Would you like a trainer who has presented internationally?
Diane T. Goyette, M.A.
Founder & Owner
Child Development Specialist,
Trainer, Consultant & Speaker
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Diane has presented sessions at many national and international conferences, including:
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Our Training Topics
Social-emotional development is our specialty!
Children's social-emotional development is vitally important. We are passionate about helping teachers support this domain, especially for children with challenging behaviors. Our conference sessions will help you guide all your children's behavior like a pro!
Other ECS Training Topics
We are experts in these areas, too!
Children with Special Needs |
Infant & Toddler Development |
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ADHD, Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder
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Language & Literacy, Math, Sensory-Motor Delays
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Curriculum Areas |
Learning Environments & Planning |
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Art, Music & Movement, Science
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Learning Centers, Lesson Planning, Schedules, Transitions
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Developmentally Appropriate Practice |
Working with Parents |
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DAP, Assessment
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Partnering, Communication
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DiversityA Framework for Understanding Differences
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Stress ManagementBelly Breathing, Play
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Health & Safety
Child Abuse, Physical Health, Supervision
Descriptions of Conference Sessions
Scroll down for a list of conference breakout sessions for teachers.
A list of sessions for administrators follows.
Our teacher training and keynotes can be adapted for conference breakout sessions as well.
If you don't see the topic you're looking for, just ask!
A list of sessions for administrators follows.
Our teacher training and keynotes can be adapted for conference breakout sessions as well.
If you don't see the topic you're looking for, just ask!
Conference Sessions for Teachers
Social-Emotional Development is Our Specialty!
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Preschoolers say they know not to behave badly, but sometimes they do. Using social skills also requires knowing what to do instead and doing it at the appropriate time. This takes our guidance and lots of time. In this session, you will identify age-appropriate social skills and learn many strategies to enhance them. Be ready to provide many opportunities for children to practice, and they will get better! |
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After the moment of a meltdown, what can you do to lessen the likelihood of the next one? Build children's capacity to cope with the next stressful event. Learn about the self-regulation process and the skills involved. Practice guidance and interaction strategies that support emotional regulation, and participate in games that help children develop emotional regulation skills. Use these tools in your classroom, and tantrums may soon become a thing of the past! |
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Some children experience sensory overload which contributes to meltdowns and other challenging behaviors. Explore many practical strategies for helping children soothe each of their 8 – yes, 8! - senses. Meet “eepworms” and discover how this fidget toy can become a soothing tool, and get ideas for supporting children as they learn to cope with their most stressful emotions. You may also come away with strategies that ease your stress as well! |
Adult-Child Relationships
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Warm, caring relationships between adults and children are the foundation for children’s healthy development, behavior and health. Learn how to evaluate your relationships. Practice strategies to strengthen your relationships with every child in their care, and you will be benefiting not only the children but yourself as well! |
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Building strong relationships between adults and children is the most important part of infant and toddler caregivers’ jobs. Come away with at least 25 ideas for songs and games to help you connect with your young children. |
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Warm, caring relationships between adults and children are the foundation for children’s development, and connecting activities help to create and maintain these relationships. Play at least 25 games that help you connect with preschool-age children. |
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Learn how to turn your everyday interactions with children into “powerful interactions” that strengthen relationships and extend their learning. Identify the 3 steps of a powerful interaction and explore many strategies for each step. Leave ready to provide your children with many opportunities to connect with you and to learn! |
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Connecting with children helps them develop self-regulation skills, and research demonstrates that playing certain games does, too. Play many of these games and hear about the research behind their effectiveness. Come away with a fun way to help children build these important life skills. |
Challenging Behavior
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Sometimes a child tends to react in extreme ways to certain situations. These very challenging behaviors can feel like explosions because they happen so quickly and are so powerful. The child’s behavior is telling adults that he or she does not have the skills to handle the situation appropriately. You can work with this child to solve the underlying problem and help him or her to learn new skills. Learn strategies to help the child cope with the stressful situations and leave ready to apply them to make your classroom a calmer place.
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Challenging behaviors often happen because they work for children. A behavior support plan (BSP) is an effective tool for stopping these behaviors. Learn how to determine the function of the behavior and how to prevent the behavior. Explore teaching replacement skills and responding in new ways to the challenging behavior. You will leave ready to use a BSP for children with challenging behaviors in your classroom. |
Positive Guidance
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Learn the 15 “Guides to Speech and Action” that have been used successfully for decades and are still relevant today. Come away with proven strategies that promote positive child behaviors and reduce challenging ones. |
The Importance of Play
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Play is the optimal means for supporting children’s learning and development, and it is good for adults, too! Learn about the benefits of playfulness for adults and identify the different adult play personalities. When you can foster playfulness in yourself and other adults at work, you will all have much more fun every day – and so will the children! |
Children with Special Needs
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Learn about the major difficulties affecting children with ADHD. Discover ways to help these children better cope with these challenging areas and build their executive functioning skills. The new knowledge and intervention strategies learned will help to improve your attitudes, accommodation practices, and behavior management skills. You will leave ready to better support all the children in your classroom! |
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Learn about the main deficits in social functioning that affect children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Explore ways to accommodate these children in your classroom using tools such as visual supports and systematic instruction. Gain new understanding and practice proven strategies that support these children in the classroom. Hear about valuable resources and leave ready to better support children with autism and their families. |
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Some children experience problems in taking in information from their senses, which can cause the children much stress and discomfort. Learn about these sensory problems and how to accommodate these children. Explore many simple strategies for helping children cope with different issues related to sensory processing. Leave with a new understanding of how sensory processing affects not only children experiencing problems but other children and adults, too.
