Budding Entrepreneurs At Work

Budding Entrepreneurs At Work

Tuesday 1 October 2013

A day for all to celebrate, not just children

It's Children's Day today! Hurrah!

What a joy it is to celebrate it because it reminds us to stop for a minute and remember what it feels like to be a kid again. I was watching The Rise of The Guardians with the family yesterday and there was a phrase (well, more like a question actually) that hit home for me..." What is your centre?"

For those who have seen the movie, you'll remember that this was the question that Santa asked Jack Frost when the latter was chosen to become one of the guardians.

If you think about it, this is something that we should ask ourselves too, for aren't most of us always searching for the meaning in life? How can we find our centre too? For to know our centre is to know the part we play in the bigger scheme of things, isn't that so?



It really made me think about the work that we've been doing lately, not just at the primary and secondary schools but with the special needs kids too.

A teacher friend of mine who I had lunched with this afternoon commented that she couldn't fathom how I could find the energy to deal with running the business and admin aspects of JLPC as well as conduct the sessions too. It's all too easy to say that it comes from passion and wanting to make a difference in the world etc etc etc... which IS part of the equation, make no bones about it... but reflecting on this seemingly simple question, I realize the core of JLPC centres on the same thing that Jack Frost realized about himself and his centre, and that is it's 'FUN'.

Our success depends on the happiness of each and every kid that attends our workshops and camps. It is this which provide us such immense gratification for all the long hours and hard work we put into developing and conducting the program. By focusing on the concept that learning should be FUN, the work doesn't become tedious, it makes us feel young again, and most importantly it fuels the passion to want to do more and learn more.

So on behalf of JLPC, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone, from the very young to the very young at heart, a very happy and FUN-filled Children's Day. God bless!

Saturday 31 August 2013

Inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes, and ages too!

We've now completed 4 out of 8 sessions in the Young Innovators Sunday Workshops @ *SCAPE series, with an average of 14 to 16 kids between the ages of 8yrs to 14yrs attending. What I've been most privileged to witness during our workshops is the ease of which these young people have come together, work together and create together. It is heartening to see the enthusiasm that each child brings to the sessions week after week, some of whom have gotten to know each other very well by now, which contributes to the positive energy that vibes the room.

The themes that each workshop focused on enabled us to explore simple and yet very poignant issues such as what country and family means to us, appreciating our home and how we can contribute to doing household chores or making the cleaning up process fun for the family. The kids spoke and wrote from the heart and there were a few truly inspirational moments that just warmed the soul during these sharings.

I've been asked many times, what can be achieved in such a short time, after all it's "only 2 hours". The point that they seem to miss is not what can be achieved, but what has been achieved. Every achievement, no matter big or small is celebrated. From the best use of limited resources, to the most creative innovation, we celebrate them all.

To define success... it is "The accomplishment of an aim or purpose." The mini but many achievements have all added up to one great success... the kids themselves. They are our aim, our mission, our purpose. To be a part of this experience has enriched not just the children but also the trainers and facilitators.

So in light of Teacher's Day celebrations being just around the corner, I'd like to turn the tables a bit and thank the kids who've brightened up our lives over the past few Sundays. They've been the mini teachers, giving us fresh insights to what it's like to see the world through their eyes.

Cheers to them, and the facilitators who've been such a great help, and here's to another 4 more fantastic and innovative workshops.

God bless!
JLPC

[For those interested in registering their kids for the upcoming workshops, please contact Lorraine at lapaul232@gmail.com]

Here are some pictures taken from our past workshops (Please visit our facebook page to see more pictures which have been uploaded in our albums - www.facebook.com/kidsinventJLPC):

"Once Upon A Story" - character development, creative writing and story telling


This team's theme was 'SILVER'


 

"An A-Maze-ing Adventure" - Kids creating mazes from carton boxes.
 




 
"Family Ties" - What family means to us and what we can do to show our support for each other.
 


 


Wednesday 7 August 2013

Celebrating Singapore!



Young Innovators is about nurturing creativity and innovation in kids, and is based on a 21st Century Education pedagogy that encourages learning through invention and play. Primarily for kids between 7yrs to 12yrs old, it also develops life skills that will help each child to become a self assured and confident individual.

We had a very fruitful time with the participants of the first workshop in the Young Innovators series.

Held on 4th August, the theme was "Simply Singapore" paying homage to our nation's 48th birthday.

