Approved IdahoSTARS Trainings

Professional development training class.

IdahoSTARS approved training can support child care providers as they increase their knowledge across seven quality domains and stay current on best practices in the field of early care and education. A variety of training opportunities are provided through IdahoSTARS, including: live, online, facilitated trainings and training events. In addition to training developed and delivered by IdahoSTARS, and our network of approved trainers, IdahoSTARS provides training hours for a variety of trainings available through multiple early childhood companies and organizations. Log into RISE now and start searching for your next training.

For your own development as a professional you may take any training that is of interest to you. However, IdahoSTARS will only offer training hours for an individual training title one time. Duplicate trainings will not receive training hours, nor will they be eligible for scholarships or incentives.

Trainings

Taking training is easier than ever in RISE!

Our new RISE training portal gives you access to hundreds of IdahoSTARS approved online and live trainings. We’ve worked hard to make the trainings more interactive and simplified the process with knowledge checks and evaluations built within the course. Once you complete a training it will appear on your RISE PDRecord!

You can easily access our Rise training portal two different ways:

Dashboard: View the training Calendar on your RISE dashboard to see live trainings and events. You can filter the calendar to see options in your city, region or even statewide.
Sidebar: To find both live and online trainings, select “Go to Training” on the left side menu bar in your RISE account. It will take you to our Course Catalog of approved IdahoSTARS trainings. Additionally, you can search through our IdahoSTARS Approved Companies list for additional training options.

ET 1: Administration of Medication in Child Care

Description:
This training supports child care providers to identify and implement appropriate practices for administering medication in child care, including the ability to recognize: different types of medication, situations in which giving medication is appropriate, preparation steps for giving medication, different methods for giving medication, and the importance of documentation when medication is administered in child care.

ET 1: Early Childhood Brain Development, The First 1,000 Days

Description:
This online training examines the long term impact of children’s earliest experiences on an individual and societal level.

ET 1: Food Allergies: Keeping Students Safe and Included (FARE)

Description:
This Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) Training addresses the important roles of both parents and providers in creating a successful learning environment for children with food allergies. The materials present current research, best practices, recommendations from the CDC guidelines, and practical management tips. The rights of children with food allergies and applicable laws are also discussed.

ET 1: Multihazard Planning for Child Care: Parts 1, 2, AND 3

Description:
This course covers the steps to help child care providers prepare for incidents to ensure the safety of the children at their site. Child care providers must have plans and procedures to keep children safe from everyday hazards and to respond and recover when an emergency happens. The goal of this course is to provide child care providers, with businesses of all sizes, and with responsibility for children of all ages, with the knowledge and tools to analyze the hazards and threats at their site, to develop a plan to address these hazards and threats, and to implement processes to update and practice the emergency plan. The topics addressed in this course include: knowing your hazards, developing a plan, and testing and updating your plan.

ET 1: Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases in Child Care

Description:
This training supports child care providers with increasing awareness of how infectious diseases are spread, the role of child care providers in preventing and controlling the spread of infectious diseases, and identifying policies and procedures to follow recommended practices. This training also highlights health and safety resources available to child care providers.

ET 1: Prevention of Injuries

Description:
This training supports child care providers with increasing their awareness about the injuries that are common in the child care setting, how to prevent those injuries, and how to respond when an injury does occur. This training also highlights injury prevention health and safety resources that are available for child care providers.

ET 1: SIDS: Reducing the Risk in Child Care

Description:
This online training examines how to create safe sleep environments to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep related deaths in child care.

ET 1: Strengthening Families

Description:
This Training is an introduction to the Strengthening Families Protective Factor framework. This three hour interactive training includes background information about Strengthening Families, which is an approach to child care that increases quality by focusing on the relationships we have with families. We will identify the protective and promotive factors which have been proven to reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect, and increase the likelihood of optimal child development. We will explore the strategies which support the development of the protective factors, and practice the communication skills needed to develop meaningful relationships with families.

ET 2: Every Child Ready to Learn, Part 1

Description:
Activities to Promote Early Literacy and Math for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers A Lee Pesky Learning Center training (Register Online). Early educators will learn about the importance of foundational literacy and math skills including: language and vocabulary, print awareness, number sense, spatial awareness, comparing and problem solving. Participants will practice activities that are designed for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers to help foster the development of these skills.

