January 28, 2021
Just like adults, young children are impacted by stressful events around them. Making matters worse, they may not understand why they feel upset or have the words to express how they are feeling, both of which can be frustrating. Challenging and stressful times are when our ability to cope matters the most, but these are also the periods when it can feel overwhelming and make it difficult to use our coping skills.
January 28, 2021
Three new courses in January: Finding Wonder in Found Objects: An Inquiry-Rich Approach to Learning; Nourish Yourself, Create Healthy Futures: Your Journey to Wellness; Positive Work Environments—Where Programs and Educators Thrive!
December 18, 2020
Check our our new courses covering COVID-19 guidance, peer modeling healthy eating and sensory exploration of foods (EAT Family Style), and a new series on social-emotional learning from REDI for educators and coaches.
November 19, 2020
New course available on emergency responses, and also a Spanish version of our diabetes course.
November 18, 2020
This is a question that youth wrestle with, trying out different personas and experimenting with activities, attitudes, and friend groups, trying to find something that fits with their personal assets and giftedness. They are thinking deeply about culture and the groups with which they identify. Children as young as preschoolers are not only aware of, but struggling to understand and find, where they fit in a diverse environment. A child is simultaneously developing a future “possible” self—an image of what they might become.
October 20, 2020
Accentuate the positive. This lesson shares best practices for building community and supporting youth development. The emphasis is on social-emotional development but all areas of development are positively impacted when adults engage with youth in supportive ways.
October 19, 2020
“No matter how long you’ve known a child, there is always something new to learn. And, when you convey to children what you are learning about them, they know that you’re paying attention and that you care. A connection is formed” (Dombro, Jablon, and Stetson 2011).
September 18, 2020
Transitioning from one activity to another in the early childhood classroom can be challenging. You may have children who become very upset when having to switch from one activity to another and this can derail your plans for the day.
August 24, 2020
Better Kid Care wants to help. Please send us a message at betterkidcare@psu.edu and we’ll try to answer your questions.
August 10, 2020
COVID-19 has presented us with extremely challenging and stressful times, and it is more important than ever to assess and support the social-emotional development of the children in your care as well as prioritize your own personal well-being.
July 27, 2020
New On Demand courses are available about diabetes management and OST health and safety.
June 12, 2020
Adventure is exciting to children and meets important development needs, but facilitating risk-taking, thrill-filled experiences can be a challenge to the staff of regulated OST and youth development programs.
May 15, 2020
As an educator you are tasked with the enormous responsibility of supporting the health and well-being of the children in your care. While this is a noble and rewarding endeavor, it can be stressful.
May 15, 2020
This spring, ECE and OST professionals and families find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Some programs have remained open to serve families of essential workers. Others closed but are preparing to reopen. Some families are home with their children trying to work, teach, and parent all at once. At times like these a walk is great medicine!
April 10, 2020
Children’s development is shaped by multiple different factors including their family life, school, and the neighborhood they grow up in. While all of these factors play a direct role in promoting or impeding healthy development, it is important to recognize that the interaction between these factors has a tremendous impact on children’s overall well-being.
March 27, 2020
With an abundance of information circulating about the coronavirus, it is important to focus on science-based, factual information in order to protect your health and the health of the children and families in your care.
March 12, 2020
Learning to read is one of the most important childhood skills and can provide children with a tremendous sense of enjoyment. A wealth of research has established the importance of early literacy skills for later school readiness and long-term school success.
March 10, 2020
While these aren’t the conventional snow people that Terri VanHoudt and her homecare preschoolers usually make in their wintry Minnesota neighborhood, they were a lot of fun to create during some indoor play time. Terri repurposed recycled black corrugated cardboard she had been gifted by a parent into the backdrop, painted feet and allowed the kids to convert feet into their own snow girls and boys, each one as unique as the child whose feet formed the foundation.
February 14, 2020
Have you ever wondered why some children respond differently to the exact same event?
January 22, 2020
Building warm, trusting relationships with the children in your care is one of the most important things you can do as an educator. Research shows that close relationships formed in early childhood can positively impact children’s academic and social-emotional skills while conflictual relationships can have a detrimental impact on the child’s well-being and development. Additionally, educators who feel they have positive relationships with the children in their care tend to see their jobs as more rewarding and feel better about themselves. So, what can you do to foster these positive relationships?
January 20, 2020
"Positive Peer Interactions in School-Age Programs—Frontline Staff" is now available, completing the two-part series allowing administrators and staff to collaborate on creating a more respectful environment in school-age programs.
October 17, 2019
Healthy Kids, Healthy Future modules were developed in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and provide practical strategies for implementing best practices in early childhood settings for promoting healthy weight in young children.
September 17, 2019
Expulsion and suspension issues are complicated.
August 7, 2019
Using Penn State Better Kid Care’s online, On Demand system, is an easy, affordable, and convenient way to obtain the required 45 hours of professional development for the SAPC 3-year or 5-year renewal.
August 5, 2019
What comes to mind when you think of school readiness? Many would say that school readiness includes a child’s ability to get along with others, and to recognize some numbers and some letters of the alphabet. These skills are important, but school readiness also includes the many skills that develop over time from a child’s birth through school entrance age.
May 14, 2019
For Sarah Bakkum, “desperate times call for desperate measures.” Sarah was in the process of getting all her licensing paperwork together when she was notified that she had been selected for a special start-up grant, but she needed to have all her preparation completed, including 12 hours of PD within the next week.
April 10, 2019
Teaching can be lonely, but it doesn’t have to be.
November 16, 2018
At Pennsylvania’s Early Childhood Education Summit this fall, about thirty infant-toddler practitioners gathered to discuss and problem-solve around the challenges of helping infants and toddlers transition successfully from one part of their day to another. Recognizing that the youngest children need support with skills like diapering, pottying, handwashing, and putting on coats and shoes, the group brainstormed what to do during the “waiting time” to keep the other children who are ready to go outside or start a new experience engaged.
October 19, 2018
“There’s a tree that grows in Brooklyn… It grows in boarded-up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps. It grows up out of cellar gratings. It is the only tree that grows out of cement. It grows lushly… survives without sun, water, and seemingly without earth” (Smith 1943).
August 23, 2018
Several new courses arrived over the summer. Click the titles to read a summary of the course, or just sign in to On Demand to start the course for free. As always, you only have to pay if you need a certificate of completion.
