KET is pleased to offer a selection of free, for-credit workshops for early care and education professionals. The workshops aim to increase early childhood educator effectiveness and family engagement to help improve children’s school readiness and covers topics like science, math, health, social studies, art, social emotional development, and appropriate use of technology in early childhood classrooms.
Each of these workshops are available to early childhood educators statewide. Face-to-face and virtual sessions available. Trainings are approved for ECE-TRIS and Professional Development credit.
Contact KET Early Childhood Education for more information about each of the workshops.
Please note: There is a minimum of 15 participants required in order to schedule a workshop.
Early Childhood Sessions
PBS LearningMedia for Early Childhood Educators
PBS LearningMedia is a free media-on-demand service offering educators access to the best of public media and delivers research-based, classroom-ready digital learning experiences to engage students in exploring curriculum concepts. Join us to explore how you can use PBS LearningMedia in early childhood settings using resources from PBS KIDS and more.
Science Inquiry in the Classroom
Join KET to learn how the science inquiry process can incorporate fun, hands-on science into the daily schedule. These activities are built on children’s natural sense of curiosity, creating an interest in science and a foundation for school success. Participants will acquire strategies for creating an environment that encourages children to learn science through exploration of their world.
Sesame Street in Communities
Join us to explore resources from Sesame Street created to address kids’ developmental, physical, and emotional needs. Organizations like yours unite communities, foster resilience, nurture physical and mental health, and provide critical early learning opportunities. This session will help support you in this critical work using resources from Sesame Street in Communities.
Informational Text with Molly of Denali
Informational text is created for the purpose of providing information and can be created using written words, oral language, and visuals. PBS KIDS Molly of Denali uses informational text to solve problems using books, online resources, field guides, and more. Join us to learn more about informational text and how to inspire your students to explore their world using Molly of Denali resources.
Early Childhood SEL: What, How & Why
Join us to learn ways to help kids develop a strong emotional toolkit enabling them to handle the ups and downs of life. Anxieties and insecurities affect the ability of young learners to focus and learn. Featuring content from KET, PBS KIDS and others, this session will focus on media tools that can be used to teach the youngest learners vital social emotional skills.
Early Childhood SEL: Expression through the Arts
Observing, analyzing, and understanding art builds many social emotional learning competencies. Join us to learn ways to help kids develop a strong emotional toolkit to help them navigate their emotions. Featuring content from KET and PBS KIDS, this session will focus on media tools that can be used to teach the youngest learners social emotional skills using the arts.
Early Math Is FUNctional: Number Sense and Counting
With the right resources, teaching early math can be fun and engaging for educators and students alike. In this session we will explore incorporating number sense and counting into the daily schedule. Acquire knowledge of a multi-sensory approach to helping children develop early math skills. Resources from KET, PBS KIDS, and the Erikson Institute will be highlighted.
Let’s Talk Feelings with Daniel Tiger
Featuring content from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, this session will focus on social and emotional curriculum and media tools for children aged 2-5. A recent study showed that kids who watched Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood had higher levels of empathy, were better at recognizing emotions and were more content in social situations.
Media Literacy in Early Childhood
Young children are regularly engaging with media in a variety of settings. The TEC at the Erikson Institute issued their Media Literacy in Early Childhood Report to help offer a way to support and develop young children’s media literacy skills. Join us as we discuss ways to help young children find reliable information in a world of misinformation.
PBS Educator and Community Learning
The PBS Educator & Community Learning professional learning series is designed for educators of children ages 3-8. During each three-hour session, educators actively learn and play together with digital and non-digital tools. Time is provided for educators to construct and share their own understanding of how the teaching strategies and PBS KIDS resources support children’s learning and development. The goal is to empower educators with the tools, skills and confidence to bring similar media-rich, play-based and learner-centered experiences into their own environments and communities. Educators will leave each session with new digital resources from PBS KIDS and an action plan for how they will put their learning into practice.
Session 1: Introduction to Playful Learning with Media
Session 1 lays a foundation for educators to consider the importance of guided playful learning and an introduction to how PBS KIDS content can support early learning objectives and knowledge goals when integrated into playful learning experiences.
Session 2: Integrating Media into Your Teaching Practice
Session 2 provides an opportunity for educators to deepen their understanding of how media content can enrich playful, objectives-based learning in their classrooms. Through scaffolded activities, educators will explore how PBS KIDS content can deepen children’s understanding of concepts across content areas.
Session 3: Getting Curious with PBS KIDS
Session 3 engages educators in playful, media-rich activities to explore how to facilitate science inquiry experiences with children. The focus will be on scientific inquiry, curiosity, and creativity-building while engaging with PBS KIDS content.
