This is an in-person meet-up for parents of gifted children. Are you keen to meet other parents navigating similar terrain? Are you eager for your child to connect with like-minded peers in a playful non-competitive space? Join Syd and me at the Daylesford, every second Sunday, at the Wombat Hill Botanical Gardens. You'll find us relaxing on the grass with good conversation, stretching our limbs in the climbing tree, or gazing at clouds in quiet contemplation. All ages welcome.  Simply book yourself in to get on the mailing list and I'll be in touch with further details.

Oppositional parenting is a thing of the past.  More and more parents are acquiring the skills to parent as an allied front, even when perspectives differ.  Welcome to the wonderful world of parallel parenting! During this conversation, we'll touch on the pitfalls and common struggles found in raising children from both within a relationship as well as separated families.  Whilst we recognise that there are major differences, there is also a strong commonality running through its core. We'll uncover the paradigm shift necessary to become 'permissive' as well as knowing where you draw your line.  Each person has different boundaries on varying topics, given their life experience, family of origin dynamics and level of self-inquiry.  Learning the indicators of when you are getting close to your own edges, as well as how to call for processing space in the moment, is a vital tool for co-parenting. This conversation aims to guide you to deeper contemplation of your role and power to shift, as well as provide a visceral experience of living it!

Based on Pulchick's Emotional Wheel, this exploratory session is for gifted youngsters aged 4-8.  It is dynamic, with lots of movement and sound.  It is designed to encourage reflection and curiosity within a safe and structured space around feelings. We'll start by identifying the main characters at play in our emotional field.  We'll draw them, name them, we'll give them a voice and we'll make a movement for them. We'll then look at the backup singers and those in the chorus, we'll draw them and we'll give them some music to groove too. We'll touch on the idea that there are far more emotions and feelings than we have words for.  That these emotions all have unique sensations that accompany them, and they have thoughts that go with them too. From this place, we'll gently consider what it might be like to not have any feelings at all. Finally, we'll look at the ways that our feelings come out of us and what we like to do for different feelings.   About our facilitator, Devon is a qualified Yoga Therapist and holds a degree in Child and Adolescent Development.  She has over two decades of experience working with young people across a diverse range of settings, she’s climbed mountains with Steiner students and delivered yoga and meditation instruction to inmates. Devon’s attention has now turned to parenting and she co-facilitates yoga playgroups with her 5-year-old son, Syd.

Play is a potent healing tool children utilise naturally.  Children use play to undo all the little traumas sustained throughout the normal course of a day.  As parents we can actively participate in and enhance this process by directing our attention and engaging our willingness. This funshop is for parents.  It will create excitment and eagerness around meeting lifes hurdles and invite closeness and connection between yourself and your child. In this highly interactive session, we will touch on 9 forms of productive, purposeful play. We'll cover some theory, however the larger component is an embodied experience of the different styles and we'll quickly identify our individual areas of strength and develop simple yet effective strategies to capitalise on them. You will leave this 'fun-shop' with a solid understanding of play and its powerful benefits.   You will leave feeling confident in your ability to help your child navigate lifes challenges with fun and ease.   You will leave with your toolbox restocked as well as with the formulas to develop your own games to suit your ever-changing circumstances of parenting.  This 'fun-shop' is empowering, invigorating and uplifting and will put a new spin on old problems.  It will create excitment and eagerness around leaning into life's hurdles as opportunities and, in turn, invite trust, closeness, and connectedness between yourself and your child. Expect Change! (Venue to be confirmed)   Devon is a qualified Yoga Therapist and holds a degree in Child and Adolescent Development.  She has over two decades of experience working with young people across a diverse range of settings, she’s climbed mountains with Steiner students and delivered yoga and meditation instruction to inmates. Devon’s attention has now turned to parenting and she co-facilitates yoga playgroups with her 5-year-old son, Syd.

Welcome to the wonderful world of fantasy writing where you can become the author of your own adventure to a world where you are soothed, inspired and empowered!   Together we will recreate a journey into your own personal private space inside your mind, where only you can go.  It might be a garden of your own, a burrow in the ground or even the bottom of the ocean! In this fanciful environment you are the boss.  You can invite animal friends to play the games you love most or fly to far off places. There are no limits here. We'll capture your journey, write it down together and make a picture to go with it.  This will be your own special story of a place you can go anytime you like.   This session Is a collaborative project for parents and their children ages 0-7.  It serves to strengthen bonds, building trust and connection at bedtime. Bring nothing but your imagination. Devon is a qualified Yoga Therapist and holds a degree in Child and Adolsecent Development.  She has over two decades of experience working with young people accross a diverse range of settings, she’s climbed mountains with Steiner students and delivered yoga and meditation classes to inmates in prison. Devon’s attention has now wholey turned to transformational parenting and she is often found co-facilitating yoga playgroups with her 5 year old son.

