Great Conversations

Our classes are based on the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social developmental space of typical 10-12 year olds. We combine factual information, humor, role-play, and stories that we hope will help you to engage your preteen in understanding the puberty experience.

If your child – for whatever reason – would find it challenging to sit in an auditorium with about 100 people for a total of 4 hours of class time (with short breaks), or you are wondering if your child is going to feel comfortable with the content, you are welcome to contact Registration to discuss.

Additional helpful information can be found on the Resources page under the “recommended reading” tab or the well-respected resource for the determination of appropriate developmental content for the classes: Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten-Grade 12, written by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.

The content of the curriculum, the humor, and stories are geared for the 10-12 year old. We ask that you honor the recommendation to respect the developmental space of the preteens and the camaraderie in the room as we all learn and grow together. Sometimes an older child will do just fine in our classes but we seldom make exceptions for children younger than 10. We ask those with children younger than 10 to wait until they are older to come to class. Our RESOURCES page has lists of books and sites that might be interesting for you and your preteen to explore together.

Yes. The goal of our class is to promote further communication between children and their parents and trusted adult resources. Most often, the preteens are accompanied by an adult of the same gender. We recognize the diversity of families, and welcome parents, grandparents, guardians, and other close family members to our classes. Please contact us if you’d like to talk through.

We encourage only one adult to accompany a child as it is ideal to keep the adult-to-child ratio in the class as equal as possible to make the dynamics for an interactive session relaxed and conversant. There is a fee for an additional adult.

Yes. There is an additional fee for each additional same sex child, 10-12 years old. Because the class offers an opportunity to learn and discuss things together, some families have told us they wish they had come separately with each of their children. We invite each family to choose what works best for them.

Please give the Registration Line a call, and we will connect you with an instructor to discuss the special needs of your child. Registration Line is (206) 789-2306 or email greatconversations@parenttrust.org.

Most of our classes are in public spaces with wheelchair access – please let us know if there are special accommodations for access or seating. If you or your child needs a special listening device or sign language interpretation, we can arrange these ahead of time. See #10 for more details.

We encourage each family to sign up individually. The class is designed to promote the parent-child relationship rather than a group experience, and we ask children and the adult they came with to sit together.

Yes. It is ideal to attend both classes in the series. If you find you can’t attend the second class, you are welcome to attend any future Class Two on the schedule. For classes in the Seattle, Puget Sound area, simply review the class schedule, select the Week Two class that is best for your family, then call the Registration Line to notify us of your selection at: (206) 789-2306 or email greatconversations@parenttrust.org. We will let the instructor know to expect your family.

In the greater Seattle area, Great Conversations offers an annual class with signed interpreters for families Please call 206-789-2306 or email greatconversations@parenttrust.org to request information on that class date, time, and location.

Interpreters for hearing impaired families and classes for Spanish speaking families in the San Francisco Bay Area are available through Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Please check information on their website at www.hearttoheart.lpch.org..

You can cancel your registration or transfer to a different class for an additional fee.

• If you contact us more than 3 business days before the first class – there is a $10 fee.
• If it is 3 business days or less before the first class, you can cancel or transfer for a $20 fee.
• If you miss a class you had registered for, you have up to 10 business days after the first class to reschedule or cancel. A $20 additional fee would apply.
• If 10 business days have passed since the date of the first class, you would be charged another full registration price to reschedule.

Your should check that several spots are open in a class you’d like to transfer to before letting us know, to make sure there’s an opening when we get to your request.

If you attended the first class of a set but find you are unable to make the second, you can pick any future second class from the schedule regardless of its availability to attend – in that case, just let Registration know so we can expect your family on the rescheduled night.

While we discuss the typical experience of puberty by gender, we often have families attend with endocrine, gender identity, and physical and cognitive differences. We believe that every child has a unique experience of growing up and learning about sexuality and their bodies. Our focus is both on what is unique and what is shared in the growing up process. Most families benefit from the experience of having these kinds of conversations together.

