Ready Steady News

First teacher training in Russia

Volgograd is a city in the south of Russia formally known as Stalingrad and as the name suggests, it sits astride the banks of the wonderful Volga River. The first Russian Ready Steady Move! TTC was held in Volgograd in August 2010 with eleven participants – a double milestone – not only the first TTC in Russia but also the largest ever held. This was also my first time in Russia and judging by the success of the course, it certainly won’t be my last. 

Ekatarina Gilderbrand, our new Master Franchisee in the Volgograd area, organized the course in her bookstore in downtown Volgograd and managed to sign up ten course participants, quite a crowded house. I had heard about the Russian commitment to education but didn’t really understand the concept until I started teaching there. Not only did the participants keep up with the grueling course schedule, but they also stayed behind to question and practice the material for hours after. Things start late in Russia, we didn’t begin until ten o’clock in the morning, so you can imagine what time they went home. I thought I would turn up the next day to find them still practicing from the night before! 

The desire of the participants to understand more than the explanations given in the teacher guide and to hone their teaching skills was incredible. So congratulations to the nine dedicated participants who passed the TTC, you deserve all the credit for a wonderful TTC as does Katya for her impeccable organization. With any luck I will back in Russia in March for a TTC in Moscow – watch this space for more details. 

Julian Harel

Below the surface

Watching a Ready Steady Move! lesson from the sidelines is a lot fun; I do it often when visiting teachers and if you haven’t tried it you should. You can’t help smile as the kids zoom around the room or sing or perform yoga while their parents look on proudly. But there’s more to an RSM lesson than meets the eye. The kids enjoy it because it’s fun and a challenge but as a teacher you have to be aware of the deeper philosophy behind all that zooming.

Obviously you can’t and shouldn’t explain the rationale to the children. At best it would be a waste of precious time, at worst it would confuse them, but the parents are another matter. Parents want and deserve to know what is going on in your lessons. Sometime during the year you are going to meet them, hopefully both at the middle-of-the-year performance and the end of the year party. You may even see them during the year if they sit in a lesson. These are the occasions when you should explain what, why and how the kids are doing what they are doing.

Take the Pilates for example. The rationale behind the Pilates is not self obvious and the movements are often subtle so you need to tell the parents, in simple terms, what is going on. You should also explain the health benefits such as improved posture, muscle control, breathing etc. Songs as well often have deeper pedagogic meaning. For instance if you are doing a song like “On the Big Ship” you can talk about the need to stretch the long body muscles or how in “Five Little Monkeys” the kids learn how to fall down without hurting themselves.

If you have invited the parents to a lesson, explain the rationale behind the different elements especially the focusing, brain jogs and warm up as they are common to all the lessons. The yoga stories are a great place to expound on the hidden meanings as not everyone knows what the stories are for. Do not go into detail about the more esoteric side of yoga as it may offend some people and in fact you don’t have to say the word “yoga” at all, just explain why the postures are in story form and what benefits the kids gain from it.

Remember….keep it simple, don’t use any complex terminology. We will be producing an addendum to the Teacher Guide with explanations of the benefits of the different songs and games for future reference. Most importantly you should be aware what lies below the surface; it will keep you focused on the kids and on your performance.

Julian Harel

RSM now speaks (sings) German!

As usual, our development team has been busy and recently sent Ella Doron, our production manager (below on the right) to Germany to record the songs and chants for RSM 1 and RSM 2.

Our singing team consisted of two adults – one male and one female and two children – a boy and a girl. Our handsome boy singer is the son of Eileen Petzold – Bradley our Master Franchisor for Helen Doron Early English in Berlin. They all had a grand time recording the songs. See for yourselves:

Children singers: Karl Phillip Petzold-Bradley (left) and Lioba Ravén Engel (right)

From left to right: Hugo Saldías (production crew), Ruben Wittchow (singer), Anne Altenburg (singer) and our production manager, Ella Doron.

Words from the source

Interview with our CEO, Helen Doron

Susan: Why was RSM developed?

Helen: We developed RSM because of the need for children to be fit. Children today are too sedentary, obese and not healthy. Ready Steady Move! gives them a fantastic opportunity to learn different fitness disciplines including dance, Pilates, yoga and martial arts warm-ups. And of course the great benefit of learning a foreign language while getting fit.

