SG60 Experiences – For Parents Staying in Punggol/Sengkang
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S.M.A.R.T workshops at Changi Airport
Review by Mummy Jeanelle The twins had a fabulous start for their March school holiday! They happily attended the media preview to experience new events Changi Airport is rolling out this March holiday till 3 May. Thanks to Flying Cape for inviting my boys who roped in their bffs to attend a series of 4 hands-on activities. They started with bento craft where they create individual ingredients using felt then everyone step forward to put together a nice bento box.Next, they move on to the “Be a Young Pilot” coding workshop to gain insights into the future of robotics in air travel by programming their own robot in different motions and speed before “flying their planes around the “airport”. Didi’s clapping madness came in handy to pilot his plane, can you imagine his excitement? The boys had a whale of a time in this workshop before the Airport team brought us for the lollipop tour.Collaborating with kids’ all-time fav Chupa Chups, Changi Airport Terminal 3 has put up brightly-coloured photo spots e.g the ginormous strawberry flavoured lollipop that measures 11.1 m long by 4m high, it holds Singapore’s Book of Records for the largest Chupa Chups lollipop display. And there’s a whimsical Chupa Chups playground with carousel made of lollipops, an insta-worthy Ferris wheel and see-saw with a giant lollipop lying on it. Missy said it’s every kid’s wonderland! The boys had much fun running, hopping and fooling around at the playground. After a quick dinner at 4Fingers, they proceeded to make yummilicious plane & rainbow themed cupcake decorations with Genius R’Us, the kids were generously supplied with lots of Chupa Chups Lollies & candies. I’m surprised the boys enjoyed moulding the fondant while popping sweetness into their mouths every now and then, they concluded playing with fondant is more fun than playdoh. Last workshop was the Magic Discovery with award-winning magician Max Ling that they enjoyed the most. Besides performing magic show, the kids learned 4 different magic tricks, all ready to impress their friends with the props they brought home. We came home with fantastic goodies from Changi Airport/Chupa Chups - pretty flamingo cooler bag, collapsible lunchbox, foldable shopping bag, lanyard card holder, candies and LOTssssss of lollipops packed in cute animal backpacks. Thot the boys have outgrown the backpacks but they really love it, Korkor plans to keep his fidget gadgets in there and Didi plans to keep his precious MBS oxen & $ for going out. It was indeed a fun-filled day for the boys! Do check out the events @ Changi Airport FB & IG. The cute animal backpacks are available this weekend only.
Developing 21st Century Learning skills through Model United Nations
The “21st Century skills” has emerged as a buzzword in education as policymakers respond to advancements in technology and globalization to develop students for the workplace of the future. Improvements in communications technologies have connected people more than ever before, providing many opportunities to travel, study and work. While students have many more options that students have at their disposal, so too do employers seeking the best of the best to run their businesses and corporations. International organizations like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have proposed Action Plans to build inclusive and quality education systems that develop innovative and competent individuals with more competitive prospects at seeking employment. The “21st Century skills” play a central role in policy proposals and have been reiterated time and again at meetings and forums. They have been classified into three categories: learning skills, literacy skills, and life skills. In the first of this three-part series, we analyse each learning skill, discuss how schools develop these competencies, and show how Model United Nations (MUN) improves these skills. This article explores the four 21st Century Learning Skills: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. Critical thinking is a thought process that requires students to scrutinize facts rationally and objectively to form a judgement. Students need to identify, collect and evaluate information and data from various sources to come to a decision. Besides collecting information and coming to a judgement, critical thinking requires students to be objective in their thought process and look into their assumptions and biases. In all, this is a methodical process that develops students to be better problem solvers, as they develop a logical train of thought to identify problems and propose appropriate and targeted solutions. Schools develop these skills through the curriculum as they provide students with information to analyse and evaluate before asking them to make their own conclusion. In Economics, students pour through data, parse through key economic indicators, to propose solutions on the pros and cons of government policies. Humanities subjects like history require students to assemble information from various sources, analyse them for bias, before arriving at a historical account about how something in the past had unfolded. Students participating at a MUN conference develop their critical thinking skills as they devise solutions to contemporary issues facing the world today. More importantly, they need to be rational in evaluating the issue from the viewpoint of the country that they are representing in the conference, instead of bringing their own viewpoints into the debate. For example, if the delegate does not believe in capital punishment but has been assigned to represent a country that implements the death sentence for drug smuggling, the student has to put his/her personal views aside and represent the interests of the member state he/she has been assigned to. In sum, they need to distil information from government