Teaching Life Skills Through Immersive Learning: Tips for Parents & Educators

Each episode focuses on how a foundation of brilliant minds and brave hearts nurtured through the arts leads to lifelong success. Get inspired with actionable tips to foster a growth mindset, leadership values. Creativity and children and adults turning their potential into lasting contributions for their communities We hope you embrace the challenge to shift your perspective as we equip you and the next generation for a wildly wealthy life

Two episodes ago. I talked about the wildly wealthy life ladder If you don't know what I'm talking about go back to episode number two where I talk about frame aim claim game flame Ask your ladder to a wildly wealthy life in today's episode We're going to talk about the Claim and gain part. So claiming right is the stage where you kind of claim your territory as far as like what you've learned. So right before that is the stage of aiming for curiosity.

When you aim for curiosity, you are always asking questions. You're eager to learn. You are taking in information. And once you have all of that information, it can't just be stored in your brain. It has to be put into practice. So the claim stage here again is, where you claim your territory because you're starting to build that confidence as you put into practice everything that you've learned. And then you get into the game where the stakes are higher.

It's, I liken it always to, let's say, piano practice, practicing at home and building your skills. That's when you're building your character. That's when you're claiming your territory that, Hey, I know how to do this. I am a pianist. I have studied this. And now I'm actually putting into action by practicing every day. I go into game. Where I step into the arena and actually test what I have learned.

So that could mean, um, you know, being in a band and performing for a crowd, uh, being in a recital, uh, going to a senior home facility and playing for them. Right. It's kind of just in the act of. sharing what you've learned and putting yourself out there. So for example, you've been practicing, uh, in the claim part, you've been practicing how to be a public speaker. Maybe you've recorded a couple of videos to do some practice.

And when you step into the arena of being in the game, that means you actually go out there and do the actual act of public speaking where you have audience.

So in these two stages, there's actually a very. Effective way to learn and it's called immersive learning. When I think about immersive learning, I think about being soaked in it, being enveloped, being immersed, right? You are in the thick of it. So when I think about learning and learning immersively, there's actually a study that shows that, uh, When we engage multiple senses as we're learning, it shows that retention is actually 75 percent higher than traditional learning methods.

So today I'm going to introduce SMART learning. S M A R T, because I love acronyms. SMART learning is my own interpretation of what immersive learning could look like for you, in anything that you learn.

So S stands for Storytelling. When you watch public speakers speak and you connect with them and you wonder, what is it about them that I love so much? I bet you it probably boils down to storytelling. I bet you it's probably because they opened with a really fun story that you remember, that you relate to. Maybe it's a sad story, whatever it is, it has to evoke emotion. That's what storytelling does. Storytelling is a way to open up our senses where sometimes There could be a block, right?

Studies have shown that storytelling activates the language processing parts of our brain and also activates it as if we were actually the ones living the story. And that is why story is so powerful because as we listen to it, somehow a lot of our locks are opened up. Our senses are more open when we're listening to stories. Another study done by psychologist Paul Zack shows that stories that create emotional resonance.

actually causes the brain to release oxytocin and that is a hormone that is related to empathy and bonding. So that is why we connect with the story deeper and then we actually remember it more effectively. Sometimes as a kid, I remember when a parent tells me to do one thing, right, or my grandma or my aunt tells me to do one thing and it's a command. I usually Don't listen to it. It's it's almost like selective hearing, right?

But let's say it's something that is told to me in a storytelling kind of way, you know when I think about being a kid and um in the philippines, there's a lot of superstitions and I think looking back. I think this a lot of those superstitions are a way to get children to do things Right, your parents can tell you what to do You And as children, we definitely have selective hearing. I don't think we want to listen a lot to our parents when they tell us exactly things that they want us to do.

But, you know, if they tell it in a story form, all of a sudden it evokes all sorts of emotions and all of a sudden we're willing to do whatever it takes to either do something or not do something because of the story that we were told. One of the stories that I really remember And I still remember it to this day is, um, I used to not eat before going to bed because I would just, you know, play outside and then I would come back and I just didn't like to eat and I didn't want to eat dinner.

