Timedoor Academy just held an educational activity called "Coding Workshop" at Taman Sastra Junior High School in Jimbaran, Bali on Thursday, March 30, 2023. The purpose of this activity was to educate the young generation about the importance of using technology in the modern era. The workshop was a great success and had a positive impact on more than 30 students who attended it. The activity began by introducing the students to the basics of coding through a game. In this workshop, we learned how to create games, design player characters, and add scores using Construct 3. The students were excited about this workshop, and they were eager to learn more about coding and game design. Furthermore, the students were also introduced to website creation. They were taught the basics of web development and how to create their own website. This workshop was particularly interesting to the students as they were able to see how easy and fun it is to create a website. For the next activity, the Timedoor Academy team introduced the students to robots, AR, and VR box. The students were able to experience first-hand how these technologies work and how they can be operated. This workshop was intended to raise the students' enthusiasm for learning IT and coding. By held such an activity, we believe that learning technology is not only important but also incredibly interesting and fun! Here at Timedoor Academy, we provide you coding workshop and school collaborations such as after-school curricula that can be a fun learning addition for your kids or your students.

Timedoor Academy Coding Camp 2022 Batch 1 and Batch 2 has been held from 12-23 December 2022. With 200++ participants from our Online and Offline Classes in several areas including Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali. We also launched our new program, Comic Camp, which is held online. Timedoor Academy offers 5 days coding and comics classes with a variety of programs that students can choose according to their interests. Coding Camp offers many courses including: Game Development, Website Development, App Development, Roblox, and Python. For Comic Camp, the program focuses on student's creativity in making characters, developing stories, making sketches, to become complete comics. Timedoor Academy sets a goal for students to become programmers and comic artists in 5 days by creating projects using the platform of their choice and challenging them to become digital experts! Today we are announcing the 2 best award from each category. Award recipients consist of the Best Project and the Best Participant. For the names award recipients can see below . JUNIOR SCRATCH AWARDEE CATEGORY NAME Best Project Nathan Asmoro Best Participant Made Arya Markandeya Shankara Kepakisan JUNIOR KODU AWARDEE CATEGORY NAME Best Project Made Ngurah Ararya Daneswara Best Participant Charise Davlyn Solim KIDS CONSTRUCT BEGINNER + WEB AWARDEE CATEGORY NAME Best Project Nicholas Keane Rahardja Best Participant Muhammad Jafarishadiq Radoslaw KIDS CONSTRUCT ADVANCE AWARDEE CATEGORY NAME Best Project Made Nadira Averina Pragitya Best Participant I Dewa Made Khrisna Adi Permana KIDS ROBLOX BEGINNER AWARDEE CATEGORY NAME Best Project Ida Bagus Pradnyana Wedhanta Steve Raffael Jerome Djayadi Best Participant Cakradara Hosana Kastara Gea Nicholas Caleb KIDS PYTHON AWARDEE CATEGORY NAME Best Project Kezia M Shallom Best Participant Abizar TEENS PHASER AWARDEE CATEGORY NAME Best Project IGA. Ngurah Devasya Maha Putra Best Participant Lionel Edric TEENS ROBLOX BEGINNER AWARDEE CATEGORY NAME Best Project Danish Irham Aulia Best Participant Fay Jetavana TEENS WEB DEVELOPER AWARDEE CATEGORY NAME Best Project Sherlyn Julita Davila Best Participant Naufarrel TEENS PYTHON AWARDEE CATEGORY NAME Best Project I Gusti Ayu Isyana Shanti Best Participant Marvel Kristian TEENS APP DEVELOPER AWARDEE CATEGORY NAME Best Project Karen Abigail Tambunan Best Participant Aimar Nazzal Al Firmansyah COMIC CAMP AWARDEE CATEGORY NAME Best Project Kevia Rava Zhafira Best Participant Riley Oviya A. All award recipients will receive medals, exclusive T-shirts and merchandise from Timedoor Academy. Send your address to Timedoor Academy Admin for the process of sending.

We are pleased to announce that Timedoor Academy & our Principal Setyo Purwaningsih for being certified and accredited by the international education organization STEM.org. Thank you to our curriculum maker, teacher, students, and all lovely member of timedoor. We aim to be better and better to provide the best IT education for the next generation and create a bright future together. Appreciate your continued support.