data, news reports and other sources, to arrive at a resolution that is agreeable to the majority. In the process of analyzing information from different sources, they can also develop their creativity as they absorb new points of view that look at these problems. Creativity requires students to offer fresh perspectives and solutions to existing problems. It is a thought process that expands and provides an original viewpoint at situations and problems. This is different from critical thinking, which requires an in-depth logical and rational analysis of a problem. Creativity requires students to innovate and develop original solutions to problems. Creativity can be developed in tandem with critical thinking to provide depth and breadth in problem solving. Singapore has identified critical and inventive thinking as one of the required skills to thrive in an increasingly globalized world as part of its 21st Century Competencies. This is taught through curriculum subjects like Project Work, where students analyse and apply information across different fields and disciplines to solve real-life problems that they have identified. In the process, they look at fresh perspectives to ongoing problems, and derive inspiration from these ideas to propose innovative solutions. Model United Nations also trains students in creative thinking, as they have to evaluate ideas from different sources to analyse the problem they face in the topic and propose innovative solutions. Participating in a MUN conference challenges delegates to absorb different points of views on these issues and their proposed solutions. They need to evaluate the feasibility of their solutions from the view of the country that they represent and propose them to the international community of nations. As they interact with the different ideas being proposed by other delegates, they would work together with their peers representing other member states in the committee. Students with a creative mind are better equipped to collaborate with other committee members, as they can look at other sources as potential partners for collaboration rather than competitors. Collaboration has been listed as a key learning trait in the 21st Century skills. As the world becomes more interconnected, students will receive new opportunities to work together across the physical and digital space with teammates near and far. As the internet becomes more available worldwide, students will be able to interact and work in increasingly digital spaces, opening a new domain that they have to work in. These growing connections have already been felt at the workplace, as teams work together across different locations and time zones. It is important for students to develop a strong sense of collaboration to navigate the dynamics of working with increasingly diverse teams. Schools have been developing collaboration in their assessments in examinable subjects, as well as activities outside the classroom. These include group essays in university modules and the Project Work subject in Junior Colleges in Singapore. In these subjects, students have to submit written reports which are graded assignments. Students need to work together to write these reports, merging individual contributions and writing styles into one document that is submitted by the team. Similarly, delegates need to collaborate in MUN conferences as they submit resolutions to address the problems facing the international community. Delegates representing different member states in the committee need to collaborate to submit these documents such as working papers and draft resolutions and trust one another to represent the collective interest of the respective blocs. They would develop their collaborative skills as they navigate the group dynamics and take initiative on submitting resolutions for the committee to debate. In addition, they would need to communicate with their peers from diverse backgrounds and manage the expectations of the committee to propose solutions to the problems they face. Communication requires students to craft and convey their ideas towards different target audience groups in different mediums. Besides verbal communications in the students’ daily lives, it includes communications conveyed over text like emails and correspondences over social media. In the process, students will engage the ideas that they have to communicate and ensure that their target audiences remain engaged. Schools have attempted to examine these communications skills as they provide assessments besides and inside their standardized tests. These include graded presentations, business pitches, and oral examinations which include a conversation section where students chat with the examiners. Meanwhile examination questions have included situational writing questions where students draft letters soliciting donations from corporate sponsors and even emails. MUN conferences develop a student’s communication skills as students are required to convey complex ideas on international issues to a crowd that consists of their peers. They would have to simplify arcane and complicated technical terms in their speeches into key words and phrases that their peers would be understand. Effective communication skills build support for delegates presenting their ideas to their contemporaries, and help students win allies to their side. Model United trains students to be cogent and collaborative communicators who can think creatively and critically. They are rational in dissecting the issues presented to them and devise fresh and innovative policies that advance the interests of their country and the committee. They collaborate with their peers who bring with them the interests of the member state that they represent and communicate convincingly to win the hearts and minds of their contemporaries. Through Model United Nations, students develop these 21st Century Learning Skills which would serve them well beyond the days at the conferences.
