Next TeleClass to Begin January 22nd!

Joyful Toddlers has moved!  You can find this post at its new location, http://joyfultoddlers.com/2011/10/next-teleclass-to-begin-january-22nd/

New TeleClass Begins June 27th

I am excitedly preparing for the new session of my live TeleClass, Joyful Days with Toddlers and Preschoolers!  I held the first two sessions of this class in March, and it exceeded my expectations in almost every way.  The women who signed up for the course were a mixture of moms and home-daycare-providers (many were both!), and they told me over and over again how great it was to get a real and practical dose of inspiration and connection every week.  One woman said that just the act of calling in each week calmed her and made her feel more spacious in her parenting!  Here's what else people said:

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this class.  It truly has done wonders for our family and for me as a mom... My husband has noticed a big difference with me and with the boys... I got more than I imagined I would have gotten [from this class]."
                                                                                            -C.L., mother of 2

So, what is the class like?  Each class is a conference call that lasts an hour and fifteen minutes.  A few days before each call, I will send out my thoughts on that week's theme, and a link to that week's video footage.  Each week has about 10-12 minutes of video footage of me interacting with the children (ages 1-5) in different ways.  When the class-time comes, we call in to the conference call, and we watch the video footage together, stopping frequently for discussion and questions.  Between classes, people can chat through an online discussion groups, and are given optional 'assignments.'  Here's what one student said: 

"...Love your teaching, the three layers of: watch the video, hear your comments on it and live question session, followed by written thoughts, and follow-ups to specific questions, it really creates a rich texture to the class...Every week has given me new ideas to try and made me more mindful of all the elements that go into this work."

                                                                                            -H.C., mother of 2  

I think that the video footage is part of what makes the class so unique and so useful.  It's one thing to hear someone talk about what they do; it's another thing altogether to see them do it.  And each week's video is so different!  The first week is very inspirational:  how to incorporate children in the tasks that make up Life, and why it feels so fulfilling to children when we do.  People saw the footage and said, "I can do that!"  The next week's video footage was totally different.  The theme is Teach Children to Interact Graciously, and every single clip begins with someone shrieking.  The week's themes are:

-Life As the Curriculum

-Teach Children to Interact Graciously

-Make Mealtimes Special

-Smooth and Easy Transitions

-Create Nurturing Spaces

-Be Your Best Self

If you spend your days with children ages 1-5, and you wish the time you spent with children could be more joyful than it is now, I warmly invite you to take this TeleClass.  Click on the tab above (marked June/July Teleclass) for dates, times, and prices.  Email me to hold your spot or with any questions, faithrainbow@yahoo.com 

Warmly,

Miss Faith

Sign Up for Next Joyful Days Tele-Class

Hi Everyone,
          If you sign up by March 31st, you can get the introductory rate $150 for the six-week tele-class Joyful Days with Toddlers and Preschoolers!  Starting in April the fee will go up to $220.  The inaugural class is still ongoing, and so far it has been a great success.  Here's what current participants are saying:

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this class.  It truly has done wonders for our family and for me as a mom.  The tips have been amazing and even just the act of being on the calls calms me.  My husband has noticed a big difference with me and with the boys... I got more than I imagined I would have gotten [from this class]."
                                                             -C.L., mother of 2


"Every week has given me new ideas to try and made me more mindful of all the elements that go into this work...Love your teaching, the three layers of: watch the video, hear your comments on it and live question session, followed by written thoughts, and follow-ups to specific questions, it really creates a rich texture to the class."
                                                              -H.C., mother of 2 and Parent/Tot teacher

"I am sooooo happy with this class!! And so grateful for all that you are sharing with us. I can't tell you how many jems I have already taken from this course.  I want to say so much more but nap time is almost over!!! I think 'I love it' and 'thank you' sums it up."

                                                            -T.H., mother of 3 and home-daycare provider

          The class consists of weekly conference calls, watching and discussing videos from my own home daycare, Rainbow Bridge (see an example to the right), weekly readings and optional assignments on the online discussion group.  All calls are recorded for those who can't make it.  Choose Tuesday calls (6:30-7:45pm Mountain Time) starting June 21, or Sunday calls (2-3:15pm Mountain Time) starting June 26.  Click on the tab above titled "Classes with Miss Faith" for more info.  Email to reserve your spot, faithrainbow@yahoo.com

Warmly,

Miss Faith

Life As the Curriculum

This is an excerpt from a piece I wrote for my teleclass, Joyful Days with Toddlers!  The Sunday class is completely full, but there are still two slots in the Tuesday class if you're interested.  It starts this Tuesday, March 1st 2011, and calls are from 6:30-7:45pm Mountain Time.  Please email me if you'd like one of those two spots at faithrainbow@yahoo.com

 People often think they have to have a “curriculum” to be teaching the children things, or they feel guilty because they don't have a formal curriculum. Curriculum subjects I've seen have ranged from numbers, colors and letters, to subjects such as germs or pirates.  However, it seems to me that 'teaching' things like colors is silly, because they'll learn it anyhow, and subjects like germs and pirates don't relate to their lives at all.

