Bond with your little ones in a nurturing and hands-on environment and connect with new families at the Bender-Dosik Parenting Center!
Our parenting center provides activities, classes and educational opportunities for the whole family. Celebrate Jewish holidays, cultivate essential developmental skills, create play-filled memories, and much more in a warm, welcoming community.
Events and activities include:
| Jewish holiday celebrations |
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Story time |
| Playgroups |
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First-time parent education |
| Music classes |
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And much more! |
Parenting curriculum includes formal classes, lectures, discussion and support groups, as well as comprehensive parenting resources and referral materials.
All Are Welcome
The Bender JCC embraces and welcomes the diversity of our community and encourages everyone to seek meaning and fulfillment by participating in our rich programming inspired by our Jewish heritage.
We open our doors to everyone, including people of all backgrounds, religions, abilities and sexual orientations, and interfaith couples and families.
Inclusion permeates our Center. Inclusion is belonging.
SEE ALL OUR UPCOMING EVENTS
Questions about the Bender-Dosik Parenting Center? Contact us!
The center is made possible by grants from the Bender Foundation and The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington.
CLASSES & PROGRAMS
Connect with new families and bond with your little one in a nurturing and hands-on environment. The Parenting Center supports your young and growing family with fun and diverse programs. Spark interest, stimulate creativity and enhance development through a variety of classes designed for infants, toddlers, and parents.
Mommy/Baby Yoga
Moms will learn mom-baby postures and massage techniques designed to promote bonding with each other and bring a sense of calm to baby.
Strengthen, stretch and relieve stress while getting to know other moms and babies.
Feel free to stop your practice to change a diaper, get some water, nurse, etc. No yoga experience is necessary.
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Register for Mommy and Baby Yoga
Music Together
Did you know all children are musical? Build on your child’s natural enthusiasm for music and movement and learn the skills to support the natural process of music development.
Register for Music Together
Story Time
Story Time is a joyful exploration of literature for children through song and movement, supporting early literacy and language in a developmentally-appropriate setting.
Following Story Time, enjoy imaginative play, space to climb and explore, and age-appropriate toys.
Register for Storytime
Shabbat Playgroup
Target Age Group: Two months – three years with parent/caregiver.
Spend a fun-filled morning celebrating Shabbat and other Jewish holidays and themes. Learn about customs, traditions and prayers through art, music, movement and storytelling.
Register for Shabbat Playgroup
Family Yoga Experience
Check out our new family yoga morning experience. This class uses songs, movement, breathwork, and stories to help families learn tools for connection, awareness, and emotion regulation. It is geared toward children ages 2-5, but younger and older siblings are welcome to participate as well. All props will be provided. Please register one adult and bring the family.
Register for Family Yoga
Parent Tot Gymnastics
This program is for children 12 months to 3 years old. Parents will lead children through gymnastic warm-ups and stretching, and then introduce them to gymnastics apparatus – mats, beam and obstacle courses all under the guidance of an experienced instructor! Children will work on balance and coordination and will gain an overall sense of body awareness.
Register for Parent Tot Gymnastics
Toddler and Me Yoga
Through games, songs and stories, parent or caregiver will play along with the kids and get some yoga instruction themselves.
Register for Toddler and Me Yoga
WORKSHOPS AND PARENT EDUCATION
The Jewish Essentials Program
What every Jewish parent needs to know and how to transmit it to your children! This exciting and innovative program combines classic sources with modern thinking to help you discover the beauty and relevance of Jewish thought and Jewish life and to share it with your family. Open to couples, individual parents or aspiring parents. Taught by Rabbi Hillel Shaps. Babysitting stipend available upon request.
Parent and Community Education
First-time moms with babies 2 weeks-5 months. Parent And Community Education (P.A.C.E) is a special group that meets for eight two-hour sessions to discuss a variety of topics including eating, sleeping, crying, attachment, disposition and play. Time is also set aside for members to share experiences, ask questions and express concerns.
Parenting 5-12 Year Olds 2-Day Bootcamp
Do you wonder how to raise your children to be responsible, respectful and trustworthy-all while getting dinner on the table? Do you worry about cyberspace, peer pressure and other facts of modern life? Parenting, while it brings much joy, is hard work. This class provides a sound framework for positive parenting and proven skills to understand and solve behavior problems. Learn how you can be closer and have more fun as a family while also motivating your children to be more cooperative, self-disciplined and successful.
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Parenting With Confidence
Presented by acclaimed psychologist Dr. Kay Abrams, this two-part series will address the day-to-day struggles that parents of young children encounter. Dr. Abrams will focus on how to parent with a calm, confident authority.
