Children of average ability

[tamarind]

EN:

Tamarind. At least he writes to you. That's a start. What you can do is to write him a short note. Make it fun, place it where he will see it. Reply to his message & use some of the words that he spell wrongly. If he reads it, he might realize that some of his words are spelt wrongly & will learn from it.

EN, buds,
Thanks for both your suggestions He is only writing simple words now, not messages. A few days ago, he drew a door then try to write the word \"exit\". He wrote it as \"aksit\", which sounds like \"exit\" using phonics techniques. I did not say that he is wrong, and I did not ask him to erase the \"aksit\". I told him to try writing it again as \"exit\", next to his word \"aksit\" so he can see the difference.

insider:

tamarind:

[
The problem is that he writes almost all the letters and numbers in mirror images. My mother just told me, that today she let him trace out \"2\" about twenty times. After he finished, he still writes 2 in mirror image

(

I used to write the number '2' in mirror image and was SLAPPED by my P1 teacher then. She said something like I was stupid that had repeated the same mistake despite being told and shown the correct ones.

I was made to stand outside the class when I handed in a correction page with her big '2' and many boxes of my reversed '2'.

Those incidence were so humiliating that I could remember until now.

I never scold or punish my boy when he cannot remember how to read or write words. I only praise him when he has done well. In fact, I praised him everyday. I also give him rewards when he can reach a certain level. For example, when he completed one level of the Ladybird key word reading scheme, I will bring him out to the ice cream shop or buy him his favourite toy. Reward and praise work well to motivate my boy. Although it still takes a lot of effort to make him focus for even a few minutes. But at least he does not reject learning at all.

buds:

Btw, your kiddie is soooo not average for his age..
So, think the thread to the average ability should
end here... Hahahahahaa! Start a new one...
Say, All Children Are Unique post...

..... which, they really are.......

It is perfectly OK to be average. I myself is of average ability. An student of average ability, who puts in enough hardwork, can also do very well. The key is \"practice, practice, practice\".

It is important that parents understand the ability of their child. A child who is not very bright, will take a longer time to learn, more repetitions, as well as a more effective technique. I don't use the white board, point to a word and ask him to repeat. I don't use flash cards. In fact my boy attended Zoophonics before and he learnt nothing from there. So I decided to teach him at home.

I printed out 2 or 3 letter words, for example, \"at\", \"an\", \"as\", etc each on a small piece of paper. I taught him to read the words once. Then I mixed the words around. I said \"at\", then asked him to pick up the word \"at\" for me. Then I said another word and asked him to pick up that word, until he picked up all the words. For the 3 letter words, I will give him the word and asked him to put under the correct category. For example, \"cat\", \"bat\", \"mat\", go under \"at\". \"can\", \"fan\" go under \"an\". So his itchy fingers always have something to do. Learning phonics is like a game to him. This method has proved to be very effective for him. In fact, I have originally planned to only teach him to read all the 3 letter words from 3 to 4 years old. But after about 12 months he has finished learning all the phonics techniques including the \"silent e\". I attribute this to finding the most effective method that suits him. Now he still likes to bring out the word cards and arrange them to play.

Teaching phonics is not enough. I also started him on the Ladybird key word reading scheme. These books repeat each word many times using different stories. Thanks to this scheme, he is now able to read pages with more than 100 words.

For an average child, if we are able to find an effective method that teach him, he will be able to learn very well. By drilling, I do not mean making a 4 or 5 year old child sit down and do the same thing over and over again for hours. In fact, I teach my boy for only 10 - 15 mins a day. But the same thing is repeated every day until he knows it very well, using the method I described above.

Government schools now require children to know how to read well and write in sentences before entering primary school. For an average child like my boy who needs many repetitions to learn something, I feel that it is important for him to start learning early, so that he has more time to learn at his own pace. It will be very stressful to wait until K1 and K2 and then cramp everything into these 2 years.

[buds]

Heyya tamarind,


When i mentioned that your boy is sooooo not average...
I meant he is already considered ahead compared to peers
his age. So, you are really not cramping his strengths. You
started him out early to ensure no last minute stress learning.

Yes. Primary 1 all words when you open the textbooks.
Very stress if child cannot read. Learning letters before
phonics helps A LOT. It assists in spelling or writing what
child can read or attempts to read from sounds the child
hears/tries to make out, around him.

