Capoeira for kids (CAPO4KIDS©) is a cultural and comprehensive enrichment program, designed to promote a sense of wellbeing in children as young as 9 months to kids as old as 99. We define wellbeing as a state of wellness (being in good physical and mental/emotional health) infused with a sense of social and environmental responsibility.
Capoeira is an African-Brazilian art that developed as early as the 1600’s from the collective minds of Africans and other marginalized people, including Brazilian natives, who were enslaved in Brazil. Since it’s inception, which was born out of the struggle for liberation, Capoeira has traversed the globe and is now practically on all continents. The art itself is an inherent “enrichment program” composed of art, music and physical activity, and also steeped in a rich history and philosophy of cultivating self-worth and self-esteem.
CAPO4KIDS© gives rise to children’s sense of self-worth (a belief of their worthiness and about how they deserve to be treated) and self-esteem (a belief of how capable, competent and valued they are) through connection learning. Connecting to children’s emotional needs is as important as connecting to their physical needs. And one of children’s most basic emotional needs is to be treated with respect. Social interactions rooted in respect for oneself and others are an immanent part of Capoeira Angola since Capoeira cannot be played alone.
There is a growing body of research that shows a strong correlation between academic (ie literacy and mathematics) achievement and self-regulation, the ability to regulate social, emotional and cognitive behaviors. The self-worth and self-esteem that children gain from self-regulation, or what we like to call in our capoeira curriculum, free play, is the dynamic force behind our curriculum that gives children the tools to interact independently through cooperative and leadership skills.