As a parent, do you often find it challenging to keep your children interested and motivated in learning? This is because kids are frequently distracted by various things like games, social media, and other activities, causing them to lose focus on the learning process.   The waning interest in learning can be attributed to several factors, including: High Parental Pressure; Monotonous Study Routines; Difficulty Keeping Up with Peers; Excessive Digital Distractions; Feelings of Desperation Regarding Academic Success.   We know that nobody enjoys feeling left behind, especially when children are frequently compared to their peers by their parents or even teachers. This comparison often occurs in schools and can lead to discomfort for students of all ages. Of course, taking away all the enjoyable aspects of your child’s life isn’t the solution, as it might foster negative perceptions and even hatred toward learning. So, how can we ensure that they maintain motivation for future success? In this article, we’ll explore why this decline in interest happens and discuss strategies to overcome it, ensuring that children stay motivated.     Key Things to Identify Before providing assistance to your child, it’s crucial to understand the reasons behind their lack of engagement in learning. This understanding will help you devise optimal learning strategies to address the issue. Parents should begin recognizing these signs to implement logical solutions for their children.   Dull Learning Routine When it comes to study routines, children often follow a pattern: attending classes, having face-to-face sessions with tutors, spending hours on homework, and repeating the cycle. This repetitive cycle can lead to boredom and eventually fatigue. Children naturally have high curiosity and a desire to learn. It’s essential to maintain and even enhance their curiosity for continuous learning. Seriously, think about how many times parents are asked “why” by their children in a single day—the answer is quite a lot. Another way to look at this from a different perspective is to consider how even as adults, we often get bored with repetitive work routines. Emails, calls, meetings, and then back to the same office the next day. While some people may enjoy this stability, it can lead to a lack of enthusiasm and eventually burnout. The same principle applies to children.   Pressure for Academic Success While some people thrive on competition, many others feel differently. However, external pressure can overwhelm children (and even us). As parents, it’s natural to want our children to succeed and be the best. But be cautious about setting unrealistic standards and constantly comparing your child to others. Although some parents choose disciplinary methods like this for their children, it often backfires and hinders their performance. For example, when setting grade targets for your children, remember that everyone absorbs knowledge at different speeds and has unique learning methods. And that’s not a bad thing! By paying attention to your child’s strengths and weaknesses, you can tailor specific learning methods that suit their needs based on this information.   When Children Fail to See the Benefits of Learning Have you ever asked yourself, when faced with a task or job, “Why do I have to do this?” Children have similar questions too. As adults, we understand that learning is essential for the future. However, children may not perceive it the same way because they are often more interested in immediate gratification. It’s crucial for us to convey that the actions they take now will impact their lives in the future. So, how can we help them understand the importance of learning? Well, the key is to explain it in a simple way that they can grasp. Instead of forcing them to study, it’s better to encourage them to find meaning in each learning material. Explain to them how mathematics can be used to make real-life decisions, such as choosing the best deal while shopping. By emphasizing the practical application of these lessons in real-world scenarios, children will recognize the true value of learning. Essentially, by connecting lessons to everyday life, they will feel engaged in the learning process. They’ll understand that the knowledge they gain is genuinely needed and useful for them.   Read Our Other Articles: Best 19! Sekolah Swasta dan Internasional di Kota Surabaya Barat – Biaya, Alamat, Lengkap 2024/2025 Facebook (Instagram) Ads vs Google Ads: What You Need to Know?     What Can You Do Instead? Now that we have some idea of the “why,” let's get to the “how”’ in increasing your children’s interest in learning. Children are active beings, and more times than not they would probably prefer to do learning activities than simply sitting on a desk and listening to lessons.  This would be a great bonding activity for parents to explore with kids and lets you know what sparks their interest! Here are some fun learning activities you can implement:   Educational Games Educational games are perfect for when traditional methods with paper and pencil are simply not enough to keep the little ones engaged. In addition, they are also a great tool when trying to teach children about logic, critical thinking, and many other soft and hard skills. A popular method that has been implemented in many classrooms would be Kahoot quizzes. By using this platform, kids are able to join through their gadgets and there is no pressure on being shamed if you get an answer wrong as students are able to join using fun nicknames that do not give away their identity thus creating a safe space for making mistakes. In addition, there is a wide selection of applications and websites that educate people on the subjects of mathematics, science, history, health, geography, and many others. Usually, the game instructs the player to solve a mathematical equation or answer a history trivia in order to proceed to the next round or level up. This is a great method to keep kids engaged as they are just excited to play games, not realizing that along the way they are picking up useful skills.   Outdoor Learning Sitting in a room for hours while trying to absorb new information can be a downer for most people, especially kids. Doing so, can really weigh down on a child’s excitement to learn, and honestly can we blame them? Many schools nowadays incorporate outside learning where teachers and students go over learning materials in an outdoor setting. By implementing a slight change in scenery, students feel more refreshed and less slumped in digesting new learning materials. Try doing the same with your kids and take your tutoring sessions with your kids in the backyard or a public park to boost your kids’ learning spirit. A great example would be heading outside to teach your kids about different types of rocks and soil for a brief geology lesson. If you’re lucky enough to live near the ocean with rich marine biodiversity, take the time to take your science lessons outdoors and look out for different types of sea life such as anemones, schools of fishes, seashells, and more.    Field Trips Similar to the previous point, scheduling field trips with your kids can boost learning interest as it takes the learning outside of the classroom, which can eliminate boredom.  Perfect for history lessons, going on a museum trip can spark interest in learning about past events, important monuments, artifacts, and paintings. This is highly beneficial, especially in children who have shown interest in the fields of art, literature, and history. They need this activity to be held occasionally. Think of it as adults, we oftentimes get so tired of the same four walls of the cubicle and repetitive routine. A business trip or an insightful work conference to improve our knowledge can be a nice treat in the midst of a monotonous work regime. The same applies to children and can help rekindle their learning spark.   Bite-Sized Learning Material Lastly, learning can be an intimidating process, especially when kids see the amount of materials that they have to master within the span of one semester. Minimize their anxiety by breaking up learning materials into several pieces that will be easier to manage by them.  For example, when it comes to learning mathematics, instead of stressing the entire counting system, take each learning lesson to really focus on comprehending each subject into bite-sized pieces. Make sure to incorporate fun games related to addition such as puzzles, treasure hunts, and other varieties to avoid boredom and motivation loss. Remember as mentioned earlier, kids are simply excited to play games, that they don’t even realize they’re gaining knowledge in the process. Use all of these tools strategically by keeping them organized to keep your children engaged and focused on the material at hand.   Things to Keep in Mind Now that you have all of these resources at your disposal, make sure to utilize them to boost learning efficiency and avoid motivation loss during the learning process. As parents, getting your children to fun activities and stimulating tasks, can help them stay on track and reduce their lack of interest in learning.  In addition, it is also important to recognize that there is also a good amount of trial and error that comes with finding the right study routine for your little ones. Therefore, it is important to be patient and allow children to explore in order to find the right approach for their learning. Lastly, value the time in taking a break from studying and exploring other interests that your children might have. Sometimes, all it takes is a little breather from the books to rejuvenate your kids and prevent fatigue from studying.  As parents, this would be a great opportunity to explore their interests outside of the classroom whether it be sports, music, cooking, and many more.   Here at Timedoor Academy, we offer a variety of lessons surrounding coding that can be a fun learning addition for your kids. Our curriculum allows students to learn the fundamentals of computer science and accomplish fun projects such as creating their own games, websites, and mobile applications.   To get started, head over to Timedoor's website through this page, and our teachers will be more than happy to get you and your little ones started on their coding journey.

