Professional Development Circle Mission

Supports members with opportunities related to training, accreditation, scholarships and resources relevant to your professional development.

VAAEYC Members are invited to join the Professional Development Circle to help deliver on this mission.

The circle meets once per month in the evenings via Zoom and does email check-ins. This team discusses professional development topics for workshops and blogs, writes a bi-monthly newsletter article, reviews scholarship applications, and researches how to best support members with PD opportunities.

Email us here if you are interested in joining this great team!

Introducing the VAAEYC Teacher’s Corner

As Early Childhood teachers, you are the backbone; the boots-on-the-ground; the core of the profession.Every day, over hours of being with your students, each interaction you engage in with a child impact who they will become – how they perceive the world, how they get along with others, and how they create.

You provide the steady beat of the day, and it makes a huge impact on their development. Being present and in relationship is key, yet providing activities that are interesting and fun stimulates thinking, builds brain pathways and enhances interactions. It also makes the days enjoyable!
VAAEYC is in your corner! We want to encourage you to support one another by sharing activities that were highly successful in your classroom. The process is to provide your Lesson Plan or Interactions Plan Template on our website. Once it is submitted, VAAEYC will review them and if selected, will upload them to share with your colleagues. Each teacher who submits one or more ideas will be entered into a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card.

This fun project will run between August and December 2024. Send your favorites! Use the button on this page to submit your entry!

Zoom and Facebook Live Series

VAAEYC occasionally hosts mini-workshops via Zoom and broadcast on Facebook Live simultaneously.

Upcoming Sessions

Professional Development for the PD Provider – The Parallel Process and YOU! | Dr. Christy John
November 13, 2024 – 1:00 p.m. | Register Here
The Virginia Association for the Education of Young Children (VAAEYC), wants to hear from the professionals supporting our early education and child care community. We would like to provide support to trainers, coaches, professors, and administrators in ways that mirror the support that professionals provide to educators. This process, referred to as the parallel process, occurs when similar practices are reflected in different parts of an organization, community, or services provided to educators. In order to accomplish this goal, we need to learn from you about the types of support you need. Join us on this Zoom and FB live session to share your successes, challenges, and everything in between.

ABCs of Managing Challenging Behaviors | Dr. Stacey Park
January 24, 2024 – 1:00 p.m. | Register Here
One of the greatest challenges of teaching is effectively managing behaviors to create a positive learning environment. In this workshop, we will explore varieties of challenging behaviors, causes, and implications on learning and development. Additionally, participants will learn research-based strategies for effectively managing challenging behaviors in the early childhood classroom.

Objectives:

  • Explore varieties of challenging behaviors, causes, and implications on learning and development.
  • Examine child development theories as they relate to behavior management
    Identify the ABCs of managing challenging behaviors.
  • Investigate effective practices for dealing with challenging behaviors to promote a positive classroom environment.

Past Sessions

Bringing VAAEYC Conference Learning Home along with Special Presentation by My Music Starts Here: Try It Today: 5 Simple Ways to Use Music in Your Classroom – Mary Anderson, and Sarah Maynard
Broadcast and Recorded on March 26, 2024 | This recording is available HERE!
Conference Journal VAAEYC

Preparing for the Annual Conference – Sarah Maynard
Broadcast and Recorded on March 6, 2024 | This recording is available HERE.

Choosing and Using Children’s Books
Broadcast and Recorded on January 10, 2024 | This recording is now available HERE

Handouts from Workshop:

Self-Care for Educators: Calming and Centering Techniques – Angelica Ward
Broadcast and Recorded on October 23, 2023 | This recording is now available HERE.

Grant Writing – Kathryn Massie
Broadcast and Recorded on July 25, 2023 | This recording is now available HERE.

VDOE VQB5

VQB5 is a measurement and improvement system that focuses on the quality of all publicly-funded birth-five classrooms and supports families to choose quality programming across different program types. VQB5 sets shared expectations for measuring quality and supporting teachers for all birth to five programs. Through VQB5, teachers and leaders will receive the feedback and support they need to help young children learn.

By fall 2023, all publicly-funded programs will be required to participate with ratings shared publicly in fall 2024. Early childhood programs that do not receive any public funds will have the option to participate.

CLICK HERE to read more.

Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™

Are you considering applying for a Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™? The CDA® credential has many valuable benefits for all early childhood professionals, including helping early educators meet current state and national professional requirements and serving as a pathway to learning best teaching practices. CDA® recipients are competent practitioners who value vital knowledge, skills and formal education. There have been more than 350,000 CDAs® awarded since the early 70s, and 20,000 new CDAs® and 18,000 renewals in 2013 alone.

Start taking action towards your “Best 1st Step” in early childhood education by reviewing the five necessary steps below that every CDA® candidate must follow in order to successfully prepare and complete the process of obtaining a CDA® credential.

The VAAEYC Annual Conference provides verified CEU that is eligible for CDA credential credit.

Check out the official CDA Website here for more information and look at the videos below.

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