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Review : City Guide Bangkok with Kids by Little Voyageurs

I’m often asked how I manage my schedule. Having our own company, taking care of a little girl, cooking and cleaning – there’s a lot to do and the days often pass by in a blur.

No matter how busy life gets, my husband and I always make an effort to take our little girl to explore the world outside and enjoy new environments.  That’s why having a Bangkok city guide, which reviews kid-friendly places, is extremely helpful and removes a lot of hassle for this busy mother.

Tips for choosing the right city guide for you

  • Look at the style of the writer
  • Have a little look at their recommended spots and pictures
  • Make sure it’s well-designed – the guide should be handy, easy to carry, can fit in your bag

City Guide Bangkok with kids by Little Voyageurs

  • City Guide Bangkok is written by the founder of Little Voyageurs
  • The package comes with 2 foldable guides which is convenient to keep in your bag.
    1. Places to visit with children in Bangkok (cafes & restaurants, indoor & outdoor playgrounds, museums, art studios and markets)
    2. Road trips outside Bangkok (Beach, river, island)
  • The writer, Charlotte – a French expat mama of 4 based in Bangkok, has years of experience on planning a trips with her children. Her tone is informal and conversational, like you’re talking to a fellow mother.
  • Eco-friendly packaging is my thing , so 5 Stars from me!
    Sustainable and light, can’t go wrong with that.

 

 

Thoughtful designs

I am a designer so I love to observe the little details in products.

  • Minimalist style
    Little Voyageurs chooses positive colour group like pastels which evoke feelings of growth, childhood, playfulness, femininity, laughter, and games. This style is a great fit for a family guide.
  • Wat Arun pattern
    Charlotte incorporated an ancient Thai pattern from the buddha temple wall, at Wat Arun, into her creation. Wat Arun is one of the most iconic temples in Bangkok. The pattern is carefully designed with exquisite floral patterns of many different colours.

Photo of Wat Arun by Ratt Y. on Unsplash

  • Map of Bangkok
    The map illustration is easy to read and makes it simple to plan out a trip. In my opinion, it’s so much better reading a map from paper than scrolling through maps tediously online.

When our daughter is old enough, I can’t wait to bring out this city map again and play a game with her – let’s find the hidden gems in Bangkok! The map can be used as a tool to teach children about geography.

 

Is it still worth buying a printed city guide?

Little Voyageurs has 2 options on their city guide (print and PDF format). Now that you can access the internet from pretty much anywhere through WiFi, is there even a need for paper copy? The bottom line is, it’s really up to you. It’s your choice. In my case, I like the physical paper. Below are my thoughts on why print format is preferable to me.

  • I easily get distracted by looking at my phone/ ipad.
  • I want to enjoy the trip with my family without having to look at the screen.
  • Screens may drain more of our mental resources. By scrolling down the — which requires a reader to consciously focus on both the text and how they are moving it — drains more mental resources than reading on the paper.
  • Print versions have all the information in one place.
  • I can mark things with a pen and access the information anywhere even in the absence of internet.
  • I like to read while lying on my cozy couch in anticipation of our trip (not so easy to do with electronics).

Who should read this?

    • Busy moms who like to take children out frequently.
    • If you are planning to travel in Bangkok, but don’t understand much about this city, this guide will be very useful for you.
    • If your family lives a sustainable lifestyle, there are so many eco-friendly spots in this guide.
    • If Thailand is very foreign to you, this will make your life easier.

About The Book ‘The Roots of Childhood’

Hello there, we’re Penny and Max and we’ve written a book for you called “The Roots of Childhood.” Let us explain a little about the book for you.

The “Roots of Childhood” documents our journey of nature-inspired play with our first child and all the magical activities we enjoyed with her at home. This book is a tool for learning and development, but it’s equally a tool for beautiful bonding moments with your child at home. These are eternal moments that you will cherish, as you watch their eyes glow and their imagination flourish.

We’re sure you can relate, there is nothing more fulfilling and wonderful than playing with your child and watching them evolve and grow before your eyes. Our activities are all designed to assist growth and development of your child in key areas such as: social, emotional, fine-motor skills, language and communication and problem-solving.

BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHORS

Firstly, this book comes from the perspective of a mum and dad parenting for the first time. We have been through all the joys, struggles and roller-coaster of emotions that comes with parenting.

