Early Childhood Teacher Study Online

10 Things ECE Teachers are Studying Today

What are early childhood teachers studying today? Curriculum for ECE teachers is constantly evolving to keep up with the latest topical trends and innovations. Young children live in a world where computers, tablets, smartphones, music players and gaming devices are readily available, including in their classrooms. Anyone studying to become an ECE Teacher needs to keep up with these trends in technology. The best way to do that is to get your ECE training online and we highly recommend getting your professional development training at ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI.)

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ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI,) the industry leader for online professional development, offers courses that cover the latest in everything from technology and STEAM to bullying, attention disorders and more. Every early childhood teacher and their staff can benefit from the online ECE training at CCEI. Here at Kids Creative Chaos, we've taken several courses and enjoyed each one of them, including CCEI122: Active Learning in Early Childhood course! Check out our review, here. We’ve also reviewed CCEI's online professional development for early childhood teachers in these past articles: Professional Development for Preschool Teachers and ECE Continuing ED Online. No matter how long you've been teaching, you'll discover something new and have an “a-ha” moment during CCEI’s course training.

Personally, I’ve taken many courses online and offline receiving certificates and credits toward my ECE (Early Childhood Education Certification) and CCEI is the best! ChildCare Education Institute offers certificate programs and coursework that meets the requirement for national credentials including the CDA. CCEI also has online certification programs for Director and Early Childhood Credentials. CCEI, a Council for Professional Recognition CDA Gold Standard™ comprehensive training provider, is nationally accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) and is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET.)

Below, is a list of the most popular things ECE teachers are studying. What are you most interested in studying? After you’ve taken a look at the list, let us know your thoughts in the comments below the post.

10 Things ECE Teachers Should Study

Here’s a list of TOP 10 trending topics that ECE teachers are studying today (that teachers wouldn’t have studied 10 years ago), according to CCEI:

• Children on Devices: CCEI’s CHD103: The Child’s Digital Universe: Technology and Digital Media in Early Childhood online course shares the latest research and recommendations regarding children's use of technology and digital media and ways in which digital devices are reshaping childhood and early childhood education.

• STEM and Robotics: Children are growing up in an increasingly digital world, and technology, coding and robotics in schools are getting a lot of attention. CCEI’s courses  CUR113- STEAM: Enhancing STEM Education with the Arts and CUR123: Robotics in Early Childhood Education: Hands-On and Playful Approaches helps teachers explain robotics to children.

• Trauma Informed Care: ECE providers work with diverse groups of students from all walks of life. Statistics show that 26% of children living in America will experience some sort of trauma in their life prior to the age of four. CCEI offers SOC108: Establishing Trauma Informed Practices in Early Learning Environments which focuses on ways to incorporate trauma informed practices into the environment and interactions with children. 

• Mindfulness: Mindfulness practices can prevent instances of undesired behavior, increase focus and engagement and promote a feeling of ownership and empowerment for children. As an additional benefit, classroom communities tend to be more empathetic and kind. CCEI offers SOC106: The Value of Mindfulness in Early Childhood which explores calming and reflective approaches when working with young children.

• Spirituality: CCEI’s CHD109: Supporting Spiritual Development in Early Learning Environments is based upon the work of Deborah Schein, author of the book titled Inspiring Wonder, Awe and Empathy – Spiritual Development in Young Children. The course explores what spiritual development is and why it is important to overall development. Participants will also learn how to create moments within their learning environments that promote spiritual development in young children.

• Caring for Allergies: Child food allergies are on the rise in the United States and continue to be a public health concern. CCEI’s CCEI119: Food Allergies in the Early Care Setting online course provides an overview of food allergies and basic safety principles to employ in the early care setting. Upon completion of this course, teachers will be able to provide a safe environment for children and staff who suffer from food allergies, identify the eight major food allergens, list the theories associated with the rise in food allergies and identify the importance of food labeling and packaging.

• Dual-Language Learning: In some areas, non-native English speakers may make up the majority of a classroom. It is important for all early childhood educators to be prepared to meet the challenges of guiding a child toward English fluency while maintaining fluency in (and respect for) their home languages and cultures. CCEI offers CHD102: Dual Language Learning in the Early Childhood Environment to provide early childhood professionals with strategies and tools for helping young children develop language and literacy skills in English.

• Attention Disorders: CCEI offers courses like SPN102: Attention Deficit Disorders to help child care providers understand the symptoms, subtypes and common treatment strategies associated with attention disorders.

• Diversity and Inclusion: CCEI’s CCEI640: Creating a Multicultural Environment online training course helps teachers define the goals of multiculturalism, plan and implement an anti-biased classroom, incorporate multiculturalism into learning centers and other classroom activities and promote cooperative social skills in diverse classrooms.

