Children between the ages of 5 and 6 are in the “dynamo” stage of development. They are now at a point where basic skills become the foundation for their continued growth. With the right mindset and curriculum, martial arts can help them build a more solid foundation for basic fundamental skills, which are essential for continued development.
Here’s an overview for the stages of development of children ages 5 and 6:
Physically– they typically do not know how to apply their muscles so they fall often when their body is in constant motion. Also, they have a foundation for leg, arm, core, and abdominal development, but they still lack a lot of strength.
- We expect them to initially struggle with multiple kicks beyond five repetitions. We also expect them to initially have sloppy technique when exercising.
- The goals for our program are to get them to perform high repetitions of kicks without putting their foot down and perform static, active, and dynamic exercises for beyond ten reps with good technique.
Intellectually– they typically have a hard time retaining beyond three commands. They also have a hard time distinguishing between their left and right.
- We expect them to initially get confused when we ask them to do more than three things at one time. We also initially expect them to have a hard time distinguishing between their left and right when following multiple-commands.
- The goal of our program is to get them to retain three or more commands at once, and beyond. We will also help them learn how to perform various left and right combinations.
Emotionally – they typically focus on things that make them happy. They also have slow brakes when they are excited.
- We expect them to initially lose focus and shut down when they are not happy. We also expect them to lose control when they are over-excited.
- The goal of our program is to help them focus even when it’s hard to do so. We will also help them control their body and their power, especially when they are excited.
Socially– they love to play with others but are typically very competitive.
- We expect them to initially show weak sportsmanship when they participate in a competition.
- The goals for our program are to help them build good teamwork such as no cheating; don’t get angry when they lose; and don’t brag when they win.
By understanding the stages of development of 5 and 6-year olds, we could select 8 age-appropriate skills that make up the Basic SKILLZ Program.
Check out our Basic SKILLZ Bronze membership for age-specific warm-ups, stretched, drills, and game that target this age group!
Check out of Basic SKILLZ Silver membership for age-specific class planners, a 9-belt level testing curriculum, and licensed branding tools for this age group!