If you are interested in programming or design classes, please contact us here. Timedoor Academy provides educational services to various schools and governments. Partnerships can be formed in various styles, including main subjects, extracurriculars, club activities, student referral affiliates, venue partnerships, and teacher training. Please feel free to contact us first. Contact Us to be our franchise partner now!  

Own your Coding School in your city Timedoor Academy is looking for franchise partner to expand our IT education service around the world. The Timedoor Academy franchise program presents an extraordinary blend of lucrative financial prospects and the ability to create a profound and enduring influence on the lives of children in your community through IT education. More than 10.000 Students learned coding with timedoor Minimal investment, maximum passive income Easy to start with our curriculum and LMS   This Program suit for  A person who owns the venue for the course A person who has experienced business management A person who wants to be an entrepreneur A person who has teaching or coding experience   STEM Education STEM is an acronym for "Science," "Technology," "Engineering," and "Mathematics," and it is a general term for the field of science education. In recent years, in a society where science and technology are developing more and more, Science, Mathematics, and Technical education have become increasingly vital from the perspective of developing the next generation of human resources that will support it, and efforts for "STEM education" are progressing worldwide.   ROI 600% in 5 years Franchise agreement provides flexible partnerships according to the franchise owner's situation. Those who have their own venue can expect a large return with a small initial investment. In addition, synergistic effects with existing businesses can be expected from the addition of schools, cram schools, recreation centers, etc., and there are also great business opportunities.   Contact Us to be our franchise partner now!  

Nurturing well-rounded kids by discovering things your kids can do outside of school. Keeps your kids engaged and stimulated.   Seriously, What to do when your kids aren’t in school? Do we practice what Singaporean parents are imposing on their children or let them enjoy the relatively unburdened lifestyle of Finnish kids? While there’s a case to be made for both polar opposites (students in both countries are academic high-achievers) and no precedent or overwhelming consensus on how much time a child should spend in a day studying, we can all agree that there needs to be a period allotted for children that is devoid of anything academic. Because schoolwork can be yucky after a while. After all, all work and no play make your kids dull. Once they’ve done their assignments, homework, and chores, the time before bedtime still needs to be occupied with things that keep their interests piqued. It's essential to recognize that schoolwork, while crucial, can become overwhelming. To ensure our children grow into well-rounded individuals, we must provide them with ample time for non-academic pursuits.     Beyond the Books: Things Your Kids Can Do Outside of School In this article, we have compiled a list of things for your kids to do during their free, non-academic time, divided into three categories: Basic Survival Skills – because your kids are going to grow up to be (hopefully) fully functioning members of society. Also because codependency is unattractive. Brawny Things – their bodies are their temples. Keep the temple healthy and the mind tidy. Brainy Stuff – because the world nowadays is a lot to process and navigate. Your kids need to be capable thinkers to survive the modern age.     Basic Survival Skills Although no good parents would wish any harm would ever come to their children, equipping them with the core skills that would help them survive in a plethora of both daily and unimaginable situations is necessary. Your kids will at one point decide to explore the world around them, and it’s going to be comforting to you as parents to know that your little ones are bolstered with the skills that allow them to be resilient and durable. Especially if they decided to act like Dora the Explorer – and we hope our kids aren’t as clueless as she is. More McGyver, less Dora. Here are the skills.   Cooking This isn’t an exclusively girls’ thing. Cooking is necessary regardless of your child’s gender. If they’re human beings with the need for sustenance to survive, then they need to know how to prepare themselves some food. Cooking also helps your children to learn about good nutrition, and what they put in their bodies, and to get accustomed to healthy diets. Being involved in food-making may also make them more adventurous with their palate choices. So if you want your kids to eat vegetables and other foodstuffs that kids don’t typically find appealing, get them busy in the kitchen! Things to make sure of when you want to involve your kids in cooking: Have everything ready and in place. Cookware, ingredients, kitchen towel, compost bin, and apron need to be neatly laid out so that your kids can just dive into the experience. Provide stools if your kids aren’t able to reach your kitchen countertop yet. Teach them about kitchen protocols: handwashing, cleaning as you go, never putting sharp tools near the edge of the countertop, and avoiding cross-contamination.  Guide them through simple recipes and the sequences of making a dish – which ingredient goes before which, and which cooking method is appropriate for which stage of the preparation.  How do you get your kids interested in cooking in the first place? By starting them off with recipes that they like and start slow. Begin by involving them in the recipe selection process and allow them to participate in one step of the cooking process. Have them bread the chicken for the chicken fingers. Let them whisk eggs. Allow them to mold the chocolate chip cookies that they’re about to bake. Let them be messy. It’s part of the learning process.   Swimming Take your kids to swimming lessons! Most kids love being wet, thus swimming should naturally be a very exciting activity for them. It also turns out that swimming is a major survival skill too! With drowning being one of the most common causes of fatal accidents in kids, the ability to swim is as core as it can get. Have your kids taught by professional swimming instructors so that they are equipped with the correct and efficient skills that would help them to be proficient at it. We’re not looking for the next Michael Phelps here (though that would be a sweet bonus). We’re just imparting an important survival skill.   Gardening If the recent global pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that people need to know how to grow food. Period.  Remember the food shortage? Yeah. Not cool. While it may not always be possible to live completely off the sustenance produced on our property – especially if you live in a city where the land is scarce and exorbitantly pricey – the knowledge and ability to cultivate food is a basic survival skill. If you have a larger property, starting a vegetable garden involving your children is a good way to start to pique their interest in sustenance growing. They get to see how their food goes from soil to the table, and that begets emotional investment so they appreciate their food more. For families with limited space, growing vegetables on a hydroponic system can be a good idea. Hydroponics requires relatively small space, is easy to maintain, and the produce can be harvested quickly. Gardening can be either time-consuming or relatively quick, so fit the activity in your kids' schedule – whether it’s after school or during a lengthy school break! Who knows what your kids’ takeaway will be when they grow up with this knowledge?   