Stealth Ops Academy

Treehouse desk · Coach George

READY · 6

Practice kids are loaded so you can poke around. They stay on this device until your real class shows up.

Week 1 of 12 · Class A · 35 min

Ghost Protocol

This week we move so quietly a sleeping cat would stay asleep.

Learn your code name, then freeze like the room is listening.

Coach note: Build the lab habit: listen, freeze, and put force into the legs instead of the floor. Class A is the freeze. Class B is the quiet foot.

One 35-minute clock for every age. Fives use the floor version and skip boxes. Elevens may hold one extra second. Do not add minutes for older kids or cut the class short for younger ones.

Club skill

The Shock Absorber

Knees and hips coil on contact so the spine never takes a stiff hit.

Club skill

Toe-to-Heel

Ball of the foot first, then a quiet roll to the heel. A slap is the miss.

Club skill

The Freeze

One-leg balance with a soft standing knee. The stop is the skill, not the jog.

Class A · First Day Quiet

35:00

  1. Warm-up

    1. Name-Tag Warm-Up

    5:00

    A moving circle that teaches names and wakes ankles, hips, and ribs before any freeze. Keep it walking. Running is not the warm-up.

    1. Circle of cones, kids outside the cones, you in the middle.
    2. Walk the circle. Call a joint: ankles (rock heel to toe), hips (open step), ribs (reach up, then hands on hips).
    3. On “Code name!” they stop, say the name you gave them, and start walking again.
    4. Last minute: march with quiet arms. If someone sprints, reset the room to a walk without a lecture.

    Say this

    • Walk first. Spies listen before they run.
    • Soft knees while you march.

    Watch for

    • Kids colliding because the circle is too small. Widen it.
    • Locked knees on the march.

  2. Drill

    2. Radar Sweep

    10:00

    Jog the circle, then freeze on one leg when you call Sweep. The rep is the three-count hold. Switch legs every other freeze.

    1. Same circle. They jog one direction only.
    2. Call “Sweep!” Freeze on one leg, arms quiet, count “one, two, three” together.
    3. You name the next standing leg: “Other foot.” Do four freezes each side.
    4. If the freeze is sloppy, stay with eyes open. Soft gaze at the far wall is only for a kid who is already stuck.
    5. A wobble means retry that leg once, then rejoin. Do not restart the whole drill.

    Say this

    • Standing knee is soft, not locked.
    • Foot is a tripod: big toe, little toe, heel.
    • Quiet arms. The leg does the work.

    Watch for

    • Hip drop and windmilling arms.
    • Kids who jog during the count. Make the freeze the whole rep.

  3. Game

    3. Sweep, Don’t Chase

    10:00

    You are the only mover who can “catch” anyone, and you catch them with a word, not a tag. Walking speed. Safe kids are the ones who freeze.

    1. Spread out inside the circle. Everyone walks.
    2. You walk too. When you point and say “Sweep,” that spy freezes on one leg for a 3-count.
    3. If they are still walking when you finish the word, they take three sneaky steps back to a cone and rejoin. That is the whole penalty.
    4. Frozen spies are safe. Nobody touches them. After the count they walk again.
    5. Play three short rounds, then stop when the block timer ends. If it turns into running, sit everyone and restart at a walk.

    Say this

    • Walking speed. The word is the tag.
    • Freeze before I finish your name.
    • Hands stay off other spies.

    Watch for

    • Grabbing, racing, or hiding behind friends.
    • A child who is anxious about being singled out. Let them freeze with a partner for one round.

  4. Mat chat

    4. Mat Chat: Quiet Beats Fast

    5:00

    Sit-down so the idea sticks. One sentence each. You answer last and connect it to the freeze.

    1. Sit in a circle. Cone is the microphone. Only the holder talks.
    2. Ask: “What is the difference between a racer and a spy?”
    3. If they say “fast,” nod and ask what a spy does that a racer does not.
    4. You close: “Today the spy skill was the stop. Fast without a freeze is just noise.”
    5. They repeat once: “Quiet beats fast.”

    Say this

    • One sentence. Then pass the cone.
    • Quiet beats fast.

    Watch for

    • A long story taking the whole chat. Thank them and pass the cone.
    • Don’t correct feelings. Correct only the movement idea.

  5. Cool-down

    5. Cool-Down: Code-Name Exit

    5:00

    Downshift the room. Breath, a simple stretch, then dismiss one code name at a time so they practice waiting.

    1. Slow toe-to-heel lap around the cones. No talking.
    2. Stand and hold each ankle behind you for 15 seconds, hand on a cone if they tip. Skip it if balance is shaky and do a seated reach instead.
    3. Three breaths: in for 4, out for 4. Hands on the belly so they feel it move.
    4. Ask one kid to name one quiet thing they did. Then dismiss by code name, one at a time, walking to the door.

    Say this

    • In for four, out for four.
    • Wait for your code name.

