https://cecpd.ou.edu/Training Parent Page: Training id: 29566 Active Page: Course Informationid:31354

Course Information

Specific details regarding each course are provided by expanding the course below.

To locate training events, view the Oklahoma Statewide Training Calendar.

CECPD Online

Online and other web-based professional development can be found on the Oklahoma Statewide Training Calendar at www.okregistry.org. CECPD also offers online training through CECPD Online.

CECPD offers online courses at cecpdonline.orgThese courses count as formal approved training for the Oklahoma Professional Development Registry, and some courses also carry continuing education units (CEUs), as noted below. 

Signing Up for CECPD Online Courses:

To take these online courses, you must first create a CECPD Online account and login (username and password).

*IMPORTANT!! The USERNAME and PASSWORD for your CECPD Online training account ARE NOT THE SAME as the username and password for your Oklahoma Registry account.*

Need Help? 

CECPD Online Help Desk 
Local Phone: 1-918-919-7010
Toll Free: 1-877-710-5158
Email: support@cecpdonline.org
Online Chat: available at cecpdonline.org
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00AM – 5:00PM

CECPD Online courses that meet specific Department of Human Services, Child Care Services requirements:

Entry Level Child Care Training (ELCCT)

77 Lessons / $20.00 / 20 clock hours / 2.0 CEUs

This course is one in a series of training courses available to caregivers of young children. As you participate in these courses you will become part of a program designed to build strong child care professionals.


Capacitación básica en cuidado infantil (ELCCT)

66 Lessons / $20.00 / 20 clock hours / 2.0 CEUs

El cuidado de los niños pequeños fuera de su propio hogar es un servicio fundamental para nuestra sociedad. El cuidado infantil de calidad es extremadamente importante. Investigaciones recientes encontraron que los niños que asisten a programas de cuidado infantil de alta calidad tienen un desarrollo positivo, mientras que los niños que asisten a programas de mala calidad resultan con efectos negativos. La necesidad de profesionales de cuidado infantil que puedan brindar atención de calidad y estimular el aprendizaje temprano aumenta a medida que más y más padres trabajan fuera del hogar.


Reducing the Risk of SIDS/SUID in Child Care

29 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

This course will prepare child care providers to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sudden Unexplained Infant Death (SUID) in family home, group home, and child care center settings by using safe sleep practices recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and Oklahoma child care licensing. 

*This training meets the Child Care Services-Licensing requirement for safe sleep training.


Health and Safety Training for Family Child Care Homes and Large Child Care Homes

18 Lessons / Free / 0 clock hours / 0.0 CEUs

This video meets the licensing requirements for Health and Safety training per 340:110-3-85, Licensing Requirements for Family Child Care Homes and Large Family Child Care Homes (11-1-16). It covers a variety of topics which will help you in caring for children.


Oklahoma's Quality Rating Improvement System, A Framework of Quality
1 Lessons / Free / 0 clock hours / 0.0 CEUs
 
This training counts as the QRIS Orientation required for directors and primary caregivers prior to Stars Certification. 

Orientation for Child Care Program Professionals

20 Lessons / Free / 0 clock hours / 0.0 CEUs

This video meets the licensing requirements for orientation training per 340: 110-3-284, Licensing Requirements for Child Care Programs (11-1-16). It covers a variety of topics which will help you in caring for children.


Prudent Parenting

2 Lessons / Free / 0 clock hours / 0.0 CEUs

This training is for Residential/Shelter/ This course will inform you about the reasonable and prudent parent standard.


CECPD Online course titles listed alphabetically from A to Z:

62 Lessons / $45.00 / 14 clock hours / 1.4 CEUs

Challenging behavior is one of the biggest issues early childhood educators face every day. Most often these behaviors are caused by challenges presented by the social and physical environment, yet often the approach is to "fix" the child rather than "fix" the factors that contribute to the behavior. This Turn-Key training program will provide the knowledge base and practical strategies teachers need to strive to minimize challenging behavior in the classroom.


