Love of Literacy
Kassi Kincaid • McLENNAN 207

This training will inspire a love of literacy in children by equipping early childhood educators and parents with the tools to bring classic children’s books to life through an event called Book Days: an event combining a theatrical experience with themed activities. The characters and plots are lifted off the pages and create physical elements that the children experience through multiple senses.

Best fit for: All
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 1: Child Growth and Development
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 4: Supporting Skill Development

¿Qué hago si mi hijo me responde en inglés? Helping families support bilingual development at home
Sarah Surrain • McLENNAN 208

For emergent bilingual children learning a minority language at home, the transition to daycare or preschool in English in early childhood can mean a big change in their daily language environment. As exposure to English outside the home increases, emergent bilingual children may start using more English and less of their home language, even with family members who prefer to use the home language. This phenomenon can be distressing, especially for caregivers who want their child to maintain their home language and reap the benefits of bilingualism. During this session, we will dig into the current research evidence for supporting bilingual development in early childhood, with a focus on Spanish-English emergent bilinguals in the United States. In this featured session, Dr. Surrain will share preliminary findings from her own research on promising strategies that caregivers can use to foster development of a minority home language alongside English, especially for children who may have a language-learning difficulty or delay.

Best fit for: All
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 4: Supporting Skill Development
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 6: Diversity and Dual Language Learners

Texas ITSN Summit: Outdoor Learning with Infants and Toddlers, Part 1
Kirsten Haugen, Heather Fox • McLENNAN 209

Discovering innovative ways to support infants and toddlers in well-designed outdoor spaces and outdoor learning tour.
Note: Restricted to registered attendees for the Texas ITSN Summit.

Best fit for: 
CC

Reigniting the Flame: Love Teaching Again!
Melissa De la Garza • TEXAS NORTH 113

This session will help participants rediscover their passion for Early Childhood Education. Through music, movement, and hands on activities, participants will learn to:

• Reconnect with their decision to became educators
• Celebrate the successes of their students
• Develop a positive mindset by using Gratitude journaling
• Turn negatives into positives
• Use positive affirmations, random acts of kindness
• Use mindfulness and self compassion
• Cultivate a supportive network and
• Seek out professional development

Best fit for:
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 2: Responsive Interactions and Guidance
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 3: Learning Environments, Planning Framework, Curriculum, and Standards

Note: This session is a repeat from Wednesday at 10 AM.

Fundamentals of Phonological Awareness Skills
Adriana Sepulveda, Vanessa Moran • TEXAS NORTH 114

In this training, learners will increase their knowledge and skills to support PreK development in Phonological Awareness. Learners will be able to Define Phonological Awareness, Identify the 6 Phonological Awareness skills, Explore the Phonological Awareness Timeline, and Explore ways to teach phonological Awareness in the classroom.

Handouts:

• PA Continuum
• PA Timeline
• Module 4 Fundementals of PA
• Circle Activity Collection:
  • Pass the Pail
  • Rhyming Basket
  • Sentence Segmenting
  • Willoughby Wallaby Woo
  • Listening for Words
  • How Many Syllables in a Name

Best fit for: Infant and Toddler Teachers
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 1: Child Growth and Development
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 2: Responsive Interactions and Guidance

Why Timeout is OUT! Exploring Alternative Ways to Provide Positive Discipline in Young Children
Michael Gonzalez • TEXAS NORTH 115

Join us for this exciting presentation in which we explore alternatives to the same old discipline strategies, including “timeout.” Participants in this session will reflect on the current environment in their classrooms, learn the factors that contribute to discipline problems and discuss the ten techniques for dealing with a child who engages in challenging behavior.

Best fit for: Pre-K/K Teachers
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 2: Responsive Interactions and Guidance

Teaching Wonderous Words in Your Classroom
Keisey Fumero, Kenya Vargas, Kimberly Venegas • TEXAS SOUTH 116

In this featured session, educators will learn to utilize the CLI Circle Vocabulary Collection to build students’ knowledge of academic vocabulary found within or related to any texts they are reading in their classroom. Educators will learn what “word consciousness” is and why teaching it to students can and will improve their interest and motivation in learning new words. Finally, educators will learn the systematic process to select the most impactful words to teach to their class and how to create their own vocabulary cards.

Best fit for: Pre-K/K
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 1: Child Growth and Development
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 4: Supporting Skill Development

Is Your Classroom Helping You Teach?
Kimberly Vaughn, LaChelle Brooks • TEXAS SOUTH 117

Environmental factors affect children’s cognitive and physical development. The environment includes spaces that influence the way children feel, act, and behave. Stimulating planned and indoor areas intentionally include all the materials and activities children need to be successful in the classroom. Extending the indoor learning into outside time allows for attentive and intentional outdoor environments where children have space to run, play and explore the world around them and increasing their knowledge of living things.