Public Speaking & Drama
TIPS ON PUBLIC SPEAKING & DRAMA As a student or an employee venturing into the workforce, it is important that your child acquires skills to become a confident and compelling speaker. This can be useful during a class or boardroom presentation, on a stage and even during a one to one conversation in your everyday lives. To effectively do this, it is essential to know how to structure and put forth a performance or presentation in a clear, concise, and coherent manner. Most importantly, your children need to be sure of themselves. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE FRIGHTNENING No matter what stage of life you are in, performing or speaking in front of a large crowd can get scary and overwhelming. Thus, it is important to guide your child through this development to help them achieve the much-needed life skills such as logical analysis of a subject, persuasion techniques, self-assurance etc. As your child becomes more comfortable with performing publicly, it is more likely that it will instil self-confidence in them. This in turn will increase their abilities to face obstacles in the future. One way to help your child is to enrol them in public speaking and drama courses where they can learn these skills in practice and in theory. TIPS ON HELPING YOUR CHILD PERFORM It is important to understand that majority of us are afraid of public speaking and performances simply because we are unprepared. Here are some tips for you as a parent, to act as a catalyst to improve your child’s public speaking capabilities. Firstly, it is important to introduce this concept as early as possible. Instead of having them to see a public performance or presentation as an activity, help them see it as a game they can play. Start off by introducing a small crowd through a game of charades or taboo. This creates a fantasy where your children will be given a specific role while trying to deliver a message to their audience. This will get them used to having attention on them while they are speaking. In time, this will teach them to be natural when addressing others. Be very observant when your child is performing to give them helpful feedback. Although positive reinforcements and affirmations are important, it is also important to offer constructive criticism to assist your child in making improvements where required. However, do remember to be patient when doing so. Wait until your child has completed a piece before offering your feedback. If you constantly interrupt them to make corrections, it may serve as a distraction which may make them much more nervous. Next, recording your child’s practice sessions can prove to be extremely helpful. It is much easier for your child to identify areas of improvements when they can observe it the way that an audience would. As you play it back to them, provide positive reinforcements on their strengths and construct solutions to improve certain areas. Finally, habitually encourage confidence throughout the entirety of your child’s life. Confidence and optimism to overcome any challenge cannot be achieved overnight. This needs to be instilled from a young age and nurtured as they grow. You can start your child off with small practices such as ordering their own meals, sharing about their day and so much more. Most importantly, model this confidence in front of your children as they learn the most by observing and mimicking. With your support, your child can excel to his maximum potential. Remember, developing confidence is a lifelong journey! This article was brought to you by The Global Citizen Education Group.
Creative Writing
TIPS AND TRICKS TO DEVELOP EXCELLENCE IN CREATIVE WRITING Creative writing is a tool that helps one express their ideas and thoughts in an imaginative way, with the goal of writing being to entertain a reader while also promoting cognitive thinking skills. Being creative and having the platform to express it is part of being a human but for some, it may take a little more encouragement. At times, children may have difficulties putting their ideas and words down on paper for assignments in a timely fashion. Hence, creating an environment at home that fosters these skills can help them become a successful writer. SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD Being a creative writer and excelling at it is something that requires practise and foremost, interest. Supporting this process will require you to set up an environment at home that best provides the tools needed to develop the interest and skills needed. Having writing materials that are interesting and readily available is of utmost importance as it will allow your child to have a consistent medium to express their ideas and words. Another way to foster interest is for children to carry around a writing journal that they can use to capture everything they see and feel as they explore their surroundings. People say images provide the sparks to start the imagination process. Exposing them to interesting and engaging images is a method parents can use to prompt writing when their child needs encouragement or inspiration. To do this, parents can create a Pinterest board or make a physical scrapbook with their children filled with various images to inspire writing prompts. Encouraging your child to look through the pictures and write down how they feel about the pictures or what they think the picture represents can be a great way of overcoming writer’s block and become prompts to start writing stories or poems to express their thoughts on the images. DEVELOPING AND IMPROVING WRITING SKILLS Building the foundation to ensure that your child has the best starting point to begin their creative writing processes starts with reading. It’s a lot harder for them to get the hang of using words to express their thoughts and ideas creatively and with skill if they don’t have references to start their own story drawing board. One way to ensure that your child is never short on ideas is to expose them to books of all genres, from mystery to comedic. Even comics can be a great source of inspiration for children! It is recommended that parents allow their children to explore all kinds of writing; stories, poems, jokes, riddles, comics songs and more. This allows them to use and develop their own “Voice” and writing style unique to them. In writing, literary devices help one illustrate vivid images and create imaginative worlds and scenes using words, all of which are integral to good writing. Metaphors, Similes, Imagery and other figures of speech can help your little writers create impactful images in their writing that boost creativity and paint powerful pictures in their minds. When parents support children in a creative environment, their creative writing skills and imaginative thinking processes will become a part of their everyday life and become natural. Creative writing requires practice and supports at all ages. As parents, it’s your job to provide materials, time and strategies to help them feel confident in their skills so that they can grow as writers. Creative writing can be a window into children’s minds and thoughts! This article was brought to you by The Global Citizen Education Group.