Additionally, we’re coming from the perspective of a teacher (Max) and a designer (Penny) with 10-years professional experience in the field. With this book, our goal is to help you create a thriving learning space at your home, which can host engaging learning activities and spark moments  of endless inspiration and imagination. We will help you do this using natural resources and tools, which are kind to the environment.

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE BOOK

How did the book come about?  Let us recount the background story a little for you.

In the midst of a worldwide lockdown in 2020, we took some action to ensure that our child was not deprived of nature. We designed activities at home, which incorporated nature and slowly, but very organically, our daughter grew to love and respect nature.

With natural, open-ended tools, she played, learned, role-played, problem-solved and delighted in sensory play. Home became a place where our daughter thrived. It wasn’t easy by any stretch, but we’ve attempted to make it easy for you by providing a step-by-step guide to 40 of our best nature-inspired play activities.

There are a variety of different activities in this book for you to enjoy, from the messy play style to building three-dimensional forests where animals can thrive! Themes or ‘unit studies’ are important in a child’s learning process, so we’ve given you some interesting themes to work with. Please use the book as you please and you can join at any page – we’ve designed the book so you can dip in for inspiration at any moment.

40 HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES

The timing of our debut book, “The Roots of Childhood” is profound as our earth is struggling cope with all the devastation caused by humanity – pollution on a mass scale, deforestation and of course, our carbon emissions.

We’ve included plenty of activities inside the book which help children learn about our environment through fun, sensory play activities.

The book itself has 10 parts and the activities were classified into 6 categories – Plants, Animals, Food, Art and Craft, Mindfulness, Mathematics.

We give you 40 hands-on activities to set up at home, with the possibility of hundreds of extension activities beyond that. The early years are a journey to be enjoyed and savoured as our children learn and soak up the world at a faster rate than they ever will again.

NATURE AND SUSTAINABILITY

As for our focus on nature-inspired play, we’re passionate about this because we’re in the midst of an environmental crisis. Our relationship with nature is more important than ever before. As parents and educators, we all have a responsibility to raise the next generation of environmentally conscious adults.

With this book, we wanted to give you a tool to help you raise your child with nature and help them stay on track with their development, while they’re at home with you. No one can impact our children’ learning more than we can – and all the magic happens at home.

You will notice with everything about the book, as you read it, that nature and sustainability is always at the forefront of our minds, from the non-toxic ink to the natural hessian fabric we use for the packaging, we want to show you that we do practice what we preach and we truly adore nature.

REGGIO EMILIA INSPIRED DESIGN

You might notice that we modelled our activities on the Reggio Emilia philosophy, which is a child-led, open-ended approach that we’ve learned and Max has studied in depth.

The Reggio approach was our personal choice because it matched our view of children as strong capable learners with infinite potential. We connected with this philosophy and quite simply, we fell in love with the Reggio approach. We’ve shared our connection to Reggio in the book and given some tips how to set-up Reggio Emilia style learning ‘provocations’ at your home.

These provocations have been instrumental in our child’s development and we have seen with our own eyes the positive impact they have on children. They empower children, give them confidence and entice a child’s natural hunger for learning and exploration. We hope you are willing to try and see for yourself!

Indeed, central to the Reggio approach is designing an inviting, attractive learning space so we’ve given you lots of tips and advice in the book how to achieve this. With the words, we’ve provided clear, vivid images to help guide you step-by-step. The magic happens at home when a child has the space, the tools and the environment which communicates to them like a sweet musical melody.

We share the Reggio philosophy that a child’s learning and development is directly influenced by the stimuli surrounding them. With Penny’s experience in designs, we feel that this book can really help you achieve a learning space which can foster limitless growth and development.

By the way, our home is a humble apartment in the concrete jungle that is Bangkok, so if we can do it, you can also do it – no matter how big or small your space is at home.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM ‘THE ROOTS OF CHILDHOOD?’

You may have already realised, we’re nature lovers and we care very deeply about our environment. We would like to present this book as a useful tool for all parents and educators, who are environmentally conscious and support sustainable play. You may not support the Reggio Emilia philosophy specifically, but other similar pedagogies exist such as the Montessori approach.

Anyone who is looking for child-centred activities and inspiration can benefit from reading this book. Equally, these activities can be incorporated into a homeschooling curriculum as they support all the key areas of development.

The book can sit at home and be opened at any moment you need inspiration for your activities. Similarly, the book has a place in alternative schools who incorporate nature and sustainable play into their curriculum . Schools who place the environment as a fundamental in a child’s early years  education could certainly gain something from this book.

