for ece teachers
over a hundred vetted courses, articles, podcasts, videos, books, and toolkits. most grant a certificate for your hours.
courses that grant certificates usually ask for a quick sign-up so progress saves. each card lays out what it is, what it costs, and how to get in.
new to a course? read the plain-language better kid care guide.
Federally funded modules on child development, family engagement, and classroom practice.
On-demand lessons on behavior, curriculum, and inclusion. Accepted in most states for licensing hours. Read the plain-language guide at /pd/better-kid-care.
Online ECE training with certificates. Accepted in many states for licensing hours.
Deep, track-by-track coursework from Ohio State and the Department of Defense. Certificates by age band.
Live and recorded webinars for CDA candidates and credentialed educators.
Weekly hour-long webinars from national ECE experts. Certificate of attendance for each.
University-level courses on coaching, language modeling, and effective teaching.
IACET-accredited ECE courses. One free per month with paid options for more.
University courses on child development and play. Audit any course free without a certificate.
Free auditing on university courses about early learning and development.
Modules on inclusive practices for children with disabilities. Video, decision-making, and reflection built in.
Free, peer-reviewed modules from Vanderbilt on inclusion, behavior, autism, and assessment. Each finishes with a printable certificate.
IACET-accredited online ECE coursework. State-approved for clock hours in most states. New users get a free trial course.
IACET-accredited ECE courses widely accepted by state registries. Frequent free courses, deep paid catalog.
Online and book-based ECE coursework approved for licensing in all 50 states. Strong CDA prep.
State-approved courses for clock hours across most states. Live webinars and self-paced options.
Live and recorded webinars on active learning, conflict resolution, and curriculum from HighScope authors.
Free live webinars on assessment, family engagement, language and literacy, and curriculum from the makers of GOLD and Creative Curriculum.
Recorded webinars on social-emotional learning, transitions, and early literacy from Frog Street curriculum authors.
Recorded webinars on outdoor classrooms, STEAM, behavior, and curriculum from Kaplan trainers.
Self-paced courses on infant and toddler development, behavior, and family partnership. Some live trainings as well.
Florida's required and elective child care training, all with state-issued certificates.
New York's Early Childhood Education and Training Program. Free self-paced modules with certificates that count toward state regulation hours.
Center for Early Childhood Professional Development at the University of Oklahoma. Free self-paced courses, certificates accepted in many states.
Free CDC training for early educators on monitoring developmental milestones and partnering with families on concerns.
Free case-based virtual learning sessions led by experts from the University of New Mexico ECHO Institute.
NAEYC member discussion boards and recorded learning sessions. Many include certificates of attendance.
Graduate-level certificates in infant mental health, early math, and leadership from Erikson Institute.
Short certificate institutes from Bank Street faculty on progressive practice, play, and inclusion.
Live and on-demand webinars on social-emotional learning and behavior support, mostly K to 2 but applicable in pre-k.
Free recorded webinars on hands-on STEM, dramatic play, fine motor, and classroom setup.
Free monthly webinars from ECE experts on assessment, behavior, language, and equity. CE certificate for each session.
Public health training portal from the CDC. Hundreds of free courses on child health, development, and trauma, each with a CE certificate.
Subscription PD library with hundreds of IACET-accredited courses, live webinars, and CDA prep. Strong filters by state approval.
NAEYC's self-paced PD modules on DAP, anti-bias, assessment, and family engagement, with CEU certificates.
Official Child Development Associate credential prep. The standard entry-level ECE credential, accepted nationwide.
Head Start training on nutrition, oral health, mental wellness, and safety. Webinars and self-paced modules with certificates.
Free state-by-state health and safety standards, plus self-paced courses on emergency prep and infectious disease control. Certificates included.
Required in most states for licensed ECE programs. Blended online plus skills check, valid for two years.
Free state-specific mandated reporter training for ECE staff. Certificate issued at the end of the module.
Graduate-level online courses for educators, including early childhood literacy and STEM. Self-paced with graduate credit option.
Free live and on-demand webinars on inquiry-based science teaching for young children.
Free live online seminars on language facilitation, autism, and early literacy from Hanen speech-language pathologists.
Free Head Start training package on responsive teacher-child interactions. Videos, planning tools, and self-paced learning.
Free language and literacy courses for early educators from the Atlanta Speech School. Certificates auto-issued.
Short graduate-level certificates for working ECE teachers. Self-paced with academic credit.
Free self-paced modules on inclusion, behavior support, and sensory-friendly classrooms. Certificate after each.
Illinois's official self-paced training portal. Free courses approved for Gateways credentials and Excelerate Illinois.
Colorado's professional development information system. Free self-paced courses approved for state credentials.
Georgia DECAL's free and low-cost trainings for ECE staff. Approved for Quality Rated and pre-k program requirements.
Free movement and physical activity curriculum for early childhood, with PD modules and certificates of completion.
Free on-demand modules from Penn State Extension on every ECE topic. Optional paid certificate per module for clock hours.
Free recorded and live webinars on the Pyramid Model for social-emotional development and challenging behavior.
Free webinars from Becky Bailey and the Conscious Discipline team on self-regulation, brain states, and classroom routines.
Self-paced courses on morning meeting, classroom organization, and positive teacher language for early grades.
On-demand and live webinars from authors of widely used assessment and inclusion tools (ASQ, AEPS, SCERTS, TPITOS).
Free self-paced tutorials on early childhood mental health for teachers, with certificates after each module.
