I have to attend mandatory training this Saturday. I really dislike trainings for many reasons.

First off I rarely benefit from the trainings. A lot of them are taught by college girls who are earning their early education degrees and have never spent 5 minutes watching 6+ kids! Last time a couple of suggestions for activities to do with the kids were dream catchers. Seriously? Half the ladies there couldn't even complete theirs they were so complicated. The "trainer" also suggested a good activity would be to let the kids smear mud all over the outdoor play equipment. My dcparents would not appreciate this activity. Plus I'd have to hose off the equipment making - MORE MUD!

Second I resent that I have to go on Saturdays after already working 50+ hours. If I don't go to this training then I have to go to the same training but in a different town. I have no choice but to go.

So I have training all day this Saturday. They told us to bring our own chairs too!

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I hear you, there! I try to find training sessions that are NOT put on by the state or local extension service. It's not so easy to find them, but they do exist (here, at least). I attend foster parent training sessions, parenting sessions put on by local counselors, and things like that. The ones put on by the state are full of teenagers who talk and text and giggle through the whole session (they work for head-start, a local center, and the school's after-school program), the instructor doesn't even ATTEMPT to take control, and they are a complete joke.

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Bring your own chairs!! lol!! That's a new one!

Some of the classes that I have to go to are useless too. But I just suffer through them. You can often here those of us who have been in the business for years mumble and grumble over some of the ridiculous things they say.

But you have to do it. It's like I tell my teenage daughter who started asking why she has to take classes in high school that have nothing to do with what she will use after graduating. My answer is simply because that is what is required. So just do it and get your brownie points for completing the class. Then I go on to tell her that throughout life, she will have to do things/take classes/follow rules, etc. that make absolutely no sense whatsoever! Then I use some of my required daycare classes and some of the rules of daycare as examples!

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I try to take the online courses as much as possible. I also put in my contract that I will close for PAID day if there is training. The one course I can't do online is the first aid/CPR one and it's such a PITA. It's either two evenings 6-10 or one whole Saturday.

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We have inservice approximately once a month. Usually those are pretty relevant and not too bad. I have to take first aid every other year. It's five weeks, 4 hours a night, once a week. I'm almost done (next week my last one, yay!) and I can't wait. It's so hard to go out to a class from 5:30 - 9:30 when you have been at work all day, and you need to go to work the next day!

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Does your state allow you to take a CPR re-certification class? I'm in a different state, but here as long as we have taken the CPR Certification class, we can take the re-certification class and it's done in half the time. Just thought I would throw that out there because I know some of the providers here aren't aware of this option.

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I know how you feel! When I worked in a center we had "professional development days" twice a year and some of the information was utterly useless! I felt like it was a waste of a day.

I actually just took a curriculum class last night and really enjoyed it! Luckily now that I am a fcc, I can choose classes from a long list and most of them are taught by a woman who is a great and interesting teacher, and she actually has experience with working with children.

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In my state, we are blessed to have a FCC conference each spring full of workshops presented by FCC providers. FCC is unique. I do attend other workshops throughout the year but nothing compares to the support/encouragement received from FCC providers.

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Trainers like that is when my friends and I start asking questions. Do you think this craft is developmentally appropriate for a 2 year old... I think most of us here have toddlers and preschoolers not 12 year olds..... Would you like to come clean my equipment before licensing shows up and seesd with mud. Would you like US to give you some ideas of activities to do with preschoolers? yes we really have 25 to 30 years experience makes us talkative LOL

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Where I was doing it they didn't HAVE Saturdays OR evenings that started later than most daycares close (after 6:30pm) so we'd have to do them during daycare hours. Parents just LOVED that :roll eyes:

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I hate training because it's the same thing every year. Even down to the study notes they pass out. The instructors have no control and constantly have to talk over people. People were allowed to show up as much as an hour late and still get credit. After other people complained about unfairness, the instructors stopped allowing it. It wouldn't be so bad if the information was fresh. I can learn more new ideas from just one thread here than I have in the past 2 yrs.

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No, they used to allow it, but changed it a few years ago. The course we have to take is every two years and it's the whole deal.

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I completely agree. I like that I can pick and chose some of the training for the different required subjects (professional development, shaken baby, signs of abuse, etc).

I don't think that I should have to take shaken baby every year because I don't take anyone under 18m.

I think my COLLEGE classes (BS in early childhood development) should count towards my required hours.

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