It’s school holiday season again! What does one do with kids who don’t have any school to occupy them for the long summer days? Send them for holiday activities!
Apart from some art classes and lots of free play, a staple for the kids during the holidays is KidStartNow’s 4-day camp, which comprises 2 hours of Chinese speech and drama activities daily.
There are usually two main camps, segregated by age for more effective learning:
ROLE-PLAYING AND CONVERSATION CAMP (3-6 YEAR OLDS)
- Focuses on role-playing and oral conversation
- Fun crafts (a paper plate diorama this time), songs (music and movement) and games
- Piques interest in Chinese through animated storybooks
- Max 8 kids in a class
SHOW AND TELL AND WORD RECOGNITION CAMP (6-8 YEAR OLDS)
- Show and tell presentations on final day boost oral confidence and vocabulary
- Strengthens word recognition through interesting animated stories with more advanced vocabulary
- Fun crafts and writing practice
- Max 10 kids in a class
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT KIDSTARTNOW CAMPS
- Cool themes. With their proprietary animated stories, KidStartNow’s camp always has an interesting theme to capture the imagination of kids from ages 3-8. This June holidays, it’s an Underwater World theme. The kids have also attended camps with a Superhero panda theme, and a Big Bad Snatcher Wolf theme. Look at the decor in the photo above – how’s that for providing a fully immersive experience?
- Great teachers. I am a firm believer that teachers make a big difference to a child’s learning, especially their learning to love a language. I experienced that in my own life, and my affinity for the Chinese language is due in no small part to really dedicated and passionate teachers. From what I observe, the teachers at KidStartNow are really enthusiastic and enjoy imparting their love of the language to these children. They are also always prepared and willing to chat with parents about their child’s progress, after class.
- Fun motivators. Through the use of little golden coins that tinkle into your score board, kids are incentivised to participate. At the end of camp, these coins can sometimes be traded for stickers! My friend said that her little one was concentrating hard cos she wanted to earn more coins, hee.
- Meaningful story values. The animated stories tend to have a twist at the end, to inculcate good values to kids, and to make them think more deeply about life and people, rather than judge a book by its cover. *no spoilers here*
- Good class sizes. I think it’s great that they limit the number of children in the class for 3-6 year olds to 8 kids, since younger children definitely need more attention and thrive in smaller classes.
- Convenient location. The centre is located 5 mins strolling distance from Bedok MRT, and there’s a multistorey carpark nearby. The famous sprawling Bedok Hawker centre is next door, and you can shop at Bedok Mall or the park yourself at the Bedok National Library while you wait.
- Good admin support. Centre director Dan Tang responds to enquiries promptly and is friendly and accommodating. The admin support staff at the centre are cheery and responsive too. I do appreciate the warm support from this centre which may be lacking from centres that are part of large chains.
HOW DID K & B ENJOY THE CAMP?
Five-year old B has warmed up significantly to the Chinese language in the past year, and this came out quite evidently during the camp! She has a sense of pride when she can converse in simple sentences, and likes to show us how she can recognise many words, even when we test her by jumbling up the order of the characters. Her teacher also mentioned that she’s more confident in the language now.
7-year old K is a camp veteran, and her teacher had such encouraging feedback for us on her mature, exemplary behaviour in class. Also glad that though K is slightly more introverted, she apparently delivers show-and-tell stories with aplomb. *proud mama*
Happy children during the hols, check. Happy children enjoying learning Chinese? Priceless!
You can find out more about the Underwater World Holiday Camp here. The 4 day camp (2 hours per day) cost $315 per child, but discounts are available! Just call or email them to enquire.
SCRATCH CODING CAMP
Coding classes are all the rage now, and Kidstartnow has recently introduced Scratch Programming Camps, probably also cos Centre Director Dan Tang is an avid coder. Open to those aged 7-10, these camps are conducted by professionals (who also teach programming classes in schools).
Here’s more information:
- Learn the key concepts of coding by creating fun animations and games
- Develop problem solving skills and hone creativity
- Max of 10 students to a class
- $295 per child (early bird and group discounts available)
- Jun 14-17 (11:30-1:30pm) or Jun 21-24 (12-2pm)
Happy holidays, one and all! Learning is always a breeze when it’s fun. 🙂
Phone: (+65) 6481-1932 / 9820-7272
Email: enquiry@kidstartnow.com
Address: 209 New Upper Changi Road,
#03-649, Singapore 460209
(Above Sheng Siong Supermarket, 7 mins stroll from Bedok MRT)
Note: Thanks KidStartNow for inviting us to attend the holiday camp for the purpose of this review!
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