Live Potential LLC

As we closed off for the school year at the end of last month, we want to make sure to take the time to celebrate our students. Have a great summer everyone. Keep on pushing through, and celebrate every success along the way. Congratulations on your journey thus far. We take pride and derive the deepest of joys in your achievement. Parents, thank you for trusting us with your children's education and development. Remember to read. Reading is a key foundation to your academic growth. It will help you improve your spelling, build your vocabulary, improve your writing, advance both your written and spoken expression and expand your knowledge. It broadens your imagination and thus influences creativity. Stephen King once described books as "portable magic," and Roald Dahl said, "learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage."

Exclusive! Fun! A fully outdoor club for children ages 6 to 12. Join us this summer as we explore New York City playgrounds and parks.

Someone posted on one of the platforms which I use to meet my clients. I could not take on the job, but felt compelled to share. The reflection which came along with it is worth sharing as this is not the first time I have encountered parents with similar concerns: The child just started kindergarten and the parent was seeking help for their foundational learning. Kindergarten and first grade are actually the classes where they learn these skills. They should have been preparing for it and developing supplemental skills in the years before. They should not be expected to come to school already knowing their letters, letter sounds, numbers, how to count or how to read. It is the job of their teachers to take them on that journey. I first learnt this from my daughter's kindergarten teacher, who had a hard time helping a few students unlearn what they were taught before as it slowed down the learning process rather than helped it. Also, keep in mind that children bloom academically at different ages. It is not uncommon for a 5 to 6 year old not to show interest or seem to struggle with it and then in a few days, months or even a year end up fully embracing it, and be growing tremendously. It can be a sensitive time as well when children show resistance. Be careful, not to push them too much that they shut down, as this can affect their future academic growth. I have seen many examples of this. That is a root cause of many students who have low self-esteem and lack confidence. Be attentive to their needs and try to determine the source of their resistance in order to take an appropriate approach. We tend to transfer our own anxieties about their learning or where they are in comparison to others in their class. This can be harmful to their development, keeping in mind what I started this with: children learn and develop differently and at different paces. It does not mean that there are times these concerns are merited. However, guard against ignoring a child's individual need and focusing on taking them to a place that they are not yet ready for. This can be disasterous and leave long term effects on their learning. If you do want to help. Try to have fun with it, and do not try to "teach". Instead engage the child and use their environment as a blackboard. Talk about the letters or numbers you encounter as you normaly interact with your environment. For example play games like eye spy or find letters or numbers on the street as you walk or drive by, mixed with other finds. Do not let it be all about academics. Have them help in the kitchen or the grocery, give him tasks they can count without focusing on the counting. For example, ask them to get a certain number of things for the grocery cart: we need four oranges today, or lets take five of these yogurts and two of those. Do it with them and do not just expect them to know it on their own. This will build confidence. It is academic but they most likely willl not recognize it as that.

We are preparing to open a location in Greenpoint which will offer our unique integration of education, development and play. There will be limited afterschool spaces, tutoring, clubs and play spaces. If you live in Greenpoint, Williamsburg or neighbouring communities and you are looking for after school solutions for your family, fill the form below. #greenpoint #afterschoolprograms #brooklynny #childdevelopment #childcare #childcarecenter #education #playgroup