Our classes are based on the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social developmental space of typical 10-12 year olds. We combine factual information, humor, role-play, and stories that we hope will help you to engage your preteen in understanding the puberty experience.

If your child – for whatever reason – would find it challenging to sit in an auditorium with about 100 people for a total of 4 hours of class time (with short breaks), or you are wondering if your child is going to feel comfortable with the content, you are welcome to contact Registration to discuss.

Additional helpful information can be found on the Resources page under the “recommended reading” tab or the well-respected resource for the determination of appropriate developmental content for the classes: Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten-Grade 12, written by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.

The content of the curriculum, the humor, and stories are geared for the 10-12 year old. We ask that you honor the recommendation to respect the developmental space of the preteens and the camaraderie in the room as we all learn and grow together. Sometimes an older child will do just fine in our classes but we seldom make exceptions for children younger than 10. We ask those with children younger than 10 to wait until they are older to come to class. Our RESOURCES page has lists of books and sites that might be interesting for you and your preteen to explore together.

Yes. The goal of our class is to promote further communication between children and their parents and trusted adult resources. Most often, the preteens are accompanied by an adult of the same gender. We recognize the diversity of families, and welcome parents, grandparents, guardians, and other close family members to our classes. Please contact us if you’d like to talk through.

We encourage only one adult to accompany a child as it is ideal to keep the adult-to-child ratio in the class as equal as possible to make the dynamics for an interactive session relaxed and conversant. There is a fee for an additional adult.

Yes. There is an additional fee for each additional same sex child, 10-12 years old. Because the class offers an opportunity to learn and discuss things together, some families have told us they wish they had come separately with each of their children. We invite each family to choose what works best for them.

Please give the Registration Line a call, and we will connect you with an instructor to discuss the special needs of your child. Registration Line is (206) 789-2306 or email greatconversations@parenttrust.org.

Most of our classes are in public spaces with wheelchair access – please let us know if there are special accommodations for access or seating. If you or your child needs a special listening device or sign language interpretation, we can arrange these ahead of time. See #10 for more details.

We encourage each family to sign up individually. The class is designed to promote the parent-child relationship rather than a group experience, and we ask children and the adult they came with to sit together.

Yes. It is ideal to attend both classes in the series. If you find you can’t attend the second class, you are welcome to attend any future Class Two on the schedule. For classes in the Seattle, Puget Sound area, simply review the class schedule, select the Week Two class that is best for your family, then call the Registration Line to notify us of your selection at: (206) 789-2306 or email greatconversations@parenttrust.org. We will let the instructor know to expect your family.

In the greater Seattle area, Great Conversations offers an annual class with signed interpreters for families Please call 206-789-2306 or email greatconversations@parenttrust.org to request information on that class date, time, and location.

Interpreters for hearing impaired families and classes for Spanish speaking families in the San Francisco Bay Area are available through Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Please check information on their website at www.hearttoheart.lpch.org..

You can cancel your registration or transfer to a different class for an additional fee.

• If you contact us more than 3 business days before the first class – there is a $10 fee.
• If it is 3 business days or less before the first class, you can cancel or transfer for a $20 fee.
• If you miss a class you had registered for, you have up to 10 business days after the first class to reschedule or cancel. A $20 additional fee would apply.
• If 10 business days have passed since the date of the first class, you would be charged another full registration price to reschedule.

Your should check that several spots are open in a class you’d like to transfer to before letting us know, to make sure there’s an opening when we get to your request.

If you attended the first class of a set but find you are unable to make the second, you can pick any future second class from the schedule regardless of its availability to attend – in that case, just let Registration know so we can expect your family on the rescheduled night.

While we discuss the typical experience of puberty by gender, we often have families attend who have experiences with endocrine conditions, gender identity situations, and physical and cognitive differences. We believe that every child has a unique experience of growing up and learning about sexuality and their bodies. Our focus is both on what is unique and what is shared in the growing up process. Most families benefit from the experience of having these kinds of conversations together.