Christmas is in the air...

Been into town recently? Wow, xmas decorations are already up on the Orchard Road stretch and we haven't even celebrated Deepavali yet! In fact, I just got a taste of it too... literally! That's because I had a lovely cup of toffee nut latte from Starbucks earlier this evening and only when I walked in that I realised their menu and decor have also gone all Xmassy... this IS the most wonderful time of the year!

Anyway, came across this picture of a very interesting piece of xmas origami art and thought I'd share with you. Since the exams are over and the kids will be driving you up the wall soon, in a good way I hope (haha...), perhaps you'd like to get them started on creating some Xmas decorations from recycled materials such as magazine paper or craft sticks!

How about a paper angel topper for your tree (as shown here), or your own aluminium xmas ball decorations? Use craft sticks and hard piece of cardboard from cereal boxes to make unique photo frames that you can give away as pressies! I'm planning to try some of these ideas for my own tree this year and yes, it'll be up pretty soon. I just love to get into the festive mood as early as possible without being too fanatical!

Powering The Innovation Generation

I'm really looking forward to next week because we've got a couple of very special people coming into town for Singapore's first Innovation Symposium on 21st Century Learning. Organised by American Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (http://aiie.co/), it is supported by the Singapore Science Centre and media partners, Asian Geographic Junior (http://www.asiangeo.com/index.php?current-issue-agj) and The READ (http://www.asiangeo.com/index.php?current-issue-agr)


Why you should think about attending... (Click here to register for the symposium)

Firstly we've got Dr Bonnie Cramond.

She's a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology at the University of Georgia. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association for Gifted Children, the editor of the Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, and the Director of the Torrance Center for Creative Studies and Talent Development.

An international and national speaker, she has published numerous articles and teaches classes on giftedness and creativity. She is particularly interested in the identification and nurturance of creativity, especially among students considered at risk for an alternative diagnosis (ADHD) or dropping out. She is a former elementary and middle school teacher and the survivor of parenting two gifted and creative children.

She will be speaking at our Symposium on Creativity – supporting the success and growth in the 21st Century.

Secondly, we have Bernie Trilling.

Bernie is a 21st century learning expert, advisor, author, and the former global director of the Oracle Education Foundation, where he directed the development of education strategies, partnerships, and services for the Foundation and its ThinkQuest programs. He has served as Board Member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and co-chaired the committee that developed the highly regarded “rainbow” learning framework.

Bernie has worked on a number of pioneering educational products and services and is an active member of a variety of organizations dedicated to bringing 21st century learning methods to students and teachers across the globe.

Bernie co-authored the widely acclaimed book, 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times, published by Wiley. He has also written dozens of articles for educational journals and magazines and is a featured speaker at numerous educational conferences.

Recently, Bernie has been researching the common practices of over 400 schools that are models for 21st century learning as part of the Hewlett Foundation’s Deeper Learning initiative.
Bernie is a lifelong, self-propelled learner. He has devoted much of his career to furthering the kinds of learning experiences he has found most engaging, collaborative, relevant, and powerful, working to make these experiences available to learners of all ages.


Kids Invent! Co-Founder Prof Timothy Stearns will also be present to give us invaluable insights on being an entrepreneur and fostering the entrepreneurial spirit among our young.

Prof Dr Timothy Stearns is the holder of the Coleman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies and Executive Director of the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at California State University







Last but certainly not least, we have Dr Lyndon Jones, who is the Founder and Chairman of The Association of Business Executives (ABE).

Dr Lyndon Jones has always been proactive and driven within the education sector, actively embracing change and development. He has served on many global committees in order to help lead the sector forward in the most professional and creative way.

He was editor of the monthly publication Education and Training and more recently of the Journal the Free Trader. He is also the author of a number of books and innumerable articles. His most recent book Time Well Spent is a guide to organising life and work.


Programme Flyer:

 

Our Media Partners:

 

Asian Geographic Junior

  The READ

SUPER SPIES - Your Mission Should You Choose To Accept It...

