Especially for Families

Caring, Common Sense, Confidence, Effort, Focus, Initiative, Motivation, Perseverance, Problem Solving, Responsibility, Teamwork...

Focus Builder

Sharing Our Experiences

When our lives become complicated, and life is coming at us too fast, self-discipline and focus are more necessary and important than ever.

Some of the obstacles standing in the way of focus are so obvious that they get overlooked. For example, it´s hard to get organized in the midst of stress and disorganization. Focus demands that children and adults get enough sleep and food. It demands a level of structure in our homes and classrooms, so that we, can focus our minds. Our children need to be able to control their impulses and to see the adults around them controlling theirs. Our children need to become what psychologists call self-regulating. This gives them the ability to be calm enough to be attentive and focused.

Sparking the Conversation

Talk about your goals and how you work to meet them. Talk about those you have accomplished and those you continue to work on. Ask children for their goals — big and small.

Focus Builder: Newspaper Activity

Use those glamorous, colorful advertisements to illustrate the idea of main point, or thesis. Ask the following: What´s the main idea in this ad? What is it trying to persuade us to do? A strong, handsome man drinking a certain soft drink in a fancy car with a beautiful girl at his side is telling us something about that soft drink.

Moving to Bigger Questions

What do I want to accomplish?
– Finding a goal
– Selecting an objective
– Moving into action

What do I have to do?

What do I have going for me?

What do I do to get there?

The strength of focus as a MegaSkill is that it connects so well to meeting goals. Goal setting has the remarkable ability to keep our minds and out thinking centered.

© Dorothy Rich, 2000. The nonprofit Home and School Institute, sponsor of the MegaSkills program, was founded by Dr. Dorothy Rich in 1964. For information about bringing MegaSkills books and programs to your school and community group, contact: The Home and School Insitute, MegaSkills Education Center; 1500 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington DC 20005. Phone: (202) 466-3633. Fax: (202) 833-1400. www.MegaSkillsHSI.org Reprinted with permission.

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