 

 IN SUMMARY

With the activities provided in this book, together with our design tips and vivid images provided, we believe that you can create a thriving learning environment at home.

Your home can be a place where you relax, eat, sleep and also revel in your child’s personal development. Where new ideas and inspirational “eureka” moments are achieved on a daily basis.

Our environment at home can empower our children and in turn, we can be empowered as we observe, document their progress, discover their preferences and learn who our child is inside out.

Finally, materials and learning tools at home can communicate with our children, provoke their limitless potential, boundless imagination and best of all, Mother Nature provides all that we need. We’ve shared with you everything we have learned on our journey so far and we hope it helps you on your journey too.

 

Gift Guide for a 3-Year-Old

Oh, what gifts to buy a three-year-old child???

This year we’ve been enjoying the thrilling journey of a three-year-old child whose thirst for exploration knows no bounds. During this year, she’s grown in confidence around us and other people, and learned how to express herself fully – across a wide spectrum of emotions! Her physical abilities have made spectacular leaps and she’s literally leaping all over the place now –  jumping from heights being her go-to-move! Ahhhhhhh!

When it comes to buying products for our child, Little Legend usually go for open-ended tools which inspire creativity, confidence and lots of engagement with language.

At this time of year, people exchange gifts with their loved ones and we would like to give our thoughts on some great gifts for a three-year-old child. We focus on gifts that inspire healthy development in the key areas like cognitive, social, emotional and physical.

Look for something meaningful and long-lasting this Christmas, which makes that little soul light up inside.

DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES

First, a quick word about development milestones. Always remember: every child is on their own journey! We believe that a child progresses and hits their milestones in their own, sweet time.  Here’s some typical milestones for the age, and our gift recommendations!

LANGUAGE/ COMMUNICATION

The language starts to flow. Children this age really enjoy using whatever language they’ve been absorbing at home/in school. Questions like what? where? and why? start to appear frequently, and they will start to grasp these concepts. “Where’s my dinosaurs gone?” is our daughter’s favourite.

  • Books
    At this time of year – anything about Christmas!

Our daughter is completely absorbed in the Christmas magic this year – for the first time. It’s a joy to see. We’re not a strictly religious family, but there’s no doubt the Christmas story captures a child’s imagination. It’s an incredible source of light and inspiration for our daughter, and she has responded well to everything Christmas represents – the beautiful symbolism, the characters, the stories, the vibes. We highly recommend these stories for bedtime bonding. @poonpoonchildrenbook @milankidsbook @kidsbook.home

 

  • Role playing Costumes/kit – doctor

Role playing! It’s at the heart of every child’s healthy development. This doctor’s kit has worked really well for our girl. She plays with it regularly and tends to her daddy’s football injuries when he comes home bruised. This is just one of many role play kits you can get, or you could even go for costumes. Either way, this is a fantastic age for your child to start getting into character!

 

  • Dinosaur blocks set

Dinosaurs…rrrrraaarrrrrrgh! They’re so fascinating. The pre-historic beasts have captured the heart of our daughter, so we bought her this set and it’s proved invaluable! She plays with these wooden blocks constantly and role plays with them, creating stories of family, bonding, love and of course, survival. With the role playing naturally comes lots of language practice and social development.

COGNITIVE

Little Legend focus a lot on natural, sensory tools because they’re amazing for a child’s cognitive development.

Some activities we play with our daughter. To see more, please visit @littlelegend.playset

Cognitive milestones at this age include understanding basic shapes, colours, numbers and even the alphabet. It’s important to remember that we can’t rush things or expect too much. Our little girl doesn’t particularly like maths activities so we have to be patient with that. It will come.

  • Art supplies – crayons, paints.

Pick different themes and enjoy your regular, open-ended painting sessions, watching your little ones express themselves with colours. This transparent easel has been a great purchase for us, and is super easy to wash.

  • Wooden birdhouse from JJ Market

What a beautiful little gem we found at JJ market. This wooden bird house is not only used for artistic purposes (our daughter loves to paint on it), but your child can assemble it from scratch, which also works those cognitive skills.

  • Collaborative games/puzzles – dinosaur puzzle

Puzzles give us opportunities to bond with our children at home, and in the process, they learn to problem solve and co-operate – It’s a win-win!

Since she turned three, our girl has really taken to puzzles – especially the dinosaur jigsaw puzzle. This puzzle has 15 different dinosaurs to build and is a real go-to activity. Naturally, the puzzle is not so challenging after a while, yet it still brings her great joy to complete it – and us too!