And I remember, I think it's my mom, she, she said something like, you know, when you don't eat, what happens is your soul or your spirit, spirit leaves your body at night because you're so hungry, it's gonna leave your body at night, it's going to wander off into the kitchen, and it's going to open this pot of rice. And we don't have a rice cooker back then, we have like this old school really heavy pot of rice.

So, apparently the spirit or the soul is going to open that pot of rice, it's going to go inside the pot because it's so hungry, it's looking for rice, because again, rice is life for Filipinos, rice is life, it's gonna go inside that pot to try to get some rice, and then the lid is going to close because it's so heavy, and the spirit, you know, spirit is light and airy, it can't lift the lid up. Back up. So it essentially cannot escape the pot of rice.

So the spirit, or the soul, which is my spirit, my soul, is stuck inside the pot of rice. And so what happens is, because it's stuck inside the pot of rice, it can't come back to my body. And if it can't come back to my body, then I won't wake up in the morning! I know! Dreadful! Crazy! Scary stories! This is literally a story that was told to me, and I remember that. And because this evoked a feeling of fear for me, you bet I didn't miss a dinner after that.

I actually listen, and that's what storytelling does. Storytelling has a way of opening us up. Our senses are more open when we listen to story speakers. We could just relate to it. There's something about stories. And in my journey as a teacher, I remember a specific story when I shared to my student, uh, Beethoven's story of hearing loss. And how Beethoven struggled with hearing loss, but was able to compose all of these amazing songs that we still listen to and play to this day.

And I remember the student telling me that, wow, that story really inspired them to actually go through a difficult moment in school. And that was just amazing to hear that because, again, I could have told the child like, hey, you need to push through difficult situations. But instead of saying that, I relayed that information through story. And that is also a part of the Brilliant Minds Brave Hearts program that I'm launching, where I get to teach kids life skills through storytelling.

And imagine if kids could just grab a hold of a life skill, of a leadership value because of a story that they Connect with imagine how powerful that could be in their life as they use that life skill or that leadership value So when we use stories to teach to share and to educate it becomes more than just a learning moment It truly becomes unforgettable The M in START stands for movement, and we

know that not just because it's science backed but also because we experience it. But both kids and adults learn better when we are actually active, when we're moving. A study in Frontiers in Psychology that was published actually shows that when we move, It enhances our cognitive development and also our memories in both children and adults. And it's because when we move blood flows through our brain and it improves neural connections.

As a business owner, one of the things that I do in my, you know, day to day activities is what we call a sales call. A sales call or a discovery call is basically when you meet, you know, one on one. Or one too many with prospective clients, prospective families in my case who want to enroll in my studio. And so I was trying to learn how to be a better, you know, salesperson.

And I know that sometimes sales has this negative connotation, but it really doesn't have to be because sales doesn't have to be sleazy when you know the value that you're offering and you're not being pushy about it. Right?

So that's what I was trying to basically learn is how do I effectively communicate the value of what I do and what I offer without being sleazy Sleazy without being pushy or salesy or any of that crazy stuff that we usually experience when we go to a car dealership and we dread it because we know it's just not gonna be a fun experience. Right. So I was trying to learn, and I was listening to this coaching program about sales.

So this lady talks about how before she gets into a sales call or a discovery call she gets into her power moment and The power moment is basically movement and it could be anything from you know Let's do ten jumping jacks or ten push ups or do a quick one minute dance video and dance it off like no one's watching I know it sounds crazy But the act of doing that increases the blood flow which literally helps you think and feel Clear.

