teaching | PAXbaby

Homeschooling with the PAXfamily

PAXmommy Jillian — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 09:58:39 +0000

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As September moved on through the month, my anxiety got worse and worse! My children hadn’t even started their first week of school, and some of our friends have been back for weeks already! How would we ever catch up? How would we be able to take any breaks? How could we fit it all in? The night before school started, I took a deep breath, and realized…. even if we had started in July, put in long days, and not taken any holidays, there is no way for any teacher to impart ALL the information that they would want to their students. It’s simply not feasible! So instead, I made a list of what I really really really want to focus on this year; maybe next year a different set of skills will seem most important!

This school year, my main goal is to maintain a loving atmosphere of peace and acceptance. A place where anyone can say anything, and the rest of the group will respect the opinions held, the words written, and the feelings expressed. This includes my own, as one of the guiding adults! It’s a whole new world this year in our classroom which was converted from our formal living area in our two story house; for the first ever, I am a contributing homeschool teacher, while PAXdaddy Aaron explores the realm of balancing a part time job with his homeschool teacher role as well. Dehesa Charter School hosts our homeschool education providing funding, support, and on Tuesdays, a slew of fun classes for the kids to attend. While we have been enrolled for 6 years now, Aaron hasn’t used his teaching credential and Masters in Education since 2004 when he last taught elementary school in Santa Barbara. When we encountered the opportunity for him to teach this year, we both agreed it would be a wonderful adventure and so, I juggled my full time work schedule to accommodate teaching a full 5 hours 5 days a week. No matter how hard we thought our juggle was previously, it was NOTHING compared to our new schedule!

I’m so proud to say that even my own mom, PAXmommy Catherine, has joined our teaching team. The last time she taught in a classroom setting was my own homeschooling education, and it’s a fun last from the past for her to work with her grandkids on the most important years of their childhoods! I recruited her when I realized how hard this year was going to be for both Aaron and I, and she will be teaching a variety of topics including a read aloud book, nature study, and helping the children expand their creative writing skills 2 hours 3 days a week! It’s going to be an epic year for all of us!!!!

Charlotte Mason has provided the basis for our teaching methodology, but we dabble in Montessori and Waldorf learning with a high interest in Classical Conversations. Now that I’ve name dropped my 4 favorite and widely varied learning styles, you can google to explore which each one can contribute to a homeschool classroom of seven children ranging from an 8th grader down to pesky preschooler! Wheeeeew… no wonder I’m exhausted!!! PAXdaddy Aaron and I are being asked what curriculum we use, but we are dabbling with a few different companies including BOB books, Catholic Heritage, Meet the Masters, Thinkwell, Saxon, Cherrydale Press, and more! Charlotte Mason has a compelling argument for learning directly from “living books,” and since we are a literary family, this suits us all quite well.

It’s a strange situation for a long time, experienced teacher like Aaron to be sharing the classroom with such a novice as myself, but I am hoping that my brand new enthusiasm will mesh well with his logical knowledge and provide our family an exciting, fun, inspired year. Here’s to hoping that your children’s school experiences are also filled with the light shed from the lightbulbs lit and connections made each and every day!

paxbaby
*happy learning*

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#PAXretreat2016 deets

PAXmommy Mel — Sun, 17 Apr 2016 02:54:53 +0000

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?#?PAXretreat2016? is hosting Joanna from Center for Babywearing Studies for a Foundations course here in sunny Southern California. September 15-19 2016 will be an amazing weekend full of babywearing, rainbows and new ideas cumulating in our Birthday Blessingway!!