Child Care Emergency Preparedness

44 Lessons / $20.00 / 4 clock hours / 0.4 CEUs

This course will familiarize child care providers with the various emergencies that could occur in a child care program and will help them implement strategies to keep the children and the adults in their program safe.


Continuity of Care

20 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

The concept of Continuity of Care in early childhood professionals is important. We know that children learn within the context of their relationships with parents, guardians, child care providers, and teachers, and that building those secure attachments with responsive, trusting adults takes time. This is the basis for continuity of care.


Continuous Quality Improvement

23 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

This course will emphasize the importance of buy-in from all stakeholders not only in the child care program but also the community at large where the program is being delivered. While we cover each of these areas, we will focus on your role in supporting quality improvement.


Cornerstones of Quality: Safety, Health and Nutrition

19 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

In this course we will focus on how to create an environment that will keep infants and children safe and healthy in child care. Information is in aligned with new licensing requirements.


Daily Program for Infants and Toddlers

38 Lessons / $20.00 / 10 clock hours / 1.0 CEUs

This course provides information on the stages of development and the basic needs of young children in nutrition, feeding, sleep, and toilet training. Participants will also be provided suggestions for appropriate play activities, toys, and a daily program schedule.


Director Fundamentals: Vision, Mission, and Ethics

14 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

Directors of child care programs are as diverse as the children whom they serve. They are people with a heart for children and impeccable organizational skills. They often work over 50 hours a week and can relate well to children, staff, families, and licensing workers. Directors must be able to step in and teach classes, cook, do maintenance, and balance accounts. They are managers, coordinators, and mediators. Directors deserve the utmost respect of the community.


Director's Entry Level Training Course

154 Lessons / $20.00 / 20 clock hours / 0.0 CEUs

The Director’s Entry Level Training Course (DELT). This is a 20-hour course introducing you to the responsibilities and duties of being a child care director. It will also assist you in becoming an efficient and effective leader.


Disability Awareness: Creating Welcoming Spaces

14Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

If you want to go beyond meeting minimum accommodation requirements, this course can help you increase accessibility in the classroom setting for learners of all abilities. This course will cover how to talk about disabilities without bias in order to create a more inclusive and welcoming classroom environment for every child. Teachers will also explore ways to build and sustain collaborative relationships with parents of children with disabilities and learn tools to help with difficult discussions about ability.


E-3 Dimensions of Quality Online

11 Lessons / $30.00 / 5 clock hours / 0.5 CEUs

Take a look at this snapshot of the 2015 ECERS3 Conference. This Course includes the video recorded during the main presentation and all four breakout sessions. This course is designed for students who were unable to attend the conference, or for those who attended and would like the ability to access and review […]


ELG 2.0: Purposeful Play with Infants and Toddlers

28 Lessons / $20.00 / 10 clock hours / 1.0 CEUs

This course is designed as a companion guide to Oklahoma Early Learning Guidelines for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos. Whether you are new to the joys of infant/toddler experiences or looking for new ways to play and enhance learning, this course will provide examples of how to implement the guidelines through fun, hands-on, play-based activities. * This course builds on and enhances Oklahoma Early Learning Guidelines for Infants, Toddlers and Twos, but it does not meet the early learning guidelines training requirement for Master Teacher in Oklahoma.


ELG Ages 3-5

122 Lessons / $20.00 / 14 clock hours / 1.4 CEUs

 “The Oklahoma Early Learning Guidelines Ages Three through Five are intended to provide guidance to teachers regarding what children should know and be able to do to experience school success. The Early Learning Guidelines provide examples of activities and can be used to develop curriculum.” (ELG 3-5, pg. 1). This course will provide participants with the tools to enhance learning experiences for Oklahoma’s children ages three to five and help foster opportunities for growth in all learning domains.


