Looking for an event?

Did you know there's a Calendar of Events on the PA Keys website--and it's filling fast!

Do you know of an event that isn't on the list? Send it to Mary at [email protected]. (For individual professional development courses, please log into the PA Key registry.)

Goal Planning Meetings

If you have already renewed, already submitted your grant and are looking at what lies ahead, consider setting up a Planning Meeting with your specialist. Typically done six months prior to your expiration, we are now scheduling Planning Visits for all sites expiring in July and August 2017. Let’s talk about your goals and how we can best help you between now and your next renewal period.

Approved Pediatric First Aid &CPR

The Mid-State Regional Key, along with other regional Keys, provides reduced cost Pediatric First Aid and CPR training for child care providers participating in STARS. When registering through the PD Registry you can be assured that the training is from an approved instructor and meets STARS requirements. It can be challenging however to provide this training in every location requested due to restricted class sizes and the availability of instructors. It is important to know that Pediatric First Aid and CPR do not need to be delivered by the regional key to be approved. Many community organizations including fire departments, ambulance companies, hospitals, and others, also offer this training. As long as it is one of the approved curriculums, it will be approved for STARS. The Pediatric First Aid and CPR course must be conducted by one of the following OCDEL approved organizations and must include both Pediatric first aid and CPR:
 American Academy of Pediatrics; Pediatric First Aid for Caregivers and Teachers (PedFACTS)
 American Heart Association (AHA) – Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid CPR AED
 American Safety and Health Institute
 Medic First Aid
 American Red Cross
 National Safety Council
We will continue to schedule this class as often, and in as many locations, as possible, but you may need to look for other options in your community to get it exactly when you want it. It is also important to plan several months in advance of cards expiring.

Music Notes
Incorporate Vivaldi’s Four Seasons into your activities through  movement or art. Ask the children to tell how it makes them feel. Explain that Vivaldi was trying to express the seasons through music. Play each concerto separately and see if they can guess which season he was trying to convey. Do they feel he captured them correctly? Do they recognize any of the music? After playing the original, find different versions on youtube such as jazz or heavy metal.    

• Mid-State Training List - January & February 2016
• ERS Training List - Spring 2017 - Updated 
  
• Special Education Family Training Sessions Starting 1/27/17 Online
  

Core Series Training

• CKC 1/19/17 in Lancaster
• STARS Orientation in Harrisburg on 1/19/17 -            Part 1 from 9-12 and Part II from 12:30-3:30.
  
• ERS Foundations in Lititz on 2/20/17 from 10-12
• ECERS-3 in Lititz on 2/20/17 from 1-4 

Other Training Organizations & Online Training 

• Online Director Credential Courses at Northampton
  
• Northampton online Workshops  - Updated  
  
• Early Childhood Investigations Webinar schedule 

New On Demand modules for the new year!
Here are the latest modules available from Better Kid Care. A brief description is accompanied by a link to our web page that includes an informational flyer you can use to share the information with others. Click here to sign in to On Demand!                                            

For early care professionals:
Expand Learning with Mixed-Age Groups
Mixed-age groupings expand learning opportunities for children of differing developmental skills and stages. Adults in mixed-age child care programs can learn more about the children in their care, and can support learning in intentional ways, through observation of multi-age interactions. Explore advantages, challenges, and unique concerns of working with mixed-age groups. (K2.1 C1, CDA1) 2 hours
  
For school-age professionals:
PYD Mastery: Program Planning and Development
This mastery module is for current program directors or managers, and those who desire to advance into an administrative role in out-of-school time programs serving 5-18 year olds. This module illustrates the range of responsibilities of program managers, including use of sound business practices; hiring and managing personnel; establishing positive relationships with families and communities; providing high quality programming; and ensuring efficient use of resources. (K6.9 C2) 2 hours 

It's okay to have fun at work! - Wellspan Health 

The average preschooler laughs or smiles 400 times a day.  By the time we reach age 35, that drops to 15 times a day. 
Laughter releases endorphins, a chemical ten times more powerful than the pain-relieving drug morphine.  Laughter also boosts immunity and relieves stress.  
It has been found that people who have fun at work are more creative, more productive, better decision makers, have fewer absent days, have enhanced employee satisfaction and get along better with co-workers.   
Looking to have more fun at work?  Here are a few tips to get you started.      

• Encourage employees to share tips, jokes or riddles with each other
• Allow employees to decorate their work space
  
• Build a Wall of Fame
  
• Create a humor bulletin board
  
• Celebrate employees' birthdays and work anniversaries
  
• Hold a pizza social

Friday, January 27th, is National Fun at Work Day - a great day to start a happiness challenge to last all year!

Research Study - New Dates 

The Penn State College of Medicine is working with Research Matters on a project designed to learn more about the effectiveness  of the iLook Out for Child Abuse (iLookOut) online learning module.  
Click here for more information and to participate.  
If you have any questions, please contact Nicole Verdiglione ([email protected] or 717.531.0003 Ex. 283765. We thank you for helping us improve the iLook Out for Child Abuse online learning module.  We look forward to hear your feedback.