Zoom: Tai Chi for Kidz by Betty Scanlon

Tai Chi 4 Kids

Dr Paul Lam, a family physician in Sydney, Australia, is a world leader in the field of Tai Chi for health improvement. Knowing that tai chi has almost magical effects on the mind, body and spirit, he and his team of educators and tai chi experts designed this tai chi exercise program to be especially beneficial in addressing the needs of children and young people through their teenage years. Educational research supports the value of mindful movement for youth in settings such as schools, camps, and leisure programs.

Young people love to learn and they learn very fast especially when engaged in a fun activity. This specially designed tai chi program emphasises the fun element while developing the mind and body. It is designed with several small building blocks to capture children’s attention, incorporating imagery and games to add appeal. In the instructor training workshop, you will learn how to adapt the learning method to the age and ability of the youth. The program works to help our kids succeed despite the challenges of autism, bullying, changing parental norms, drugs, learning disabilities, and special needs.

This training has two parts, a self-paced online portion and a live interactive portion. The Self-Paced Instructor Preparation Package (SIPP) is a self-paced virtual program containing essential material plus instruction in the basic movements to train effective and safe instructors. All you have to do is follow the sequence with Dr Lam’s video guides for every step. Complete the quizzes at the end of each unit to move on, and at the completion of the SIPP you download your Certificate of Completion to send to the Master Trainer.

After completion of the SIPP, you are ready for the live interactive instructor training workshop to be eligible to become a Tai Chi for Health Institute (TCHI) board-certified instructor. All TCHI Master Trainers around the world can conduct this workshop as listed online at the Tai Chi for Health Institute (tchi.org) website. The listing will indicate whether it is offered on a virtual platform or in-person, and how the hours (minimum of 8) are distributed into 1 or 2 sessions.

Suitable participants include health and fitness professionals or those with other similar qualifications, and experienced tai chi students.

The live workshop is very personal. The Master Trainer will work with you to answer your questions, help to improve your tai chi, and ensure you can teach the program safely and effectively. There will be discussions, practice sessions, and sharing of skills and knowledge, Question and Answer portions, and, most importantly, personal interaction. The Master Trainer will give you feedback on what you did well and how you can improve your tai chi and teaching skills and connect you to the Tai Chi for Health Institute (TCHI), fellow instructors, and Senior Trainers and offer continual support.

Reasons to Come

• Discover how mindful movement can improve focus and resiliency
• Enjoy learning at your own pace and the personal training to become eligible to be an instructor of this program
• Learn how to teach this program effectively and safely
• Learn Dr Lam's Stepwise Progressive Teaching Method
• Learn an exercise program you can enjoy with your kids
• Improve your teaching skills

By the Completion of the Workshop, you will:

• Know the Tai Chi 4 Kids set at a deeper level
• Understand how mindful movement can increase learning outcomes and improve classroom atmosphere
• Have learned how to teach this program effectively and safely
• Have improved your tai chi skills and teaching toolkit
• Have learned how to attract and retain more students

Requirements

Anyone is welcome to attend, but to be eligible to be certified as an instructor, please check the recommended qualifications listed below.

• Physical therapists or physiotherapists
• Tai chi teachers or advanced students
• Exercise instructor
• Other similar professionals

About the Creator of Tai Chi for Kidz

Dr Paul Lam is an Australian family physician and tai chi expert, and a world leader in the field of tai chi for health. He is a well-recognised teacher, and the author of several books on tai chi and health and best-selling instructional tai chi DVDs. Over five million people worldwide practise a Tai Chi for Health program every day. Dr Lam is one of the most sought-after tai chi teachers, having trained thousands of instructors. Many travel around the world to attend his workshops.

NB: The Master Trainer authorised by Dr Lam to conduct this workshop is named on this workshop page.

Registration and Preparation

When you register for the live interactive training, your Master Trainer will send you a link to enrol in the prerequisite online SIPP course and confirm how its cost is handled. Depending on the workshop, the SIPP is either included in your workshop fee or offered to you at a 30% discount, USD 56 rather than the standard USD 80. You complete the SIPP online, in your own time, at Online Tai Chi Lessons (onlinetaichilessons.com).