First Aid As parents, we would never wish that harm may befall our kids. Any good parents would always want to protect their children from misfortune and traumas, keep them “kids” for as long as possible, and let us adults do all the adulting on their behalf. But kids grow up, and the person who will less likely be to survive is the person who grew up with zero knowledge as to how to navigate emergency situations. We’re not talking about your kids needing to know how to start a heart with a defibrillator – we’re talking about administering basic first aid and reinforcing them with the knowledge of what to do during times of crisis. Start when they were really young – toddlers’ age – whenever they get a boo-boo. Narrate how you would put medication and dress their wounds – e.g. “I’m going to apply pressure to the wound to stop it from bleeding, then I’m washing the dirt with clean water. Now let me put this ointment, and then bandage. – Voila! You are okay!” No less important than the knowledge to dress wounds is the ability to stay calm when the situation is stressful. Teach them the slow deep inhale and release to alleviate stress and tension. This may take time and patience, but they’ll reap the result later on. Now, no matter where you live, there’s always an emergency hotline – like 911 in the US – to call whenever the situation requires it. Make sure your child knows how to make the call when the situation is dire. If it’s not possible to rely on the emergency hotline, make sure your kids know which trustworthy adults – other than mommy and daddy – they can call instead of 911 or its equivalents.   Baca Juga Artikel Lainnya: Rekomendasi 22 Terpilih! Sekolah Swasta dan Internasional di Denpasar – Informasi Lengkap, Biaya, dan Alamat “Free” Coding Bootcamp for IT Student 2023     Brawny Things  You want your kids to grow up strong, disease-free, and able to defend themselves. One way to achieve that is to accustom your kids to various physically taxing activities. Worry not though, physically demanding stuff can be made fun so that kids engage with it more readily.     Self-defense Self-defense for kids has become popular nowadays due to the prevalence of bullying in schools and creepy people potentially preying on their kids. Yes.  But self-defense does not always mean teaching them how to throw punches and kicks at their antagonizers. Self-defense can also come in forms such as verbal assertiveness to de-escalate tricky situations. Talk to a child counselor or therapist on how to best manage situations that call for verbal de-escalation that would best suit your children’s needs. Also, don’t be afraid to enroll your kids in a martial arts program because you think they might get aggressive. You see, in most martial arts disciplines, kids are going to be compelled to be pacifists.  Because the fact that you know how to swing, doesn’t mean that you should start – there are plenty of things to do to de-escalate and defend yourselves, and swing only if it’s the last, last, last of the resorts. Check your local martial arts club because they often host kids' classes with very accommodating schedules such as on weekends or after-school hours.    Sports One of the best ways to de-stress and get good cardiac health is through regular physical exercise.  Aside from the potential to grow up being more confident, assertive, and resilient, physical exercise can be a very fun way to kill time during your child’s non-academic hours. The swimming class we’ve discussed in the survival skill section is a good way to incorporate some fun exercise into your child’s life – but there are other fun exercises too. Understand what your child likes to get them excited about the activities. Girls can play soccer and basketball if they have an inclination to do so. Exercise is exercise and it shouldn’t be bound to gender. Or a simple daily walk in the park with the dog counts as regular exercise too. You and your kids will get the dose of physical stress that you need while bonding – whatever floats you and your kids’ boat. No excuses now. Get moving!     Brainy Stuff You want to keep your child’s brain stimulated as healthily frequently as possible – and no, that does not mean shoving more academic stuff down their throat in their spare time. There are ways to stimulate their brains and their unique brand of intelligence other than schoolwork.   Creative Channeling Creativity is one way to stimulate your child’s brain without risking the boredom that comes with the territory of academic learning. One of the most popular avenues of creative channeling is to make a movie – and you don’t need expensive paraphernalia either! Your regular-degular smartphones coupled with some Stop Motion Studio apps that can be found on your phone’s app stores should suffice. Movie production no matter how amateur engages several forms of skills, namely creative writing (for the script), imagination and visualization, and photography skills – which are all timely and relevant to the current state of the world. Who knows if your kids would get seriously hooked on movie-making and grow up understanding more complicated Adobe editing software and make it their life career in the future? You’ve got future Spielbergs on your hands. Plus, the kids get to have serious fun, and the family will have something to enjoy to watch for years to come! To incentivize this activity, include a lot of fun movies that are appealing and age-appropriate to watch during their allotted screen time – which is something that you don’t have to avoid.   Socializing Socializing is good for your child’s brain. It challenges the brain by keeping it active as it teaches them to recognize social cues and stimulate problem-solving. Because let’s be honest, kids are going to encounter conflicts during socialization, and their critical thinking and empathetic ability are going to be tested during such scenarios. Ways to get your kids to be social: Playdates! Invite their peers over to your home so that your kids can learn how to be good hosts. And who knows, your kids might get invited by their friends to another playdate in the future, during which you as parents might also get some free time to yourselves. Win-win! Enroll your kids in some social clubs or organizations—examples can include Boy/Girl Scouts or summer camps. Such clubs or camps are filled with positive activities that are probably not available in their schools. This gathering is also the perfect avenue for them to meet other kids from various backgrounds and may also help them make new friends. Remember, in the future as adults, they will need the skills necessary to network, so start them early! Social skills development starts at home. Good parents communicate with their kids. They show through examples. It’s also important for parents to understand whether their children need advice or just a pair of ears that listen.   Coding  A lot of children love to code. They just don’t know it yet! Coding is the gateway to STEM education interest, and in the digital world where everything is rapidly changing and competitive, it would be wise if your kids get a headstart in the race. Coding is for all kids of varying degrees of interests and aptitudes just like STEM transcends all kinds of inclinations. More than that, through coding, children could learn valuable skills through coding seeing that it keeps their critical thinking and problem-solving. This process will prepare them for a better future including wider possibilities in future careers. Coding encourages children to think logically and break down complex problems into smaller and solvable parts, seeing that in coding they will encounter errors or bugs in their code and the coders need to solve in order to make it work. At the same time, coding is a creative process, where children learn to think of creative ideas and build something from scratch, whether it's a simple game, a website, a blog, or an animation. Coding will also foster innovation and original thinking. Besides, children become adaptable by learning new languages in coding.   