Childcare Training

We have a range of digital and print materials and resources related to child care training, including a number of online courses for child care professionals seeking to fulfill state-mandated training requirements.

View all courses on AgriLife Learn

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Early Childhood Education 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.
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Childcare Training

Publications

Publication

This free, downloadable publication serves as a guide to making web content accessible to align with ADA compliance standards.

Publication

This 2-page publication is aimed at helping children recover more quickly and fully by recognizing the symptoms of psychological trauma and taking steps to alleviate their stresses.

Publication

Are you an educator looking to unlock student learning potential and provide engaging lessons? Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a dynamic teaching approach that boosts student engagement, embraces variety in lesson delivery, and empowers students of all abilities and educational backgrounds.

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

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.

Courses

Course

Increased engagement in outdoor and nature play can benefit young children’s learning across all developmental domains.

The purpose of this 2-hour course is to offer early childhood professionals strategies for supporting children’s physical development through outdoor play and learning activities.

Course

To facilitate positive social and emotional outcomes for children, early childhood educators need to understand and recognize the role of stress and trauma on early brain development and implement proactive and responsive measures to build children’s resilience.

This 2-hour course aims to help early childhood professionals understand how they can play a part in cultivating positive social emotional outcomes for each child by applying trauma-informed and resiliency-supporting practices in early learning settings.

Course

Despite the known benefits of outdoor and nature play for young children, early childhood educators and administrators may worry about issues of safety and liability.

The purpose of this 2-hour course is to equip early childhood professionals to view risk in outdoor and nature play as a process of balancing risks and benefits, rather than a barrier to including outdoor and nature play in your program.

All Resources on Childcare Training

  • Course

    In order to facilitate healthy social emotional development among young children, early childhood professionals first need to have the tools to regulate their own emotions and manage their own stress.

    The purpose of this 2-hour course is to provide early childhood educators with information and resources to recognize stressors and signs of stress and empower them to adopt healthy approaches to stress management.

  • Course

    Executive function is the collection of processes in our brain that help us make calm and rational decisions to accomplish tasks and goals. These skills can be developed through interactions with children to support their learning every day to develop these skills.

    The purpose of this 2-hour course is to educate early childhood professionals on the benefits of targeting executive function, its component skills, and common patterns of executive function development to support teachers with planning learning experiences to support children’s development of executive function.

  • Course

    A well-designed, naturalized outdoor learning environment can be the ultimate tool for facilitating meaningful, impactful outdoor play and learning experiences for young children.

    The purpose of this 2-hour course is to introduce early childhood educators and directors to best practices in outdoor learning environments and offer tips for making incremental improvements to enhance the quality of your program’s existing outdoor spaces.

  • Course

    Early childhood professionals should understand the standards, policies, and guidelines that must be followed based on the type of program they are working in. These regulations may vary for early childhood businesses, and some may have to follow multiple standards. Understanding these regulations, including best practices, keeps children safe and programs in compliance and ensures high-quality educational experiences for children.

    After completing this 3-hour course, the learner will be able to explain the importance of understanding standards and policies, describe why we have regulations in the field of early childhood, list resources that provide state and federal guidelines, and explain best practices for implementation and creating systems for compliance.

  • Course

    The Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential is the most widely used and recognized program to enhance current practices and provide a critical first step to a deeper understanding of early childhood education and career advancement. This course supports early childhood educators who are going through the process of earning a CDA.

    In this two-hour course, the learner will be able to identify and follow the steps in the CDA credentialing process, determine the coursework required for the CDA, and describe the verification visit and exam process.

  • Course

    Many parents work nontraditional hours, meaning their children need access to early care and education programs outside typical operating hours. In the absence of qualified early care and education programs that offer nighttime care, these families may have to make challenging and precarious choices, choosing between maintaining their employment and leaving their children without the appropriate care.

    The purpose of this 2-hour course is to support early childhood program owners and directors through the process of incorporating extended hours of care, including overnight care, to support the needs of many families across Texas.

  • Course

    The learning environment can function as an additional teacher when set up to promote learning and development across the four developmental domains. Consider the types of learning experiences your children can gain from your classroom design to the materials you have included. Ensure all children have developmentally appropriate opportunities to learn.

    After completing this 2-hour course, the learner will be able to describe how to design an environment to promote development and learning, explain how to select appropriate materials, explain how to plan curricula for children, create a daily schedule, and an implementation plan to follow through on the daily schedule.

  • Course

    Starting a new home-based child care business involves making a number of decisions about how best to operate the program and meet the needs of children and families. Fortunately, several statewide programs offer training, resources, and guidance to assist you in navigating the process.

    This 1-hour course for prospective home-based child care business owners will introduce some key support systems and the tools and services they provide.

  • Course

    Health and safety of children in care is the #1 priority for all early childhood professionals. Home-based child care has specific requirements that must be addressed to ensure health and safety practices are properly integrated into a home-based child care.

    This 2-hour course is for prospective home-based child care business owners and will introduce some of the health and safety standards, best practices, and ways to properly implement these in your home-based child care.

  • Course

    Starting a new home-based child care business involves making a number of decisions including the type of home-based child care to operate and how to incorporate best practices.

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