1st Annual Alliance Summer Institute

Classroom Design and Relationships that Support Sensory Regulation 

Join The Alliance for Early Childhood for our 1st Annual Summer Institute, a morning of professional development offering opportunities to deepen your practice while connecting with fellow educators who share your commitment to children, families, and early childhood education. Whether you're looking for fresh ideas, thoughtful conversation, or renewed energy for the year ahead, we hope you'll join us.

Children’s ability to attend, engage, and learn is deeply shaped by both the environments they inhabit and the relationships that surround them. This workshop explores how intentional classroom design—lighting, materials, layout, sound, and movement opportunities—works in tandem with responsive adult-child relationships to support children’s developing sensory regulation.

Participants will examine how physical spaces can either heighten or soothe sensory input and how attuned, predictable relationships help children feel safe enough to regulate, explore, and learn. Through concrete examples and reflective discussion, educators will leave with practical strategies for designing classrooms and interactions that support regulation, belonging, and engagement for a wide range of learners.

Illinois-certified teachers are eligible for Gateways and ISBE professional development credits.