Brain, Learning, Child Development & Courses from ChildCare Education Institute

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National Child Care Provider Day is coming up, so I am excited to share my favorite online training for providers with you! They are perfect for preschool teachers, daycare providers, and even parents who  sometimes wish early childhood came with a training manual!



ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI) provides high-quality, online training courses and programs for anyone who works with young children. They have certification programs that provide coursework for national credentials like CDA and over 150 courses in English and Spanish that cover a huge variety of topics, including the three I'm featuring today! 

More than 35,000 early childhood professionals have graduated from their CDA and other certificate programs and 99% of their students say they would recommend CCEI to others. 

I have taken eight of their courses now, and I can absolutely say I highly recommend them! Here are a few of my favorite things about their courses:

** ChildCare Education Institute courses are available online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! They are web-based and accessible on any device! It is super user-friendly! It makes getting professional development so convenient! 

** ChildCare Education Institute is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) and is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). 

** ChildCare Education Institute courses are full of practical, useful information! I have loved taking their courses--they always include practical, hands-on ideas and relevant research!

Today I want to introduce three of their courses to you that I recently took:

  1. CCEI 810: Brain Development and Learning: What Every Early Care and Education Professional Should Know
  2. CHD 110: Birth to Five: Child Development in Young Children
  3. ADM 102: Family Child Care Basics

1. CCEI 810: Brain Development and Learning: What Every Early Care and Education Professional Should Know

This course was absolutely delightful! The biology teacher and mom in me found everything in it so fascinating and useful!

The course teaches the most basic parts and developmental processes in the human brain, and then goes over the teaching practices and strategies that child care providers should know to help young children develop to their full potential!


Like all the courses I've taken with CCEI, the information is presented in slides (like the one above) that are interspersed with one multiple choice quiz questions to make sure you are retaining some of the most important information. There are also reflective questions and interactive activities, like the drag and drop activity directly below:

The course provides a nice overview of why parents and educators should invest time in learning about brain development, and includes basic facts about young children's brains like how stress and play affect brain development. It looks at potential developmental delays and includes practical strategies, activities, and games to promote healthy brain development!

It's a relatively quick course (only 1 credit hour) and, like all courses, ends with a short exam. This one had 11 multiple choice questions. After you pass the exam, you can download a certificate showing your course completion:


2. CHD 110: Birth to Five: Child Development in Young Children

This course was more in depth (3 hours), and covered detailed information about how young children (birth - 5 years old) develop physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally!

There was SO much great information in this course! There were a lot of times that I found myself thinking this and the brain development course should be recommended for all new parents! Yes, child-care providers need this information to provide effective child care, but all parents could really benefit from it too!

Here are a few highlights that I enjoyed:

** Detailed descriptions of how vision and depth perception changes from newborns to five-year olds!
** Detailed descriptions of sleep needs and how they change.
** Fine motor and gross motor skill development progression and ways you can encourage that development!
** Detailed discussions of different aspects of cognitive development, including concrete v. abstract thought, separation anxiety (and tips to dealing with it), common fears, and even behavior issues like biting and tantrums!


** Different types of play for different ages, benefits, and practical ideas!
** Psychosocial and emotional development, and practical ways to encourage each stage!


** Detailed discussions on emotional skills and emotional labeling.
This course ends with a 30-question multiple choice exam. 


3.  ADM 102: Family Child Care Basics


Family Child Care Basics provides a broad overview of what is involved in running a home-daycare. It is a 3-hour course that would be very helpful for anyone considering starting their own daycare at home. As I went through this course, there were many times when I thought back to my years as an in-home daycare provider, and I thought this would have been great information to have had as an introduction to the process!

This course included SO much!! Here are a few highlights:

** An introduction to the logistics of in-home daycare!
** Health and safety considerations.
** Paperwork suggestions.
** Child development, language acquisition, early math, and curriculum!
** Educational issues for young children, and practical ideas for encouraging growth!
** Developmentally appropriate practices for a range of activities!
** Links to professional organizations and quite a few additional resources for different help you might need!
** Suggestions for dealing with behavior!
** Tips for first aid, vacations, and so much more!

This course ends with a 25-question exam. 

ChildCare Education Institute

These three courses were awesome, and ChildCare Education Institute has over a hundred others! They are applicable for those who work in a variety of child-care settings, including daycare, family child care, pre-kindergarten classrooms, after-school care, Head Start, and more! There really is something for everyone!


This article is sponsored by ChildCare Education Institute. All opinions are mine--you know I only recommend products and companies I love!





Happy Educating,
Carla


Dinosaur Made Me Sneeze!
This awesome book introduces the rock cycle with dinosaurs, volcanoes, and more!
(hint: You can buy it on Amazon or use the code Dinosaur25 at OakieBees.com!!)



Have you seen HEEP? It is a preschool homeschool curriculum! Learn more here!



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