Owning Your Own Kid-Oriented Business

When you have a passion for fostering learning in children, you may look beyond teaching and instead consider what kind of business you can run that will cater to kids. If you want to buy into a well-established enterprise like kids franchises and other children-centered ventures, you may choose one that allows kids to come into the business and learn through playing. Discovery centers throughout the country perform well because, despite all of the available technology, children still want to encounter learning through a literal hands-on approach. You can tune into this proclivity for learning through playing by opening your own location that offers kids a chance to discover at their own pace.

Image by kdshutterman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image by kdshutterman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Buying into a franchise, however, takes a certain number of requirements. You can find out what the financial and credit requirements are online. You can also find out what kind of educational and professional background you need to be considered as a valid franchisee. You also need to find out how to maintain Hr Compliance with anyone else you may employ – many companies use software to help with this, and the franchise may or may not provide these along with their other benefits.

Along with checking out the franchise possibilities, you can likewise check out what kinds of services are available to children and their parents through this corporation. When you find out what kinds of services you will be offering at your location, you can get excited about the idea of helping kids grow and learn. Also, once you kickstart the business, you might want to ensure visibility. These days, social media apps like Instagram and Facebook are trending across all domains. Most business owners tend to market their services and products on these platforms by keeping with the growing trends and earning a significant fan base. As a budding owner, if you are opting to market the services on these platforms, you might want to check out growth service tools like Combin and similar ones. They might be of help for you in gaining followers at the starting stage. But, remember to do the necessary research before finalizing with any service.

That said, as you may read online, these locations can be ideal for hosting children’s birthday parties. Many kids grow tired of going to the zoo or the skating rink for their birthdays. They would rather host their friends at a place that is fun and gives them the chance to play at their leisure. When you open one of these locations, your business could become the most popular place in town for parties and gatherings. In order to ensure your business becomes popular with children, giving out small pieces of merchandise (like silicone wristbands for example) can be a good way of getting your brand out there. It also might encourage more children to want to come to your discovery center.

Likewise, schools today tend to favor places for field trips that foster learning rather than just providing an amusement opportunity. Teachers want to connect the classroom learning with the community and world in which the kids live. Your business could become a popular field trip location because it allows kids to learn and apply their science and math lessons to the building blocks found at the facility. Teachers will take satisfaction in seeing their students use the lessons they learned in school. You, in turn, will make money and become a financially successful franchisee. To get started, however, you should go online and check out the company’s website and information and when you start considering your social media plan is a good idea to start working on building a customer base. I’ve heard that link in bio provide useful services to improve cohesive social media platforms so I hear so consider it.

Reshaping the Way We View Math

Why do I have to study this?
This doesn’t make sense at all.
This is useless – I’m not going to use this in real life.
I hate Math!

These are just among the countless tirades against Math I’ve heard from the kids I’ve tutored over the years.  I bet even you yourself have uttered these very same words. It’s a sad reality, but a great number of people do have an utter dislike for numbers. What’s even sadder is we pass this fear and loathing to the next generation.

Just as our kids inherit our genes, they learn to assimilate our fears – including our fear of Math. When kids are raised by parents who proclaim that “Math is hard.” or unabashedly admit that they are “not good in Math”, they consequently view Math as a difficult subject that they would have to gruelingly face.

[Read more…]

I Like Reading Not Math

A couple of days ago, the little ones’ preschool teacher informed me that the little ones are not very keen on doing their Math worksheets.  Jakei in particular was often adamantly refusing to answer his templates.  This wasn’t the first time he has gone home with a sad face on his hand for not working on his numbers.  Jade, on the other hand, would answer her worksheets but would do so with a frown on her face.

I love Math! It has always been my favorite subject in school! Why do my kids have an aversion to it?!

I like reading not Math was the nonchalant reply of the little boy when I asked him why he wouldn’t work on his Math template.  Both kids are advance readers and do enjoy reading books everyday.  Since they were babies, not a day passes by without a single book being read.  You can say that the love for reading has been ingrained in their lives. I can’t say the same for Math though.  But I’m hoping it’s not too late for them to love Math as well.

To encourage Jakei to be more diligent with his Math exercises, I told him that race car drivers should be very good in Math.  Aside from being a race car driver, he also dreams of being Batman when he grows up. So I stressed also that both Batman and Ironman are Math geniuses.   As for Ate Jade, I explained that she was an excellent reader because she had plenty of practice reading.  For her to be good in Math, all she needed to do was practice regularly also.  If we do Math drills everyday, she’d be adding and subtracting as fast as she could read.

Because of this, we’ve added “playtime” with Math flashcards to our daily routine.  Why flashcards?  It’s more fun!  The kids see it more as playing than learning.  Even Jakei gets excited when I bring out the flashcards.  I do hope this daily flashcards play would pay off in the long run.

Meanwhile, here’s a video of Ate Jade helping Jakei with his Math. Enjoy watching!

