In This Week's ACROSS Your Desk:

• ACROSS NH Mindful March Training Series: Registration is Open!
• SEL Corner: Ways to Help Kids Handle Worry
• An Invitation to a Community Conversation on Anti-Racism
• Save the Date! April 6th: 2024 Celebration of OST Professionals and Planning Your Summer Conference
• Intro & Overview of ERS and SACERS-U: January 16th
• OST Directors Circle- Building an SEL Minded Staff: January 18th
• OSTB 1: Child/Youth Growth and Development: January 18th
• Using the SACERS-U for CQI: January 24th
• OSTB 7: Family, School, and Community Relationships: February 1st
• Afterschool Credential Information Session: February 7th
• OST Directors Circle- Choosing Love: February 8th
• How to Register for an ACROSS NH Training in NHCIS

Social, Emotional, and Mindfulness Learning in Out of School Time:

A Hybrid Training Series

Why Social, Emotional, 'and' Mindful Learning?

Thursday, March 7, 6:30-8:30 pm on Zoom

Mindful Self-Awareness and Emotional Regulation

Thursday, March 21, 6:30-8:30 pm on Zoom

Mindful Social Awareness and Heartful Connecting

Thursday, April 4, 6:30-8:30 pm on Zoom

Social, Emotional, and Mindfulness Learning (SEML): Putting it into Practice

Saturday, April 6

In Person at the ACROSS NH Spring Conference (Location TBD)

Participants who complete all 4 sessions will receive a FREE SEML Materials Kit to implement into their program to celebrate and recognize their full participation in the training series! 

Registration is required in NHCIS for the first three individual trainings. The last session will be during the ACROSS NH Planning Your Summer Conference and will require a small fee to attend the conference. (Registration and information for the ACROSS NH Planning Your Summer Conference will be announced in February.)

Click here or on the flyer image to download the complete details!

Save your spots now and register for the sessions you choose in NHCIS!

Building Self-Awareness and Regulation

When talking about feelings, it's important to remember that sometimes people, especially kids, might not have the words to describe what's happening in their inner world. When we teach words like 'worry,' talk about what worry feels like in our body (butterflies in the stomach, the tension in our shoulders, etc.), and about the types of thoughts that lead us to worry, we can support SEL skill growth. Teaching children to have the words to talk about their feelings and thoughts is a great first step in helping children gain emotional regulation skills.  

Check out this sweet winter-themed 'Brain Break' for building self-awareness and regulation skills around 'worrying.'

Here's a book recommendation on introducing the feeling word 'worry,' on introducing the concept of sharing 'what's on your mind,' and insight into how to make our worries smaller. Enjoy "Ruby Finds A Worry" by Tom Percival.

There are several recordings of this great story aloud on YouTube! Be sure to utilize your local libraries for resources like these. Chances are, if your library doesn't have a copy of a book you're looking for, they can get it through shared branching! 

Warmly, 

Abigail J. Blodgett Argentine, B.S.; NH ASMP

ACROSS NH Social Emotional Learning Coordinator 

ablodgett@acrossnh.org

Building an Anti-Racist Community in Early Childhood Education

Wednesday, January 17th

12-1:30pm on Zoom

This professional development opportunity is free and open to child care and out of school time providers.

To attend, please email Lisa Ranfos at lisa.ranfos@unh.edu. For more details, click here or on the flyer image.

This event is provided by the Family Action Board at the University of New Hampshire Child Study and Development Center.

This not an ACROSS NH training.

We are thinking about spring, too! ACROSS NH and the NH Afterschool Network are currently collaborating to bring you the next Annual Celebration of Out of School Time (OST) Professionals and Planning Your Summer Conference!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 6th. Location TBD. Look for an announcement in this "ACROSS Your Desk" weekly newsletter in February with the location, time, registration, and details. Its going to be an amazing day of celebration and professional development for OST!

Introduction and Overview of ERS and SACERS-U

Tuesday, January 16th

12:00-1:30pm on Zoom

The Environment Rating Scales (ERS) are observational tools that assess process quality of child care programs. This virtual training provides an introduction and overview of the ERS and the School Age Care Environment Rating Scale-Updated (SACERS-U) tool. We will examine the benefits of using the tool for children and for programs. Participants will practice how to use the SACERS-U tool in an out-of-school time (OST) program. This training is intended for programs with school age children in OST. This training fulfills the required Granite Steps for Quality (GSQ) ERS Training for the SACERS Learning Environment Standard Rubric.

This training is provided by Cathy Hazelton, M.Ed.; NH ASMP WT, PC, IM, NH ADS 3 & LE 3 and SACERS-U Anchor. ACROSS NH can provide a copy of the SACERS-U tool to your program by request once you have completed the training. Please email your request to chazelton@acrossnh.org.

