Hello there amazing readers! We finally made it to the end of the year. And the 17th of December was the day to reminisce all we had accomplished during the year sprinkled with some moments of fun. Follow along for a take on the day.
In the morning, our read was from the book of Luke 17: 12-19 where we learnt the bible story of the 10 leapers. We learnt how Jesus healed all of them but only one came back to say thank you. From this story we learnt about the importance of being thankful to God for all that He has done for us.
We even had a moment to share about what God has done for us in our lives.
The day got even more fun with the swimming section that headlined the next hour or so and guys seemed to absolutely enjoy themselves.
Guys even gave us a quick Amazing Kids swimming show.
We headed back to class to re-energize ourselves with a cup of tea, samosa and mandazis.
Afterwards we settled for a letter writing session where we took a trip to memory lane for all the things we learnt during the year. We also described our favorite memories during the December Special.
Here’s Arella with a beautiful tribute to 2022.
And here’s Zoe sending a thank you our way and her best moments in 2022.
And finally Amadi, who talks about what she mainly loved during the December Special.
We ended our letter writing session with guys taking the time to write a heart felt letter to their loved ones for Christmas. Here’s one from a daughter to a mother. So heart-warming!
And one to the family.
As you can see the day was a total bliss of fun and nostalgia of all our fun moments. Oh yeah, on this day we also wished each other a Merry Christmas being that it was only like 8 days away.
So, from us to you have a Merry Christmas and happy holidays! See you in 2023.
Thank you for tuning back in for this week’s read. Let us take you through the day.
We started the day off with God like we always do. We prayed, then gathered around for the word of the day which was on recognizing the depth of God’s pursuit for us humans. We learnt and discussed on how humble God had to stoop for us. Becoming a human like us, being born in a manger, living with sinners just to save us. The read was emphasized by Luke 2: 1-20. The take away home was that we should appreciate God’s pursuit for us by constantly also pursuing Him back in all our ways, Philippians 2: 5-8.
As you may have guessed from the title, today we would have some basketball lessons. So, we headed to the basketball court and the coach asked us to warm up first before playing or learning anything.
We then headed on to do our first basketball lesson which was on shooting drills. The basketball coach trained us on how to shoot, or to put it in basketball terminology, having a “jump shot”. We were supposed to have a solid stance and then push the ball as high as possible aiming for the hoop.
We then had our dribbling lesson next. The coach advised us to dribble with our weaker hand which in most of our cases was the left one. This exercise was aimed at improving our “ball-handling” skills. A must have skill for every player who wants to assume the role of a Point Guard on a team.
We even got to compete against each other in pairs, this time using our dominant ball handling hand at a regular game’s pace.
The lesson finally ended with some low-ball handling drills.
What an exhilarating basketball lesson that was. We headed back to class, took some tea and snacks then finished off the day with a creative session where we made a bracelet of our own.
That was such a thrilling and creative day we had. Tune in next week for our last December Special day and find out what we have in store for you and the kids. Till next time, bye!
Hey there, come along as we take you through the academic trip we had at the Java factory last Saturday.
On this beautiful day, we were all psyched up for the trip in the morning. We gathered at Parklands and waited for all our friends to arrive so that we could leave together.
As soon as they did, we boarded the bus and headed straight for our adventurous destination. Most of the guys didn’t even know that the place we were going, where all the Java food is made, is in industrial area, Nairobi. So we decided to challenge and ask them what they expected to see at the factory.
Some had an idea of what Java was and had been to the restaurant a few times. Some even shared their nice experiences they had when they visited the restaurant for a delicious bite with their families.
We had already paired up before going into the bus. So, guys sat with their partners and bonded with fun stories all the way to the destination. Some shared some morning snacks with everyone while others shared a laughter with their friends and the teachers. It was such a nice moment.
The industrial fumes, the large buildings, people dressed up in same work clothes and the sudden soft screeching of the brakes let us know that we were already here. A step out of the bus and some decided to take a goofy one for the memories.
We walked to the entrance of the factory where we met our welcoming supervisor. Before stepping another foot towards the insides of the factory, the supervisor organized for some white lab-coats and hair nets for us to wear. Just some food health protocols. Plus it kind of made us look like some smart scientists🤓.
