Beyond Developmental Milestones: What to do and why

This won’t be a lecture on the developmental milestones - it’s going to help you build a roadmap for supporting children in all stages of development. This series will help you get through each day while making sure you are meeting children where they are and creating inclusive environments.

Target Audiences: Classroom teachers, clinicians, home visitors

Attendance Incentive: To earn these Attendance Incentives, participants MUST complete both the pre-training survey and the post- training survey.

• Earn In-Classroom Support Hours: When at least one staff member from your program attends a minimum 3 out of 5 programs in this series, you will receive 10 hours of on-site inclusive consultation from Possibilities Northeast. The PNE staff will work with the teachers to help them take the skills they learned in these sessions and more deeply integrate them in the classroom.
• Earn Classroom Materials: For each session attended, participants will earn $$$ to purchase classroom materials from either Lakeshore or PlayTherapySupply.com. At the end of the series, participants will be notified of the funds available to them, and will work through NEIECC to order items they need for their classroom.

Session 1: The Interrelated World of Developmental Domains: Beyond Milestones

Wednesday, September 30, 2026 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Windswell Foundation, 5323 W Jefferson Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46804

Register Here

It is very important for anyone who cares for or works with young children to understand child development. But, why? With all the charts and apps available, do we really need to know child development. Yes, we do! This workshop will take you beyond milestones and into the interrelated world of developmental domains. We’ll begin by wondering, just how many domains of development there are. We’ll examine contextual variables such as culture, socioeconomic and ability. You’ll be introduced to a new way to think about a child’s development. And most importantly, we’ll lay the foundation for the remaining four sessions in this series focused on early childhood practice. Together we’ll discover what to do with young children and why.

OBJECTIVES: By participating in this workshop, professionals will be able to:

1. Identify and describe the different domains of child development.
2. Explain the interrelatedness of developmental domains
3. Apply a three-level clinical reasoning model
4. Question and explain current practices
5. Create a new practice or activity to utilize in their classroom and explain why

Session 2: Relationships with Persons: Social Emotional Development

Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., Windswell Foundation, 5323 W Jefferson Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46804

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A baby is born ready to participate in relationships. In this workshop we’ll examine the social and emotional development of young children specifically as it emerges and unfolds in the context of relationships with caregivers. Consistent with the focus of this series “beyond milestones” we’ll examine the interaction of biological, psychological and social variables on a young child’s social and emotional development. Together we’ll critically examine issues of self-regulation. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on the ways in which they relate to the children in their care. Practical strategies that foster optimal social and emotional development will be emphasized as well as the identification of variables that indicate when development is off course and what to do when this happens and why.

OBJECTIVES: By participating in this workshop, professionals will be able to:

1. Describe the typical developmental trajectory of a young child’s social and emotional development
2. Explain the interaction of biological, psychological and social variables as impacting a young child’s social and emotional development
3. Practice co-regulation techniques
4. Reflect and discuss current beliefs and practices related to the social and emotional development of the children in their care
5. Give examples of social and emotional developmental differences that may indicate a concern

Session 3: Learn to Move/Move to Learn: Gross and Fine Motor Development

Wednesday, November 18, 2026, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., Windswell Foundation, 5323 W Jefferson Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46804

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Movement matters! From counting the number of “kicks” during pregnancy to a child’s first wobbly steps, every movement a child makes sets the stage for more complex motor skills. Thanks to the advancements in neuroscience imaging, we now know that movement impacts other domains of development. In this workshop we will focus on development of gross as well as fine motor skills. Participants will actively engage in playful experiences that will encourage reflection and discussion of current beliefs and practices including in-hand manipulation skills. Environmental modifications that support the development of all children will be introduced.

OBJECTIVES: By participating in this workshop, professionals will be able to:

1. Define and describe gross and fine motor development during the early childhood years.
2. Demonstrate stages of gross and fine motor development
3. Examine and discuss current environmental design as it relates to fostering optimal motor skill development and expression
4. Breakdown in hand manipulation skill development
5. Modify early childhood environments to support children for whom movement is challenging

Session 4: Communication and Language Development

Wednesday, December 9, 2026, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., Windswell Foundation, 5323 W Jefferson Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46804

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Before a child can speak, they communicate. How do they do that? And, once a child is able to use verbal language, it’s important to realize that non-verbal behaviors remain an important form of communication. In this workshop we will begin with a focus on behavior as communication. We will examine receptive and expressive language development. The connection between language as symbolic representation, play and thinking skills will be introduced. Participants will also discuss contextual variables that influence language development including culture, bilingualism, temperament, personality and stress response. Come and find out why asking a child to “Use your words.” may not be an effective strategy.

OBJECTIVES: By participating in this workshop, professionals will be able to:

1. Analyze behavior through a communicative perspective
2. Describe the differences between receptive and expressive language
3. Explain the relationship between language development and pretend play
4. Demonstrate strategies and techniques that foster communication and language development.
5. Reflect and discuss current beliefs and practices through the lens of contextual variables (ie culture, bilingualism, temperament, personality and stress response)

Session 5: Cognition: Relationships with Objects, Play, and the Development of Thinking Skills

Wednesday, January 20, 2026, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., Windswell Foundation, 5323 W Jefferson Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46804

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The ways in which a young child relates and plays with objects offers us a window into their understanding of the world around them. In this professional development session, we will focus on a young child’s thinking skills and the ways in which their play changes as they grow and develop. There is no better developmental domain to demonstrate the interrelatedness of all the domains than cognition. A young child’s thinking skills are often reliant on the qualitative variables of movement. And the symbolic representation that is language is often demonstrated through pretend play. As the final session in this series, we’ll be sure to make time for us to play and discuss what we do in our work and why.

OBJECTIVES: By participating in this workshop, professionals will be able to:

1. Define and describe cognitive development in the early childhood years
2. Breakdown the acquisition of object permanence as an indicator of cognitive growth
3. Reflect and discuss current beliefs and practices related to cognitive development
4. Prepare strategies and techniques that foster an understanding of a child’s thinking skills especially for those children with developmental differencesBeyn
5. Explain the interrelatedness of developmental domains as they foster or inhibit cognitive development