Let’s face it—adulting is tough! Without certain life skills (hello, resilience!) to help us tackle life’s challenges, we probably wouldn’t be where we are today. The same goes for our future generation as well, making it essential for our kids to start learning these skills too.
We’re excited to have Rosanna Kirkbride, Head of Primary at Concord College International School (CCIS), outline four specific life skills – resilience, reflection, curiosity and collaboration– for primary school children which are crucial for navigating real-world challenges. She’s also keen to share with our #makchicmumsquad how parents can apply these skills in practical, everyday situations with their kids and how CCIS seamlessly integrates these skills into their curriculum:
Building Resilience – Celebrate Mistakes!
Create a space where making mistakes is celebrated as a fun part of learning. Kids need to build the resilience to keep going and achieve their dreams.
How do I incorporate this in daily life?
- Let your children fail at certain tasks and celebrate their mistakes. Children need to understand how to fail and how making mistakes isn’t all negative. The most important thing to remember is how we learn from these mistakes.
- As a parent, the every day modelling of your behaviour has huge implications. If a child sees a parent trying to complete a task but giving up, that sends a huge message to them (which they might emulate).
Tip: The language we use is so important in this step. Choose positive language when we ‘correct’ our children. One example Mrs Kirkbride uses with her students is to remind them to ‘walk’ instead of saying ‘don’t run!’.
Emphasising Reflection in Daily Learning
Even the smallest daily task can give parents the opportunity to reflect with their children, ensuring they develop a habit of contemplation and growth.
How do I incorporate this in daily life?
- Cook or bake something together as a family, then talk about the recipe or methods. Ask, “Would it have been better if we switched out this ingredient for another?” or “Should we have removed the cake 10 minutes before we did, to prevent it from overbaking?”.
- Assembling furniture: After the activity, reflect on how you would have worked together better, or what you could have done differently.
Choose family activities that, in addition to promoting responsibility and creating memories (always a good thing!), can lead to introspection and improvement.
Tip: If you’ve witnessed or been a part of an activity or task at home that has gone wrong, tell your child that’s ok and use that example to reflect on what you or your child could do better in the future.
How does Concord Primary encourage reflection?
At the beginning of a new lesson, students review feedback from previous lessons, fostering a habit of continuous self-assessment. Peer-to-peer assessments also play a crucial role, allowing students to give and receive constructive feedback. This reflective practice extends beyond academics and includes the school’s behaviour policy, where students tend to reflect on their actions and words.
Fostering Curiosity in a Technology-Driven Era
In a tech-savvy world, sparking curiosity is key to giving students the creativity and ingenuity they need to tackle big challenges. Ask them the Who, What, Why, When and How questions!
How do I incorporate this in daily life?
By fostering a sense of wonder and encouraging children to delve deeper into topics.
- Go outside and take a walk.
If your child sees an insect or bug, use that to start a conversation – where do these bugs go, what do they eat, what is their life cycle like, and more. Try and go deeper into the topic and challenge your children to learn more about the subject. Or as you walk past a tree, simply stop and ask, “What can you tell me about this tree?” or ask them to find out more about it.
Tip: As busy as we parents are, slow down when a child asks you a question and resist the urge to give them a quick answer.
How does Concord Primary encourage curiosity when it comes to technology?
Concord Primary leverages technology meaningfully to enhance learning. For example, in a unit on weather or climate zones, students might use green screen technology to create weather reports, applying their research in a creative and engaging way. This approach ensures that technology serves as a tool for meaningful learning rather than a distraction, promoting critical thinking and innovation among young learners.
Developing Interpersonal Skills Through Collaboration
Show your kids how fun teamwork can be with shared activities and talks about collaboration. Whether you’re tackling a home project or playing a game, highlight the joy of working together, listening to each other, and thinking about how the family can improve.
How do I incorporate this in daily life?
- Get your kids to engage in small collaborative tasks daily either with siblings or with parents. It can be as simple as gathering dirty dishes to bring to the kitchen, folding small clothing or even playing a card game. Recognise and acknowledge your children when tasks are done well and also talk about how it could have been improved after you’ve done the activity.
Tip: Besides household tasks, other ideas include getting them involved in making a shopping list, planning a menu for a family meal or other practical tasks which parents can safely oversee.
How does Concord Primary encourage collaboration?
Collaboration is explicitly taught through activities and projects designed to develop strong interpersonal skills. An example Mrs Kirkbride shares is a bridge-building task, where students worked in groups, followed by a reflective session where they analysed their teamwork. This exercise encouraged them to critique their behaviour and identify ways to improve their teamwork.
By instilling these skills early on, we’re nudging our children to be future adaptable, innovative professionals capable of thriving in any career they choose to pursue (and even ones which currently don’t exist!).
Schedule an appointment with Concord College International School (CCIS) to find out more. Their first academic year commences on 2nd September 2024. Following in the successful footsteps of their sister school, Concord College, UK, CCIS is a new premier international school for students aged 5 to 18, located at Persiaran Sunsuria, Bandar Sunsuria, in Sepang, Selangor.
Their Primary school curriculum is centred on core values of rigour, kindness, and creativity, which are essential for a child’s understanding of the world. These values ensure that children are not only academically prepared but also empathetic, responsible, and innovative individuals.
