Healthy environments are critical for preschoolers’ development. In this course you will learn how to create and maintain healthy environments for all preschoolers, and how to implement hygiene practices to prevent disease. You will learn strategies to ensure daily healthy checks, as well as strategies to support children’s and families’ mental health needs. The importance of healthy nutrition and physical activity will also be addressed.

The preschool years are an important time of physical activity and development. In this course you will learn about typical motor skill development and what to do if you are concerned about a child’s development. You will also learn how to plan indoor and outdoor experiences that promote physical development and support families and children as they pursue an active lifestyle.

Communication skills are vital to the overall learning and development of preschool children. In this course you will learn about communication milestones and what to do if you have concerns about a child’s development. You will also learn strategies to maintain effective communication with families and how to create a communication and language-rich environment.

Preschool children’s sense of self is shaped as they interact with their families, teachers, and peers. In this course you will learn about how young children develop a sense of self and the importance of resilience in your work as a preschool teacher. You will also learn about the influence of culture and ways to support preschoolers’ sense of self through experiences, activities, and the environment. Self-care practices and stress reduction will also be addressed.

Positive guidance impacts the healthy development of preschool children. In this course you will learn about typical preschool behaviors and effective strategies for challenging situations. You will also learn how to create a high-quality environment and developmentally appropriate experiences to maximize positive interactions.

In this course you will learn about how your roles and responsibilities as a direct care staff member contribute to the quality and organization of your program. Working collaboratively with your colleagues, planning and implementing developmentally appropriate experiences, and aligning curriculum with assessment will also be addressed. You will learn how to use evaluation data to improve program outcomes for children and families and how to be a reflective staff member

Approximately 600,000 U.S. children are victims of child abuse or neglect each year. As a preschool teacher, you are obligated to recognize, report, and prevent abuse and neglect. This course will help you recognize, report, and prevent child abuse that occurs in the home, in your program, and in other settings. You will learn about your legal and ethical obligation to report suspicions of child abuse and neglect, procedures for making a report, and important steps you can take to build resilience in yourself as well as in children and families.