  • Magnet/ wooden blocks/ wooden boards (for math, science, art activities)

Building, problem solving, cognitive magic happening with these learning tools! Your child needs a space to work their magic on. Wooden boards are the perfect solution, the bigger, the better! It gives them a space to focus and organise their learning tools.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Peddling, jumping with two feet, skipping, balancing – all of these milestones can occur at this age. Children need the opportunities to explore these physical possibilities, so there are plenty of tools we can buy for them to get them moving around outside. How about these bubbles? Our daughter went crazy for them, leaping around trying to catch them all.

FINE MOTOR SKILLS

Oh the joys of watching our little ones use those little hands and fingers! Children at this age are gripping paint brushes, crayons and pens (mostly with the hand), and start to showcase their delicate little finger work building and balancing things. Exposure is the key with fine motor skills, so plenty of practice will have them confidently gripping, placing, building and balancing in no time.

  • Creative crafts / handmade/ fine motor skills tools

Life is about problem solving, finding solutions to problems and children develop this attribute from a very young age. Creative crafts are ideal for children at this age to explore their problem solving skills. Here’s a couple of our top recommendations for creative crafts which worked for us:

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL

Children start to play with one another usually between the age of 3 and 4, as they leave the “parallel play” stage (playing near other children) and enter the cooperative phase, where they can play with their friends and develop meaningful relationships. Emotionally, children are still very much learning to deal with their own, complex emotions, but they begin to understand what emotions are at this stage – on a conceptual level. We can explain basic emotions to a three-year-old child and they will understand, especially with the aid of pictures/visuals.

We recommend getting your hands on some emotion flashcards, playdough and small loose parts!

For any activity about emotions, flashcards work really well in combination with play dough and loose parts, which you can use to make faces which represent emotions. The more diverse the materials, the more engaging the activity!

Little Legend Best Sellers for 3-4 years old

Finally, thank you so much for reading this article, and if you’re interested in playsets with diverse learning tools and natural, organic resources – here’s a few of our best sellers for three-year-old kids. When we design playsets, we leave no stone unturned with our attention to detail. All our products are designed to support healthy development in all the key areas.

Homeschool 101 Series – Episode 6, 7

Homeschooling can be very stressful for parents, especially during this time, with all the added external pressures. It is paramount that parents focus on their own mental well-being.

How can parents manage their anxiety and fear, and shield their adoring young children from the pressures of the world?

In episode #6 of Homeschool 101, Child EQ Coach Susanna Nicol (Founder of EQ for kidz) offers her advice on how to cope with the emotional rollercoaster of homeschooling.

  1. With schools closed, parents/carers now have a huge role to play at home, building a healthy, happy learning environment for their children to thrive in. How do you think parents can make the most of this opportunity? 

    The key word here is OPPORTUNITY! Parents can shift their mindset to view this as a special time that they will remember forever. Even if it feels challenging right now, your kids will benefit in the long run from this precious extra time spent at home with their loved ones.

    My biggest suggestion is to take this opportunity to create new and fun memories as a family: learn a new skill together, invent new games to play, get messy, build a fort inside, spend time outdoors in nature, have a “yes” day, or simply follow your child’s lead!n (I have a free resource of quarantine activityideas I can send – if you’d like it, send me an email at: eqforkidz@gmail.com !)

  2. What steps can parents take when they’re feeling under pressure at home, yet can’t show it to their children?

    Under pressure, overwhelmed, anxious, frustrated, needing space? First of all, realize that all of your emotions are normal and valid. Take a few long, deep breaths to regulate your nervous system. Then, you can put one hand on your heart and tell yourself “I am a good parent. I am just having a tough moment.” or “I am feeling _____ right now.

    It’s okay to feel this way. I am safe.” and watch as the feeling changes.

    There is no need to hide your feelings from your children. In fact, by “modelling” aloud the coping tools that you use to calm yourself in the moment, you are helping your children learn how to self-regulate as well. You might find them taking a few deep breaths and using positive self-talk, too!

  3. When a child has an emotional meltdown, are there any ‘calming strategies’ you could recommend for parents?

    In moments of high emotions, a child’s thinking brain is taken over by their emotional brain. Keeping this fact in mind, remind yourself to “connect over correct”. In other words, seek to connect with your child’s underlying emotions, rather than correct their behaviour.