Assembling My Toolbox for Building an SEL Minded Staff

Thursday, January 18th

10:30-11:30am on Zoom

As leaders in OST programs know, it is the skills and talents of the adults in a program that will determine whether we achieve or fall short of our desired outcomes. Well-regulated, self-aware, engaged, well-supported, mentored, and coached adults in youth serving spaces tend to respond best to the needs of children and youth, communicate effectively with one another, and engage in the self-reflective practices that allow them to consistently bring their best efforts to the program.

This session will provide tools, activities, and strategies for program leaders to utilize and adapt to meet their needs. From creating and implementing the right interview questions that help gauge the strengths and needs of prospective new hires, to staff development activities that can be used with program staff of all abilities, this session is designed to get folks talking to one another, reflecting, and implementing strategies in their programs.

Register for this session in the NH Connections Information System (NHCIS). You will receive 1 hour of PD in your NHCIS training transcript. Join Jamie Nadeau, ACROSS NH Director, and Abigail Blodgett for this special Directors Circle!

Monthly virtual Directors Circles are the opportunity for out of school time (OST) directors to share successes, challenges, network with like-minded colleagues in the field, ask questions, to build knowledge in a specific topic, or just come to listen. 

OSTB 1: Child and Youth Growth and Development

Thursday, January 18th

6:30-8:30pm on Zoom

ACROSS NH is proud to provide free virtual and interactive Out of School Time Basics trainings on the National Afterschool Association (NAA) Ten Core Knowledge, Skills & Competencies. These trainings are provided at no cost to you thanks to funding from the NH DHHS and Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration. Click here for the 2023-2024 flyer of ACROSS NH OSTB trainings.

In this virtual interactive workshop, we will explore and discuss the typical benchmarks for child and youth growth and development. What happens when you have multiple children in your program of varying development needs? In this workshop we will learn strategies for meeting the needs of all children and youth in a mixed-age group.

Using the SACERS-U for Continuous Quality Improvement

Wednesday, January 24th

6:30-8:00pm on Zoom

Pre-Requisite: Participants need to have completed the "Intro and Overview of ERS and SACERS-U Training."

This training is for out of school time (OST) programs looking to improve program quality. We will review basic information on the School Age Care Environment Rating Scale (SACERS-U) and process quality. Bring your SACERS-U questions! We will examine assessment and planning tools to create a plan for Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) to use for program development.

This training is provided by Cathy Hazelton, M.Ed.; NH ASMP WT, PC, IM, NH ADS 3 & LE 3 and SACERS-U Anchor. Please have your SACERS-U tool with you for the training and bring any SACERS questions with you! Questions about the training? Please email chazelton@acrossnh.org.

OSTB 7: Family, School, and Community Relationships

Thursday, February 1st

6:30-8:30pm on Zoom

ACROSS NH is proud to provide free virtual and interactive Out of School Time Basics trainings on the National Afterschool Association (NAA) Ten Core Knowledge, Skills & Competencies. These trainings are provided at no cost to you thanks to funding from the NH DHHS and Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration. Click here for the 2023-2024 flyer of ACROSS NH OSTB trainings.

The family is central to the development of children and youth. This virtual training will explore the importance of developing and maintaining open, friendly, cooperative, and respectful relationships with families. We will also identify ways to support the relationship between children and their families that will enhance the quality of the program and the community.

Afterschool Credential Information Session

Wednesday, February 7th

12-1pm on Zoom

Are you thinking about applying for your afterschool credential? Is it time for you to renew? Are you thinking about joining the ACROSS NH Credential Challenge? Come join this virtual information session and have all of your questions answered. We will review the steps and documents needed for you to apply for your afterschool credential. Your education, experience, skills, and talents will be recognized through this system and your credential is good for 3 years! Click here to learn about the ACROSS NH Afterschool Credential Challenge 2023-2024.

Choose Love:

Make Choosing Love Part of Your Day

Thursday, February 8th

10:30-11:30am on Zoom

Join us to meet Dee Dee Thurber, Child Care Aware of NH Director and Choose Love Ambassador, and learn how Choosing Love for yourself connects to sharing the Choose Love program with the children, families, and other groups you work with. Activities, books, and Choose Love resources will be shared to help you begin your Choose Love journey. 

Register for this session in the NH Connections Information System (NHCIS). You will receive 1 hour of PD in your NHCIS training transcript. Join Jamie Nadeau, ACROSS NH Director, and Dee Dee Thurber for this special Directors Circle!

Monthly virtual Directors Circles are the opportunity for out of school time (OST) directors to share successes, challenges, network with like-minded colleagues in the field, ask questions, to build knowledge in a specific topic, or just come to listen. 

How to Register for an ACROSS NH Training in NHCIS

Log into NHCIS. Go to your "training tile" and click on "take a training." Scroll down and click on "Month" view. Advance to the date of the training that you want to register for and click on the "training title." If you are having trouble registering for an ACROSS NH training in NHCIS, please email Cathy Hazelton at chazelton@acrossnh.org.

For more information about NHCIS,

go to https://www.nh-connections.org/providers/nh-professional-registry/.