Be kind. Be gentle. Be respectful. Have fun.

There is one important equation we teach at SOLA. We take the quality of being kind and add in acting gentle. Then, we add in being respectful.

The sum of all three things together equal having fun, not just at SOLA, but also in life. 

While we’re at it, let’s do some subtraction, too. What happens if you take one of those aspects out of the equation? Well, then, you’ve lost the idea of living a full and impactful life entirely. 

Let’s consider our own lives for a moment. You’re not having fun if your boss, coworkers or neighbors are disrespectful to you. You’re not having fun if you're not nice to your kids. Reality is, you’re feeling quite the opposite - stressed out, tired and frustrated.

If you follow those three, fun will come. Like the sign on SOLA’s front porch states, “You are important.” And happiness starts inside of all of us.

We talk with the kids about their superpowers. One of those superpowers we all have is kindness. We have the power to be empathic. It expands our perception.

And this equation we teach at SOLA helps create a healthy balance.Going back to a good strong foundation, using this equation to base our blueprint on helps ensure their important lives remain level.

We encourage them to go see what it does. If our gross domestic product is, say, $7 trillion. What value is in kindness? 

Children want to learn. They have a natural curiosity. SOLA borrows the best of the best from every philosophy out there. And if there’s a new philosophy, we will always embrace its strength.

Strictly focusing on academics isn’t the only way to build a foundation with our children. If we ask our children to only focus on tests or homework, and if we say to them, "C'mon buddy, just focus on your math equation and get it done," we've missed an opportunity to make their natural foundation stronger for the world around them.

However, we do have one important math equation we always work on at SOLA - Being Kind + Being Gentle + Being Respectful = Having Fun.