S: What is the best age for Ready Steady Move?

H: Three to eight are great ages where the children become more aware of their physical abilities and learn good habits. It is also the ideal age for learning a new language.

S: How many languages can a child learn?

H: As many as can be presented in a systematic and fun method. Children are only limited by our ability to teach them.

S: Have you ever wanted to teach Ready Steady Move?

H: Oh YES! I would love to teach RSM although I am not sure that I have the stamina. Unfortunately, time constraints prevent me from reaching the level of expertise that is necessary to teach it.

S: Do you have any words of advice for our teachers?

H: Being a teacher of Ready Steady Move! is a combination of our personal knowledge – you have to know the material very well and your own confidence. Set up strong ground rules for discipline right from the start and reinforce them as you go along. Have true respect for the children, let go and HAVE FUN!

Ready Steady Move in Thailand!

No, we do not yet have a RSM Master Franchisee in Thailand but last month our traveling teacher, Ronit Herman, gave two lessons to first graders in the Boys Catholic school in Bangkok.

Ronit is traveling with her husband and three children on an amazing adventure trip through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Nepal. The trek will take them over 40,000 kilometers and 9 months of travel. They are driving in a renovated fire truck and if they are coming your way – you don’t want to miss them. If you are friends with Ready Steady Move on Facebook you can see Ronit’s pictures as she makes her way across Asia.

Ronit will be giving demo lessons whenever it is possible and spreading the Ready Steady Word as she goes. The lesson (pictured here) in Bangkok had 50 1st grade boys split into two groups and they LOVED it! Pon, our Helen Doron Franchisor in Bangkok came to see the lesson and heard straight from the children themselves that they would like Ronit to come every week!

We just heard that Head Shoulders Knees and Toes has reached the Leesu tribe in the northern most village in Thailand! Stay tuned for more adventures from the Far East.

How to make RSM magic

So there you are, teaching lesson six for the tenth time this week. You know everything there is to know about it. You know exactly how long you have to spend on each part and still finish the entire lesson in exactly forty-five minutes. You know exactly how to teach Hokey Cokey, how many times it takes until the kids know how to tell their left from right. Or how many repetitions it takes until they can jump in and out the hoops without thinking. In fact you could teach lesson six in your sleep if you had to. Then something happens, something unexpected – magic!

Magic, for me, is the feeling that the lesson has a will of its own. It’s like riding on a wave that carries you and the kids along from the first focusing activity until the Goodbye Song. You don’t have to do anything out of the ordinary; you certainly don’t have to try harder or jump higher than usual. In fact the harder you try to create this magic the harder it gets. This is the magic paradox. So how do you make the magic?

I think that teaching the same lesson six times in the same week has a lot to do with it. You have to work very hard to make magic, it probably won’t happen the first time you teach something as you are too wrapped in the method – too invested in “getting it right” – to let go and let the magic take over. But repetition isn’t everything. There is a danger of becoming stale when you have to teach the same material day in and day out. This is called being “over cooked” and the kids pick up on this, if you are bored – they are bored. It’s a fine line that divides magic from tedium. You have to approach each lesson as if it’s the first time you’ve taught it – you have to be excited about the prospect of teaching a new song or yoga story, the kids pick up on this as well.

But this still doesn’t create the magic. I think the magic happens when you are so familiar with the material that you can let go of the method and allow the lesson to happen on its own. I’m not saying don’t look at the guide – heaven forbid! It’s a matter of self confidence. If you can create the right atmosphere from the beginning of the lesson by really getting them focused – not just going through the movements – then you have a chance. You then build on this by flowing with the material. This is not some esoteric philosophy, it’s teaching from a position of self awareness, preparation and knowledge. If you have to turn your back on the kids and study the guide for thirty seconds to know what comes next then you can’t create magic. If you stop – they stop.

So how do you know when the magic is happening? That’s easy, just look at their faces. If the kids are happy, simply enjoying the moment, then the magic has taken over. Then all you have to do is join in the fun and ride the wave with them.

Julian Harel

Dear Ready Steady Move teacher!