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Other Topics for Teachers
Developmentally Appropriate Practice
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The most valuable art experiences for young children are those that allow them to explore art media and to express themselves, without the teacher having a finished product in mind. Learn about the importance of open-ended art and learn strategies for guiding children’s art and talking with them about their art. Gather many ideas for an inviting environment for art expression, and leave ready to enjoy watching your children’s artistry blossom and bloom! |
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Play is the best way for children to learn and develop, including in language and literacy. Learn over 15 games and playful experiences that help children develop language and learn literacy skills, and have fun doing it! |
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Children love music! But what types of music experiences should caregivers provide for them every day? Learn the 5 essential music experiences and practice at least 5 activities for each. You will be ready to bring more varied music activities into your classroom. |
Developmentally Appropriate Practice
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DAP means meeting children where they are and helping them reach challenging and achievable goals. Identify the 5 aspects of good teaching and explore examples of developmentally appropriate practices and activities for each. Leave ready to provide what your children need most to grow and learn! |
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Authentic assessment helps teachers get to know their children’s abilities and needs. The process may seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. All it involves is gathering evidence about children from different sources in different times and places, then organizing and interpreting the information. Learn how to assess children and how to use the information effectively. |
Health & Safety
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Music and movement activities are an enjoyable way for children to improve their physical health and development. They benefit children’s learning and behavior, too! Try out at least 20 activities that you can bring back to the classroom. You will be ready to get yourself and the children moving! |
Learning Environments & Planning
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Discover ways to jazz up your centers to make them “sing” with more appealing and appropriate activities. Through pictures and discussions, explore selecting and arranging enticing materials, providing interest areas in all domains every day, and effectively managing the centers. With this new knowledge you can help their classrooms come alive with beautiful harmonies of hands-on learning! |
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Planning is a necessary part of teaching, and it doesn’t have to be a chore! Learn the role of planning, the parts of a lesson plan, and tips for planning effectively. Come away with a lesson plan that will help you feel more confident in your next small or large group activity. |
Working with Parents
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Examine the perspectives of both providers and parents of children with special needs. Identify common concerns that parents of children with special needs share and learn strategies for delivering difficult messages and for responding to unpleasant messages. You will leave ready to communicate more effectively and to strengthen your relationships with all parents. |
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Learn about possible pathways to children’s challenging behaviors through personal stories and evidence from experts. You will be challenged to welcome these children into your program and to commit to helping the children improve their behavior within the program, instead of removing them. With your support, your teachers can learn skills to build relationships and to prevent or handle the behaviors. The children and their families, your teachers and your program will all benefit. |
Conference Sessions for Administrators
A few of our sessions for administrators are listed below.
We offer many more! Contact us to hear about them!
We offer many more! Contact us to hear about them!
Our trainings for administrators and keynotes can be adapted for conference breakout sessions as well.
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Most of the brain’s development happens within the first 5 years of life, and the most important influence on this development is the responsive relationship of a caring adult. When you build opportunities for building and maintaining adult-child relationships into your program, you are providing the best brain-building tool there is. Come away with strategies to make relationships your top priority. |
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Play is the optimal means for supporting adults’ work, just as it is for supporting children’s development. This session addresses how adults and their workplace each benefit when adults play and are playful. Learn about the different play personalities and participate in fun, team-building activities for each one. Learn how to foster playfulness in your staff and yourself and have fun, too! |
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Assessment may seem intimidating to your teachers, but it doesn’t have to be. All it involves is gathering evidence about children’s development, then organizing and interpreting the information so it can be used. You’ll learn the process, identify types of assessment, and leave with strategies to support your teachers' assessment efforts. |
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When you prioritize a strong web of relationships among children, staff and families, you are providing a foundation for the very best high-quality care and education. Learn how each of these relationships benefits everyone in your program, and come away with practical strategies to make them your top priority! |
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Hear the viewpoints of a parent and her adult daughter who struggles with brain disorders and exhibited challenging behaviors as a child. Discuss common concerns of families like theirs, identify roadblocks to successful partnerships with these families and explore solutions. Leave with recommendations for strengthening your relationships with all families. |
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Participants will learn a useful framework for understanding cultural differences, and explore how different perspectives fit into this framework. They will practice techniques for resolving cultural conflicts, and leave with suggestions for approaching diversity issues in their programs. |
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We know that play is the optimal mode for learning and supporting children’s development. Do our curriculum design, daily schedules, and program environment reflect that importance? Let’s work together to examine these components to ensure that they prioritize the provision of lots of sustained, open-ended, free-choice, child-initiated play. |
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Some children experience sensory overload which contributes to meltdowns and other challenging behaviors. Explore many materials you can make or purchase to help children soothe all of their senses, including “eepworms”. You will get ideas for helping your teachers soothe children's most stressful emotions and you may also come away with strategies that ease adults' as well! |
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I’ve created a specialty science class for preschoolers and you can, too! Hear ideas for enhancing your existing science curriculum to strengthen your STEM offerings. Explore ways to teach and implement the scientific process and watch demonstrations of air, light and color activity ideas. Leave ready to nurture your young scientists! |
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Dealing with behaviorally challenging children often feels like too much effort in your already demanding workday. In this session, you’ll gain a set of emotional support strategies that will alleviate stress in many ways: Your teachers will more confidently handle and prevent challenging behaviors; you’ll communicate more effectively with your staff, families and others; all your children’s behavior will improve. Everyone will benefit! |