Parenting Counts
Focus on Early Learning
These workshops are
written with parents and caregivers in mind as the primary audience.
Each unit is designed to support what parents and caregivers already
understand about children and deepen that knowledge with activities,
videos, and handouts drawn from scientific research.
Early learning professionals who choose to work with infants and
toddlers understand that it takes special skill and commitment to give
high-quality care that is not just "babysitting". These 2 hour workshops
are relevant for child care providers and provide the research based
information to help them reinforce and refine their abilities to work
with infants and very young children.
Sessions can be taken concurrently or randomly based on
interest.
The 2 hour workshop sessions include: |
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1. Communicating with
Infants.
Communicating well starts when a baby is born. Learn to talk
with the infant and understand what the infant is saying to you, even
though the baby has not yet learned any words. This workshop
explores how early communication between adults and infants helps the
infant learn strong language skills, and later learn strong literacy (or
reading) skills.
Participants will learn about:
- Baby Cues
-Babies use cues, such as expressions, noises, and
movements to show us their wants and needs.
-It is very important for adults to respond to a baby's
cues.
-Baby cues show that a baby is beginning to learn
language and conversation.
-Each baby is different and each adult needs to learn
that the baby is saying with his/her cues.
-Adults can learn to communicated better with infants.
- Parentese
-Babies are learning about sound and language from
birth.
-The way we naturally slow down, use a higher pitch,
and draw out the sounds of words when talking with babies (parentese)
is just what they need to begin to learn language.
-It is important to talk with an infant throughout the
day.
-Talking with an infant helps them learn language and
builds relationship.
-Adults can improve on the time spend talking and
listening to children.
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2. Exploring with Young
Children.
Young children open every door, chew on anything within reach,
and repeat favorite activities endlessly. They watch everything
that goes on around them, and they look to adults to help them decide
what to explore next. In this workshop we will share experiences
and knowledge about how young children explore their world. We are born
curious and we use all our senses to learn about people and things.
The examples of behavior they see and the expressions on the faces of
people around them are very important for young children's learning.
Participants will learn about: |
- Testing
-Babies need to explore the world around them with all
their senses.
-Babies need to repeat experiences to learn.
-This repetition can try an adult's patience.
-Adults' reactions influence the baby's willingness to
explore.
-Babies need parents and caregivers to create safe
environments where they can explore.
- Copycats
-Young children learn by copying or imitating.
-Children will naturally copy all kinds of behavior.
-Parents, other adults and children, books, pictures,
and TV can help young children learn.
-Our behavior can teach the lessons we want children to
learn.
- Reading Faces
-Babies learn about feelings by watching faces.
-Babies learn what to do from adults' expressions and
tone of voice.
-Babies need to see a wide variety of emotions and
expressions.
-It's important to give babies clear signals through
our expressions, voices, and actions.
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3. Handling Stress
This workshop examines the causes of stress in infants and
young children. Workshop participants will understand more about
their role in helping young children learn to calm themselves when they
are stressed. The workshop covers both the danger of too much
stress in early life and the benefits of learning healthy ways to
deal with stress.
Participants will learn about: |
- Causes of stress for infants and young children.
- Ways to calm infants and young children.
- Effects of repeated stress on infants and young children.
- Long term benefits of teaching children healthy ways to calm
down.
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Classes specifically for parents:
The following mini workshops are 1/2 hour classes specifically
designed for parents of young children by exploring specific topics on
early learning. |
- Baby Cues
- Copycats
- Parentese
- Reading Faces
- Stress
- Testing 1, 2, 3
- Building Words
- Valuing Emotions
- Tantrums
Parenting Counts: Focus on Early Learning is a
multimedia program that uses a series of television spots, printed
material and workshops to make the research on best parenting practices
part of every day parenting decisions and was co-developed by the
Talaris Research Institute.
www.talaris.org
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If you would like more information about
Parenting Counts workshops, would like to set up a training, or for help in finding
educational opportunities in your area...
Contact Me
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