We had a team building activity to kick off our workshop, which was then followed by creating a mural of well wishes and finally our themed floats. Parents were invited at the end of the workshop to watch our version of the NDP with each team coming up to present their creations and give a commentary on what the different elements on their float represent.

For more pictures, please check out the album on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.341938135940232.1073741828.133729543427760&type=3

To register for the other workshops in our Young Innovator series, please contact Lorraine at lapaul232@gmail.com or call 9634 9369. Or CLICK HERE for more detailed information about this program.


The teams with their towers of straw which stood tall and proud!
 
Each child wrote a letter to Singapore, telling her what they appreciated the most about living in this country.


Our foreign friends also had lots to be thankful for.

 

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Young Innovators Sunday Workshops @ *SCAPE

Here are the details for our Young Innovators Programme which starts in August.

The Young Innovators Sunday Workshops @ *SCAPE provides a nurturing and safe environment for kids to make themselves heard about who they are, their lives and the people who affect them at home, school and within their community. Every child has an opinion but a lot of them are unable to communicate their views effectively. We want to give them that avenue to express themselves.

Empathy and social awareness are important for kids to learn from a young age and this builds the foundation for them to become better thinkers and creative innovators for the future. The activities and exercises are designed such that it encourages kids to develop an inventor’s mindset, while learning how to collaborate with people who have different skill sets and come from different social backgrounds.

Registration is on a first come first serve basis as sessions are limited to 20 kids per session.
Contact Lorraine at lapaul232@gmail.com to register now.






Thursday 13 June 2013

JLPC Presents "Young Innovators - Weekend Workshop Series at *SCAPE"

Joyful Learning Path Centre (JLPC) is proud to present the "Young Innovators - Weekend Workshop Series at *SCAPE" Specially Designed For Kids 7yrs to 12yrs"

Programme Details:
Dates: 7th July - Open House (from 2pm to 6pm)
            4th Aug to 22nd Sept 2013 (Workshops will be held every Sunday)
Time: 2pm to 4pm or 4pm to 6pm (2 sessions available)
Venue: *SCAPE, Newsroom on Level 4, 2 Orchard Link, Singapore 237978
Fees: $40 per session or $320 for 8 sessions

Program Objectives: To encourage discussion & discourse, as well as to develop innovation skills and problem solving mindset, among kids between 7yrs to 12yrs.

Across the 8 weeks of workshops, kids will be introduced to JLPC's 3D Approach To Innovation, which provides them with a powerful set of thinking skills that will stay with them long after they've left the classrooms:

1. Define: Empathy is a powerful skill for the innovation generation. o Kids need to think not only about their environment but the people around them.
o They need to learn to ask questions such as
 Is there a problem here?
 Who is affected?
 What are the resources available to me?

2. Discuss: The power of ideas. o Brainstorming is essential in bringing out the best of ideas.
o No idea is too small or too silly.
o Communication is a vital life skill. Kids learn to listen to each other, as well as make themselves heard.
o They also explore what they can do or produce with the given resources.

3. Develop: Try and try again – turning an idea into realityo It’s not what we know but what we can do.
o Trial and error are an inventor’s best friends.
o Kids learn that mistakes are necessary in the invention process and that picking themselves up and learning from failures only makes them stronger and wiser.

Register for the entire 8 weekends worth of workshops before 26th July and pay only $250. That's more than 20% discount off the usual price!

For single sessions, registration is required 48 hours in advance.

For a detailed weekly breakdown of the Young Innovators workshops or to register your child, please contact us at lapaul232@gmail.com.

Cheers
JLPC Team

About us: Joyful Learning Path Centre provides leadership training programs for the youth, as well as conducts workshops and camps which focus on developing 21st Century Life Skills in kids 7yrs to 15yrs old. It incorporates the science curriculum from Kids Invent, which is a US based science program developed at the University of California in Fresno, into its local program content.
 
Visit and LIKE us on https://www.facebook.com/KidsInventJLPC .

JLPC Open House at *SCAPE - July 7th 2013


JLPC will be hosting an Open House on Sunday July 7th 2013 from 2pm to 6pm at *SCAPE to promote its upcoming "Young Innovators" weekend workshop series, which are catered for kids between 7yrs to 12yrs of age.