Session 4: The Engineering Design Process with Ruff Ruffman
Session 4 explores The Ruff Ruffman Show media content and activities that engage learners in understanding aspects of the Engineering Design Process. The session will provide educators with an opportunity to work their way through the full Engineering Process in a hands-on, playful, collaborative and contextually meaningful way.
Session 5: Informational Text With Molly of Denali
Session 5 explores Molly of Denali media and activities that engage learners in understanding the educational goals of informational text and Alaska Native values.
Ready To Learn – Facilitator Training Opportunities
There are two types of training opportunities; Family and Community Learning and Out-of-School Resources. All of the materials to conduct the workshops on your own are available for FREE on PBS LearningMedia. The KET Early Childhood Education team has executed these same workshops across the state and can lead you through the steps for making yours a success.
Each 2 hour training will include:
- Knowledge of the structure and general flow of the workshops.
- Understanding of the science inquiry and engineering design processes.
- Fundamentals of being an engaged and trusted facilitator.
- Requirements for each of the facilitator roles.
- Details about the content and requirements for each workshop session.
- Familiarity with the resources and tools available through PBS Kids to continue the learning process with families.
PBS KIDS Family and Community Learning
Family & Community Learning (FCL) is a model for multi-generational hands-on family engagement designed to support science and literacy development among children and families. Designed for use in community-based settings, these resources include multi-session sequenced experiences that are built to be modular and flexible enough to be adaptable to the wide variety of communities and contexts that they might be used in. All of the resources come packed with full activity plans, supporting materials for facilitators, links to related video and digital media, and additional take-home materials to support ongoing family engagement.
PBS KIDS ScratchJr
This session is designed for families with kids ages five to eight (and younger/older siblings). Using the PBS KIDS ScratchJr app, families will explore materials such as Family Design Journals and PBS KIDS ScratchJr How-To cards to explore STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) and core coding concepts.
Ruff Ruffman
This FCL is designed for families with children ages five to eight (and younger/older siblings). Using resources from the Ruff Ruffman Show, this FCL provides a comprehensive learning experience for families that supports the development of science inquiry and engineering design practices.
Play & Learn Science!
The Play & Learn Science FCL is designed for families with children ages three to five (and younger/older siblings). The sessions use creative play and exploration to introduce kids and grown-ups to digital and tangible tools that can be used to develop science and engineering knowledge, practices, and perspectives.
The Cat in the Hat
This FCL is designed for families with kids ages three to five (and younger/older siblings). Families will use science inquiry to extend the concepts discovered in the Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! Families will use their observation and investigation skills during each session.
Ready Jet Go!
Ready Jet Go! FCL is a series of sessions that engage families in active, hands-on learning experiences. Designed for families with kids ages five to eight (and younger/older siblings), the sessions use creative play and exploration to spark interest in science and engineering and develop science inquiry and engineering design practices and mindsets.
Molly of Denali
Molly of Denali FCL is a series of sessions that engage families in active, hands-on learning experiences. Designed for families with kids ages five to eight (and younger/older siblings), the sessions use creative play and exploration to introduce kids and grown-ups to digital and hands-on tools to spark interest about literacy and informational text—text whose main purpose is to convey information.
Out-of-School Resources
The Out-of-School Resources provide multimedia resources that support science and literacy development. These resources are designed for use in after-school programs and other out-of-school settings such as libraries, museums, camps, etc. The resources include multi-day sequenced experiences that are built to be modular and flexible enough to be adaptable for that wide variety of contexts that they might be used for. All of the resources come packaged with full activity plans, supporting materials for facilitators, related video clips and digital games, and take-home supports to encourage family engagement.
Odd Squad: Be the Agent Camp
At Odd Squad: Be the Agent Camp, children ages 5-8 will take on the role of an Odd Squad Agent. Campers will spend five days using teamwork, math knowledge, science inquiry practices, the engineering design process, and creativity. By the end of the week, they will have solved up to 10 cases, engineered several gadgets, and spent lots of time having fun as a group!
Sensational Science Camp with Ruff Ruffman
At Sensational Science Camp with Ruff Ruffman, children ages 5-8 will participate in five modularly designed sessions (each 3-4 hours in length) using high-quality resources from The Ruff Ruffman Show. The camp will engage children in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) using science inquiry and the engineering design process.
Ready Jet Go! Space Exploration Camp
At Ready Jet Go! Space Exploration Camp, children ages 5-8 spend five sessions as Space Scouts. They accomplish missions, engineer spacecrafts and play space-themed games. Campers use teamwork to develop their science and engineering skills. At the end of the week, they will have completed 10 missions, launched a spacecraft and had lots of fun!