Play is a potent healing tool children utilise naturally.  Children use play to undo all the little traumas sustained throughout the normal course of a day.  As parents we can actively participate in and enhance this process by directing our attention and engaging our willingness. This funshop is for parents.  It is empowering, invigorating and uplifting and will put a new spin on old problems.  It will create excitment and eagerness around meeting lifes hurdles and invite closeness and connection between yourself and your child. In this highly interactive session we will explore the 9 forms of attachment play detailed by Aletha Solter's work Aware Parenting.   We'll cover some theory however the larger component is an embodied experince of the differnt styles of play.  By trying each one on we will quickly identify our areas of strength and develop simple yet effective strategies to capitalise on them.  This process will also highlight our areas with the greatest potential for development, developing strategies to elevate them. You will leave this funshop with a solid understanding of attachment play and its powerful benefits.   You will leave feeling confident in your ability to help your child navigate lifes challenges with fun and ease.   You will leave with your tool box loaded as well as the formulars to develope your own games to suit your ever changing individual circumstaces.  This funshop is empowering, invigorating and uplifting and will put a new spin on old problems.  It will create excitment and eagerness around meeting lifes hurdles and invite a closenessa and connection between yourself and your child. Expect Change! (Venue to be confirmed)   Devon is a qualified Yoga Therapist and holds a degree in Child and Adolsecent Development.  She has over two decades of experience working with young people accross a diverse range of settings, she’s climbed mountains with Steiner students and delivered yoga and meditation classes to inmates. Devon’s attention has now turned to parenting and she co-facilitates yoga playgroups with her 5 year old son, Syd.

Join Devon and Syd as they playfully lead an exploration of Edward De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats.   In this gentle introduction for parents and their young children, you’ll be guided through the process of making and decorating the 6 hats to then take home and use for the next ‘big decision’ that arises. This is all about fostering collaboration and cooperation in a fun and accessible way... and did we mention you’ll be reaching conclusion to problems in under 6 minutes? A new tool for your kit to develop lateral thinking and create further flow in family life.  Devon is a qualified Yoga Therapist and holds a degree in Child and Adolsecent Development.  She has over two decades of experience working with young people accross a diverse range of settings, she’s climbed mountains with Steiner students and delivered yoga and meditation classes to inmates. Devon’s attention has now turned to parenting and she co-facilitates her 5 year old son, Syd.

Venue to be confirmed - Evolving Parenting offers conscious mothers and fathers a friendly and relaxed space to explore the themes, limitations and ‘daily grinds’ in their parenring as well as connection with others also wanting to uplevel their connection, not only with their children but with themselves.  This facillitated group runs every second week and creates a structure and container that gives light and space to our collective parenting dramas.   Once in the light we can peel back the layers to reveal the gems within that bring about resolution and generate ever higher levels of harmony and peace within ourselves and our relationship with our children. So bring your biggest challenges, your greatest struggles as well as causes of celebration, all will be heard, and in doing so shifted out the old patterns that bind.  Expect change. This group is artfully led by Devon Harris. Devon is a qualified yoga instructor, specialising in one to one yoga therapy with a special interest in supporting babies through transitions.  She holds a bachelors in Child and Adolescent Development, has over two decades of experience supporting young people and their families to navigate the most difficult terrains from the education system to the prison system.   With her own 5 year old child she practices the principles of Aware Parenting.  She is currently studying transformational leadership and is thoroughly enjoying exercising her group facilitation skills.   

  We meet at the gorgeous Basterfield park (Kelsall Street) each Tuesday and Friday.  We practice attachment play as well as nourishing our connections with others practicing the Aware Parenting principles. 

