Can Chess Help Kids Make Better Decisions in Life?

Teaching kids how to make better decisions in life is a goal of every parent. Yet it often seems to be one of the hardest skills to teach. 

Giving kids safe risks combined with the right type of guidance is a delicate balance. It requires setting up the right circumstances. 

When parents discuss finding ways to encourage better decision-making in their children, the game of chess often comes up. 

This is because playing chess promotes the development of these skills by addressing the following areas that impact the choices a kid makes in life.

Develop the Mindset That Luck is Not Everything

Kids are naturally drawn to magical thinking. Parents often hear them exclaim how someone was “lucky” when they pulled off a major achievement. 

While there is an element of luck in many games, chess is not among them. Playing chess demands strategic thinking to place oneself in a position of advantage. As your son or daughter learns to play chess, they also gain an appreciation of the potential to control their own destiny through common sense. Working with their coach and other chess players also lets kids discover that strategic thinking is something that is learned. It is not just something that lucky people are born with in life.

Learn to Identify Positive Choices

Chess lessons often focus on helping kids recognize which strategies will help to improve their positions. True even when they are faced with two undesirable or equal moves. This concept can also be applied to life. 

Kids learn how to weigh their options when faced with two choices that carry the same weight. For example, a child may wish to attend their friend’s birthday party that happens at the same time as their sports practice. Both options may appear equal on the surface. Applying what they have learned in chess encourages your child to consider which choice will take them closer to reaching their goals.

Hone Critical Analytical Skills

Critical thinking requires kids to take what they have seen work in the past and combine it with present circumstances to determine probable outcomes. Chess lessons at summer camp give them a chance to observe the time-tested strategies used by both professional and beginner players. 

Then, they get to test out their theories on new strategies they think will work. Since there is always another chance to play a new game, kids are more willing to take risks that strengthen their deductive reasoning. When faced with tough decisions outside of the chess arena, they can apply these same analytical skills with greater confidence that they are making the right decisions.

Learning to play chess changes kids. Parents find that attending lessons pays off in more than just academic benefits. From strengthening their self-confidence to teaching them how to effectively analyze a situation, chess lessons address all the areas a kid needs to be able to make better life decisions.  

To maximize this effect, as your son or daughter makes choices that affect his or her life, simply stay involved in their lessons. Help them find ways to implement the skills they are learning.

Let your kids enjoy chess games at Maplewood Summer Day Camp. Experienced staff will keep your child both safe and busy with arts and crafts, games, water sports, gymnastics and more. Visit the site at http://maplewoodyearround.com/summer-camp/summer-camp-activities/  to see the fun your child will have at Maplewood Summer Day Camp.

 

Celebrating Family Fun at Day Camp

Day camp provides kids with a safe place to learn and have fun after school and during the summers. While most people think of the benefits for the kids, the truth is that day camp enhances the lives of every member of your family. This is because day camps offer fun, daily experiences along with special events that encourage bonding and the creation of beautiful memories. As you plan your family’s calendar, here are just a few of the ways that your favorite day camp helps you all have fun together.

Enjoying New Experiences

Watching as your preschooler pets a baby goat for the first time or your school-aged child climbs to the top of the climbing wall is amazing. Day camps provide a safe place for kids to try out new things such as doing a trick on the balance beam or learning to play chess. The new experiences that your family shares at day camp will give your kids skills and confidence that lasts a lifetime.

Celebrating Birthdays

When you think about some of the best times you’ve had with your family, birthdays come to mind. Day camps are aware of how meaningful it is for a child to have their birthday celebrated with their closest family members and friends so they plan exciting activities when you host your party at their venue. Competing in a game of laser tag or going on a boating adventure are the kinds of birthday parties that your family will never forget.

Meeting Other Families

As a parent, finding other families with kids your age is important for socialization. Fitting in family fun is easy when you go to day camp classes that invite parents to meet and mingle. Whether you enjoy a chat over a cup of coffee while your kids toddle about the room or you get involved in a game of volleyball on a special event day, your family will enjoy getting to know others who enjoy spending time outdoors.

Playing Together

Singing a finger play with your little one or tackling a ropes course with your older child are experiences that you may not do if you were sitting at home alone. Day camps provide activities that encourage you to step out of your comfort zone with your family as you gain new skills and develop a better understanding of each other. From giggles to wiggles, every minute of your day camp’s family activities is designed to foster warmth among family members.

Attending Special Events

At day camp, you never know what surprises are waiting around the corner. Special event days provide a way to break up the monotony of school and work with cool activities such as puppet shows and petting zoos. On special event days, day camps encourage everyone in the family to come so that even grandparents and cousins can discover the joys of spending the day together.

As a family, it is important to find ways to bond and highlight everyone’s strengths. At day camp, every family takes center stage as they get to enjoy fun activities that draw out the best parts of their personalities. When you plan to spend the day at camp, you can be certain that adventure and fun that celebrates what makes your family special are always in store.

Let your kids enjoy the family fun experience at Maplewood Summer Day Camp. Experienced staff will keep your child both safe and busy with arts and crafts, games, water sports, gymnastics and more. Visit the site at http://maplewoodyearround.com/year-round-programs/school-year-programs/ to see the fun your child will have at Maplewood Summer Day Camp.

The Importance of Early Learning

Early childhood is a time that is often viewed as a moment in life where children are free to just play. While this is true, it is also important to realize how critical these early play experiences are for a child’s development. Children are naturally curious about the world and love engaging in new experiences that offer them a new perspective. While it may look like a child is just playing, they actually are picking up valuable skills in language, science and mathematics that may not be obvious to others at first glance. As your child enters these amazing years full of wonder, provide them with these educational activities that stimulate learning by tapping into their interests.

