Parenting Workshop at IPEC

On Saturday, August 15, 2015, the Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) Las Vegas conducted its first Parenting Workshop at the International Peace Education Center (IPEC). Eighteen people attended this workshop, including one couple, to learn more about parenting. 

The presenter was Mrs. Karen Ryce, a Montessori educator and teacher trainer. Mrs. Ryce started her own pre-school and served as head teacher there for 15 years before turning her attention to the education of parents. She is the author of “Parenting for the New Millennium”, which focuses on the power of two-way respectful interaction between parent and child. Because her results with parents and kids can seem miraculous, she has been called the “miracle worker” of education and parenting.

The workshop attendees constituted a rather diverse group. Some had adult children; others were planning to become parents in the future. Mrs. Ryce offered tools, skills and strategies on developing positive respect; however, given the limited time available, she could not cover all of the material in her presentation. As a result, she asked the attendees to select topics that interested them. Mrs. Ryce then covered those topics. These included strategies for developing a positive-respect mindset, creating a plan that calms the mind and emotions, and a four-step formula for changing undesirable habits of communicating. She also outlined a method of holding family meetings in which family members negotiate solutions to specific problems. The key to all these strategies was respect.

Many questions were raised by the attendees, and Mrs. Ryce answered these questions fully and specifically. This insightful learning experience is one of the first events to warm the rooms of the newly-built Peace Education Center in Las Vegas, and WFWP looks forward to hosting many more.

Contributed by Kathleen Hwang and Kimiyo Anceney