A few years ago you will have to be born in a circus family or to be enrolled in a professional circus school to be able to learn any kind of aerial acrobatics.
Thanks to the popularity of this discipline, nowadays you can find recreational aerial classes in studios, fitness centers or gym
When I am talking about recreational classes I am referring to the classes where the ultimate goal is not to be a professional performer.
And when I am talking about aerial acrobatics I am referring about learning different type of movements and skills in aerial apparatus like aerial silk, aerial trapeze, aerial hoop or aerial rope.
Learning this kind of activities at a young age will help the young person to develop body awareness, self-confidence, and love for the sport.
For a better understanding I like to compare aerial acrobatics with gymnastics, they are quite similar in the organization of the class, teaching techniques, and learning procedures.
The strength, flexibility, and balance that the kid will gain from working on gymnastics skills will transfer easily to every other sport that he or she might want to pursue.
You can find gymnastics classes for children as young as 2 years of age, but many coaches and PE teachers will agree that it’s better to wait until your child is 5 or 6 before enrolling in a gymnastics program.
Spending time with parent-child “classes” at home that emphasizes climbing, crawling, and jumping is a gentle way for children 2 to 3 years of age to develop their physical coordination and self-confidence.
As the PE teacher I am, when I teach I follow Piaget’s cognitive stages of development, which it says that at the age of 6, the children’s thinking becomes less egocentric and they are increasingly aware of external events, they begin to realize that one’s own thoughts and feelings are unique and may not be shared by others or may not even be part of reality.
At this time, elementary-age and preadolescent children demonstrate logical, concrete reasoning, their language became more mature. That means they will be able to communicate in a better way with the teacher and with other students during the class.
They are transitioning from a preoperational stage (toddlerhood 18-24 months) to a concrete operational development stage at the early childhood (ages of 6-7 to 12). Their way of thinking is less symbolic and more concrete, being capable to understand concepts such as to cause and effect, time, and comparison. They can tell what is wrong, what is right and how can we correct this.
They are at the ideal stage, to begin with, classes like aerial circus acrobatics or gymnastics
Although teaching to the people of this age can be certainly a challenge, it can also be so rewarding when seeing their faces light up every time they a achieve with success something new.
The classes should have a safe and fun approach because practicing sports when you are a kid can lay the groundwork for a lifetime of healthy habits.
As a conclusion for the explanation above, I suggest the ages of 6-7 to start with classes like aerial circus acrobatics or gymnastics.
When participating to this classes they should:
- Wear comfortable sport clothing.
- No shoes needed.
- Bring their own water bottle.
- Have fun!
I recently started with a kids aaerial acrobatics summer program in Cayman Islands, where I am currently living. I have to be honest I haven’t taught to children in a long time so I had to take off the dust of my “old activities” book “, but I am absloutley loving in it.
It last 2 weeks in July and 2 weeks in August 2019
If you would like to know more about it I am sharing here link so you can take a look
Namaste and happy trainings!
Renée