Join the Community!

On The Professional Development Playground, there is no shortage of early childhood leaders ready to learn through play! In our open, fun, and engaging learning environment, we as educators get to explore, investigate, and discover ways to support the growth and development of young children through hot topics and best practices.

On the blacktop, you will learn strategies for creating a learning environment that serves as the foundation of the learning experience you provide.

In the sandbox, you will learn how to interact with other educators in ways that cater to the professional development support needed to build a strong teaching community.

At the jungle gym, you will learn to structure activities and experiences in ways that are appropriate, interesting, fun, and promote personal and professional development.

The most exciting part is the free-time to "play" with other leaders with similar goals and unique ideas.

The goal of this community is to designate a space for us to share our knowledge, expertise, and experience that lead to our growth and the growth of our students. We will have morning coffee chats, lunch and learns, and evening wine downs to educate, equip, and empower each other.

Why Is this community important?

The playground is rarely a solitary place. It’s a space where children often meet to have fun with others while also getting in a great workout. Unbeknownst to them, they learn and practice new skills and leave more advanced than they came.

Well, we work hard as educators to provide these types of experiences because we know the value they bring, and I believe we should have an opportunity to experience the same sense of community, growth, and development we desire to provide for our students.

Early childhood education is a team sport, and the team is only as strong as its individual members. Most programs need their staff to show up to work daily to cover classroom ratios, so connection outside of formal training and meetings can be limited. This virtual playground gives you an opportunity to show up, learn, and have fun while improving your knowledge, skills, and dispositions about young children and their development all while fellowshipping with colleagues who may be miles away from you.

Teachers on this playground will receive:

• Professional Development: tips and strategies to improve learning environments, teacher-child interactions, and activities and experiences intended for children’s growth and development
• Professional Play Opportunities: learning opportunities via morning coffee chats, lunch and learn training sessions, and happy hour Q & A sessions
• Professional Development Camps: Access to free trainings and early registration to live workshops

This playground is for early educators who:

• Share the philosophy that children learn best through play-based experiences
• Are open to new ideas and ways of implementing best practices in early learning environments
• Are committed to their own professional growth and development

This playground community is NOT for early educators who:

• Prefer a “one-size-fits-all” model for caring for and teaching children and working with teaching staff
• Seek “quick fix” and “short-cut” methods to teaching, caregiving, and leadership
• Value product-based activities over process-based experiences for children or adults
• Are interested in training “hours” rather than real learning experiences
• Have a fixed mindset about the possibilities for growth in early education

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is considered an early educator?

An early childhood educator is one who provides direct care and education to children from birth to age five in family child care, community or center-based programs, or school districts with a designated early childhood education department. This includes teachers, administrators or directors, parent-educators or home visitors, and other direct support personnel.

Is there a cost to participate in this community?

No, admission to this playground is free. 

When do activities take place?

Activity times vary, schedules will be posted prior to events.

Can I share resources within the group?

Yes; as long as it is information only. However, you cannot share resources that are promotional in nature. Examples of promotion include, but are not limited to: your email freebie, your email address, an image with your business name or website on it, asking for non-specific feedback on your website, your own blog post, your products/services, your website, selfies, when you are broadcasting on FB Live, affiliate links, your FB Group, etc.

What happens after I join?

You will be redirected to our private learning community. You must enter the access code sent to you via email. It will ask you to enter an amount you would like to pay, enter 0. 

🛑 GROUP RULES:

We use kind words: personal attacks, hate speech, vulgar language, and threats are not allowed. In this group, we discuss issues, not people.

We keep our space clean:- no spam, advertisements, or solicitations allowed.

We share and take turns: share your ideas and make room for others to share theirs. It’s ok to disagree, it’s not ok to be disagreeable.

We all do our best: allow yourself room to grow by keeping an open-mind and willingness to learn new ideas.