Drive New 3- To 6-Year Olds To Your School With a Free "Confidence" Seminar

Learn how to enroll more 3- to 6- year olds this month with a Free Confidence Seminar. Text 'YESICAN' to 26786 for a complete overview of the seminar.

Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2019 Century Update.

 

By: Melody Shuman, Child Development Expert and Creator of PreSKILLZ

In talking with parents of 3- to 6-year olds over the past years, it is clear that what they want most for their child is for them to have confidence. When a child does not have confidence, it affects everything else that goes on in the child’s life. As martial artists, we are in the unique position to help children build their confidence by offering FREE seminars at our schools.

We recommend you give each participant a white belt to begin the event. Kids love novelty and the belt represents ‘ninjas’ which in their eyes have a lot of confidence.
The following information includes an outline of how to host a 45-minute confidence seminar.

 

PART 1:

Motivational Speech (approximately 10 minutes)

Children these days are overwhelmed by so many influences in their lives. To get their immediate attention, it is important to establish motivation in the atmosphere. I recommend that you begin with a mini-version of a “Yes I Can” speech. In this speech, talk to your students about believing in themselves by using stories of success from your life. If you want a step-by-step format, read to the end on how to get my outline!

 

PART 2:

Confidence Building Activity (10 minutes)

Confidence means believing in yourself. Many children lack confidence simply because they do not have enough opportunities to practice having confidence. In this part of the seminar, have the students practice palm strikes hitting pads while saying “Yes I can!” This will play into the final activity for this seminar.

 

PART 3:

Tips on Dealing with Bullies (5 minutes)

One area where children need the most confidence is when they are faced with bullies. In this section, review 3 strategies for dealing with bullies:

1. Assert yourself. Standing tall, use a strong voice saying: “That’s teasing. Stop it.” or “Stop making fun of me. It’s mean.”

2. Use “I want.” Address the bully by saying: “I want you to leave me alone,” or “I want you to stop teasing me.”

3. Ignore it. Bullies love it when their teasing upsets their victims. Pretend they’re invisible, walk away without looking at them, quickly look at something else and laugh, or look completely uninterested.

 

PART 4:

Role-Playing Activities on Dealing with Bullying (10 minutes)

Pair your students up and have them go back and forth with each of the above strategies. Encourage them to speak loud and clear, keeping in mind the younger students will need extra help and patience as they build confidence to speak up.

 

PART 5:

Event Wrap-Up (10 minutes)

Have the students break boards while saying “Yes I Can.” Century has a variety of boards you can order for this section! The students get to keep the board as a special reward for completing the Confidence seminar!

 

CONCLUSION

Take advantage of your profession by offering this free confidence seminar within your community at least two times per year. The best thing you can gain from this article is a better reputation and safer community.

For those of you who’d like a complete overview of this seminar including the ‘Yes I Can’ speech, a checklist, and ‘Yes I Can’ coloring sheet for the students to take home, text ‘YESICAN’ to 26786 and you’ll get an immediate link to grab this content!

Shop this month's deals on training gear for your kids program here: 

Centurymartialarts.com/update