Today our little ones stepped into the mysterious world of surprise boxes, discovering not only presents but thrilling educational challenges.
We like this format for a very practical reason: it completely changes the attitude with which a child receives an exercise. The same task, written on a worksheet, is "work"; hidden in a box you open yourself, it becomes a prize. The content does not change, only the road to it — and at this age the road matters enormously.
The second advantage is the unknown. The children do not know which challenge will fall to them, so they cannot prepare in advance and cannot pick the easy option. They have to read, understand and cope with whatever they get, which resembles far more closely the way problems actually turn up in life.
Through this game the children have fun and build essential skills: critical thinking, problem solving and teamwork. The best moments were the ones where a box proved too hard for one child and was solved by two.
The adventure of learning becomes, in this way, more thrilling and more interactive.