Earlier in the year, I had a post briefly describing the Bamboo Shoots program. I’d like to expand on that post by expounding on the goals of this program.

First, we teach basic physical exercises such as the correct form for pushups, situps, and jumping jacks. We often use exercise not only as a way to warm them up but also to serve as an important lesson of not putting limits on yourself. Here’s an example:

Me: How many pushups do you think you can do?
Child: 10.

I will tell the child that I will count them out and for them to stop only when I tell them to do so. Without them knowing, I will count past 10. Very often, they will exceed their self imposed limits. I use this to tell them that they can achieve anything so long they don’t put limits on themselves.

Two kids practicing single sinawali
Bamboo Shoots students practicing single sinawali!

Among the first things that I assess is the child’s knowledge of their home phone number and street address. I think that this is important in case they are lost. I encourage them to work with their parents on this.

We also emphasize role-playing scenarios in class to address “stranger danger” situations. Our aim is to equip the kids with the basic judgment regarding strangers.

Also included in our goals is covering safety-related scenarios such as “Can you help me find my lost puppy?“, “Do you want a lollipop?” “Your Dad (or Mom or Grandpa) told me to give you a ride home” and “Your mom is on my cell phone; do you want to talk to her?” will be covered. 

Another goal is teaching basic escape techniques and basic environmental awareness to help the child defend themselves.

Above, we stress having FUN in this class and we often have games to teach them new techniques and concepts.