An award-winning programme, Arkki offers creative workshops and extracurricular courses from Finland – which has one of the best-developed education systems in the world!
With the world we live in changing faster than ever, parents and teachers have started to realise that it’s not enough to simply equip children with the skills needed for today’s job market – but rather, we must also prepare them for jobs that are yet to be created. This is why Arkki was formed: a programme to help children develop the essential skills for tomorrow’s world through nurturing their inner future innovator.
So what exactly is Arkki and how does it benefit your child? We take an in-depth look at this award-winning programme from Finland:
What is Arkki?
Arkki is a creative education programme that uses design and architecture as tools to help children develop critical and creative thinking skills, and advance their learning of academic subjects. Designed for children and youth ages six to 19, this is a hands-on project-based curriculum that equips them with 21st century skills: creativity, complex problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and computational thinking. Besides fun workshops and courses, Arkki ’s programme is the only one in Singapore that offers an extensive, long-term curriculum based on architecture and design. The curriculum offers 30 modules for progressive learning, each carefully designed for the age groups it caters for.
Sounds interesting! And how do kids learn in an Arkki class?
Arkki believes that a person learns best through play, so students are given carefully designed projects and 3D construction activities that come with specific learning objectives. These projects are drawn from real-life situations, in which students are encouraged to think critically for solutions and conduct experiments to test their ideas.
The best part? Every idea is a great idea in an Arkki class, no matter how simple or unusual it may sound!
A day in an Arkki class will see children go through a wide range of multi-sensory experiences, such as acting as masterplanners who are working on designing a new city with their peers, landscaping or engineering an awesome tower with marble track, as well as interior designing. They can also expect cool activities like creating a puppet show using light and shadow, or even making water graffiti!
Adding on to the fun learning experience, Arkki only uses quality basic and original materials instead of prefabricated ones. This provides a student with endless ways to use the materials for their projects, encouraging creative thinking in the process.
Who are the coaches and what are their qualifications?
Parents can rest assured that their children are in good hands as all of Arkki Singapore’s coaches are professionals who come from architecture or design backgrounds. They are also trained by Arkki Finland on how to coach and guide children in the programme’s classes.
It’s about teaching children how to learn, instead of what to learn
At Arkki, students take charge of their learning! The programme is entirely student-centred, where children are actively learning through collaboration and the building of their prototypes. If a prototype works, it’s a success! If it doesn’t, it’s still a learning experience where the student can investigate what could be the next solution. Here, students will learn that there are often several equally good solutions to a challenge. Arkki’s coaches act as facilitators instead of teachers, guiding and assisting students in their projects instead of telling them what to do.
Think your child will enjoy Arkki? Sign up for its upcoming workshops below!
Arkki is having a series of workshops during the June school holidays. Choose from:
- Our Green Town, where your child will learn how to build a town that’s sustainable and inclusive;
- Nature in Architecture, where they will explore the world of nature-inspired buildings and build their own;
- Style Masters I and II (Home and Interior Design), where kids will design their dream home and room.
All workshops are suitable for kids aged six to 12. These will be held at 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace and The Cocoon Space @ Design Orchard, with fees starting from $230 (including lunch for full day camp).
Sign up for your kid’s preferred workshop, or find out more about Arkki via the website.
This post is in partnership with Arkki
