Earlier this year we set our sights on scripting, writing and taping the GIFT series (a contemporary DVD presentation focusing on parenting children between the ages of three to eight years). However, in late January we took what we thought would be a short detour to update the Preparation for Parenting curriculum. That detour turned into a major journey leading to a fully revised DVD presentation and workbook. With the aide of sixty-member support cast and after eight hundred production hours, we are pleased to announce that the DVDs will be in the GFI warehouse on September 7, 2010, and available for U.S. shipping destinations on that date. If you are planning to lead a Preparation for Parenting class this fall, here are a few facts to consider when preparing your schedule.

Regarding the DVD series: Introductory Price: $39.00

Whether a seasoned Preparation for Parenting leader, or a first time purchaser the introductory price for the new series makes it very affordable to upgrade to the sixth edition. This introductory pricing expires on October 30, 2010. (Student workbooks are not included in the price.)

Regarding the updated 6^th edition Preparation for Parenting workbook:

While the newly revised Preparation for Parenting workbook were fully revised and expanded, the book will not be available until late October (2010). However, we have a workable alternative for those starting fall classes using the new sixth edition DVDs.

Regarding starting classes with New DVD series without the updated workbook:

For Prep classes starting this September or October, we suggest leaders provide each family a fifth edition Preparation for Parenting workbook and then replace it when the new sixth edition workbook becomes available. GFI will help underwrite this expense by offering the fifth edition workbook for $3.00 and the replacement sixth edition book for $3.00. Together, the total cost of the two books with shipping will be less then a standard order under normal circumstances.

As a Prep Leader, please note that class participants will not be utilizing the outlines found in the fifth edition workbook, but the weekly reading assignments will follow the sixth edition DVD presentation. Once the new books arrive in our warehouse upgrades will be available by calling the GFI customer care center. Specific upgrade instructions will be included with your order.

Regarding the content of the 6^th edition DVD presentation.

Motivated by the single goal of helping a new generation of expectant parents navigate the unfamiliar territory of nurturing a newborn, the sixth edition Preparation for Parenting series is immensely practical and understandable. The series contains five visits, tracking two newborns and their families from birth to six months of age. Fast moving, engaging and filled with visual examples, the new Preparation for Parenting appeals to the contemporary learning styles of the present generation while delivering the timeless message; that parenting in the mind of God is a Kingdom issue that has social implications.

The Potty Training 1-2-3 book by Gary Ezzo and Anne Marie Ezzo now has a new 30-minute companion video in high definition (HD).  The full video is available for free online viewing.  Beginning December 15 the video will also be available in DVD format from GFI.org.

Drop by the Potty Training 1-2-3 page to read an awesome testimony.  You will find links to the online version of the full-length Potty Training 1-2-3 video and a link to GFI.org where you can order a copy of the new video on DVD.

The Toddlerhood Transition DVDs are now available in the GFI store and the visit summaries are available for download in the Leader’s Place section.

As a ministry, we understand how important it is to provide biblical parenting principles in a medium compatible with contemporary learning styles or we risk having a “good” message lost because the form of communication undermines the substance of thought. Today’s Moms and Dads are accustomed to teaching that activates all the senses, not just the intellect. They are looking for more than a “talking-head” and a five point outline.

After nine months, countless hours of strategic planning, scripting, and filming which included more than one hundred and sixty-eight individuals, the latest GFI curriculum is done! The Toddlerhood Transition (Parenting Your 18 to 36 Month Old), is out the door and headed for duplication. While waiting for final delivery of the DVDs and the printing of the books*, we want to provide some preview segments for the GFI community. Take a look at what is coming your way.

The series includes nine visits, each one averaging approximately twenty-two minutes in length. While parents of toddlers (ages eighteen to thirty-six months) are the target audience, many principles extend to children four years of age and beyond. When possible, we recommend parents with toddlers first go through The Toddlerhood Transition series before entering Growing Kids God’s Way.

*We wish we could tell you The Toddlerhood Transition DVDs and books are presently in our warehouse; unfortunately this is not the case but they will be there soon. The DVDs will be available for sale after October 12, 2009 and the books are expected by November 25, 2009. However, do not let the delay of the books hold you back from starting your classes. We have posted .pdf summaries of each visit on the Growingkids.org website in the “Leader’s Place” section. These summaries provide the key points for the individual lessons and serve to encourage plenty of small group discussion.

Where do we go next? With The Babyhood Transitions, Preparation for the Toddler Years and The Toddlerhood Transition series all completed, we now turn our attention to the “Gift Series”. This next project has us combining many of the precepts of Growing Kids God’s Way with a number of new parenting concepts and presenting all of them in a new updated and contemporary format, again perfectly suited to the learning styles of a new parenting generation. We are looking forward to this next test of our endurance and certainly the adventure a project of this scope will take us on. But for now, please enjoy The Toddlerhood Transition series.

You help your son blow out his first birthday candle and Great Aunt Lilly proclaims, “He’s a toddler now!” Not so fast! The period between twelve and eighteen months places a child on a one way bridge to the future. Infancy is a thing of the past and toddlerhood is straight ahead. A baby still? Not really, but neither is he a toddler and that is the key to understanding this phase of growth.

Take a couple of photos because the child leaving infancy will not resemble the child entering toddlerhood six months down the road. This is a period of metamorphosis when his potential for learning seems limitless, his budding curiosity unquenchable and his energy level never seems to diminish.

This is a period of great of exchange: baby food is exchanged for table food; the highchair for booster seat; finger feeding replaced with spoon; babbling sounds transition to speaking, the first unsteady steps are conquered by strides of confidence, and the list goes on. Moving forward at a lighting pace, your pretoddler is driven towards a new level of independence, equipped with a mind of his own. Whether you’re ready or not his natural inclination and challenge of “I do myself” will become increasingly apparent, not to mention frustrating.

The emerging pretoddler is acutely aware of self, although at twelve months of age he is not fully absorbed in the self importance of me, myself and I. (Hang on, that blessing of his nature will show up around twenty months of age.) Try taking something away and a scream of protest is likely. Remove him from a dangerous object and his curiosity lures him right back. His favorite foods suddenly become not-so-favorite and in a few months “No!” will become his default word whether he understands the question or not.

The natural inclination within pretoddlers towards independence is very strong yet, unpredictable. He is always in motion and not easily restrained, directed or controlled, but he needs to be! Boundaries will be tested, rules understood as suggestions, and curiosity will become a force to reckoned with. How will you meet these unfolding challenges? That is the big question. The answer begins with understanding the various growth transitions of the next one-hundred and eighty days of your pretoddler’s life. (For pricing details please visit our store at www.gfi.org)