Money Education For Young Minds
Money Education For Young Minds
Explore OoberKidsRepublic
Join the fun
Here's a bird's eye view of OoberKidsRepublic
Get to know the republic's inhabitants, their homes, their friends and favourite hang outs.
Read this if you are working on Covid-nomics Virtual Treasure Hunt (part 1). Here's Clue 3:
Hello again! Welcome back
we cannot do everything at once
But in Economics we are not stuck
you can strike a right balance.
How? With the Opportunity Cost, check CREW below, don't trust 'luck'
what you are learning will give you a real chance!
Meet the Crew - People
Here are our friends - are you ready to meet them all?
Meet the People:
This is Imogen
Imogen runs, leaps, skates, climbs trees, sings and laughs with her friend Zaid. She never stops!
When she is tired, she plays with her vain dog, Chou Chou. She lives right by the green with her father, Dave, and their flatmate, Alfonsa Van Der Boom.
Imogen likes Alfonsa because she takes her on long bike rides, tells her about her travels around the world and teaches her about different animals. She always shows her interesting, beautifully illustrated books too. But she likes her most of all because Alfonsa does not make Imogen dress up. Her mum, Anne Marie, is a fashion designer in Paris and is always asking Imogen to wear smart and trendy clothes.
Imogen's House
Come and meet her, her father, Dave, her puppy, Chou Chou, and their flatmate, Alfonsa van der Boom.
Come in
She lives there with her dad, Dave, and their flatmate, Alfonsa van der Boom. Her mum, Anne Marie, lives in Paris, where she designs clothes. Anne Marie Loves designing beautiful clothes but it's hard work and she is far from her family. She misses her family and calls them nearly every day.
Here's Imogen's room
Check out Chou Chou's luxury tent! He is one posh dog.
Chou Chou (Shoo- Shoo)
Pronounce his name ‘Shoo-Shoo' or this terrier will get cross and will bark ‘Riff Raff' at you!
Chou Chou thinks he is more elegant and better than everybody else on the green because of his fancy French name. Imogen’s mother, Anne Marie, bought Chou Chou in Paris.
Every day Chou Chou and Imogen walk to the green; they are always together apart from when:
- Imogen climbs trees
- Imogen is at school
- When it is too muddy for Chou Chou to get his paws dirty (Chou Chou hates this!)
If you want the latest style, go straight to him; if you want to have a laugh just look at this terrier whenever he meets Mirella the Duck. He has a MASSIVE crush on her...
Dave
Dave is Imogen's cool and relaxed dad. He loves computers, websites and reading all about the internet.
Imogen and Dave are always baking on Saturday afternoons. They have baked: cookies, pizza, focaccia bread, sponges. They used to leave their cookies on the kitchen windowsill to cool, until Liam the Fox helped himself to the whole lot!
Dave is married to Anne Marie, Imogen's glam mum! She lives in Paris and designs clothes but she is also interested in hats and shoes. The three of them meet in Paris, at Dave and Imogen's or when they go on holiday together with Chou Chou.
The awesome three
Dave, Imogen and Chou Chou are usually together on Saturdays, unless Dave is on a deadline at work. If he has a deadline he works through the weekend but he tries to make up for it the following weekend.
Dave's Office
Imogen's oober dad writes awesome codes! Dave works from home. Here's his office. It's 100% green and energy efficient. Dave is busy but he always makes time for Imogen and tries to spend every Saturday with her.
Alfonsa van der Boom
You'll hear Alfonsa before you see her. She is loud and bright and cheerful. She wakes up at dawn to go for a bike ride and then goes to work, managing OoberKidsRepublic's Adventure Playground.
In her spare time, Alfonsa swims, writes adventure stories and listens to conversations between animals. That's right! She's found the key to animal language in an old book she bought in Timbuktu during one of her adventures. She hasn't told anyone yet but she might tell Zaid or Imogen... She hasn't decided yet. Which of the two will Alfonsa reveal her secret to?
