Ok Parents, Its time to get your child ready for..... Back to School

Onegaishimasu Parents, and Students,

For most of us, this is our last week to help prepare your children for back to school. While some of our luckier students have already started school and that is FANTASTIC!! Our mission here is to help you make this year, your child’s BEST YEAR EVER in school, home and life.

We will be sharing tips and tricks to help you make sure your child gets off to a huge head start.

Our theme for the next few weeks is: I ALWAYS START STRONG!!

Now its time to do what all Black Belts do, and it is so important for your child’s development. It is the critical success habit of STARTING STRONG! Success is just a habit, just as failure and struggle are habits. Here at KEIKO dojo we know what habits result in high achieving, successful, happy, children and adults.

Parents, you are the driving force and example for your children to follow. We can develop these habits in your child but we know that YOU are a critical part of this. We have a major learning opportunity coming up this week, in preparation for back to school, and want to help set your family up for success and to reinforce the success habits of…

Structure, Routine, and Consistency, and how we as parents, apply these to the discipline, psychology, and mindset of Back to school. It is always hard to restart anything. This is even worse or more amplified for our kids.

Here's how: Structure: A regimented approach to the day, and in a broader sense the week. Have a plan for the day, and the week with well layed out expectations and times for your child to follow. ie reading time, planned excursions for back to school shopping, free play time, chores, etc.

Re-establish Routine:

a. Get them back into a school sleep/wake routine. Start today!!!

b. Pre-plan everything. Get everything ready for next Tuesday morning...their clothes, backpack, breakfast. lunch...everything! Do not leave anything for the last minute.

Be Consistent: Call this a very high form of discipline.. Make your morning, and daily routine, and structure a constant and very predictable for your child. Don’t waiver!!! Children do better when they have certainty and predictability in their lives, and you will be the example for them to follow.

The psychology behind it all…..

Get Excited : This is one where you can only lead by example. Get your child involved in the process by having them make a list of supplies they may need for school. Offer suggestions to get your child excited for back to school and for the opportunity....the best way to do this is YOU!!! You need to get excited! Get so excited you cannot stop talking about it. Your child feeds off of your emotions and energy. You need to be ten times more excited than they are!

Take care of you first - Make sure you get to bed at an appropriate time, wake early, and are fully ready, energized and excited before the kids even get up. I am always the first up….It allows me to zero myself in mentally and prepare for my day while it is still QUIET in the house.

Get them up strong - Get them out of bed right away. You probably are doing this already, but in case you aren’t, teach your kids to set their own alarm clock and to get up the first time it goes off.

All highly successful people have one thing in common - they get up early, they get up strong, they have a strong morning routine, and they start their day energized and excited.

Stay ahead of the game- Most of the stress of a school morning it caused by one thing - being late.

Gratitude and the Big Picture - When you catch yourself thinking this is too hard or "why", just remember this - you have one of the greatest gifts in the world and one of the greatest responsibilities in the world:

Your child. Take a very deep breath and go into your heart and remember how lucky you are. Go to gratitude. This is what every child needs most from you, for you to be fully present with just a moment of emotional connection. Gratitude will facilitate this. Do this and your children will look forward to getting up, and will touch in you what is truly the most important thing you can give them as a parent.

Are you ready for your BEST YEAR EVER!!?

I always Start Strong,

Sensei

Keiko Karate – “Actually we do make Ninjas and Superheroes here………………we turn kids into Ninjas and we turn their parents into their superheroes!”