The supervisor directed us to a well organized room that looked similar to a classroom where the official introduction from both parties was done. He then gave us some health forms for us to fill before heading towards the cafeteria and the industry itself where the food is actually prepared.
At the cafeteria, two very kind staff members welcomed us with a sweet duo of some tea and muffins. There was bread too. We are not exaggerating this when we say that the muffins were literally out of this world delicious and soft. This guys were truly living up to their hype.
Our tummies were full and ready to produce the energy we needed for the tour around the factory. Our bakery supervisor; a confident lady who you could see enjoyed having us and teaching us about what happens in the Java bakery was finally here. She took us to every bakery sector in order, from the preparation of the dough to the egg-spraying rooms to the oven rooms and packaging rooms where the snacks were ready baked and ready for packaging.
Here’s some small snippets of the learning sessions we had during the tour around the bakery.
Storage room tour
Baking machinery & tools tour
Some of us even got the chance to prepare some of the products as we learnt directly from the professionals.
We even visited the cookie room (every kid’s dream room) and got a taste of the delicious cookies as they were being prepared by the awesome staff.
After the bakery tour, the supervisor finally handed us over to the meat factory supervisor. There we learnt all about how Java prepares their meat. We saw how they thoroughly clean the ingredients before using them for cooking. Java customers,you can rest assured that these guys are very very hygienic in their cleaning process at the industry. We learnt about some of the spices and machinery they use for their meat preparation and so on.
We then moved on to our next supervisor who took us through the most re-known product that Java is well known for, you guessed it, coffee. We learnt about the different types of coffee from different places e.g. Kenya, Uganda. We also learnt about the different roasts of coffee, the machinery used for their preparation and the packaging process of the coffee product.
Coming to the end of the tour, we met up with our first supervisor at the storage factory. All the processed bakery, meat and coffee products are stored here awaiting for trucks to come pick them up and transport them to their respective Java branches and selling outlets. How about that, we got to learn the whole process from the start to the beginning!
By this time, guys were hungry and tired for all the walking around the factory. So, we headed back to the cafeteria where we were served with some juice, snacks and two wonderful strawberry cakes! These guys were really amazing to us. Really really amazing!
Two kids finally stood up to appreciate our hosts for hosting us so perfectly and welcoming us with an open heart like they did. One of the teachers summarized this with an official appreciation as we shortly prayed then departed back to Parklands where our lovely parents awaited us to take us to our respective homes.
It was such a blast hanging out at Java industries. We learnt so much and met amazing people there. Thank you so much Java!
We’ll leave you with this clip of one of our own describing her favorite part of the day. Till next week, bye!
All our effort for the whole season was building up to this day, and the moment was finally here with us. The main reason for having a business idea, branding it, looking for a slogan, creating a logo and looking for funds to start it was all for this moment. To start it and earn some money from it.
Guys came in ready in the morning prepared with their well furnished final business pitch, like a shark tank approach and with a couple of some sample products to sell after the business pitch to kick start their businesses.
You might be wondering why they needed to have a furnished business pitch. Well, so that it they would be held responsible for what they promised to do and also serve as a reminder for them as to why they started the business in the first place, in case they got lost or things got hard down the road. It was also a proclamation of what each one of them had made up their mind to do, a sign of confidence in themselves and a step closer towards financial freedom and growth. If they could gain this at such a tender age, with God leading the way, this guys would be unstoppable in life.
As much as words are powerful, in our case that was only half the journey. We needed some proof that guys were all what they said they were. Guys needed to bring their A game and by that we mean, actually bringing out their sample products and selling to their friends and the class at large. When most businesses launch, there tends to be some ribbon cutting, balloon decorations, amazing product discounts et cetera et cetera. But for our case, guys came with their wallets packed to support their friends’ businesses. This way guys who launched their businesses got a taste of the reward you get for running a business. This was for the aim of motivating the business starters to keep at it and also congratulate them for launching their businesses. Basically supporting each other. Amazing isn’t it? Some customers actually got a worth for their money and were very grateful to the seller and the amazing product their business sold.
