As always, I hope this message finds you well. You may have noticed that my weekly newsletter hasn’t hit your inbox in a couple of weeks. For that, I do apologize…I’ve had some rather monumental changes going on and I’m only now starting to come back down to earth.
The biggest and most devastating is that my father died at the end of September. It was expected, and it was peaceful, but it still hurts. I mention this because well, this is RIE in Real Life, and that’s part of my real life, but I also mention it because I want to encourage you all…the Moms and the Dads on this list…that the kind of parenting you are doing truly makes an impact on your children’s lives. To be seen and heard, supported and guided, by a caring adult…someone who scaffolds your learning and who is their authentic self with you…it makes all the difference in a person’s life. It did in mine. So, I say thank you to my father, and I say thank you to you.
Larry Cassady
The other big change is that I’ve moved into a new home…and again, that’s part of my ‘real life,’ but someday it may be part of yours as I’ll be teaching and offering care in this sweet and quiet corner of Tarzana! RIE in the Wild will still continue for groups that can’t make it all the way to Tarzana, but later this year/early next, RIE in Tarzana (still working on the name) will be official. (And yes, I think it is hilarious that I’m going from RIE in the “wild” to RIE in a city named after Tarzan…)
Of course I don’t consider my work to be ‘taming’ tiny humans, but the mug is pretty cute…and it holds copious amounts of coffee…
So those are the two huge things that have gone on in my life these last three weeks, but of course the world did not stop just because I did.
Two of my students graduated from the RIE training protocol: Helen Zhang (Beijing) and Kumiko Akiyama (Tokyo, Japan…though perhaps Canada soon) are now RIE Associates! I had the honor of working closely with these two phenomenal women when they were in the heart of their training. Meeting weekly, we analyzed videos of their interactions with children…caregiving, play, conflict…they laid it all out for me to see and for us to discuss. They are a gift to children, parents, and any program they choose to work in. I’m so fortunate to have had the opportunity to know and work with them.
Helen and me and Kumiko
Babies were born (congratulations to all of my newly expanded families!), children and parents found their grooves in preschools, caregivers reached out for information on my online Nurturing Nanny course (contact me for details on the upcoming course), and most sweetly, I was missed by some of my participants. Here are two children offering bananas/snack and RIE class to their own groups.
Snack isn’t just a big deal for me, it’s also a big deal for children. <3
I missed them, too, and all of you, and I’m happy to say that I’m back to teaching this weekend. If anything can bring me back to a sense of peace and normalcy, it’s RIE class. Hope see you soon.