Professional Development

Kohl Children’s Museum’s professional development program is designed for teachers, caregivers, parents, and other adults who interact with children ages birth through 8. These are offered both at your site or at the Museum.

Each workshop topic is aligned with Common Core State Standards, Illinois Early Learning & Development Standards and NAEYC Early Learning Standards. All involve hands-on exploration and small and whole group discussion. Kohl Children’s Museum training are approved by Gateways to Opportunity.

Continuing education credit is available.

Workshop Topics

  • Algebraic Thinking with Sets and Patterns: Develop a foundational understanding of what it means to join, separate, compare and equalize sets to ensure that young children acquire a basic understanding of sets, a key early math concept.
  • Art and Nature with Young Children: Art and nature go hand in hand. This workshop will provide a variety of hands-on art activities that incorporate science, literacy and art for young children inspired by nature.
  • Curious Questions, Expanding Children’s Learning: Learn to facilitate open-ended questions that encourages critical thinking and deepens young children’s thoughts.
  • Empowering Creativity through Loose Parts: Explore how loose part materials can be moved and combined in different ways to create a more stimulating and intrinsically motivating artistic learning experience.
  • Encouraging Young Artists through Process Art: Discover how Process Art engages children in exploring concepts such as color, shape, line, value, size and composition.
  • Geometric Foundations of Block Play: Uncover the foundations of early mathematic concepts through exploring attributes, 2D and 3D shapes, and spatial relationships during hands-on activities with blocks.
  • Growing Up Wild: Provides an early foundation for children developing positive impressions about the natural world and lifelong social and academic skills. This is the national program created by the Council for Environmental Education (CEE).
  • Introduction to the Project Approach: This is an introduction and overview of the Project Approach. Learn about the structure of the Project Approach, choosing the best topic, involving parents in site visits and use of experts during project work.
  • Mathematizing with Measurement: Discover how children come to understand the measurement principles through hands-on activities exploring the use of measurement as a tool for mathematical thinking.
  • Tools We Use: Discover ways to create a strong framework for science learning by using everyday items as tools for scientific and mathematic exploration.
  • The Value of Play in Children’s Learning: Learn how to create an environment that encourages discovery and exploration for young children.
  • Why Document Children’s Work? Learn how to document children’s work that represents their development, informs teaching, and enables others to see where learning is occurring in the classroom.

Additional training topics can be customized to meet your program’s needs.

Reservations

    Contact the Kohl Children’s Museum Education Department at (847) 832‑6873 for fees and further information regarding Professional Development Training Topics or to customize one of your own.

2019 Field Trips & Educator Training

Grant Opportunities

Reservations

Contact the Kohl Children’s Museum Education Department at (847) 832‑6873 for fees and further information regarding Professional Development Training Topics or to customize one of your own.

Email Reservations