About Us
We believe art education—when done right—can contribute significantly to the overall quality of a child's mind. Our syllabus is crafted to be highly adaptable, fostering creativity and independent thinking.
Beyond teaching artistic skills, we encourage each student to actively ponder, question, and arrive at their own decisions throughout the art-making process. In other words, our little thinkers are empowered to take charge of their learning!
Our approach is rooted in the Studio Habits of Mind philosophy, developed by Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero. This philosophy fosters creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving through artistic practices.
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Additionally, our pedagogy incorporates elements of Project Zero's Visible Thinking framework, which promotes the development of thinking routines to cultivate deeper understanding and reflection in learning environments.
Pedagogy
Discover how we nurture creativity and critical thinking in every student!
Watch our animation to find out how art becomes a pathway to lifelong learning through the Studio Habits of Mind and Visible Thinking frameworks.
The 10 Studio Habits of Mind
Studio Habits of Mind, a set of essential behaviors and skills that our little artists develop to create their own meaningful and impactful artworks.
Studio Practice
Engage & Persist
Understand Art Worlds
Stretch & Explore
Interact with Communities
Envision
Reflect
Observe
Express
Develop Skills
Thinking Dispositions
A child's progress in developing good thinking habits is largely influenced by these 3 factors:
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Visible Thinking Routines
Watch how our little artists practise and engage on the thinking routines.
Our goal is to implement effective approaches to foster and develop children's thinking dispositions over the long term.
Our Story
As both a parent and an art educator, I find myself constantly pondering how I could most effectively nurture a child’s unique abilities.
Over the years, a challenge that always surfaces is how to foster genuine understanding and appreciation for the subjects they learn—be it Art, English, Maths or Science. It’s no secret that children in Singapore face pressure to score academic success, and this can often lead to reliance on rote memorisation to achieve desired results.
In recent years, the Ministry of Education has moved towards reducing the overemphasis on examinations, to make room for students to discover their interests and develop themselves as self-directed learners.
Likewise, my hope is that my children, and the children I teach, can go beyond merely studying, and get the chance to develop essential thinking skills that will carry them far in academia and life.
This is what led me into research, where I found proven teaching methods developed by Project Zero of Harvard Graduate School of Education, focused on thinking as the basis for creating. With the integration of this pedagogy, Chiki can Paint was founded to be an art school that empowers students to understand and practise good thinking habits through the creative process of art-making.
Together with our dedicated teachers, I hope that parents who have the same wishes for their children will join us in helping our young learners become better thinkers, who can confidently navigate the complexities of the world around them.