Best fit for: Teachers and Administrators
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 3: Learning Environments, Planning Framework, Curriculum, and Standards
Administrators – Core Competency Area 5: Implementing a Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum and Environment

Seamless Steps and Smooth Transitions for Infants & Toddlers
Faith Rodriguez, Kelley Jones • TEXAS SOUTH 118

Infants and Toddlers thrive on routine and predictability which can often make transitions between environments and activities challenging. Join us as we delve into the significance of transitions, explore strategies for making transitions intentional, and uncover some fun transitions!

Best fit for: Infant and Toddler Teachers
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 2: Responsive Interactions and Guidance
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 4: Supporting Skill Development

Autism Workshop: Challenging Behaviors
Laura Prendergast, Christine Hall, Marielle Matheus • RANGER 106/107

Many children exhibit behavioral challenges at some point in their development and children with autism may show behaviors that are hard for teachers to understand and respond to. In this session, we will provide practical strategies to figure out why a child may be engaging in a specific behavior and how to respond from an inclusive perspective

Best fit for: All
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 1: Child Growth and Development
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 2: Responsive Interactions and Guidance

Note: This session is a repeat from Wednesday at 1 PM.

The Responsive Caregiver
Patricia Vargas • RANGER 108/109/110

What is Responsive Caregiving? Understanding what Infants and Toddlers are trying to communicate and responding appropriately to their cues/communication. What is a Serve and Return interaction? How to respond to each child’s individual temperament. Identifying strategies on how to connect with children and respond appropriately.

Best fit for: Infant and Toddler Teachers
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 1: Child Growth and Development

Learning to Read Starts at Birth: The Power of Serve and Return Interactions
Colleen Tracy Haddad • McLENNAN 207

A child’s earliest “conversations,” even in infancy, lay the foundation for learning to read and write years later. This interactive session will dive into how early conversational turns lead to the development of the foundational reading skills that ultimately build to word recognition and language comprehension. We’ll uncover the latest research connecting early childhood experiences to later literacy skills, homing in on conversational turns as the mortar that holds the building blocks of literacy together.

Best fit for: Teachers and Specialists
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 1: Child Growth and Development

Purposeful Composition for Small Group Instruction
Michael Mesa• McLENNAN 208

In this featured session, Dr. Mesa will present on the topic of purposeful small-group composition, emphasizing the principles and goals of small-group instruction. The presentation will guide participants through the steps in creating effective small groups in both Tier 1 (core instruction) and Tier 2 (targeted interventions) contexts. Dr. Mesa will also demonstrate the Small Grouping Tool available on CLI Engage, showcasing how it can streamline the process of creating small groups and planning for small-group instruction.

Best fit for: Pre-K/K Teachers
CC

Texas ITSN Summit: Outdoor Learning with Infants and Toddlers, Part 2
Kirsten Haugen, Heather Fox • McLENNAN 209

Discovering innovative ways to support infants and toddlers in well-designed outdoor spaces and outdoor learning tour.
Note: Restricted to registered attendees for the Texas ITSN Summit.

Best fit for: Infant and Toddler Specialists
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 3: Learning Environments, Planning Framework, Curriculum, and Standards

Formemos un vínculo: Promoción del desarrollo social y emocional (Parte 1)
Eleanna Herrera • TEXAS NORTH 113

A través de esta capacitación, los participantes aprenderán prácticas efectivas basadas en investigaciones para respaldar el conocimiento y la práctica de los maestros de estrategias de instrucción clave de la serie de cursos Connect With Me que apoyan el desarrollo socioemocional de bebés y niños pequeños.

Handout: Formemos un vinculo – Guia del participante

Best fit for: Infant and Toddler Teachers
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 4: Supporting Skill Development
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 6: Diversity and Dual Language Learners

Effective Strategies for Supporting Dual Language Learners in Early Childhood Programs
Anna Taylor-Johnson • TEXAS NORTH 114

Join us, as we explore the fascinating world of dual language learners! This training has been thoughtfully crafted to equip early childhood educators with the essential knowledge and tools needed to provide optimal support to dual language learners in their programs. You will have the opportunity to learn the numerous benefits of bilingualism, acquire practical strategies for promoting language development, and explore innovative ways to cultivate a culturally responsive environment in your early childhood program.

