Early Childhood Courses
Courses Offered In-person or through Live Webinars
All Courses listed are approved through the MN Center for Professional Development.
01: Health & Safety 1
This course covers pre-service health items related to working with infants, toddlers and preschoolers in center-based settings. Topics include hand washing, illness and exclusion, diapering, and cleaning and sanitizing.
Clock Hours: 3
Level: 1
KCF Area: 7
CDA Area: 1
Course Owner: Angela Kapp
05: Culture & Diversity in Early Childhood Programs
This course meets the MN DHS bi-annual requirements for Cultural Dynamics. In this course we will examine practices to improve your cultural competency and ensure your classroom reflects the culture and diversity of the children in your care.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 3
CDA Area: 4
Course Owner: Angela Kapp
09
Communicating with families when there are concerns about their child’s development requires careful planning and preparation. Identify best practices for building cultural competency in partnerships with families as a strategy to promote healthy child development. Model how positive parent-child interactions can foster warm and nurturing relationships within the family structure. Utilize relationship-based and reflective practice to engage parents and caregivers in courageous conversations that will lead to better outcomes for children experiencing developmental concerns.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 3
CDA Area: 4
Course Owner: Think Small Institute
13
Examine how children's temperament and development relates to their behavior. Explore new strategies for improving your impact on social emotional development on typical and atypical behaviors.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: Center for Inclusive Child Care
17
Explore tools for working with children who have challenging behaviors, including environmental and programmatic adaptations. Explore specific guidance strategies that support sensory, developmental, and temperament needs of all children.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: Center for Inclusive Child Care
21
This 2-hour behavior guidance course will meet the licensed family child care annual training requirement. The objectives of the training are to help participants: learn about the importance of routines in supporting the social emotional growth of infants and toddlers; identify key ways in which the social emotional environment of a child care program promotes positive behaviors; and strategize how to adapt their current child care environment to meet the needs of individual infants and toddlers.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
25
This class focuses on early childhood curriculum and the domains of development, elements of effective curriculum, and the cycle of observation and assessment, reflection, curriculum planning and implementation, and evaluation in adapting curriculum to meet individual and group developmental needs.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 2
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
29
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 2
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
02: Health & Safety 2
This course covers pre-service safety items related to working with infants, toddlers and preschoolers in center-based settings. Topics include active supervision, emergency procedures and safe sleep.
Clock Hours: 3
Level:1
KCF Area: 7
CDA Area: 1
Course Owner: Angela Kapp
06: Meeting the Needs of All Children
This course meets the MN DHS bi-annual requirements for disabilities training. In this course we will learn about observing and documenting children's development, recognizing red flags, discussing concerns with families, referring children for services and meeting the needs of children with disabilities in the classroom.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 1
CDA Area: 2
Course Owner: Angela Kapp
10
Designing for diversity requires that educators incorporate the cultural strengths and perspectives of the children and families who are actively engaged in the program and within the surrounding community. Implement learning strategies in your early childhood environment that can easily be adapted in multiple ways, help overcome personal biases, and allow tolerance for divergent thinking. Create environments through a diversity lens that accounts for equity and trauma-informed practice.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 3
CDA Area: 4
Course Owner: Think Small Institute
14
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner:
18
Learn about how to read and use the updated ECIPs. This two hour course describes and defines the organizational structure and terms of the standard as well as identifies resources for using the ECIPs within your program including involving and engaging families in children's learning.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 1
CDA Area: 8
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
22
This 2-hour behavior guidance course will meet the licensed family child care annual training requirement. The objectives of the training are to help participants: learn about social and emotional behaviors in infants and toddlers and how this development is impacted by caregivers; and reflect on ways in which culture (perceptions, beliefs, values) influences caregiving practices.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
26
This course addresses the following topic areas: risk factors related to developmental delay in young children; types of mild developmental delays across developmental domains including fine and gross motor delays, mild cognitive delays and speech and language delays; optimal practices that can be implemented in a child care setting; influencing factors for “transient” developmental delay; and Child Find and screening.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 1
CDA Area: 8
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
30
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 4
CDA Area: 7
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
03: Intro to Child Development
This course meets the MN DHS orientation requirements for Child Development and Learning. Topics include brain development, Developmentally Appropriate Practices and development milestones.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 1
CDA Area: 8
Course Owner: Angela Kapp
07
Explore how observation can show early educators the clues children to the purpose behind their behavior. Examine the purposes of behavior, as well as effective responses, meet the child's needs using observation tools.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 4
CDA Area: 7
Course Owner: Center for Inclusive Child Care
11
Support children’s fine motor skill development by applying current best practices and research-based practices. Explore how to select materials in nature and more that support the development of eye-hand coordination, hand strength, and dexterity across children from birth to preschool age. Identify signs of readiness to engage in self-help skills in collaboration with staff and families along with how to discuss developmental alerts. Identify and practice how to best interact with, create environments for, and individualize supports to maximize children’s fine motor skill development in your program.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 2
Course Owner: Think Small Institute
15
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner:
19
This 2-hour behavior guidance course will meet the licensed family child care annual training requirement. The objectives of the training are to help participants: learn about the importance of building positive relationships with children; learn about the relationship between children’s social emotional development and challenging behaviors; discuss guidance strategies in the context of the physical environment, routines and schedules, and helping children manage their emotions
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
23
This 2-hour behavior guidance course will meet the licensed family child care annual training requirement. The objectives of the training are to help participants: use targeted strategies to intentionally build social emotional skills in infants and toddlers; identify how to support parents in promoting routines; and learn how to promote emotional self-regulation skills in children this age.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
27
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
31
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
04: Intro to Behavior Guidance
This course meets the MN DHS orientation requirements for Behavior Guidance. Topics include classroom management, positive models of behavior, prohibited actions and dealing with persistent unacceptable behaviors.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: Angela Kapp
08
Examine the physical and social environments of your child care program and their effect on children's behavior. Explore ways to prevent and guide children's behavior through hands on activities and practical strategies.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 2
Course Owner: Center for Inclusive Child Care
12
Use ongoing objective observations and behavioral record keeping to prevent suspensions and expulsions of children in early care and education programs. Keep and utilize records and behavioral assessment information to work with families, staff, and administrators to support children’s positive experiences in early care environments. Explore implicit bias and how it affects objectivity, policies, and procedures related to evaluating children’s behavior and subsequent suspensions and/or expulsions.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 4
CDA Area: 7
Course Owner: Think Small Institute
16
Explore the meaning of challenging behavior through the lens of the child care provider’s roles including detective, nurturer, and guide. Examine how perceptions of behaviors are formed through experiences and background and discuss strategies for building successful relationships with all children in your program.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: Center for Inclusive Child Care
20
This 2-hour behavior guidance course will meet the licensed family child care annual training requirement. The objectives of the training are to help participants: learn about how very young children’s behavior is a form of communication and has meaning; and strategies to use to increase their capacity to support positive social emotional development through positive relationships with infants and toddlers.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
24
This 2-hour behavior guidance course will meet the licensed family child care annual training requirement. The objectives of the training are to help participants: learn about the relationship between behavior and distress communication for infants and toddlers; identify characteristics of challenging behavior demonstrated by infants and toddlers; identify the difference between acting out and withdrawing behaviors seen in infants and toddlers; and discus best practice guidance strategies.
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
28
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 2
CDA Area: 3
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit
32
Clock Hours: 2
Level:1
KCF Area: 4
CDA Area: 7
Course Owner: MN DHS: Child Development Services Unit