ET 2: Food and Nutrition

Description:
Participants will learn basic nutritional concepts, strategies to help children stay in touch with their feelings of hunger and fullness, and strategies for setting up quality mealtime environments for children in group settings.

ET 2: Foundations of Inclusion

Description:
This training will present the definition of early childhood inclusion and the defining features of early childhood inclusion. Small and large group activities will introduce policies and procedures that support early childhood inclusion and evidence-based inclusive practices. Participants will be provided with valuable inclusion resources that will assist them in identifying actions they might take to support inclusion within their own child care program.

ET 2: Guiding Behavior in Young Children

Description:
This training examines potential motivation for misbehavior in young children, children’s core emotional needs, and effective discipline strategies or guidelines.

ET 2: Nurturing and Responsive Relationships

Description:
This training introduces the Pyramid Model as an approach to building high quality early childhood environments. Founded on evidence-based practices, nurturing and responsive relationships are the foundation to quality child care.

ET 2: Physical Activity/Active Physical Play

Description:
Participants will learn about the many physical skills young children are developing, and how child care providers can help children be physically active throughout the day in child care.

ET 2: Sharing Leadership, Partnering with Parents

Description:
Goal: To learn strategies to develop parent leadership in order to strengthen families, promote optimal child development, and prevent child abuse and neglect.

ET 3: CONNECT: Embedded Interventions and Transitions

Description:
Embedded Interventions: Providers will learn about the practice of embedded interventions to help children participate in a variety of early learning opportunities and environments promoting high quality inclusion.
Transitions: Providers will learn about practices to help support children and families as they transition among programs in the early care and education system.

ET 3: Nutrition

Description:
Includes strategies for helping children become competent eaters using evidence-based strategies. Providers will discuss emotions and children’s eating, picky eating, acceptance of unfamiliar foods, nutrition education, and adult beliefs about and advocacy for children’s healthy eating. Providers will use self-evaluation tools to look at their program’s mealtime routines and procedures.

ET 3: Physical Activity/Active Physical Play

Description:
They will match children’s physical skills with their program’s active physical play settings and equipment, and they will reflect on their personal advocacy for children’s physical activity.

ET 3: Responsible Adults, Safe Children

Description:
A Strengthening Families Training. The goal is to understand the statistics, consequences, and magnitude of child sexual abuse and the everyday responsibilities and opportunities adults have for preventing it in order to strengthen families and improve the quality of child care. The course will address the social norms that build a wall of denial, identify personal and societal attitudes, identify healthy sexual development, and create a plan to prevent CSA.

ET 3: Supportive Physical Environments, Routines, and Transitions

Description:
This training introduces the Pyramid Model as an approach to building high quality early childhood environments. Founded on evidence-based practices, supportive physical environments, routines, and transitions builds upon nurturing and responsive relationships to form the foundation to quality child care.

ET 4: Committing to Strengthening Families

Description:
The goal of this interactive training is to make a plan to commit to using the Strengthening Families Protective Factor framework in order to support parents, prevent child abuse and neglect, and improve the quality of child care. The objectives: Participants will review previous Strengthening Families trainings, give examples of commitment in action, make a personal assessment of their commitment, job performance, and workplace values, learn about managing complex change, and practice identifying opportunities to relieve family stressors by their everyday actions.

ET 4: CONNECT: Communication for Collaboration and Family-Professional Partnerships

Description:
In this essential training you will learn about effective communication practices that can be used to promote collaboration with professionals and families in early care and education. In addition, you will learn about building trusting family-professional partnerships when working with families of young children.

ET 4: Dual Language Learners

Description:
This lending library training focuses on the relationship between language and cognitive development in young children and implementation of evidence based practices to support dual language learners in the child care setting.

ET 4: Every Child Ready to Learn, Part 2

Description:
This course is a continuation of the Every Child Ready to Learn class. Early educators will learn more activities that support the foundational literacy and math skills including: language and vocabulary, print awareness, number sense, spatial awareness, comparing, and problem solving. Participants will also learn about free resources that will provide even more opportunities for learning. Register online.

ET 4: Observation and Documentation

Description:
This training introduces observation and documentation of children’s development through a 4-step cycle. The presentation describes the importance of observing and documenting children’s development and assists child care providers with conducting observations, gathering documentation, and using the information they gather to support planning for individual children.