Best fit for: Teachers and Administrators
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 6: Diversity and Dual Language Learners

Responsive Caregiving: The Power of Positive Teacher-Child Interactions
Beverly Ashley, David Fridie • TEXAS NORTH 115

Being attentive to young children’s communicative signals and using responsive behaviors provides an interactional framework within which you can best support early learning and later developmental achievements in early young children

Best fit for: Teachers and Administrators
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 2: Responsive Interactions and Guidance

Conciencia Fonológica: Escucho y Aprendo
Viry Nieto, Mildred Bautista • TEXAS SOUTH 116

La conciencia fonológica es uno de los tres predictores clave para el éxito en la lectura. En esta sesión, los participantes aprenderán sobre la importancia y los beneficios de facilitar las actividades diarias de conciencia fonológica con estudiantes de prekínder y mejorar las habilidades de alfabetización en las aulas de español.

Best fit for: Pre-K/K
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 3: Learning Environments, Planning Framework, Curriculum, and Standards
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 4: Supporting Skill Development

Nota: Esta sesión se repite desde el miércoles a las 3 PM.

Updates at TECPDS: What Is New?
Tracy Anne Jones • TEXAS SOUTH 117

A lot has been happening at TECPDS on both the workforce and trainer side of the system. Come to this training to hear all about the recent changes and understand how you can use the new tools in your daily work.

Best fit for: Administrators
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 9: Professionalism and Ethics
Administrators – Core Competency Area 3: Human Resource Leadership and Development

A Need for Speed: Linking the Texas PK Guidelines to Everyday Scientific Experiences
Karen Tutt, Jenna Cruz • TEXAS SOUTH 118

This session will help PK teachers see how easily everyday experiences can be linked to science in the classroom. The activities will correspond to the domain areas of physical science, earth and space science, and life science which are found in the Texas PK Guidelines.

Best fit for: Pre-K/K Teachers
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 3: Learning Environments, Planning Framework, Curriculum, and Standards

Note: This session repeats on Friday at 8 AM.

Teacher and Child Building Blocks: Using Children’s Literature To Grow Social & Emotional Skills
Leah Carruth, Haley Holmes, Jackie Massey • RANGER 106/107

This training will engage participants in social/emotional skills and how to teach them using children’s literature. Childcare teachers will engage participants with evidence of the growth of children’s skills along with their own growth after participating in training. Their created digital resources will be shared. The audience will participate in building their own ideas for using children’s literature to facilitate social/emotional growth with quick lessons that can be used immediately upon returning to their center.

Best fit for: Teachers
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 2: Responsive Interactions and Guidance
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 4: Supporting Skill Development

Look What I Can Do? Building Cognitive Skills Through Play for Infants and Toddlers
Carolyn Callahan • RANGER 108/109/110

Welcome to “Look What I Can Do” – a training workshop dedicated to unlocking the potential of infants and toddlers through the power of play-based learning. In this session, participants will delve into the intricate world of cognitive development, understanding its four vital components. Through this understanding, attendees will craft and execute activities tailored to foster exploration, problem-solving, memory retention, and imaginative play in young minds.

Best fit for: Infant and Toddler Teachers
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 1: Child Growth and Development
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 3: Learning Environments, Planning Framework, Curriculum, and Standards

More Than a Picture: How Drawing Develops Young Writers
Teresa Razo • McLENNAN 207

In this session through systematic writing processes and examples of activities, early bilingual childhood educators will learn to foster the love of writing in our youngest dual language learners. We will dive into strategies and resources that will help teachers be more successful in developing young writers.

Best fit for: Pre-K/K Teachers
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 3: Learning Environments, Planning Framework, Curriculum, and Standards
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 6: Diversity and Dual Language Learners

Expanding Access through Pre-K Partnerships
Stephanie Bonnet-Kramer • McLENNAN 208

In collaboration with the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) supports the development of pre-k partnerships among school districts, charter schools, and quality-rated child care programs. Prekindergarten partnerships, which expand access to early care and education, can provide numerous benefits to school districts/charter schools, child care programs, and families, including: higher enrollment, increased school-readiness, shared resources, and continuity of care. TWC Pre-K Partnership Specialists can facilitate partnership opportunities based on local needs. Join us to learn more!

Best fit for: Administrators
Administrators – Core Competency Area 2: Business and Operations Management

The Joy of Shared Leadership: Leveraging Everyone’s Strengths to Support Your School Community
Anna Burton, Natalie Dearing • McLENNAN 209

Join us, as we explore the fascinating world of dual language learners! This training has been thoughtfully crafted to equip early childhood educators with the essential knowledge and tools needed to provide optimal support to dual language learners in their programs. You will have the opportunity to learn the numerous benefits of bilingualism, acquire practical strategies for promoting language development, and explore innovative ways to cultivate a culturally responsive environment in your early childhood program.

