Continuing Educational Workshops

While a hands-on approach is our preferred education route, our workshops can be conducted both in-person and virtually. Give us a call to discuss alternative options. We may also customize an existing workshop or create a new one to meet your specific requirements. Please get in touch with Sunshine Through Motion to discuss these options.

Mitigating Challenging Behaviors

As young children develop self-control and self-regulation, they can exhibit challenging behaviors. Often these behaviors manifest themselves in power struggles between you and the child. As adults, we need first to understand our temperaments and how they impact the way we interact with the child. In this workshop, we use the D.I.S.C. model of character to analyze ourselves as well as the child.  Developing a specific course of action will strengthen their self-control and self-regulation. We discuss ways to effectively share the power to decrease and, ideally eliminate power struggles. Discussions focus on the real-world challenges the participants are dealing with and walk the class through the development of a plan.

2 CONTINUING CREDIT HOURS

Diverse Learners

Play is a self-selected and self-directed activity. We, as teachers, want to encourage and foster the child’s interest in their chosen play activities. Based on scientific research, we discuss how to create an enriched space for the best learning. Having the child use their whole self: mind, body, and spirit, enables the child to learn and grow through the sheer pleasure of playing.

2 CONTINUING CREDIT HOURS

Creating an Effective Learning Environment

An effective learning environment involves more than the physical environment. The way the physical classroom looks is essential. However, it is only one part of the total environment. The interpersonal, curriculum, and philosophical pieces are often overlooked but are critical to creating an effective learning environment. In this workshop, we discuss how to bring all four components together. We discuss different classroom setups, placement of materials, and age-appropriate items and recommend ways of interacting with the children.  This workshop discusses how to create an interesting, inviting, engaging, hands-on curriculum. Together we create empowering, strength-based, and beautiful environments for the children and teachers. The three-hour workshop: STM goes into your classrooms and supports your team to help implement the workshop teachings.

2-3 CONTINUING CREDIT HOURS

Impulse Control and Self-Regulation

Children that struggle with impulse control and self-regulation often can not see how their actions influence (positively or negatively) the achievement of the desired outcome. In this workshop, we use the book Clark the Shark to teach how to love life and be around other children in a calm and controlled manner. As we walk through the book, we discuss how to help a child whose actions mirror the behaviors of Clark. 

2 CONTINUING CREDIT HOURS

Communication and Teamwork

How can you and your teammates be successful on projects and dealing with the day-to-day situations that arise? What do you bring to the team? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each team member?  How do you leverage the team’s collective strengths to achieve success? In this workshop, we review the D.I.S.C. model of temperaments and how understanding a team member's character can be utilized to build a more effective team. Through examples or by analyzing each team member's strengths and weaknesses, we construct strategies. We discuss how to most effectively leverage the team’s collective strengths to accomplish the various tasks involved in a project or situation. We review multiple examples suggested by the participants. Then we discuss how to apply their understanding of each team member’s D.I.S.C. profile to more effectively approach that situation in the future. 

2 CONTINUING CREDITS HOURS

Effective Leader, Communication, and Teamwork

The effective leader, communicator, and teamwork workshop is for directors, managers, and owners to support your staff as a leader. If our staff isn't happy, no one is happy. We discuss all the good, bad, and ugly ways to support the staff and the best way to come together as a team.

2 CONTINUING CREDITS HOURS

Music and Movement Connection

Shake, shake your sillies out! Music is the first multiple intelligence to form in a child’s brain. Moving connects the brain to learning new ideas and skills. Join Sunshine Through Motion to learn to sing, dance, and make fun movements that help the children remember new ideas and skills.  We also explore alerting and calming activities that soothe the body and brain.  Movements and music help produce healthy children by fostering their Wellness and Mindfulness.

2 CONTINUING CREDITS HOURS

Sensory Learning in the classroom

Sensory Learning in the Classroom explores why it is essential for all ages, especially in early childhood, for sensory needs and how it affects the students' behavior. In this workshop, we dive deeply into how to be "sensory detectives" and add hands-on activities to support the child's needs.

2 CONTINUING CREDITS HOURS

Our Littles Exploring their world: Infants & Toddlers

Our Little’s Exploring their World workshop will have educators thinking outside the box for the non-crawls, crawls, and new walkers. This workshop will be teaching hands-on learning outside time, inside during the winter months, and more. Infants and toddlers explore through their senses: smell, taste, touch, sound, sight, vestibular proprioception, and kinesthetic senses, which we can do all through play, and exploring the world around them.

2 CONTINUING CREDITS HOURS

Professionalism

Professionalism is the key to changing the public's perceptions and stereotypes surrounding Early Childhood Education.  Early Childhood Educators are often stagnated and drowned in the field's constant generalizations. We are NOT babysitters!  In this workshop, we discuss the professional standards outlined in NAEYC’s code of ethics and how to use them as a guide to maintaining our professionalism.

2 CONTINUING CREDITS HOURS

Call Michele For Information

Mindfulness as a Strategy Against Stress

Educators do not give themselves enough “Me time.” We are selfless nurturers that think about everyone else before ourselves. We explore strategies that help us and how we can bring these strategies into the classroom for our students. We discuss yoga, meditation, the emotional freedom technique (TAPPING), and what sound healing can do to help all of us relax. Throughout this workshop, we practiced each technique and wrapped up the last 20 to 30 minutes by doing a sound healing meditation from New Moon Wellness.

2 CONTINUING CREDITS HOURS

Breath, Mindfulness, and Yoga

Children need yoga and mindfulness now more than ever! As students re-enter the classroom after months of being home in isolation, Yoga is a beautiful way to move our bodies at a safe distance. Also, yoga builds classroom community and fosters social-emotional skills that may have been challenged during quarantine. Mindfulness skills further help children during this transition to stay calm, focus, adapt, and better cope with an ever-changing classroom.

2 CONTINUING CREDIT HOURS

Smooth & Effective Transitions (infants/Toddlers/preschoolers)

Smooth and effective transitions in the classroom increase student learning. Behavioral challenges often occur during changes. We discuss how a good plan of action, proper sequencing of activities, and the upfront prep work are required to help ensure smooth and effective transitions. We also discuss which changes are the most disruptive for the child and strategies to help avoid them and reduce their impact.

2 CONTINUING CREDIT HOURS

Dirt, Fresh Air, and Exploration

For most people, outside is a place to regroup, explore, and learn about the world around us. In this workshop, we look into why it is so vital for young children to get outside. We discuss making children’s time more valuable by analyzing structured play vs. free play. Also, we share ideas on how to most effectively utilize both structured and free play to improve socialization skills, imagination, and curiosity.

2 CONTINUING CREDIT HOURS

Parent/Caregiver: Teacher Conferences

What do I say? How do I put the report together? What are the essential situations I should document? Educators can get overwhelmed with conferences, which are a lot of work if you start them late. This workshop breaks down what you need to be prepared for and how to talk to the adult in the child's life.

2 CONTINUING CREDIT HOURS

Promoting Child Engagement

Supporting a child’s social-emotional development and learning is critical in the early years. We provide strategies that allow you to support the child’s behavior in a manner that encourages the child to engage in the tasks at hand more effectively. We discuss classroom design, curricula, and teaching styles that most effectively support the child’s interactions with adults, the environment, and, most importantly, their peers.  When everything and everyone works together, we make the child feel welcome and the classroom a great place to learn.

2 CONTINUING CREDIT HOURS

Hot Buttons for Toddlers

Whining, Biting, and/or being physical can be a lot when we have an entire classroom. What are your hot buttons? What are the toddler's triggers? When toddlers are just learning how to play, talk and start to understand body awareness, it can be challenging for them. We as educators need to self-reflect on our hot buttons and then start to see what changes we need to make in the classroom to support our toddlers.

2 CONTINUING CREDIT HOURS

Compassion is a Superpower

Compassion is a superpower that is ”caught, not taught.” In this workshop, we discuss how teachers need to be the ones to spread love and kindness to all our children.  We discuss how it starts with YOU and how to incorporate compassion into your day-to-day curricula. Come along and join us on this journey to spread love and kindness to our little friends!

2 CONTINUING CREDIT HOURS

Call Michele For Information