    Get on their level, show that you care how they feel, giving them words for how they might be feeling: “Wow, you must be feeling really angry to throw your toy like that.” Get curious, asking questions like “I wonder what happened before? I’m curious what’s going on for you? What do you need to feel better? How can I help?” Often, they just need to be heard, feel safe, and be soothed to regulate and return to calm. Once you have fully listened and validated their emotions, only then can you problem-solve together. This process is called “Emotion Coaching”.

    If you would like to learn more about the 5 steps to Emotion Coaching, feel free to reach out!

    • A regular gratitude practice
      • Journaling about your thoughts and feelings
      • 5-minute daily meditations
      • Daily feeling check-ins

        Are there any daily activities/routines you can recommend for parents to enjoy with their children at home, which promote mental well-being?

        We know time spent in nature or time spent exercising benefits our physical health, but it’s just as important to do things that benefit our mental health. Below are some examples. (eg. use a visual tool, like a mood meter, an emotional thermometer, or simple colours)(eg. every time you catch a negative thought, say 3 things you’re grateful for)

    • Write down and hang up positive affirmations (eg. I am loved and loving. I have enough, I do enough, I am enough.)
    • Write a letter or make a present to send to someone you miss.

K. Susanna Nicol
Child EQ Coach
Founder, EQ for kidz

 

The brain of a pre-school child is rapidly acquiring new knowledge every second, but they still can’t understand or control their feelings. They still feel overwhelmed by strong emotions like anger, sadness, fear, and anxiety.

In episode #7 of Homeschool 101, we discussed with K. Daisy (RIE Parenting and Educator) about how she incorporates the RIE method to raise her son. K Daisy shares her experience and explains how she approaches the emotions of an early years child.

  1. What is RIE Parenting?

    Pronounced “rye”, RIE Parenting derives from Magda Gerber’s Resources for Infant Educarers philosophy. It is based on respect, trust and acceptance of the child so that they can reach their full potential.

    This approach believes that parents/caretakers must have respect for the child and trust that they are natural inventors, explorers, and self learners as the main goal of RIE is to create an authentic child who feels secure, autonomous, competent and connected to the world around them. By respecting, believing and recognising that children are highly capable, encourage them to explore, and engage in their space creatively, and confidently, learning independently on their own and along with others.

    As parents/caretakers, we can encourage this through:

    — Respectful communication both verbally and nonverbally.
    — Safe, cognitively challenging and emotionally nurturing environment for independent, uninterrupted play and self-directed exploration at their own pace and interest.
    — Openly, accepting and acknowledging expression of emotions.
    — Setting clear and consistent boundaries without distracting, shaming, punishing or time outs.
    — Modeling and recognizing that they are learning from us every day. We have to be it to teach it.

  2. How do you help your child when they express strong emotions?

    First and foremost, we have to understand that releasing or expressing emotions is a healthy development. When our child has tantrums and meltdowns it means that they are developmentally on track.

    So ideally we want to welcome the emotions. Strong emotions are considered communication; therefore, all emotions are acceptable, and acknowledged, However, unsafe behavior is not acceptable and not allowed.

    It is imperative to lay the groundwork for emotional awareness and emotional intelligence in our children. These long term coping skills of expressing their needs and desires in a healthy and effective way will pay off over time.

    My method is to help my child identify and understand his feelings through acceptance, validation and acknowledgement. Whether that’s through a feelings poster, a colour chart or a sensory activity, or even during our nightly bedtime conversations about the day.

    For example, I will ask how he felt in a certain situation that day, or how he should handle these feelings for next time. We work on finding and using healthy coping mechanisms to problem solve and work through it together.

    I find that these open lines of communication between my son and I strengthens our bond and relationship even more. And through my modeling of my emotional ownership and accountability, I am showing him that his regulation, our co-regulation, as well as emotional growth takes time, practice, patience and empathy for one another.

     

  3. When tantrums occur, how do you handle your child’s emotional meltdown?

    I approach it by holding space, acting as a safe container to allow for all emotions, and expressions in a nonjudgmental way, with sincere understanding and acceptance. When a tantrum or meltdown occurs, I welcome it by reframing my mindset, stepping up my presence to fully support my child safely through it.

    I breathe, I slow down, I don’t try to fix it, I don’t rush through it. I know and understand that is not a reflection of my parenting. It is natural, it is healthy, it is part of the constructive process of self-regulation.

