How can we give back to society in our own ways? For Ethan, that's through guiding children from primary 1 to 3 in improving their numeracy skills. While small in gesture, these guidances may help kids whose families may not have the right resources to learn and develop.
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CreativityTranscript
00:00But little differences add up, and little impact changes life.
00:07Hi, my name is Ethan.
00:08So, I'm a volunteer leader in Care Corner
00:10and part of a programme called Kids Count at Woodlands.
00:14So in Kids Count at Woodlands, we engage children from Primary 1 to Primary 3
00:19through fun and engaging activities
00:21with the aim of improving their numeracy skill.
00:25Normally for low-income families, their priorities may not be exactly pursuing
00:29the improvement of education for their kids
00:31rather than paying for bills and living necessities.
00:35Okay ah, then we turn here.
00:37We do 3 and 4.
00:38Okay, we do 3 and 4.
00:40Then we do take a break.
00:41Then we do 5 and 6, then we take a break.
00:43Can ah, after this finish then...
00:44So this is where we step in and provide a conducive environment for them.
00:49So in Kids Count, there will be weekly sessions
00:52where children can come down to engage with our volunteers.
00:56We will include teaching content and also time for fun and engaging activities too.
01:04Okay.
01:06Okay, we count together, okay?
01:07Count together.
01:09So 1...
01:10This one is 1s only.
01:11So this is number...
01:131.
01:13Number what?
01:141.
01:15A, B, C, D, E, 1s.
01:18Correct!
01:19So okay, let me teach you something.
01:21So, we have the 1s place.
01:251s place.
01:27We have the 10s place.
01:29We focus on this one first.
01:30Ah, you, you, you.
01:31You, you, you, okay?
01:33Then we have the 100s.
01:34Yeah, I write first.
01:35100s.
01:37This number?
01:38Trillion.
01:39Trillion?
01:40Are you sure?
01:41Yeah.
01:42What?
01:43So before we start the programme, we received a few trainings from ETS, Care Corner,
01:47which is Educational Therapy Services.
01:49So they taught us different teaching styles,
01:51different methods of transferring the contents
01:57to an understandable level for the kids to absorb.
02:00Are you sure?
02:02Okay, we go through the question.
02:04Ah, okay, come.
02:05You erase.
02:05I just put a 5 here.
02:07Mmm, you can try.
02:11500.
02:13Well done!
02:14Okay, then what is this?
02:1583 1s.
02:16Where do you put the 83 in the 1s?
02:19Do I write...
02:21Is it?
02:2283.
02:23Correct!
02:248.
02:258 is in the 1000s already, so 8.
02:288000.
02:29Correct!
02:30Okay, write it down, write it down.
02:32That takes forever to make me go.
02:35You did a good job though.
02:37To make it fun, we use a lot of kinesthetic materials.
02:40For example, cube blocks, whiteboard and markers.
02:43We also get our volunteers to bring their iPad or laptop
02:46to provide additional fun to normal paper and pen learning.
02:50The kids may be more intrigued towards learning
02:53and their attention span towards learning these skills may improve.
03:06For example, the kid that I taught, he loves yo-yo.
03:08So how I engage him is through, for example, 5 plus 2.
03:13So I'll put it in a way, so there's 5 yo-yo and 2 yo-yo.
03:17So how many yo-yo are there together?
03:18So that is where it gets the kids' attention.
03:21They're like, oh, I love yo-yos.
03:22So they'll count the yo-yos in a sense where
03:25they are counting the yo-yos instead of the numbers.
03:28So it's sort of shifted their attention span
03:30towards old and boring math to a much more fun and engaging way.
03:37Like during the session itself, they are very energetic
03:40and they are willing to engage with you and play with you.
03:45What is this number? What is this word?
03:48What is this word? I also don't know.
03:50Oh.
03:56It's called numeral.
03:57Oh, you said you don't know.
03:58What does numeral mean?
04:00Oh, so it means numbers now.
04:00So numeral means numbers.
04:02Oh, you know what this is?
04:03Ah, OK, OK, come, come, come.
04:05Yes!
04:05Yes, correct. High five, high five.
04:07OK, we do a double high five.
04:08You like that? Hock.
04:09You like that? Then you hock.
04:10Yeah.
04:12One of these kids that I taught, he likes to imagine the pen as a rocket.
04:15So, of course, for me, I see a pen as a pen.
04:17But for him, he sees a pen as a lot of things.
04:22A rocket, a boat, an item that you can throw, a dart.
04:28So that is where their creativity comes in.
04:31So that is where I could get those creative energy,
04:33putting it into lessons and make it more interesting.
04:38The kids' positive energy sort of inspired me to be on the same level as them.
04:44So imagine the kids are like 100 percent.
04:47I have to be on 150 percent in order to match the level.
04:50Oh, the rock!
04:53OK, we do two more, then we continue with your show, OK?
04:57Yeah, then I can play games with you.
04:58Yeah.
04:59Ready?
05:00Woah.
05:04Look at this.
05:05So after the semester itself, seeing him improve from zero to a ten,
05:12it is really fulfilling.
05:13Eh, why don't someone hit me?
05:15OK, OK.
05:16Come, come.
05:17Good job, good job.
05:19Kent Corner has a wide range of social causes.
05:21For example, it ranges from elderly to children, to special needs, to youth.
05:26So this is where it caught my attention,
05:28where it's a one-stop hub for all the volunteering opportunities.
05:32So that is where I discovered the children's sector, which is Kids' Count.
05:36Wow, correct.
05:37So now...
05:38Let me swing!
05:39OK.
05:40They're serving lower-income families,
05:41which is what I feel strongly for in helping people.
05:45I don't see volunteering as a commitment that I have.
05:50I see it more as a hobby that I take, in a sense.
05:54Sort of take a break from my schoolwork and be with the children at the moment,
05:59to teach them, to play with them.
06:02Woah!
06:04That's cat poo!
06:08Yeah, so sometimes, after a long day at school,
06:11when I have to attend Kids' Count, it can be draining.
06:13But the moment that I see the kids,
06:15my energy sort of pops back up magically.
06:18Yeah, come on, come on.