"Super Spies" is the theme for our 5 Day Entrepreneur Camp in Nov 2012. Kids will get to take on alternate personas as they go on a mission to rescue the prisoners held at evil Dr Tentacles' lair. But it will not be easy and the challenges will be tough to overcome. ARE YOU READY FOR THIS MISSION?

Days 1 to 3 will be focused on fostering 21st Century Life Skills such as creativity, innovation, collaboration and teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving

Days 4 and 5 will teach kids how to become financially literate so as to become not only good inventors but entrepreneurs as well. Kids will be brought to a shopping centre where they'll see how companies market their goods and services, they then work in teams to brainstorm, design and create their own unique toy invention. An Inventors' Fair will be held at the tail end of our camp to showcase all the inventions from our creative teams. Teams will have to impress the investors (aka parents) to invest in their product and the one with the most votes wins!

Registration is now open. Click here to request for a registration form or for more details: lorraine.paul@kidsinventasia.org.

 Programme Details:

Day 1 - The Mission Gets On The Way
We have just been alerted that a large group of engineers and scientists have been captured by the evil Dr Tentacles on Octopus Island. Dr T has devised an evil plan to wipe out all inventors in the world so that he will be only one left. What he doesn't know is that the only inventors left in the world are from Singapore. We need your help to establish a new location for our spy headquarters and build new transport vehicles because the ones that we have are all broken down. We need to get to Octopus Island before it is too late!

0930 - 1000: Drop off & registration
1000 - 1015: Camp Briefing
1015 - 1100: Establish Spy Headquarters (Paper Fort)
1100 - 1115: Break
1115 - 1230: Creating New Spy Outfits (Project Spy Runway)
1230 - 1330: LUNCH
1330 - 1600: Spy Vehicles (Horizontal & Diagonal Balloon Sliders)
1600: End of Day 1

Day 2 - Always Be On The Defense
Now that our base is established, we need to build up our defense systems. Dr Tentacles' minions have reported to him that we are now harbouring the only inventors left in the world, and he may launch an attack on us at any moment. Our spies need to be armed as they leave for Octopus Island on their stealth fighters. We're so impressed with what you've built for us yesterday that we know you'll be able to assist us once again.

0930 - 1000: Drop off & registration
1000 - 1100: Spy Packs
1100 - 1115: Break
1115 - 1230: Stealth Fighters (Aeroplanes, Gliders, Plane Launchers and Skimmers)
1230 - 1330: LUNCH
1330 - 1600: Rockets (Pneumatic Blast & Pom Pom Launchers)
1600 - 1615: Debrief & End of Day 2

Day 3 - Spies To The Rescue
Excellent job done on our defense system. The spy teams have made much progress but their fuel has run out! Octopus Island sits in the middle of Slime Lake. How are they able to make it across to rescue the prisoners? We need your help once again!

0930 - 1000: Drop off & registration
1000 - 1030: Blow darts
1100 - 1115: Break
1115 - 1230: A-maze-ing race 
1230 - 1330: LUNCH
1330 - 1600: Building Bridges, Handocopters/ Cone-copters/ Parachute Men
1600 - 1615: Debrief & End of Day 3

Days 4 & 5: Toy Invention
Hurray! All the inventors have been rescued from Dr Tentacles, who is now locked away in a maximum security prison. To celebrate their successful rescue mission, the inventors would like to build unique toys that the spies can sell to make some money for the upkeep of their new headquarters.