Alfonsa's room
Welcome to Alfonsa’s oober sporty room. She is hardly at home in the week. She works, cycles, trains, laughs and is always busy. She enjoys every minute of her life.
Alfonsa's job
Check out Alfonsa's playground. She is in charge of this oober fun green space
Zaid in 60 seconds
Only Zaid can match Imogen's energy.
He climbs trees, races Imogen around the green, explores the city on his bike, eats jam sandwiches, reads comics and loves atlases because he wants to be an explorer.
When he is not with Imogen, he is with Alfonsa van der Boom. Zaid also likes Alfonsa and enjoys hearing about her worldly travels. He wants a pet but is not allowed one so he sometimes sneaks Mino the hedgehog into his room while his mother, Rhiannon, is out.
TROUBLE HQ
Step right in. This is the hallway. Can you spot signs of Zaid's presence?
Zaid's House
Zaid lives here with his father, Dr. Zana and his mother, Rhiannon.
Zaid's bedroom
Can you spot his special bed?
Zaid and Imogen
They are friends, partners in trouble, sometimes rivals and ALWAYS up to no good!
Dr Zana
Dr. Zana is Zaid’s dad and he is the wizard of his laboratory. He is a chilled scientist, who works all day to discover new things about nature and to create new medicines.
He loves his experiments but his favourite chemical reaction is a cup of tea to relax with when his wife Rhiannon and son Zaid are out of the house.
Phew, peace and quiet!!
Double trouble
Zaid and his father always have fun together. They explore the neighborhood, try out new games, mess around and guffaw so much!
Rhiannon
Rhiannon is Zaid's oober-organised mother!
She is never late, she is always in control, her socks are always clean and her house is always super tidy. Except for Zaid's room!
Rhiannon likes
a) order
b) good food
c) company
d) hot chocolate
e) Christmas
f) organising parties with her husband, Dr. Zana.
She loves to spoil Zaid. She just bought him a new trampoline for his birthday but they've made a deal. Zaid will get his present once he tidies up his room!!
Beast Friends:
Mino the Hedgehog
This brave, funny, nervy hedgehog is fresh from the countryside.
He is in the big city to find a mysterious little girl and return the scarf she dropped last summer while she was on holiday in Mino's countryside village.
How will he manage to find this little girl in this big city?
Mino is not afraid. He is ready! He took a city survival course before coming to the city. Plus, he already has a friend in the city, Oscar the Owl. Oscar lives on Grovington Green and will help Mino find the little girl.
Mino is easy-going, he likes many things and nearly everyone!
Mino likes:
a) Whistling
b) Saying ‘hello, lee, luu' when he meets people and ‘cheery ciao' when he says goodbye
c) Plump fruit and nuts
d) Adventures
Mino hates:
a) Rain and cold
b) Bad manners: He does not like children who swear or are cruel to other children, especially smaller children.
Chou Chou (Shoo- Shoo)
You have met Chou Chou at Imogen's. Look for him in the section above!
Kudos & Bonus
These two are the mouse and squirrel of Grovington Green . They are always together!
They have the same ideas and finish each other's sentences.
They met when they were very little and lost on the green.
They started chatting and they have never stopped.
Even their oldest friends sometimes cannot tell them apart.
They like the same things,
love the same things,
hate the same things
laugh at the same things
say the same things
They even buy the same things and sell the same things; that's because they are the business animals of the green!
If you hear of a crazy scheme, chances are it was their idea.
If you lose anything on the Green, go straight to them.
They collect ANYTHING they can get their paws on but they return them, if you are quick and claim them back BEFORE they have sold them on!
By the way: Kudos is the mouse and Bonus is the squirrel!
Yasmina
If there is a breaking story in Grovington Green then Yasmina the Butterfly will know all about it and she will tell everyone!
She tells everything, whether it has happened or not. This is because Yasmina likes a story. If you whisper a secret to a friend and Yasmina hears you, EVERYONE will know about it.
Once, when Zaid said to Imogen, "I will race you to the tree top", Yasmina was flying around and heard what Zaid said.
