Creative writing and parenting workshops for mainstream schools
Dear Educators:
As part of Awakening Minds' efforts to share the innovative educational approaches I have developed for children with special needs, I have created creative writing workshops targeted for typical children.
Also, I have begun to conduct parenting workshops for caregivers of typical children through school and corporate settings. I consider parenting training to be part and parcel of my preventive approach in my advocacy of mental wellness. The seeds of mental wellness are planted early in children by parents. It is thus crucial to equip parents with adequate skills to raise their children who will be self-disciplined, independent and well-adjusted.
Creative Writing Workshops for Children (age group mentioned for each course; can be customised according to age group.)
1. Introducing Words, Pictures, Story! (WPS!): A Writing Template to Initiate Learners into Writing (for ages 5-7).
Writing can be an extremely anxiety-provoking experience for many children, particularly children with language delays. WPS! offers a colourful, fun and interactive writing template that incorporates the following components such as language prompts, clue words and images. By offering a guided writing experience that breaks the monotony of writing and provides openings for children to make choices, children are able to plunge into the experience of writing without their usual anxieties. In this workshop, participants will learn about the WPS! story template and be initiated into the basics of writing as a foundation for producing stories.
2. Transforming Words, Pictures, Story! (WPS!) into a Story Map (for ages 8-10).
Participants will move to the next level of story writing by incorporating WPS! components into a story map and putting together a story with trainer guidance and cooperative group activity.
3. Brainstorming a Story: Let’s Compose a Story Together (for ages 10-12).
In this workshop, children, working together with one another and guided by the teacher’s posing of questions, “brainstorm” the content of diverse components that will go into the making of a story. Additional ingredients such as pictures, props and descriptive phrases can be incorporated to stimulate inspiration and imagination.
4. Writers' Theatre: Story, Acting, Revising -- A New Storywriting Process (for ages 8-12).
This fun, creative and dramatic workshop will enable students to experience the dynamic quality of the creative brainstorming process that goes into the writing of a story. Working in small groups, students will dramatise a simple story that contains an implausible story line, grammatical errors and poorly defined characters. Through their dramatisation of the story, students can return to re-work the story and improve it.
Workshops for Caregivers/Parents
1. Reaching for the Stars! Motivating Your Child/Student for Success
One of the biggest challenges faced by parents/teachers is how to motivate their children/students to engage in constructive activities that will lead them towards a successful life. Although motivation is primarily dependent on the children/students themselves, parents and teachers can nonetheless play a powerful supportive role in encouraging and guiding their children/students in this process. Through this workshop, participants will gain an in-depth understanding of the psychology of motivation and learn how they can serve as a motivating force in their children’s/students’ lives.
2. Getting to Know All About You! Forging an Authentic Relationship with Your Child/Student
All children are unique individuals with their distinctive combinations of strengths and weaknesses. Their one-and-only make-up influence the way they think, feel, communicate and learn. As parents and teachers, your effectiveness in interacting with your child/student (whether to encourage or to teach them) derives from the effort you have invested in building an authentic relationship with him/her. When you have established such a relationship, you will find that your child/student will be responsive and intrinsically motivated to adhere to your requests or instruction. Through this workshop, participants will learn about the importance of appreciating the unique make-up of their children/students, as well as effective ways for establishing a genuine and mutually respectful relationship with them.
3. Do I Have Your Attention? Engaging Your Child/Student with Effective Communication Strategies
To be an influential person in your child’s/student’s life, you need to be able to engage his/her attention and sustain his/her interest in your interactions. Knowing how to speak is different from being able to communicate and capturing your child/student’s attention. In this talk, participants will learn the right attitude, acquire the necessary knowledge and practise the techniques to become effective communicators with children.
4. Bringing Life to Learning… and Vice Versa! Making Learning Meaningful and Relevant.
To parents and educators, education is meant to prepare their children/students for learning. Yet many children/students have come to associate learning with an activity that takes place within the classroom environment, which is separate from the “real world”. As a result, they can be un-motivated about their studies because they do not see their meaningfulness and relevance to their daily lives. The reality is that life and the real world abound with learning opportunities! Parents can incorporate learning opportunities in their daily lives, just as educators can contextualise their learning with familiar real-life settings and activities. Thus, parents and educators can help to make learning come alive for their children/students.
5. Any Child is Teachable! Creating Effective Scaffolding for Learning.
Standardised worksheets and tasks may pose difficulties for some children who have unique learning styles and preferences. Very often, they are dismissed as unteachable by their parents and teachers. However, through the incorporation of various types of scaffolding, whether within the worksheets, or additional learning resources, these children/students may be able to rise to the challenge of completing the tasks at hand. In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to learn the principles and techniques of creating effective scaffolding in their worksheets and tasks.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Kah Ying
8163-4509
As part of Awakening Minds' efforts to share the innovative educational approaches I have developed for children with special needs, I have created creative writing workshops targeted for typical children.