Luckily, there are many after-school coding classes nowadays that would cater to your children’s need to advance later in life – like Timedoor Academy’s coding classes! Timedoor Academy offers coding training programs specifically designed for children and beginners. Our teaching method is easy to understand, and we follow standardized curricula from both English and Japanese sources. Enroll your little ones today to equip them for the future’s changes. With more than 10,000 students globally and 300+ certified coding instructors, our coding academy is your best bet for children ages 8 and up. We provide opportunities for children to explore and develop their programming talents through free trial sessions. To learn more and enroll at our fun and exciting coding academy, please visit this link.

Blessed with a cocktail of curiosity and rapid growth, your children’s brains are like sponges when they’re just a wee bit young – and boy do they learn things very quickly. During this period, a lot of the essential and core life skills start to develop – though they don’t become fully adept at handling most complex real-life situations until they’re well in their teenage years.  Therefore, parents and guardians must supervise, facilitate, and structure their kids’ learning journey to cultivate the foundation of their life skills development. But what are the skills that parents need to pay attention to when they’re trying to raise their children? Let’s get into it!   Social Skills Do you want your kids to get along with others? Cultivate their social skills! Children with good social skills work well with their peers and are polite to their members of the community. They also tend to be good problem solvers who are also adept at conflict resolution. Social skills can be incorporated during playtime, school hours, or at home!   Sharing is Caring Your kids copy off whatever it is the humans around them are doing. When your children are surrounded by people who demonstrate sharing and caring, they will have good role models to emulate. The children will also need to frequently be in situations that allow them to learn about sharing through real-life practical experience. Ways to facilitate that may include: Children learn a lot from just watching what their parents do. When you exemplify a willingness to share in your family, it gives your children a great example to follow. Here are a few examples of how to get your children to be comfortable with sharing in the everyday situations: - Get your children to understand why sharing is caring. Provide examples through your own actions e.g. sharing your meals with other members of the family, watching shows on a mobile gadget together – all in the spirit of making the experience “fun” for everybody. You could also verbally advise your children to share their toys with the other kids. - Praise and affirm positive sharing behavior. This makes your kids feel validated and reinforces them to repeat the act in the future. Also, just like getting your kids to understand why sharing is caring, praise and affirmation can be done not just whenever they themselves performed acts of sharing, but when other people do so as well. E.g. when their cousins share their toys with your kids, validate the act by praising the good deed. Let your children see it and hope they will want to emulate the good act. - Prepare your children before they socialize - whether it’s before school, during playground sessions, or during playdates. This preparation will help them to be mentally equipped when the situation calls for them to share, and all the practices that they’ve had at home will kick in. Health All good parents want their children to grow up healthy and happy! While a healthy kid is always happy, a happy kid isn’t always clean. That’s okay though. There are things parents and guardians can do to ensure that they are equipped with the skills that would keep them healthy and happy for a lifetime.   Healthy Diet A healthy diet is the foundation of healthy living, but how do we inculcate the interest and habit of healthy nutrient intake in children? Hiding vegetables in fried food does not cut it – who are we fooling here? Deep-fried food isn’t the best for health thus we’re still feeding them unhealthy morsels. Kids become more willing and adventurous in their dietary choices when they are a part of the food-making in the kitchen. Yes. Your children will probably start eating their veggies if they see how the dish is prepared. It gives them a sense of belonging and investment. So, whenever it’s possible, involve your children in meal preps. Get them to whisk, help marinade proteins, tear vegetables, or knead doughs – anything that would get their hands to feel the food that they’re about to eat. Remember to keep the atmosphere happy. Happy kids absorb knowledge very quickly!   Physical Exercise The best way to avoid diseases is to prevent them, and exercise is one of the best ways to do so. Kids who are accustomed to physical activities have stronger cardiac health, sleep better, are more energetic, and are able to focus better when they’re learning.  Exercise also has a lot of psychological benefits for children. Fit kids grow up to be more confident, more assured in themselves, and more mentally resilient. Now, how do we develop an interest in exercise in your children? Start by making the physical sessions as fun as possible, and that does not include forcing them to do them. Use different terms for exercise so that they associate the activity with positive and fun ones. Try “play” or “game” instead of exercise when prompting your kids into exercise.   Hygiene There’s no age that’s too young to start developing good habits for hygiene. Most parents keep their kids on schedule for bath, hand washing, clothes changing, and teeth brushing without telling them explicitly the reason behind them. Being honest with your kids is probably the best way of getting them to understand why they do what they do. Communicate the reason behind each hygiene-maintaining action effectively and supervise them when they’re doing the acts. How heavy a supervision you impose on your children can vary depending on how old your kids are, but the end goal is to get them doing it even when you’re not compelling them to. Just like exercising, hygiene maintenance should always be fun for kids. Whenever possible, don’t raise your voice or do anything that would have your children assign traumas to the actions that they’re about to take. Be patient. They’re kids after all!   Emotional Skills Your children’s feelings matter. Their ability to understand their feelings and the feelings of the humans around them are contingent on their emotional health.    Emotional Regulation Nobody just pops out of the womb being emotionally stable. Nobody. Kids, especially younger ones can have mood swings that are very difficult to anticipate. Figuring out the triggers can also often prove to be difficult. Therefore, helping them to regulate their emotional state is one of your core duties as parents.    