You probably thought we were joking when we learnt about calculation skills in our previous lesson didn’t you? Here’s a snippet of guys actually doing some business calculations to know how much change they should give to a customer.
With guys finally launching their long awaited businesses, we’ve got to say that the future looks bright for them. We can’t wait to see what becomes of their businesses in the near future. Keep on guys!
For a kid who’s ready to get out there, launch their business and finally make some money, the one essential skill you’re going to need and use regularly is your quick mathematics skills. By mathematics we mean well, Mathematics hahaha! Jokes aside, your capability to do calculations; calculating a customer’s change, calculating your profit, discounts, losses, employee payments etc.
Calculations are important since they involve your money. If you do it wrong, you hurt yourself and your business financially. Consider a situation where you have 3 customers ordering some snacks from your bakery shop and they are all in a hurry. Since you are working alone you end up caving to the pressure of making the orders quickly and you fumble your calculations and give a customer a higher balance than was required. This is with the assumption that, not all your customers have the integrity to return extra change. This is a very realistic scenario and having a couple of this could be devastating to your business. Could you imagine, your business always giving money to customers for free!
Sometimes it’s not even about pressure but laxity on your end on not working on your Maths and calculation skills. Probably telling yourself lies that you don’t need to know Maths because as long as people are buying your stuff your business is successful. And you couldn’t be more wrong. Selling doesn’t always mean you are making a profit. You could be selling your stuff at a loss because you are selling them at a lower price than you bought them. With your lack of interest to do your own calculations, you miss the fact that, you’re going at a loss because you didn’t account for extra charges like transport, tax, packaging costs, water or electricity bills (if the business uses them) etc.
There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding how to price your products and make a profit. And most of this can be accomplished by sitting down and doing your own business calculations to find a solution. After all, it is a business and it’s supposed to make your life better financially not worse!
On Saturday during the Amazing Kids session, we did a lot of business scenario calculations to juggle our minds on what was to come for our own businesses.
Since you’re on of us too, we can leave you with one of the scenarios we solved in class to see if you can get the correct answer too. Feel free to post your answer in the comment section below!
Scenario: A packet of biscuits costs Ksh. 50 and a bottle of soda goes for Ksh 100. Lora buys 5 packets of biscuits and 2 bottles of soda. She pays the seller with a Ksh 1,000 note. How much change should Lora get from the seller? (Tip: Imagine yourself as the seller)
Oh, this was our running memory verse for the day. Psalms 37:4.
A business logo is the face of your business. It identifies your business. When people think about your business, the first thing they see is your logo. Just the same as when you try to remember someone, the first thing you remember about them is their face.
Knowing this, as a business kid who’s been with us through the Amazing Kids’ entrepreneurship classes, would you rather want your business remembered as an attractive business or just meh!? I bet you would like your business to be as beautiful and attractive as possible wouldn’t you?
You can design your own business logo from scratch: from the design to the colors, or you could hire a professional to follow your ideas and create a good business logo for you. Either path works fine. However, if you chose the hiring route, make sure to give your ideas to the professional on what you want in your logo so that it can be something that you feel a connection to. Because after all the business is yours and you’d better love the way it looks otherwise you are bound to lose motivation in making it successful.
If you’re the brave ones who chose to create their own logo from start, make sure at the end to transfer your final sketch to a professional design platform for a professional look. You could ask your guardian or older siblings for help in this if you need to. Great logo design tools like logo maker or canva will do the job perfectly! PS that’s what we as Amazing Kids used for this class and we are so proud of the end result.
Before showcasing our business logos, it is of huge importance for you to know why having a good logo is good for your business. The most important aspect is that it grabs attention and attracts customers to your shop. Ultimately it’s a potential customer’s first impression of your business and separates you from the crowd. Here’s one I bet you didn’t know about, your customers expect it. The first thing customers always look for in your business is your logo. Therefore, this should be a motivation for you to create not just a logo, but a very attractive logo. It really goes the mile in making your business successful.
Just as we promised, we’ll show you the logos we made for our businesses. This should be an inspiration for you to go and make your own. If you do, do share with us here in the comments! Here’s what we came up with! Amazing don’t you think?
