Make New Friends: Promoting Friendship and Belonging

About This Webinar:

All children desire to have friends and experience a sense of belonging. However, making friends may not come easy for young children.  This webinar explores how early childhood practitioners can create a culture of friendship and belonging for all children.  Friendship skills and strategies to support their development in young children with and without disabilities in inclusive environments are addressed.  Presenters also share ways practitioners can partner with families to support the development of friendship skills in young children.

Continuing Education (CE) Credit

Continuing Education

• Early Interventionists and Early Childhood Educators: This webinar offers 1.5 continuing education (CE) credits through the Early Intervention Training Program (EITP) at the University of Illinois through 6/30/2026.
• Illinois Early Care & Education Providers: This webinar is a Gateways to Opportunity Registry-approved Training for early care and education professionals in Illinois through 6/30/2026.

Presenter

Jessica Hardy received her Ph.D. in early childhood special education from Vanderbilt University and her M.Ed. and B.A. from the University of Florida.  She taught in Portland, OR as a Head Start teacher and an early childhood special education teacher.  Jessica’s primary research interests are supporting social-emotional development; evidence-based instructional practices, particularly for teaching early math and science; and early childhood coaching and professional development.

Dr. Molly Milam received her Ph.D. in early childhood special education from Vanderbilt University, her M.Ed. from the University of Pittsburgh, and her B.A. from Penn State University. Molly taught in Tucson, AZ as a special education teacher. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at York College of Pennsylvania and the Applied Behavior Analysis M.Ed. program supervisor. Her research interests include pre-service practitioner supervision, coaching and professional development, peer-mediated interventions, and supporting teachers in the implementation of evidence-based practices to improve prosocial behavior, friendship skills, and social-emotional development.

Intentional Design: Promoting Positive Behavior | Series

This four-part webinar series will focus on promoting positive behavior in young children. Throughout the series, our highly respected presenters will take us through important topics related to promoting positive behavior across home, preschool, and childcare settings for young children with and without disabilities.

Series Homepage

Event Materials

Webinar Slides (PDF)

Additional Resources (PDF)

Stay-Play-Talk Lesson Plans (PDF)

Play Data Collection Form (PDF)

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com/Djapirri Mununggirritj