All About Working With Children Who Are Weak Academically

[sean wife]

Hi Mintymin,


Ever consider getting a helper to ease you off some housework and jaga-ing the younger ones when you are coaching the older one? I can fully empathize with the thoughts of just having one kid under those situations when everything seems to be out of control (have even blurted out those words at times)….and I only have 2 girls who are same age as your DD1…hahaa…so I can imagine it must be much much worse for you.

If you DS does not like TH for the tingxie part, maybe just let go a bit on that. Work on the reading and comprehension part first which may be less intimidating for him now.

[MintyMin]

Sahm_Tan,

I have quite a number of ez reading story books for ds.. every day 1 book.. n only 5 pages.. not difficult..

sean wife,
I used to have a maid.. but they adds up to more trouble.. so i became maidless after Aug last yr.. on n off have tots of hiring back.. but with the recent add on rules by MOM n reading the recent feedbacks in the Domestic Helper thread, i believe the decision not to have one is right.. though they can definitely help me wif the cooking n some hsehold chores..

Ya.. DS will attend 2 more lessons of TH only, no more tingxie as end of term liao.. So now.. daily book reading is a must.. can b as a bedtime story as well..

[cherrygal]

Hi Mintymin


Think your sanity is put to the test every night. Instead of getting a maid etc, would suggest you put DS in a student care that provides tuition on top of homework supervision. Many centres do that. That would relieve you of the need to practice tingxie and spelling with him. The centre will also make him do a lot of assessment papers which he may not want to do if you ask him at home.

Also, if your DS is already weak in Chinese, no use to send him for enrichment classes like TienHsia, berries or speech and drama coz these classes are meant for kids who are quite strong in Chinese and who have attended them since nursery or kindergarten level. He may get more demoralized instead. The important thing is to catch up on daily school work now so a Chinese tutor is more necessary. Group tuition or 1-to-1 is up to his learning style.

Your DD1 can continue at Tien Hsia if she is coping well. Start your DD2 in Tien Hsia too. My take on these enrichment classes is, you must send your kids there early (N2 / K1) to fully enjoy the benefits.

My boy attended Berries since K2 but I took him out in P2 coz Berries does not really follow the school syllabus. The classes were really huge. He’s now with another centre (not branded) and has maintained his grades for HCL. Good enough for someone from a potato family who doesn’t read Chinese storybooks.

You can also buy food on some days instead of cooking everyday. Some forummers also order tingkat dinners to take the stress off.

[Miss Raja]

I think the idea for student care is actually quite good. If you are at odds at your child to study and doing work, you might want to consult an educational psychologist. They can teach you skills to help you understand your child and therefore help their learning.


Cheers
Miss Raja
sgpsleenglish.blogspot.com

[SAHM_TAN]

Hi Mintymin,


How abt using Dr. Petunia’s method to learn Chi? You can get her product fr her website. Not sure if you still remember her, her KSP nick was chenoceau

[2ppaamm]

concern2:

janet_lee88:

I have to correct the kids when they say, 'I got...' :slapshead:

I have..., NOT i got.

Another wrong usage of 'got' is - \"Got this girl ha....\" instead of \"There is this girl..\" It is like they think in mandarin but they speak in English - \"有一个女孩..\"

I wonder how much children are penalized for using 'singlish' during oral exams..Perhaps getting marks deducted for grammar?

:faint: Er... but my English also like that leh... :nailbite: Wait till you get Grammar-nazis at home. I am tired of my kids correcting my English, when I seldom correct theirs. I think reading books or hearing native speakers speak helps.

[janet88]

We have to correct their spoken English or they will have difficulty speaking properly. My kids' new tutor speaks clear and good English. It's amazing how she can speak so well without a hint of singlish.


Bcos of daughter's environment, she tends to speak better English than son. I think if we can try to speak slower, perhaps our spoken English would be better. It's really hard to be bilingual...to speak 2 languages equally well :frustrated:

[Nebbermind]

janet_lee88:

We have to correct their spoken English or they will have difficulty speaking properly. My kids' new tutor speaks clear and good English. It's amazing how she can speak so well without a hint of singlish.


Bcos of daughter's environment, she tends to speak better English than son. I think if we can try to speak slower, perhaps our spoken English would be better. It's really hard to be bilingual...to speak 2 languages equally well :frustrated:

Must maintain Image mah...English tutor leh. Just like girls selling cosmetic should not have pimples

[puff]

Nebbermind:

janet_lee88:

We have to correct their spoken English or they will have difficulty speaking properly. My kids' new tutor speaks clear and good English. It's amazing how she can speak so well without a hint of singlish.


Bcos of daughter's environment, she tends to speak better English than son. I think if we can try to speak slower, perhaps our spoken English would be better. It's really hard to be bilingual...to speak 2 languages equally well :frustrated:

Must maintain Image mah...English tutor leh. Just like girls selling cosmetic should not have pimples

Girls selling cosmetic can have pimples then they can demo how good their concealer are...girls selling skincare products should not have pimples

[iFirefly]

concern2:

Another wrong usage of 'got' is - \"Got this girl ha....\" instead of \"There is this girl..\" It is like they think in mandarin but they speak in English - \"有一个女孩..\"

I wonder how much children are penalized for using 'singlish' during oral exams..Perhaps getting marks deducted for grammar?

How many children..

Minus 1 mark.. :siam: