OUR FIRST FOSTER TRAINING CLASS

It literally just seems like yesterday that I was counting down the days until our first class of foster
 training. Well its here! Last night was our very first class. Yahoo! The state of Arizona requires all foster parents to go through 30 hours of training before becoming licensed to foster or adopt. This usually happens over the course of 10 weeks but we are cramming it into 5 1/2 weeks! I have heard

from many people and I agree (just after 1 class) that every parent or soon to become parents should take these classes. All of the curriculum is very in depth and can apply to any normal child or parent.

Our classes will run for 3 hours (6-9pm) every Tuesday and Thursday from now through September 10th. The trainer last night informed us that 5 1/2 weeks seems like it might take awhile to get through, but before we know it we will be coming to our very last class. Our class has 35 people total right now but apparently by the end of our 5 1/2 weeks, a couple of people will be missing. Some might decide that fostering is just not for them, some might miss more than two classes and then have to start all over again, and some might take one or two classes and then just give up. They told us it happens with every single class they have. 

When we first arrived, we were greeted by our trainer and a few of the staff members that work at Crisis Nursery. In front of where we sat, our learning stations had play-doh, coloring books, markers, and all different shapes to mold the play-doh. When we started, we were told that we were encouraged to play with the items in front of us. They call it "fidget to focus". It has been proven that when children and even adults are fidgeting with something and listening or doing a primary task, they are more easily focused and can gain more knowledge and information about what they are learning or listening too. As you can see from the picture above, my Husband was all for the "fidget to focus" concept. I think I need to buy my man some fondant! He's kind of an overachiever.

Well....one class down. 10 more to go. It's seems so strange that all of this is happening, but we are loving every single minute of it and are excited for whats to come and just how much we will learn. 

-KIMBERLY-