MAXIMIZING EACH STUDENT’S POTENTIAL

To better understand all that our Little Champions program offers, it is helpful to break down some of the program’s developmental milestones for children ages 5 & 6 years old.

The top social-development milestones include demonstrating good teamwork in competitive situations, showing self-control by not interrupting and having the focus to sit still when necessary.

The top physical-development milestones include demonstrating balance by performing multiple repetitions of kicks without putting the kicking foot down, showing good control while keeping the body in motion and exhibiting better fitness by performing exercises beyond five repetitions.

The top intellectual-development milestones include demonstrating good focus on the task at hand despite the presence of distractions, exhibiting good memory by retaining three commands (eventually more) in the proper order, and demonstrating coordination by performing a variety of strikes and kicks, as well as combinations that use both sides of the body.

The top emotional-development milestones include demonstrating self-discipline by following directions after being told once and not acting silly when performing activities that require leadership, as well as by showing sufficient control of the mind to work through challenging tasks.

The top cognitive-development milestones include pattern recognition and pattern design. When a child understands how to use pattern recognition techniques, she can comprehend how things are built and how they function. This type of learning helps kids transfer the knowledge from one skill to a different skill or subject. This is one of the most exciting parts of our program as we train our students to apply the skills and thinking processes they are developing in martial arts to their academics, sports, music and other skill-based activities.

Many children over age 7 participate in sports like soccer, basketball and baseball because they’re at developmental stages where they have the necessary skills to excel. At the same time children ages 6 and younger tend to struggle because coaches’ and parents’ expectations are typically very high, which means it not usually fun for the kids. They need a program that’s more developmentally appropriate and fun – and that is what our Little Champions program strives to provide.