Here are the details of the Open House:

Date: 7th July 2013, Sunday
Time: 2pm - 6pm
Venue: *SCAPE - #04-01, 2 Orchard Link Singapore 237978

Come with your family and friends! We have hands on activities all of which are meant to encourage the development of critical 21st Century life skills in our kids. And parents... you can join in the fun too.

It would be great if you could email me your contact details to lapaul232@gmail.com to inform me in advance if you are attending.

See you then!

Cheers and God Bless!

Wednesday 12 June 2013

Results of the June 2013 Investors Fair

Parents and guests attending the Investors Fair last Friday (7th of June) were given $1,000 to invest in what they felt was a promising product created by the kids after going around to the various booths and trying the products out. We've tallied up the score and here are the results of the fair:

The top 5 most potential products were
1. Diamond X with their game "Wizard vs Devil" - $4,900
2. Captain LOL with their game "Dungeon Bowling" - $4,400
3. Team Awesome with their game "Dart The Cup" - $4,050
4. Minecraft Ninjas with their game "Mini Space Voyage" - $3,600
5. Sofia The First with their product "Little Pony & Pac-Man in a Barbie House" - $3,100

Special mention to the rest of the teams who created equally brilliant products and games:
Team Ferrari 5 for Volcano Escape
Team Golden Stars with "Different Faces of Characters"
Team Golden Sword 688 with "Battle Field"
Team Blue Lamborghini for Canon Shooting Game

Well done to all teams! You did brilliantly well!

And thanks to our guests and parents for taking time out of your busy schedule to be there for the kids!

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Entrepreneurs Unite!

Our heartiest congratulations to the 38 graduands of our Young Entrepreneurs Camp June 2013! And also a super BIG thank you to the wonderful facilitators from Victoria Junior College. You guys are the best!

The 4 days of camp didn't go without drama of course, and we experienced them all - teams not able to find their groove till the last day of camp, tears from arguing with team mates, some minor paper cuts, bumps and scrapes.

The most important thing however, was that they all came through on innovation & entrepreneurship with flying colours. We were proud of all the teams in that they all had a unique product to offer by the end of camp, they presented their product well during the Investors Fair and did a fantastic job decorating their booths with posters to 'sell' their idea to the investors.

Parents were very impressed with how their children handled public speaking, some expressing surprise to see their children take to the stage so naturally considering that they were rather introverted by nature.

These were the teams with their products respectively:
1. Team Awesome (Christian, Jolene, Jovan & Franklin) with Dart The Cup










2. Minecraft Ninjas (Gideon, Alison, Timothy & Chuan Xin) with Mini Space Voyage









 

3. Sofia The First (Alexia, Rita, Letitia & Zoe) with Little Pony & Pac-Man in a Barbie House









4. Blue Lamborghini (Pavan, Russell, Theodore & Luke) with Canon Shooting Game






5. Golden Sword 688 (Chuan Sheng, Sidney & Raj) with Battle Field











6. Golden Stars (Miya, Sarah, Sree & Zora) with Different Faces Of Characters









7. Ferrari 5 (Taiji, Krysh & Keenan) with Volcano Escape








8.Captain LOL (Michael, Suvanna & Amanda) with Dungeon Bowling







9. Diamond X (Chi Juay, Adib, Cameron, Kyana & Ashley) with Wizard vs Devil












Sunday 26 May 2013

Nurturing your child to be innovators in the 21st Century

Inventors are not born. They are nurtured. What would you feel if your kid came up with an idea, product or service that would change the lives of millions? Pretty amazing right? 

Think along the lines of the creators of the tissue paper, zipper, safety pin, radio, TV, the humble toothpick... and the list goes on and on...

How do we inspire our young ones to become inventors and motivate them to have a vested interest in making their world a better and more creative place?

Here are some ways in which ideas are formed and nurtured:

The Piggy Back
Often several people will invent the same thing at the same time. Why? Because something already existed that inspired the inventors. For example, the Internet, inspired many inventors to come up with social media sites. Facebook and Twitter are two inventions that exist because of the Internet.

The Incubator
Some ideas need time to “cook”.  Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, started thinking about how to organize files on his computer ten years before he invented the WWW. By 1990, he had how invented HTML, the “language” of the WWW, figured out how to give each website its own address, and created the first web browser.

Reinventing The Wheel
Many inventors realize that existing inventions can be used to perform other tasks. Johannes Guttenberg, inventor of the printing press in the 1400s, incorporated a machine called the screw press that crushed grapes to make wine in his new invention.

