Any parents of gifted children here ?

[metz]

EN:

He dont really bug. But he sees life as a whole big science. Making milo can apply dissolve/saturation concept, cold milk out of the fridge is condensation, formation of rainbow, how electricity flow etc. Get them to read on magnet, I have not started on experiment yet. But they have embark on it, while I clear up dirty dishes. The poor fridge magnet has been brutalized. There's Wed 9-11 pm Octo channel on animals. It' makes ds so excited, he seems to be talking, moving about, watching all at the same time.

Hi En,

Science is really part and parcel of your kids' life, that's fabulous! Hopefully one day, my kids will share the same enthusiasm.

[sleepy]

tamarind:

I have been trying to find a preschool that groups children according to their abilities, not their age. In fact, I think that it is always beneficial for younger kids to be with older kids who can teach them so much more than kids of the same age.

MMI

my girl started childcare at 2yo, in playgroup based on her age. After 3 months, promoted to N1 because teachers realized she was advanced for her age. At 3yo, she completed N2.

I visited 11 childcare centers before selecting MMI because it was the only one that cater to abilities rather than simply grouping kids by age

[sleepy]

Imp75:

I have sent her to speech and drama class before but that doesnt really help. Also noticed that my gal is super active and talkative at home but she just clammed up in front of other people. Not sure what should I do to make her be more expressive in front of others?

Agreed speech & drama didn't help. I tried that route too.
My girl was an introvert, dipped her head in presence of strangers. We were very concerned & kept prompting her to talk to other children & teachers, although not much success.

Her transformation was in K1 & K2. Becoming more outspoken. I feel that kindy really helps!
She attended different kindy in K1 & K2 so that gave her even more opportunity to meet new friends. New environment each year

[sleepy]

insider:

Sleepy: so what will happen to your child after he/she finishes K2? Repeat K2 in same school, change to another school to retake K2, or you can find a way to let him start P1 one year earlier than others?

Teacher did mention she will have to repeat K2 if she continues in same childcare. Alternatively, we can send her to another kindy with different syllabus

However, childcare was only a temporary measure for me since I just delivered a new baby back then & didn't want to compromise her learning while I was busy with a new baby
Hence, I wasn't too concerned what's going to happen at K2. Anyway, I withdrawn her from childcare at 3yo after she completed N2

She rejoined kindy at K1 when she was 5yo. I homeschooled her when she was 4yo supplemented with enrichment classes

By the way, can apply for early admission to P1. There are some criteria listed on MOE website but I don't intend to. No hurry to start P1


Impressive to read such chim books at young age!
Can your girl write very well? In terms of composition

[metz]

insider:

She started reading Chinese 武侠小说 at age 11. She finished reading whatever 金庸/梁羽生/etc books I have in the shelves. I don't think at age 11, she has the vocab rich enough to understand many of the Chinese words in those books. But she could go on based on 'guessing' I believe.

That's really rare and admirable in this generation!

My first Chinese Classic book was 紅樓夢 in traditional print during Sec 1. Subsequently, I just moved on to whatever 武侠小说, Wei Si Li etc I can find in the library. Nobody taught me traditional chinese or explain the difficult words but somehow, I was just able to understand them. Now, I look forward to the day when my kids can enjoy such books like I did and still do now.

[clare]

chamonix:

My first Chinese Classic book was 紅樓夢 in traditional print during Sec 1. Subsequently, I just moved on to whatever 武侠小说, Wei Si Li etc I can find in the library. Nobody taught me traditional chinese or explain the difficult words but somehow, I was just able to understand them. Now, I look forward to the day when my kids can enjoy such books like I did and still do now.

Hi again, chamonix!
Totally OT.... but I'm so thrilled to know that someone else here likes 衛斯理! I used to devour every single Ni Kuang book I could find In sec school, instead of cramming for exams, I'd be racing to finish 射雕英雄传 instead :lol: To me, the traditional chinese somehow lends so much flavour to the stories.

[tamarind]

EN:

The math book? Are you still on it? I stop because ds dont hv the basic. I dont teach in advance unless he shows interest. So have not covered long multiplication/division but will get there when the school syllabus requires it. What's your thought? Can the book be taught or must go through basic?


Tamarind, if you are curious on what math book we are talking about, let us know. I want to know what your thought is, if the content of the book can be taught.

EN,
I briefly went through the 2 books. It will be good to know the basic first. There are some questions that only require logic thinking and simple addition/subtraction. These probably can be taught first before advancing to the higher levels.

I will only teach these books if my kids show a deep interest in maths. These books are good for preparing kids for the maths competitions I am teaching A-level maths now, and I don't think that these books are necessary, or even beneficial to prepare kids to learn higher mathematics in the future.

[tamarind]

clare:

chamonix:

My first Chinese Classic book was 紅樓夢 in traditional print during Sec 1. Subsequently, I just moved on to whatever 武侠小说, Wei Si Li etc I can find in the library. Nobody taught me traditional chinese or explain the difficult words but somehow, I was just able to understand them. Now, I look forward to the day when my kids can enjoy such books like I did and still do now.

Hi again, chamonix!
Totally OT.... but I'm so thrilled to know that someone else here likes 衛斯理! I used to devour every single Ni Kuang book I could find In sec school, instead of cramming for exams, I'd be racing to finish 射雕英雄传 instead :lol: To me, the traditional chinese somehow lends so much flavour to the stories.

I also read all the novels by 金庸 and 衛斯理 in secondary school. I also learnt to read traditional chinese on my own. As for the difficult words, I refer to the dictionary, but most of the time I could understand from the context. These books helped me to become one of the top students in Chinese in my secondary school and JC. That's why I believe it is important to read widely, when learning any language. It is much better than attending any enrichment classes, or doing any number of assessment books.

I also like to read 亦舒, and I have almost every one of her 200+ novels.

My 5 year old girl's level of Chinese is so much higher than myself at the same age, thanks to her Berries class. Now the tough part is to develop her love for the chinese language, and hopefully she will enjoy those books too.

[clare]

tamarind:

I also read all the novels by 金庸 and 衛斯理 in secondary school. I also learnt to read traditional chinese on my own. As for the difficult words, I refer to the dictionary, but most of the time I could understand from the context. These books helped me to become one of the top students in Chinese in my secondary school and JC. That's why I believe it is important to read widely, when learning any language. It is much better than attending any enrichment classes, or doing any number of assessment books.
I also like to read 亦舒, and I have almost every one of her 200+ novels.

Hi Tamarind
Isn't it interesting that we taught ourselves to read traditional chinese which is so much more complicated than simplified... Maybe it's the lure of the books; motivation works wonders!
Ohhhh, you have a huge collection of 亦舒! ~drool~ If you want to clear shelf space one day.... let me know hor....

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

Tamarind wrote [quote]I will only teach these books if my kids show a deep interest in maths. These books are good for preparing kids for the maths competitions I am teaching A-level maths now, and I don't think that these books are necessary, or even beneficial to prepare kids to learn higher mathematics in the future.[/quote]
Just bought book 1 but have not started yet. He is interested in book 2 when I showed him but I can only know until I really start. As to whether it is beneficial or not, most of the things my ds picks up are not really related to school work. As long as he is happy & school work is not in the danger of failing, it's fine with me.