Primary Project Training Opportunities

Teachers and All Educational Staff

Reach me…teach me: Teacher-child relationship enhancement training

Target Group: Teachers and other educational staff
Time: 2 days. Can be customized to your staff development needs.

Learn a “way of being” with the children in your care, which will strengthen the way you communicate and teach. We start with a foundation of the link between social and emotional competence and academic learning. Then we explore and experience specific techniques that are currently used in building emotionally responsive relationships and are applicable to the deepening of the student-teacher relationship within the classroom.

The possibilities of play 

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

Together we will explore the value of play across several domains and through the eyes of different disciplines. We will look at the value of unstructured and structured play, the stages of play, and types of play. We will learn how many early childhood professionals are deeply concerned about the lack of creative play in children’s lives. This workshop will leave participants with a greater appreciation and understanding of the role of play in the healthy development of children.

Flexible yardsticks…Understanding typical child development

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

This workshop covers a broad range of developmental issues of interest to today’s Primary Project teams. Participants will briefly explore the major views of child development theories that have stood the test of time covering multicultural considerations, environment, temperament, and individual make-up of young children. We will cover the physical, social, language, cognitive, gross and fine motor, and social/emotional domains of kindergarten to third grade children. This workshop will remind us of the developmental uniqueness of children and the families we are working with and to reflect on our practices in schools that encourage rather than interfere with growth and learning.

Narrowing in on social and emotional child development

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

This workshop takes a more in-depth exploration of the social and emotional domain of child development, by briefly reviewing major theories and age-specific descriptions of how young school age children develop in this particular domain. We will explore attachment to caregivers, sense of body self, language and communication, which in turn effect emotional regulation, concentration and problem solving, empathy and pro-social behavior. Finally, we will bridge this information into children’s play and imaginations to help us better understand the play we witness in the playroom.

Helping children cope with change, loss and grief

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

One thing is for certain, change is a fact of life. Children are living in ever-changing and unpredictable times. Family experiences, cultural traditions, individual personality differences and environmental/geographic circumstances all influence the way children perceive the world. When change, loss or grief enters a child’s world they each cope differently. Using information that is simple and practical and drawn from the stories of children who have been on the front lines of grief, we will explore what helps and what does not help.

Understanding and supporting children impacted by parental incarceration

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

Children of incarcerated parents face multiple challenges that may impact school adjustment. This workshop explores the need, increasing the audience’s knowledge of helpful resources.

Intentional language…understanding the power of our words

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

Explore the language of self-efficacy, where our words become powerful influences in building relationships with children, helping them to build a positive view of themselves. In this workshop, participants will learn why encouragement is better than praise and how to invite expression from young children.

Supervisors and Child Associates

Primary Project: The basics

Target Group: All
Time: 2 days/12 hours

New Project training includes an overview of all components of Primary Project and what a site can expect throughout the course of the year. Segments of trainings include: Primary Project overview, screening and selection of children who are most likely to benefit from Primary Project, barriers to learning, communicating with children through the play-based intervention, staff roles and responsibilities, and an introduction to supervision.

Primary Project: General overview

Target Group: Administrators and teachers
Time: 2 hours

This presentation gives participants an overview of Primary Project. While it can be part of the general two-day New Project training, it is better as a stand-alone training and can be used as an introduction for new project sites or potential new sites. When offered at the beginning of a school year, participants will have an understanding of what to expect throughout the course of the year, including screening and selection, the intervention, and roles and responsibilities.

Building your Primary Project team

Target Group: Team
Time: 2 hours

Developing and maintaining a strong team is crucial the success of Primary Project. As we know, the initial implementation and sustainability of Project can be better facilitated by helping individuals to understand their role and the role of others, the core principles, and how each person is vital to enhancing the overall social and emotional growth of children through Primary Project. This workshop is designed to give a brief overview of Project, encourage discussion among team members and increase participants’ understanding of the role that they play in Project. Please remember that, if you select this training, it is important and expected that all individuals involved with Project at your school will attend.

Primary Project and your school administrator: Communicating effectively with administrators

Target Group: Team
Time: 2 hours

We need to make the case for our services. No one else will do it for us. Administrators are the most influential stakeholders affecting our roles and effectiveness. Not only do they hold the purse strings on increasingly tight budgets, but they also can be essential to attaining buy-in for programs or initiatives from staff in a school building. In this workshop, we will share tips and offer suggestions for communicating with administrators to ensure that your outreach is efficient and effective. Additionally, we will equip you with a communication strategy ahead of time to make these meetings more successful. It is essential to plan for these meetings in advance to ensure that you use the best strategies, organize your thoughts effectively, and make your points easy for administrators to understand and remember.

Expanding parent involvement

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

As Primary Project sites mature, the desire to share information and skills with parents often becomes a focus. This workshop starts with revisiting how critically important parents are to a child’s successful school adjustment. From this foundation, we then explore strategies/ideas of other Primary Project sites across the country that have successfully expanded beyond parent permission. Time for individual school teams will be offered, so a customized “next step” action plan can be developed that will be reflective of the unique strengths and barriers of each school community.

Basics of play in Primary Project refresher

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

This basic workshop will focus on play: the medium through which the relationship between the child and the Child Associate is formed. Through expressive play, the child explores the world as he/she understands it. This workshop includes discussion about setting up the playroom and opportunities for participants to watch and practice expressive play interactions. Great for a team refresher.

