Presented by Dr. Laura Wilhelm, Vice President for Professional Learning, Kaplan Early Learning Company

Sponsored by Kaplan Early Learning Company

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In this edWebinar, Dr. Laura Wilhelm discusses five considerations for authentic play with real objects for infants and toddlers:

1. Acknowledging the primacy of play—what play is and what it is not
2. Intentionally planning for our youngest learners
3. Addressing losses of the COVID-19 pandemic
4. Orchestrating opportunities for building language and social skills
5. Assessing safety and risk

This recorded edWebinar is of interest to childcare professionals, PreK teachers, and school and district leaders.

About the Presenter

As the Vice President for Professional Learning at Kaplan, Laura Wilhelm, Ed.D. draws on decades of experience teaching young children and early childhood professionals, starting with toddlers in the 1980s, followed by PreK-third grade in urban and suburban schools, and as a university lab school director. Since earning her doctorate in ECE curriculum and instruction in 1999, she has served as a program director, full professor, national validator for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and a site visitor for the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Programs (CAEP). She enjoys planning professional development, speaking at conferences, leading study tours, visiting early education programs around the world, and returning home to her family. She is the author of The Neglected Child: How to Recognize, Respond, and Prevent (2013); Treasure Baskets: Heuristic Learning for Infants and Toddlers (2017); Enticing Environments for People Under Three (2021); and Living Loose Parts: Creatures of Curiosity (coming in 2024), all from Gryphon House.

Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.

Join the Classroom Management for Early Learning community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

For more than 50 years, Kaplan Early Learning Company has been a champion for play. From our research-based curricula to enriching classroom environments and innovative technology solutions, Kaplan’s products and services inspire a lifelong love of learning in children and educators. We are architects of learning good and defenders of the imagination. We live for inseparable bonds and open minds. We encourage the eager and inspire the inspirers. We transform lives through play.