Caregiving

Formal and informal caregiving is and will continue to be important to help all Texans remain active, vibrant parts of their community. We have a variety of materials and resources for child, adult and military family caregivers, including educational resources and in-person programming.

Related Departments: Nutrition

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AgriLife Extension Military Program

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service – Military Program focuses on providing educational programs and resources to assist veterans, service members and their families as they face the many uncertainties of life.
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Caregiving

Programs

We offer numerous free and affordable programs on agriculture and natural resources, family and community health, economic health and youth development. We also offer many volunteer opportunities. Browse the list below.
Program

Balancing Food & Play (grades 3rd-5th) was developed to address children’s health issues by developing lifelong healthy behaviors through nutrition, physical activity, and family engagement.

Program

Promoting Early Education Quality (PEEQ) is dedicated to encouraging the adoption of research- and evidence-based practices at all levels of the early education field.

All Caregiving Programs

Courses

Course

Promoting creativity in an early childhood setting is critical for the development of children’s brains. Environments, daily interactions, and experiences are all opportunities to promote creativity in young learners. Creativity can be expressed through the visual arts, music and movement, and dramatic arts.

After completing this 3-hour course, the learner will be able to describe the elements of creativity, explain how environments can encourage creativity, examine how the arts can support development across all domains in early childhood, and discuss the different categories of creative arts with connections to the four developmental domains.

Course

Children are born curious about the world in which they live. In this course, we discuss how to use a variety of dresearch-based learning materials to promote and enhance their natural curiosity, reasoning, and problem-solving in the areas of social studies and nature.

After completing this 2-hour course, the learner will be able to describe how social studies and using nature support children’s cognitive development. Social studies experiences should reflect the range of the children’s cultural groups. The learner will be able to give activity examples from these two areas.

Course

Supporting the development of language skills is a crucial undertaking for all early childhood teachers. Language is the foundation for verbal language to occur and can be developed throughout every minute of the day!

In this 4-hour course, the learner will be able to explain strategies to use in the classroom to support children’s language development, describe how to create a language-rich environment and how this supports children’s growth and development, and explain how dual language learners are supported through ECE best practices and why this support is essential.

All Caregiving Courses

All Resources on Caregiving

  • Course

    Infants’ experiences early in life literally influence the physical structures of the brain, opening the way for patterns of thought and behavior for the rest of a child’s life. This 1-hour course addresses critical topics related to caring for the youngest and most vulnerable population of children, infants and toddlers.

  • Course

    Abusive head trauma is the leading cause of death in cases of child abuse in the United States. This 2-hour course will help you better understand the dangers of abusive head trauma and how to take steps to protect the children in your care from this type of abuse.

  • Course

    Providing a broad overview of 4 main areas of child growth and development, this course offers practical tips on supporting children’s development. Key findings from brain research and its relevance to the care of young children is briefly explored, as well as the principles of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP).

  • Course

    Early childhood educators strive to establish warm and secure relationships with children in their care. Unfold strategies for building strong relationships with families while supporting social and emotional development. Recognize the importance of responsive interactions, positive guidance, exploration, and play.

  • Course

    One of the most challenging aspects of child care is deciding upon a style of discipline that is appropriate, effective, and in the best interest of each child. Students will learn about the strengths and weaknesses of various disciplinary styles and explore strategies for setting and enforcing healthy limits.

  • Course

    Infants and toddlers engage in challenging behaviors as a way of communicating that they have unmet needs. Enroll in this online course to learn how to recognize, understand, and develop responses to these types of behavior as well as working with a team to fully assess and address challenging infant and toddler behavior.

  • Course

    In this course, you will learn all about infant care. We discuss foundations of infant development, the importance of a loving caregiver, infants’ amazing abilities, and best practices for supporting their development. Through an emphasis on daily activities we show how you can build relationships and promote development.

  • Course

    Technology is everywhere! How can we prepare preschool-age children for a future that hasn’t been invented yet? Explore research and trends in technology to make the teaching and learning process more engaging. Discover strategies to help children learn science, engineering, and mathematics using more than just computers.

  • Course

    Learning centers provide early childhood classrooms the perfect environment for children to actively plan, try, pretend, and make new discoveries. Effective centers help children develop through play, by themselves and with peers. The purpose and process of how to develop, build and manage a center are discussed.

  • Course

    Explore builders and barriers to social emotional development. Review the stages of social emotional development, the types and role of play, strategies for development of pro-social behavior and learn how to integrate songs and music experiences that enhance social emotional development.

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