Middle School Immersion: Design Thinking Program Day 1!
The goal of today is team-building and getting to know each other.
The heroes started their first day making decisions on how to divide small groups to cross the road. It was a heated debate!
The first game played was Dog & Bone; where they learned how to set their own rules and stick to it.
The second game was telephone pole, where the heroes have to cross from one end to another using plates and not touching the grass. They worked hard together and had to overcome frustrations as they figured the right way of doing it through trial and error.
Lunchtime! Few heroes were using the microwave oven for the first time, so they taught each other how to use it.
The third game was the human knot. Doing it among all the heroes proved too hard, so they decided to do it in smaller groups. We took this opportunity to introduce the concept of three learning zones – Comfort / Challenge / Danger, and how one can break problems into smaller pieces during the Danger Zone.
Next, we revealed secret letters. Parents have written letters to help their children in this special journey together (Thank you for the kind affirmations!). It was a time of silence, reflection and love.
We introduced studio maintenance, and that the heroes demonstrated that they can own and clean their learning studios.
The highlight of the day was celebrating Esabelle’s birthday—Acton style!
Esabelle’s mom, Aunty Sylvia shared stories of Esabelle growing up as she went around the candle (representing the sun) each year. We were mesmerized by the detailed illustrations and stories. Thank you Aunty Sylvia for all the pizzas too!
What a first day at Acton Academy Kuala Lumpur!