How long is the training class? Our Foundations course provides 30 hours of training time over four days. The exact schedule will vary based on the individual needs of each class. Can I bring a child to class? Our Foundations course is 30 hours of intensive professional training. Feedback from past graduates has been that by the later days of class, children become overwhelmed and frustrated. While we do allow infants 6 months and under to attend with their caregiver, you must be able to perform each carry with a demonstration doll and your skills assessment must be performed with a demonstration doll. We encourage you to consider childcare, if possible, so that you and your fellow attendees can focus completely on the coursework. We are happy to allow a caregiver to bring your baby to nurse or have a bottle, and we will also have prescheduled breaks and lunch for time with your little one. Our goal is to make sure that you and your classmates get the absolute most from your time with us. What are the materials that are included in the cost? Included in the cost of each class are several items:

A knot-learning shawl. This is not a baby carrier but instead a great tool for learning and teaching how to tie knots. You will likely use this frequently over the years.
Your manual. This is a great reference tool and will hopefully be something you refer to as needed. Our bibliography has over 75 unique references, the majority of which are from the last 5 years, and can be a great asset to you if you want to research something directly.
Professional quality teaching aids. This is new as of July 2013. Based on feedback from our graduates we are now including a set of teaching aids that you will be able to take home with you. This will save you the time of creating the visual aids yourself and the hassle of getting them professionally laminated. We want each of our consultants to be able to begin consulting straight away and believe this will eliminate one of the largest hurdles.

Do you ‘certify’ your consultants? As we wait for an industry-wide accepted certification, yes we do ‘certify’ those graduates of our program who complete the additional steps required. We have an outlined set of parameters that must be met in order to qualify for the ‘certification.’ After these conditions are met then the trainee is considered ‘Certified.’ What does your ‘certification’ entail? We feel there are a few components that are necessary to consider a consultant competent to be ‘certified.’ There are 6 steps that must be successfully completed.

Completing all Pre-class homework.
The “Consultation Concept” must be developed and finished by review time during the last day of class.
You must show mastery of teaching technique for 15 carrying positions, plus knots during the “group skills assessment.”
Successful completion of the final quiz at end of class.
Obtaining liability Insurance coverage as described in your Handbook.
Obtaining a valid AHA CPR card

Do you offer continuing education? Yes. We offer a range of ongoing education opportunities that we consider to be beneficial to developing and expanding your baby wearing consulting practice. We will add additional continuing education opportunities as we partner with the people and companies who we find have valuable resources that can assist our consultants. As always, as we develop these classes our graduates will have the opportunity to be involved in the “beta testing” for free or low cost. Plus they will have a voice in how the classes develop. Do you promote mentor-ship within your organization? Yes we do! We believe mentor-ship to be a hallmark tenet of laying the foundation for a new career or industry, such as babywearing consulting. Those who are paving the way in babywearing consulting have valuable experience and information. We are hopeful that they will share openly and honestly with those who are just entering the field. To that end we encourage mentor-ship and guidance within our organization and will help facilitate that as needed. Why do you teach a proper cradle carry? Yes our consultants will know how to do, and teach, a proper cradle carry. Experience has taught us that here in the USA there is a section of our population who believes that this is the best way to carry a baby. We tried to teach them to carry their babies differently and lost many of them in the process. Knowing how to do a proper cradle carry means that when confronted with the parent/grandparent/caregiver who insists that is the way they want to carry their child you will be able to assist them, talk about best practice and hopefully gain their trust in the meantime. We have also seen that, while rare, there are times when a tummy-to-tummy position is impossible for whatever reason. We want our consultants to be the best prepared for whatever they encounter and feel that this knowledge and experience helps them to be very well-rounded in their practice. Read more here : PAXbaby
http://www.centerforbabywearingstudies.com/faqs/
paxbaby
*happy babywearing*

Paxbaby

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#paxbirthdaybash8 and the swagbags!

PAXmommy Mel — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 05:22:46 +0000

PAXbaby.com

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Help us celebrate PAXbaby’s amazing achievement, our EIGHTH YEAR birthday; this month marks our anniversary of awesomeness and we want YOU to party with us! Unable to attend our party in Temecula California? Live too far away to come visit for the event? Stuck home with a teething toddler and a baby? Too shy to come out and play? NO WORRIES, we’ve got you covered! Our PAXbirthday Bash Package includes all the ingredients you will need to get your groove on all in the comfort of your own home!