Also, I have begun to conduct parenting workshops for caregivers of typical children through school and corporate settings. I consider parenting training to be part and parcel of my preventive approach in my advocacy of mental wellness. The seeds of mental wellness are planted early in children by parents. It is thus crucial to equip parents with adequate skills to raise their children who will be self-disciplined, independent and well-adjusted.
Creative Writing Workshops for Children (age group mentioned for each course; can be customised according to age group.)
1. Introducing Words, Pictures, Story! (WPS!): A Writing Template to Initiate Learners into Writing (for ages 5-7).
Writing can be an extremely anxiety-provoking experience for many children, particularly children with language delays. WPS! offers a colourful, fun and interactive writing template that incorporates the following components such as language prompts, clue words and images. By offering a guided writing experience that breaks the monotony of writing and provides openings for children to make choices, children are able to plunge into the experience of writing without their usual anxieties. In this workshop, participants will learn about the WPS! story template and be initiated into the basics of writing as a foundation for producing stories.
2. Transforming Words, Pictures, Story! (WPS!) into a Story Map (for ages 8-10).
Participants will move to the next level of story writing by incorporating WPS! components into a story map and putting together a story with trainer guidance and cooperative group activity.
3. Brainstorming a Story: Let’s Compose a Story Together (for ages 10-12).
In this workshop, children, working together with one another and guided by the teacher’s posing of questions, “brainstorm” the content of diverse components that will go into the making of a story. Additional ingredients such as pictures, props and descriptive phrases can be incorporated to stimulate inspiration and imagination.
4. Writers' Theatre: Story, Acting, Revising -- A New Storywriting Process (for ages 8-12).
This fun, creative and dramatic workshop will enable students to experience the dynamic quality of the creative brainstorming process that goes into the writing of a story. Working in small groups, students will dramatise a simple story that contains an implausible story line, grammatical errors and poorly defined characters. Through their dramatisation of the story, students can return to re-work the story and improve it.
Workshops for Caregivers/Parents
1. Reaching for the Stars! Motivating Your Child/Student for Success
One of the biggest challenges faced by parents/teachers is how to motivate their children/students to engage in constructive activities that will lead them towards a successful life. Although motivation is primarily dependent on the children/students themselves, parents and teachers can nonetheless play a powerful supportive role in encouraging and guiding their children/students in this process. Through this workshop, participants will gain an in-depth understanding of the psychology of motivation and learn how they can serve as a motivating force in their children’s/students’ lives.
2. Getting to Know All About You! Forging an Authentic Relationship with Your Child/Student
All children are unique individuals with their distinctive combinations of strengths and weaknesses. Their one-and-only make-up influence the way they think, feel, communicate and learn. As parents and teachers, your effectiveness in interacting with your child/student (whether to encourage or to teach them) derives from the effort you have invested in building an authentic relationship with him/her. When you have established such a relationship, you will find that your child/student will be responsive and intrinsically motivated to adhere to your requests or instruction. Through this workshop, participants will learn about the importance of appreciating the unique make-up of their children/students, as well as effective ways for establishing a genuine and mutually respectful relationship with them.
3. Do I Have Your Attention? Engaging Your Child/Student with Effective Communication Strategies
To be an influential person in your child’s/student’s life, you need to be able to engage his/her attention and sustain his/her interest in your interactions. Knowing how to speak is different from being able to communicate and capturing your child/student’s attention. In this talk, participants will learn the right attitude, acquire the necessary knowledge and practise the techniques to become effective communicators with children.
4. Bringing Life to Learning… and Vice Versa! Making Learning Meaningful and Relevant.
To parents and educators, education is meant to prepare their children/students for learning. Yet many children/students have come to associate learning with an activity that takes place within the classroom environment, which is separate from the “real world”. As a result, they can be un-motivated about their studies because they do not see their meaningfulness and relevance to their daily lives. The reality is that life and the real world abound with learning opportunities! Parents can incorporate learning opportunities in their daily lives, just as educators can contextualise their learning with familiar real-life settings and activities. Thus, parents and educators can help to make learning come alive for their children/students.
5. Any Child is Teachable! Creating Effective Scaffolding for Learning.
Standardised worksheets and tasks may pose difficulties for some children who have unique learning styles and preferences. Very often, they are dismissed as unteachable by their parents and teachers. However, through the incorporation of various types of scaffolding, whether within the worksheets, or additional learning resources, these children/students may be able to rise to the challenge of completing the tasks at hand. In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to learn the principles and techniques of creating effective scaffolding in their worksheets and tasks.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Kah Ying
8163-4509
posted by Choo Kah Ying at
12:46 PM
|
0 comments