    Watch for

    • Kids who bolt for the door. The exit is part of the class.
    • Breath held instead of exhaled. Keep your own breath audible.

Gadgets to set out

Safety

No boxes this week. No chase games. One direction in the circle so kids are not colliding.

Only spies marked Here. You can still change one kid from their card.

Stealth Ops Academy · Treehouse desk

W1: Ghost Protocol

This week we move so quietly a sleeping cat would stay asleep.

Build the lab habit: listen, freeze, and put force into the legs instead of the floor. Class A is the freeze. Class B is the quiet foot.

One 35-minute clock for every age. Fives use the floor version and skip boxes. Elevens may hold one extra second. Do not add minutes for older kids or cut the class short for younger ones.

What we train

Both classes

Class A: First Day Quiet · 35 min

Learn your code name, then freeze like the room is listening.

1. Warm-up · Name-Tag Warm-Up (5 min)

A moving circle that teaches names and wakes ankles, hips, and ribs before any freeze. Keep it walking. Running is not the warm-up.

  1. Circle of cones, kids outside the cones, you in the middle.
  2. Walk the circle. Call a joint: ankles (rock heel to toe), hips (open step), ribs (reach up, then hands on hips).
  3. On “Code name!” they stop, say the name you gave them, and start walking again.
  4. Last minute: march with quiet arms. If someone sprints, reset the room to a walk without a lecture.

Say this: Walk first. Spies listen before they run. / Soft knees while you march.

Watch for: Kids colliding because the circle is too small. Widen it. / Locked knees on the march.

2. Drill · Radar Sweep (10 min)

Jog the circle, then freeze on one leg when you call Sweep. The rep is the three-count hold. Switch legs every other freeze.

  1. Same circle. They jog one direction only.
  2. Call “Sweep!” Freeze on one leg, arms quiet, count “one, two, three” together.
  3. You name the next standing leg: “Other foot.” Do four freezes each side.
  4. If the freeze is sloppy, stay with eyes open. Soft gaze at the far wall is only for a kid who is already stuck.
  5. A wobble means retry that leg once, then rejoin. Do not restart the whole drill.

Say this: Standing knee is soft, not locked. / Foot is a tripod: big toe, little toe, heel. / Quiet arms. The leg does the work.

Watch for: Hip drop and windmilling arms. / Kids who jog during the count. Make the freeze the whole rep.

3. Game · Sweep, Don’t Chase (10 min)

You are the only mover who can “catch” anyone, and you catch them with a word, not a tag. Walking speed. Safe kids are the ones who freeze.

  1. Spread out inside the circle. Everyone walks.
  2. You walk too. When you point and say “Sweep,” that spy freezes on one leg for a 3-count.
  3. If they are still walking when you finish the word, they take three sneaky steps back to a cone and rejoin. That is the whole penalty.
  4. Frozen spies are safe. Nobody touches them. After the count they walk again.
  5. Play three short rounds, then stop when the block timer ends. If it turns into running, sit everyone and restart at a walk.

Say this: Walking speed. The word is the tag. / Freeze before I finish your name. / Hands stay off other spies.

Watch for: Grabbing, racing, or hiding behind friends. / A child who is anxious about being singled out. Let them freeze with a partner for one round.

4. Mat chat · Mat Chat: Quiet Beats Fast (5 min)

Sit-down so the idea sticks. One sentence each. You answer last and connect it to the freeze.

  1. Sit in a circle. Cone is the microphone. Only the holder talks.
  2. Ask: “What is the difference between a racer and a spy?”
  3. If they say “fast,” nod and ask what a spy does that a racer does not.
  4. You close: “Today the spy skill was the stop. Fast without a freeze is just noise.”
  5. They repeat once: “Quiet beats fast.”

Say this: One sentence. Then pass the cone. / Quiet beats fast.

Watch for: A long story taking the whole chat. Thank them and pass the cone. / Don’t correct feelings. Correct only the movement idea.

5. Cool-down · Cool-Down: Code-Name Exit (5 min)

Downshift the room. Breath, a simple stretch, then dismiss one code name at a time so they practice waiting.

  1. Slow toe-to-heel lap around the cones. No talking.
  2. Stand and hold each ankle behind you for 15 seconds, hand on a cone if they tip. Skip it if balance is shaky and do a seated reach instead.
  3. Three breaths: in for 4, out for 4. Hands on the belly so they feel it move.
  4. Ask one kid to name one quiet thing they did. Then dismiss by code name, one at a time, walking to the door.

Say this: In for four, out for four. / Wait for your code name.

Watch for: Kids who bolt for the door. The exit is part of the class. / Breath held instead of exhaled. Keep your own breath audible.

Class B: Cat Feet · 35 min

The ball of the foot kisses the floor. The heel is a rumor.

1. Warm-up · Foot Wake-Up (5 min)

Teach the foot before the lane. Everything is in place or along a line, no travel speed yet.

