Testimonials - Parents say
“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
CURIOUS KIDS CAN has been the ray of sunshine our precious daughter needed. At the innocent age of 10 she experienced deep hurt and rejection from a family member she adored and trusted. She was confused, angry and despondent with the situation. My husband and I also had a very close relationship with this person. We felt her emotional pain, it was raw, but felt completely helpless in taking that pain away and couldn’t. This was real and it was either going to crush her spirit, victimize her or make her stronger. It had to be the latter. We believe there is no other way in life, you turn scars into stars. Through our own faith we helped our girl as much as we could but it came to an end. We had to seek out someone who could help her heal. We found Elissa and truly believe she was Heaven sent!
We find it very hard to find meaningful words to express not only our gratitude for Curious Kids Can but also the gift within Elissa which has brought about within our girl a huge transformation in her thinking, attitude, behaviour and choices. It is miraculous to see her shining, peaceful, content, confident and more determined to be the amazing girl she was created to be. She now takes responsibility for her choices and understands that we are all accountable for who we are and what we do. She really gets that other people’s behaviour and choices DO NOT define who she is as a person. It is so wonderful to see her control herself in anger and no longer falling into helplessness. Being a very intelligent child she can now reach for the stars with the gifts she has been given and we, as her parents, now carry a lot more peace knowing she will walk with the seeds Elissa has planted within her heart.
As her mother, having studied counselling and with a heart for understanding the human spirit, I now realize that there are times when we as parents need to reach out and offer our children the freedom to find their way. They are individuals on their own journey just as we are. We encourage any parent who is considering any form of counselling to be open and ready for change and not only in your child’s life but also in your own. Confronting, yes, but if it helps our children isn’t it worth it? Change can only come if the parents are willing to make an effort as well. My husband and I have looked within and seen areas where we have been contributing to some of our girl’s issues, simple behaviours which impact a lot in a child’s life. It is a team effort and not a quick fix.
In life we all have our doubters which at times feel like 10 compared to the 1 who believes in us. We have no doubt Elissa will always be a blessing to all the wondrous lives she touches and we pray Curious Kids Can continues for as long as it possibly can. Hallelujah!
I contacted Elissa in a state of despair! My sons school had just phoned me (again) about his behaviour at school towards other children and in class. I had reached a point where I did not know what else I could do to help my son make the right choices. He is a beautiful boy with a loving heart but in the school environment he is the boy that teases others, that tells lies and is rough.
I found Curious Kids Can on the web and phoned immediately. Elissa was able to see us on a Saturday which was perfect for us. Over the 8 week Personal Awareness Program we have learnt so much about our son and how he responds and reacts to situations. The boisterous bravado at school is actually a mask for a boy who is struggling with his self esteem. Through the program, as a family, we have gained insight into all of our behaviours and have learnt ways to help each other. From all of us, thank you Curious Kids Can!
My oldest child who is 11 years of age, had, in the last two years of school slowly but surely become more and more disinterested in school, he was negative, unenthusiastic, suffered from bullying and appeared miserable. My husband and I were at our wits end, we had tried everything we could think of to help our son regain his happy, bright, intelligent demeanour without success.
One of our friends suggested “Curious Kids Can” that they had seen advertised, so we made an appointment with Elissa. From the moment she first met with him we could see the positive effect she had on our son. We enrolled him in an 8 week Personal Awareness Program then and there, to start as soon as possible.
The change in our son over the 8 weeks has been enormous. Elissa has helped our son regain his confidence, to become positive again, and to be able to deal with his emotions, peer pressure and stress, in appropriate ways. She has also helped us as parents to be able to reinforce these attitudes, and to enjoy our child again!
We can’t thank Elissa and “Curious Kids Can” enough for giving us back our contented, optimistic, delightful, clever boy.
I first discovered Curious Kids Can advertised in the local Kids on the Coast magazine earlier this year and called immediately. I had been on the lookout for a Personal Mentor for my 8 year old son for some time and Elissa’s program sounded perfect.
My son had hated school from day one and would cry and beg me not to make him go on a daily basis. He would say school is boring and no-one will play with me, that he was just different from the other kids and could I teach him at home.
When I spoke to his teachers about my concerns they indicated my son was withdrawn and appeared to be often in his own little world and to seek professional assessment which I did. After many conflicting opinions I was left more confused and concerned for my son than ever before.
Then I found Curious Kids Can and started my son on an 8 week mentoring program with fantastic results. Elissa has helped bring my son out of the shell he was living in. The one on one mentoring is what he really needed not Doctors standard opinions or mind altering medications as recommended.
My son actually looks forward to his weekly visits out to Eudlo and talks about what he might discuss with Elissa each week. He no longer cries about going to school and has made some new friends to play with. He is gaining more confidence each and every week.
Thanks Elissa, great program!
Since entering school at the age of three, my daughter has always had trouble fitting in with the school system. Socially, she is extremely capable but academically she was having problems coping with the rigidness of the system. She has been tested to be extremely gifted. Over the years I had tried many different forms of tutoring and counselling, but to no avail. My husband and I decided to just ‘let her be’ and see if things improved. They didn’t!
One morning my daughter had an extremely bad panic attack and refused to go to school. I did not know what to do or who to go to as my daughter refused to talk to any professional. A friend of mine gave me Elissa’s business brochure and after reading the first sentence I knew I had to phone. When I did, Elissa listened to me. In the first consultation my daughter connected with Elissa. More than anything, Elissa has given my daughter the feeling that for the first time she would have control over her fears and that no one would think that they or she was silly.
