Howick Primary students’ problem-solving skills were put to the test in a new animated television show.
On the first of July last year, a group of 18 Howick Primary kids, ranging from seven to nine years of age, enthusiastically participated in a new locally-made TV series, entitled “Riddle Me This” where they used their powers of critical thinking and imagination to solve intriguing mystery riddles.
The students’ voices were recorded at the school as they asked questions, created hypotheses and discovered solutions to the riddles through creative thinking.
Their voices were then overlaid with vivid and grand animations.
“They were so excited to have a go at this interesting new show,” Kristen Oliphant, associate principal at Howick Primary, says.
The five-minute episodes, Oliphant says, have just gone to air recently.
“We heard one of them last week,” she says. “The kids came into school and they were like, ‘I heard my voice on there. I helped solve the riddle.'”
Oliphant told the Times that the experience was great for team-bonding and team-work, problem-solving skills and confidence for the students.
“It was also good for them to learn that sometimes you don’t get it right and to just re-think and to be resilient and to not worry,” Oliphant says.
“Sometimes when you’re learning new things, it is really hard but then you’re finding new learning pathways in your brain. We’re going to keep learning when we’re older and part of our school motto is about creating life-long learners.
“It was such a fun experience for the kids.”
