Review: Thinkersbox—Learn to think, Think to learn

Remember Thinkersbox? This is the really revelational centre that showed me if your child was really lazy and inattentive. We sent Nicole for an assessment there and she’s now attending their 10 month programme. It was time for a review, and parents were invited to observe the class and find out what happens during the 2 hours of class.

First thing I noticed was two teachers going quietly from child to child to assist. The 9-12 kids were sitting quietly in their groups doing individual work. It was shocking! haha… imagine 12 kids in a classroom, all focused on doing work. And mind you, it’s not even the same work for all. Child A may be doing Page 4 while Child B is working on Page 19.

Then I realised each child has a tag next to his seat. It shows the task for the day. This was comforting as it assured me the trainers do plan their schedules and everything follows the plan. (I like plans. It shows seriousness in work done!)

The trainer then went through briefly what each station does and how it works. It would be challenging for me to list out the various activities and purposes. So I selected the top two that impressed me!

A bowl of beans are given to the kids—Red beans and Soya beans. The kids have to separate the two. That simple! But oh no! The trainers expect the kids to remained focused at the task, no looking around, NOT EVEN LOOKING UP from the bowl! So during the task, the trainers may randomly shout out your name, and you can’t look up, just keep working on the beans! Woah! Isn’t that a tremendous activity to train your concentration!

Try this next one! From that mass of letters, find five or more letters in sequence such as “ABCDE”. After that, find five or more letters in reverse such as “EDCBA”. I really liked this task! It taught the kids following instructions and checking for details! I think these are VITAL skills in life!

There are other tasks such as computer games which focused on linking themes, or games which emphasised quick math etc. (I was a little nervous the trainers would want to test me. I could identify the areas that needed training for myself!!)

One interesting fact is not every child does these worksheets or activities. Based on the assessment they did, the customised workbook would have the relevant planned task for your child. So after these few weeks of lessons, did Nicole show any improvement?

Yes! And we got a glimpse of that in Legoland! haha! You can read about it here. We were building a part of the longest Lego snake and Nicole was able to count the number of rows we had made without pointing at it! She had definitely improved her EYE co-ordination.

I’m very happy with this 2 hour investment weekly. She enjoys the classes, and doesn’t see it as work! Ain’t that the best? The kids enjoying work without knowing it’s work!

To find out more about Thinkersbox, please call 6773 4886, or visit their website here.

Disclaimer: We were invited to attend the programme, but the opinions are 100% my own.

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