Be Positive

Have you ever told your child, "Don't run!" Or you have heard the teachers say,"No running to the line!" After they give them their command what do you see happen? They somehow forget everything and run anyway. One of the things I have learned in my teaching career is that when I tell a child what not to do, they usually do it anyway. Why is that? One of the things that happens is the child hears the verb "Run" and not the negative. Sometimes I have fun with them and say, "Don't Walk" and usually they end up walking.

So what we try and do in our lessons is use modeling and positive words to describe what we want our children to do. Since children at this age are very into imitation, it would make sense to do an I DO first. Show them what you want done. For example, show them what the forehand looks like or show them how to walk over to pick up balls. I also use words like, "Now it is your turn to show me how to pick up balls. It is time to pick up balls, let's get ten balls on your racket and put them in the basket." It is clear, concise, and there is a picture of what to do.

Let's say I have a student who is struggling with a concept. I will praise them for what they are doing well,"Way to turn your back foot up on the forehand, now make your knuckles touch your ear."  The key is to always tell the child what you want them to do. What we are building are expectations of what they know they can accomplish and fixing the mistakes they make.

I could go much deeper than this, because there is a lot more research done to describe this model. I think you get the general idea. I hope this will help you teach your children in whatever activity they do and help them accomplish all they can accomplish.