Are You Committed To Your Child's Success?

When I talk about the value that the fine arts have to offer children, to potential parents, I often feel that they may be thinking "here we go with the sales pitch". When really it is just my passion and experience over the years that makes me to want to share with everyone.

The value of the fine arts is huge for every child. And most of the time, there is a fine art that your child will enjoy (except for those fussy days where they do not enjoy anything). Some of the values are universal, so it does not matter which one your child is interested in or even if they later switch to another. But this BLOG post is not about the values of the arts.

This post is about what we as parents should consider when signing our children up for classes, school electives and activities. The questions we should ask. The plans we should make. The celebrations for successful moments. All of this is important and the hope is that parents will find value in this information for themselves.

Most children are signed up for classes or activities each season or year because it is what "everyone is doing". This is especially so for participation in short term activities such as community sports leagues, summer camps, etc. Mindlessly, parents line up with their child to register, because the neighbor down the street mentioned their child was going to participate in the activity, without even a thought about safety, child's interest, or even long term value from what the child will experience or learn from participation.

Then the parent sits in the stands, or worse, posts on Facebook, their rage at the volunteer coaches, umpires, other teams, camp attendants or parents. They are unhappy because they were already "too busy for this" and takes it out on the child when the child does not perform well through their participation level, or lack of. It is easy to brow beat a child who is seat belted in the back seat.

Long term classes, such as dance, music, art, gymnastics is also a breeding ground for displeasure for the parent when the child is not progressing as quickly as the young performers they see on television each week. This parent is displeased when their child is not able to perform a giant in gymnastics or a pirouette in ballet after completing a six week introductory class. After all, they do it on television reality shows! (Here is where knowing parents and teachers alike, smile.)

With any class or activity, parents are encouraged to take the time to fully research the situation and spend time talking to their children to find out if there really is an interest on the child's part. Be sure to enter into the new class or activity with as much information as possible. Ask a lot of questions at registration time. And verify one more time with you child, after they have heard all the details about participating in the class or activity. Also cover with your child about the commitment level expected. 

Some questions you may want to ask are:

1. What are the specific details about the class or activity? 

2. What are any safety concerns for my child?

3. Are the adults in charge volunteers or employees? What is their training level?

4. How do you prepare the coaches/ teachers to conduct the class or activity for my child?

5. Are the coaches or teachers background checked? Drug tested?

6. What is the learning objective for this class or activity?

7. What is the long term value for my child in participating in this class or activity?

8. Are there progression levels that are written out so I can see the expectations to reach the next level? Where can I find that information?

9. How will I know if my child makes the check offs for the levels or what they need to work on to continue progressing in the classes or activities?

10. If I have a question or concern, who do I speak with? 

11. Can my child really learn something to take with them in a 6-8 week class or activity?

12. What if my child does not enjoy this?

Always remember that when signing your child up for classes or activities that you are taking on a family commitment. A commitment to follow through to the end of the session, class or activity.  So do be careful when selecting programs or organizations. Find ones that are committed to your child's success. 

And always use the resources that are available to use to keep your child interested. Great programs and organizations have fantastic ways of keeping your child entertained and engaged for the long haul. Also remember that there will be days or even weeks your child will resist going to,something they originally wanted to do. Be patient with them but be committed to helping them see it through. They will later thank you for it........... Just remember that to be truly good at something, it takes time, hard word and commitment. An activity or class that has true long term values for your child needs to be an education. Commit to finding the best for your child. 

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Band and Orchestra Rentals or Rent 2 Own

Check out this link to great rental instruments for band and orchestra. New to like new instruments and a rental plan that will blow you away! Nothing compares to this! Check it out now at http://www.nemc.com/rentals/

NOW ACCEPTING RESUMES FOR TEACHING POSITIONS

We are currently accepting resumes for teaching positions. Applicants must be able to pass a background check and be at least 18 years of age. Positions available are mostly part time but we do offer the ability to cross over into other departments to bring you closer to full time.
Positions are open in our Woodward and Enid locations.

Positions now open are:

Piano Teacher                                          Guitar Teacher                        Band Instrument Teacher
Drum Teacher                               Mom & Me Music Teacher               Music Fun Time Teacher
Ballet Teacher                                         Tap Teacher                             Jazz/ Hip Hop Teacher
Lyrical Teacher                               Contemporary Teacher                    Acrobatic Teacher
Gymnastics Coach                       Cheerleading/Tumbling Coach           Art Teacher
Academic Preschool Teacher         Academic Pre-K Teacher                 Learning Coaches

Resumes can be emailed to teacherapplications2000-enid@yahoo.com
                                            teacherapplications2000-woodward@yahoo.com

Not Every School Situation Is A Good Fit

Thirty years ago there were not many different school options to select from. I know  because we were parents that was giving other school options consideration because we were not happy with the level of learning our children were involved in.

We had a choice of public school, and pray real hard that we got a great teacher, or homeschooling. A few years later a private Christain Academy opened in our town. And yet we were not completely satisfied with our choices. Flash forward to today, and the most outstanding choices are offered for parents!

Homeschooling was not our choice because of the way people reacted to the idea (we were young enough to not know that their opinions really did not matter). And we did not find enough support or guidelines at the time to help us out. The Christain Academy also did not meet our needs for our children at that time due to their limited curriculum and staff. So we opted to stay in the brick and mortar public school, with a few of our own options added.

Being in a public brick and mortar school had it's challenges. Bullying was evident even then, but our biggest concern was the lack of up to date and appropriate classes for the success of our children. Options were very limited and most of the time our children found themselves being very bored. So we started adding extra curricular events, leadership trainings and classes to their day to round out and fill the void. Which in turn was alot of extra work on our part (because we made time and room for), but still feel it was worth the managing of, so that they were highly successful in college and in life.

Today, parents have many options! Besides the public brick and mortar schools and the private Christian schools, parents can now enroll their children into virtual schools and public virtual schools (if available in their state).

The virtual schools and public virtual schools that we have researched offer  larger curriculum options than most public brick and mortar. The one school that we have found to offer a great curriculum is Connections Academy. Especially Oklahoma Connections Academ, which is a free public virtual school available to all Oklahoma children for K-12 grades.

Oklahoma Connections Academy is one that has a a progressive curriculum that challenges the student. Languages such as Manderin and electives such as Entreneurship are set to help your child be successful in a new global world of commerce of the future. Alot of books and materials are e-book based, so they can be updated easily as things change globally. Their Gifted and Talented program, field trips and activities make it a great learning experience for every child.

So if you are just not happy with what your child is getting in school these days, we would encourage you to take a look at Oklahoma Connections Academy today and start this August off on the positive side!