Have you ever been in a position where you were expected to give a presentation? If so, what did you do? Did you wait for the last day and just gave the speech or did you prepare for it in front of a mirror with yourself or in front of your friends and family? Taking the smart guess here,the latter is the way you chose, right?
Knowing that they had to bring their business ideas into fruition and start selling, the Amazing Kids prepared to pitch their businesses in front of their friends.
Let’s have a moment for some real talk. Having an idea and believing in it is actually very important. However, this is only half the journey. You have to create a point where reality meets with your dreams. If the idea stays in your head, then it will always be a dream, a what if. However, if you pick the bold route of bringing your idea to the world then you my friend are a winner, a conqueror.
You might be wondering why we are telling you all this. Well, in order to see your business idea become successful for real, you have to bring it to reality, tell people about it, gather all the necessary things it requires and start. If your dream business is for example, a cookie selling shop, think of all the things your business needs like dough, stands, kitchenware, packaging etc. then go get these stuff and start.
Another important aspect is your answer to a customer’s question, “Why should I buy from you and not the others.” What makes your business different from the rest? Maybe you could answer that your business is different because every grain of cookie you make is made out of love. Or that your business supports a greater cause like charity and any sales made from your business, a share of it goes out to help those in need. This separates you from the rest and helps people back you up and relate to you. Or better yet, have that emotional connection with your business because they feel that it has a soul, a purpose.
Now, in conclusion, before going out to the world and starting your business, we recommend doing all we’ve discussed here and then pitching the idea; to yourself and to your family members and friends. Doing so helps you straighten out some rough edges in your business before pitching it to the whole world. Your family and friends will correct you in care and kindness unlike the world where the criticism can be harsher.
Of course by now you know that here at Amazing Kids we’re all about the walk as much as the talk. So, in their own amazing way, guys gathered the courage to pitch their businesses to their friends and answered the question, “Why should I buy from you and not the others?” Take a look!
One of the things people pay little attention to but is actually very important, is a business name. A catchy or creative business name can bring you more customers, create a brand and improve your business in general.
Now you might be wondering why you would waste your time figuring out what to call your business when you could be using that time for more important things like say, marketing. Well, we will give you three good reasons why.
Number one; a good business name can make your business stand out from the crowd. Let’s face it, you won’t be the only person in town selling cookies, lemonade, clothes, shoes etc. Therefore, knowing this, what will separate you from the rest is, you guessed it, your business name (among other things of course). Be creative, it truly does pay off. When other hair servicing businesses give their businesses the generic name Salon, you can choose to call yours Color and Curls. See the difference it makes, even by saying it out loud, it really sounds different, and people will appreciate that.
Number two; a good business name will attract more customers which ultimately leads to more sales which is exactly what you want from your business. Take for example our business name, Amazing Kids. It’s very catchy. A kid walking by and sees our banner will be like “Hmmm, now that’s a unique name, I wonder what this club is all about because I also would like to be an Amazing Kid.” If you’re not offering a service like us and you’re more in the selling goods sector, a good business name like “Zoe’s Bakery” or “Small Giants” would surely peek people’s interest and attract them to your shop and buy from you.
Lastly, after your business name has done all that it’s supposed to, by attracting more and more customers, you find yourself having built a brand. Your business will now be known all over even by those who’ve never visited your shop. People now know who you are and trust what you have to offer through the massive customer base you have. They also yearn to visit your shop one day and be part of the brand culture your business has created. This way you get to have loyal customers. Think of brand businesses like KFC, Pizza Inn, Java, LC Waikiki, Two Rivers Mall, Starbucks and so many more.
I hope by now you are well convinced of creating some time to come up with that creative business name your business desperately needs. If your business ends up blowing up due to what you just learnt here, just make sure to give us a shout out while you’re in that TV interview, we sure won’t mind 😉.
Just as we have with you, we also shared these business name tips with the Amazing Kids. So, before you leave, take a minute to watch this video of them sharing about their business names. Enjoy!