Look what we have for you :

A PAXexclusive wrap scrap goodie
The ability to view Wrapsody’s Kristi’s amazing PAXseminars from our #PAXbirthdaybash8
A stalk free dibs to PAXbaby’s NEXT PAXexclusive canvas Tula Baby Carriers stocking
PLUS a chance to buy Nymphai PAX before our new Tekhni wrap is widely released!
AND you might be the lucky draw for a PAXretreat Swag Bag which includes 3 baby carriers, and over $200 in other goodies!

Say what? All these amazing prizes for $40!?!? OKAY!! Sign me up!! 🙂

PAXbaby.com

The PAXmoms brainstormed one laaaate night (early morning, really) and thought of something adorable and never ever made before (that we know of!) These Wrap Scrap Slap Bracelets are adorable, hand made here in California, and more fun than you know! As an eighties baby, the appeal of these bracelets was a total blast from the past! Show off your rainbow spirit, and slap one on!

Fine Print: Trust us to choose the right bracelet for you; some are rainbows, some are not, but we will share them equally!

paxbaby

Hearing Kristi from Wrapsody: The Wraparound Baby Carrier speak is going to be the highlight of my YEAR! This babywearing mompreneur is a founding mother to our growing industry and has more knowledge of our community in her pinky finger than most of us do added together! This lady put together the BCIA, the Baby Carrier Industry Alliance, which has saved babywearing from its demise MANY times! In addition to her work for the BCIA, her thriving wrap manufacturing business, Wrapsody… employs a family-owned company under fair trade conditions in Bali. What an amazing woman, right?

Kristi is a natural public speaker, and when I first asked her months ago about coming to be our guest speaker for our upcoming birthday party, she immediately said YES and sent me a list of interesting topics that would be fascinating to hear! We’ve chosen 2 sessions for our#PAXbirthdaybash8, one geared towards babywearing educators called Branding for Businesses which will delve into the topic of how to make YOUR brand stand out among the crowd, a trait that Kristi has mastered! Her second session is applicable for everyone who wants to improve ANY relationship whether that is parenting, business, teaching, or marriage! Personality for Peace will bring happiness to you personally and closure to some of the issues you have been facing in your day to day life. Experience these inspiring talks via recording; you will be able to watch Kristi teach over and over!

Fine print: PAXdaddy Dave from Yo Daddy will be editing and creating a video for you to enjoy! You will be emailed with the secret link in about 4ish weeks. Hold tight; it will be worth the wait!

paxbaby

It’s the moment you have been waiting for; let’s talk Tulas! In addition to all the other wonderful goodies and opportunities offered in our PAXbirthday Package, here is the chance to forego all the drama, all the anxiety, all the sadness of a regular PAXexclusive stocking, and to know that at the end of the day, YOU will HAVE a PAXexclusive Tula. Now at this point, we cannot reveal to you the pattern, print, name, or strap color that we have chosen for this special carrier, but we can assure you that it’s ADORABLE!!!! A stalk free dibs is priceless when compared to the epic adventure that is stalking for a PAXexclusive, so from now on you can just lean back, relax, and enjoy the show!

Fine print : When we receive our order of PAXexclusive Tulas (sometime before the end of the year,) we will notify you of a private stocking date and time where EVERYONE will go home with a special Tula and MORE! Please understand that these dibs are NON transferable, NON refundable, and only one PAXbirthday Package is available per PAXaccount/ household address. We won’t be able to change the shipping address manually, but if you need to edit your information, keep it updated!!! THIS ORDER IS A FINAL SALE!

PAXbaby.com

Nymphai PAX is an amazing collaboration between Jessica at The Leaky Boob, Alisa at Tekhni, and PAXmommy Jillian from PAXbaby! Designed from Jessica’s tattoo, this amazing wrap became technicolored thanks to a little rainbow boost from our signature PAX rainbow warp at Tekhni! Nymphai PAX has been described as the “baby” of three beautiful WAHM businesses, and the end result is a stunning Repreve wrap that you will NEED to add to your collection!

Fine print : These wraps are slated to be delivered to PAXHQ sometime before November. 20 random PAXbirthday Present Package winners will be selected and notified of their stalk free dibs after October 1; thanks for your patience!