Free Head Start learning platform open to any ECE professional. Hundreds of courses on interactions, language, math, family engagement, and leadership.
Free webinars on social-emotional resilience for children and the adults who care for them. Based on the DECA assessment.
Free implementation guide and short courses on building SEL into early childhood classrooms from CASEL.
Free teacher tools and short PD videos for using Khan Academy Kids in early childhood classrooms. Certificate after the orientation course.
Free college-level courses on effective interactions, language modeling, and inclusive practice, developed with the Office of Head Start.
Evidence-based framework for social-emotional development. Practice guides included.
Webinars, printables, and language scripts for self-regulation and connection.
Behavior support practice guides, visual supports, and intervention plans, free to download.
Evidence-based practices for working with young children with or at risk for disabilities.
Hundreds of outdoor activities for young children. Filter by age, season, and skill.
A deep toolkit for teaching multilingual learners. Printable family handouts in many languages.
Plain-language guides on anxiety, attention, trauma, and classroom strategies from child clinicians.
Morning meeting plans, interactive modeling scripts, and language guides used widely in early elementary.
California's official PD registry. Tracks every training and verifies which providers count toward state permits.
Pennsylvania's official Keystone STARS registry. Catalog of state-approved trainings with auto-tracked hours.
Texas registry. Trainer-led and online courses, certificates auto-saved to the workforce record.
CDC framework and toolkits on safe, stable, nurturing relationships. Useful for trauma-informed teams.
Practical literacy strategies and printable activities for emergent readers, with strong support for dual language learners.
Free family math, classroom math, and PD resources from Stanford and partner universities.
Hundreds of short brain-building activities for everyday routines. Shareable cards for families.
Official state-by-state directory. The starting point for the licensing office that tracks pd hours where you teach.
Wisconsin's official PD registry. Free profile, free and low-cost approved trainings, hours auto-track.
Washington state's PD registry. Free trainings, plus tracking that counts toward state licensing and Early Achievers.
Plain-language guide to state Quality Rating and Improvement Systems and the PD they recognize.
Magazine for preschool teachers. Real classroom strategies, written by teachers.
Birth to three. Handouts on attachment, regulation, language, and play in the classroom.
Practical math ideas for young children. Articles, videos, and classroom routines.
Anti-bias lessons and family conversation starters adaptable for early childhood.
Pediatrician Terri McFadden on reading aloud as an everyday mental health tool for young children. Short, shareable with families.
Plain-language briefs on brain development, executive function, and serve-and-return.
What trauma looks like in young children and how teachers can respond.
Research briefs, practice resources, and toolkits from a leading ECE research center.
ECE leadership and classroom articles from the Exchange magazine archives.
Practical posts from authors of widely-used ECE assessments and curricula.
Outdoor classroom design, nature-based lesson ideas, and family connection tips.
Dismantles the false divide between play and learning, drawing on Erika Christakis to show how child-led play builds skills that structured lessons often cannot.
Grounded in neuroscience. Shows how responsive back-and-forth with babies literally shapes brain architecture in the earliest years.
Walks through how a child's temperament meets adult co-regulation, with a clear frame for why some children take longer to settle.
Peter Gray's long-form case that the collapse of free outdoor play over the past sixty years is tied to rising childhood anxiety and lost autonomy.
A review of Erika Christakis arguing that the preschool years are being squeezed by academic pressure, and that young children mostly need unhurried time to wonder.
Derman-Sparks and Olsen Edwards on anti-bias as a lens that runs through everything, not a unit. Includes daily-interaction guidance.
Every classroom choice, from morning greeting to transitions, signals either safety or threat to a child whose nervous system is on high alert.
Five relational principles for family engagement, with concrete language for building trust across cultural and linguistic differences.
A preschool social worker on sitting quietly beside a dysregulated child instead of rushing to fix or redirect.
A 2024 research summary tracing what is happening beneath the surface long before a baby says a first word.
Replacing scripted math launches with open notice-and-wonder prompts unlocked productive struggle and curiosity in kindergarteners who had shut down.
A former kindergarten teacher on why dramatic play corners are among the most academically and socially powerful spaces in the room, with setup guidance.
Alison Gopnik on stepping back from engineering specific outcomes and cultivating rich, varied environments that support unpredictable growth.
A 2024 classroom story on how inviting multilingual families to share transportation experiences deepened both language learning and family connection.
Practical, research-grounded moves any classroom teacher can use to interrupt bias in the moment.
Policy briefs and research summaries on what works in ECE programs, written for non-academic readers.
Decades of short, warm articles on block play, mixed-age classrooms, and protecting unhurried play.
Research briefs on workforce, equity, and program quality. Useful when a director asks for evidence.
Short, warm articles for teachers and families on brain building, routines, and play.
Practitioner articles and short videos on play, executive function, and family partnership.
Short classroom videos and articles from real teachers. Watch a strategy in action.
Short videos and activity guides on big feelings, kindness, and routines.
Short videos on brain development, serve and return, and toxic stress, with classroom takeaways.
Interviews with ECE leaders. Bite-sized episodes.
Research and reality, side by side. Practical and warm.
Long-form interviews on classroom craft. Many early childhood and primary episodes mixed in.
Short episodes for infant and toddler educators on temperament, separation, sleep, and play.
Australian early childhood educator Jode on planning, intentional teaching, and avoiding burnout.
Sample chapters and excerpts from NAEYC books, organized by topic.
Research reports on play, screen time, and developmentally appropriate practice.