  1. Line them on the tape, one arm’s length apart.
  2. In place: rock heel to toe, 8 times. Then toe-toe-heel, like a tiny step that never leaves the line.
  3. Hip hinge: hands on hips, sit back two inches, stand tall. Knees soft. Eight hinges.
  4. March down the line and back at a walk, still heel-to-toe, just so they feel the line under them.

Say this: Kiss the floor with the ball of the foot. / Sit the hips back a little. Tall through the crown.

Watch for: Slapping the whole foot down. / Knees caving in on the hinge.

2. Drill · Ninja Lane (10 min)

One tape line. Low hips, quiet arms, toe then heel. They go one at a time so you can hear each spy.

  1. Start at one end of the tape. The rest sit on a side cone, not on the line.
  2. Show one crossing yourself: low hips, toe, quiet roll to heel, arms still.
  3. Each spy crosses once. The class gives a thumbs-up only if they did not hear a slap. No booing.
  4. Second crossing: lower the hips. Third crossing: add a two-count freeze in the middle of the line.
  5. If the line is crowded, make a second tape lane so the wait stays short.

Say this: Low hips, quiet arms. / Toe, then heel. Not heel first. / Freeze in the middle, then finish.

Watch for: Heel strike and speed. Send them back for one slower crossing, not three. / Kids inching onto the lane while someone else is on it.

3. Game · Coach’s Back (10 min)

You face away and listen. They cross the lane. A slap you can hear sends them back to the start of that crossing only.

  1. Stand at the far end, back turned. Explain the rule before anyone moves.
  2. One spy on the line. The rest are silent. Silence is how they help.
  3. If you hear a slap, raise a hand. They freeze, walk back to the start, and try once more.
  4. A clean crossing earns a seat at the finish and a whisper of their code name.
  5. Two rounds. Second round they add the mid-line freeze. Still one at a time.

Say this: The group is part of the quiet. / A miss is one retry, not a story. / I am listening, not watching.

Watch for: Friends narrating or laughing. Stop the game and reset the silence. / A child who gets loud when they miss. Stand near them and cue the toe, don’t announce the miss to the room.

4. Mat chat · Mat Chat: Where Does the Sound Go? (5 min)

Put the landing idea into kid language. The sound should die in the legs.

  1. Circle, cone microphone.
  2. Ask: “When your foot is loud, where did the sound go?”
  3. Take two answers. Then show a loud stamp versus a toe-to-heel step.
  4. Close: “The sound stays in your knees and hips. The floor doesn’t get it.”
  5. They repeat: “Sound stays in my legs.”

Say this: Sound stays in my legs. / Pass the cone.

Watch for: Don’t turn this into a lecture on fascia. One picture is enough.

5. Cool-down · Cool-Down: Ankle and Out (5 min)

Calves and ankles did the work. Stretch them, breathe, leave by code name.

  1. Slow walk back along the tape, toe to heel, no test this time.
  2. Hands on the wall or a cone. One foot back, heel down, 20 seconds each side. Knee of the back leg is soft, not jammed.
  3. Ankle circles, 5 each way, holding the knee up only if they can. Otherwise seated.
  4. Three belly breaths. Dismiss by code name.

Say this: Heel heavy, knee soft. / Wait for your code name.

Watch for: Kids bouncing the stretch. Hold still. / Back heel lifted the whole time. Cue it down once.

Setup

Safety

No boxes this week. No chase games. One direction in the circle so kids are not colliding.

Patch this week: Statue Freeze

Stealth Ops Academy — Club cards

Stealth Ops · Cadet

Quiet Fox

Milo Chen

Cadet

Statue Freeze

Stealth Ops · Cadet

Night Owl

Ava Brooks

Cadet

Quiet Landing

Stealth Ops · Lookout

Low Lynx

Jamal Ortiz

Lookout

Quiet Landing · Sneaky Steps · Laser Dodge

Rushes the grid. Make him count to three before he moves.

Stealth Ops · Cadet

Soft Step

Priya Shah

Cadet

No patches yet

Stealth Ops · Operative

Cipher Cub

Leo Park

Operative

Statue Freeze · Quiet Landing · Sneaky Steps · Animal Crawl · Code Breaker · Laser Dodge

Stealth Ops · Lookout

Grid Cat

Nora Diaz

Lookout

Statue Freeze · Animal Crawl · Laser Dodge

Newer. Keep any box at 6 inches.

Stealth Ops · Cadet

Drop Hawk

Samir Hale

Cadet

Sticky Jump

Stealth Ops · Chief

Pale Moth

Ellie Voss

Chief

Statue Freeze · Quiet Landing · Sneaky Steps · Animal Crawl · Laser Dodge · Sticky Jump · Sneaky Turn · Code Breaker · Night Eyes · Escape Artist

Ask her to guide, not to demo at full speed.