ELG Infants, Toddlers, and Twos

122 Lessons / $20.00 / 14 clock hours / 1.4 CEUs

 “Oklahoma Early Learning Guidelines for Infants, Toddlers and Twos were created to serve as a foundation to connect what is taught with what is appropriate for very young children. They also provide a framework to encourage consistency among early childhood programs across Oklahoma” (ELG ITT, pg. 1). This course will provide participants with the tools to enhance learning experiences for Oklahoma’s youngest children and help administer a safe, nurturing and developmentally appropriate environment. “The Early Learning Guidelines provide examples of experiences that can be used to build relationships, develop purposeful play and guide program development” (ELG ITT, preface).


Entry Level Child Care Training

79 Lessons / $20.00 / 20 clock hours / 0.0 CEUs

ELCCT is an introduction to child care. It provides new or future child care professionals with knowledge needed to provide quality care for young children. NOTE: ELCCT cannot be used to meet level or renewal criteria for the Oklahoma Director's Credential (ODC). It will only count one time to meet Professional Development Ladder (PDL) requirements.

Capacitación básica en cuidado infantil (ELCCT)

66 Lessons / $20.00 / 20 clock hours / 0.0 CEUs

El cuidado de los niños pequeños fuera de su propio hogar es un servicio fundamental para nuestra sociedad. El cuidado infantil de calidad es extremadamente importante. Investigaciones recientes encontraron que los niños que asisten a programas de cuidado infantil de alta calidad tienen un desarrollo positivo, mientras que los niños que asisten a programas de mala calidad resultan con efectos negativos. La necesidad de profesionales de cuidado infantil que puedan brindar atención de calidad y estimular el aprendizaje temprano aumenta a medida que más y más padres trabajan fuera del hogar. NOTA: ELCCT no se puede utilizar para cumplir con los criterios de nivel o renovación de la Credencial de Director de Oklahoma (ODC). Solo contará una vez para cumplir con los requisitos de la Escala de Desarrollo Profesional (PDL).


Enriching Early Literacy Experiences with Infants and Toddlers 

36 Lessons / $20.00 / 4 clock hours / 0.4 CEUs

In this course, we will discuss the theories on how infants and toddlers acquire language and the stages and indicators of language development. We will examine emergent literacy and its connection to lifelong success. We will discuss factors that influence language development and best practices for providers.


Family Child Care Home Business

75 Lessons / $15.00 / 10 clock hours / 1.0 CEUs

This course provides important information to Family Child Care Homes on a variety of business related topics including:

  1. Contracts & Policies
  2. Legal & Insurance
  3. Marketing
  4. Money Management & Retirement
  5. Record Keeping

Family Child Care Home Entry Level Training

171 Lessons / $20.00 / 20 clock hours / 0.0 CEUs

This course is designed to give you a broad overview of how to operate a child care business out of your home. It will also provide tools and resources on different topics to expand your knowledge of child care.


Hope and Teacher Identity

27 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

This course will address hope as it relates to emotional intelligence and teacher identity. Because teaching is so challenging, hopeful thought is vital to providers’ wellbeing and work satisfaction. We know that often when teachers lose hope it is not in children but in themselves. This course will further address factors that impact teacher and provider hope levels and provide strategies and interventions for increasing our capacity to hope and convey hope to others.


Hope for Administration

27 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

Cultivating hope in children starts with educators. In order to effectively promote hope within children, educators must first actively engage with hope themselves. The role of hope is crucial not only to early childhood learning and success but future endeavors as well. Hope encourages individuals to develop essential problem-solving skills and create specific and achievable solutions. For hope to be successfully incorporated into child care, administrators must recognize its benefits, offer training and learning opportunities for school leaders, and create a safe learning environment centered on community and compassion.


