Mums reveal what makes them cry

Predicting the future success of our children is impossible. However, what is possible is recognizing and helping them attain the skills and attributes they will need to be successful in their learning, work and personal lives. We are in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2030, we will need to reskill more than 1 billion people, as the job landscape will have been transformed. Even just to reskill so many people, leaders will need to be creative and collaborative. More than ever before, the world will need critically-thinking problem-solvers. So how do we prepare our children for this very different world? We start by educating them to have both the hard and so-called soft skills needed to be the future changemakers. Fairgreen International School in The Sustainable City was founded upon a mission to teach students to be solution-minded, innovative achievers. Delivering on their mission through an exciting International Baccalaureate programme that emphasizes innovation and teaching students about the importance of sustainability, the school implements a hands-on, project-based approach to learning that encourages inquiry, risk-taking and creativity, all of which support students in developing a solution-oriented mindset. Fairgreen Head of Science, Anthony Copeland, shares an example of one of many skills he has been honing among students: computational thinking. This is looking at a complex problem, drilling down to define what the problem is, developing possible solutions, and then presenting these solutions so that they are understandable to a human or a computer. There are so many correlated hard and soft skills students are building from this way of thinking, including coding, mapping, data literacy, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and more. We asked Mr. Copeland to share more on this topic:

Why is it important for students to learn computational thinking?

In today’s computer-dependent world, this is a critical tool that students need to learn. You might be tempted to say that this thinking skill concerns only our technology teachers but in fact, there are lots of ways to integrate computational thinking into different subjects. As computational thinking pioneer, Steven Wolfram, who developed the web-based AI information tool, Wolfram Alpha, noted in his 2016 article ‘‘How to Teach Computational Thinking’’, there is hardly an academic subject left that doesn’t have an emerging field containing the word ‘‘computational’’.

How are you teaching computational thinking?

Fairgreen is incorporating computational thinking skills into our new Middle Years Programme (MYP) science curriculum. We have begun by integrating activities that teach science with block-based or typed programming. For example, in a space-themed unit, students are challenged to consider the decision trees that might allow a Mars rover to solve problems. These are then used to program LEGO EV3 robots to navigate an unfamiliar environment. Along with a focus on explicitly teaching computational thinking skills, we have also invested in sets of microcontrollers and sensors, predominantly Arduino Uno boards. These enable students to combine using electronics and programming to build machines that collect and process real world data. They are able to design their own machines for advanced authentic scientific inquiries. Demystifying the software and hardware, that modern technology is made of, enables our students to use it as a medium for creation. Whilst you don’t need technology to practice computational thinking, it can be a useful approach to incorporate into any subject area. If you’d like to learn more about Fairgreen’s innovative approach to education, join their next Virtual Open Day on “Developing Future Changemakers” on Wednesday, 17 March, at 11am. Register via www.fairgreen.ae/virtual

Age is just a number. And with younger and younger talents sprouting up all over the world, this couldn't be more true. So with International Women's Day coming up, we wanted to cast the spotlight on five super cool girl entrepreneurs that are rocking it.

1. Lily Born

When Lily was just 7, she noticed that her grandpa, who has Parkinson’s Disease, was knocking over his cup a lot, creating spills that Grandma needed to clean up. Inspired, she came up with the idea for the Kangaroo Cup: a three-legged cup that won’t tip over. After prototyping for several years, first with hand-moldable plastic and then with clay at a pottery studio, she had a cup ready for production. Now she has sold tens of thousands of the cups all over the world.

2. Nina Devania

At just age 14, Nina Devani started her business, DevaniSoft, specializing in computer security software. She launched her first app, Prompt Me Nina, after her father’s Facebook account was hacked. Having trouble remembering his various different passwords, Devani came up with a solution – an app which would prompt you on both usernames and passwords without having to give away your actual passwords.

3. Mikaila Ulmer

After getting stung by bees a couple of times, Mikaila decided not to let her fear for them get the better of herself and rather learn more about them and what they do for our ecosystem. Around the same time, Mikaila entered a few children's business competitions where she put a new twist to her Great Granny Helen's lemonade recipe by adding honey from bees. Now, Me & the Bees Lemonade has been in business for more than 10 years and gives a percentage of their sales to help save our Earth's bees.

4. Alina Morse

At age 7, Alina was at a bank with her father, when she was offered a lollipop that her father stopped her from eating, saying that it would rot her teeth. She began thinking about how to make a lollipop that wouldn't. After 2 years of online research, at least 100 unsuccessful experiments in their home oven, stove, and microwave, and collaboration with a food scientist and her dentist on the ingredients, she finally found her magic formula. Today she is the CEO and founder of Zolli Candy, selling sugar free lollipops called Zollipops, hard candy called Zolli Drops, and taffy called Zaffi Taffy.

5. Zuriel Oduwole

Best known for her work on the advocacy for the education of girls in Africa, Zuriel Elise Oduwole became the world’s youngest filmmaker in 2014 with her documentary, 'A Promising Africa'. Zuriel has met with 24 presidents and prime ministers in line with her education advocacy work, and was listed in the New African Magazine‘s list of “100 Most Influential People in Africa”.