Addressing Challenging Behaviors: Promoting Social and Emotional Health in Young Children, Modules 1-4

Description:
Challenging behavior is one of the biggest issues child care providers face every day. Most often these behaviors are caused by challenges presented by the social and physical environment, yet the approach is to "fix" the child rather than "fix" the factors that contribute to the behavior. This Turn-Key adapted training program will provide the knowledge base and practical strategies teachers need to minimize challenging behavior in the child care setting.

Child Development Overview

Description:
This training provides an overview of child development across the ages of birth – 12 years in the domains of physical, cognitive, social emotional, and language and communication. Participants will identify stages, domains, and milestones of child growth and development; identify patterns of development which warrant further examination and adaptations to the child care environment; and recognize characteristics of quality child care environments.

Germs Are Everywhere

Description:
In this training, child care providers will explore practices for a safe and healthy environment that reduces the spread of infectious diseases and foodborne illness.

Healthy Sleep: Birth to 12 Years

Description:
Participants will recognize characteristics of quality sleep or rest environments in child care. Participants will examine the biological factors of sleep. Participants will identify the different sleep needs across developmental stages. Participants will examine the difference between typical sleep issues and concerns.

More About the Environment Rating Scale (ERS) ECERS-3 & ITERS-3

Description:
The Environment Rating Scale (ERS) is a reliable and valid tool for measuring quality child care. It has been used in the field of early care and education for over 25 years. This training provides an overview with an emphasis on the ECERS-3 and ITERS-3, the updated versions of the scales. It is intended to supplement the live training available through IdahoSTARS, Environment Rating Scales: A Tool for Quality Improvement.

School Age Child Development

Description:
At the heart of quality child care is developmentally appropriate practice. For a child care provider to design physical environments, choose materials, create activities, have meaningful interactions, and appropriate discipline strategies, they must first have knowledge of child development relevant to the age of children in their care. This training provides an overview of developmental milestones across the domains.

INSTRUCTIONS:

If you are looking for quality online trainings, see below for the IdahoSTARS approved companies! Each company has a number of great trainings that range in cost, age group, and topic area.

Note any specific instructions within the listing.
Follow the link to the Approved Training Company site to complete the training.
When you have successfully completed the training, be sure to upload your Certificate of Completion in RISE.

AIR Child Care Training Solutions

Available via: airchildcare.com

Languages: English
Price: $20 - $60

Description:
AIR Child Care Training Solutions knows your time is valuable and our goal is to provide all of your professional development needs, from required to specialized trainings, through the comfort and convenience of online learning. Train at home, from your center, or on the go. You can start and stop trainings as needed to fit them into your busy life.

American Academy of Pediatrics

Available via: shop.aap.org

Languages: English, Spanish
Price: Free

Description:
The American Academy of Pediatrics offers self-paced courses designed for people to meet their learning needs at every stage of their career. AAP is committed to the optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.
**Note: Not all online courses through AAP provide contact hours/training hours (Activity Type: Asynchronous). Training hours will not be awarded for trainings that do not provide a certificate of completion.
Online American Academy of Pediatrics courses require an AAP ID. If you do not yet have an AAP ID, register for one today at: https://shop.aap.org/account/login.

Better Kid Care

Available via: Better Kid Care on Demand Web Lessons

Languages: English, Spanish
Price: Majority $5

Description:
Research shows that professionals who continue learning offer higher quality care to children and youth. Better Kid Care online lessons were created for professionals like you who want to learn to enhance programs for children and youth.

Learn how to use scholarship dollars for Better Kid Care trainingsPDF

Building Blocks for Literacy

Available via: Building Blocks for Literacy

Languages: English
Price: Free with a $50 certificate fee

Description:
Lee Pesky Learning Center, in partnership with the Stern Center for Language and Learning, is pleased to announce the online version of Building Blocks for Literacy. Building Blocks for Literacy promotes early literacy skills for children in child care and preschool environments. The program teaches early care and education providers as well as parents and preschool teachers how to foster early literacy skills in children.
**Note: The content is available at no cost, however, a certificate of completion for a training will be issued through the Stern Center for $50.

Care Courses

Available via: The Care Courses School Inc.

Languages: English

Description:
Care Courses is an international distance learning school offering convenient, affordable and informative book and electronic courses for early childhood professionals, and child care providers. They offer a wide variety of topics, including autism, administration, staff development, home childcare, professionalism, toilet learning, child development, curriculum, and much, much more.

