A class for Mommy & Me… Daddy & Me… or Nanny & Me… to grow on
A Facilitated Playgroup
RIE® parent-infant (and -toddler) guidance classes™ provide a relaxed and facilitated playgroup where babies can be babies, interacting with other babies, exploring the age-appropriate environment, and enjoying free movement and gross motor challenges.
Because RIE classes are facilitated by a trained RIE Associate, they offer parents a time to observe their child, get support from child development science, experiment with new approaches, and learn to trust their child’s unfolding development. There’s something here for both of you.
Play
Designed around the baby’s self-directed movement and play, we allow infants to freely move, explore, play, and engage with other infants. This is how babies are designed to learn and grow. The classroom includes age-appropriate gross motor equipment that provides opportunities for infants to challenge themselves (if they choose). I facilitate the babies’ interactions, play, and spot their movement so you can observe their unfolding capabilities and judgement.
Early Relational Health
As parents, we learn how to better understand our infants, to know what’s important for raising a secure child, and lay the foundation for a healthy relationship that will carry parent and child through life. We’ll use the RIE techniques to develop your ability to discern your baby’s needs and their quickly developing capabilities. You’ll gain tools for being more mindful in responding to your baby’s behavior, maintain connection through the challenging moments, feel more confident, and enjoy parenting even more.
Understanding & Developing Your Parenting Style
Everyone brings their unique life experience to being a parent. When we take the time to reflect and consciously consider how we want to show up as a parent, and what we want to give to our children, we have an easier time being the parent we want to be. RIE’s Educaring® approach gives us the tools and skills to develop our unique parenting style in line with best practices in infant/toddler development.
Community
Parents and babies alike find community in our classes. Groups are ongoing and may remain together in continuous sessions until the youngest turns two, providing continuity and community for parents and infants alike. Many families become life-long friends here!
“The more you invest in those first early years of parenting, the easier your life will be later on.” — Magda Gerber
Common class topics include:
- reading baby’s cues and responding
- benefits of self-initiated movement
- crying, sleeping, feeding/eating
- language development
- how babies learn discipline
- strategies for challenging times
- nurturing our babies for a secure future
- setting up your environment
- diapering and toilet learning
- responding instead of reacting
Class Schedule:
Please note: I am on sabbatical and not offering classes at this time.
Toddler Class
For: Babies who are walking
Age: about 16-22 months
When: Thursdays, 9:30-11 am
Dates: No classes until 2024
The world is different with a walker. You need to recheck your space for safety. Their cognition and feeling life are expanding again and you’ll be working to support their budding independence even though they are still entirely dependent on you. This is an exciting and challenging time as a parent. You’ll gain community with other parents and your child will benefit from social interactions even while their key task is still bonding with you.
Snack: This class includes a banana and water snack that the children may chose to participate in or not.
Cost:
Mobile Babies Class
For: Babies who are crawling, standing, cruising furniture or newly-walking
Age: About 10-15 months
When: Thursdays, 11:30 am-12:45 pm
Dates: No classes until 2024
Learn how to support your mobile, pre-walking baby by setting up their environment for safety and learning, learn about the benefits of self-initiated movement development, and get a new perspective on diaper-changing and other care activities as the core of nurturing. You’ll meet other new parents and get support for yourself as you develop your own parenting style with the RIE framework.
Cost:
Infant Class
For: Babies on their backs, learning to roll over or have rolled over (but not yet crawling)
Age: 4 months (the minimum age)-8 months+
When: Thursdays, 1:45-3:00 pm
Dates: No classes until 2024
You and your baby have moved through the newborn phase with days and nights starting to make sense. You’re learning your baby’s language and responding to specific needs and preferences. Now is the time to give your baby opportunities to lay on their back on the floor so they can discover their body and the joy of movement. You’ll learn how to tend to the foundational need for security while supporting optimal movement development. This is the beginning of a new phase in your life with baby where you can enjoy time together and small bits of time apart. You’ll gain community with other parents and your child will enjoy observing, encountering, and interacting with other babies.
Cost:
Good to know:
At the current time, adults need to be vaccinated and wear masks for the protection of all.
In order to allow you to relax, learn and enjoy, Jennifer will facilitate the babies in their social interactions and gross motor challenges, demonstrating the RIE approach to trusting in the infant’s competence, and intervening when needed. You’ll want to feel comfortable with sharing this responsibility with someone else.
As a demonstration class of RIE parenting and infant/toddler care, Jennifer will share information about infant/toddler development and occasionally be a guide on the side, inviting you to look at things with new eyes or try new approaches to common challenges. To get the most out of this class, you’ll want to feel open to new ideas or ways of seeing.
In this class, babies self-direct their movement and play and show us how they are constantly learning and taking their understanding to the next level. Are you OK with this more passive role in class?