Who Benefits?

If you chose to sign your child up for tennis lessons, would it matter to you if the coach had been taught by a well-known professional?  Would it be agreeable to you if the coach had no formal training, but just learned by trial and error?

These are some questions that parents should consider when they send their child to a FasTracKids center.  Has this instructor been taught by the most knowledgeable people available?  Has this instructor received the best training possible to facilitate in their child’s education?  Is my child receiving the benefits of a certified FasTracKids instructor or is my child a guinea pig while the instructor is attempting to learn the skills involved in implementing the techniques and skills of a proficient, caring instructor?

Vacation with Education

As the world continues to reinvent what we have thought to be true for tens of hundreds of years, our strongest beliefs regarding children’s education are changing as well.  We have computers and the Internet, educational television, endless out of school activities and enrichment programs.  However, the one aspect of our children’s education that hasn’t changed is the long break from school.  Some countries schedule a break in between grade levels (sometimes up to 3 months long) and some have a few breaks scheduled throughout the year.

An article from Time Magazine, titled “The Case Against Summer Vacation”, talks in length about how there is a noticeable gap between children who continue to learn during their break and those who don’t.  It also goes in-depth about organizations that are trying to fill up this time, especially for lower income children, with creative educational enrichment programs.

FasTracKids in Brazil!

Our Vice President of Franchise Development, David Sparks, attended the ABF Franchising Expo of 2010 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This was the largest franchising expo that has ever been held in Brazil.  FasTracKids International is new to the country, so this was an exciting opportunity to see how it was received.

Most people that attended the expo had never heard of FasTracKids before, but nearly everyone that stopped by the booth found FasTracKids to be a unique, cutting-edge educational program.  They were surprised by how much information children learn and absorb at such a young age.  Their realization supports independent research showing that the most important learning years for children are from zero to eight years old.  It is during these years in a child’s life that vital brain connections are formed.  The more connections that form in a young child's mind, the greater that child's capacity for learning will be.
 

What is the first thought that comes to mind when looking at a blanket?  An adult can look at a blanket and see it as a way to keep warm.  A child can look at that same blanket and see a cape for a super hero, a ceiling for a fortress or material to make fairy wings.  There is very little that can compare to the imagination of a child.