Hope in the Classroom

29 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

This course applies current research on measuring and teaching hope to early childhood education. Starting as early as ten months, children have the capacity for goal setting and are actively creating pathways and practicing agency. Throughout this course, Early Childcare Educators will gain an awareness of developmentally appropriate ways to teach children goal setting and critical thinking skills that combine to create hopeful thinking patterns. Educators can teach cognitive patterns of hope in the classroom that benefit children throughout their education and in every sphere of life


Infant Mental Health

11 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

Infant Mental Health encompasses all the research and intervention available to those who work with infants and toddlers in all settings. Infants and toddlers’ emotions and thinking are important, and there are ways we can help them become as healthy as they can be.


Learning Guidelines for School-Age Children

130 Lessons / $20.00 / 14 clock hours / 1.4 CEUs

This course will show how experiences in the out-of-school time program can be relevant to children’s learning in the traditional school day and how out-of-school time programs can align with that learning.  Course participants will become familiar with the Oklahoma Academic Standards and Early Learning Guidelines, and will identify ways to use the Oklahoma Academic Standards and Early Learning Guidelines to support and expand children’s learning experiences in an out-of-school time program.


Literacy In Action: Alphabet Knowledge

20 Lessons / $25.00 / 4 clock hours / 0.4 CEUs

When alphabet knowledge is embedded into everyday instruction, children will be able to name and write alphabet letters, recognize letter symbols in print, and know that letters have sounds. Laying this foundation will ensure that children will have the necessary literacy skills to build upon for future reading success.


Literacy in Action: Creating Literacy Rich Environments

24 Lessons / $25.00 / 4 clock hours / 0.4 CEUs

A literacy-rich environment is an environment that emphasizes the importance of language and literacy (language, print awareness, alphabet knowledge, writing, and phonological awareness) in the learning of all students and is embedded throughout the entire classroom. A literacy-rich environment is an environment in which appropriate materials have been selected in order to facilitate language and literacy opportunities for children. 


Literacy in Action: Developmental Writing

15 Lessons / $25.00 / 4 clock hours / 0.4 CEUs

Teachers play a critical role in emergent writing. This class will explore the essential components of developmental writing as well as interactive strategies that promote positive experiences with writing. Participants will also learn ways to incorporate daily writing experiences throughout the preschool classroom.


Literacy In Action: Learning to Read through the Environment

28 Lessons / $25.00 / 4 clock hours / 0.4 CEUs

Concepts of print refers to children’s knowledge of the functions of print and how print works. In order to understand how print works children should be exposed to print concepts on a daily basis. Print concepts can be used with all age groups.


Literacy In Action: Shared Reading

28 Lessons / $25.00 / 4 clock hours / 0.4 CEUs

Shared reading is a classroom strategy in which a teacher reads a book with enlarged print and encourages children to read along on parts they can remember or predict. Shared reading models the reading process and draws children’s attention to print concepts and letter knowledge.


Preventing Obesity and Promoting Wellness

57 Lessons / $45.00 / 14 clock hours / 1.4 CEUs

Preventing obesity and promoting wellness in early childhood.


Out-of-School Time Entry Level Training (OST-ELT)

107 Lessons / $20.00 / 20 hours / 0.0 CEUs

This course is an entry level instruction to working with children in out-of-school time settings like after school programs or summer camps. Generally, children in this setting are three years old and older and are currently enrolled in or have completed pre-kindergarten. Participants will learn about effective communication and positive interactions with the children in their care as well as how to plan and develop appropriate activities and learning environments.


Reducing the Risk of SIDS/SUID in Child Care

29 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

This course will prepare child care providers to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sudden Unexplained Infant Death (SUID) in family home, group home, and child care center settings by using safe sleep practices recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and Oklahoma child care licensing.

*This training meets the Child Care Services-Licensing requirement for safe sleep training.