Instantly, she flapped around the green shouting,
“Olympic contest on Grovington Green! Come and watch the world's finest tree climbers competing for the gold medal!!"
Otalie
Do you feel a cold coming on?
Do you have trouble getting to sleep?
Do you feel a bit sad?
Then talk to Otalie the Ladybird. She knows all the best stories to help you fall asleep, cheer you up, give you strength to go to school and eat your greens!
She makes medicines to cure all the animals on the green and she knows all their secrets but she keeps them to herself, unlike YASMINA!
Oscar
The wisest animal on Grovington Green, Oscar is clever and knows ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. The things he doesn't know, he quickly works out.
Animals on the Green go to Oscar when they want to find out something they don’t know themselves and can’t find on the internet. On busy days, you will see a long queue by Oscar’s tree of squirrels, ducks, geese, ants, mice and robins.
Oscar knows many things but he is funny too. He tells everyone funny and true things from the past.
You wouldn’t guess it but this flapping genius has a secret. This wise owl loves rock music and, at night, he plays it loudly on his red, shiny guitar. His music is terrible but Oscar is sure he can be a rockstar one day. Even if people scream when he sings and plays.
"What's the matter with you, man?" Oscar can often be heard saying when humans rush out of their flats to see who is playing that awful music.
They sometimes lean out of their windows to unmask the awful singer but they only see Oscar the Owl and wonder whether they have just dreamt the bad music.
Nobody has found out the truth. It's a secret so you won't tell anyone, will you?
Mirella
This clever and cute duck is the star of Grovington Green's pond. She was born there and was the cutest duckling of them all.
She is still very pretty and chatty. She can go on forever in fact. Chat, chat, chat; quack, quack, quack.
She LOVES it when crowds of people clap their hands during her shows. They are not proper shows as they only happen once in a while when she feels like dancing and leaping across the water and, when she is in a good mood, tap dancing!
The humans call her 'Tip-Tap-Toes'.
She always winks at her admirers and can be very sweet but she also likes to be right. In fact, she thinks she is always right!
If you ever start an argument with Mirella, be prepared to argue forever. She has out-argued everyone! You can try to win but you will need to be brave.
Good luck with that duck!
Liam
Nobody has ever out-foxed Liam.
He is the slyest, quickest, funniest fox you or your lunchbox will ever see!
Keep an eye on your lovely pasta salad, your spaghetti Bolognese or your pizza and omelettes. In fact, keep an eye on ANY nice food. If you don't, Liam will wolf them all down (even if he is a fox) faster than you can say 'foxtrot!'
His t-shirt may say 'it's never MY fault', but it usually is!
Like Oscar the Owl, Liam has travelled far and wide but the animals on the green don't trust him because Liam usually tells tales and makes up facts. If he swears he is telling the truth, DON'T believe him!
Favourite Places
See the spots where our friends meet
The Spelling Bus - Once a week, Imogen, Zaid and their friends board the Spelling Bus to practice their literacy while driving around town. The bus is so popular that the kids like to call it the 'Spelling Buzz'!
The Chat Hut
Leave your laptops and phones behind! This is a place where Imogen, Zaid and their friends go to meet, chat and make friends. They drink delicious milkshakes and smoothies while they talk.
Before they leave, they write a goodbye message on the white “Thoughts of the Day” board.
Zaid huffs and puffs, but he eventually scribbles something. Imogen always writes long messages.
She LOVES writing.
The Fun Shop
Meet Ponzo and his dog, Alonso. They run the Fun Shop! Do you want something funny, wonky or original for a friend?
Or maybe you want to treat yourself?
This is the place to go.
Be prepared to be amazed! Ponzo can tell lots of jokes, teach you new games and make you laugh or stare! Every day, it’s a different adventure in the fun shop.
Ponzo is a little scatterbrained and might keep you waiting for ages but you can always pet Alonso while you wait.
He will bark but he will never bite (unless you’re a dog biscuit)!
Cinema
Everybody likes a good story. This is the Cinema where all our friends go to relax and dream and delve into their imagination.