ChildCare Education Institute

Available via: ChildCare Education Institute

Languages: English, Spanish

Description:
ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI), a distance training institution, is dedicated to providing online training to meet the continuing education requirements of the child care industry. Whether you are looking to take one course or a set of courses, complete a certificate program or earn your CDA, ChildCare Education Institute has courses for you.

Child Care Aware of America

Available via: Child Care Aware of America Training Academy

Languages: English, Spanish
Price: $15 or $35 per course

Description:
Child Care Aware® of America is committed to providing online learning experiences that not only train the workforce, but transform it. Their courses provide a variety of engaging topics designed specifically for the early childhood professional.

Child Care Lounge

Available via: Child Care Lounge

Languages: English

Description:
Child Care Lounge offers child care training when you need it, without leaving the comfort of your own home. They have a variety of quality and low-cost, affordable online child care training classes for your convenience.

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Available via: continued

Languages: English
Price: $99 for a year’s subscription for individuals (apply for a scholarship today!)

Description:
continued provides a convenient and affordable online solution with practical, research-based courses. Increase your knowledge, build your skills, and earn clock hours for training or for CDA renewal. Explore topic areas, including: challenging behavior, special needs, family engagement, and many more! Courses are conveniently available in multiple formats to fit your preference and your busy schedule. Course completion certificates are provided.

CypherWorx

Available via: CypherWorx

Languages: English
Price: 50+ Courses Free, $15 per course, or $150 for all courses

Description:
CypherWorx Child Care catalog gives your team access to interactive, state-approved professional development training from the world’s leading subject matter experts. The full catalog includes hundreds of courses relevant to school-age child care including a 36 course Out of School Time series with in-depth curriculum content, interactivity, and certificates. Options include:

Out of School Time Certificate Series (36 Courses, 72 Hours)
After School Catalog (30+ Courses, 45 Hours)
Child Care (30+ Courses, 40 Hours)
OSHA, Compliance, and Safety
And more...

Providing professionals with high quality training at a low cost, to be taken on your schedule. Contact Cypherworx today to discuss how your training needs can be met!

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): Independent Study Trainings

Available via: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Languages: English
Price: Free

Description:
The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) offers self-paced courses designed for people who have emergency management responsibilities and the general public. All are offered free-of-charge to those who qualify for enrollment.
Independent Study Exams now require a FEMA Student Identification (SID) Number. If you do not yet have an SID, register for one today: cdp.dhs.gov/femasid.

ISI FCS 435: Feeding Young Children in Group Settings

Available via: Univeristy of Idaho - Independent Study in Idaho

Description:
Independent Study in Idaho offers an on-line course taught by Laurel J. Branen, PhD, RD, LD, and Janice Fletcher, EdD from the University of Idaho. This course is specifically for those who want to learn more about feeding young children in group settings. Content in the course applies to young children who are birth through age 5. Group settings include Head Start and Early Head Start programs, preschools, and child care programs. This is an appropriate course for those who work directly with young children and those who consult with early childhood programs. The course is not intended for parents. The course, however, includes information and skill development for those who work with parents.

Course FAQ:
How is the course delivered?
This course is delivered on-line. Dr. Branen and Dr. Fletcher will be available to personally communicate with you regarding your learning needs, your project ideas, and your questions.
Will I earn college credit?
When you complete the course, you will earn one academic college credit from the University of Idaho.
Can I apply for a scholarship from IdahoSTARS to take this course?
Yes, this course is approved for training reimbursement scholarships for those enrolled in the IdahoSTARS Registry. You’ll need to pay for the training when you register and then submit a Training Reimbursement Scholarship form after completing the course.
Can I earn Continuing Professional Education credit?
You may earn 15 CPEs if you are a registered dietitian.
How much does the course cost?
The total cost of the course is $190. Readings for the course are embedded in the on-line course materials. You will not be required to purchase a textbook.

