Parenting Center Workshops
Our Parenting Center provides parents and guardians with support and guidance as they raise their young children. Our workshops and classes offer practical skills, advice and networking opportunities.
Washington DCJCC 2012 Parent Workshop Calendar
(see below for more detailed descriptions and prices)
- Sunday, February 26, 3:30-5:30 pm: New and Expectant Parents' Sleep Seminar
- Sunday, March 11, 4:00-6:00 pm: Talking with Tots: Developing Your Baby's Language Skills
- Sunday, March 18, 4:00-5:30 pm: Baby Signs
- Thursday, March 29, 7:00-8:30 pm: Genetic Testing in the Jewish Population: To Test or Not to Test?
- Sunday, April 22, 10:00am-1:00pm: Infant and Child CPR
- Sunday, April 29, 10:00am -12:30pm: Pediatric First Aid
PARENT WORKSHOPS: DESCRIPTIONS AND PRICES
NEW AND EXPECTANT PARENTS' SLEEP SEMINAR
Sunday, February 26
3:30–5:30 pm
$52 per couple; Discounted Member Rate $37 per couple (all prices include a $2 processing fee)
Facilitated by Jessica Brodey, Gentle Sleep Coach
Infants in arms are welcome to attend with their parents; please do not bring mobile babies and toddlers.
This seminar provides a comfortable environment for expectant parents and parents of children up to 1-years-old to learn about sleep and to ask questions about children’s sleep problems and habits. We will discuss sleep requirements, ideal sleeping and napping schedules, and sleep goals for each stage of development during the first year, as well as common pitfalls and problems including medical issues such as reflux and colic. For nursing moms, we will address how to maintain a healthy milk supply while teaching your child to nap well and sleep through the night. We will also talk about creating a positive and healthy sleep environment in your home for your infant, and about helpful tools and products that may benefit you and your baby. The session will be chock-full of tips and gentle strategies for improving your infant’s sleep quality, lengthening infant slumber, developing flexible and appropriate routines, and managing sleep when traveling or on the go!
About the Facilitator
Jessica Brodey is a Gentle Sleep Coach, trained and certified by Kim West, LCSW-C, better known as The Sleep Lady®. Jessica's training with Kim consisted of 55+ hours of basic training classes taught by some of the top specialists in the country, including: Dr. Shoshana Bennett, Ph.D., author of Pregnant on Prozac and Postpartum Depression For Dummies; Dr. Lewis Kass, MD, FAAP, certified pediatric pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist; Dr. Kent Hoffman, Ph.D., Circle of Security®, and breastfeeding expert Marilyn Vecchio, R.N., Certified Lactation Counselor. Jessica is also enrolled in an ongoing program of support, supervision and continued advanced education courses from Kim and other child-related specialists, and she is in the midst of obtaining certifications as a Happiest Baby Educator from Dr. Harvey Karp and as a Certified Lactation Counselor from the Healthy Children Project. Jessica grew up in Rockville, Maryland and graduated from Emory University and the New York University School of Law. She worked as a litigator for 4 years and as an education, technology and disability law policy consultant for 10 years. With the birth of her first child in 2008, Jessica became actively involved in breastfeeding and parenting support groups, in person and online, and ultimately decided to undergo training to become a Gentle Sleep Coach. She has been working with clients ever since.
Register here for the New and Expectant Parents' Sleep Seminar
PARENT WORKSHOP SERIES: TALKING WITH TOTS and BABY SIGNS
TALKING WITH TOTS: DEVELOPING YOUR BABY'S LANGUAGE SKILLS
Sunday, March 11
4:00-6:00 pm
Faciliated by Maia Magder, MS, CCC-SLP
BABY SIGNS
Sunday, March 18
4:00–5:30 pm
Facilitated by Maia Magder, MS, CCC-SLP
Infants in arms are welcome to attend these workshops with their parents; please do not bring mobile babies or toddlers.
Descriptions:
Talking with Tots will take parents through the developmental phases of their baby's cognitive and language learning capability from birth to three years. Parents will learn about the emerging cognitive and language skills at each stage, standard milestones to be expected at each, and how to foster language development at each stage. Red flags will be identified that might signify the need for intervention. The course will briefly demonstrate baby sign language as a method to help the very youngest children develop language capability and be able to express themselves. Parents will learn techniques, games, and tricks for helping stimulate language development at each stage in developmentally appropriate ways.