In 8 weeks Elissa has done what no other specialist or tutor could do. She has given my daughter back not only her confidence but the belief in her abilities and the knowledge that she can do things without her world falling apart around her. In her words “I was scared but did it anyway”. She is back to playing her music, her homework and projects are not causing a family meltdown and she is deciding things for herself with a confidence that I have not seen in her since she was 3 years old. She is reaching for the stars knowing that she can get there.
My son’s personal program has helped him become more enthusiastic about his self learning and he is making great effort towards realizing his goals and dreams. The way Elissa designs her program to improve essential life skills and increase one’s self confidence is admirable. My wife and I are very impressed with what Elissa has achieved with my son in such a short period of time. He is very happy and looks forward to seeing her each week. Curious Kids Can is situated close to nature which is perfect for discovering the potential within each individual student.
As a parent having a child that struggles in some areas of learning and also with the emotional side of the playground, is rather worrying. My child is a bright child that needed something but we couldn’t really put a finger on what exactly she needed. She wasn’t failing at school but passing was also not easy. She was always sad, unhappy and emotional. The spark in this little girl was burning very low and we needed to do something and fast.
A family member suggested Elissa at Curious Kids Can. We are so grateful because our daughter has never looked back. She is excited about things, she laughs, sings, dances and wow has her education improved. But I think the biggest difference is in the way she handles situations at school. The mentoring that Elissa provides is outstanding and she is gradually developing skills that I am sure she will use throughout her entire life.
Eight weeks ago our daughter was a different child, and we are so impressed that she will continue mentoring next term. As a mum, all I want is to see my children happy and Elissa has given that back to us. I would highly recommend Elissa to anyone as she has a genuine love and passion for your children and that is shown from week to week. Why not let your children see how far they can grow.
My son recently completed an 8 week Personal Program at Curious Kids Can and I am very pleased with the results. From the outset of his program there were significant changes in his behavior and interest in learning. It was as though a light inside him was once again switched on. He became increasingly confident and happy in his ability to learn and as a result his behavior within the classroom improved.
Elissa’s natural ability to quickly gain a good rapport with kids enabled my son to enjoy learning under her guidance. He looked forward to his weekly visits with Elissa and valued their conversation.
I would recommend Elissa and her great mentoring service to any parent or caregiver who feels their child is not reaching their full potential at school. Curious Kids Can is a great gift for any child to receive as they can discover and explore their natural abilities as well as grow in self confidence in a very nurturing and supportive learning environment.
Does Curious Kids Can work – we think so! Our son’s birthday is in late April thus making him one of the youngest in his class. We have found that while he is academically capable he has had difficulties coping with the social and emotional expectations of Prep and now Grade 1 (where 6 months can equate to an awful lot of development in a child’s life).
This year we received feedback (in week 2) that he didn’t seem to understand instructions, wasn’t listening and wasn’t even starting the activities, let alone staying on task. Not a good start to the private school system that we had so wanted for him. To do this he had shifted from the state system where he did Prep and moved to a much bigger school where he had to learn all the rules, expectations and make new friends again. The result was he felt ‘under siege’ and didn’t want to attempt anything in case he made a mistake.
We placed him in Elissa’s Personal Awareness Program to assist him managing his emotions, social development and communication skills and build up his confidence again. He has shown progress each week. With the first milestone being he is now working on tasks and trying at school. By week 7 he was telling us that he was finding schoolwork much easier. It is a work in progress but our son is showing big improvements now – that’s great news!
On both occasions that our son has worked with Elissa we have achieved positive results. These results are both behavioural and academic. We believe Elissa’s approach of the nature walk and talk, followed by activity, successfully brings out the best in young boys!
From the moment she was born, our daughter was always very energetic mentally, physically and spiritually. She was never naughty, just busy learning and living. The spark in her eyes always made people look at her twice.
Due to her young age and an obsessive relationship with a friend our daughter repeated Prep. She could basically read, loved hard jigsaw and word puzzles and was constantly surprising people at how bright she was. But during the second year of Prep, we noticed she was looking more and more sad, was a little lonely looking, not reading anymore and eventually the spark had gone. She would not talk to us or anyone else when asked if anything was wrong but seemed happy enough to go to school. Along came Year 1 and nothing changed. We became very worried.
One day I randomly opened a page of the Kids on the Coast magazine and there was Elissa’s add. I rang immediately and after talking to Elissa, and making an appointment for the next day, I knew there was a breath of fresh air not far away.
Driving home after the very first meeting, our daughter had a Mona Lisa smile on her face, and my husband and I knew we had found a way back to our real daughter. Elissa has given our daughter the confidence to want to learn again, enjoy school and to be able to cope with the new teaching methods of which she was having trouble with. She no longer thinks she is “dumb” and not “good” when only the naughty kids in class are constantly being rewarded even though she is always good and a keen little helper. She has already gone up 2 levels with her readers and is starting to stand up for herself within relationships.
Over the eight weeks Elissa has taught my husband and I that sometimes kids need to be trusted to walk down a road on their own to find their way, we cannot fix up everything for them. Everyday our daughter is becoming that vibrant person again, full of confidence and ready to run down that road, not just walk. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Elissa!
Curious Kids Can is found on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in the township of Maleny
A Proudly Australian Owned & Family Run Business