Transitions: Planning for Change

29 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

Participants will: Identify and chart daily periods when children are transitioning from one activity or area to another in a child care setting. Recognize the role of thoughtfully designed transitions in building attachments and promoting well-being in children. Design a transition plan to be included in personnel policies, which includes the steps taken to assist children entering a new program, daily transitions between activities, and emotional transition events. Examples may include moving to a new classroom, gaining a new teacher, or transitioning to a new child care program, Head Start, or school.


Your Invitation to Play: The Wonder of Loose Parts

13 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

This is the first course in a two-part series on the wonder of play! Part Two of this series, addresses the wonder of nature play and adventurous play. This course is designed to inspire and prepare you to create thoughtfully curated play prompts or invitations to play.


Your Invitation to Play: The Wonder of Nature & Adventurous Play

13 Lessons / $20.00 / 3 clock hours / 0.3 CEUs

This is the second course in a two-part series on the wonder of play! Part Two of this series, addresses the wonder of nature play and adventurous play. This course is designed to inspire and prepare you to create thoughtfully curated play prompts or invitations to play.


Youth Work Methods

10 Lessons / Free / 6 clock hours / 0.6 CEUs

This course will prepare child care providers to organize, motivate, communicate, and resolve conflict effectively with young people.  


For other training opportunities, including online and classroom training from Oklahoma Registry approved training organizations, please use the Statewide Training Calendar.

Child Care Careers - Caregiver Training Series

Behavior and Guidance I (10 hrs. = 1 CEU)

CDA Content Area #3
Suggests ways to encourage positive behavior. Considers caregiver's skills as key to good discipline. Suggests ways to handle difficult situations and explains differences in typical and severe problem behaviors.


Behavior and Guidance II (10 hrs. = 1 CEU)

CDA Content Area #3
Builds on Behavior and Guidance and Families and Child Care: A Team for Children. When children display aggressive behavior, there is no quick or easy solution. The child care provider must find the right mix of child development, guiding behavior techniques, working with the family, working with the child, and activities to support the child's behavior. The combination of these efforts will support the child displaying the aggressive behavior.


Child Development I (10 hrs. = 1 CEU)

CDA Content Area #8
Outlines major growth events of the first six years of life. Discusses practical ideas for meeting the needs of growth stages by observing and matching activities, materials, and equipment to the children's abilities.


Child Development II (10 hrs. = 1 CEU)

CDA Content Area #7
Focuses on observing and recording children's development and on developmentally appropriate practice. Emphasizes careful observation of behaviors indicating growth. Provides suggestions on how to work with families and observation and assessment techniques.


Daily Program for Infants and Toddlers (10 hrs. = 1 CEU)

CDA Content Area #5
Discusses stages of development and basic needs in nutrition, feeding, sleep, and toilet training. Suggests appropriate play activities and toys. Suggestions to construct a daily program schedule.


Health and Safety (10 hrs. = 1 CEU)

CDA Content Area #1
Helps plan for children's health and safety; contains guidelines for providing safe places for young children. es how to help children learn good habits. Discusses common illnesses and emergency procedures. Suggests ideas for communication with parents.

 

Early Learning Guidelines

Early Learning Guidelines for Ages 3-5 (14 hrs. = 1.4 CEUs)

The Oklahoma Early Learning Guidelines Ages Three through Five are intended to provide guidance to teachers regarding what children should know and be able to do to experience school success. The Early Learning Guidelines provide examples of activities and can be used to develop curriculum.” (ELG 3-5, pg. 1). This course will provide participants with the tools to enhance learning experiences for Oklahoma’s children ages three to five and help foster opportunities for growth in all learning domains.

Early Learning Guidelines for Infants, Toddlers, and Twos (14 hrs. = 1.4 CEUs)

“Oklahoma Early Learning Guidelines for Infants, Toddlers and Twos were created to serve as a foundation to connect what is taught with what is appropriate for very young children. They also provide a framework to encourage consistency among early childhood programs across Oklahoma” (ELG ITT, pg. 1). This course will provide participants with the tools to enhance learning experiences for Oklahoma’s youngest children and help administer a safe, nurturing and developmentally appropriate environment. “The Early Learning Guidelines provide examples of experiences that can be used to build relationships, develop purposeful play and guide program development” (ELG ITT, preface).