Seasons Greetings to all of you and best wishes for a great 2011.  

Even if you do not celebrate “Sylvester”, a new year is always a good time for reflection, for setting goals and for renewing our energy.  In addition to spending time with your families and work, please take a few minutes to enjoy this issue of Ready Steady News. 

As more and more countries come on board, we are really excited to see Ready Steady Move! spread internationally and grow with more and more languages.  It is truly a multi-lingual fitness program. 

As we are growing in Europe, there are many teachers whom I haven’t had the opportunity to meet.  For those of you who I have yet to meet – I’m Susan – acting Master Franchisee for Israel and Sales Manager for our international expansion.  I have been at Helen Doron for over 2 years and among other things, I’m available for any marketing advice, running TTC’s in Israel, promoting Ready Steady Move, scheduling issues (Israel) and putting this newsletter together along with Julian. 

This newsletter is written for you, our teachers, and we hope that the articles will be interesting and helpful for you.  If there are issues you are struggling with or something that works exceptionally well that you want to share – that’s what we are here for.

This issue and past issues are also available on the Ready Steady Move! website at http://www.ready-steady-move.com/blog.  Please feel free to comment – we love to hear from you!

First, we would like to warmly welcome all the new teachers who have joined us since the last newsletter:
Yehudit (Safed, Israel), Inbal (Amirim, Israel), Luana (Zarzir Israel), and our new teachers from Volgograd:   Darya, Ksenya, Marina, Natalya R , Natalya K, Yulia, Olga, Svetlana and Tanya.

We would also like to congratulate Ganit Amit on the birth of her second child, Adam.  Ganit is our resident Pilates expert and the presenter in our just-released Pilates DVDs.   She can be found modeling in the RSM Teacher Guides as she demonstrates the Pilates exercises.  Ganit also gives a Pilates lesson once a week to the HD staff at Headquarters and didn’t miss a class – right up to a week before she gave birth.

Russian goes live!  The RSM website is now up in Russian:  www.ready-steady-move.ru  [front page] and you may even listen to the playground yoga story in Russian on the video clip page. Gorka, gorka.  (a slide, a slide). And not to be outdone, on our British site you may hear the same yoga clip is in French!  

The latest production of our RSM 1 yoga DVD is in German, Russian, English and French.  It is now in the warehouse and awaiting your orders! 

JUST ARRIVED!!  Pilates for RSM 1 and RSM 2 in all 8 languages including Spanish and Mandarin.  More about that in our next newsletter.

Please friend us on FaceBook – search for – Ready Steady Move and RSM Teachers
You may also find us on Twitter: Susan_at_HD
Looking forward to your feedback, suggestions and questions,

Susan Neeman

A letter from Susan Ne’eman

Dear Ready Steady Move! Teacher,

Every time I sit down to put together an edition of Ready Steady News – I am amazed both by how time flies and by how much there is to report!  We are moving at the speed of sound and hope you are all able to keep up.   So, as we prepare to start a new school year, please take a few minutes to enjoy this issue of Ready Steady News.

The issue is also available on the Ready Steady Move! website by clicking on “blog” at the foot of the homepage.  Please feel free to comment – we love to hear from you!

First, we want to officially welcome Katya Gildebrand, our new Ready Steady Move Master Franchisor from Volgograd.  She will be hosting her very first TTC this week.  Good Luck!  http://www.ready-steady-move.com/rsm_russia.php

Second, we would like to warmly welcome all the new teachers who have joined us since the last newsletter:

RSM Teacher Training, March 2010

In Israel: March 2010 TTC Katya (Russia), Kim (Austria), Lorraine (UK), Emmi (Ashkelon),  Ayelet (Carmiel) and Sandy (Canada)   below

In Israel: March 2010 TTC Katya (Russia), Kim (Austria), Lorraine (UK), Emmi (Ashkelon),  Ayelet (Carmiel) and Sandy (Canada)   below

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RSM Teacher Training, August 2010

August 2010 TTC Debi (Israel), Dana (Beersheva), NetanYah (Tsfat),  Ronit (Israel   and the far east – more about that in our next issue), Tal (Italy), Francesca (Italy)

In Israel: March 2010 TTC Katya (Russia), Kim (Austria), Lorraine (UK), Emmi (Ashkelon),  Ayelet (Carmiel) and Sandy (Canada)   below

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We would also like to congratulate Chavie Fuchs on the birth of her second son,  Shimshon , and Liron Uzana  on the birth of Yoav.  Both of these very fit ladies gave birth with perfect timing and plan to be up and moving by October! timing and plan to be up and moving right after the holidays!

