Strategic Curriculum Implementation, by Kathe Petchel and Molly Hichens

Curriculum implementation is more vital than ever in early childhood classrooms. The past two years has been entirely disruptive for children and families. In fact, many children have missed out on preschool entirely. Programs are suffering from severe staffing shortages and restricted operations. Now more than ever, every moment in a preschoolers’ day matter, and teachers are feeling the pressure to make those moments count. Your current challenge as a program leader now is how to do a lot with less. You program has fewer teachers who have less training and time than ever to attend to the needs of children who need more than ever. Streamlining their needs with easy-to-implement, yet intentional, play-based curriculum is a high priority. By focusing strategically on how to support teachers’ pedagogical implementation, you will not only make work easier and more enjoyable for them, but also fulfill the ever-increasing needs of the children and families. This session, presented by experienced early childhood program owners and leaders, Kathe Petchel and Molly Hichens, will dive into the benefits early childhood program leaders and their programs reap when refocusing on curriculum implementation, engaging with parents as partners and nurturing a new group of teachers needing training and support. Join this session to explore how you can:

• understand the benefit of the Growth Mindset concept as a foundation for training teachers and educating families.

• be able to articulate their programs' unique curriculum including specific benefits to a variety of teachers and staff with varied skill and educational levels as well as to parents and families.

• understand the importance of planning curriculum that allows children as much opportunity for self-initiated explorations, free choice and play as possible.

• understand the concepts of scaffolding, scope and sequence and documentation.

• identify and understand accountability strategies to ensure teachers and staff effectively offer curriculum appropriately with attention on individual and group interests and needs.  Resources will include classroom observations, self-assessments and peer mentoring and support.

• understand the importance of communicating curriculum benefits to parents and be able to utilize creative marketing strategies designed to educate parents and encourage family follow up in order to bridge home and school. This includes the use of attractive newsletters and curriculum calendars which encourage continual parent-child communication as well as social media to ensure school features and benefits are articulated throughout the community.

All sessions are 1.5 hours long and include a brief announcement from our sponsor. 2:oo PM – 3:30 PM Eastern Time. To ensure you receive confirmation and reminder emails, add [email protected] to your contacts list. If you do not receive your email confirmation, check your Spam or Junk mail folders in your email system. Can’t participate in our webinars at the appointed time? Never fear! All of the webinars are recorded. To view the recording, simply register now and you will receive an email with a link to the recording when it is ready to be viewed. You can still download the certificate by watching the recording to the end when the certificate link is announced and displayed on the screen. Only 3,000 people at one time can attend our webinars, but registration often tops 4,000. Only the first 3,000 people to click the link to attend the webinar will be able to get in. We start the webinars 30 minutes in advance of the start time. Arrive early to make sure you get in. Please be advised that you will only be eligible for the great door prizes if you participate in the live session. You can earn .2 CEUs for each webinar. The cost is $15 paid to University of Oklahoma online when you apply. Learn more here: Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from University of Oklahoma See the schedule of upcoming webinars.