Stars Controlled at Home

Each child starts each week with three stars. If a child misbehaves, the parent can take away a star. Parents decide the standard expected of each child to keep stars, and if a star is lost, parents may allow a child to earn the lost star back. Some parents make their children explain to the instructors why they lost a star, which seems to be a powerful motivator for the children to keep the stars!

Praise Cards

If a child keeps all three stars, then he or she may also earn a Praise Card. If a child is especially good during the week, or does something special, has a special accomplishment, or is well behaved all the time, then the parent can choose to award a the Praise Card. The card lists the child's name, what he or she did, and it goes on our Praise Board at the Guardian Academy. The child is awarded a bonus star.

Headbands

Stars are most of how Little Guardian Karate and Junior Guardian Karate kids earn headbands and star patches. Each kid starts with a White Headband, changing headbands or earning star patches every eight weeks the child earns 20 stars. The colors are White, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Red, Brown and Black. After Black Headband, students earn star patches for their headband (Little Guardian Karate) or their uniforms (Junior Guardian Karate). If you see a Junior Guardian Karate student with a lapel patch, that means that student has been training for more than 3 yeras and earned more than 370 stars!

In addition to stars, Little Guardian Karate students must also learn the Guardian Knight Scripts, about one per headband (though they can go as fast as one every three weeks if they like). They earn FIVE BONUS STARS for every script they complete. There are also minimal performance and leadership expectations at each headband. In Junior Guardian Karate, headbands are based entirely on behavior, and the belts require scripts and performance.

Every 8 weeks we hold Shopping Day. The kids can spend their stars on toys and prizes. They can buy toy cars, superballs, action figures, Lisa Frank hobby kits, plastic toy swords, and other toys. What we have in stock varies. Parents ALWAYS have veto power over any purchases the children make. We also have a no whining rule. If a child whines, then he or she does not get to keep anything that day and he or she has to wait until the next Shopping Day to make purchases.

Some parents take the leverage we provide farther. Some children are highly motivated by a house rule that they have to tell their instructor if they do not earn a Praise Card, and most parents make the children tell the instructor why a star was lost if a student lost stars at home. For the best behaved, the Praise Cards are often a strong motivator - especially when they have to explain why they might not have earned one. Instructors can generally be counted on to talk to children about problems at home, even going so far as to repeat exactly what a parent has said.

Also, if a particular issue is coming up at home, parents can request discusson topics, and the instructors will fit that subject in if they can. Each of the words in the children's programs has one or more lectures that go with the word, and many of them provide for easy integration of almost any subject that would help support the parents at home.

GUARDIAN KNIGHTS

The Guardian Knights program is our ultimate tool for supporting parents and helping them raise their children. This program provides added leverage so children gain "knightly rank" by learning the things parents want them to learn and practicing their chores and learning new skills around the house. For details, see the Guardian Knights page.

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