Design Thinking is a process for creative problem solving that is human-centred. At Brave Feats, we believe in developing our children to be designers of solutions, while being empathetic to the needs of others. When children are empowered to take action and solve real world problems, they develop a sense of purpose and meaning. The children see themselves as agents of change impacting the lives of others!

We work with different community partners to bring real design challenges to our children. Some community challenges our Brave Feats children have tackled include designing an inclusive playground, encouraging more recycling, and encouraging our healthcare workers during the Covid period. Staying true to our vision, our joyful children impact communities!

One of the key tenets of Positive Education is to develop our children by building on their strengths. At Brave Feats, we are trained to use CliftonStrengths to identify and coach our children on their strengths.

CliftonStrengths is a science-based approach developed by Gallup, an analytics and consultant company, to empower people through strength-based development. The CliftonStrengths for Students measures 34 research-validated talent themes. By focusing on the children’s talent themes, we support their learning and well-being.

The Montessori approach towards Mathematics and Science has been proven to be effective in helping young children grasp mathematical and science concepts well.

At Brave Feats, we use Montessori Mathematics and Science materials to support our children’s learning. During Homework Supervision time, we will form small groups and introduce to the children the different materials and resources. These resources are made available for the children to try and explore when they are learning different concepts.

At Brave Feats, we endeavour to engage the hearts, minds and hands of our children. The Arts have a unique and magical way of allowing children to express themselves in a safe and unrushed way. Our Art and Making session provides a safe environment where there are no right or wrong answers. We use this process to help Brave Feats children explore emotions, reflect and express their thoughts and feelings.

The Arts & Makers’ Space is a dream which we materialised in collaboration with Playeum. It is the core space where we run our social emotional learning programmes. As we guide and supervise them in this sensory learning space our children are given the free rein to express themselves and create art with all sorts of materials that can be reused and recycled.

In developing a positive self-identity, we need to engage the mind, heart and body. Getting children to develop an awareness of their body and how to use their body to adapt to their thoughts, emotions and the world around them is a critical aspect of building strong self-awareness and management.

At Brave Feats, embodied learning is a critical component of our curriculum. We introduce Yoga and Movement to help our children develop balance, strength, endurance, and flexibility. Yoga also helps children manage anxiety, develop mindfulness and improve emotional regulation.

Nurturing a resilient child begins with developing emotional literacy. The language of emotions helps our children develop strong self-awareness and management. Brave Feats children are guided to express their feelings and build their emotional vocabulary. We use the Non-Violent Communication approach to help our children tune in to the needs behind each emotion and learn how to communicate their needs and requests.

During our weekly Relational Circle time, we use different tools to encourage children to share and reflect on their emotions, and offer understanding and support to each other. We have seen how our children have grown in empathy and we are so proud of them!

“Sawabona” is an African tribe greeting, which means “I see you”. To acknowledge and value another person for who he or she is is an essential part of being connected to others. This human-to-human connection is an important part of social emotional learning.

At Brave Feats, we build this connection amongst our teachers and children; we also bring in people with different backgrounds to have conversations with our children. Through these conversations, the worlds of our children expand: they learn about empathy, kindness and compassion. We have built a Brave Feats community of special guests, including a Silver Generation activist, special needs educator, film maker, veterinarian, and many more, for these special and meaningful connections.

All children deserve to play!

At Brave Feats, we integrate learning with play to make learning fun for our children. Play-based learning is self-directed and unstructured. Outdoor play is a big hit with all our children. Whenever possible, we will create other varied play opportunities.

Games are also a wonderful tool we use where children learn critical thinking and problem solving. We introduce different interactive games, board games and sports to our children.

Stories teach us about life, ourselves and others. Storytelling develops language, emotions and imagination. Through the immersive learning in stories and drama, children develop perspectives, empathy and problem solving skills.

At Brave Feats, we curate and share different stories with our children and through that teach them to reflect, respect and understand others. We also extend storytelling into drama using an approach known as Process Drama to deepen the participatory and immersive experience.

In Process Drama, both the children and teacher work in and out of role, using different drama strategies and techniques. They create an imaginary dramatic world within which issues are considered and problems can be solved. Children “try on” others’ shoes, to walk the paths they tread and to see how the world looks from others’ point of view.