The rule of the week at the dojo is Self Discipline. You may have noticed last week our blog post about Self Control. Self Discipline is Doing the things you know you should do, when you are supposed to, without being told. In teaching the Three Rules it is very important to help children understand what they are supposed to do, what they aren’t supposed to do, and help them understand why. This understanding is what helps them change their choices about their behavior and choose more consistently the things parents and teachers want from them.
Making Good Habits
A great activity for Self Discipline weeks is to identify good habits to create and work on getting them jump started. In last weeks blog post we talked about breaking bad habits. Whatever bad habits were identified last week, this week is a great time to introduce a good habit to replace it. For example, many children excitedly interrupt their parents and other adults when they are excited to share something. Last week would have been the week to focus on not interrupting. This week we add some good habits to take the place of a bad one, so they are still working on the bad habit from last week and not forgetting about it entirely. Maybe the child has the habit of interrupting because they quickly forget what they were going to say if they don’t say it right away. So this week we help them find a way to focus their memory so while they are waiting for their turn to speak, they still remember what they were going to say. Maybe taking a moment to count on their fingers the things they want to mention. Or some other physical action they can do to help themselves remember. Step one, they’ve kept themselves from interrupting. Step two, they remember what they wanted to share when it is their turn to speak. Next week, when we are working on Respect, we can cover a polite way for them to mention to adults that they have something to say.
Share your success
Have some things that have worked great with your kids?
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Need ideas for a problem you’re having?
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