What is the Maine Roads Core Knowledge Training Program?

The Maine Roads Core Knowledge Training Program offers a wide range of approved training in the following core knowledge areas: healthy, safe environments, observation and assessment, child development, developmentally appropriate practice, guidance, relationships with families, individual and cultural diversity, and business and professional development. The approved Core Knowledge Training assures a consistent body of knowledge in early care and education for new and experienced practitioners. The Core Knowledge Training can be used to meet CDA training requirements. It is also possible to receive college credit from completing the 180-hour sequence.

The Maine Roads Core Knowledge Training program provides training which meets training requirements for state licensing, the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, Continuing Education Units (CEUs), National Accreditation Associations and ongoing professional development.

Completion of the 180 Hour Program!

Sample Course Tracks: Center-based, Family Child Care, School-age.

Training in your area- contact your local Resource Development Center.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

College Credit for the Core Knowledge Training Program and a list of Higher Education Institutions.

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Training Descriptions

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Starting Your Core Knowledge Portfolio (3 Hours) This training introduces the Core Knowledge Training Program, its uses in professional development and how the portfolio can transform training into college credit. Basic information includes procedures for documenting learning, orientation to the Maine Roads Professional Registry, and tracking hours of training.

Getting Started in Family Child Care (6 Hours) This training introduces the aspects of opening a family child care business in the home. It covers state certification procedures, health and safety practices, working with families, child development, community and professional resources, and business and professional development. (Required by DHHS for obtaining a family child care license.)

Foundations of Center-based Care (6 Hours) This training serves as a basic overview of working in center-based early childhood programs. Topics focus on the role and requirements of the early childhood educator, the needs of young children, the components of quality early childhood programming, and options for pursuing additional training in the field.

Introduction to Early Childhood Education (9 Hours) This training covers the historical perspective of Early Childhood Education (ECE) in the U.S., major types of early childhood education programs, a survey of major theorists who have contributed to the field, and an overview of common terminology. This training is also available in a web-based version.

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Caring for Infants, Toddlers and their Families (30 Hours) This training covers the unique aspects of providing child care for infants and toddlers in a home or center-based setting. Focus will be given to establishing a partnership between parent and provider, understanding the concepts of attachment and primary caregiving, as well as planning and implementing developmentally appropriate curriculum within the context of child temperament, learning style, and family culture. Creating environments for infants and toddlers, as well as developing health and safety policies and practices will also be explored. Participants will utilize the publication, Supporting Maine’s Infants & Toddlers: Guidelines for Learning & Development,’ as well as other resources in support of best practice in working with infants, toddlers and their families, throughout the course.

Curriculum and Development for Preschool Aged Children (30 Hours) This curriculum is designed to introduce participants to planning, developing and implementing curriculum to meet the unique needs of preschoolers. Even though they are all individuals, preschoolers follow a predictable pattern of development. In the first 15 hours of this course participants will study, together, these commonalities and then complete the course by choosing one of the following groups where application to a specific setting will be explored.

Group I: Curriculum and Development for Preschool Aged Children (Center-based) This group will complete the remaining 15 hours of core knowledge training by focusing on issues specific to working with preschoolers in center-based groups. Attention will be paid to building cooperative teaching teams, designing appropriate, safe, healthy learning environments, scheduling, building partnerships with parents, and managing larger groups constructively.

Group II: Curriculum and Development for Preschool Aged Children (Family Child Care) This group will complete the remaining 15 hours of this core knowledge training by focusing on working with the preschooler in a mixed age (family) grouping. Attention will be paid to planning environments that can double as a home while providing for safe, healthy and stimulating care, building long term relationships with parents, being a humane and responsive business, as well as other issues particular to being a family child care provider.

Working with School-Age Children and Youth (30 Hours) This training covers the aspects of providing child care for 5-13 year old children in a center-based or a family child care setting. It adheres to the standards and practices outlined for early care and education in the eight core knowledge areas. This training is also available in a web-based version.

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Inclusive Child Care (30 Hours) This training covers topics to fully include and support all children and families in center-based or home settings. It uses an interdisciplinary approach to support staff, families and children and emphasizes the beliefs, attitudes, and values of inclusion.