Choosing a Nursery for September

Choosing a school is not as easy as 1,2,3. There are just so many factors you must consider moreso if it would be your child’s first school. You’d want the school to provide a wonderful learning environment for your child. Like Ravencroft for example, Ravenscroft Admissions is a great place to go to learn more about their wonderful learning environment. In this article, Jenny West shares her thoughts on choosing a nursery for your child.Jenny West recently spent a great deal of time and effort researching the options for sending her twins to nursery and blogs about her experiences to help other parents in a similar situation

Summer seems to have finally arrived in the, which can only mean one thing for parents: the summer holidays. Maybe it’s one of many and you’re used to having to fill the endless weeks with trips to the zoo, the park and the cinema. However, for lots of parents, this is the last summer before their child goes to nursery in September with all the other children to start their academic careers. While many parents have already found care centers like Explore & Develop for their children to attend, I’m sure many parents are still looking around. If you haven’t already found the perfect nursery for your child, what should you be looking for?

When it comes to your children, safety is obviously paramount. This doesn’t change. From birth, the safety of your child is the most important thing to you as a parent. Even in years to come when you are choosing schools for them (and checking the primary school league tables), the safety measures within that school are very important. Make sure all of the nursery staff have their necessary qualifications and checks in place. Don’t feel uncomfortable requesting this information, as you can never be too careful when it comes to leaving your children in the care of others. You can also check the Ofsted report, which will be available on the nursery website or on the central Ofsted government site, to make sure that no concerns have been raised.

Proximity is another thing to consider. With little ones, long morning commutes can be tiring and frustrating, so ideally opt for something relatively local – moreso than for older children. That way, if there is a problem, it’s also easier for you to go and pick your child up. It might also be worth considering whether or not you want a nursery that is attached to a primary school so that your child has a seamless transition into the next stage of school with their new friends.

Most nurseries will focus on similar things to ensure your child develops into a well-rounded little character, but some may choose to focus more strongly on some elements of development than others. Find out what your nursery specialises in. Maybe it’s learning through expressions of creativity, teamwork or simply encouraging children to explore the natural environment and ask questions. If the learning style complements the work you have been doing with your child at home, it can help with the transition from home to nursery.

If you are friends with other parents of children of the same age as your own, find out where they will be sending their own children. This means you can ask questions about the research they have done and what they have found out about each of the nurseries they have visited. Your own child might prefer to go to a nursery where they know someone, and it can be easier to organise a picking up and dropping off rota to suit both of your schedules and give you a bit of a break.

Unlocking the Secrets to SINGAPORE MATH

Pssstt… I’ll let you in on a secret…Singapore Math rocks!

Oh alright, that’s not really a secret at all. Educators have known how effective this teaching method is since Singapore has consistently ranked first among all nations in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) from the mid 1990s until now. This is also the reason why in the past couple of years, schools all over the country and even across the globe have adopted Singapore Math into their curriculum. It seems as though the Singapore education system has been thriving in many areas, especially with international institutions such as the stamford american international school helping to contribute to this.

Lest one think that Singapore Math is an entirely new Math concept, it is actually a teaching method based on the national curriculum of Singapore. Textbooks and syllabus based on this curriculum focus on essential math skills and present simple explanations to Mathematical concepts that enable students to understand them more clearly. From concrete to pictorial to abstract, learning mathematical concepts become easier for students.

I’ve been hearing a lot about this method that I didn’t have second thoughts accepting the invitation to attend a seminar for bloggers, Unlocking the Secrets to Singapore Math, held October 15 at Fully Booked Boni High Street. During the event, I discovered how Math could be made more fun – and a lot easier to understand – using the Singapore Math method. My age is no secret as well, so yeah, I’m old school where we were made to stand in front of the class to recite the entire multiplication table and all problems were solved in x’s and y’s. Where we were taught through repetition and rote mastery, Singapore Math focuses on making students understand the concepts by presenting them in relatable situations. Model drawings are also employed to solve word problems which is actually a great way for visual learners to understand abstract concepts.

Ms. Beth Lamis of Galileo Enrichment Learning Program Inc showed us how Singapore Math works by presenting various Math problems. Let me show you how I would normally solve the problems and how I solved the problems using Singapore Math.

Photobucket

Here’s another problem involving ratio and proportion which a lot of students have difficulty with. I was surprised how easy it could be solved using box models. 😀

Photobucket

I really learned a lot during the event and am now more eager to learn more about Singapore Math. I’m sure the bloggers who were with me are all equally excited to attend the 2nd Singapore Learning Festival on February.

Photobucket

Thanks to Mommy Ruth Floresca for this group picture!

With more and more schools adopting Singapore Math into their curriculum, I’m quite certain that my kids will be taught Math using this method when they both go to big schools. if like me you are interested in learning more about Singapore Math, The Galileo Enrichment Program Inc holds quarterly workshops for school administrators, teachers, parents and students. You can visit their website, http://www.galileoenrichment.com/, or Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/galileoenrichment, for more details.

You may also want to attend the 2nd Singapore Math Learning Festival this February 2013. I’ll be attending the festival myself and do hope to see you there. 😀 For more inquiries on the conference, call 845-1234 or send an email to [email protected].

Photobucket