Martial Arts & Academics UNITE!

July 19, 2010 By Dr. K Leave a Comment

What if there were more alignment between Martial Arts Schools and Academic Schools?   I have yet to meet a teacher who wouldn’t want a Karate Kid in his or her class.  A disciplined, focused child who says “please” and “thank you,” sets goals, and practices whatever skill (or disposition) the class is working on at the time.  Similarly, I have yet to meet a Martial Arts instructor who doesn’t want a curious, informed student who can communicate well in his or her karate classes. So, why aren’t these types of schools collaborating more often?  Academic schools already have so much on their plate.  It may also be a matter of money. A family at a quality Martial Arts School, for example, pays for a staff’s expertise, commitment, and time.  There’s also the issue of leases or mortgages, insurance, equipment, and other necessary costs.  Millions of families still … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commitment, Martial Arts

How Much Does it Cost to Care For a Child?

June 26, 2010 By Dr. K Leave a Comment

Deciding to have a child is probably one of the most irrational decisions you will ever make…especially when it comes to finances.  They sure aren’t cheap!  But the love and the learning, the smiles and the joy….priceless indeed.  Or, are they?   The U.S.D.A. recently released its annual report on how much money Americans spend on children each year.  Why it’s the Department of Agriculture that conducts the research, I have no idea….but that’s a side note.  Point being – it costs a lot: 22% more now than it did in 1960!  And that’s adjusted for inflation!  The report shows that middle-income Americans spend an average of $222,360 to raise a child from birth to 18.  Wealthier families spend even more….which tells me that these families can (and do) spend more, not necessarily that they have to.  Another interesting finding?  American families spend, on average, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education and Money

Is Trust Part of Learning…or Living – or Both?

June 21, 2010 By Dr. K Leave a Comment

A good and a bad kept me away from the blogosphere for the past couple weeks.  The ‘good’ was a visit with my brother Brian and his wife of almost 20 years Katharine.  The ‘bad’ was a root canal gone awry, prompting three visits to the dentist and a near-trip to the Emergency Room.  A whole lot of TRUST surfaced in these exchanges.  Trust that my brother and his wife would just have a good time with us, not judge us for what we are/are not doing with our kids, not worry about spending time in a house about 1/5 the size of theirs, etc.  Trust that the dentist was telling me the truth – that the best course of action really was a temporary crown at $1,350, not an immediate dose of antibiotics at a mere $7.  Trust that the pain would go away, someday.  At some points in life, you just have to take a leap of faith.  A trust in the process…and, subsequently, in others. We … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Stress Management, Teaching Our Kids to Be "Advice Consumers", Trust

Fun and Educational Board Games

June 7, 2010 By Dr. K 2 Comments

My dear friend Dee Dee Curran of Educare Consulting in Seattle just sent me an awesome list of Fun and Educational Board Games. I want to share it with all of you, too.  I re-organized the list a bit for ease of use.  I can do a lot more re-organizing too, if you want.  Right now, it's alphabetical.  The only game missing from the list is a family-fun sentence building game, You've Been Sentenced. You'll likely have the best luck finding these fun and educational board games at the one and only PlayFair Toys. Which games do you already have?  Which do you want?   What is YOUR FAVORITE?  Any to add? Here's to a fun summer of learning and laughter, challenges and camraderie!  Go out and release those endorphines, increase your dopamine, and take in even more oxygen....board games to the rescue! APPLES TO APPLES and SILLY SENTENCES (reasoning, category, association, sentence … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Games, Summer Learning

Home Library Size and Children’s Educational Success

June 5, 2010 By Dr. K Leave a Comment

How many books in your home?  Could you count them?  Do you even want to?   Researchers from the University of Nevada did just that…for 73,249 homes in 27 countries.  They wanted to explore the possible connection between home library size and children’s educational attainment.  The results of the study hit the presses a couple weeks ago.  Science Daily, for example, announced that “Books in Home as Important as Parents’ Education in Determining Children’s Educational Level.” I did some digging.  Always weary of grand claims about causation (that the number of books in a home, for example, “propels a child 3.2 years ahead in education” as was stated in the SD article), I decided to look at the study myself.  Here is what I found. Data:  Surveys from 27 countries.  The researchers did not actually go into the homes of the respondents – at least not physically.  … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Reading Instruction
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