And that is why people always say, sometimes when you're in the weeds and you're working so much, just take a break, go away, go for a walk, see the sun, see nature, go for a walk. And I have found that myself too, that if I am just feeling stuck, literally just putting it away, going to an aerial class, going for a walk, it helps me clear my brain and it helps me get that break. But also it helps the, the blood again, flowing into my brain, which as we already know, as science has shown.

shown us it helps with neural connectivity. And so that's why movement is important when we are learning in my own piano lessons. What I do is, especially when I start teaching rhythm, I make them March first. That's the very first thing we do when we learn how to read rhythm is literally marching the rhythm, getting into their body, because when your body moves, your brain grooves with it.

So you're more able to remember what you're learning, actually retain the information, Actually, even learn it faster. I have found that there are times where I'm thinking, Oh, this student got this, this student got this, this student is, you know, a bit more advanced. I bet you that we don't need to do the marching. And every time I do that, I kid you not, if I skip the marching portion, if I skip putting it into their bodies, We run into issues.

I have already seen it happen over and over again. And so once I saw the pattern there, I said, okay, let's stop it. Let's not rush through this process. Let's actually put it into our body first before we put it into the piano. And so it's really interesting to see that even in my own experience. And that is also exactly why in my new program, the brilliant minds, brave hearts program. We are literally incorporating movement into the program because Yes.

I have seen, I should know this already because I've grown up as a dancer, but the power of movement just paves the way for the brain to be able to remember what you need to remember and to grasp the information and not just grasp the information, but actually live in it, in your body, which is truly amazing and transformational.

The A in SMART is Art of Music. So yes, it can be art, but I'm specifically talking about the art of music. Music is literal magic for the brain. When you play a musical instrument, it engages your emotions, your creativity, and your memory, often all at once at the same time. But it's really more than that. There is solid science that shows why playing a musical instrument is a powerful tool for brain development.

And in a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, they showed that people who play musical instruments have stronger brain connections that lead to better motor skills and enhanced cognitive development. One of my teen students, Savvy, when I asked her what changes she's seen in her life and in the way she functions from just being able to play a musical instrument. And she said something really interesting.

She said, she noticed that ever since she started playing the piano, she feels a lot more confident in the way she presents herself in school and also in her relationships with her friends. She said something so specific.

She said before piano, sometimes she can't find the words to express how she really feels and what Is on her mind and after she started playing the piano She feels that she has a lot more confidence and actually being able to express in words What she wants to say and how she feels and you know, I asked her why that is so and she said I don't know I mean, she's a teenager. It's not like she really looked into this, right?

I mean she could but she you know, when I asked her that question was so out of the blue I guess that she's like I don't really know but I just feel like music made me feel Um Better about myself in a sense that I feel a lot more confident and even though it's not tangible for her, right? Like, well, the changes are tangible, but she can't really pinpoint as to the exact reason why, right? She can't say, well, this is what the brain is doing and that is exactly why feel this way.

I feel more confident. There's so many scientific studies that proves that. And again, it's exactly what this study has shown is that when we play musical instrument, the brain connections and that motor skill, the cognitive development is so much stronger and the regions in our brain that's activating our, our emotional regulation skills and our memory and our attention and our language processing skills.

It is activated and I love that story and that's also another reason why I believe that the way we should teach Life skills to our kids, right the skill of delayed gratification The skill of knowing how to say no to peer pressure the skill of owning up to your own actions These are life skills character building life skills that we need to learn as children We can actually present them through music, and when it's presented through music, it becomes an immersive learning that,

again, is no longer just an educational content, but it's learning that they get to embody in their entire being, and hopefully, because they're embodying it in their being, it becomes unforgettable.

R and smart is real world application, right? Because everything that we learn, again, which I already kind of shared in episode 2, knowledge is not power. Knowledge is potential power. Uh, people used to say knowledge is power, and then we realized that is not the case. Knowledge when not acted upon is potential power. It's only potential power and the only way that it becomes powerful in our life is when we actually apply it to real world applications, real life applications.

According to cognitive load theory, learning when applied into real world context actually deepens the understanding and really promotes long term retention. Studies show that experiential learning actually boosts the retention by 90%, compared to traditional learning methods like reading and lectures, where they really only retain 10 percent of it. And isn't that what we want for our kids?

