Saturday, June 08, 2019

Ready Steady Go Kids! Review

Sports teaches us a lot of values that our kids can acquire as they grow up. On top of the physical and emotional benefits, I believe that these three are the most important:
⚽Grit - the effort and persistence which makes one keep working towards a goal despite setbacks or failures.
🏈Resilience - the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.
πŸ€Discipline - teaches a child about expectations, guidelines and principles.

At age 3, we felt that joining a structured sports class would be perfect for Coen in order to further boost his development. The Sports has to be demonstrated in a basic manner as we can't expect a toddler to totally understand the technicalities of the game yet. Our main objective in addition to those mentioned above, is to provide an opportunity for our son to socialize with others, to improve his compliance when given instructions (school readiness) and to achieve this without getting bored (learning through play). We anticipate that it is going to be tough though and to start early is crucial.

Moreover, it's still different when children are involved in not just play but a Purposeful play"Besides being enjoyable, it allows children to make meaning out of their experiences. It also requires teachers to thoughtfully plan for the play experiences and organize the environment to facilitate the child's play." -schoolbag.sg

With all this in mind, we found one of the best sports program for toddlers: Ready Steady Go Kids. They are conducting classes in different parts of the city and I'm so glad that they have one located near our place. It is Australia’s largest and most reputable multi-sport and exercise program for preschoolers (aged 2.5-7 years). It was actually hard to figure out which of the many sports will Coen be interested, given that he's still very young. Great thing about RSGK is that their physio-designed programme teaches children the fundamentals of 10 different sports in a fun, non-competitive, team-based environment which is awesome!

Life skills are introduced such as sportsmanship by encouraging kids to take turns, play by the rules, provide encouragement and cooperate with peers. They blend the basic concepts of colors, numbers and shapes in their routine. Even the equipment used and the music they played are designed and appropriate for our little ones to ensure reliability and safety. They also reinforce the importance of warm-up and stretching to help prevent injuries and proper hydration on every session.

The RSGK Coaches have Coaching qualifications under the National Coaching Accreditation Scheme from the Australian Sports Commission and extensive on the job training experience in conducting lessons for preschoolers. We are so grateful to all of them for being so patient and professional. Their dedication to deliver quality training to kids is remarkable as they see to it that each child can participate and learn at their own phase. There were instances that Coen would stop, run away, lay down the floor or won't focus on the tasks. The Coaches gave him space and time whenever he needs it. They would also eagerly try to get him back on the routine or adjust the activities to keep everyone on track so nobody was left out.

"All kids need is a little help, a little hope, and somebody who believes in them." -Magic Johnson πŸ˜ŠπŸˆπŸ€

Here are some snippets of our 10 Saturday sessions at Circulo Verde with RSGK Team (8-Jun to 10-Aug, 2019):

Soccer

It's Coen's first time to step in a real Basketball court so everything looks new to him. It is also his first experience to join a class. Contrary to how he behaves in a usual play area, he is quietly observing and shy to go along with the group during the activities. Nevertheless, it was a fun day not only for Coen but also for me and hubby who gets to enjoy and exercise at the same time. Coach Sonny and Coach Anas' enthusiastic, theme-based and encouraging approach really does the magic!




Hockey

It's a rainy afternoon fun and learning time with Coach Armin. Today, Coen enjoyed the animals warm up exercise and experienced playing with a hockey stick. Dad & Mom said to try and don't give up. Amidst the very warm gloomy weather, Coen still continued with his practice.



Hockey (part 2)

Coen is getting more engaged with the team as they pretend play in a jungle safari exercise. Coach Sonny taught them hockey with a puck. He was also happy to see bits of improvement on Coen's compliance during the obstacle course.. small steps matters! The kids got 3 cute reward stamps for doing well. My mom was also very impressed with how the program works, she said that it was educational and it was like going to preschool but in an outdoor setting.





Athletics

Coach Anas is back with a big smile! We also had a chance to meet-and-greet with preschool Teacher Mags who has been dealing with children for 25 years in an International Montessori school abroad. She gave us pieces of advice and positive thoughts about Coen which we appreciate so much.





Football

Australian Football League is one of the most interesting Sport in the RSGK program. However, the yellow ball is very attractive for Coen and he loves to hug it so he ended up throwing instead of kicking the ball! He was excited to go through the obstacle course while Coach Anas and Coach Armin were still teaching about the basic skills drills. It was funny though and kids were so adorable no matter how crazy they play.





Cricket

More throwing and rolling exercises means double the fun for these little tots!





Cricket (part 2)

Pretend play with Coach Anas and Coach Armin driving around using a hula hoop while following the traffic light (colorful spot markers) was one of the enjoyable run and hop activities they did today. Coen has a lot of funny moments too!





Basketball

Rain or Shine.. it's RSGK time again! Coach Sonny and Coach Armin brought another yellow ball surprise. It's the much awaited Daddy Conrad's all-time favorite Sports.



Athletics (part 2)

It's a wrap for Term 2! Kids cheerfully joined Coach Anas as we welcome the start of Term 3 with energy, kindness and positive vibes. Hello to old and new friends πŸ€—



Long Jump

More friends, more fun!




Graduation Day!

Proud of this little athlete for earning his first ever certificate.⭐




"There is no giant step that does it. It’s a lot of little steps." -Peter A. Cohen πŸ˜Š

Back at home, we can see Coen clapping, jumping, stomping, doing the Hi-five and uttering the "Ready-Steady-Go!" chant to show his excitement as he remembers his happy moments with the class. It was such a great family bonding experience too. An hour with our son every weekend in RSGK program is a time well spent. They helped Coen to continuously develop his gross motor skills and he is becoming more active now, trying to follow and communicate better. The Coaches' sincere guidance and straightforward routines has been consistent and spontaneous since Day 1. We never felt pressured or judged no matter how our son performed because the Coaches have shown their support and believed in each child's potentials. Another good thing about it was, Parents were allowed to assist and work together with the Coaches during the activities which I think is effective. After all, it takes a village to raise a child!


Thank you very much ReadySteadyGoKids! 

Visit RSGK Website @ http://readysteadygokids.com.ph/

Their online enrollment is simple and can be completed in 3 easy steps.

"The expert in anything was once a beginner." -Helen Hayes πŸ˜ŠπŸˆπŸ€

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