How we teach
On the floor.
The hour, the child in front of you, and the eight talents a leader practices. Same ideas the instructors use. None of the old product names.
The hour
Six parts. Each one sets up the next. Have a map before you walk in: what you are testing, and what today is for.
1 · Warm up
Change the warm-up often enough that they still try. A bored body sends less fuel to the brain, and the rest of the hour gets thinner.
2 · Mat chat
Name the skill. Say why it helps in class, at home, and at school. Tell them the three tries that are coming. Now they know why they should care.
3 · Skill drills
These are not fillers. Each drill practices the skill, at that age. This is when working memory is awake and new connections are cheap.
4 · Checkpoint
Teach the piece they will actually be asked to show. The brain is ready to keep it, so this is the curriculum, not a surprise at testing.
5 · Cool down
Stretch, and vary it. The quiet is when the hour gets stored. End the moving too fast and the download cuts off.
6 · Play
Close with a game that fits the age. The last feeling they carry out is the one they remember. Fun is not a prize you skip when time runs out.
Read the child
Behavior is a signal
Odd or loud usually means a child is finding a path, not choosing to ruin yours. Treat the signal. Do not call the child negative.
A miss is feedback
Mistakes are how they learn. Say what to change. Do not hand them the word failure.
You cannot not communicate
Words, tone, and posture all teach. If your face says annoyance, that is the lesson they keep.
The choice is not the child
“That hit was not the right choice” leaves them a person. “You are bad” does not. Separate the act from the name.
They can succeed
A hard learner is not an empty one. More support, not a lower opinion. Believe it before you ask them to.
When they wander
Aloof, silly, or over the line. The child is not the problem. The next move is.
Looking away
A wandering child often learns through the body, not the speech. Do not put them on the spot. Kneel, use their name, and hand them a job: hold the target, then throw the kick. Praise the try. Then ask them to watch one classmate and say if the kick was true.
Being silly
Play is the job of childhood. A time-out for laughing teaches them that fun is a crime. Use the pretend: “That was a great bad jump. Now pretend the strong one.” Show the class the strong one. The laugh stays. The skill comes back.
Out of bounds
A yell or a shutdown is often a child who does not know the edge yet. Stay calm. Name the feeling. Say you want the fun thing too. Tell them why everyone cannot be first. Name the behavior you will not keep, and the one you want instead. Ask, “Can I count on you to show me?” Do not start a power struggle. It takes two.
Attentiveness
Attentiveness is showing a person or a task that they are worth your whole mind. Ears and heart, not just a nod.
On people
- Look at the person who is talking. A screen does not count.
- Do not chase the laugh across the room while someone is teaching.
- Let them finish. Then answer what they actually said.
On tasks
- Care about the small part. Folded, not stuffed. Written, not rushed.
- Check the work once before you call it done.
- Ask what the rep is teaching you, instead of only surviving it.
Eight talents
Score yourself from 1 to 5. It stays on this device. A low number is a place to practice, not a grade.
Empathy
See a generally good person under a messy moment. The struggle is often invisible.
Practice. Write one moment a parent, student, or teammate was judged. Then write the reply that assumes strain, and one clear next step.
Teachable
Willing to change a habit and use a new idea. It is a practice, not a personality.
Practice. Pick one process in the school. Learn it. Teach it back in your own words. Passion and effort count more than a polished talk.
Willpower
The skill of starting. Past the stall, past the hesitation, into a finished thing.
Practice. This week: one quick win, one medium win, one big win. Small finishes make the large one look possible.
Positivity
A steady bright side that other people can catch. It is built, not wished.
Practice. For seven days: no cutting posts and no cutting remarks. Each morning, three ways you will help the day. Each night, three thanks and one kindness.
Passion
You care about the work for your own reasons, not only because someone assigned it.
Practice. Answer four questions as the leader you are becoming: What do you like here? What are you good at? What problem do you help solve? What should they remember you for?
Humble
Other people first. The good deed does not need an audience.
Practice. This week, one small kindness, one medium, one large. Write them down after, not before the credit.
Resilient
You know your strengths, you can name a weakness, and you get up without being pushed.
