoor Space | Over the last decade there has been a huge movement in response to the lack of time children spend in the outdoors. During this class, we will talk about the many benefits of children spending time outdoors and talk about the barriers we experience in getting children outdoors more often. We will also take time to think about our own outdoor spaces and brainstorm ideas to make them more natural, comfortable and engaging for children. Some programs may be interested in following up with additional assistance to create a design for a naturalized outdoor space, including how to find funding and grant opportunities! | $10/person | 2 hrs. | Katie Krause - katie.krause@unl.eduorRegister Here |
| May, June, July and August - come to one, come to all | Summer “Study Tour Series” – Visit local early childhood programs to learn about the great things happening and get new ideas for your program! | Stay tuned for details about our summer ‘study tour’ series. Study tours are a great way to learn about the amazing things happening in other early childhood programs, but are usually way out of budget for early childhood educators. Rather than trying to send people across the country, or even across the world, join us at 4 different early childhood programs in the Omaha area! Each of these events will give you a chance to see other program’s indoor and outdoor environments, learn a little bit about their philosophy and approach, and engage in some hands-on activities they love! Light snacks will be served thanks to grant funding. | Katie Krause - katie.krause@unl.edu |
Early Childhood Development training is held at the Nebraska Extension Office in Douglas-Sarpy Counties at 8015 W. Center Rd. Omaha, NE 68124. A minimal class fee is charged to cover costs. Preregistration is strongly recommended, due to small class sizes.
Classes are held at the Douglas County Extension Office, 8015 West Center Road, Omaha, NE 68124. For more information or to register for a class, contact Katie Krause at (402) 444-3338, katie.krause@unl.edu, or fill out and submit the form below.