For the word exit, the next time you go shopping or even take
the bus, show him the sign. He shud remember the next time
and won't make the same error. He's such a bright boy judging
from your posts on his personality. Boys tend to have shorter
concentration span so your daily 10 min to 15 min is soooooo
precious and an extremely conscientious effort on your part.
Pat yourself on the back for that. Having mummy or daddy
assist in home teaching is one-to-one and is way beneficial
than in groups. Esp for active children..

The letter \"x\" in phonics is pronounced as a very brief /ks/ sound.
And not a slow /k/ and /s/ sound put together.. So each time you
wanna blend sounds with /x/, must stress the briefness of it so child
will not be too confused between the two sounds.

Cheers.
:celebrate:

[buds]

Heyya shylyn,


Waaah. U reali virgin mummy!
Ok, good to know i've inspired one mummy here!
Happy... happy!

Enrichment Areas
I can teach are :

1. Phonics
2. Mathematics
3. Creative Writing
4. Speech & Drama

Your child 3.5yrs can introduce Phonics if you like.
But while you're home, coach the 26 letter alphabets
till perfect! Wud reali reali boost his writing skills.

By 4yrs to 4.5yrs, good to do Maths.
If younger than that they can't really grasp concepts.
And its reali tough trying to teach like place values
ie. Thousands, Hundred, Tens and Units to that age
range where the mind is still childish / haven't quite
matured.. But still, its not impossible if i have all my
parents co-operate with reinforcements. I usually try
my best to make effort with home activity stuff that
parents can do with their children. My sadness comes
when the folder is returned the following week with
the exact activity package un-opened / un-touched.


Takes 2 to tango..
In this case, takes 2 to math. Heehee..

Parents are usually sceptical of new teachers so i
personally find that if the lessons can be offered
in modular levels, parents have the freedom to
decide whether they wish to continue with me.

Even my parents / teachers workshop, I'll co-ordinate
the areas to cover in modular aspects so that if they
are return participants, i know where to resume the
next workshop from.

Errmm.. btw, which MMI your child enrolled in?

[tamarind]

buds:

Heyya tamarind,


When i mentioned that your boy is sooooo not average...
I meant he is already considered ahead compared to peers
his age. So, you are really not cramping his strengths. You
started him out early to ensure no last minute stress learning.

Yes. Primary 1 all words when you open the textbooks.
Very stress if child cannot read. Learning letters before
phonics helps A LOT. It assists in spelling or writing what
child can read or attempts to read from sounds the child
hears/tries to make out, around him.

For the word exit, the next time you go shopping or even take
the bus, show him the sign. He shud remember the next time
and won't make the same error. He's such a bright boy judging
from your posts on his personality. Boys tend to have shorter
concentration span so your daily 10 min to 15 min is soooooo
precious and an extremely conscientious effort on your part.
Pat yourself on the back for that. Having mummy or daddy
assist in home teaching is one-to-one and is way beneficial
than in groups. Esp for active children..

The letter \"x\" in phonics is pronounced as a very brief /ks/ sound.
And not a slow /k/ and /s/ sound put together.. So each time you
wanna blend sounds with /x/, must stress the briefness of it so child
will not be too confused between the two sounds.

Cheers.
:celebrate:

buds,
I think that you are one of the most understanding person I have met in the forums, and also one of the nicest Thanks for your valuable advise.

[buds]

Geeee, tamarind..

:oops:

That's sweet. ( Gushing )

I'm happy if it was of any help to you at all...
You're most welcome and it is MY PLEASURE.

[shylyn]

buds:

Waaah. U reali virgin mummy!
Ok, good to know i've inspired one mummy here!
Happy... happy!

hi buds
hee..u r cute! I can see that u hv a lot of Passion in improving the lives of many young children.

buds:

Enrichment Areas
I can teach are :

1. Phonics
2. Mathematics
3. Creative Writing
4. Speech & Drama?

hmm..just curious, what are the educational certifications one must take b4 one is qualified to teach in each of this area? I'm actually thinking of taking some 'courses/workshops' to know/learn how to teach my boy..i know this is unnecessary, esp I'm only teaching my boy, but then again, I'm really keen to know more loh..

buds:

Your child 3.5yrs can introduce Phonics if you like.
But while you're home, coach the 26 letter alphabets
till perfect! Wud reali reali boost his writing skills.

By 4yrs to 4.5yrs, good to do Maths.
If younger than that they can't really grasp concepts.
And its reali tough trying to teach like place values
ie. Thousands, Hundred, Tens and Units to that age
range where the mind is still childish / haven't quite
matured.. But still, its not impossible if i have all my
parents co-operate with reinforcements. I usually try
my best to make effort with home activity stuff that
parents can do with their children. My sadness comes
when the folder is returned the following week with
the exact activity package un-opened / un-touched.