PAXretreat Swag Bags are famously sought after; these packages include goodies from a wide range of sources and may each differ slightly. Wraps from Ovolo Wraps, wooden teethers from Little Sapling Toys, beautiful babywearing jewelry from an array of different companies, baby carriers from Beco Baby Carrier and Ergobaby Carriers, gift certificates for custom baby shoes from Moxx, soothing salves from Mama’s Go to Salve, handmade unicorn horns from Brooklyn Owl….. As a virtual PAXbirthday attendee, you have the chance to take home a Swag Bag for your very own. This is an amazing opportunity to win SUPER big, stock your babywearing lending libary, have baby shower presents ready for years to come, or enjoy each and every goodie yourself! Please, let’s thank the WAHMs and companies that provided such sweet items for us to enjoy with a simple Facebook LIKE; here’s our PAXblog post with links to each business page <3

Fine print: Will you win??? Wait and see! A winner will be chosen at random at our BirthdayParty, & will be notified by email the night of September 20th, 2015!

paxbaby

With all these amazeballs flying around, I’m sure you have questions for the PAXmoms so please feel free to comment here at the PAXblog or send us an email to help@PAXbaby.com! We will respond just as soon as possible but please note that these are VERY limited and once the PAXbirthday Packages are sold out, we won’t be offering any more!! THANK YOU & * happy babywearinng *

Fine print: Offer available until September 20, 2015!

paxbaby

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What Did YOU Learn from Your Teachers?

PAXmommy Mel — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 06:36:25 +0000

What life lessons did you learn from your teachers when you were younger that you still carry with you today?
PAXmommy Jillian came across this unique and beautiful story of how a mentor relationship between a student and teacher continued long after high school was over :

The relationship between former student Frances and her teacher Christina Singhi, or as she was known “Miss Rouw,” started many years ago when Frances was still a sophomore in high-school. Christina quickly became Frances’ mentor, and showed herself to be someone who not only taught her pupils subjects in school, but lessons in life.

After Frances graduated, she continued to keep in touch with Miss Rouw (Christina) and frequently came back to visit as an alumni. She watched as her teacher got married, and then became pregnant with her first child. Christina never pretended life was easy, as some adults do; Frances watched her balance life as a mother, as a woman, & as a teacher.

When Frances herself became a mother, Christina was the first one to show her the ropes. She introduced her to a whole new world of parenting filled with cloth diapers, ring slings and babywearing meetings. As Frances said, she “would still be sporting a crotch dangling Bjorn and sending megatons of diapers to the landfill if it wasn’t for her!” Christina even lent Frances her very first ring sling… and well, like the rest of us, the rest is history… Frances is now the proud owner of 2 Wrap Conversion Ring Slings, 2 Girasol Woven Wraps, a Natibaby wrap, and two meh dais.

It is not often that you hear of a teacher so invested in their student’s lives, especially after they graduate and leave high school. Think of how many people in today’s society would benefit from having a solid mentor like Christina!!! Amazing!!!

“I have become the Mom my daughter needs, the ideal Mom in ways I never thought I could be with the help and guidance of Christina. Yes, her job is being a teacher, but what she may not realize is that she continues to be my teacher off the clock.”

What Frances may not realize is that Christina benefited from their friendship as well! Seeing a student grow up and as Christina said, “become a beautiful young woman, mother, wife, and photographer reminds me of why I do my job.” It must be a wonderful feeling to look back at your students and see how you were able to help someone. Christina is able to look at Frances and see the growth, see the journey from awkward teenager to woman. Teachers have an important role of not only mentoring and teaching their students, but also helping them learn how to grow as individuals.

Thus Christina and Frances’ relationship grew from bonding over textbooks, to bonding over diapers and baby slings. As an educator, Christina continues to share the babywearing love whenever she can, and hopes that Frances (with her new found addiction) will teach her how to use a ring sling and a woven wrap with a new squish of her own one day.

Stories like these ones are SO heartwarming. Who got YOU into babywearing?? Was it a teacher? Your own mother? Your best friend? We want to hear YOUR stories.

*happy babywearing*

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