The 8 Key Elements of MindChamps PreSchool

Building on the metaphor of the bamboo, the 8 ‘key roots’ supporting all future growth in the young child’s mind are: Narrative Strategies™, Social & Emotional Intelligence Building Strategies™, Creativity & Theatrical Strategies™, Numeracy Strategies™, Neuro-Mooves™, Associative Thinking & Cognitive Strategies™, Language & Communication Strategies™ and Nature & Environmental Awareness Strategies™.

The 8 ‘key root’ strategies can be summarised in the following way:

Narrative Strategies™
By developing, in children, a love of story and a connection with the magic of the written word, the MindChamps PreSchool Program creates highly successful future readers, writers, storytellers – and, most importantly, learners. Using quality children’s literature, brought to life in an engaging and dynamic manner, Narrative Strategies™ build on the latest, cutting-edge research into how future readers are built – which is through active, non-threatening engagement with language in its written form at an early age.

Social & Emotional Intelligence Building Strategies™
Social & Emotional Intelligence Building Strategies™ are developed within the program through mastering social-emotional skills, cooperating within groups and responding to the needs and perspectives of others. Social communication exercises using music, song, puppetry and physical interaction are structured into each day’s fun activities.

Creativity & Theatrical Strategies™
Creativity & Theatrical Strategies™ are developed within the MindChamps PreSchool Program, through ‘Physical Becoming’ exercises, Creative Impulse exercises, creative questions and creative expression and exploration through different media. What makes the MindChamps approach so unique is the incorporation – in every aspect of our program – of expertly-crafted theatrical principles to engage young minds and bring to life every aspect of the curriculum.

Numeracy Strategies™
Numeracy Strategies™ are developed within the program through physical grouping and counting exercises, musical Pre-Numeracy exercises, the physical manipulation of numbers and groups, shapes and patterns, and through calculating and experimenting with combinations of money denominations by participating in ‘real life’ money calculation exercises. The latest research demonstrates that the developing minds of younger children grasp the complexities of the world through experience, experiment and understanding, and the MindChamps PreSchool approach is ideally suited to help these young minds make the connections necessary to build understanding of numerical concepts.

Neuro-Mooves™
MindChamps’ Neuro-Mooves™ program uses a variety of engaging and exciting developmentally-appropriate activities to stimulate the growth of vital neural networks, in both hemispheres of the developing brain. These act as the foundations for future spatial, motor and temporal skills, promoting interhemispheric connectivity, active concentration, better control of emotional responses, optimal oxygen and blood-flow to the brain and learning readiness.

Inspired by such disciplines as Kinaesthetics, Neuroscience, sports and Mind Gym, Neuro-Mooves™ employs a unique combination of energising and relaxing movement routines to develop motor skills, musical intelligence, coordination and balance, under three sub-programs:

• Mind-Body in Motion™
• Music for the Mind™
• Mind over Matter™

Associative Thinking & Cognitive Strategies™
Associative Thinking & Cognitive Strategies™ are developed in the program through ‘relationship and connection’ questions, ‘cause and effect’ questions and exercises, Creative Impulse exercises, problem-solving activities, Numeracy and language activities and sequencing.

Children develop thinking skills in the MindChamps PreSchool Program through experiencing, responding to and solving “real life” situations as they engage in structured exercises and respond to challenging and relevant questions.

Language & Communication Strategies™
Language & Communication Strategies™ are developed in MindChamps PreSchool Program through a structured and engaging language arts curriculum and energetic, interactive English and Chinese language lessons. Children’s spoken language skills are further enhanced through Fun with Phonics™ and Sounds in Songs™.

The language arts curriculum involves a variety of engaging language activities (based on experience and interaction) that lead the child to develop an understanding of language structures and styles and to develop their own language responses.

Nature & Environmental Awareness Strategies™
Nature & Environmental Awareness Strategies™ are developed in the program through the exploration of each lesson’s theme. Individual lesson themes are derived from three progressive Acts:

• Me, My Family and Friends
• My Community
• My World

Research has also shown that the development of strong, active connections between the two halves of the brain, promotes the association and creativity functions of the developing brain. The earlier these connections are formed, the stronger they will be in later developmental stages, as future development grows from the existing platform.