How do u suggest teaching e alphabets till they r perfect? My boy knows all his alphabets & phonetic sounds when he was 19mths . .my concern now is to improve his writing only..have been trying to encourage him to write but depending on his mood & whether he wants to cooperate. At least I'm seeing some improvements in him trying to control the pen.

As for Maths, I didn't actually plan on how to teach him..just basically counting whatever we see..hee..u hv given me a gd idea..I can try to teach him the unit placing..hee..honestly, I hv forgotton abt this since so long never touch on 'ones, tens, hundreds etc'

I can understand ur point..tt's why, for whatever homework my boy's teacher gave him, I will try to let him complete it. Hee..though it is not exactly 'pleasing' to adults, at least it is an effort by him. Though most of the time, I hv to try my best to make him do it..heheh

buds:

Errmm.. btw, which MMI your child enrolled in?

He's currently in MMI Jurong West (extn). Hee..u hv any opinions on this centre?

[buds]

Heyya shylyn,


Enrichment areas a few places conduct it.
Enrichment subjects are not recognised
as a relevant subject to teach for pre-school
nor primary i think… But it is somewhat an
asset to the centre you wud be interested in
working for…

Our Straits Times has the few listings.

Letterland does open up parents’ workshops
as well usually mid year and end of the year.

Julia Gabriel offers speech and drama.

MMI on and off offers parents’ workshops of
various kinds.

You gotta shortlist what it is you wanna study.

If just for knowledge sake, mebbe i can set up
one day workshop to cover areas what you wish
to learn with other small group of parents for a
small fee… Only no certification lor.

For perfecting the alphabets, no other choice…
Practise makes perfect. Fun alphabet activities
then followed by written work wud entic more
written activity rather than just do the seat-work
alone.

Be good if your child can write all the letters
perfect too. Will help with practising the
spelling even from phonetic words.

Tho’ reading early seems to be a favourite
pursuit of many parents, even if a child can
read but cannot write it won’t be balanced.
Young children can start writing legibly by 4yrs
to 4.5yrs. By 5yrs, writing should be neat and
nicely spaced (one-finger spacing). By four
years can do words and short 3 or 4 word-
phrases and by five years shud write simple
sentences (guided). If the milestones are
developed age-appropriately, child can already
do 10 sentences dictation and spelling a breeze.


My kiddies can read okay at 4 years and i have
introduced and ask them to start doing daily journals
at K2 level. Second half of K2, they done Creative
Writing which helps a lot with the Primary 1 work.

[buds]

Heyya shylyn,


This centre is within the swimming pool compounds
right? Never been there before, tho’ we swim there
once in a while.

MMI has standard curriculum for its branches and
franchises. But up to the creativity and passion of
individual centres and their teaching team to ensure
the activities are carried out in fun ways.

I do find that parents who manage to stick to one
centre thoughout with MMI, their children are more
than ready for P1. Except that, MMI centres are so
known for crappy teachers. Thats a sad disadvantage.
Well, thats a people problem and not the centre
per se.

All women in one big room… Everyday?
Bound to have bitching.

Unless if everyone’s a mature adult and
are just there to work and also teach
for the sake of the children… with passion
to sincerely teach.

Since your child is there, you can ask if the
teacher wud mind teaching you how to reinforce
their lessons at home with your child. That one,
FREE.

[kaitlynangelica]

tamarind:

I planned to send him to West Grove, a neighbourhood school within 1 km from my place. They require students to write english compositions in P1. I know a boy who could not follow up at P1 in West Grove. He was asked to go back to kindergarten. He and his mommy were traumatized. It is difficult not to be stressed

Tamarind,

YOu sure the boy got sent back to p1? How could that be? I am ssure that the MOE won't allow that. Besides, I have friends who also had kids that couldn't read when they entered p1 but they caught up by middle of the year.

Didn't the mother do anything to prepare the child for p1? I find it hard to believe that he couldn't do anything at all. Even if a little bit, I am sure they can catch up right?

[buds]

Heyya shylyn,


Just a thought…

As for teaching your child at home, try to reinforce
what is done in your child’s childcare. Especially for
the decimal system - thousand, hundreds, tens and
units. The centre wud have a proper introduction in
place for that topic and may confuse child a bit when
he does it in the centre. Plus MMI centres are equipped
with all the teaching materials to carry out their lessons
whether its hands-on or written activity.

Lessons we teach should preferably be age appropriate.