Ever thought of learning Flower Arrangement from home? These parents tried it!

Amidst the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of us have become accustomed to seeing tuition and academic support classes shifting to e-learning. Indeed, it has become common to see our children racking their brains over maths and science with their eyes glued to their device screens. Participation in any other enrichment, such as arts and crafts, has faltered recently  – with the perceived need for these to be conducted in person, such opportunities were lacking in these times.

However, in a unique deviation from these norms, Learner Net now offers a plethora of non-academic e-learning courses in categories including Arts, Self-improvement and Action Planning!

One such course is the Flower Basket Arrangement Workshop conducted by Rachel Chua from The Weekend Florist (TWF), available on Learner Net’s platform.

Photo credit: Rachel from TWF

Rachel founded TWF, which started out as a hobby for her – a way to de-stress from her busy corporate career. Entrepreneurship has always been something close to her heart and it had always been a goal to build a business at some point in her life. Though she never thought floristry would be it for her, she knew she wanted to pursue it from the moment she picked up a floristry course. “I like that [floristry] allows me to express myself creatively through flowers”, shares Rachel,  “I see myself as a floral artist who is blessed to have the chance to work with beautiful materials such as flowers and foliage”.

Photo credit: Rachel from TWF

Rachel conducted a Flower Basket Arrangement workshop here at Learner Net just last month.

In this workshop for children aged 7-12 years, participants learnt to create their own floral basket. They were also taught about specific flowers and foliage provided to them – learning about their names, origin and unique facts about each.  Kerr Xing, who had two children participate in this workshop, shared her views on the workshop teaching style;

“Love the fact that Teacher Rachel went through every single type of flowers/leaves before the flower arrangement, allowing my child to learn more about nature. My daughter enjoyed jotting down all that she had learnt on the worksheets given. The materials provided for the floral arrangement class were delivered in the morning of the class which ensured the freshness of the flowers. The other materials given were kid-friendly, really cute and lovely”.

Photo credit: Kerr Xing

Even within the hour-long workshop, Teacher Rachel was able to forge meaningful ties with her students. She further emphasised the importance of personal connection in her floristry career;

“I get to be a part of so many people’s important milestones – birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers. I also get to cheer people up in times of grief and sorrow. All these mean a lot to me because when my work is able to deliver the message without words, it’s truly meaningful to me”.

Prior to the workshop, the required materials (flowers, foliage, floral foam, basket and an activity sheet) were delivered directly to participants by The Weekend Florist. The course fee ($68 SGD) was inclusive of materials and delivery charges. “ I did think the class was on the pricier end at first glance –  but given that this is inclusive of materials and delivery as well as the quality of the class, I would say it’s well worth it”, noted Vidhya, another parent of two workshop attendees.

Upon commencement of the class, Rachel walked through each type of flower step by step as students filled in the given activity sheets.  She ensured to tend to the needs of each child, and took questions throughout, so each child was able to catch on to the process with ease. Following this, Rachel carefully guided them through the floral arrangement process step-by-step, such that each student ended the workshop with a beautifully curated arrangement.

“I was a little concerned my younger one (who is only 5) would find it a little boring and above his level of understanding, however Rachel made sure that all the children were on board and up to speed every step of the way”, shared Vidhya. Kerr Xing further emphasised how well “ [Teacher Rachel] made an effort to create conversation with the kids to keep them focused and entertained” creating a lively and engaging atmosphere in her workshop even via zoom.

Photo credit: Kerr Xing (mother of Kaitlyn as pictured here)

In this regard, Kerr Xing expresses; “Personally I prefer the online class now due to COVID-19. It serves as a parent-child bonding activity for me.” In our current day, online workshops have become a widely preferred alternative compared to in person activities due to COVID-19 – children are able to get the same enrichment and enjoyment along with ensured safety and security. However, they also allow for families to spend more time together by engaging in these activities with each other. “I think these online workshops are fantastic”, notes Vidhya,

“it allows me to see what my children are learning and even partake in it. This is not something I can do with in-person classes – when I used to send my children to in-person maths class, for example, I’d have no clue what they would do and I’d be a little in the dark.”

It’s safe to say that last week’s Flower Basket Arrangement Workshop was a huge success, and this isn’t the end!

“I have big plans for TWF. This year, we’re focusing on building our home subscription model. In a nutshell, our customers who subscribe to this model will receive a weekly flower arrangement from us. We’re also going into offering our workshops and courses online. It’s definitely been an exciting year!”

Photo credit: Rachel from TWF

The Weekend Florist has recently opened up 2 new slots for August, sign up here!