Baby Signs
Have you ever wondered how you can help your infant develop stronger language skills? Come to this workshop to learn the basics of early infant language development, and baby sign language! You’ll learn about the first year of communication in your baby, and how to maximize your baby’s language by using sign language. Both the theory and the practice of baby sign language will be explained, and parents will come away with both individual and baby sign language routines for everyday activities!
About the Facilitator:
Maia Magder, MS, CCC-SLP, is a Speech-language Pathologist who has been in clinical practice for over a decade. Her expertise is in both acquired speech and language disorders and developmental speech and language disorders. She conducts research in language learning disabilities in adolescents with severe mood dysregulation. Her breadth of knowledge of feeding and language development spans infants and toddlers to geriatrics.
Pricing Options:
**For Talking with Tots or Baby Signs alone: $47 per family; $32 Discounted Member Rate
**For Talking with Tots and Baby Signs combined: $82 per family; $52 Discounted Member Rate
(all registration fees include a $2 service charge)
Register here for Talking with Tots and/or Baby Sign
GENETIC TESTING IN THE JEWISH POPULATION: TO TEST OR NOT TO TEST?
Thursday, March 29
7:00–8:30 pm
$22 per person; Discounted Member Rate $15 per person (all prices include a $2 processing fee)
Faciliated by Allison Mitchell
Infants in arms are welcome to attend with their parents; please do not bring mobile babies and toddlers.
Join us for an exciting presentation and lively discussion about options for genetic testing throughout the lifespan. We will begin with a focus on carrier screening for the Ashkenazi Jewish diseases, other prenatal testing options, and prenatal diagnosis. We will move on to discuss the available testing for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome and other adult diseases. Our wrap-up will include information about protection from genetic discrimination and the current controversy over gene patenting.
About the Facilitator
Allison Mitchell earned her A.B. in Biology from Dartmouth College in 1994, and received her Masters Degree in Genetic Counseling from Sarah Lawrence College in 1999. She has worked as a genetic counselor in the Washington DC area for ten years, providing prenatal, pediatric, and adult genetic counseling services. Allison established the Cancer Genetic Counseling Program at Inova Fairfax Hospital in 2002, and most recently worked in the Huntington Disease and General Adult Genetics clinics at University of Maryland School of Medicine. She was also Senior Genetic Counselor at GeneDx Laboratory, providing customer service to clinicians and genetic counselors on a full range of commercial genetic tests for rare disorders. Outside of work, Allison enjoys spending time with her family, working in her vegetable garden, baking delicious desserts, running, swimming, and reading.
Register here for Genetic Testing in the Jewish Population
INFANT AND CHILD CPR
Sunday, April 22, 2012
10:00am to 1:00pm
$62 per person; Discounted Member Rate $42 per person (all prices include a $2 processing fee)
Infants in arms are welcome to attend with their parents; please do not bring mobile babies or toddlers.
Make your family safer by learning the basics of infant and child CPR with American Heart Association instructor Jay Gruber. Major Jay Gruber has been an American Heart Association instructor for over 20 years. He has taught hundreds of classes and has been the CPR instructor for the Washington DCJCC Pre-School and Summer Camp for the past several years. He is also a volunteer EMT-B in Montgomery County and has served the community in that role for over 25 years.
PEDIATRIC FIRST AID
Sunday, April 29, 2012
10:00am to 12:30pm
$57 per person; Discounted Member Rate $37 per person (all prices include a $2 processing fee)
Infants in arms are welcome to attend with their parents; please do not bring mobile babies or toddlers
This basic First Aid course with a pediatric focus covers a wide range of emergencies that parents may encounter with children and adults alike. Topics will include burns, poisoning, heat and cold emergencies, bleeding, stroke, diabetic emergencies, head injuries, broken bones, allergic reactions, and seizures.
Major Jay Gruber has been an American Heart Association instructor for over 20 years. He has taught hundreds of classes and has been the CPR instructor for the Washington DCJCC Pre-School and Summer Camp for the past several years. He is also a volunteer EMT-B in Montgomery County and has served the community in that role for over 25 years.
Register here for Pediatric First Aid
OTHER PARENTING CENTER LINKS:
Check out our classes for infants and toddlers (and their caregivers)
Read what parents are saying about our classes!
Meet our Parenting Center Teachers