
Hello Parents,
A few weeks back you may recall I wrote about the importance of continuing learning and development in our children over the summer.
I wanted to follow up on that with you……
Believe it or not the end of school, and the beginning of summer is right around the corner.
We often talk about giving your child that competitive edge over their contemporaries. This summer, while other children are sitting on the couch playing video games and eating candy and chips all day, Keiko students are building powerful success habits, and continuing to develop the self discipline of continuous learning.
We intentionally put a lot into summer at Keiko Martial Arts for three main reasons:
Keep as much structure and discipline as possible in your child’s life so they do not lose good habits.
Keep them learning over the summer so they develop the concept but more importantly, the habit of “continuous learning” and the character trait of being a “life-long learner”.
Get them ready for school so they have their ‘best year ever’ come September.
One thing we do over the summer our parents really appreciate is our “Summer Reading Program”. If you want to know a simple basic key to a child’s success it is reading. Kids that struggle at reading will probably struggle at school. If they struggle at school they will grow to not like school. The element of this program that parents like the most is we are the ‘bad guys’. You don’t have to tell them to read WE WILL!
Our mission is to become that “village” that surrounds you and your child as they develop into young adults. We are also obsessed with answering the question:
“What makes the difference between a child that succeeds and thrives, and one that struggles and fails?”
So let’s take a look at each of the three above and help you take full advantage of all of them here:
Structure & Routine: Yes, it is almost June but we already know that if you want your child to have their best school year ever come September, the time to ready them is during the summer. Actually a common mistake parents make is to wait until the week before school starts to prep their children. Hey we used to do this too…..Like most parents we used to wait until the week before school starts to reestablish structure, and routine for our son, but quickly discovered this wasn’t optimal for his success., and like most other students it took a good month or two before he was “in the groove” again.
By maintaining structure, routine, and continuing the learning, come September, Keiko Students are already 2-3 months ahead of their peers and ready to have their BEST YEAR EVER at school. Think of that for a second……. A two - three month head start on everyone else!!!! WOW!!! Talk about advantage….
To make a long story short we methodically start preparing your child for the next school year in JUNE! We talk up school and why it is important. “School is important to us!” You can reinforce this higher standard by having discussions with you child on “your” family’s values, expectations and standards concerning education. Just start with this phrase “In our family we love school”
Consistency and Self Discipline: Believe it or not kids actually do want, and thrive on structure and discipline. This stability and certainty helps them feel safe, confident and successful. And again, what is the difference between a disciplined and an undisciplined person? POWERFUL HABITS. Habits are only developed with consistent, intentional repetition. This is especially true in a child’s early years of life. But, for most kids guess where most of the structure and disciplined actions and habits revolve around? SCHOOL. Now what happens when school disappears? The habits disappear. Parents are often surprised when they learn that there is no difference at our dojo between the school year and summer. These parents appreciate their child’s karate classes keeping at least some consistency and regiment in their lives without school. There is even more that you can do on your end. Definitely have fun and travel over the summer but when you are home keep their lives as structured as possible. Wake up and go to bed at the same time. Have regular meal time, reading, chores and family time.
Continuous Learning: This is one I am big on for one huge reason. All highly successful people know learning is a continuous process. It never ends! As a matter of fact the highly successful learn far more after their high school or college days are over. We inadvertently do something I do not think most parents realize – we teach our kids that learning is something you turn on and off! In June we flip the learning switch off………..and we wonder why our children stop learning when they graduate or leave school? Bad habit!
Here is how it typically works. Kids are "jarred" into the learning mode on that morning in September when mom is nagging them to wake up. At the other end of the spectrum are the kids that are excited for the first day, and the promise of something new, and seeing old friends. However, their enthusiasm fades quickly after a few days because the "fun" of something new again, and the novelty has worn off, and the REAL WORK BEGINS!! They struggle to re-establish learning structure and routine.
In August we really start turning up the preparation. Our training theme for August is my“Best (school) Year Ever! We are going to partner with you this summer to help your child have their
BEST YEAR EVER!!
Have an amazing week!
Sensei
Keiko Karate – “Actually we do make Ninjas and Superheroes here……………we turn kids into Ninjas and we turn their parents into their superheroes!”