Happy Accidents
“Happy Accidents” are invention ideas or discoveries that are made when people least expect them. Many things we use and enjoy today came about this way. Post-it Notes, ice cream cones, chocolate chip cookies, and even potato chips are a few examples!

The "Aha! Moment", otherwise known as the "Eureka! Moment"
This involves first being stuck on an idea and then relaxing your mind to let the solution surface. This can happen at the oddest times – in the bath, during a walk or even watching the clouds roll by. Scientist Albert Einstein was riding a bus when he came up with the idea of “special relativity”, to solve a theory he had been working on for years about space and time.

Coming up on the JLPC calendar is the "Young Innovators" workshop series (July to Sept 2013) which aims to inspire kids from 6yrs to 12yrs to become innovators in the 21st Century. Details coming up real soon! Watch out for it!

Monday 20 May 2013

Last Call For Registrations To The Young Entrepreneurs Camp - 4th to 7th June 2013!

Hear ye! Hear ye! Registration for The Young Entrepreneurs Camp (for kids 7yrs to 15yrs) will be closing this Friday 24th June. Please do send in your registration forms by then or earlier if you can, if not done so yet.

What an exciting month of May it's been, and it's almost over too! Where has the time gone! We've got a good number of sign ups and enquiries about our camp, and received wonderful feedback from our previous participants and their families too! A BIG thank you to them for sharing their thoughts. We will certainly take all your feedback and suggestions to mind and applying them to our upcoming camp in June.

To add to the buzz of activities, JLPC has been featured on a number of websites this month too and here are the links to them. DO share with your friends and family!

"Encourage Entrepreneurship From A Young Age" by Felicia Chin from sg.theasianparent.com (http://sg.theasianparent.com/encourage-entrepreneurship-from-a-young-age/)

"JLPC Encourages Entrepreneurship From A Young Age" by Fiona Lim from kidlander.sg (http://sg.kidlander.com/highlights/jlpc-encourages-entrepreneurship-from-a-young-age/)











"Taking The Plunge by Lorraine Paul for FlexiWerks (http://flexiwerkz.com/archives/taking-the-plunge-by-lorraine-paul)


"June Holidays - The Young Entrepreneurs Camp" by Wong Meiling for Universal Scribbles  (http://www.universalscribbles.com/








Wednesday 1 May 2013

Calling all young entrepreneurs...


We're counting down to the start of camp and preparations are now underway to make our June entrepreneurship camp at Victoria Junior College as successful, if not more so, than last year's Super Spies camp. Do check out our events listing (2013 Events) for details of The Young Entrepreneurs Camp and programme highlights. 
And to give you an idea of what we did back then in Nov 2012, take a look at this video:
Meantime, here's what a couple of moms of our past participants have to say about JLPC's Entrepeneurship Camp.

“What I liked about the camp was that it encouraged kids to think “out-of-the-box”, challenged them to communicate and collaborate with one another and really helped to strengthen their interpersonal skills. I was also very impressed by the presentation that the boys had to make at the end of the workshop and the enthusiasm they exhibited throughout the 5-days period.” – Wong Meiling, mother of 2 kids aged 9yrs and 7yrs.



“Christian would come home every day really excited and give me hints about what he was building because it was a secret. I could see the pride he had that he played a part in those inventions. On the reveal day, am always amazed at the kids' creations. Definitely a thumbs-up experience. Can't wait for my younger daughter to attend!” – Mandy Goh, mother of 4 kids, aged 8yrs, 6yrs, 3yrs and 7months.

“What I look for in holiday programmes is how much I think my kids will enjoy the activities and whether in having fun learning new skills and new things, they become more confident and creative in their thought process. To me these experiences are priceless as I believe that the love for learning is nurtured best through games and exploration activities. My 12 year old thoroughly enjoyed herself at the JLPC entrepreneurs camp last November. Now my 7 year old girl who is finally of age to participate is so looking forward to going to the same camp. I think what is most unique about the JLPC programme is that it allows children of different age groups to come together to learn concepts in a novel and creative way.” - Luana Lim, Mother of 3, ages 13yrs, 7yrs and 6yrs

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Open House Details in May 2013

For those who missed out on our last Open House, here's good news... we'll be holding another one in May just before the start of the Young Entrepreneurs Camp.

