An entrepreneurial project that helps pupils understand themselves better and work together
The e-kids project leads pupils through an active and fascinating activity. Experiencing this entrepreneurial adventure allows them to overcome challenges and achieve success.
Throughout the journey, the teacher encourages their pupils to understand themselves better and become aware of their own strengths. E-kids leads to the development of self-esteem and encourages team work.
For pupils
Self-esteem
In order to celebrate everyone’s successes, the teacher sets up a pride table somewhere in the classroom that highlights the main qualities of an entrepreneur: Leadership, Team spirit, Creativity, a Sense of responsibility, Effort, Resourcefulness, Perseverance, Self-confidence. Whenever a pupil shows one of the qualities listed, he or she can add their name to the appropriate column.
Team work
Every pupil makes a contribution to the entrepreneurial project depending on their own strengths. This is all about genuine team work where everyone has a part to play. This adventure creates a backdrop that is truly favourable to working as a team, emphasised also by regular brainstorming sessions.
Skills
The e-kids project lets everyone experiment with different methods and situations for learning:
– Learning about discipline, morals, working together and citizenship, personalised and transversal learning.
During this journey, pupils are encouraged to:
– Cooperate in order to carry out a project, research and select information, express themselves orally – taking part in discussions, formulating an opinion, debating these opinions, expressing their ideas and emotions, getting involved and initiating actions
Evaluation
At the end of the e-kids journey, a closing event is organised in order to showcase the pupils, the teacher and also the other individuals who have taken part in the project. This event is open to parents, teachers and pupils from other classes, inspectors…Its highlight is the awarding of diplomas to each pupil – a strong driver for personal pride for the pupils involved.
Support for parents
The e-kids project allows for a reinforcement of the dialogue between parents and the school and the dialogue between parents and their children. Invited along to the key moments of this team project, parents can contribute and share these experiences as they take part in the project’s convivial moments.
For teachers
Making use of the resources supplied by e-kids, teachers can encourage their pupils to become interested in concrete projects that create a sense of competition in the classroom. This new way of encouraging pupils to use their skills provides meaning to their learning and creates an excellent atmosphere in the classroom.
The work in partnership with other people involved – the BGE supervisor, the entrepreneur – provides the opportunity to bring outside influences into the classroom. By getting to know a real entrepreneur, pupils benefit from sharing concrete experiences.
The link between parents and school is reinforced. E-kids provides the opportunity to create shared moments and collusion with parents who have been invited to admire the work of their children and even possibly to contribute to the establishment of entrepreneurial projects.
Testimonials and feedback
The e-kids tool has been tested on a number of classes in key stages 1 and 2. Pupils, parents, teachers and inspectors give their feedback on the benefits that you can enjoy by setting up an e-kids project.
Inspector
Two important challenges are evident in the e-kids project: the first is that it responds completely to the priorities of the national curriculum with regards to the fundamentals: reading, writing, speaking in public and a respect for others. The second advantage for children, and one that is really essential, is self-esteem. That is to say, all the social and civic skills that the child must develop in order to want to learn
Inspector
E-kids is a project that brings together everything that is learned, one that really involves the pupils in school life and in their education, and therefore this project is perfectly suited to primary education.
Parent
I enjoyed the opportunity to make my pupils work in a different way, to organise this project alongside my pupils, because some of them really came out of their shells. The pupils really grew in self-confidence and were brave enough to speak in public.
Teacher
Pupils were happy and proud to have taken part in an exhibition on the theme of difference, to have organised an event and to have been able to show their families.
Teacher
The « Canadian » style system of partnerships, focusing on multiple talents, allows pupils to develop the skills they learn at school within the framework of a concrete project and it prepares them for their future lives as members of society
Teacher
E-kids allows us to create links with a variety of different partners: national educational bodies, the children and the entrepreneur. Through this we can bring people together and that is really important nowadays.
Teacher
E-kids gives certain pupils real self-confidence. We all have pupils in the classroom that are not really aware of their abilities, they are afraid to try. Thanks to this project they are really able to develop.
Teacher
Creating the crests allows the pupils to get to know themselves and their classmates better. I noticed that new friendships started to form as a result of this exercise
Parent
This project makes the children take an active role in their schooling, whereas they are used to being much more passive.
Parent
I find it really positive that the children take a good look at themselves and this can only help them as they move up to secondary school and, eventually, into their professional careers in the future.
Parent
This project only offers positives; the children open themselves up to the outside world. I have noticed that my daughter is less shy and tends to be more confident speaking to people. She seems much more open.
Pupils
I really liked meeting the entrepreneur because she really helped us with our project, which was publishing a magazine. She explained to us that it was like a « railway line ». Thanks to our meeting with her, I learned how people work in a company and what they do there
Pupils
I found it a bit strange to get up and speak in front of the parents at the ceremony. I felt as though I was taking over from the teacher. I’m quite shy and not used to speaking in public, but I really liked this exercise.