That they retain 90 percent of what we teach them, whether you're a parent, an educator, or a caregiver, that whatever you're You know, providing for them, uh, teaching them these life skills and values that they actually really grab ahold of that and retain it so that when they become adults, they're able to exercise those life skills and leadership values and put it into practice. So in our brilliant minds, brave hearts program, we engage our students. Full body from mind, body, heart, right?

We we give them stories which opens up their heart, opens up their minds, they connect with the characters, they connect with the stories, and then we get them to apply those learnings and the lessons they know through movement, we get them to move through the lessons, we get them to play the instruments, sing these songs, and then We get to ask them questions that really pertain to real life situations. I use this very specific method. It's called adventures in wisdom, life coaching for kids.

And through that method, I get to engage them in real world situations and ask them questions that relate to what they're going through in school, in life, and really get them to apply what they're learning in real life, because it's only through living out what they've learned that they get to see the power of what they're learning.

The T in smart learning, uh, stands for transformation. And this is really where it comes together. When we combine storytelling, movement, the art of music. Into real world application, what happens is it transforms the way our kids really take in this information. It's no longer information, it actually becomes a transformative experience for them. Research in transformative learning theory by Jack Mazurov actually shows that deep, engaging, immersive experiences creates transformation.

That transformation then relates to a shift in how we see the world, how we see ourselves, and how we show up confidently in our lives. The magic of immersive learning happens because they're no longer just taking in information. The learning actually happens for life. And I believe that this is why learning how to play a musical instrument is such an incredible, unique.

Tool to be able to teach it to kids because it's a skill that takes a long time to develop It's not a skill where they get to you know, take it for a year and then they're good They got piano down and they know how to play It truly transforms your life because it's something that stays with you for years and years and years to come but it also Took a long time for someone to learn the skill of playing the piano.

And when you combine that, you know, going back, when you combine that with movement, you combine that with storytelling, gosh, uh, magic happens. You know, at the core of the podcast, it is truly about a wildly wealthy life. It is about your own exceptional life that you get to live out every single day. And as an adult, you know, we can be a lot more intentional about that in our own lives.

But then, if we are adults and we have children in our lives, you know, if you're a parent, and for me, I have students, my hope is that I get to be that catalyst for that. That can show my students that, hey, it really starts with your mindset. And so if it starts with your mindset, if we can teach you how.

to understand how your mind works and then actually get you to Apply what you're learning in real life situations through immersive learning Get them to remember what they're learning because of storytelling and in movement and in the music The art of music and then get them to apply it into real world situations.

Then what we see is a transformed life So i'm so excited because i've been teaching piano for a while now but cumulatively with all the other stuff that i've taught for over 15 years, but I You Never really became like more of a forward facing life coach for kids and From seeing everything that I've done and seeing the kids I realized it all starts with mindset and so being able to teach them this skill is not only transformative for them But I'm sure it's also going

to be transformative for their families So parents, you can do this yourself. You can totally teach your kids life skills through storytelling, through movement, through art and music, get them to apply it to real world situations. So they can also be transformed. But if you do want a mentor, because it does help to have a mentor guide you through this, uh, check out my free video training. You can go to catskis. com slash mindset.

Alright friends, that's a wrap on today's episode of Wildly Wealthy Life. We hope you're feeling fired up and ready to take on the world with your brilliant mind and brave heart. If you loved this episode, make sure you hit that subscribe button on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform. It helps us keep bringing you the good stuff. And hey, while you're at it, drop us a rating or review. It takes like what? 30 seconds, and it makes a huge difference for us.

Also, if you know someone who could use a little guidance on growth, mindset, leadership and creativity, share this episode with them. Sometimes that one conversation can spark up a whole new direction. Thanks for hanging out with us today. Go out there, live wildly, be wealthy in all the ways that matter to you, and we'll catch you on the next one.