BB was one of the lucky few who received a sponsorship to 'A Science Escapade', organised by Cognitive Whizz at Brainfit Studio, Novena. It is a holiday program for kids between 4 to 7 years old which helps to nurture inquisitive minds & expose your child to Physical & Chemistry Science as they embark on an exciting journey through The Land of Fairy Tale Emergencies. What captivates me most is the integration of Science concepts in fairy tales <3 Through story-telling, role playing & experiments, kids will have tremendous fun interacting with their peers to unravel the mysteries of Science behind fairy tales!
The 4-day program is as follows:
Day 1 -> Accelerate Hansel & Gretel's escape through air, water & land
- Appreciate Newton's laws of motion & effects of friction around us.
- Understand energy conversion during propulsion.
- Apply Physical Science concepts for the escape.
Day 2 -> Help Frog Prince float the heavy golden ball
- Correlate densities with different types of balls & food items.
- Be amazed by positive buoyancy as well as learn how heavy objects can float.
- Apply concept of density in real life & how it benefits us.
Day 3 -> Revive Sleeping Beauty from her sleep
- Understand why we yawn.
- How to release trapped oxygen to her.
- Appreciate the uses & significance of oxygen in our daily lives.
Day 4 -> Explore Aladdin's magic lamp for more surprises
- Be a percussionist or wood-wind musician anytime.
- Are your eyes tricking you? Be fascinated by optical illusions!
- Discover the Science behind magic tricks relating to sound & light.
At the end of each session, there's actually a debrief for parents which I find it to be extremely useful. Upon finding out more about what the kids have learnt, we could actually help to revise & reinforce the Science concepts at home. Furthermore, teacher Denise even goes the extra mile to send us a text msg with an extremely detailed summary daily.
This is actually a non-parent accompanied program but I was a prilvieged few to be allowed to sit in. Here's some insights into what actually goes on in the classroom on the 2nd day. To be honest, I was totally blown away! The 3 hours program is packed full with not a dull moment at all.
The class commenced with a recap of yesterday's lesson which serves as a good revision. Kids were then introduced to 4 new vocabulary namely Embarrased, Discontented, Puzzled & Thrilled. After teacher Denise's explanation, all of them were given a chance to apply one of the words to the feelings they were experiencing that morning. BB said he was discontented as he didn't have breadfast that morning which left Mummy feeling puzzled as he definitely had his at home >_<
Next, story-time was on! All the kiddos crowded around & listened intently as Teacher Denise read The Frog Prince out loud to them. The kids love her animated narration <3
With reference to the golden ball in the story, physical balls of various shapes & sizes were introducted. The kids were then assigned to their respective groups according to their ages with an assistant teacher allocated to each table. Here on, they took turns to touch & have a feel of all the balls before completing the fun activities in their customised workbooks. Stickers were distributed to them & they were supposed to make a guess as to whether they'll float or sink in water.
Upon completing this, the children were given turns to participate in the experiments whereby the actual results were demonstrated in the centre of the class. Well, seeing is always believing ;)
From the results revealed, the Science concept of density is borned. Different materials like aluminimum, blu tack, bubble-wrap, iron & various food etc were used in more experiments to reinfore the concept.
To end off the lesson, kids were asked to role-play & behave like the objects with differing densities.
Through inquiry-based learning, hands-on experiments & multi-sensorial experiences, key benefits of the program are:
1. Grasp Science concepts to facilitate better appreciation of the environment.
2. Hone Science skills like hypothesizing, observing, evaluating data & drawing conclusions from experiments.
3. Develop critical thinking & problems solving skills by designing experiments & applying Science concepts in real life.
4. Develop systematic thought process by devising experiments step-by-step.
5. Build confidence & communication skills through sociodramatic play & active discussion with peers.
The entire program is organised, well-planned & worth every cent of it!! The teachers were very patient yet firm when dealing with the LOs. Special thanks to Teacher Denise & Teacher Venus for being so accomodating to my super active toddler which kept testing the boundaries & refusing to listen to instructions given..tqvm once again!!!