To locate training events, click here to go the Oklahoma Statewide Training Calendar.

Entry Level Child Care Training

Entry Level Child Care Training (ELCCT) (20 hrs. = No CEU) *Available online in English and Spanish

CDA Content Area #6
Introduction to child care training. The course provides new and/or future child care professionals with knowledge needed to provide quality care for young children while helping each individual child develop to his or her full potential. The course contains information and learning activities that stress the importance of the caregiver and of child care work.

To locate training events, click here to go the Oklahoma Statewide Training Calendar

Search on keywords:  ELCCT

Equivalents to the Entry Level Child Care Training

(Accepted in place of ELCCT)

Please see our list below of current equivalents. If you would like to submit your training for ELCCT Equivalent approval, contact us at pdas@ou.edu. To qualify, the organization must be a Direct Care Organization and an Approved Training Sponsor with the Oklahoma Registry. To have your training approved as an ELCCT equivalent that meets Oklahoma Department of Human Services Child Care Licensing requirements, courses must include a minimum of 20 hours of instruction. CECPD will provide further information on required objectives when you inquire with us.

 

Organization Course Hours
Big 5 Head Start Orientation to Head Start 20 hours
CareerTech (Various) Entry Level Teacher Competency Certification 90 hours
Cherokee Nation Early Childhood Unit New Staff Orientation 20 hours
Community Action Project Head Start/Early Head Start of Tulsa NEO ECP Curriculum 23.5 hours
Crossroads Head Start/Early Head Start New Staff Orientation and Training (Prior to March 1 2016) 20 hours
Delaware WCCCF Delaware Child Orientation 21 hours
Delta Head Start New Staff Orientation 20 hours
Inca Head Start Inca Early Head Start / Head Start Orientation - ELCCT Equivalent 20 hours
KinderCare Learning Centers The First 100 Days - An ELCCT Equivalent  24 hours
Latchkey Child Services New Hire Training 20 hours
Learning Care Group (OK) New Employee Orientation 24 hours
Little Dixie Head Start ELCCT Equivalent 20 hours
Oklahoma City/County Head Start New Staff Orientation 28 hours
Oklahoma State University (OSU) Bachelor in Early Childhood Degree - HDFS Degree
OU Institute of Child Development New Staff Orientation 40 hours
Southwest Oklahoma Community Action Group, Inc. Head Start Program Orientation to SOCAG Head Start 20 hours
Sunbeam Family Services Orientation to High Quality Care in Head Start & Early Head Start Classrooms 24 hours
TCC Child Development Center TCC CDC Orientation 20.5 hours
TECT Levels 1A & 1B  
The Children's Place at BMC New Employee Orientation @ The Children's Place 24 hours
United CAP Head Start/Early Head Start Phase 1 & 2 Orientation 20 hours
Wewoka Public Schools Co-op Head Start & Professional Development New Staff Orientation 20 hours

Pathway Training

Course Descriptions for Individual Units

Unit 1: Providing for Children’s Safety

Providing for children’s safety is a major responsibility for all early education centers. Safety concerns range from accidents involving injury to emergency evacuation of the building. Safety concepts and issues need to be addressed by early education staff every day. Early education centers should have written policies regarding safety issues. Early education staff must know the policies involving safety issues and be prepared to carry them out.

Unit 2: Providing for Children’s Health

Proper health practices are vital for children to be healthy. Childhood is a time of growth in all areas of development. Healthy habits and attitudes formed in childhood often carry over into adulthood. Poor health habits in children can lead to problems ranging from minor to severe. These problems include obesity, malnutrition, and lack of good health and the ability to fight infections. The early education teacher should promote healthy lifestyles.