The SIPP must be completed before the live interactive training. Allow 25 to 70 hours or more, on your own schedule, then forward your Certificate of Completion to the trainer to qualify for the live interactive workshop. Please enrol as soon as possible, since it must be finished before the live portion. You will have access to the online SIPP material for three years, and your Certificate of Completion is valid for two years. You will find it a great support to your teaching.

In addition to completing the SIPP course, reading the Teaching Tai Chi Effectively book before the workshop is required. Depending on the workshop, the book is either included in the workshop fee or offered to you at a 20% discount. The Details section of the workshop page explains how the cost of preparatory material is handled.

Board Certification

Following successful completion of this course you will be required to register to become a Tai Chi for Health Institute Board-certified instructor before teaching the program, if you are not already a member. One two-year membership fee of AUD 99 covers Board Certification for all your Tai Chi for Health qualifications, and you will then be listed with your certifications on the TCHI website. To learn more about membership benefits, see How to become a certified instructor.

Clothing

Wear loose comfortable clothes and closed flat shoes suitable for exercise.

Tai Chi for Health Program Updates

At this workshop, instructors have an opportunity to update their other Tai Chi for Health certifications. Let the Master Trainer know in advance that you are interested in updates. Additional fees apply.

Continuing education credits

The Tai Chi for Health Institute is an approved provider of continuing education with the American College of Sports Medicine and other professional bodies in the USA, Australia and Korea. See Partnerships and accrediting organisations for the current list and the credits available for this program.

This instructor qualification training will be held on Saturday, November 21, and Sunday, November 22, 2026.  The hours will be 9 am - 1:00 pm (US Eastern Time) each day.

This is a 2-day instructor qualification training.  Prior to this workshop, you must complete the Self-paced Instructor Preparation Package for Tai Chi for Kidz (SIPP-TCK), and forward a copy of your completion certificate to Betty:  TaiChi@comcast.net.

Once you register, you will receive information to register for the appropriate SIPP course.  This comprehensive package contains essential material to be a safe and effective tai chi instructor for the Tai Chi for Kidz program.  There are additional webinar videos included that will enhance your tai chi development.  You will have access to these lessons for a year.  If you wish to purchase access to the SIPP lessons yourself, you will be given a discount code to bring the fee to $56.  

Additional required training material is the Teaching Tai Chi Effectively book, which can be included in the workshop fee or purchased separately.  It is available through www.TaiChiProductions.com (a discount code is available), or through Amazon.com.  This book is also available as a Glassboxx ebook through Tai Chi Productions.

During the live instructor training workshop we will review the material from the SIPP lessons, including all of the movements.  Participants are expected to be able to perform the sequence of movements from memory, so follow along with Dr Lam on the SIPP lessons and practice each section until you can perform the movements from memory before moving on to the next section.

To prepare, please practice with the video lessons included.  Your preparation helps assure you become certified at the end of the training.  I make every effort to get everyone certified. Those that are not well prepared may require additional practice and an additional Zoom meeting to meet the standard for certification.  

This training will be held live on Zoom.  For a virtual workshop, it’s essential that you have a space where you can be seen from head to toe while being able to see your “monitor”.  The easiest way to do that is to connect your camera (webcam, phone, tablet, or laptop) to a larger TV screen. 

Following the training, those meeting the standard for Instructor Qualification will be invited to join the Tai Chi for Health Institute.  Your membership provides Board Certification to teach this form.

This course has been approved for 14 CE Hours through:

• Florida Board of Nursing
• Florida Board of Occupational Therapy
• Florida Board of Psychology
• Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling

Updates for other Tai Chi for Health forms are available.  Contact Betty for additional information:  taichi@comcast.net

$250 - Workshop fee

Payment can be made via check, Square or PayPal link, or credit card.  Information provided after registration. 

Virtual on Zoom

Betty Scanlon:  TaiChi@comcast.net

Call or Text:  239-738-6058