Practice. List three strengths and three weaknesses. A weakness is the next place to grow, not a verdict.
Ambitious
You finish work that matters even when the mood is poor. You can see past today.
Practice. Three tasks this week that help the school and are not already your job. Done is the practice.
Ages we teach
Watch four things: body, thinking, feeling, and other people. A class should not be too hard or too easy.
18 to 36 months
A parent stays on the floor. The body is busy and hard to aim. Feelings are large and unnamed. They copy, then need space. One skill a class, eight in a month, then repeat.
- Physical. Expect stumbles. Aim for a step and a jump that land, a kick from a bent knee, and a punch that pulls the other arm back.
- Intellectual. They cannot see far ahead. Attention is short. Aim for one direction they can follow.
- Emotional. A failed try can melt them. Excitement can make them run. Aim for a little more patience than last time.
- Social. They play beside someone before they play with them. Aim for one turn given, and a kind hand.
Stepping · Listening · Patience · Respect · Jumping · Thinking · Following · Sharing
3 and 4
Their own class, harder than the toddler hour and easier than five. A grown-up stays close until they can train without being held. One skill. Stop before the feeling outruns the drill.
- Physical. Expect more control than a toddler, and still a lot of falls. Aim for a jump that lands, a kick from a bent knee, and a stance they can hold for one breath.
- Intellectual. Expect “what’s next” and a plan that only lasts a moment. Aim for two steps they can follow, with a pause to think before they move.
- Emotional. Expect feelings they can almost name, and a melt when they lose. Aim for staying in the line through one hard try.
- Social. Expect copying a friend, then fighting for the turn. Aim for waiting, sharing a pad, and a bow that means something.
Landing · Listening · Waiting · Sharing · Balance · Thinking · Following · Kind hands
5 and 6
They may grow a couple of inches and several pounds in a year. Thinking is concrete. Friendships are starting. If the room does not feel safe, they will not risk a new skill.
- Physical. Expect run, jump, and climb, with the small muscles still arriving. Aim for one clean skill at a time. A long combination is still too much.
- Intellectual. Expect a short attention and ideas they have to see. Aim for a concrete example, one step, then the next. Games beat a lecture.
- Emotional. Expect a swing from happy to angry in a minute. Aim for a way to show the feeling that does not wreck the line, and praise a real try.
- Social. Expect a new friend and a strong pull back to a parent. Aim for sharing a turn and cooperating on one job.
One step · Hands on · Listening · Sharing · Balance · Remembering · Following · Trying again
7 to 9
Control shows up. They can ride, swim, write, and use a tool. They can argue a rule and keep a friend if someone shows them how. Stress can still flood them.
- Physical. Expect real control and fast growth, about two inches a year. Aim for a longer combination and a clean landing, not the toddler version of the drill.
- Intellectual. Expect them to hold a harder problem and ask if the rule is fair. Aim for show it, talk it, then let a pair solve the small problem.
- Emotional. Expect a wider feeling, and a flood when the moment gets tight. Aim for a goal they can actually hit, and praise the real accomplishment.
- Social. Expect a friendship that can survive a conflict. Aim for compromise inside the rule. Do not pick the winner for them.
Combinations · Fairness · Compromise · Goals · Pairs · Control · Focus · Encouragement
10 to 14
The body is capable, then a growth spurt makes a skilled student clumsy for a while. They can think in abstractions. They start pulling away from parents. A miss in public feels huge.
- Physical. Expect strength, skill, and the odd clumsy week. Growth slows, then a spurt scrambles coordination. Aim for balance, both sides, and the landing. Do not call the clumsy week lazy.
- Intellectual. Expect abstract thought and a lot of detail. Aim for a real decision, the consequence of it, and room to work at their own pace.
- Emotional. Expect mood swings and a self-respect still under construction. Aim for a room where a miss is information. Never a public verdict.
- Social. Expect them to pull toward friends and away from parents. Aim for independence with a standard. Not bossing, and not humiliation.
Decisions · Independence · Balance · Both sides · Recovery · Respect · Leadership · Risk
On a mixed floor, change the task. Younger students get the concrete version and more help. Older students get the harder version and less narration.
Age-by-age science