There are, though, some kids who are born with the natural propensity to understand how to regulate their emotions (those children will still have unreasonable tantrums though) but be discouraged not if your little ones don’t seem to be as adept as the neighbor’s children. When it comes to nature vs nurture, nurture almost always reigns supreme. Providing your kids with a stable, loving, and fun environment to grow up in is very important. When given a conducive environment, children’s journey in learning emotional regulation will be much easier.  A Romanian orphanage was the subject of a study on the paramountcy of nurture when it comes to children’s emotional regulation. During the research, children who were randomly assigned to loving and caring foster families exhibited better emotional regulation compared to the ones who stayed in the orphanage.   Empathy This is a core skill that is seriously lacking in a lot of adults nowadays, it seems. Empathy is the ability to feel how another human is feeling given a scenario and then positively respond with affection. This skill requires time and consistency to develop. How do we facilitate our children’s empathy development? Start by showing empathy with your own: - Ask them questions that validate their feelings – for example, “Do you feel scared when I turn off the light before you sleep? It’s okay. I know it can be scary to not be able to see anything, so I will stay with you until you fall asleep!” - Discuss with your kids the feelings of others – for example, “You know, Loni feels sad whenever you pull her hair in the playground. Hair pulling hurts Loni. It wouldn’t feel good to you if someone pulled your hair, right? So, please don’t do that when you’re playing with Loni.”   - Teach them to perform acts of empathy – for example, “Let’s buy some Christmas gifts for the kids at the orphanage! Then we get to be happy together with them, and they’ll have something nice to get through Christmas!”   Linguistics Life would be easier for your children if they are able to understand and communicate effectively with other people. Great linguistic skills can also broaden their horizons, which is important in an increasingly global society.   Effective Communication This is another core life skill that must be developed since your kids are very young. Children who are able to convey their feelings and thoughts in society tend to do better in school and are well-liked by people. They also are more likely to establish good and healthy relationships with their peers because they are able to communicate effectively so that the others could understand their intention without misconstruing.   Listening An effective communicator is someone who listens well. Just like all of the other skills we have mentioned before, inculcating this skill starts with the parents and guardians modeling this action in front of their children. Again, examples are the best teachers. Whenever your kids are saying something to you, try repeating back whatever they’re saying to them to show that you comprehended whatever it was they were saying. Follow up with an open-ended question – e.g. “Did you say you had a lot of fun at James' playdate? How fun was it?” The listening skill also teaches your kids about turn-taking during a conversation. A technique that is commonly used in therapy is to get a cushion or a plushie and have the person who has the object speak while the others listen. Then your kid needs to pass the object to another person when they’re done speaking.   Be a Great Conversationalist A great conversationalist can always get along with people that come from various backgrounds. This is an important skill when your kids grow up and are ready to network. Instil the passion for reading and effective research to broaden your children’s knowledge, so that they’re able to relate and resonate whenever they’re involved in varying topics of conversation. Encourage them to find the humor in things, whenever appropriate. Funny people always get friends everywhere.   Foreign Languages In an increasingly global society, it is no longer an option for people to at least be bilingual – it’s a necessity. Research encourages second language acquisition quite early in a child’s life – because it’s easier for them when their brains are still at the golden period of rapid growth. They can definitely acquire it later in life, but it’ll be much harder for them. Now, how do we get our children to start learning a second language early in life? One way is by assigning an adult companion to speak one language, and another adult speaking another. Your kids will associate which adult speaks which language, and they tend to be able to switch to another more seamlessly. Also, don’t forget to make the learning experience fun! Remember, they’re kids. Involve songs or graphic books that come in a language that they’re trying to learn, and be consistent. Don’t forget to take breaks though, because although the experience can be fun, learning is also exhausting. You don’t want your kids to burn out and associate language learning with an unsavory experience. Cognitive Skills The world operates on complex ideas, and your kids make up the generation that will inherit the earth and its advancement. Developing their cognitive ability allow them to process complex ideas, be assertive, and solve problems. Never discourage your children when they’re exploring, being creative, or asking questions – all of those are crucial in developing effective thinking skills.   Critical Thinking Many grown-ups still struggle with problem-solving skills. Maybe it’s because it wasn’t encouraged in their generation to think critically and were forced to conform instead. Don’t do that to your kids! Now, getting your children to develop the ability to think critically can be a challenge as it requires some form of emotional management, resilience, and a conducive situation to take on the learning process – basically, all of the 4 above mentioned factors (physical well-being, effective communication, good health and well-rested, and a good social environment) to be optimum for the journey to be pleasant. As parents, it is imperative to exercise patience when guiding and facilitating critical-thinking learning, do a lot of research, and answer your children’s questions well no matter how silly you may think they are!   STEM Education We can’t have advancement if we’re not well-versed in STEM! STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) is a branch of discipline your kids definitely don’t want to miss out on. As the world constantly evolves and gets more complex, those who are left behind are those who are clueless about how technology works. STEM education combines the four disciplines harmoniously in a learning session – and it’s found to be more effective than segregating them in separate sessions. Children who are educated in STEM early on are found to be better at critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, collaboration, and effective communication. It also doesn’t hurt that STEM-related jobs are in demand and will still be in demand in the future, so prepare your kids for a good career prospect by educating them early! While many schools nowadays have incorporated STEM-style classroom sessions, more often than not, these schools are private and expensive. Worry not though – we at Timedoor can serve your kids' STEM needs through our coding classes that are suitable for ages 8 and above. Our classes are small in size, so each child will receive optimum attention from our instructors. Coding is the gateway for further STEM pursuits, so it truly will serve your children well to get them started in coding.   For more information about Timedoor Coding Academy, please visit this link.  

