Training the young ones (age 5 - 7), any experience / tips?

[Melau]

So I've been instructing 2 karate groups for the past 7 years on saturday morning, one for beginners and one for advanced. Mind you, both groups are children / adolescents, no adults.

The first group now consists of about 19 children ranging in the age from 5 to about 7 or 8. While I enjoy it tremendously, it is always a challenge keeping the engaged, focussed and enjoying a hour of karate. It's mainly the difference in mental development, where one 5 year old still lives entirely in a 'fantasy world' as can be expected from that age, to 5 year old that are curious of the world around them, ask intellegent questions and have good working ethics. This makes it difficult to suit everyones needs, but a fun challenge non the less.

Anybody has experience with the same age group and wishing to share their experience / insights?

[Spartacus Maximus]

Considering the attention spans of average 5 to 7 year olds, a full hour of anything is pushing too hard. Group size is also a factor and my experience is that young children work best in groups of under 8 if the instructor has no other adults assisting.

A general rule when teaching children under 12 is that everything must be made into some sort of game. How this can be done is entirely up to the imagination of the instructor. Another principle is to break down each technique into their most basic steps or components and teach those slowly one at a time until the child students can effectively put them together.

[DWx]

It's tough for sure and not my favourite group to teach. The key thing I think is you have to be more engaging and more interesting than anything else in the room. So be upbeat and high energy. Also switch it up every so often as the attention span of a child is pretty short. Change up the activity every 15 mins or so and don't expect them to sit there and listen to you lecture. You can plan a lesson on one topic or theme, say a particular kata or even technique but make sure you have 4 or 5 different ways of teaching it.

[sensei8]

Pay with them...therefore...let them play. Kids this age learn by playing. Playing things that deal with MA drills. There are many companies that sell MA themed drills for that age group; seek them out for advise.

Tumbling, jumping, etc...just engage them and keep them challenged!!

[ninjanurse]

The key to this group is to make sure they understand your expectations-and stick to them! You want them to have fun and learn something but they need consistent direction to stay on task.

I start all my kids classes with a 10 minute chat. I get them to talk about their day, relevant topics at home/school, the theme/thought of the week, etc. This gets them comfortable speaking in front of others, reinforces dojo etiquette, develops rapport, etc. I also use this time to preframe the class and reinforce my expectations.

During class we change activities every 7-10 minutes to keep them engaged. Lesson plans usually cover a topic-such as balance-and all drills and activities are based on this topic. Ending the class should be energetic and fun so that they leave wanting to come back. Find the balance between talk and do-otherwise they will get bored and fidgety!

[sensei8]

The key to this group is to make sure they understand your expectations-and stick to them! You want them to have fun and learn something but they need consistent direction to stay on task.

I start all my kids classes with a 10 minute chat. I get them to talk about their day, relevant topics at home/school, the theme/thought of the week, etc. This gets them comfortable speaking in front of others, reinforces dojo etiquette, develops rapport, etc. I also use this time to preframe the class and reinforce my expectations.

During class we change activities every 7-10 minutes to keep them engaged. Lesson plans usually cover a topic-such as balance-and all drills and activities are based on this topic. Ending the class should be energetic and fun so that they leave wanting to come back. Find the balance between talk and do-otherwise they will get bored and fidgety!

Solid post!!

[bushido_man96]

Great advise here so far. Keep things moving, keep it fun, and I wouldn't go for an hour with that young an age. Around 30 - 45 minutes is where you will see good attention out of that age group. This gives you enough time to do around 3 drills that focus on the topic of the day.

[advfhorn]

My son's group ages 5-9 (mostly 5-6 yr olds) and usually has 22-24 kids for 45 mins. They usually spit into 2-4 groups (depending how much help they have) and do stations.

They incorporate a lot of games and obstacle courses with circle time about 3/4 of the way thru. My son almost always comes off the floor smiling.

[sensei8]

Stations are good for keeping their attentions; nothings stale!! Challenging students is vitally important, no matter the age!!

[Melau]

The key to this group is to make sure they understand your expectations-and stick to them! You want them to have fun and learn something but they need consistent direction to stay on task.

I start all my kids classes with a 10 minute chat. I get them to talk about their day, relevant topics at home/school, the theme/thought of the week, etc. This gets them comfortable speaking in front of others, reinforces dojo etiquette, develops rapport, etc. I also use this time to preframe the class and reinforce my expectations.

During class we change activities every 7-10 minutes to keep them engaged. Lesson plans usually cover a topic-such as balance-and all drills and activities are based on this topic. Ending the class should be energetic and fun so that they leave wanting to come back. Find the balance between talk and do-otherwise they will get bored and fidgety!

The attention span of about 10 minutes is indeed something you observe in this age group, and indeed after being focussed for so long I often do some karate related partner exercises to get them warmed up again and able to release some energy in a fun way. Also ending the class with a fun game or something is always done in the classes.

As for the 10 minute chat, that's not something I do in my classes. Never thought of it. Maybe something to incorporate.

Also for this age group, what are you opinions on letting the parents watch during classes. I've always been instructed in classes where parents weren't allowed, but that is something that changes per sensei.