Article Written by Jane Worthing (Mother of one my students)

As the mother of three young boys I can safely and confidently say that I am winging it. What I mean by this is that most of the time my day comes flying at me from three short, noisy directions and it's just plain hard to juggle it all. And this is now that the youngest is five. Only a couple of years ago I couldn't tell where my day began and the night ended. I think I subconsciously have blocked most of that time in an effort to heal. All joking aside, though, how do I raise happy, healthy, well adjusted children when I feel like I can barely keep my head above water?

I believe strongly that sometimes we can't do it all alone and we must enlist the help of others. To a certain extent, it truly does take a village to raise a child in this world. Unfortunately, the village has disbanded for most of us. We move away from family for careers or simply to find ourselves and see what life has to offer. In doing so we lose that familial support system that only a couple of generations ago were commonplace. Grandparents lived nearby, sisters and brothers stayed close to their parents. Mothers wore not working anywhere but the full time job they had at home. Things have changed. But with change comes growth and adaptation. What you do is make your own village. You connect with the community where you live and the people around you. For working families, there are daycare centers, and after school programs to rely on to help care for and nurture our children when we can't be there. And I say nurture because that is what a good child caregiver should be doing.

Approximately 75% of children need after school care because they either come from a single parent home or both parents work. Most are placed in an after school programs at daycare centers or through extended day programs at elementary schools. These programs are great, but there is another new option. Now you can send you child to a place that provides not only a safe and caring environment for your child, but also offers an alternative form of education. After a full day of academic instruction, children can get a character building education in The After School Martial Arts Program.

The After School Martial Arts Program is designed to educate while providing parents a valuable after school child care experience for their children. It provides children structure and discipline while teaching respect, appreciation, increased self-esteem and building confidence. In addition to these important factors, the children are physically activated, which only helps them to be healthy, happy and more focused individuals. And with less Physical Education being taught in the school systems due to budget cuts, our children need more physical activity than ever. All of these things are so very important, but to make it even better, The After School Martial Arts Program offers transportation from your child's school. Most important of all your kids will have fun doing it. And all for about the same cost as most extended day or daycare programs. Your kids can participate a few times per week or the whole week.

Because the program is brand new, transportation for now is limited to the following elementary schools:

Ames, Greenwood, Heritage, Homestead, Lenski, Peabody

A well rounded and safe educational after school program designed to meet your needs, who could ask for a better support system for your family than that?

For more information, contact the friendly and informative staff at ATA Family Martial Arts Centers, 303-220-5956 or visit us on the web at http://www.kicks4all.com/. ATA Family Martial Arts is located at 5170 E. Arapahoe Road, E-2A, Centennial, CO 80122 in the King Soopers shopping center near Arapahoe and Holly.