• Bullying in the Classroom: Although bullying has been around for years, today’s teachers are more proactive about reducing bullying. CCEI’s GUI100: Bullying in the Preschool Environment online course helps teachers bring empathy and compassion to the classroom as a way of reducing bullying behaviors.

As you can see, CCEI’s course offerings are full of valuable information that keeps up with the latest trends in early childhood teacher study online. Whether you run a daycare from your home, homeschool preschool, or teach in a public early childhood classroom, CCEI has courses for you.

CCEI has over 35+ certificate programs offered in both English and Spanish! They’ve graduated over 15,000 early childhood professionals from its CDA and other certificate programs -- with over 5 million online coursework completed. Its web-based coursework is available 24/7/365. You can see a full list of certificate programs on their website here, but below are just a few of them:

● CDA (Child Development Associate)

● FCCPC (Florida Child Care Professional Credential)

● Director’s Certificate

● NAC (NECPA National Administrator Credential® Certificate)

Becoming a preschool teacher or caregiver is a rewarding experience, but it takes patience and perseverance. Not everyone is cut out for such an important career choice. When this is your calling in life, you want to be the best teacher possible for your students. Keeping up on educational trends is key to providing your preschool class a positive experience that will pave the way for their future educational endeavors. It's important to find a balance between fun activities and the solid building blocks of education. We always try to make learning fun.

If you're in need of continuing education for your early childhood program or for a new career in early childhood education, start here with our review of ChildCare Education Institute. CCEI offers many amazing continuing education courses for professional development in early childhood education. Their extensive course list is full of lessons that are relevant and current for today’s ever changing ECE programming. 

I encourage everyone involved with childcare and early childhood education, whether you work in a brick and mortar environment or a virtual environment, to sign up for a course or two. And for new CCEI users, you can take a trial course a NO COST!  To stay current, be sure to follow the recommendations on the top 10 things ECE Teachers are studying today. I love that they offer so many course options and each course is informative and easily applicable to your lesson plans and teaching technique. Check out CCEI today!

For more preschool and early childhood activities, follow us on Pinterest.

To read more about our experiences with CCEI's online professional development for early childhood teachers read these articles: Professional Development for Preschool Teachers and ECE Continuing ED Online.

Becoming a preschool teacher or caregiver is a rewarding experience, but it takes patience and perseverance. Not everyone is cut out for such an important career choice. When this is your calling in life, you want to be the best teacher possible for your students. Keeping up on educational trends is key to providing your preschool class a positive experience that will pave the way for their future educational endeavors. It's important to find a balance between fun activities and the solid building blocks of education. We always try to make learning fun.

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What are Good Outdoor Games to Play?

10 Great Outdoor Games for Kids

The days of simple parties where balloons, music, and a cake with candles were enough are long gone. In 2019, fun birthday ideas are at a whole new level. You need these 10 great outdoor games for kids to get moving and enjoy their special day.

Kim and Kanye set the bar high with a "kidchella" themed party, featuring bouncy houses, a Ferris wheel, and several music stages. While you won't have the same budget as the Kardashians, take inspiration from their intuitive ideas and create a party with good outdoor games to play.

If you're arranging a summer party for your kid's birthday bash, what outdoor games can you play? Read on for the 411 on which outside games your kids will actually love!

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Outdoor Games Kids Will Love

We all know the math. Kids + Birthday parties = Chaos!

Instead of expecting kids to sit around, drink tea, and chat like adults, prepare some cool games that will burn all their pent-up party energy. We've chosen 10 outdoor games that will have your guests giggling from beginning to end. Are you ready? Let's get this party started!

1. Hop Your Way to Victory

Try a traditional sack-race to get the kids moving. Give each child a good quality burlap bag or king-size pillowcase. Line them up in a grassy area and have them hop their way to victory down a marked path.

To mix it up a little, decorate the plain sacks. Make it more challenging and make the marked path curvy. Even if you just do it the old-fashioned way, it'll get a lot of laughs on the way, Scout's honor!

2. Make Your Birthday Party Pop

Balloon stomping is one of the best group games for parties. What's a party without balloons popping?

Before the party starts, prepare by blowing up at least one balloon per guest and a few extras just in case. Tie a long string or ribbon around the end of the balloon so that it is long enough to tie around the children's ankles.

When the party gets started, tie a balloon around the ankle of each child. The aim of the game is to pop everyone else's balloon while protecting your own. The last kid with an intact balloon wins.

3. Jump to It

Let the kids blow off a little steam before you sit down to open presents. One of the best outdoor games for kids, is an outdoor bouncy house. Hiring a bouncy house is an exciting treat for the kids! It really is fun for all ages (even big kids!)

From bouncy houses and inflatable water slides to blow-up climbing walls and bouncy bungee runs, knowing which one to choose boggles the mind. Do your research to find out more about the options and you'll find the perfect match for your big outdoor birthday bash.