Develop Social Skills Through Dramatic Play

Dress up may be cute to watch from an adult’s perspective, but children engaged in imaginative play truly allow themselves to try on new personas. Helping to put out a fire in an imaginary village or pretending to serve food to their friends in a restaurant promotes a sense of the importance that each person has in a community. It also gives young children a chance to practice social skills such as asking for help or ordering food in a restaurant. And, as they talk to each other, their language and vocabulary skills also rapidly improve.

Teach Science by Nurturing a Love for Nature

Children are fascinated by science, and real life experiences are critical for creating an environment that satisfies their curiosity. For young children, planting a seed and watching as it grows into a fruit-producing plant is a lesson about the cycle of life that they will always remember. Helping to water the plant or feed an animal teaches responsibility and the importance of caring for the environment. Nature walks through the wilderness also give kids the chance to examine rocks, flowers and other types of natural elements as they develop their skills in scientific exploration.

Promote Creativity and Self-Expression Through Art

Finger paints and play dough are staples of every early childhood program, but the teachers do not use these materials just to keep the children busy. These types of experiences promote sensory awareness, which is important for helping kids learn how to express themselves and make sense of the world around them. In addition to strengthening their fine motor skills, using a brush to swirl paint across paper gives young children a positive experience with self-expression.

Get That Little Body Moving in Fun Exercise Classes

Energetic preschoolers may look like little wiggle worms as they run around a room, but all that activity is critical for their physical development. During these formative years, participating in age-appropriate exercise classes is perfect for helping kids develop gross motor skills while learning how to work with others as a team. Whether your child loves tumbling with other tots or learning how to climb on a rock wall, testing their abilities at an early age fosters the development of self-confidence.

Looking in on a preschool class is likely to make you look back with fond memories of the days when you spent your days playing with clay. Yet, it is easy to forget about how important these types of experiences were for your healthy development. Today, much is understood about how much learning truly goes on in the early childhood years and, by filling your child’s day with a wide range of educational activities, you can nurture their interests while providing them with the experiences they need for healthy development.

Let your kids enjoy the birthday party experience at Maplewood Summer Day Camp. Experienced staff will keep your child both safe and busy with arts and crafts, games, water sports, gymnastics and more. Visit the site at http://maplewoodyearround.com/year-round-programs/school-year-programs/ to see the fun your child will have at Maplewood Summer Day Camp.

6 Things About Academic Tutoring You Should Know

There comes a time in many children’s school careers when they are simply struggling with a particular subject or concept. Should you notice your youngster falling behind in math or worried about not reading as well as classmates, it may be time to seek out a tutoring program whether through the school, at a community center or at a specialized summer camp. Timely addition of tutoring can make a huge difference in your youngster’s school success.

Individualized Learning Experience

There’s nothing like individual attention to help youngsters grasp hard-to-learn concepts and work through stumbling blocks. Today’s classrooms are often crowded and busy. Quiet, struggling children are easily lost in the crowd, and individual tutoring or small group instruction allows these youngsters to better reach their potential. Kids are also more comfortable in the non-threatening atmosphere of tutoring, where they can work at their own speed without worrying about the performance or opinion of other students. With less pressure, students are more at ease and better able to overcome with academic problem areas.

Becoming a Better Learner

A good tutoring program can give young students the chance to become better learners, to think independently and to develop improved problem solving skills. A good tutor can help a child hone study habits and learning strategies that can stand him in good stead in a variety of subjects throughout his academic career. It’s also helpful for kids to see that they aren’t alone in their struggles with math or reading, and success can also breed success. When kids see others with similar academic problems begin to succeed, they realize that they can too.

Value of Hard Work

Tutors aren’t intended to do your child’s home work for him. Rather, a good tutor can develop a child’s appreciation of the rewards of hard work. Much as a coach can’t hit a home run for a young baseball player, a tutor can’t perform a student’s school work but can show him how to maximize his efforts. For a child, knowing that better school performance and better grades are earned by their own hard work is an invaluable lesson and a great character builder.

Immediate Feedback

Unlike homework and class assignments, individual or small group tutoring means your child will get immediate feedback on work done. Although this can seem like criticism to your child if he’s not used to tutoring, it’s a great way to speed along the learning process. Also, one-on-one attention means your student can ask as many questions as he wants without worrying about whether class might think the question is “stupid”. Immediate answers to questions means concepts can be grasped more quickly.

Super Parent Resource

Because a tutor is spending one-on-one time with your youngster, it means the tutor can be a valuable resource for you as a parent. Stay updated on the progress of current and upcoming sessions and ask the tutor about his own experiences with studying and taking tests and how they may help your child in their home studies.

Improving Academic Performance and Stopping the Summer Slide

High quality tutoring, based on the child’s needs as identified by parents, teachers and the child herself, leads to improved performance with school work, homework and tests. However, even when one particular goal has been achieved, a youngster may need occasional remediation in problem areas. A good tutoring program is geared to helping kids with needs that may change throughout their academic career. Additionally, many kids lose ground during summer when they’ve stopped using their academic skills. Depending on the student, this may mean the loss of several months of learning. Tutoring during the warm weather months can help your child start school in the fall right at or above grade level.

Resource:

Let your kids experience academic tutoring fun at Maplewood Summer Day Camp. Experienced staff will keep your child both safe and busy with arts and crafts, games, water sports, gymnastics and more. Visit the site to see the fun your child will have at Maplewood Summer Day Camp.