Before expecting children to focus at school/tutoring, home and activities, why not teach them HOW to concentrate their mind? Children learn HOW to learn at TheDOJO where Chief Instructor Sensei Dan Rominski effectively teaches The Three Rules of Concentration.
The Three Rules of Concentration
The Three Rules of Concentration are a fun & simple way to teach children starting at about age 3 years old how to concentrate their minds & how to focus on the task at hand. It is one of the very first lessons we teach at TheDOJO.
- Focus Your Eyes
- Focus Your Mind
- Focus Your Body
At their very first class with us we will teach children to memorize & recite back 1. Focus your eyes (as they point to their eyes) 2. Focus your mind (as they bring their hands from their mind together into a triangle) and 3. Focus your Body (as they snap to a standing attention position, standing still, with feet together & hands pressed to their sides, and eyes focused forward on the teacher). Performing The Three Rules of Concentration in this way engages the three types of learning styles which are Visual Learners who see it being demonstrated, Auditory Learners who hear the instructions being recited and Kinesthetic Learners who learn by doing it.
Parents here are some tools to review with your children:
Focus Your Eyes
Focus your eyes means to look at the parent, teacher, babysitter, grandparent or whoever is speaking to you with proper contact. That means to look into their eyes and keep looking at their eyes while they are speaking. Focus your eyes also means to look at what your doing such as homework, chores or a lesson to see HOW something is done. During a martial arts class focus your eyes on the teacher to not miss a demonstration on how a technique is performed, body language is one of the biggest forms of communication. This is also a great social cue that says to people, “I am paying attention to you” Children who are Auditory or Kinesthetic Learners may not do this as naturally as a Visual Learner will. So parents & teacher should understand this & patiently teach the child how to make this a routine so socially people know one is paying attention.
Focus Your Mind
Focus your mind means to think about the task at hand whether it be a subject or a set of directions. Your mind can think about a lot of things such as school, karate, playing, homework, chores etc. Focus can mean “to bring to one point” and to concentrate your mind to only think about the task at hand or what you are doing “right now” in the present moment. Breathing helps with this, take a deep breathe or two before doing something. Controlling our breathing allows us to settle our busy minds and narrow our focus to the task at hand.
Focus Your Body
When your body is “in a state” of attention your mind becomes more attentive as well. Their is a physiology or a body language to different emotions. Angry people cross their arms & stomp their feet, a champion after winning throws their hands in the air above their heads, a black belt sits up straight or stands still when their teacher or “sensei” is instructing them. Whenever you are learning practice this. When sitting, sit up straight, when standing stand still & always directly face someone with your body and face when they are speaking to you. Stand as if your body language is saying you are important & I am paying attention to you. Assume the body language of an expert student & you will be just that.
By anchoring in these terms through fun practice in a martial arts class at TheDOJO & parents reinforcing this message at home by using the exact same cue words children will get it. Remind children when they forget to use them or when they get distracted & are not paying attention. Simply say first before addressing them or to re-engage them, “focus your eyes” “focus your mind” or “focus your body”.
Lastly, once children know how to focus ask them “how do you focus your eyes” to cue them. Adding the would “how” is powerful. People don’t always listen to others but they tend to always listen to themselves. By asking them “how do you focus your eyes when I speak to you”, or “how do focus your mind” or “how do you focus your body and sit/stand still while I am speaking to you” if cued properly they will tell themselves to do it. This is even better as now they will be in developing the routine of self-discipline so when no one is around to remind them they will develop the ability to remind themselves.
To learn more about how to specifically inspire your child to focus, concentrate & pay attention Contact Chief Instructor: Owner Sensei Dan Rominski at (201) 933-3050 or email SenseiDan@TheDOJO.org
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