MindChamps PreSchool program is an exciting, engaging, challenging – and above all, fun – learning experience for children and their parents. The program is based on the scientific research regarding early childhood learning, not on the mystical and fanciful claims of some so-called ‘experts’ in relation to the supposedly miraculous power of the ‘right-brain’ to achieve everything from ESP to super-human and meta-physical feats.

The human mind is indeed amazing, and what young children are capable of learning is truly staggering, but at MindChamps, we believe in basing our strategies on understandings supported by the latest scientific and psychological research worldwide.

No Shortcuts…
For the bamboo, there can be no short-cuts to success, for there is no ‘magical’ artificial way of developing the foundation structures that make it strong. But, for the bamboo, there is no need for such artificial shortcuts. Allowed the freedom – allowed to be its natural self – it contains within its very essence the ‘natural flow’ that leads to strong and healthy growth.
Only if it is confined – denied its natural growth – by the unnatural and rigid limitations of the pot, does it wither and fail.

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The Bamboo Plant – Metaphor

The Bamboo Plant – Metaphor

The symbol of MindChamps PreSchool is the bamboo plant. The bamboo is one of the most successful plants in the world, because of the 'preparation' it goes through beneath the ground, before the extent of its development is apparent to the observer.

A bamboo plant spreads by first extending roots and tendrils beneath the soil – before the plant ever surfaces. This has the effect of giving the plant a firm hold on the essentials of water and nutrition – and an extensive physical foundation to sustain the mature plant before the first shoots appear above the surface.

Once it does begin to 'shoot' however, it does so quickly and efficiently, because all the required elements are in place, and the mature bamboo plant is resistant to almost all natural threats in its environment – including typhoons, because it is flexible and every element of its structure supports every other.

The lesson of the bamboo can be applied to great effect when developing foundation programs for young learners. MindChamps PreSchool introduces and carefully nurtures 'foundation' skills and strategies designed to create a cumulative effect. Each learning activity is carefully structured and designed to gradually develop competence in one or more of the key areas of development.


"It is vital to remember that information… is not knowledge; that knowledge is not wisdom; and that wisdom is not foresight. Each grows out of the other and we need them all." – Arthur C. Clarke

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Vision & Mission

Our Vision

To build a world of champions – enabling every individual to be the best that they can be.

Our Mission

To create and impart cutting – edge 'software for the mind' to produce champions worldwide.

Our Social Charter

We are committed to lifting the standard of education and social responsibility of this generation of students for the future of humanity. Looking towards that future, MindChamps is committed to linking its prosperity to nurture the young minds of developing countries, by creating educational opportunities where they would otherwise not exist.

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Overview

The MindChamps PreSchool program is designed to free the natural flow of learning in preschool children – to create the champion learners of the future.

Children are great natural learners, and cognitive research shows that young children learn better through experience and experimentation. The reason for this is that their developing brains rely on the experience of their senses to grow and expand the neural networks required later for higher-level thinking.

MindChamps’ extensive research in neuroscience, education, psychology and theatre, coupled with Professor Allan Snyder’s breakthrough findings on the Champion Mindset, have shown that Champions are those who, above all, make their own unique creative connections. This is what makes MindChamps’ cutting-edge approach to creating Young Champions so unique – it is the only one of its kind in the world.

Being a direct result of our ground-breaking research, MindChamps PreSchool is an early childhood learning centre based on internationally-validated research. It uses carefully-designed, non-didactic instruction methods to empower children in both creativity and structured thinking.

MindChamps PreSchool enhances and strengthens every child’s own natural learning abilities. By first Freeing, then Leading, the Imagination, the program helps children to create their own unique connections. Building on these strong connections, we help each child establish a positive relationship with the learning experience, so that this positive and creative mindset becomes a part of their learning experiences for life.

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