Also in this issue:

1. New Pilates DVD’s
2. Parents, Politics and Pre-schoolers
3. Making a Difference
4. Meet Mazi – our featured teacher
5. Don’t stop me now! – fitting everything in
6. Ready Steady HOP!

NEW DATE for the Refresher Seminar Israel – October 8^th, 2010  – details coming shortly

TTC RSM 1 – Volgograd, Russia   August 25-27^th

TTC RSM 1 –   Israel   October 5^th – 7^th

Please friend us on FaceBook –  search for  – Ready Steady Move! and RSM Teachers

Looking forward to your feedback, suggestions and questions,

Susan Ne’eman

Pilates for Families 1 and 2

Ready Steady Move! now has two new DVD’s for practicing Pilates at home. Both of these DVDs are scheduled for release in September – they will each include two 15 minutes sessions of Pilates exercises suitable for the whole family.  Each exercise is presented by our Pilates expert Ganit Amit and narrated in no less than seven languages!  So now you can do Pilates not only in English but in French, German, Russian, Hungarian, Mandarin, Hebrew or Spanish!  What a way to get into shape!

The DVD’s will be included in the full afternoon set of Ready Steady Move!, one for each RSM 1 and RSM 2 and also in the Teacher Set.  All of our existing teachers, will receive the appropriate DVD at the first available seminar or refresher day.  All new teachers will receive them at the TTC.

Make sure to encourage your students to watch and practice the exercises to improve their fitness and stamina.

Parents, Politics and Pre-Schoolers

by Julian Harel

I like parents, I really do, I’m a parent, some of my best friends are parents, even my mom and dad are parents but sometimes, just sometimes they can be too much. I’ve had the unpleasant experience of having to deal with a very “sticky” bunch of mothers this year in one of my afternoon groups and I thought I’d share the experience with you – just in case you run into a similar situation.

From previous experience with teaching martial arts to small children I know that parents should be encouraged to attend the first time; it gives them a chance to see the lesson and ease the child’s fear of being in a new environment with strangers. But that’s it. One lesson only, unless they want to take part and in that case I invite them to a parent – children class. Even if they sit quietly and don’t chat with the other parents or talk on their mobile phones (which has happened) they will always be a distraction for the kids, a place to run to for affirmation or solace. This is especially true with kindergarten-aged children; the older ones throw their parents out faster than I do, they won’t need their parents again until it’s time to pay for college. Of course it is not only the children who were instigating this situation; the parents wanted to be there just as much as the children wanted them to stay.

I would like to quote from a book called “Children and the Martial Arts” by Gaku Homma:

“We are careful to explain to all our new students and their parents that our dojo is not a gymnasium; it’s a school. It is a place for teaching and learning. It is not a gym where spectators watch the instructors as they teach and the students learn. Parents of beginning students are often surprised – and not particularly happy – with this policy. They assume that they would be allowed to watch their children practice martial arts as they would baseball or soccer practice.”

And:

“The attention and praise that children receive from their parents strongly affects their behavior. I believe that there comes a time in a child’s development when it is best not to have parents physically present – a time when a child learns to behave independently of their parent’s will and supervision.”

I made the mistake of allowing the parents to stay – it was a new group in a new setting with people who did not know me but the result was awful. The children would act out for the benefit of their mothers, running off in the middle of the lesson and ruining the concentration of everyone. One kid would start acting up and they all would join in. My authority as the teacher was automatically negated by the mere presence of a parent.

It’s OK now. I went back to my original philosophy and asked the parents, nicely of course, not to hang around anymore, not even outside the door  and it worked. No more showing off, acting out or running away. The kids even apologized for their “bad” behavior the week before and promised that it wouldn’t happen again. I guess this is what you would call “tough love” but they’ll be better people for it…. the parents that is!