Unit 3: Providing an Environment for Learning

Providing an appropriate environment for learning is essential for an early education program. Children need an environment which promotes learning, development in all areas, provides for easy supervision and observation, and is comfortable.

The environment should also encourage independence and allow for choices. The environment should contain learning materials that promote development in the different areas. Environments which are age-appropriate and properly set-up will also help minimize behavior problems and make children feel secure and happy.

Unit 4: Child Growth & Development

The development of a child is a complex process that begins with conception. Children experience many kinds of development from infancy to school-age. Not only do children develop physically, they also develop socially, emotionally, intellectually, and morally. Certain characteristics can describe the typical growth of a child in a specific age group. Each individual child develops differently, but certain developmental skills generally occur within a specific age range. Caring for children successfully depends on understanding and applying basic concepts in child development.

Unit 5: Ensuring Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Developing and presenting activities is an important part of an early education teacher’s job. Children need a variety of activities to promote their physical, intellectual, social, and emotional growth. Activities must be developmentally appropriate, interesting to children, and allow hands-on learning. They should give children the opportunity to observe and explore. Young children learn through play and activities must be fun for children. Activities should be adapted for children with special needs. Because of the importance of developmentally-appropriate activities, early education teachers must have much practice in developing them.

Unit 6: Guiding Children

Guiding children includes all of the actions that adults do to positively influence the behavior of children. The goal of guidance is for children to learn self-control and to behave in a socially acceptable manner. Guidance also ensures that the health and safety of the child is protected. Early education teachers cannot compromise on guidance issues involving the health or safety of the child. Individuals must use the guidance techniques that work best for their specific facility. Guiding children takes time, patience, and understanding but to effectively guide children, the teacher must build a good relationship with the child and have a thorough understanding of child development and knowledge of positive guidance techniques.

Unit 7: Involving Families and the Community

Families and the community are vital resources to the success of an early education program. Early education providers must be proactive in involving families. Although not all families will have the time to be actively involved in the program, such as volunteering, they need to be involved in helping the early education center best meet the needs of their child. Early education providers need to be creative and resourceful in using families and community resources to aid them in their teaching.

Unit 8: Program Planning & Record Keeping

Developing program plans and keeping effective records are two essential aspects of operating an early education facility. Although both aspects are key to operating a facility, they do have two distinct goals. Early education facilities approach program planning and curriculum development in many different ways. However, program plans must meet the developmental needs of the children and help them grow and learn. The daily activities at an early education facility should not “just happen.” Early education teachers should use schedules and lesson plans to ensure that all areas of development are addressed and to help activities and transitions run smoothly. Recordkeeping, on the other hand, provides written documentation of necessary information and is required by most states. It is much more than just “paperwork.” Good recordkeeping, just as good program planning helps provide quality early education and quality early opportunities for children and families.

NOTE: Throughout this unit there will be times when curriculum and lesson planning terms are used. For clarification, curriculum is everything that a child learns while in the program. It includes the daily activities (lesson plans), but also includes the programs philosophy, transitions, routines, and teachable moments. It encompasses children’s understanding of language, social skills, creative development, physical development, cognitive skills, emotional development, and should be based on sound practices and supported by the programs director, teachers, and families. Lesson Plans, will focus more on activities the teacher/caregiver plans to provide for the children which meet individual and group goals.

Unit 9: Developing as an Early Education Professional

The job of being an early education teacher requires that individuals are skilled in many different aspects of caring for young children. Early education teachers should continually strive to improve their job performance in order to give children the best possible care. Early education teachers who are willing to learn more about their job and how to better perform it, will have a more rewarding career.

Unit 10: Putting it all Together

Upon enrolling in unit 10, the student will receive a guide that outlines the format for the specific National Credential they are pursing. After completing this unit the student will have a Professional Portfolio that meets the guidelines for the National Credential they are pursuing.

To locate training events, click here to go the Oklahoma Statewide Training Calendar.

Search on keywords: Pathway