4. Treasure Hunt

Treasure hunts have been around a long time, but they're still one of the most interesting outside games for kids to play. Adapt the hunt depending on the ages of the guests and the style of the party. Be sure to offer prizes and other birthday party favors for the winning team.

For instance, create a list of items in nature they have to find in a certain time limit. Give each guest some magnifying glasses, binoculars, and a treasure bag for their adventure. They can search for various bugs, pinecones, daisies, leaves, and more on a nature scavenger hunt or you can hide items throughout the yard and give them a list of riddles to solve to find the next treasure. As an alternative, hide pieces of treasure and candy for the kids to find. Give them a bucket and send them on their scavenger hunt,

5. Cool Pool Party

Fun birthday ideas for the summer usually involve water. Wet and wild games give kids the chance to get soaked and cool off. A pool prize search is one of the most fun outside games for a kid's party.

Use an inflatable pool filled with water. Hide weighted treasures at the bottom of the pool. Then, fill the rest of the pool with floating toys and balls, so that it's hard to see what's at the bottom. Give the kids a time limit and tell them to find the treasures at the bottom of the pool.

If kids are a bit older and it seems too easy, try blindfolding them. Their teammates can shout out directions to help them find the treasure.

6. Use Your Noodle

One of the cheapest outside games for kids is Pool Noodle Croquet. It's budget-friendly but takes a little bit of time to set up.

Create several pool noodle arches in your back yard and stake them into the ground. Give each child a pool noodle and an inflated beach ball. The idea is to be the first to get the ball through the course of arches.

7. Make a Splash

Another variation of a classic game is water balloon baseball. It's one of the easiest outdoor games for kids and parents because it's so easy to set up.

All you need is a baseball bat and some pre-filled water balloons. Make sure the guests are ready to get soaked!

8. A Tasty Mess

Fun birthday ideas have got to include cakes and treats, right? So why not turn your dessert into a game? When played outside, this donut game is lots of fun.

Tie dangling donuts from a high place, such as a tree or doorway. Then have a donut eating race, without using hands. Chocolate donuts make the most mess, so be ready with a cleanup team when the game is over.

9. Water Shoot

Here's another outdoor water game for you. Divide the party into two teams. For each team, string a plastic sand pails onto one end of a clothesline.

The concept of this game is for each team to work together to move their bucket along the clothesline, using only the spray water guns. Of course, if you don't have enough squirt guns for the party, you could fill up plastic bottles instead. Be sure the squirt guns are powerful enough to make the pails move!

10. An In-Tents Party

Another awesome outside party activity is camping. If camping somewhere remote is too much of a task, just set up a camp ground in your backyard.

Set up tents and a supervised fire-pit. Play some camping-themed games during the day. And when it gets dark, roast some s'mores on the campfire and tell scary stories.

Keep Calm and Party On!

We hoe you like this list of outdoor games with a twist for parties. Pick one, two, or as many outside games as you want, to make your birthday bash super fun!

What if it turns out to be a rainy day and you can't have fun in the sun? For some more games inspiration, both inside and out, check out the "Games" section of our blog.

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Best Software for Small Business

Need Virtual Assistant Software Tools?

In today's world, if you're a small business owner and you don't have a virtual assistant, you probably should. More than likely, you also have marketable skills you can use to work remotely from home as an online virtual assistant. As a small business owner or independent contract worker, the only thing holding you back, is your knowledge of the many tools available to make the work easier. So, what is the best software for small business? Keep scrolling for our favorite picks for tools to use with a virtual assistant. 

Tip: Use these tools to teach your homeschooler and they'll have the skills necessary to set up shop at UpWork, an online site for freelance work. If you're tech savvy, you may already be using some of these online software options.

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.

5 Best Online Sites or Apps for Software for Small Businesses

• Google Docs -  Google Docs does everything Microsoft Word does and then some. In the brick and mortar world, Word is king. Most businesses expect their employees to know how to use it. They probably bought it years ago and keep paying for upgrades. However, Google Docs offers many features that make it stand out from similar publishing software programs.

It's all in the cloud. Your documents live in the cloud. When you're working with people who require Microsoft Word Docs, simply convert the Google Docs with a click of a button. You can also save your documents as ePublications, PDFs, and RTF files.

Another great feature of Google Docs, is that you can leave comments and other markup on the    document. If you're working with someone on the other side of the world, they can check in at their convenience, read your notes, and make changes or suggestions any time of the day or night. If you're in the same time zone, schedule a time to work together and you can do a live text chat right inside the document. This feature is also nice when your homeschooler is writing a paper and needs some incentive or a little collaborative help with editing.

• Thermostat -  If you want to create professional User/Customer Surveys, thermostat is your new best friend. You can create one survey per month with their free option, but if you really need to collect data for your small business, upgrade to the paid version. These surveys will help your engagement and marketing teams (ha, you- if you're a really small business) understand how your customers interact with your online products or gather any type of data you may need to collect.

