Around Town: Cackleberries in SM Megamall

Much has been said about the negative effects of a generation that has become increasingly immersed in technology—from television, portable video game consoles, to smart phones and tablets. But since we ourselves know how indispensable these functional gadgets are, can we really blame children if they find themselves just as enticed?

Related articles:

• Kids and TV: What Parents, Teachers and Doctors Say 

• Pediatricians Issue Warning against Use of Tablets by Young Kids 

The key, then, is to make use of technology to meet our young one’s needs, while still establishing a sense of connection to the physical (and non-digital) world. 

 

A new form of ‘edutainment’

Cackleberries, an edutainment company from Vancouver, Canada, and the first of its kind in the Philippines, offers such a balance. Eronne Foster, Cackleberries’s president, CEO, creative director and founder, saw the need to help the underprivileged through an alternative educational system for parents and schools back in the day when she would adopt street children and take them under her care.

‘Cackleberries’ comes from the slang term ‘cackleberries’, used in the 1950s to refer to eggs.
“We care about children,” explains Emmanuel ‘Noel’ Rubio, chief operating officer (COO). “Because a lot of children right now are hooked on gadgets, we do the opposite. We provide games and activities, but everything is aimed at educating and entertaining the kids. There’s music, there’s art, there’s everything that a preschool learner would need. We define ourselves as the partner of parents and schools in nurturing and developing children. Cackleberries is a collaboration of child educators, psychologists, animators, and illustrators.”

Stepping into the Cackleberries center is enough to arouse any child’s curiosity, what with 30 egg-shaped chairs adorned with colorful characters, computers and colorful illustrations on the walls.  “The egg chairs are very catchy,” emphasizes Rubio with a smile. “Everyone wants to have their picture taken with the [featured] characters.”

What would appear to be a child-friendly computer shop to the regular passerby is actually an enriching learning center for -- but not limited to -- kids between the ages of three and six years old. 

“This is done through the easiest way: through games, activities,” says Rubio. “If you teach children, there must be a high entertainment value. You have to be very, very creative.”

“What’s great about it is that it’s highly interactive, [and] a child will discover things in the program that they can relate to every day living,” says Carol ‘Dang’ Doria, store operations and customer service manager. 

Kids also get to create their own avatar and enter the virtual world of Oville, which features 50 characters, each with a distinct personality and who teach certain manners and values. They mirror daily life through practical lessons and skills.

Check out the history of Oville here:

 

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Kids are also guided with the pronunciation of words through an exclusive tool, the ‘magic mouth’. “We are immersing kids in an all-English-speaking community,” says Rubio.

 

Take a peek inside the Cackleberries Language School here: 

Children can enjoy an hour of Cackleberries edutainment for P350, or avail of their enhancement programs, which serve as a supplement to preschool education. Kids are assessed for their learning and developmental needs, and a program is specifically designed based on these. 

The enhancement programs are for eight sessions, two hours each, at a package fee of P2800, which is valid for 45 days. Parents can select their preferred schedule for their kids. 

To ensure a balance, children are provided both online and offline activities. After one hour of exploring Oville with its learning modules, Cackleberries’s licensed preschool teachers conduct complementary lessons at the activity room or storytelling room.

 

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School tours

Because of Cackleberries’s unique approach to learning, preschool delegates from locales outside Manila have visited them for school tours. 

Tours usually last for two hours, including an orientation for parents on giving their kids age-appropriate exposure to the digital world.

 

Birthday parties

 Besides being an edu-tainment center, Cackleberries also gives parents an alternative to the typical children’s birthday party.

“The Cackleberries birthday party would really bring the celebration to another level,” says Rubio. “A birthday party would be a good opportunity for us to share what we have, to offer something different, something more exciting, something that is more techie.”

The birthday celebrator can choose from three Oville-inspired themes: Princess Speckles, Master Hoobee, or Nester Yo!.

The package is good for 30 people and includes all event coordination, hosting, decorations, invitations, loot bags, party hats, games, souvenirs, a 30-minute mascot appearance, and exclusive use of the Cackleberries center for three full hours.

The parents of the celebrant are also gifted with 30 1-hour ‘Explore Oville’ gift certificates, which they may use however they prefer. Loot bags include educational items such as crayons, erasers, or coloring books, to veer away from the typical sweets. 

“All our digital programs during birthday parties are complemented by offline activities,” says Rubio. “So there would still be interaction between the celebrator and the guests.” 

“For the games, we bring the program to life,” says Doria. The activities complement the distinct personality of the birthday celebrant’s chosen Oville character. “It’s the first of its kind, so those who would celebrate their birthdays here would be among the first.”

Photos courtesy of Cackleberries

Cackleberries’s birthday party package ranges from P20,000 to P25,000. Clients can choose from their list of accredited food suppliers for an additional fee.

 

Getting bigger

 The beauty of a digital child education program is that it is ever evolving and growing, and Cackleberries is continuously developing Oville with new places to explore in the animated program.

“We thought of diversifying [and] moving into something different,” says Rubio about how the concept of Cackleberries reached Philippine shores. “This is our way of helping the Filipino children.”

Cackleberries is located at the 5th floor of SM Megamall, Building B, in Mandaluyong City. 

For more information, call (02)986-5170, (02)986-3630, 0917-598-8829, 0932-867-7871, e-mail sales@cackleberries.com.ph, nbrpassion777@yahoo.com, or visit their Facebook pages, www.facebook.com/CackleberriesPhilippines and www.facebook.com/cackleberriesph. 

Photos by Lai de Guzman, unless where otherwise specified