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Calmer days
Predictable routines, smooth transitions and clear expectations help children know what to do and reduce many of the hard moments.
Camderson Academy · CA-EC-002
Teach skills. Build trust. Make every day calmer.
A practical, self-paced course for the adults who care for young children. Build warm relationships, shape the day so children can succeed, teach feelings and problem solving, respond calmly, learn from behavior and work with families and your team.
About 5 hours · 12 lessons · Beginner · For every role in early learning · Self-paced · Tools you keep · 30-day money-back guarantee
Warm, clear guidance helps every child and every adult.
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Children who gain skills
Teaching feelings, calming and problem solving gives children tools that last well beyond the classroom.
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Adults who feel supported
A response ladder, a family conversation guide and a support team help teachers feel confident and not alone.
Learning outcomes
What you will be able to do
Practical outcomes, each practiced in an exercise and checked in the final assessment or the capstone.
- Describe guidance as teaching and explain how relationships and development shape behavior.
- Arrange schedules, routines, transitions and expectations that prevent many hard moments.
- Use engagement, real choices and specific encouragement.
- Teach feelings, calming and problem solving at calm moments.
- Respond in the moment with a calm, respectful ladder and read behavior as communication.
- Partner with families and teams and assemble a guidance plan for your room.
The Camderson method
Simple tools for guidance that works
Guidance Shift Sheet
Moment · Usual response · Skill to teach · Words
Turn repeating moments into teaching moves.
Connection Log
Children · Tally · Fewest · Plan
See who is getting your attention.
Expectation Check
Moment · Skill · Support · Smaller step
Match expectations to what a child can do now.
Transition Plan
Warning · Jobs · Move · Next
Make hard transitions smooth.
Expectations Card
Do · Looks like · Picture · Practice
Write a few positive expectations.
Encouragement Planner
Describe · Connect · Invite · Choices
Replace generic praise with specific words.
Calm Plan
Feelings · Calming moves · Practice · Space
Teach feelings and calming.
Problem-Solving Card
Stop · Say · Think · Pick · Try
Teach five steps for solving problems with friends.
Response Ladder
Safety · Connect · Name · Redirect · Repair
Respond calmly and consistently.
Behavior Notes
Before · Behavior · After · Guess
Look for a pattern.
Family Conversation Guide
Strength · Ask · Share · Goal · Follow up
Partner with families.
Guidance Plan
Habits · Supports · Responses · Help · Review
Bring it together on one page.
Connect. Prevent. Teach. Respond.
Curriculum
Inside the course
4 modules, 12 lessons with worked examples
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Foundations of Positive Guidance
See guidance as teaching, build relationships first and match expectations to what children can do.
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Preventing Challenging Moments
Shape the day with routines, transitions, clear expectations, engagement and specific encouragement.
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Teaching Skills and Responding
Teach feelings, calming and problem solving, and respond calmly in the moment.
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Understanding, Partnership and Support
Read behavior as communication, work with families and bring in help early.
What is included
Skills, tools and templates you keep and use in your work
- 12 lessons, each with a written lesson, worked examples and figures, at your own pace
- A running example from Larkmoor Early Learning Center, a fictional organization where people in every team put these skills to work
- A fillable Workbook with Try it and Reflect pages for every lesson
- Guidance Templates (Word) for every teaching tool
- A practice tracker with live formulas, a solutions version and a reusable template
- Quick Reference Cards and the Case Pack
- An optional visual companion PDF with every lesson figure
- Knowledge checks for every module and a 20-question final assessment
- A capstone you can build for your own team or a fictional case, reviewed by a person
- Access to the Camderson Academy community
- A Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion when you pass the final assessment and the capstone
Is this course right for you?
This course is for you if
- You care for or teach children from infancy to age five, in any kind of program
- You want warm, practical ways to guide behavior without punishment
- You want simple tools you can use tomorrow
It is not the right fit if
- You need clinical or diagnostic advice about a particular child
- You need legal advice about licensing or exclusion
- You are looking for a course on running a whole center
Your instructor
Meet your instructor
Taught by Camderson Advisory
Strategic advisor and organizational leader
Your instructor is a strategic advisor and organizational leader whose career spans healthcare, public service, human resources, operations, and learning and development. Years of building and facilitating workplace trainings for hundreds of employees and leaders have shown that new habits stick when they are simple, practical and welcome in every role. In this course, your instructor helps you guide young children warmly and clearly, with practical steps you can use tomorrow.
About
About Camderson Academy
Camderson Academy is the education division of Camderson Advisory Services. Camderson helps leaders build organizations that work without them in the room. Everything we teach has been used in a real organization first.
Training a team?
We offer group enrollment for teams and whole organizations that want everyone, in every role and department, to build the same skills. Email connect@camderson.com to talk through your group.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need any experience or a previous course?
No. There is no prerequisite and no degree is needed. If you spend time with young children, you are ready.
Who is this course for?
Preschool, infant and toddler teachers, assistants, family child care providers and directors. The example is a community early learning center, and the tools fit centers, homes, schools and community programs of every size.
How long do I have access?
Your access does not expire. We review the course on a regular cycle, and any updates are added for you at no extra cost.
How long does it take?
About 5 hours in total, including the written lessons, the Try it exercises, the knowledge checks, the final assessment and the capstone. Everything is self-paced.
Is there a money-back guarantee?
Yes. You are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If the course is not right for you, email connect@camderson.com within 30 days of purchase and we will refund you in full. No questions asked. Your course access ends when the refund is issued. (Guarantee wording identical to earlier courses.)
What tools do I need?
A spreadsheet program that opens .xlsx files (Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers or LibreOffice Calc), a word processor that opens .docx files and a PDF reader. All templates and practice files are included as downloads.
Do I have to use my own group for the capstone?
No. You can build your plan for the fictional Hollowell Family Child Care included in the course. If you use your own group, use roles or first-letter labels instead of children's names and leave out anything confidential.
Does the course recommend products or give professional advice?
No. It names no products or vendors, and it is general education, not licensing, legal or clinical advice. It teaches you the questions to ask and points you to real sources. Camderson Academy is not affiliated with any vendor.
Is the certificate accredited, or does it carry professional credit?
Neither. You receive a Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion after passing the final assessment and the capstone, which a person reviews. It is not an academic credential and does not carry continuing education or other professional credit.
Teach skills. Build trust. Make every day calmer.
Self-paced, about 5 hours, with a Workbook, templates, Quick Reference Cards and a practice tracker.
Backed by our 30-day money-back guarantee.
This course earns a Camderson Academy Certificate of Completion. It is not an academic credential and does not carry continuing education or other professional credit. This course is general education about positive guidance with young children. It is not licensing, legal, clinical or medical advice and does not guarantee any result for a child or a program. Licensing rules, program policies, training requirements and the steps for physical safety differ by place, so follow your program's policies and your licensing agency, and ask a qualified professional about any concern for a particular child. Examples and numbers are illustrative, and all children and adults in the case are fictional. Camderson Academy is not affiliated with any organization named in the sources and does not endorse any product.