It’s hard to pick a school for your children, huh? Choosing where your children would spend a good chunk of their days to receive formal education is one of the most challenging milestones in the lives of parents and guardians. So many things to consider. So little time – your children are growing up as you’re reading this.  Parents in the olden days seemed to have less of a stress when it came to picking schools for their kids. They tended to just haul their children to whichever schools were nearest that are within budget, and they were inclined to almost blindly trust the teachers that they would do the job well. The curriculums that were in place and how they were taught were pretty much standardized. Students in those days were expected to just flourish under a uniform system, and when they couldn’t keep up academically, the blame was almost always put on them – they didn’t study hard enough, they played too much, or worse:  They were resigned to the belief that they were just plain stupid. Yeah, no.  The current science understands that children came in all sizes and forms, and that variety includes needs that are unique. Some children are just born with the dispositions that are meant for the standardized curriculum while some others are not.  The famous quote "Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." is often misattributed to Albert Einstein (source is unclear), but that error does not diminish the validity of the quote – you can’t view children as monolithic beings. Your children are unique and all of them need schools that would bring the best out of them that would cater to their specific needs. This is why picking the right school for your children is important, and having the right set of information is half the battle.   Let’s get into the factors to consider when you’re trying to choose which school is best for your children! Types of Schools Just as there are many kinds of children, each with distinct needs and interests, schools also come in a variety of types. The types of schools available are also dependent on where you are living or planning to enrol your children. A few examples will be given as follows:   Public Schools Depending on where you are located, public schools can also be known as state schools or government schools. Public schools are either wholly funded or partly funded by the local government using taxpayers' money allocated for education purposes. A typical public school has a large classroom size – often accommodating more than 20 pupils at a time with schedules that are usually rigid and uniform across the state or country. Public schools are regulated and controlled directly by education departments of each country’s ministry of education or its equivalents. Public schools either charge parents or guardians relatively affordable tuition fees or are entirely free. Public schools in some countries also provide meals and lunches for a very low cost or for free. In a lot of countries, admission to this type of school usually is contingent on your address of residency – meaning that your children can only enrol on schools that are within relative proximity to your home. Public schools typically serve pre-kindergarten to secondary/high school-aged children. If your children are enrolled in a public school, you can expect your children to study the curriculums that have been designed by the state’s education department, be exposed to a large number of students that come from various socio-economic backgrounds, and pay very little or nothing for their education.   Private Schools Private or independent schools (interchangeable depending on countries) are typically funded through the tuition fees they charge the parents or guardians, or are partly funded by the organization that they are tied to. In general, private schools do not receive funding from the state government so they could cost you some pretty penny if you decide to enrol your children in this type of school. How private schools are run differs from country to country. In some countries, the curriculums that are being taught in private schools still generally adhere to their respective state education department with some liberty to add and modify the structure. In some other, private schools are almost wholly independent, meaning that these schools are in charge of their own governance, finances, and curriculums. Religious schools (Catholic schools, Madrasahs, etc) typically fall under the umbrella of private schools in some jurisdictions. Some religious states can have religious schools as their public schools.   Charter Schools Charter schools are, in essence, a marriage between public schools and private schools, in which they receive public funding but are governed privately. Charter schools enjoy the autonomy of governance and are much more flexible in designing their curriculums and school hours, but they have to be accountable for the performance and welfare of the students under their care.  In short, they still have to answer to the government if and when their student's well-being and academic needs are not being met according to each country’s respective accountability standards.   Curriculum  People often measure the excellence of a school by the kind of curriculum it offers. It makes sense because a curriculum dictates students’ experience throughout their academic life. As parents, it is your duty to understand your children’s individual needs and interests, and factor them into which schools would they fit best. The following are 2 curriculums that are globally reputable with more and more schools adopting them wholly or imparting aspects of them into their standard curriculums:   Cambridge Assessment International Education Designed and formulated by the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, this is one of the foremost curriculums and is recognized by many countries. The Cambridge curriculum is well-established with the reputation of holistically educating students in 4 fields – Science, Mathematics, Humanities, and Languages. Around 10,000 schools globally have adopted the Cambridge way of educating students. This curriculum trains students in disciplines such as critical thinking, effective research, and analytical skills. The Cambridge qualification (A-Level) is suitable for students who know what they want to do in their further academic studies, and they have a degree of liberty to pick and choose the subjects they study that would best fit their aptitudes and interests. Students educated in the Cambridge curriculum will have a competitive advantage that will set them apart from their peers who are studying under less globally-recognized curriculums.   International Baccalaureate (IB) This education framework was developed in Switzerland and is currently being offered in 4,500+ schools across the globe. Students under the IB program have more freedom to curate their own learning experience compared to its Cambridge equivalent.  Aside from the regular academic subjects, students are also encouraged to be independent thinkers by way of having them take on projects of their choosing while being guided by the teachers The IB qualification is recognized worldwide, thus, students with an IB diploma tend to fare very well in a global setting. STEM-focused education framework deserves an honourable mention as it is progressive, time-relevant, and is much needed in an increasingly digital world. Many schools in a lot of countries are starting to impart STEM education methodologies in their science and mathematics classrooms, so you may want to include this when doing your due diligence as parents or guardians. Lastly, parents also need to consider the diversity of co-curricular/extra-curricular activities that are being offered by the school. The availability of diverse extra-curricular activities enriches the learning experience and bolsters your children’s education holistically. Look for schools that offer STEM, sports, and art-related activities to engage your children after school.   