Hi from So Cal

[sifumary]

Hi,

Like to introduce myself. I am a 43 yr old mom with teenagers. I have 1st degree black belt in American Kenpo karate. I also have a 6 kyu in Shotokan and have dabbled in Tae kwon do and Jeet kun do. I am also a yoga instructor, recently certified last February. I have learned so much from my yoga teachers forum that I thought it was time to join a karate forum.

I have taught kenpo karate classes for ages 4 to adult but had to leave my dojo a few years ago due to personal problems with the owner. Recently, I've been asked to start a preschool (ages 4-5) and a junior class (ages 6-10) for our park and rec center this coming January. I'd like to get some advice on teaching these groups and any other helpful hints I can find on teaching 8 week courses.

Any other "park and rec" teachers out there?

Mary W.

[pineapple]

Hi Mary

My advice to teaching very young children is to stick to basics and teach them discipline and respect.

[kanku]

A warm welcome from me

[y2_sub]

Welcome

[Patrick]

Welcome to KarateForums.com.

[ninjanurse]

Welcome!

I am getting ready to start a program out of the local community center. Maybe we can share some ideas!!!

[Pacificshore]

Welcome Mary

In regards to teaching pre-school age kids, my buddy who teaches them that young would start out by giving them 5 chores to do at home to "earn" their white belt that came with their uniform.

He would give them a piece of paper with 5 blank lines and just have their parents write in the 5 things they did at home, like clean up their toys, brush their teeth, feed the pet, etc.

The next class time, they bring back their paper and if its all filled out, they get their belt.

Next he would have everyone sit in a circle with him, and introduce themselves. Next he goes over the "karate" rules.....raise you hand to ask a question, bow in/out of mat, no horse playing. Once he goes over the rules, he'll start the next class the same way and start to ask the kids if they can remember any of the rules. Suprisingly it works great.

He will then give them a word for the month, explain the meaning of the word, and give an example...pretty soon the kids are picking up on the meaning of the word, and then they have to provide an example.

As for the karate part, he keeps it simple, he calls punching, karate punches, kicks-karate kicks, and so forth. He plays games of balance and coordination with them. For example, one is to lay out an old belt, and have the kids hop back and forth over the belt moving forward.

At the end of the line if you have someone helping out, they kick a pad or punch a pad....and run back to the end of the line and do it all over.

I hope these examples will be of help to you and Ninjanurse

[sifumary]

Thank you for your warm welcomes!

Ninjanurse,

For my 4-5 yr old class I'll be doing the Little Ninjas karate program that was developed by NAPMA a few years ago. Each week there is a theme: control, teamwork, balance, memory, fitness, coordination, discipline and focus. 8 themes for an 8 week course! The kids in this age group mostly learn studio ettiquette (sp?) and earn a skill stripe for each theme on their belt. I think this class helps them get ready for group instruction.

Its my 6-10 yr old class that I am having trouble with. Do I do the watered down kenpo curriculum my sensei was doing when I went I left? Do I go back and do the traditional kenpo program and overwhelm them with 22 techniques per belt level? Or do I do my own program.. a mixture of kenpo, shotokan and some fitness training? I'm leaning toward doing my own program since I will only have these kids for 8 weeks, once a week. Instead of a traditional karate program, my goal may be to get them excited about martial arts so that they can join a traditional program in the future. Of course, if I have students re-enroll I may need start a traditional belt rank program. But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

What do you think?

Mary W.

[sifumary]

Pacificshore,

What an awesome idea for the first class! I love to hear what others are doing successfully in their classes! I know preschoolers are a tough age group for martial arts, but the rewards, as you know, are great too.

Thanks!!!

Mary W.

[gheinisch]

Hello Mary and welcome to KF.