Day 4 - Entrepreneurship Track Part 1: Understanding the marketplace
0930 - 1000: Drop off & registration
1000 - 1200: Briefing & Site Visit to Bishan Junction 8 - NTUC Fairprice. (We will travel by chartered bus.)
1200 - 1300: LUNCH
1300 - 1400: Learning about the 4Ps, SCAMPER Process, brainstorming & ideas generation
1400 - 1600: Team Invention Time
1600 - 1615: Debrief & End of Day 4


Day 5 - Entrepreneurship Track Part 2: Marketing Their Inventions
0930 - 1000: Drop off & registration
1000 - 1230: Team Invention Time
1230 - 1300: LUNCH
1300 - 1400: Team Invention Time
1400 - 1600: Preparing For Presentation At The Inventors' Fair
1600 - 1800: Invention demonstrations by Teams at the Inventors' Fair, followed by tea reception for participants & parents, and certificate presentation.
1800: End of Day 5

*Activities for each day may vary according to the weather or the dexterity of the participants and is at the discretion of the camp organiser. On days that there will be water play, children are advised to bring a spare change of clothing, as well as a hand towel. Lunch as well as refreshments will be provided daily, and parents are advised to inform the organiser if there are any dietary restrictions and allergies upon submission of the registration form.

'You is kind. You is smart. You is important.'

This quote was taken from Kathryn Stockett's The Help. Just saw the movie yesterday (yes I know it's been out for a while already but better late than never right?) and was really touched by it. For those who are not familiar with the story, it is about African American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s. It takes a first person perspective of how maids were treated back in those days, and of three ladies in particular - Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter.

What drew me in was the similarities to our current lifestyle. No not in the hoity toity Southern way, but in that we depend so much on maids to look after our kids and our households. And that whether we like it or not we still do see some families ill-treating their maids as though they weren't human.

This line was taken from the scene where Aibileen would tell Baby Girl (aka the little girl she looks after) to repeat this line every time she feels hurt or feels sad.

It was about empowering the little girl to always think good things about herself just by repeating these few words.

Words are so powerful,  so potent and has such great impact on us. How many of us say this to our own kids?

My daughter had a couple of run ins with some school bullies in the past. Ever since she was in Primary 3, she had to deal with fair weather friends who liked her one day ("You're my BFF!") and ignores her on another. The worst was one occasion when she was told to her face "I hate you" during recess time, by not one girl but by the whole 'gang'. She came home in tears of course, sometimes not willing to tell my husband and I what had happened in school. Slowly we managed to get her to share with us what had happened in school and I remember telling her to always say to herself "I am special. I am unique." whenever she was in that situation.

And when she felt disappointed or sad whenever she couldn't get her grades up, especially in MT, I'd tell her to tell herself "I Can Do It" and every improvement, no matter how small, is celebrated with high-fives, hugs and kisses. I strongly believe in empowering children. They have so much potential in them and all they need is a good support system. As a parent, I can only hope to think that what I've done with my girl has made her a much more confident person. Not a person who is only focused on getting good grades but someone who will be able to survive whatever life throws at her.

 

 

Watching the movie and listening to Aibileen saying something similar to her Baby Girl, just hit home for me. It brought back those memories of me and my baby girl.

I had also recalled that in my past two workshops, I have had the most wonderful opportunity to work with kids who had mild autism, dyslexia and ADHD. I could see the hesitation in their parents eyes when the kids were dropped off at the workshop, worrying about whether their kids would fit in with the others, ie the 'normal' ones. I'm not going to say that it was easy, because it wasn't, especially since I'm not a trained counsellor to deal with such disorders. But I did what I thought was best... which was absolutely nothing.

It was game on as usual. I was the only one in the room that knew which child had what. None of my facilitators knew about these kids as they weren't privy to the registration details and they didn't care to ask either. And they had almost the same feedback during our debrief sessions, ie all the kids behaved, well... like kids. We had the naughty ones, the ones that talked back, the bossy ones, the quiet ones... you get the picture. And we had to work with them the best that we could so that they could get the best out of each and every challenge posed to them.

Some were tougher than others to help integrate into their teams, some took to leadership rather readily but they all had their moments of brilliance. From contributing very creative and innovative ideas to figuring out how to work circuits in a flash, they all brought a bit of themselves to the table and shared it openly with the others.

It warms my heart seeing the moment the light switches on in their eyes when the kids engage in the activities. Especially when they succeed in the challenges after going through many tests and modifications. They are all unique and all special, important in their own way. And this movie is a timely reminder not to keep these thoughts to myself but to tell them that.