• PicMonkey -  If you're somewhat technically challenged and need to do simple graphic design or overlay your logo or other watermarks onto your image, PicMonkey is your best friend. The free options is more than enough for a casual user, but if you regularly do images for social media, you'll want to upgrade to the paid version which is under $10 per month. There are similar options out there, but they have a bigger learning curve. PicMonkey is extremely user friendly. This online graphic software also works for homeschool digital art projects.

• TeacherSherpa - Continuing with the graphic design theme, if you're a teacher, a retired teacher, a soon to be teacher, or a homeschool parent who creates lesson plans, TeacherSherpa offers an online software tool to help you create lesson plans to sell online. The creation tool feature is free to everyone and includes fun, education related clipart. The best part? You can create lesson plans with TeacherSherpa's online editing software and upload them to sell on their site or similar sites that sell teacher resources. If you were thinking about a small online business to sell lesson plans or similar items, this software is what you want.

• MailChimp - You've got your word documents, your customer surveys, and your digital graphic software, now you're ready to create an email newsletter campaign. There are many subscription newsletter options out there, some are very inexpensive, some are free, and some are way too complicated for the Average Joe to use with out getting frustrated. As a small business owner,  you're an Average Joe. Unless your mailing list has thousands of subscribers, use MailChimp's free option. With MailChimp, you can easily create professionally looking newsletters with their free templates. Add in the graphics that you created with the best free digital design software mentioned above, and no one will ever know that you're tech challenged. Now you can even create free landing pages with their templates.

Hopefully, these recommendations for the best software for small business have motivated you to get started. Don't fear the tech in the cloud; embrace it! You'll be surprised how easy it is to become a virtual assistant or to work with a virtual assistant, once you take a little time to learn some new software.

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Best Things to Do in LA with Kids

What are the Best Things to Do in LA with Kids?

The City of Angels is best known for being a glamorous and glitzy destination where the world’s rich and famous live and work. It’s not necessarily advertised as family-friendly, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. LA has a vast range of attractions and activities which will delight both kids and adults of all ages. From entertainment and adventure to education and relaxation, this Los Angeles has everything a family could want from a vacation. If you are heading to LA with kids this year, check out this helpful guide for the best things to do in LA with kids.  

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.

List of Best Things to do in Los Angeles with Kids:

Universal Studios Hollywood

A family vacation in LA has to include a visit to the Universal Studios theme park and working studio in Hollywood. There are incredible rides with special effects from some of the world’s best-loved movie franchises, including the Harry Potter series, Transformers, Jurassic Park, Shrek, The Mummy and Despicable Me. 

LEGOLAND California

Your kids can see their favorite LEGO toys and characters in real life at California’s LEGOLAND theme park. The 50 rides and attractions are aimed at children, but adults will love the Miniland USA, which is a LEGO re-creation of 7 areas in the USA. There are many things to do including screenings of exclusive LEGO movies and a special area devoted to the hugely popular LEGO Ninjago. 

Watch an LA Rams Football Game 

If your kids like a bit of excitement at a sports game, then make sure you plan in some time to see the LA Rams play American Football at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Join in the chants and the electric atmosphere with good food and drink as you cheer the team to victory as a family. Find tickets for a game here at www.ticketsales.com.

Madame Tussaud’s Hollywood

You may see some Hollywood stars while you’re out and about in LA, but the next best thing to do is take a trip to Madame Tussaud’s in Hollywood. Take pictures with realistic waxwork figures  Hollywood actors and characters from movies and comics including the Marvel superheroes. 

California Science Center & IMAX Theater

For a bit of learning as well as fun thing to do with the family, head to the California Science Center and IMAX Theater. Kids can learn about the most fascinating aspects of our world and science with exhibits which tie education to popular movies and other pop culture. It’s a hands-on experience with plenty of demonstrations, 7-story IMAX Theater and the opportunity to see and stand inside the Space Shuttle Endeavor. 

K1 Speed Indoor Karting

The K1 Speed Indoor Karting track gives you the chance to race your family in safe, zero-emissions electric karts. Let your competitive sides shine through with an hour or 2 of racing followed by some tasty snacks and drinks at the Pit Café. 

Santa Monica Pier Aquarium

From eels and fish to sharks and octopi, the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium is home to over 100 species of sea creatures. As one of the best things to do in LA, it offers its visitors an interactive experience including being able to touch sea stars, urchins, anemones and much more. 

Los Angeles Zoo

If you’re a family of animal lovers, you can’t miss the LA Zoo and Botanical Gardens. There are over 1,000 animals from all over the world, and the gardens have over 7,000 plant species. This is a big family favorite, and it can take a whole day to get the most from your visit to LA Zoo.

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