"So much to teach, so little time." For most teachers, those words pretty much sum up what they face in the classroom every day of every school year. How can you manage meeting academic standards and honoring each child's developmental needs while also building a strong learning community for all the children, and keeping yourself well-balanced and healthy? I think you’ll find a lot of answers in NEFC's newest workshop: Child Development Matters.

I recently had the opportunity to learn all about the new workshop firsthand from Chip Wood, who developed it. It was so exciting to see the possibilities—the very manageable ways teachers can use child development knowledge to enhance and stretch children's learning, whether of academics or school routines.

Here's what you'll do in the Child Development Matters workshop:

• Use your current class list as the foundation for in-depth conversations with other teachers in the same grade. You'll share ideas for creating an environment of academic success for all your students, no matter the curriculum framework.
• Look through a developmental lens to understand the children in your class. What are the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive characteristics common in children in this grade? What kind of routines, lesson pacing, and teacher feedback do they therefore need if they’re to learn at their best?
• Plan developmentally appropriate ways to adjust one aspect of your teaching so that your students succeed, whether at grasping math concepts or mastering smooth transitions. You'll share these ideas with other grade-level teachers, building a repertoire of practical ideas you can bring back to the classroom.

I'm convinced that participants will leave this workshop feeling rejuvenated and more effective—returning to the classroom with ideas to help them better know, reach, and teach every child. The session that Chip will teach in Boston on November 1 is already full, but he'll be presenting another session in Sterling, Virginia, on February 27. And my colleagues and I will be teaching more sessions during the next school year.

So what do you think—does Child Development Matters sound like a workshop you'd like to take?