%20(1).png)
Our Method
Finding Inspiration in Every Turn
Smarti's Club and its programme provide the framework and curriculum for children ages 3-16 years to accomplish and realize their full potential. All our programmes follow and promote the 'Learning through Play' initiative. We believe children can thrive and grow when a happy, safe, and well-structured play opportunity is provided for them to take part.
It is a well-known fact that play is essential for children. Conversely, the daily activities of school-age children with learning and training, unfortunately, put play in the background. However, for our children to be able to make good use of knowledge gained at school and to use this in everyday life, they need problem-solving skills and logical and creative thinking.
It is now a well-known fact that board games inspire children to think in many different ways. With their help, they think while playing, and play while thinking. This is at the core of Smarti’s ethos.
We warmly welcome children to join our clubs and programmes.
With more than a hundred carefully selected tabletop games. These include one-player logic games, speed games, logical, and strategic games. They all command focus, a high level of thinking, and offer countless fun.
We have received the question regarding what kind of games we play with the children a handful of times.
It would be challenging to list them since we have been carefully selecting and testing the tabletop games for more than twenty years, and we are still expanding our selection.
We are forever researching, looking for new ones that bring something new, with which we can face a new challenge and give something different to our members.
What defines our success?
The sessions are varied. Games are colorful. In addition to children thinking we involve emotions and feelings too. They are happy, sad, excited, and surprised. All of this backs the fact that the children experience great enjoyment every time, look forward to the sessions and new challenges, and come to a fun activity, not a learning and revision class. The "side effect" of this is that the children's concentration, combination skills, memory, logical, thinking skills, and vocabulary develop imperceptibly.
How long has this method been around?
The testing of the games and the development of the methodology originated nearly 20 years ago. Since then numerous children have joined in, played, benefited and benefit from our sessions. Thus, based on experience, the method has been continuously refined, and the games used has been continuously developed and updated in accordance with the needs of the children.
Why don't we make games ourselves?
Each year more board games are produced worldwide, huge teams work to ensure that the games that come to the market are challenging for the target age group., are stimulating for children, are remarkable, made of high quality and appeal to children. These game are also exmined by the mainfacturers, and after they are released, we also test them with our Smarti's groups of children. Among the tested new games , if we see that they benefit and challenge children's thinking and offer different techniques , problem-solving strategies, and logic we add them to our existing game sets, to add a new colour to our methodology and sessions. This is a proven formula and although the games usually have a game rule, we adapt them, tailor them to age groups, simplify them, or even add new twists. Our team is made up of exelent teachers, psycologists and other professionals working with children, with a great love of games. We discuss our sessions, games and used methods regularly and based on the experiences gained during children's play we collect, evaluate and implement ideas for further development.
How do we select the games?
When selecting games, a significant feature is that the children first enjoy getting to know games and find them fun with simple game rules, the goal then is to make them like playing together with others so that good experiences are associated with the game. During this time, we assess their abilities and get to know their skills, strength, and weaknesses. Then we gradually introduce the different types of games, moving week by week from games that require simple thinking to logical and strategic games that require complex thinking. During the play, we encourage them to think in a multifaceted way, we approach solving problems and finding solutions from different angles and sides, just as we do in life, before making a decision. What can be done, how to plan, how to think, how to use tactics and strategies. At the same time, victory is never the point, but the acquisition of multifaceted thinking. At the end of the game, we always discuss what could have been different, who suggested what to whom, how, why they took a step, why and what they decided. They often play in teams, so they learn to debate with each other before making a decision and to make the final decision together. The games are selected according to these aspects, so that there is a gradual transition from games that require simpler thinking to complex strategic and logical games.
How is a session structured, what is its aim?
When we start the session the children play with one-person logical games. For this, we use more than fifty carefully chosen games. In addition to logical thinking, games foster combination skills, spatial insight, and concentration skills. Everyone gets a different game, so that they don't compare themselves to others, but only focus on their own performance. During this part of the session, we focus on deep thinking and concentration. In the second part of the lesson, we play speed games. From simple to complex. The focus is on the development and improvement of quick decision-making, reaction time, and combination skills. Children learn how and from which aspects they can see through situations in seconds. Then comes the main game. Furthermore, different types of games are introduced every week. Vocabulary development or multiplayer logic games, strategic games, and memory development games. During these games, children gain a lot of experience, and they need to apply diverse thinking in order to win. Progress is a continuous and well-planned progress that takes time and effort. To conclude the session, we play games that help them "retrieve" their knowledge, which they can use in everyday learning at school and at home.
Why don't we just play one game like chess?
It is a commonly known fact that children are different (as they should be). A large game base allows both, children and us the freedom to give space and time to become fond of the games and found of playing and progress at their own pace. In order to achieve complex thinking, we believe that our experience backs this up and that the desired result comes with the growth of many different sub-parts. The reward of trying a variety of games is that it arouses children's curiosity, they become receptive, they become interested and excited that there are many different situations to solve and many ways to solve them. In board games, besides the thinking factor, there are many important aspects: how we deal with probability, luck, or how other people's decisions affect a situation. We try to suppose the thoughts of our opponents, we try to model their expected actions. Logic and inference are no longer enough for this, social factors and communication are at least as important. This is much closer to real life than we think. Understanding and then passing on the many board game rules helps to develop structured thinking and how to formulate something comprehensibly for others or present processes. Learning and practicing games shows children that sometimes uncertainty can be inviting and stimulating, because new solutions can emerge from these situations.
Who teaches the lessons?
The classes are taught by teachers who have participated in methodological theoretical and practical training.
How many are in a group?
The groups are small, 3-4 year olds need their turn quickly, so their group can have a maximum of 2-3 children. There are a maximum of 5 children for 5-8 year olds and a maximum of 6 children for those over 8 years old. There is a single teacher in each group who is permanent, it is a very rare case when someone no longer attends, and a new child joins the team. The experience is that the same group stays together for a long period of time, they help, work and develop together for years. In the after-school clubs, they play on a maximum of 3 tables in one room, but 1 teacher is present at each table. The children can be registered termly but they usually sign up for a full year and renew their registration at the beginning of the next school year until leaving primary school. We strive to have children of a similar age group in the same room, so the composition of the teams can change and adjust to the children's abilities.
Is one hour a week enough?
Children come once a week and learn new games. However, after the lesson, they take home a game that we recommend, or they choose. In this way, the game does not stop, but becomes part of the family's everyday life, thus the children develop more and more.