Best fit for: Teachers and Administrators
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 6: Diversity and Dual Language Learners

Raising the Bar: Intentional Conversations
Heather Quasny • TEXAS NORTH 113

This session concerns how to have critical and intentional conversations at work. As a participant in this session, you will experience the ideal way to start, end, and follow up on intentional conversations. You will learn the elements of making a conversation engaging, respectful, supportive, and positive. You will confidently walk away, knowing you can make a difference with your words.

Best fit for: All
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 9: Professionalism and Ethics
Administrators – Core Competency Area 3: Human Resource Leadership and Development

The Importance of Early Conversations with Infants and Toddlers
Diana Avila, Elizabeth Diaz • TEXAS NORTH 114

This interactive, in-person training is designed for teachers to learn how to gain a deeper understanding of the Circle collection of activities by exploring key knowledge and some teaching strategies to support the language development of young children from birth to 36. months. Participants will also participate in activities to explore resources from the CLI Engage network of infant and toddler specialists in Texas.

Best fit for: Infant and Toddler Teachers and Administrators
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 1: Child Growth and Development
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 4: Supporting Skill Development

Note: This session is also offered in Spanish on Wednesday at 10 AM.

Igniting Literacy Through Learning Centers and Small Groups
Marcy McDowell • TEXAS NORTH 115

Igniting Literacy Through Learning Centers and Small Groups will allow participants to actively engage on how literature can serve multiple purposes in an early childhood classroom. This session provides opportunities to learn how to build background knowledge, vocabulary development, and phonological awareness through read alouds and providing engaging activities for student’s independent practice. The benefit of this session will aide in building confidence in practitioners as they plan for effective and successful lesson planning.

Best fit for: Teachers and Specialists
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 3: Learning Environments, Planning Framework, Curriculum, and Standards
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 4: Supporting Skill Development

The Power of Guiding Questions in Your Read-Alouds
Keisey Fumero, Davila Vittoriano, Karen Barahona • TEXAS SOUTH 116

In this featured session, educators will learn to design unique guiding questions for any read aloud in their classroom. These higher-level questions are posed before reading to give students a purpose for listening, improve comprehension, and encourage deep thinking. Teachers will then learn to use these questions after reading to have rich conversations with 2-3 students utilizing higher-order comprehension skills. Strategies for increasing question complexity for books that are read more than once will also be discussed.

Best fit for: Pre-K/K Teachers and Specialists
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 1: Child Growth and Development
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 2: Responsive Interactions and Guidance

Understanding Special Education
Stephanie Burns • TEXAS SOUTH 117

This training is intended to provide an understanding of the special education process and how providers can collaborate with both families and the public schools in the development of a child’s individual program if the child qualifies for special education services. Providers will receive a brief overview of the special education process, common public school Special Education Department / Services and basic terminology used in special education.

Best fit for: All
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 5: Observation and Assessment
Administrators – Core Competency Area 6: Instituting Family and Community-Centered Programming

Family Engagement Tools & Tips for Administrators
Noemi Orellana • TEXAS SOUTH 118

Administrators can start planning with this high-level overview of how CLI’s Family Engagement Resources can enhance the family engagement plan in their early learning program. The strategies represent research-driven ways to engage families in supporting children’s development from infancy to second grade, using resources that are freely available in English and Spanish. Come learn which resources you can use in your program to support teachers and families in extending learning and development at home.

Best fit for: All
Administrators – Core Competency Area 6: Instituting Family and Community-Centered Programming

Circle Infant & Toddler Foundations Training: Best Practices
Angela Magers, Elizabeth Kulbeth• RANGER 106/107

Join us to delve into the elements of best practices. Enhance your understanding and abilities regarding best practices aimed at nurturing infant and toddler development. Participants will analyze the classroom and learn ways to set up a supportive classroom environment. Uncover methods for fostering a sense of community within your classroom. Examine your responsibilities in providing responsive care and cultivating an environment that encourages inclusion, culturally appropriate practices, and healthy social emotional development.

Best fit for: Infant and Toddler Teachers
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 2: Responsive Interactions and Guidance
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 3: Learning Environments, Planning Framework, Curriculum, and Standards

Responsive Caregiving: The Power of Positive Teacher-Child Interactions
Beverly Ashley, David Fridie • RANGER 108/109/110

Being attentive to young children’s communicative signals and using responsive behaviors provides an interactional framework within which you can best support early learning and later developmental achievements in early young children

Best fit for: Teachers and Administrators
Practitioners – Core Competency Area 2: Responsive Interactions and Guidance