Deepening the play

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

This experiential workshop starts with a review of the important elements in expressive play. Then to deepen the participant’s understanding of “the power of play” in a non-judgmental atmosphere with clear limits, we will explore the basic helping skills and conditions. We will look at pacing, common missed opportunities, limit setting, and response reflections that help the child feel listened to and understood.

Talk the talk…writing expressive play goals in a standards-based environment

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

Schools are goal directed and very standards based. While Primary Project is a relationship based intervention, there are goals to move towards. This workshop will explore goal writing in an expressive play environment, concentrating on the important responses that child associates can engage in during the play sessions to promote growth.

Data and outcomes…making sense of it…making it count

Target Group: Team
Time: 2 hours
Class: Continuing

So what is the purpose of all this data we collect? What can we make of it and how can we use it to improve our programs? This workshop walks through the data report from the previous year and includes time to plan with your team areas to focus improvement on and how to share your success with others.

It’s all fun and games until…the art of setting limits in the playroom

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

Setting firm, clear and consistent limits is a key helping skill in the Primary Project intervention of play. This workshop is devoted to the art of setting limits with children. Learn why to set limits, when to set limits and how to set limits effectively. This workshop will encourage discussion about why limit setting can be challenging and what can be done to overcome these challenges.

The shy/quiet child

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

The shy/quiet child presents a special challenge for most Child Associates. Participants in this workshop will discover the need for patience to truly practice a “child-led” play approach when little or no verbal communication is exchanged. Particular attention to pacing, silence, and non-verbal communication will be addressed. We will discuss strategies for building upon our own patience, and dialogue about when and why we should or should not hurry the process along.

Children with attentional needs

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

The ability to stay focused and on task is a primary skill for learning. This workshop explores the concept that attention falls along a continuum and that Primary Project children will have attentional needs that fall somewhere on that continuum. We will briefly acquaint ourselves with criteria necessary for “Attention Deficit Disorder” and other childhood disorders that often look like attentional disorders. Participants will also hear about positive interventions and the hopeful role that adults at school can play in helping children with attentional needs.

Attempting to understand the range of children’s aggressive play in the playroom

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

Children have always had a fascination with aggressive play. This general workshop will explore why this is so, and investigate factors that contribute to children’s aggressive play. Child associates will have ample opportunities to learn about the general parameters of normal play versus play that signals possible “red flags.” The importance of a team approach and utilizing supervision will also be emphasized.

Play pairs

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

After a child in Primary Project has received a full cycle of individual time with a child associate and if the team feels group play would be beneficial, then the child-led intervention can be extended into play pair experiences. Learn similarities and differences in individual sessions and pair play.

Certification: From vision to reality

Target Group: Staff of programs completing second year
Time: 2 hours

Participants in this training will have an opportunity to learn both the process for becoming certified and the advantages of being a certified site. Participants will have answers to commonly asked questions such as: Do I need to be certified? How long does the process take? Who is involved?  Learn the information for yourself and determine whether your site is ready to join the others who have taken a vision into a reality.

Fidelity in Primary Project

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

As widespread implementation of any effective program becomes reality, careful attention must be given to the degree to which the program is delivered as intended, for true effectiveness to occur. This workshop explores the research regarding implementing programs with “fidelity,” helping participants understand the importance of “staying on track” with Primary Project.

Marketing play in Primary Project

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

Together we will explore key issues in marketing and educating others about the importance of our work with child-led play. You will leave this fun and interactive workshop with an “elevator” speech to share with others…whether you are going to the third floor only or the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago!

"Jeopardy"

Target Group: All
Time: 2 hours

Join this fun filled way to review key constructs and best practices in Primary Project. This workshop is a favorite and can be used anytime during the school year.

Primary Project Preschool Focus

Preschool group play

Target Group: All implementing preschool Primary Project model
Time: 2 hours

This workshop focuses on the small group play phase of the Preschool model. We will compare and contrast group play versus individual sessions. Additionally, skill development in social problem solving and limit setting for this unique age group will be offered by ample opportunities to practice our skills.

Supervisors

Supervising Primary Project: Fostering our knowledge of paraprofessional development and relevant approaches to supervision

Target Group: Supervisors
Time: 2 hours

A brief overview of Primary Project and supervision will be provided in order to contextualize our supervision activities. Further, we will review historic and current approaches to clinical supervision as they apply to our work with Child Associates. Moreover, participants will engage in role plays and group discussion in order to deepen our understanding of supervision, facilitate the growth of our supervisees and increase our own efficacy in the supervision setting.

Supervision I

Target Group: Supervisors
Time: One day

This workshop is a “sampling” of the skills needed to be an effective supervisor of Child Associates. Through activities, participants will learn “Best Practices” as well as identify potential impediments to providing supervision in a school setting. We will learn to shift our current counseling skills to the necessary skills of providing effective supervision.

Primary Project supervision: Modeling Playfulness in our sessions

Target Group: Supervisors/coordinators
Time: 2 days. Can be customized to your staff development needs.

We believe that trained supervisors are essential for the continued development of "best practices" in Primary Project. The uniqueness of supervising Child Associates brings both challenges and successes as it is like no other supervisory experience. This workshop will provide you with a learning experience that is parallel and consistent with Primary Project’s own framework. We will work to provide a place to play, learn, and grow using a variety of expressive materials that can help with communication and positive practice opportunities. Our learning will include dyadic and experiential opportunities using the process of play, activity, and expression, which you can then use and adapt with your Child Associates in your weekly time toghether.