As summer comes to a close and school edges ever closer, it is important to ensure that your children are ready to return to the scheduled and orderly environment of the classroom. As young children re-enter school, and younger children attend for the first time, focus and discipline are essential in order for them to get the most out of their time in the classroom. Positive discipline can encourage and improve your children’s attention as well as their focus. Child discipline programs vary, but martial arts programs in particular can greatly improve your children’s self-control and restraint, and prepare them to be excellent students throughout the school year.
Respect
One major area children may struggle with when returning to school is a sense of respect for their teachers, as well as their classmates. Children can struggle to recognize their teachers as authority figures whom they are to listen to and work with. They can often forget to consider how their actions effect their fellow students as well. Martial arts programs are largely based in respect, and can greatly encourage this quality in your children. While some children rebel in the face of authority, these programs employ practices of positive discipline to encourage children to be respectful without making them feel small or less than. When returning to school, they will have practiced and learned this respect, making school a more beneficial experience for them and their peers.
When children are more prepared to respect their teachers, they are also more prepared to focus on the material presented to them. This allows them to take in and better understand the concepts and preform better on homework, classwork and tests. Their respect for their classmates can also benefit them academically Group projects are a commonality in younger classrooms, and without respect for each other children will struggle to do well. Respectfulness will help your children to make friends more easily as well, which will make school an all around more pleasant experience for them.
Attention
Another aspect of school that is challenging for many is paying attention during lessons. A child’s attention can be quite easily pulled away by fellow students, interesting toys or even a bird flying outside the window. This can pose a major problem as lessons become more challenging, and important foundational concepts are being explained. Martial arts demands a child’s focus and makes them not only more aware of the way in which their distraction may effect them, but how it may effect those around them as well.
As children are better able to focus and pay attention in class, they will retain more and better grasp challenging material. In earlier grades this is especially important. Lessons taught at younger ages are preparing them for all that will build on that knowledge. If they understand addition because they were able to pay close attention to lessons, this understanding will provide a strong foundation for multiplication later on and multiplication will be easier to master.
Confidence
School can be a frightening experience for children, and they are often unsure of themselves in the first few weeks whether they are attending school for the first time or returning students. Confidence is an attribute that many young children long for but do not yet posses. These programs can encourage self-confidence in your children as they learn incredible skills and are rewarded positively. The encouraging environment and sense of camaraderie they develop with their peers will boost their morale and illustrate that they can come together with their peers to do something amazing.
This confidence will also extend to their studies, as children who are more sure of themselves have an easier time taking in new information and feeling confident putting new concepts into practice. This confidence will also help them score higher on tests, as less time will be spent stressing about their inadequacies, and more will be allotted to preparing and feeling self-reliant and positive about their tests.
Learn More
Respect, attention and confidence are qualities that allow children to thrive both in school and in later life. Support your child’s development by learning more about our program. As your children flourish both academically and socially, you will be grateful that you took the time to help them build these empowering skills and habits at a young age.
Children benefit greatly from having a hobby which they enjoy, so why not allow them a hobby that will be fun and exciting and will also provide them with indispensable life skills? Use this time when your children are full of energy and in need of order the most to encourage them and help them become more disciplined and capable students. Giving your children a leg up can make them better life-long students and friends.