Classroom Size & Population Diversity These two factors affect the effectiveness of students’ learning. Educators and academic institutions worldwide are becoming increasingly aware of the positive impacts that can be created by prioritizing them in schools.   Classroom Size Matters A study that was done in the late 1980s on Class-Size Reduction (CSR) in Tennessee under the name of Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) showed a direct correlation between smaller class sizes and students’ academic performance.  This study compared the effectiveness of learning between two classes of differing student densities. One class was filled with just 15 students, while the other class was populated by 22 students, with teachers randomly assigned between the two classes. The result of the study revealed that the classroom with fewer students performed comparatively better than the classroom with more students. Quantitatively, the smaller classroom performance was on par with students who had received an extra three months of schooling. This result makes sense as a smaller classroom size means that teachers and facilitators have more time to focus on each student during a classroom period. A smaller population can also mean that there’s less distraction when class is in session Population Diversity As the world’s population is becoming more interconnected with the advent of digitization, children are being exposed to cultural identities and features that are diverse and different from themselves. Diversity does not only include race, skin colour, and ethnicity, but also religions, socio-economic standing, and mother tongues.  Students that feel represented by their peers and the teaching staff may feel a sense of belonging in that school. That feeling of being able to relate between teachers and students may create a savoury experience for learners, which would incentivize students to want to be in school and ultimately gain a valuable education.   Teaching Staff & School Facilities The way the school is set up, the quality of teachers that are hired, and the facilities to accommodate a conducive learning experience are important factors to consider when choosing a school for your children.   Qualified Teachers A quality teacher is someone who is patient, kind, knowledgeable, and an excellent communicator, which are qualities that you hope will be passed down to your children. Remember, during these formative years in school, your children’s brains behave like a “sponge”, in which they absorb a lot of information and stimulus that they’re exposed to. As parents and guardians, it is incumbent on you to visit your children’s prospective schools, meet with the principals and teaching staff, and ask a lot of questions. What kind of formal qualifications do the teachers have? How do they resolve conflicts between students? What is the best way to communicate with the teachers? How do they teach the subjects? A good teacher should show enthusiasm and a love for teaching. They should also be able to appease the worries that you as parents might have. Again, communicate your questions, and ask a lot of them. Last but not least, look for schools that are staffed with teachers that are trained to perform first-aid procedures such as Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and abdominal thrusts (Heimlich Maneuver), and are equipped with the knowledge to deal with common allergy triggers and symptoms.   School Facilities Depending on where you live and your socio-economic background, concerns over school facilities may vary. Those of you who live in tropical countries may be able to get by comfortably with classroom fans, but for students in countries that experience winter, working heaters are a necessity. Also, with the burgeoning need for being digitized, schools nowadays need to be able to accommodate IT education. Up-to-date computers, WiFi connections, and tablets may be considered basic needs as they are able to better facilitate learning in general. Digitization has also made remote learning possible and necessary in some cases, so the school would need to cater to this specific way of learning. It is also important to consider, especially for parents and guardians with children who have special needs and disabilities, to choose schools with infrastructures that are able to accommodate their specific conditions. Ramps, bannisters, Braille writing systems in strategic locations, and general accessibility are getting more and more normalized as a part of a school’s basic infrastructure. Wealthier private schools that charge premium tuition fees tend to come with premium facilities such as air-conditioned or heated classrooms. They may also be equipped with state-of-the-art gymnasiums, swimming pools, running tracks, and multi-purpose courts just to name a few. It is nice to have your children studying in a school that is able to cater to each student's unique and often changing needs, but don't break your bank and compromise the quality of life of your family. Remember, as long as your children’s basic physiological and psychological needs are fulfilled, they can thrive in a decent school.   Budget The budgetary concern is one of the major factors that affect parents' and guardians' decision making. As mentioned previously, public schools are typically the less expensive (or free) option whereas private schools cost money – often very expensive, charging upwards of USD 150,000+ (Collège Alpin Beau Soleil, Switzerland) for their annual tuition fee. Sound financial planning on the parent's or guardians' part is therefore imperative if one chooses to enrol their children on a private school because, for some families, the tuition fee alone would make up a considerable chunk of the household’s overhead. Parents and guardians may want to set up a special fund either in the form of savings or insurance/investments. Your fund in savings typically will not beget you as much growth compared to education insurance schemes. Education insurance, however, is a much riskier path as the funds will be managed as an investment by the bodies you choose to purchase the policies from. Whatever you choose to do when it comes to funding your children’s education though, it is best that it does not burden the household too much that it compromises the family’s comfort at home. Remember, your children would typically spend more time at home than they do at school, so observance of your children and other members of the family’s basic needs (sustenance, clothing, and shelter) should be your top priority.   Location Where your children’s future school is located is a major consideration factor. Location affects commute time, accessibility, and overall comfort for your children. Your area of residence is sometimes a factor that affects enrolment in public schools per some countries’ regulations. Private and charter schools are generally able to accept students regardless of their zip codes. If you have a personal vehicle, then the location of your children's school may not be as crucial a factor. If you don’t, however, then your children’s school need to be accessible by public transport, located in a safe neighbourhood, and preferably within proximity to public health facilities, law enforcement, and fire stations.   Conclusion There are many factors to consider when you want to choose a school for your children and they can be overwhelming. You may take your time to understand how each factor ranks on your priority list, but do make your children’s needs, interests, and aptitudes the highest on that list.