Ready Steady Freeze! Tips for keeping control

Earlier this year, Julian was giving a TTC in Hungary and I volunteered to substitute for a class of 28 first and second graders. OMG! They practically ate me alive. If I had only known Julian’s tips I would definitely have been better off. And so I bring you: Julian’s tips and tricks for keeping control without being mean.

1. Be nice. The kids are there to have a good time and we can’t make it seem like school (even if it is).

2. Use chairs if you have enough room. This speeds up the transitions and keeps order in the courtroom. Don’t let them fight over seats;  separate problematic children if you have to.

3. Set clear rules: Make sure they know that all drinking (water), eating, and visits to the toilet must be completed before the lesson. After a few weeks they will learn that they cannot come and go as they please.

4.  Always try to have another adult in the room (teacher, aide, parent) to take care of any problems – discipline or other. If a child is having difficulty behaving, tell them to go and sit next to ________.

5. If things get out of control, stop – sit them all down – then use breathing or focusing exercises to calm the children.

6. Don’t lecture them – Understand that sometimes it’s like taking the top off a fizzy drink after it has been shaken about – of course the kids are a bit rowdy – they have been sitting at a desk all day long.

7. Always try to end calmly with a breathing exercise.

We are happy to hear from you as well. Send us your comments and tips.  Julian is eagerly awaiting your questions.

We’re on Television!!

We’re on Television!!!

Last spring, Ready Steady Move! received a green light to graduate from kindergarten into a children’s television show. In conjunction with HOP! the popular Israeli television channel for preschoolers, Ready Steady Move! now has a life of its own.  Twenty-six episodes have been recorded and will reach over 1 million households. This has happened so fast that by the time you read this newsletter, the first few lessons will have already aired. We are sure there will be many reruns so stay tuned and look out for our program called ….. Ready Steady HOP!

The show features our own Ella Doron as the teacher, two adorable puppets, Max and Millie and the Ready Steady HOP! kids. Together with Ella, they learn new words in English, and dance and stretch to the music we all know and love.

This is an fantastic tool for any of you (in Israel) who are promoting the program in your towns, schools and community centers. Let your students know when we are on and watch your classes grow in size.  You may find the TV schedule at: www.hop.co.il

Here is a (very) short preview: Ready Steady Hop! 

Stay tuned for more…

Even Adults can learn with Ready Steady Move!

As teachers we have seen how effective the Ready Steady Move! method is and how fast the children learn words and concepts – but does this work for everyone and in any language?

At the latest Teacher Training Course in Jaffo we had an opportunity to witness Ready Steady Move! in action for adults.  Attending the  training were teachers from Israel and abroad – with four different mother tongues represented;  English, German, Hebrew and Arabic.   Just for fun, Julian asked everyone to teach the corners game in their native language.   The results?  Sara from Germany learned “not “ (hop) in Arabic and everyone learned “springen“ (jump) in German.  Even Julian has been affected: when he  came back from a TTC in Budapest, I believe I heard him chanting in Hungarian!  Gyerekek nek! (for the kids).  Wow!  Live proof of the effectiveness of the Ready Steady Move! methodology.

Recently Maggie Xu (left), our woman in Beijing, recorded the Ready Steady Move! Yoga stories in Chinese for our new DVD.  Who will be first to do the playground story in Mandarin? We are offering a      for the winner! 

Ready Steady Jump!

Sometimes, to the naked eye, RSM lessons seem to jump from one thing to the next without any continuity. Despite the impression, this is exactly what is intended. Children have a short attention spans and need constant stimulation to keep them engaged. Ready Steady Move! mixes high energy activities (dances, games) with periods of quiet ( breathing, yoga, workbook activities) to avoid over-stimulation and enable the children to practice focusing.

As the children glide from one activity to the next they are continually learning. Different types of children learn in different ways – some learn better when they are active – others need to be quiet. With Ready Steady Move! we maximize the effectiveness of the learning by using many different methods.

Celebrating the birth of our latest addition – the Ready Steady Move! Yoga DVD

Congratulations! At Ready Steady Move! we are celebrating the birth of our latest addition – the Ready Steady Move! Yoga DVD. As proud parents, we are showing it off everywhere! From the graphic design, to the animation, to Sharon Kanor’s flowing movement, it is simply beautiful and complements the RSM program perfectly. All of the wonderful yoga stories that were created especially for Ready Steady Move! are presented in both mother tongue and in English.

For our Hungarian students, we made a special recording in Hungarian so that the children can hear the stories first in Hungarian and then in English. Thanks to Klara Kiss, our Hungarian MF for the translations and to Katrin Varga for the recordings. Our Israeli students can listen both in Hebrew and in English. The Hebrew was read by Daniela Shibi from our customer service department.

The DVD first presents the poses in the “dictionary” and teaches how to hold each one. Our special yoga stories are told with the aid of the poses. The children can do them alone or together with the rest of the family for “extended” exercising.

Incidentally, the birth of our yoga DVD coincided almost exactly with the birth of Sharon’s own baby girl Noya, – who, if you look closely, you can see just starting to show as she recorded the poses in the second month of her pregnancy. Mazal tov Sharon!

Now-a-days many movies come with a warning – don’t try this at home. With this DVD we say the opposite! Just do it! For additional fun, we recommend you also listen in a language you don’t know yet – who knows – you may just pick it up!

Goodbye Song

Ready Steady Move! 1 lessons now end with the Goodbye Song. We felt something was missing to tie the lesson together and leave the children in a really positive, happy manner. So what could be better than a good-ole twist!  If you do not have the recording, please be in touch with Julian who will send it to you. Here are the lyrics:

Goodbye Song 

Let’s swing low

And jump up high.

Let’s wave our hands

And kiss goodbye.

Let’s dance the twist

Then off we fly.

Let’s wave our hands

And kiss goodbye.

So why not learn Chinese?

So why not learn Chinese? I mean a billion people can’t be wrong. And while you’re at how’s your Spanish, Hungarian, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, French, German, Italian and Japanese? Personally I would love to be able to speak more languages but I started too late and was forced to sit and soak up endless lessons of boring French and pointless German. Oh to be a polyglot, it makes you seem so intelligent doesn’t it? So why not start early, when your brain can still assimilate any language as well as your mother tongue?

This is where Ready Steady Move! comes in. This program uses movement to enhance language acquisition in kids from four to eight years old. Here at Helen Doron we say that “an active body is a learning body.” We get those kids out of their chairs and away from the endless grammar lessons and into a fun environment full of music, dance, yoga, Pilates and games. The kids don’t realize they’re learning a new language, they’re just having fun, but at the end on program of Ready Steady Move! they can have a vocabulary of 300 words and be healthier in the process.

Personally I’m jealous. When I think back to all that time wasted supposedly learning foreign languages when I could have been outdoors playing and here we have a program that does both, well it’s a crying shame. But I’m not giving up. The Ready Steady Move! programs will soon be available in 10 languages suitable for children (adults can take part too, we promise not to tell) and if can learn 300 words of Chinese I’ll really be able to make an impression the next time I order a take away.