From peacefulness to utter exuberance, surely you remember the range of emotions you experienced as a child playing outside, no matter the season. The astounding psychological and developmental responses children experience with time spent under the sun, walking through a freshly cut lawn, climbing a tree, chasing butterflies, or digging in a garden, is why more and more educators seek to provide schools where nature is at the core of the curriculum, especially during the early years. While evidence in countless journals suggests that access to nature and green space provides children with myriad cognitive, emotional, and physical benefits, such as increased ability to concentrate, improved academic performance, reduced stress and aggression levels, and reduced risk of obesity, still children are spending less time outdoors than ever before. Beyond the psychological and physical benefits of nature-based early years programmes, many educators, environmentalists, scholars, and parents are becoming increasingly aware of how an early connection with nature will help foster in children a natural desire to care about sustainability; they grow up with a propensity toward protecting and caring for the environment. Located in The Sustainable City, Fairgreen International School was one of the first schools in Dubai to open with a mission to embrace and promote sustainability in all its forms among its students, starting from early childhood. We spoke with Fairgreen’s Early Years Coordinator, Cheryl Wood, about how the school is fulfilling its mission to connect students to the natural world:

How do children benefit from learning outdoors?

Children at a young age need to have time to connect with nature and to begin to understand the world around them. Human beings are naturally curious from birth, and allowing children time outdoors broadens their scope of curiosity, as well as helps them to develop their gross motor control and their physical growth. Studies have shown how increased time outdoors can help to support children's eye development, for example. Learning simply should not be restricted by four walls. It must span to the outside world.

How does Fairgreen's Early Childhood programme incorporate learning from nature?

In a typical school year, our location in The Sustainable City allows us to connect with nature through the abundance of activities and natural environments prevalent outside our back door, such as feeding the farm animals in the animal sanctuary and duck pond, observing how to care for them and what they need to grow. This links with our IB Units of Inquiry such as ‘Sharing The Planet’ and ‘How the World Works.’ Children enjoy learning about how to grow and care for plants in our biodome and garden plot. It helps children with their early phonics skills to go on listening walks around the community and hear the wide range of different sounds such as the donkeys braying, ducks quacking, birds tweeting and water trickling from the fountains. These are sounds that many children do not get to experience within Dubai on a daily basis. Due to Covid-related restrictions, students haven’t been able to get out into The Sustainable City as much this school year as schools are not allowed any off-campus activities. To compensate, students have been growing and tending their own gardens on the terraces outside their classrooms. Our secondary students recently designed and planted a new rooftop garden and our early years students will soon begin tending to a portion of this garden as well. We also have tower gardens where students are growing herbs and small plants. In addition to time spent playing in our ergonomically designed, multi-sensory playground, early years students ride our three-wheel bicycles around campus nearly every day, helping them develop gross motor control while also allowing them to reap in the fresh air and sunshine.

A big emphasis at Fairgreen is on helping students develop a passion for sustainability. How are teachers doing this at these early stages of student development?

Sustainability is something that we talk with the children about continually. We recycle within the classroom. We encourage children to bring in reusable items from home to use in their craft projects, choosing reusable materials over glitter and sequins. We have created classroom environments that are sustainable and link to nature. We avoid bright colour decor and instead use natural colours and resources as these help to develop children's concentration levels and the materials are sustainable. We plan in Units of Inquiry that link to how to use our tower gardens and we teach children how we can grow food sustainably. We explain to the children about conserving water and electricity. We select students to be light monitors who tell us when we can turn the lights off and make sure that we switch them off when we are leaving a classroom.

Why do you feel it's important for young children to learn about the concepts of sustainability from an early stage?

Children are the future of the planet. We need them to have a solid understanding of the importance of sustainability so that they will grow into adults who will change the world. Join Fairgreen International School’s “Early Years Discovery” Virtual Open Day on Wednesday, 13th January, at 11am via Zoom to meet Fairgreen’s Director and the Early Years Coordinator and learn more about their Early Years programme, IB curriculum, emphasis on sustainability, and culture of care and wellbeing. Click here to register.

It may be some time ago, but remember when your teddy was your best friend, or when you used LEGO blocks to build your own little world within your bedroom walls? Childhood is such a wonderful time of magic and imagination, and major credit is due to the toys our boys and girls hold the most near and dear. https://youtu.be/nuMcGbh2HpQ This festive season, we hopped aboard Santa's sleigh, and along with him, we were determined to sprinkle some of this childhood magic to the kids in the UAE. We teamed up with Babyshop for our 12 Days of Kidzmas, where one lucky child won a popular toy, each day for 12 days. Plus we shared some extra festive cheer by sending out special gifts from Babyshop to some very excited kids. Focused on encouraging play this holiday season, the 12 Days of Kidzmas giveaways included Kindi Dolls designed to teach your little ones some valuable skills like being less fussy with eating and a Play-Doh Doctor Drill 'n Fill Dough Set which introduces your kiddos to dental hygiene – through play dough. Babyshop has a wide range of toys to help your child tap into their creativity - and now more than ever, with digital devices becoming a normal part of our young children's lives, it is important to encourage some plain old play. Along with giving your kids the freedom to think outside the box and explore both the physical world and their inner selves, toys can also be wonderful tools to develop different motor skills like dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Toys are also a great way to encourage engagement with siblings and friends and helps to develop your little one's social skills. From early development toys to the latest action figures and dolls, Babyshop offers the best toy brands for your boys and girls. Find your child's next favourite toy in the comfort and safety of your nearest Babyshop store, or online at Babyshopstores.com

Dubai 30x30 Fitness Challenge is back and we're already on our feet and moving! With a month-long line up of exciting fitness events and wellness-focused entertainment, there's so much to choose from. Best of all, there are also multiple ways to get your kids involved in all the action.