    I let the feelings be, yet helping to identify the emotions and sportscasting what I see. I believe that crying is the cure; therefore, I co-regulate with him and support him emotionally the best I can. It is not the time to teach, or to reason with him, it is the time to model compassion, appreciate him authentically and love him unconditionally.

    This quote by Janet Lansbury sums it up perfectly and beautifully:

    “One of the most ironically counterintuitive twists of parenting is this: the more we welcome our children’s displeasure, the happier everyone in our household will be, there is no greater gift to our children and ourselves than complete acceptance of their negative feelings.”

  4. How do you set up/manage time to balance INDEPENDENT PLAY, MOMMY TIME, LEARNING TIME, ETC.

    Honestly, it’s all about having a rhythm or routine, which makes children feel secure and safe because true happiness comes when children feel that the adults are calming and confidently leading and guiding them.

    Since RIE focuses deeply on strengthening relationships, building trust, and communicating unconditional love, the method is put in practice through consistency, awareness of the child and defined boundaries.

    For instance, to foster independent play, seeking connection first helps the child feel seen, which naturally invites cooperation instead of push-back. While the idea of self care or Mommy Time is normalized and rooted in our clear, consistent boundaries day to day. Children feel valued and truly loved, making it easier to accept our limits because boundaries are the highest form of love.

 

K. Daisy Soongswang
RIE Parenting and Educator
Bangkok, Thailand

 

Homeschool 101 gives you perspectives from parents and educators, from various walks of life, who are willing to share their experiences about homeschooling. We hope that these voices can give you comfort, community and perhaps some valuable homeschooling insights. There is no right or wrong way.

If you wish to contribute to this community of like-minded parents, please reach out to us – we would love to hear your voice.

Homeschool 101 Series – Episode 4, 5

We believe that the current generation of kids could save the world. As parents, it’s up to us to raise our children to be environmentally aware.

What role do parents have to play in this?

In episode #4 of Homeschool 101, we meet a passionate environmentalist, who is currently homeschooling his son.

  1. How do you approach sustainability in your parenting, and with your son?
    At home, we try to live our daily lives in the most sustainable way possible such as traveling by bicycle or public transport. We only use a private car if we really need it.

    We try hard to reduce various plastic waste that is difficult to decompose. We have our own bottle with us everywhere we go. We carry our own bags when we do shopping at the market, and we have our own lunch box with us.

    These are just examples, and may seem easy, but in reality – you need to be very disciplined. I believe that to teach a child be responsible, parents have to model disciplinary to their child first.

    We try to do outdoor activities in order to be closer to nature. Riding a bicycle, taking a paddle/boat on the Bang Pakong River. Trekking in small forests and national parks. Our home uses environmental media such as books, movies, documentaries. Exploring biodiversity. We take a boat to pick up trash on the weekend. We visit environmental exhibitions and environmental-related campaigns/rallies. We invite each other to discuss about environmental awareness by raising issues to make our son think and ask questions.

  2. As a homeschooling dad and environmentalist, how do you include/ design your lessons/ activities on the topic of the environment?
    I encourage the habits (mentioned above) every single day. That is part of my lesson plan. Now the global crisis situation creates more variance and violence in various forms. My son’s generation will be greatly affected.We talked with our son, 9 years old, about having a course that we helped each other design. We named it “ให้ได้แก่ตายเถอะ” (Hai-Dai-Kae-Tai-Ter). It is a Metaphor meaning let our children grow old, live and die in their own natural way – not as a result of the bad environment. “Hai-Dai-Kae-Tai-Ter” is a problem-based project that will help our son realise and truly understand the environmental crisis we are facing. We focus on the question: “How can you help manage problems in a better way?”.


    Our project is based on his interests.

    We help him to understand problems →
    We let him come up with a project and try it out →
    We track the result and discuss (if it doesn’t work out we try new ways).

    Talk to your children at a very young age. Don’t see them as a baby. They can learn so deeply about our earth. For young children, they can start with a simple project and then gradually develop/ change to more advance topics according to his age/interests/abilities.

  3. What role do you think our children can play in the future of our planet earth, and the environment?

    There is a saying that “children are the creators of the world. Let’s build the world through the creations of children.” The paradigms and ways of children in this era will define our world in the future. When the time is right, children grow up and are mature enough to analyse information about environmental issues.

    They will be thirsty for change, for example the climate change movement lead by Greta Thunberg, which has inspired millions around the world.