Here are the details:

Date: 26th May (Sunday)
Time: 4.30pm to 6.30pm (2 hour session that includes activities for kids & a talk for the parents about 21st Century Education and why we focus on this in our program)
Venue: Casa Merah Condominium (function room), 50 Tanah Merah Kechil Ave, Singapore 465524 (see map attached)

And to thank you for taking time out from your busy schedule to come for this session, we're extending to you the special Open House offer of $395 per child for registrations to The Young Entrepreneurs Camp (U.P. $450).

For planning and preparation purposes, please email your name and contact number, as well as your child's name and age, to lapaul232@gmail.com. before 20th May.

Tuesday 23 April 2013

Are You Registered For The Young Entrepreneurs Camp in June 2013?

The Young Entrepreneurs Camp - For Innovative Kids Aged 7yrs to 15yrs.

You are never too young to be an inventor, neither are you too old to learn new skills. And while you're busy inventing, it helps that you also learn how to sell your ideas too because no one just invents things for themselves right?

Anyone can gather lemons from a tree but what would you do with them? How many times would you make lemonade just to perfect your recipe? Where would be the best place to set up a lemonade stand and how much would a glass of that refreshing drink sell for?


So why not start grooming our kids to be entrepreneurs by equipping them with skills that will take them from the classroom to the boardroom and beyond! We'll expand their minds to the world around them and help them acquire the skills to be a creative thinker.

This June, we're joined by the student leaders from Victoria Junior College (VJC) who will no doubt inject new levels of energy, as well as youthful perspectives, into our camp activities.

JLPC will be working together with VJC's Student Leadership Programme to provide these students with leadership training, team facilitation know-how as well as a workshop on financial literacy prior to our camp. Thereby ensuring that our student leaders are prepared to navigate through the different invention challenges as well as handle the rigours of preparing our young entrepreneurs for the Investors Fair, which is the main highlight of our camp.

Here are the camp details:
Dates: 4th to 7th June 2013 (Tuesday to Friday, non-residential)

Timing: 9.30am to 5.30pm (we will allocate an hour before and after camp for working parents to drop off and pick up their kids. Any other arrangements, if necessary, will need to be highlighted to JLPC prior to camp.)

Venue: Victoria Junior College Campus, 20 Marine Vista, Singapore 449035
(Camp will be held at the covered concourse just behind the General Office.)

Meals: Lunch and breaks will be provided daily. Please advise us if your child has allergies or special meal requirements.

Fees: $450 per child ($400 per child for group sign ups of 3 or more kids in a group)

Early Bird Offer $410 per child is valid till 30th April 2013.

Registration for camp closes on 24th May 2013. Email lapaul232@gmail.com for a registration form now!


Here's the program line up for our camp. Please note that the number of activities may vary according to how fast (or how slow) the kids are able to complete the various challenges within a day.

Weather is also a consideration as some of the activities need to be done and measured outdoors.






Day 1 – Things that zoom or fly
-          Magic paper ring  
-          Gravity cars
-          Wind powered cars
-          Rocket Cars
-          Propeller Cars
-          Paper Flyers
-          Handocopters
-          Aluminium Gliders
-          Circuit game (optional)

  
Day 2 – Things that float or blast into space
-          Tallest Tower
-          Gravity Boats
-          Propeller Boats
-          Aluminium Ferries
-          Cartesian Divers
-          Straw shooters
-          Straw Rockets
-          Paper Canons
-          Pneumatic Rockets
-          Water Rockets






Day 3 – Invention Day – Developing the BIG Idea
-          Teams will spend the early part of the day being introduced to building a simple business/action plan, brainstorming and deciding what type of game they want to invent.
-          Second part of the day will be spent building their prototypes.

Day 4 – Investor Fair – Selling the BIG Idea
-          Most of the day will be spent finishing up their prototype, followed by ‘quality testing’, evaluation and revision of prototypes. After which, teams will prepare for their presentations and develop promotional POS materials to ‘sell’ their inventions at the Investors Fair.
-          There will be an Investors Fair at 5pm where parents and guests will turn investor for the day, sit through their kids’ presentations, proceed to try out and sample the merchandise on offer and provide the kids with objective feedback on the feasibility of their idea to venture.

More details will be provided to all camp participants and their parents prior to the start of camp.
For more information about the camp or to register your child, please email your contact details to lapaul232@gmail.com.