We can all agree that the main goal of a business is to make money. And the only way to make money is by solving a particular problem in the community. Basic examples of businesses solving problems are: water-selling business in water deficient areas, entertaining others during their free time, offering medical services to the sick, starting a catering business to tackle the issue of people needing fast food when away from their homes etc. The list is endless and your creativity is your only limitation.
Well you might be thinking, this is nice, but what kind of businesses can kids actually start? And the answer to that is, “PLENTY!”
Some of the business ideas for kids are, but not limited to: selling jewelry and clothing, face painting at events, baking, writing and illustrating children’s books, babysitting, entertainment as a musician, gymnast or a dancer, planning kids’ parties, selling art and DIYs etc. The list is endless.
Just look around where you live and recognize a problem that most people have and then find a solution to it and make money from it. It could probably be that in your neighborhood most people have pet dogs, and they lack the time to walk them due to their busy schedules. You can then start your own dog walking business or offer your services to be walking their dogs when you’re not in school. Sometimes it really is that simple.
Well, to be honest, in some cases it’s not quite that simple, ironic right! But hear us out, it’s because in most cases you have to actually make a business plan and market your services/ business. Don’t worry about it though, in the next few weeks we’ll cover these concepts to make it easier for you to get started.
In the meantime, the Amazing Kids shared about their business ideas and even came up with really cool names for them, let’s watch. And oh, they had to put it down on paper for accountability purposes from their parents, teachers and themselves.
Here is Amadi talking about her jewelry selling business, Lavari Sacara.
And here’s Aria talking about Ela Dream Elsa, her multi-faceted business that will deal in the sectors of: designing and selling clothes, acting, decorations, selling shoes, flowers, bottles and bags.
And finally Lynn, who shares about her company My Bonique that will sell DIY bracelets and necklaces.
As you can see, the guys back here at Amazing Kids are not joking around with their business ideas. And if they can do it, so can you! Just give it a try!
Have you ever been in a tricky situation because you waited until the last minute to do something; may it be, studying for your exams or doing your homework? If you’ve ever found yourself in such a scenario, self-discipline would have helped you out! This Saturday, we learnt about self-discipline and its importance in our lives.
A person with self-discipline is considered strong mentally and emotionally. This is so because, thy are able to deny themselves the short thrill of now for the long lasting and satisfying results of the future. For example, someone who sacrifices their time to study hard reaps the fruits of success in future. Or even a more relatable example, a kid who reduces the amount of sweets and candy they take now avoids future visits to the dentist which are costly and to some very scary. This is the power of self-discipline.
At Amazing Kids we’re all about honesty. And these two guys shared with the class their stories where they thought they lacked self-discipline. Let’s take a peek.
The financial impact of self discipline will be seen further down the road as we tackle more on issues regarding businesses and money. Those with self discipline end up putting a substantial amount of their earnings to savings while those who lack it waste all their money buying everything their heart desires.
Self-discipline is a strength you have inside of you to control your feelings. It helps you do what is right, even if you don’t want to do it. In this case, opening a savings account and denying yourself those expensive things that you desire now.
With self discipline comes patience. Patience to wait till you save enough for that thing you’ve always wanted. It also brings forth wisdom. The knowledge that rough times will become worse if they find you without any money saved up since you squandered all of it buying things you didn’t really need.
Let’s take the example of having a tin full of cookies. With no self-discipline, you might eat all of the cookies at one go! With self-discipline, you could have two or three cookies today, then two or three tomorrow, and so on. This way, you get to enjoy the cookies longer instead of eating them all at once and risking getting sick from eating too many cookies at a go. Saving cookies to eat later is a good example of having self-discipline.
Self-discipline also helps when you have a large project to do. You may not want to do it, but using self-discipline, you can work at it a little every day until it’s all finished instead of waiting until the last minute. In the same way, if you have a chore that you don’t want to do, using self-discipline to get it done first can get it out of the way so you don’t need to worry about it anymore. Instead of playing video games or hanging out with your friends, and then doing the chore, finishing your responsibilities first shows self-discipline. You’re able to do what you need to do first, then enjoy yourself later on.
What a powerful phenomenon self discipline is. You not only get to use it now as a kid, but also when you grow up and become a responsible adult.
Amazing Kids Kenya 