  4. What are the challenges of homeschooling for you, and how have you dealt with these obstacles?

    Although homeschooling allows us to design a much more ecological environment for our family’s living and learning, there are so many uncontrollable factors around us (both internal and external). These factors affect our children, especially the influence of close friends and relatives, even neighbours.

    How others buy food, eat fast food, buy toys with plastic packages, take plane trips, the choices they watch on TV, play games, etc.

    These factors will influence our children’s lifestyle and the person they become. Dealing with these environmental factors, we create a safe zone to speak and start to question. We never stop them doing what they want, instead we ask questions like “what will be the consequences of your action?”. This will help children to reflect upon their choices and decisions.

K. Gunn Tattiyakul – Homeschooling Parent
Environmentalist – Friends of Bangpakong
Chachoengsao, Thailand

 

Inspiring creativity is both exciting, and daunting for parents. Creativity doesn’t always come easy for us especially with older children, who demand more challenging activities.

In episode #5 of Homeschool 101, we talked to a passionate Creative Coach (MD of Inlight Consulting) and LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Facilitator, K. Chompoonuch.

K. Chompoonuch shared some simple ways parents can get creative in their homeschooling journey.

  1. What is creative parenting to you?
    A creative parent allows themselves to explore new ways of doing things & understand that there are many ways to achieve one goal. A creative parent is flexible and adjustable to the situation. They give freedom to their child to grow without controlling, because they understand that there are many ways to be successful in life.Creativity, for me, is not only innovation, painting or fine art, it’s creating new, alternative ways to succeed in life. If parents can embrace being creative themselves, it will naturally rub off on their children.
  2. How can parents spark their child’s creative thinking at home?

    Creative powerful questions is one of the most impactful tools. When you ask the right type of questions, you will ignite the fire for learning in a child’s brain. I normally use creative thinking tools such as SCAMPER, what if?, or mind mapping together with questions. These are the techniques I teach to fire up the creative mind.

    Questions like :

    • What else can I do to solve this?
    • How can I make this better?
    • What could I use instead?
    • How can I change/adapt this to make it better?

      These questions are triggers, and they open a child’s mind to a new world of possibilities. Once you harvest the creative thinking patterns in your children, they will eventually become a creative-minded person. Another important point is: we should never dismiss a child’s question.

      For example:
      Kid : Why can’t we run around outside?
      Parent : Because if you do, the police will come and arrest you.

      My suggest is, parents should answer the question in a logical, creative and positive way. Don’t kill the child’s curiosity. Curiosity is the foundation of creativity.

  3. Are there any tools/ frameworks to help parents become more creative with their activities at home?

    Firstly, observe what your child likes to do or let them explore in open-ended activities. For example, playing with lego, playing musical instruments, singing, cooking and dedicate your time to be with them so that you can understand your child’s preferences. Then, support them on their choices.

    Secondly, create psychological safety for them. Embed the concept of “when I fail, I learn”. Whatever children do, focus on the process, not the outcome.

    Ask questions like

    • What have you learned from this?
    • What have you done well?
    • What could be improved next time?

    Lastly, encourage your child with creative powerful questions and use the tools I mentioned before.

     

     

  4. Every family probably has a giant pile of LEGO bricks in their house. Can we adapt it as a tool for homeschooling purposes?

    Lego is a powerful tool to unlock creativity and help unleash potential, for any age.     The principle of Lego is hand-knowledge, which means when you build the bricks with your hands, it will stimulate your brain to create new shapes and forms. That’s where the creativity happens.

    Here are some suggestions :

    Have your child tell the story behind what they build. Let them play and facilitate their growth by asking these questions.

    • What is it?
    • What does this mean/represent?
    • Who are these people and what do they do?
    • What does this colour stand for?

    This metaphor technique (ideal for kids 4+), sparks creativity, removes boundaries and creates psychological safety for your child to think.

    Play challenge games with your children. For example “Let’s build a new future town. Let’s invent the future washing machine.” etc.

    Try to ask questions that allow them to think in the bigger picture. Encourage them to imagine far beyond the here and now. That’s how they exercise their imagination and creativity.


K. Chompoonuch
MD of Inlight Consulting, Creative Coach,
and LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Facilitator

Homeschool 101 gives you perspectives from parents and educators, from various walks of life, who are willing to share their experiences about homeschooling. We hope that these voices can give you comfort, community and perhaps some valuable homeschooling insights. There is no right or wrong way.

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