York County Libraries (YCL) will offer a free online educational workshop series for parents and professionals featuring children's author and illustrator Lindsay Barrett George, child development experts, and youth services librarians. The series will run from Thursday, Oct. 14, to Tuesday, Nov. 30, and is a key part of YCL's 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program.

The workshops will provide tips and strategies for developing language skills, building resiliency, taking learning outdoors, and using play to increase knowledge. Interested individuals should register at http://www.yorklibraries.org/1000books-workshop to receive the private YouTube link to view the series on demand. The workshops include the following.

"Using Puppets and Art to Develop Language Skills" is presented by George, the first featured author for Pennsylvania's One Book Every Young Child program.

"Weaving Social Emotional Learning Into Daily Life" focuses on daily routines at home and in the classroom. Child Care Consultants quality coach Jenn Wertz shares three key strategies to help children self-regulate and explains how to approach challenging behaviors through a positive lens.

"Connecting Nature and Learning: Winter Edition," led by Elizabeth Marcello, quality coach for Child Care Consultants, explores the basics of nature-based early childhood education. Marcello will share activity ideas to use at home or school.

In "Learn the Basics: Developmentally Appropriate Practice," Child Care Consultants' inclusion support coach, Kim Alloway, answers questions on topics such as blocks, screen time and sharing. She talks about how to interact with children using appropriate expectations.

"Picture Books That Build Resilience" highlights 30 picture books that can inspire children to overcome obstacles. The presenters, YCL director of youth services Jaclyn Cassidy and youth services program manager Lisa Schmittle, also suggest new resources and activities to pair with the books.

YCL launched the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten initiative in 2018. The program encourages York County families to read 1,000 books before their children start kindergarten.

For more details about the workshops, contact Schmittle at lschmittle@yorklibraries.org. To learn more about York County Libraries, visit http://www.yorklibraries.org.