Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
For five weeks, children at KinderCare Learning Centre in Wellington Gardens, Debe, traded their usual summer routine for an entrepreneurial adventure.
They learned how to make jewellery, bake cakes and sugar cookies, design colouring books and bookmarks, plant seedlings and even think like budding business owners.
Speaking with Guardian Media, KinderCare founder Justine Manganoo said the Young Entrepreneurs Summer Camp 2026 was designed to show children that learning does not only happen with a pencil and textbook.
She transformed the classroom into a workshop, bakery, garden and mini-business hub where their ideas could come to life.
Manganoo, who joined forces with her mother, KinderCare principal Lisa Manganoo, to create the five-week programme, said the aim was to give children a head start in understanding some of the practical realities of adult life.
“We want the young ones to learn budgeting, pricing and how to go about day-to-day living,” she said.
The children also learnt communication and mathematics, but Manganoo said creativity remained at the heart of the programme.
Saying independence was one of the most important lessons, Manganoo challenged the children to think beyond simply getting a job when they grow up.
“If you don’t get a job that you want, what will you do then?” she asked.
The answer, she said, was to become multi-skilled and adaptable so you can create opportunities for yourself.
At the camp, students Navita Seepersad and Kyng Rose proudly showed off jewellery made from colourful beads and string, along with handmade bookmarks and colouring books.
In the kitchen, students Sophie-Marie Ramlochan and Kyomi Sturgeon baked cakes and fried phoulourie along with Sayeed Ramkissoon, Saffiyah Ramkissoon, Isabella Balchan and Aiden Roopan.
The children packaged and labelled their snacks, which were put on sale.
Outside, the lessons continued as the children planted seedlings and learned about caring for the environment.
Principal Manganoo said each year’s camp is built around a positive theme that combines practical skills with values.
She added that the lessons also extend to helping the community and caring for the planet.
KinderCare handyman Mitra Manganoo said he often stepped into the classroom to help the children with their projects and explain how things were done.
“I’m into construction. I’m the handyman in the school. I do every sort of handwork, like putting things in place, repairing things,” he said.
Manganoo said he also encouraged the children to develop skills they could use at home.
“These are things that are important also to be helpful at home, to fix something for mommy, do something at home,” he said.
He believes learning to work with their hands can help the children become more independent as they grow.