Lee Pesky Learning Center

Available via: Lee Pesky Learning Center

Languages: English, Spanish
Price: $65

Description:
Lee Pesky Learning Center helps early educators, parents and care givers create meaningful learning experiences by providing innovative tools and materials to support early literacy and math development. In addition, LPLC provides high quality training for early educators. Lee Pesky Learning Center is pleased to present "Every Child Ready for Math", "ET 2: Every Child Ready to Learn, Part 1", and "ET 4: Every Child Ready to Learn, Part 2." To sign up for the course: fill out the registration form, a link and directions will be emailed to you once you have been registered for the training.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

Available via: NAEYC Online Learning Center

Languages: English

Description:
NAEYC promotes high-quality learning by connecting practice, policy, and research. Their online learning programs allow you to deepen your skills and knowledge anytime, anywhere!

Project Learning Tree

Available via: Project Learning Tree

Languages: English
Price: $30

Description:
Project Learning Tree's award-winning early childhood materials help you safely take your young learners outdoors and bring nature into the classroom, whether you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community. Developed with preschool educators and early childhood specialists, PLT’s Environmental Experiences for Early Childhood guide is specifically designed for educators who work with children ages 3 to 6. The activities help teach reading, writing, science, math, and motor skills to young learners. They are correlated to NAEYC Standards and Head Start Child Outcomes Framework.

ProSolutions Training

Available via: Pro Solutions Training

Languages: English, Spanish
Price: $10 - $30; Individual Annual Subscriptions $99

Description:
ProSolutions Training stands out for its depth of experience and range of expertise, combined with a high level of integrity and proven customer satisfaction. Their coursework is skills-based and encourages you to reflect on your own individual teaching or professional style and transfer new knowledge to your daily work. ProSolutions continually develops new courses and updates existing content based on the latest research to keep courses current and relevant. ProSolutions Training offers more than 100 individual courses in early childhood education and human services.

The Pyramid Model Consortium

Available via: The Pyramid Model Consortium

Languages: English
Price: $29 - $49

Description:
Children need positive relationships, and for over 15 years, The Pyramid Model has worked to support social and emotional development in early childhood classrooms. Through evidence-based research, innovative techniques, and global reach, they empower children, birth to 5 years, to succeed in school and life. The Pyramid Model Consortium provide local, national, and global early childhood programs with comprehensive training, proven methods, and free resources. Their professional development program gives staff the knowledge and resources to provide individualized, focused, and consistent results in the classroom.
Topic areas include: infant & toddler, preschool, wellness, trauma-informed care, and more!

SafeGard Classes Online

Available via: SafeGard Classes Online

Languages: English, Spanish
Price: Majority $10 per hour

Description:
SafeGard offers hundreds of high-quality training classes for the working professional on a wide range of popular topics, all accessible on any device. Since all their classes are online, you can take them at your convenience, and you can review materials from any class as many times as you would like!
Topic areas include: school age, curriculum & lesson planning, infant, toddler, inclusion: cultural diversity & special needs, fitness & movement, and many more!

Smart Horizons

Available via: Smart Horizons

Languages: English, Spanish

Description:
Smart Horizons offers unparalleled options when it comes to delivering child care training. No longer will you need to wait for a minimum number of students to enroll before beginning training. With Smart Horizons, your training is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When it comes to delivering early childhood professional development, through partnerships with several leading child care organizations, they've developed one of the best and most comprehensive early childhood education programs available today.

Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns

Available via: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Languages: English, Spanish
Price: Free

Description:
As an early care and education provider, you play a critical role in the health and well being of children. You are also very well positioned to help identify children who might need extra help in their development. This FREE, online training course, Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns, helps you fulfill this role by providing tools and best practices for monitoring the development of children in your care and talking about it with their parents.
Please Note:
Developmental Milestones is the program that provides the developmental monitoring component of Child Find for Idaho’s infants and toddlers. Developmental Milestones supports parents and caregivers in meeting the developmental, social-emotional, health and educational needs of their infant or toddler.

Specializations

The IdahoSTARS Infant Toddler Specialization is a professional development package designed to support providers with mastery of best-practices in infant and toddler care.

Cover sheet of IdahoSTARS Specialization Application Form.

Specialization Details
Infant Toddler Specialization

Prerequisites

The IdahoSTARS Infant Toddler Specialization is developed for child care providers who meet the following prerequisite.

Completed IdahoSTARS Essential Training Series 1 and 2 (ET 1 and ET 2)

Commitment

In the first 18-24 months, you will become specialized in the content and practice. In the following years, you will focus on maintaining best-practices with continued support and evaluation/assessment from IdahoSTARS.

Infant Toddler Specialization

The Infant Toddler Specialization package includes: