Join us for the Fueling Little Learners virtual conference, designed to meet your active lifestyle and keep you engaged in learning. This Zoom conference aims to help you form a close relationship with infants and toddlers, which is essential for their healthy development in the early years. You'll get to enjoy hands-on activities that are not only for you but also for the children you care for. The cost of the conference is $20.00. So, are you ready to stretch your mind and connect with our youngest learners?
These classes are accepted in Nebraska and South Dakota.
View Frequently Asked Questions
Conference Schedule (4 hrs)
Saturday, February 22, 2025
All 4 classes on February 22 are required
February 22, 2025, 8:00 am CST - February 22, 2025, 9:00 am CST
Start Right with Breakfast
Early childhood professionals will explore why eating breakfast matters, what constitutes a balanced breakfast and what can be counted for breakfast in CACFP including a review of sugar limits for breakfast cereals and yogurts and best practice ideas for serving meat and meat alternates at breakfast. We will participate in a hands-on cooking activity and enjoy breakfast together!
Class Objective:
- Early childhood professionals will identify at least two benefits of eating breakfast and improve skills in planning and preparing breakfast meals that meet nutrition recommendations.
February 22, 2025, 9:10 am CST - February 22, 2025, 10:10 am CST
Teaching Kid to "Grow"-Up Healthy
The workshop will provide you with great resources to utilize with your kids to teach nutrition and physical activity habits. Incorporating books/literature into interactive lesson plans and sending home a family newsletter will help reinforce these habits at home and in your classroom.
Class Objective:
- To feel comfortable incorporating nutrition and physical activity lessons into your daily routine.
- To try new foods and recipes to incorporate healthy eating habits.
February 22, 2025, 10:20 am CST - February 22, 2025, 11:20 am CST
EAT Family Style
EAT Family style is an online professional development program that provides training for childcare providers to implement responsive feeding practices in childcare. The program encomasses a range of practices providers can use during mealtimes to promote children's health and development. Responsive feeding practices, such as role modeling, supporting children's self-regulation, and family style meals improve children's dietary intake and promote a positive mealtime environment in childcare.
Class Objective:
- Understand the importance of supporting children's self-regulation and autonomy at mealtimes.
- Identify strategies to implement responsive feeding at your site.
February 22, 2025, 11:30 am CST - February 22, 2025, 12:30 pm CST
Making A Community: Building Strong Family Partnerships
Join the teachers from Ruth Staples Child Development Lab for a practical and engaging discussion on fostering meaningful and collaborative relationships with families. Participants will see examples and strategies to create welcoming, inclusive environments, build open communication, and celebrate each family's unique contributions to the care community.
Class Objective:
- Gain practical strategies they can put into action in the classroom or home childcare environment to create a welcoming environment for all families to feel a sense of belonging.
- Create a resource to take back to the classroom/care environment that can be shared with families to build a deeper sense of collaboration and partnerships.
Homework (2 hrs)
Optional
Conference Follow-Up
Monday, March 24, 2025
2 hours Optional
March 24, 2025, 6:30 pm CDT - March 24, 2025, 8:30 pm CDT
Sleepless in Nebraska
According to the Sleep Foundation, 1 in 3 Americans does not meet the recommended 7+ hours of sleep per night, contributing to widespread physical, mental, and emotional health concerns. Addressing this issue is critical to improving overall wellbeing and safety in the U.S. Sleepless in Nebraska is an innovative, evidence-based educational program designed to bridge the gap between sleep science and actionable strategies.
Class Objective:
- Participants will learn research-based facts about why sleep matters, what happens during sleep cycles, current sleep recommendations, daily habits that interfere with a good night's sleep, and the detrimental effects a lack of sleep can cause.
- Participants will understand the impact of sleep habits on mental health and how to mitigate risk of developing mental health disorders through adequate sleep.
- Participants will discover new sleep tips and tricks to customize their own routine for better sleep.