By Carmen Sognonvi
Originally published at http://www.urbandojo.com/blog

Throughout August 2011, we’ll be working on the concept of “teamwork.”

All our discussions and activities will aim to help our students understand that successful, collaborative teamwork can shorten the time, divide the effort, and increase the morale of a group who are working towards a common goal.

This month’s “Dear Dr. Robyn” column is on teaching our children about teamwork.

Dr. Robyn Silverman is the child development expert who created Powerful Words, our character development curriculum here at Urban Martial Arts.

Dear Dr. Robyn,
I often think my family lacks some of that “all for one and one for all” spirit. It’s more like “what’s in it for me” kind of spirit. How can I get my kids to work together as a team?
~ Gina C., Newton, MA

Dear Gina,

The family really is the ultimate team. When it works well as a unit, a great deal can get done and get done more quickly.

However, when family members are not working collaboratively, it can feel like every task takes extra long and once achieved, feels less like a success and more like a relief.

How can we get our families to use teamwork?

(1) Set up cooperative tasks: Cleaning the yard, getting ready for a garage sale, raising money for charity, or planting a garden are all tasks that take collaboration. Get the children together and have them weigh the choices and choose a project. Each child should have a job and feel like a valued part of the team.

(2) Encourage praise from each member: Talk to your children about showing gratitude and praising one another for the job they did to complete a project. Framing everyone’s contribution in the positive allows each member to see their strengths as well as the strengths of each family member.

(3) Make decisions as a family “team”: When possible, make decisions as a group. Teach your children to weigh pros and cons, consider other people’s feelings, and uncover the benefits of each option. For instance you can ask; “should we rent a movie or
play a game outside?” Facilitate the conversation rather than making the decision on your own. The more the children have an
opportunity to work on this skill, the better they’ll get at it.

(4) Demonstrate it: When children see you working as a team with others, they will see the value in it and adopt the skills you demonstrate. You can work as a team with a spouse, a friend, grandparents, or coworkers. Speak out loud about how you are working as a team with others and show your children the skills you must employ.

(5) Reward it: When children work as a team, help them to see the natural rewards that occur. You may also want to surprise your children with an extra reward for doing such a great job. You can also be assured that embarking on another team project will likely work out well– so brainstorm one that everyone will be thrilled to do!

Here’s to your success!

Dr. Robyn Silverman

* * *

To give you more ideas for conversation topics, here’s a run-down of what we’ll be discussing this month:

Week 1 Teamwork defined: What is a team? What is teamwork?
Week 2 What makes a team succeed or fail? Sportsmanship, attitude, character, effort
Week 3 How can I contribute and what can I learn? Leadership, strengths, & lessons
Week 4 When should I stand up vs stand strong together? Disagreements & compromise

We’d love to hear how your conversations go with your child so do share with us!

Photo Credit: kool_skatkat on Flickr

By Carmen Sognonvi
Originally published at http://www.urbandojo.com/blog

Throughout August 2011, we’ll be working on the concept of “teamwork.”

All our discussions and activities will aim to help our students understand that successful, collaborative teamwork can shorten the time, divide the effort, and increase the morale of a group who are working towards a common goal.

In this video, Dr. Robyn Silverman, creator of our character development curriculum Powerful Words, gives advice to a father who wonders if his kids are learning enough about teamwork since they’re more interested in individual sports than team sports:

Dr. Robyn believes that while team sports are a good way to learn about teamwork, opportunities to learn teamwork exist everywhere. Here are her suggestions:

1. Look for fun teamwork activities
From volunteering to leadership, from baking to puzzles, opportunities to learn teamwork are not far away. If your child is already learning an individual sport or activity (like gymnastics or martial arts), you can ask that instructor or coach if there’s an opportunity to do something team-oriented within that sport.

2. Go to team events
There are plenty of opportunities to see teamwork in action as a spectator. Whether you enjoy watching sports, or watching team cooking competitions on TV, you can show your child that being an active supporter at an event is an important part of teamwork.

3. Talk about what works in teams and what doesn’t
As you’re watching a team event, talk about what you see and ask questions about what your child is observing. What’s working well for the team? What areas need improvement? Why do you think they’re successful? Or why do you think they’re having trouble?

4. Do team-oriented things at home
Start a game night on Friday evenings and play team-oriented games. Or do chores together and encourage these activities as family team time. Praise your kids for being valuable members of the family team and talk about how they contribute to the family team each and every day.

There’s no better way to drive home the lessons we teach at Urban Martial Arts than by reinforcing them… well, at home!

To give you more ideas for conversation topics, here’s a run-down of what we’ll be discussing this month:

Week 1 Teamwork defined: What is a team? What is teamwork?
Week 2 What makes a team succeed or fail? Sportsmanship, attitude, character, effort
Week 3 How can I contribute and what can I learn? Leadership, strengths, & lessons
Week 4 When should I stand up vs stand strong together? Disagreements & compromise

We’d love to hear how your conversations go with your child so do share with us!