After School Activity is Here for Our Community

The 2020-21 school year is near. We know that is does not look like anything that we have seen before. And for that reason, we plan to give our families something familiar: US!

We want to take the opportunity to reward the loyalty of our customers by SHOWING UP for children and families who need us now more than ever. We will be here, online and offline, giving Generation Z the skills to problem solve their way through anything.

What are the skills are missing in the world today:

• problem solving
• critical thinking
• empathy
• manners
• teamwork
• care for others
• global thinking
• communicating through cultural differences

These are the skills that combat FEAR!

It is about EQ vs. IQ

Now...

What have ALWAYS BEEN the pillars at English for Fun?

• Soft Skills (emotional intelligence)
• S.T.E.A.M.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math, Music)
• English

WE have cut our numbers to nearly half so discounts are not an option. But we can reward our families by shaping future generations to be parasite proof! So if you bring a new student to our academy, we will give you €30 discount on your next purchase at English For Fun!

Fall is almost here. When October begins, your children will have unforgettable days with us in English no matter where they are learning with us!

What activities will we do in the S.T.E.A.M.M. EEP? We learn by DOING!

– Cooking is out unless we are online. But our little ones will learn to be great chefs through other STEAM.

– Crafts. It is a means that we use to develop the themes in a creative way. We encourage the imagination of children.

– Education through S.T.E.A.M. This year, we want to focus on students developing curiosity and discovery more than ever! We will do the experiments that every child dreams of doing in different areas such as Science, Art, Engineering and, even, technology. Who needs magic when there is Science? (Well, we also like magic!)

– Also, we know that you are working or that maybe you have a few days off and you want to rest a little more. Therefore, we extend our regular schedules so that your children have fun and learn in our schools. In this schedule we will do activities as varied as gardening, yoga, to workshops of S.T.E.A.M.

–We teach our key to success: fun.

Apart from learning and fun, what do parents get? Tranquility. Children will learn safely in English, not only to pass an exam, but to communicate. We teach children how to THINK in English. It is English for REAL life. They will receive a special EFF backpack with a uniform for the camp and a bottle for water.

And we almost forgot it. At the end of each semester, they will present a show in which they practice confidence building and public speaking in English. We want to reward the hard work they have done during the program, but on a stage.

And, we insist, everything in English!

We are also here to support our families during these difficult times. We know the importance of routines and FUN distractions. As an educator, I have seen how kids are exposed to too much information. Children are no longer sheltered from worried moms and dads. PTSD is real and we ALL have some form of it. 

Jill's T.I.P.S.:

Kids Need Time to Recover from COVID-19 Trauma

Thank you all for trusting us with your children. We take the responsibility of reopening seriously because we know that we are helping our community to recover from...a WAR!

Just like the first time in 2008, we will show you the way through The New Normal. Times of CRISIS have positive aspects because we see who we can trust and who is there for us in our time of need. We are here right now, working through our own FEARs, to show our community how invested we are in the ENGLISH FOR FUN educational project. We have several programs (American Preschool, English Enrichment Program, Urban Camps and now Virtual Learning) in order to meet the needs of every family.

Your children have counted on us for the last 12 years, so we owe it to them (and our lovely parents) to stay here, "roll up our sleeves" and get dirty together. WHY?:

1. We know that children and families need us now more than ever!
2. We teach REAL LIFE SKILLS in English, important ones that will help Generation Z when they are faced with managing their own crisis as adults.
3. We are here to teach important life skills for the 21st century.
4. We provide children with the familiarity that they need to recover from the Coronavirus PTSD that we will all suffer, kids and adults alike. 

Now, it's your turn mom and dad. You've got work to do too!

You asked me, "How do we help as parents? What should we give our kids?":

• Familiarity (NO MORE BIG CHANGES-i.e. new school, completely new life, etc.) *Even though as adults WE think that we need to start over, it's NOT GOOD for our kids
• Confidence- Stick with people who they trust and admire
• Safety- ONLY go to places where WE can keep our kids and ourselves healthy (Ask the hard questions before attending events-not everyone deals with hygiene and exposure to potential infections in the same way)  
• Predictable situations-routines, daily schedules, and keeping our word (and when vacation time leads to less structure and they have to follow us, be mindful of their FEARs and give lots of love and attention to kids) 
• Take a break for Whatsapps and Social Media-the more time we are on it, the less time we are with our kids (and the more MISERABLE we become-it's pure science)
• Re-socialization practice with other kids, coached by experts, to role play "soft skills" is best done away from parents (I know, WE tried, but it was impossible with everything that we dealt with over the last 100+ days, so now kids need to practice manners and independence in a social setting, with people who are anti-biased and trained experts in educating)
• Learning through S.T.E.A.M.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math, Music) for a better future. Why? (READ HERE)
• Kids and adults need FUN (we promise to "EDUtain" you all)
• RESPECT OTHERS- Keep your homes COVID-FREE (do not bring non-tested people home if possible-even if they formerly WORKED in a place that you trust because it is not proper etiquette and it's not SMART parenting). For example, English for Fun can only guarantee our employees work, inside of our schools, while they are contracted employees. 

Life Lessons have come as a result of COVID-19 and many are her to stay. Remember that no matter how much parents need to start over and implement "change" to forget this whole mess, we can't leave it all and start over in September because we have children who suffered far more that adults did (TALK ABOUT social-emotional damage...they couldn't even go for a walk the way that DOGS could-imagine their guilt and negative self-image).

Our kids are watching us to feel safe, now more than ever! They need patterns and predictable routines. They need people who love and care for them. They need small and safe spaces for the next several months. THEY ARE NOT TROPHIES, THEY ARE HUMANS!

Basically, they need to learn to trust the world again!

Kids also need a great online program because lockdown will return in October-November. There is no excuse for children to be unschooled next time. Stay in the place that did a good job (and please tell your friends to come to this place as a reward for our efforts because as you have read, we believe fully in our project and we are starting from 0 again)! DO NOT change to a school that had a poor online program because kids will be frustrated and so will parents. Uprooting kids and adjusting to a new school while watching parents recover in a WAR-time economy is too hard! And if we choose to reward schools with poor online teaching, by sending them our children, they will never make ANY necessary improvements to their online learning program.

Also, ask for references about the online learning at your desired school (from other parents, not the school) before you move your children. Kids are a year behind academically thanks to poor online teaching programs at many schools. But your kids will be OK because they got something far more valuable than math worksheets...

They got time with usually over-scheduled and distracted parents at home.

Hopefully they learned to help out at home and to do chores (#1 predictor of success in adulthood).

MOST IMPORTANTLY, they learned that life doesn't always go as planned at home which is a powerful lesson that will help them in adulthood!

Parents, you are far more powerful than you think at home!!!

FINALLY, I DO worry about the social-emotional damage and attachment issues that will come as a result of this Coronavirus trauma. It's more important than ever to for us to work together on Executive Function ("Soft Skills" or Emotional Intelligence) than memorizing how to read and do math! If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it has taught us that cognitive skills will come, but what really counts is learned through proper, play-based education and it's done best in smaller spaces during the first 6 years of life!

Our mission is to help you all through these FEARful times. We know how to make children feel respected, safe and confident again. Stick with us to help with COVID-19 recovery for children and families!

And feel free to use My Mantra when you get overwhelmed...

Say it with me, "I am the parent, not the child!" (10x until it sinks in).

Best,

Jill Stribling

Owner & Founder

English for Fun