Early Childhood Webinars

Our team of early childhood education and development experts host insightful webinars on hot topics in parenting. Register for past, current and future webinars here!

Kindergarten Readiness

LEE SCOTT, EDUCATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD CHAIRPERSON

The preschool years pass quickly, and before families realize it, Kindergarten is upon them. As children prepare to enter Kindergarten, many families wonder if their child is “ready,” a word that means vastly different things to different people. Watch as Lee Scott answers questions about Kindergarten readiness, how families can ease this transition for their child and ways to prepare as a family for the next chapter in your child’s educational journey.

About Lee Scott

Lee Scott is an education consultant with more than 25 years of early childhood education program development experience. She serves as the chairperson of The Goddard School’s Educational Advisory Board and supported the development of The Goddard School’s summer, after-school, Life Lesson Library and kindergarten programs.

Lee has launched strategic partnerships on various family-oriented and educational projects with National Head Start Association, Johns Hopkins Brain Science Institute, National Geographic Society, The Discovery Channel, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Amazon Kids. She is the author of the national Partnership for 21st Century Learning Early Learning Framework (P21-ELF) and is an expert collaborator on the Mattel Fisher-Price Play Lab.

6 Qualities of a Kindergarten Readiness Program

Here are six things you should look for in an accredited pre-k or other kindergarten readiness program.

Learn More
Books About Kindergarten

Check out this list of books that will help your child feel more confident about starting kindergarten.

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Preparing for Kindergarten

The transition to kindergarten can be scary for children and adults. Help ease your child’s worries by practicing skill-building over the summer.

Get Ready

Past Webinars

Navigating Challenging Behaviors of Early Childhood - Biting, Defiance and Tantrums; Oh, My!

DR. LAUREN STARNES

The first five years of life are a time of immense social and emotional development that can come with some challenging behaviors. Join Dr. Lauren Starnes, SVP and chief academic officer at Goddard Systems, as she hosts part one of a three-part webinar series that will explore some of these behaviors, the developmental reason they occur and how parents and caregivers can guide little ones through it. This webinar will focus on biting, defiance and tantrums.

About Dr. Lauren Starnes

Dr. Lauren Starnes is SVP and chief academic officer at Goddard Systems. She is responsible for leading the development of The Goddard School’s proprietary education program, driving research-based innovation and implementing new accreditation standards across the franchise system.

Previously, Dr. Starnes served as vice president of early childhood education at Primrose Schools Franchising Company, where she oversaw the continued evaluation, development and implementation of Primrose’s early childhood curriculum and research models.

She has more than 20 years of experience in education, including curriculum development, evaluation and implementation, as well as teaching and consulting in the fields of preschool, special needs and elementary education.

A widely published author and lecturer, Dr. Starnes holds a doctorate in educational leadership, as well as a master’s degree and doctorate in child development.

Webinar 1: Biting, Defiance, Tantrums
Webinar 2: Bedtime Battles, Body Exploration, Aggression
Webinar 3: Separation Anxiety, Inappropriate Language, Attention-Seeking Behaviors

Instilling Gratitude in Children

DRS. LAUREN STARNES AND APRIL POINDEXTER

In this webinar recording, Dr. Lauren Starnes, SVP and chief academic officer at Goddard Systems, and Dr. April Poindexter, director of early childhood education programs at Goddard Systems, discuss how families can teach children to appreciate what they have and how to express gratitude in meaningful ways.

About April Poindexter

Dr. April Poindexter is the director of early childhood education programs at Goddard Systems. In her role, she oversees the development of our proprietary educational programming and curriculum.

Prior to joining Goddard Systems, Dr. Poindexter was an education consultant at Primrose Schools. Her experience and expertise in the field of early childhood education was affectionately shaped by her career as an elementary classroom teacher, instructional specialist, trainer, coach and franchise education consultant.

Dr. Poindexter’s research interests include writing practices and pedagogy; children’s literature; critical literacy; and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belongingness work. Her research on how Black upper-middle class children experience writing in school spaces was recognized for equity-centered implications and research excellence.

She holds a Ph.D. in teaching and learning with a concentration in language and literacy education, as well as a master’s degree in early childhood education.

What is Social-Emotional Learning?

DR. LAUREN STARNES

In this webinar recording, Dr. Lauren Starnes, SVP and chief academic officer at Goddard Systems, discusses social-emotional learning and why it’s important for young children. She explains how Goddard promotes social-emotional learning in the classroom and how parents can bridge the school/home gap and practice social-emotional learning at home.

About Dr. Lauren Starnes

A widely published author and lecturer, Dr. Starnes holds a doctorate in educational leadership, as well as a master’s degree and doctorate in child development.

Parenting with Goddard Video Series

Our video series, with early childhood experts, answers questions about all things related to early childhood development.

Watch the videos