10 Ideas for Professional Renewal in the New Year

51ɬɬapp is committed to a future in which the early childhood profession exemplifies excellence and is recognized as vital and performing a critical role in society.Here are 10 ideas and inspirations from our blog, journals, and website to foster your professional renewal in the new year:
1.Your work is powerful!Listen as 51ɬɬapp members speak from the heart about the power of the profession in children’s lives in thisrecorded at 51ɬɬapp’s most recent Annual Conference.
2.Research confirms the value of playful learning.Read about guided play and its role in children’s learning in theintroductionto.
3.See playful learning in action in thisvideo and blog post.Learn how teachers in Louisianacreated rich experiences about food by visiting a local food truck in celebration of Taco Tuesday during last year’s Week of the Young Child™.
4.Reveal your inner leader!Read thisblog postand learn 10 ways you can lead, every day.
5.Laugh out loud!Here areeight ways to revitalize your classroom with laughterfromTeaching Young Children, and don't miss the more in-depthteacher research article on laughter.
6.Be an advocate.Champion developmentally appropriate practice’s academic rigor with principals and primary school colleagues with the ideas in thisarticlefromYoung Children.
7.American voters strongly support higher wages for early childhood educators.Read and share thisnew research from 51ɬɬapphighlighting widespread support for making investment in the early childhood education profession a national priority.
8.Engage families!offers tons of ideas to share with families.
9.Renew your commitment to anti-bias education.Consider how one reader used anti-bias ideas as she thought about what it means when we say “Dolls are for girls,” and reflect on these great ideas forhonoring Martin Luther King Jr. Day with young children.
10.Flex your political muscles!Join theEarly Ed for President campaignin support of the profession ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Michael Coventry is Director, Digital Strategy and Interest Forum Program at 51ɬɬapp.