About the Program
Heart of Connecting Early Learning is committed to partnering with early childhood educators, preschool directors, home daycare providers, children and families. We provide an array of quality support services, classes and programs. Our early learning team combines the unique expertise of a licensed marriage and family therapist & certified parent educator, and a master’s prepared early childhood educator dedicated to supporting the development of young children. Our goal is to ensure children are happy, healthy and ready to take on the rigors of academic learning and are equipped for social success in kindergarten and beyond.
OUR SERVICES
Staff Development
Our Early Learning professionals are available to provide on-site staff trainings. Topics offered for trainings are in the most relevant areas of child development and information provided is the most current research based content. Presenters are available to talk in the areas of: social-emotional development, school-wide early childhood positive behavior interventions and supports (EC-PBIS), classroom pyramid model, challenging behavior in the classroom, individualized interventions, and designing effective classroom environments. Staff development trainings meet the criteria for professional growth hours needed to maintain a teacher’s child development permit.
Teacher Consultations, Mentoring & Coaching
Services are uniquely tailored to support each individual teacher. HOC-EL offers support in the following areas: behavior, social skills, emotional regulation, parent communication, classroom management, kindergarten readiness, classroom inclusiveness and supporting children with special needs.
Leadership Training on Social-Emotional Curriculum In The Classroom
Heart of Connecting professionals will work with your program to develop and train a leadership team at your preschool. This team of teachers will be trained in developing a sustainable, evidence based social-emotional curriculum to be implemented school wide. This is a year- long coaching and development program.
Student Observations & Support
With parent permission HOC –EL staff will conduct student observations where teachers have concerns regarding behavior, development, social skills, and school readiness. Observations include a follow up consultation with both the teacher and the parents to share feedback from the observation and offer recommendations for continued support to be implemented in the classroom and at home.
Developmental Screenings
Heart of Connecting Early Learning professionals are trained in the Ages and Stages early childhood developmental screenings. Our professionals will administer, score and interpret the results of these parent completed questionnaires related to healthy development, ensuring children are reaching important milestones in key areas of development.
Social Skills Enrichment Classes
A social skills class designed to intentionally teach important social skills to pre-k and TK children. Classes can be offered as an eight week after school enrichment program or our teaching staff are available to come into the classrooms to teach the class to your students. There are two different themed class series to choose from - Social Communication or Social Thinking and Problem Solving.
Parent Education
We offer parent education workshops, classes, and parent evenings on site for your families. There are a variety of topics offered to support parents in their parenting and the challenges facing parents today.
Meet Hayley Goldberg, LMFT
Licensed Marriage Family Therapist
Certified Parent Educator & Parenting Coach
My training began at the The Living Success Center where I built a solid foundation in my counseling skills. During my time at the center I worked with couples, families, and individuals spanning a range of diagnoses. This experience opened my eyes to the value of attachment and the parent-child relationship as being one of the most essential factors in allowing us to become socially strong and emotionally secure adults.
Call: (949) 233-0609
Email: hayley@heartofconnecting.com
Meet Sandy Avzaradel, M.S. Ed.
Education Consultant
Sandy has spent her professional career supporting the individual needs of students in her role as a teacher, mentor, program coordinator and administrator in Irvine Unified School District. Her passion lies in early childhood as she believes this is the most crucial time in development. Sandy’s experience in implementing school wide and classroom positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) in early childhood, as well as supporting families and educators to provide the individual academic and social/emotional needs of students spans over 20 years
Call: (949) 683-6535
Email: sandy@heartofconnecting.com
Meet Marla Weingart, M. Ed
Early Learning Specialist
Marla is an early childhood education leader in the Irvine community. Marla began her career at 18 as a preschool teacher and has continued to learn and grow in the early childhood field for the past two decades. During that time, Marla has obtained her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and her Masters of Education in Early Childhood Education. Marla has been a preschool teacher and administrator, the Early Childhood Education Specialist and Program Educator for the Irvine Unified School District’s School Readiness Program and is currently a Transitional Kindergarten Teacher, also in IUSD. During her tenure at the School Readiness Program, Marla was instrumental in developing programs that supported young children and their families.