This workshop aims to equip parents with the tools and knowledge to have age appropriate conversations with children of any age about sex and sexuality.  This workshop will stretch even the most liberal minded of us and unlock a depth of relating between yourself and your child that will remain accessible through any of lifes challenges.   It will provide us with a phenomenal shift in perspective and will include some good humour - because let's face it, talking about sex can be awkward, leaving us feeling a little strange.  We'll explore opportinuties for opening conversations and when to take things deeper as well as some simple tools to create ease for everyone involved. Teaching our kids about sex and sexuality is just as important as teaching them about healthy eating, good hygiene, and respectful relationships. And if we don’t guide them, then the internet will. We'll delve into... • Age appropriate education from 2yrs up till 16yrs • Explaining conception, pregnancy and birth to younger children • Puberty and changes in the body • Consent throughout different age groups • Good touch and bad touch • Porn and its impact on children • Our own relationship to sex and its impact on our children • Resources and books to use with your children   A bit about the presenter - In the last 5 years, Lael Stone, has been teaching Sex Education to high school students and working with teenagers on all aspects of sexuality and well-being. Lael has just launched 'The Connection Program' a pioneering program for teenage girls that explores all components of puberty, sexuality, relationships and sense of self. She is the mother to 3 big kids - 2 of them who are teenagers and she is currently putting all her research into practice with them! Her passion is to create wellness in families through connection, communication, and education.   Lael has spent the last 15 years working in Childbirth Education and postnatal care, working with couples through pregnancy, birth and the first few years of parenting. She is the Creator and Director of the About Birth Online Education Program, a pioneering way to learn about birth and early parenting. She is also a certified Aware Parenting Instructor and runs regular groups for mothers as well as workshops and private sessions for parents who are looking to create more connection and awareness in raising their children.   And finally a few facts to astonish... Thirty-eight percent of teens report that parents are the biggest influence on their decisions about sex, while only 22 percent say their biggest influence is their friends (Alpert, 2012). Eighty-seven percent of teens say it would be easier to delay sex and avoid pregnancy if they could have more open conversations about it with their parents (Alpert, 2012). Teens who report having good conversations with their parents about sex are more likely to delay sex, have fewer partners, and use condoms and other birth control when they do have sex (Guilamo-Ramos et al., 2010; Weinman et al.)

Deep listening is an artform and a skill that can be cultivated.  It takes practice.  It is a vital part of effectively hearing our children, our partners, as well as ourselves and key in transformation and healing past traumas.  Its the foundation of trust, safety and connection.   In this session we will dip into the extensive pool of knowledge from across many cultures and couple it with yogic principles and aware parenting principles and step into a unique experiential session that will take us deeply into the sensations of hearing and being truly heard.   The journey of deep listening brings us home to our true nature and a place from which we can be authentically responsive.   Devon has been practicing Aware Parenting with her child for just over 2 years.  She has found the common thread that runs between parenting, her extensive history working with marginalised young people and her 10 year journey as a teacher of yoga.  As she is often inclinded to do, Devon has followed and pulled at that thread.  In doing so, she has discovered a rich and rewarding homebased practice which she now shares with others seeking to capitalise on the powerful transformation that conscious parenting offers.  You can view her latest offereings here www.lakshanayoga.com.au

Aware Parenting Circle, offers a chance for conscious parents to connect with and have our 'stuff' be witnessed in a safe space by other conscious parents.   This facillitated weekly group creates a container that gives light and space to our parenting 'dramas'.  Once in the light we endevour to find the gems within that bring about resolution and generate ever higher levels of harmony and peace within ourselves and our relationship with our children. So come along! Bring your biggest challenges, your greatest struggles or perhaps a glorious celebration, all will be heard and in doing so shift patterns.   Expect change.

Aware Parenting is a philosophy of child rearing developed by developmental psychologist and author Aletha Solter PhD. Based on current research in child development, Aware Parenting proposes a new approach that can significantly improve relationships within a family. Aware Parenting offers a hugely valuable set of tools for parents aiming to raise children through connection and communication, without having to use punishments and punitive discipline methods. We are so excited to welcome Lael Stone back after the amazingly insightful and invigorating workshop on 'How To Talk To Your Kids About Sex'. For those of you not yet familiar, Lael is a certified Aware Parenting Instructor working both one on one and with groups and is joining us here in Castlemaine to run a series of workshops for parents on play based connection and emotional release. In this 3 hour foundational workshop, you will journey deeply into all aspects of the Aware Parenting approach including  * Dealing with Tears and Tantrums * Sleep and Food Issues * Alternatives to threats or punishment  * Coping with resistant, defiant, aggressive or hyperactive behaviour * Using play to release stress and create co-operation Plus you'll be able to address personal concerns and quiries specific to your unique family and circumstances and explore any 'sticking points'.   It will surely prove to be as transformative, as it is informative.  Evolving yourself, evolving your family, evolving your comminuty.  This is one event that will truly support the nourishing and florishing of our most precious commodity... our children!   We are not able to cater for moving kiddies at this event, however babes in arms are always warmly welcomed.

Workshop by Lael Stone  https://www.facebook.com/laelstone/ Lael is an Aware Parent Instructor and birth educator, with well over a decade of experience.  She has three children of her own, offers individual coaching and classes on birth, sexuality and parenting in and around Melbourne and we are thrilled to be bringing her to Castlemaine. Her work aims to provide a phenomenal shift from outdated perspectives on the topic and assist in creating a non dramatic container for the radical truth.   The workshop is usually aimed at parents of children aged 2-16, but in this instance it will tailored for our group.  Lael emphasises the importance of starting the conversation early and keeping it going, and provides coaching on the 'how to' and what is actually age approriate understandings. This is not for children to attend, although 'babes in arms' are warmly welcomed.