What I am here to suggest is that young children really learn all they “should” be learning through their own play and through watching and participating in the daily tasks that go into running a household. Gross motor skills come from putting things on a shelf or rolling dough with a rolling pin; fine motor skills come from decorating bread with raisins or folding a washcloth. Sorting skills are developed unloading the silverware from the dishwasher, or sorting laundry. Vocabulary skills, taking directions, and working cooperatively are all developed listening to you as you help them master these skills.

However, I would even go a step further and suggest that using our daily tasks as the curriculum is MORE effective for teaching skills and ideas than designing a bunch of activities and games around a theme. There are several reasons for this.

Why Daily Tasks are Fulfilling to Children

I very firmly believe that everyone in this world wants to feel connected, to feel that they are competent, that they are contributing. When I think about my own life, all of the parts that feel the best revolve around me feeling connected, or feeling competent, or feeling like I'm contributing. In fact, that's why I love working in early childhood, because I get to do all three of those things simultaneously.

Think about your own life for a moment: what have been the highlights? What times have you felt the most alive, the most vibrant? And think about it through this lens I've given you. Were you feeling connected, competent, or like you were contributing, during those times? If not those things, what were you feeling that made them especially great?

Now think about the young children in your life. We all know how important it is for children to be connected: lots of research has been done on the importance of attachment. And children spend enormous amounts of time practicing being competent. As they learn to walk, they fall over and get up again and again and again. As soon as they learn to talk, the phrase “me do dat” is often the most common to come out of their mouths. We often don't let them try things for themselves as long as they'd wish, because we're in a hurry, or we can see that they won't be successful, but most of us understand and value their striving for competence. But how about the desire to contribute? That is not something that most of us think about in relation to young children, even though we can see how their faces light up when they are able to do so. Read this article from the science section of the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/science/01human.html?_r=1 ). Studies are showing that children may be born with an innate desire to help.

As parents and caretakers in our culture, it's easy for us to recognize the desire for connection, and we work very hard to develop it. In fact, we often work so hard at developing the connection piece of things that we sometimes unconsciously cut off our children's abilities to be competent and to contribute: we love them so much that we want to do everything for them. Our own desires to be competent and to contribute to them leave no room for them to be able to contribute in a meaningful way.

By consciously setting Life as the platform for children children to learn skills and ideas, we are giving them the chance to develop true competence, as we do these tasks day after day after day. As their skills develop, they know that they are really contributing to the household. And your gratitude for their help (especially as they get better at it!) helps you connect.

My article goes on to look at how we can do this effectively, with practical tips and suggestions.  During the conference call I will show video footage of children helping me with laundry, washing dishes, brushing hair, and baking bread.

Joyful Toddlers has moved!  Check out our new location: http://joyfultoddlers.com/

Exciting New Classes

JOYFUL TODDLERS HAS MOVED!  GO TO OUR NEW LOCATION:  joyfultoddlers.com


Hi Everyone,

I'm both pleased and excited to be able to offer two new classes this spring.  One will be located in Boulder and will be aimed primarily at parents (although daycare providers will benefit too!), and the other is available to anyone with a phone and a computer, and is aimed primarily at home daycare providers (although parents will benefit too!).  Let me tell you a little more about them:

Joyful Days with Toddlers
I'm super excited for this tele-class.  It will be a six-week live teleclass class, made up of online discussions, weekly conference calls, and video footage from my own home daycare, Rainbow Bridge.

 You can sign up for either for the Sunday course (with calls on Sunday at 2pm Mountain Time, starting Feb 27) or Tuesday course (calls on Tuesday evening at 6:30pm Mountain time, starting March 1), but all calls will be recorded in case you miss one. 

Keep your eyes on Joyful Toddlers for a sample of the type of footage you'll see in the class, coming soon!  Topics covered will include:

1. Life as the Curriculum
2. Teach Children to Interact Graciously
3.  Make Mealtimes Special
4.  Space that You Love & Care for
5.  Smooth and Easy Transitions
6.  Be Your Best Self

I am pleased to be working with Lisa McVicker of Prosperity Media on this course.  Lisa shot all of the Rainbow Bridge video last summer, and will be handling the technical aspects of this course.  We will be in good hands!

Because this is the first class of its kind, I will be limiting the spaces and offering the course at an introductory rate of $150.  Please email me at faithrainbow@yahoo.com to hold your spot.

Parenting Inspiration
While the class above is new and exciting, this class will be be warm and inviting. This class in Boulder, CO is about connecting with other parents, discussing thought-provoking articles, getting concrete ideas for your home life, and doing art and handwork projects that you never have time to do in your busy life.  This class is about taking the time out of your week to slow down, to breathe, to connect with other adults who are in the same situation.  This class is about self-care and inspiration.  I will bring in a list of suggested topics, but the class will choose the topics that feel most relevant to them.

 I am still settling on a location, which will determine its days/times, but it will run from late Feb through March. If you're interested please email me at faithrainbow@yahoo.com  and let me know if daytime or evenings are better for you.  Classes will be once a week, two hours each.  This class is offered on a sliding scale, $160-$240.