Partners in Caring - Families and Caregivers (12 Hours) Children experience the best quality of care when parent(s) and family and caregivers are partners with the same goals for the child. This training covers information about families today, roles and boundary setting, verbal/written communication to reduce potential areas of conflict between families and caregivers. This training is also available in a web-based version.

Caring for the Abuse Affected Child and Family (18 Hours) This training focuses on raising awareness of issues that affect children in families. It is an interdisciplinary approach that focuses on the areas of child abuse, substance abuse, and domestic violence.

Fostering the Social-Emotional Development and Competence of Young Children (30 Hours) This training focuses on helping all children, not only the children who fit in well, but those with “difficult” behaviors, develop social skills, self confidence and build their social-emotional intelligence. Participants will take an in-depth look at why children act out and how they can work preventively to diminish social difficulties. The content covers building relationships, assessing the environment and curriculum, designing strategies to support children to maintain peer relationships, develop skills to improve self regulation and conflict resolution, and identifying community resources when involving other specialists is needed.

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Weaving Diversity into Our Work with Children and Families (6 Hours) Participants will explore personal memories, be introduced to concepts of the cultural lens and anti-bias approach, and practice responses using work-based scenarios.

Building Peaceable Nonviolent Early Childhood Settings (6 Hours) This training covers a broad range of topics, including the impact of nonviolent media and toys on children and their play; the influence of a peaceable classroom in counteracting harmful lessons about violence; and how to teach developmentally appropriate conflict resolution skills to children.

Operating a Family Child Care Business (30 Hours) This eight part curriculum is designed to develop and improve basic business management skills. Learning activities and take home action steps encourage participants to practice what they learn to improve the bottom line. Some of the topics are: Balancing Work and Family, Tips on Writing Contracts and Policies, Creative Marketing Ideas, Recordkeeping, Increasing Business Profits, and Growing the Business.

Foundations in Health, Wellness and Safety (18 Hours) Participants will be introduced to the importance of health, wellness and safety through personal care routines, nutrition education, environmental hazards that could impact the health of children and families and finally will create a framework to meet the health care needs of children with chronic conditions. The training adheres to best quality practices as established by the National Standards set forth by NAEYC, NAFCC, and NAA. This training is also available in a web-based version.

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Maine ’s Early Childhood Learning Guidelines (24 Hours) Maine ’s Early Childhood Learning Guidelines have been approved by Maine ’s Department of Education and Department of Health & Human Services. They are written for all children ages 3-5 and are a precursor to Maine’s K-12 Learning Results. Eight 3-hour sessions will include: orientation to the Early Childhood Learning Guidelines, integrating the guidelines into your current curriculum, adapting the guidelines to children with special needs, observation and assessment of young children using the guidelines and sharing them with families. This training is open to family child care, center-based, nursery school, Head Start and public pre-k programs.

Supporting Maine’s Infants & Toddlers: Guidelines for Learning & Development (30 hours) This training module was written and designed to guide providers through the history, creation, and use of this publication, which outlines learning and development from birth to three. The modules focus on orienting providers to the document and on developing understanding regarding its use in a provider’s work with infants and toddlers and their families. The training maintains a strong emphasis on the link between authentic assessment and curriculum planning throughout the eight modules. During this training, participants use various tools and strategies to engage in observation, to collect evidence of children’s development, and to plan curriculum within the context of Maine’s guidelines for infants and toddlers. Participants complete a portfolio/case study of one infant/toddler that utilizes concepts and strategies introduced in the training.

Completing Your Maine Roads Core Knowledge Portfolio (3 Hours) This training covers the higher education guidelines practitioners must meet to submit their portfolio for assessment for college credit. Practitioners will be able to pull together all of the Maine Roads curricula into a document that demonstrates ongoing professional development. This training is required for participants who wish to receive the Maine Roads Core Knowledge Training Program certificate of completion.

Electives (18 Hours) Practitioners can include an additional 18 hours of early care and education training taken at conferences, or events in Maine or elsewhere.

For more information, contact: your local Resource Development Center (RDC). All Core Knowledge Training is delivered by the RDCs.

Maine Roads Core Knowledge Training was developed in partnership with the Maine Resource Development Centers, Early Childhood Higher Education Committee, and the Training Coordination Team. It is funded by the Office of Child & Family Services, Dvision of Early Childhood, Maine Department of Health & Human Services.

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