Children of average ability

[shylyn]

Hi Buds

Been busy at e office..hence didn't hv e time to reply to your post. Thks for taking time to reply in detail to my concerns. Really appreciative of that..I can also see that u also take a lot of time to reply to other threads as well..Admirable!

buds:

The curriculum for MMI centres are designed by the
curriculum developers and why i say the children are
ready for P1? Its because their curriculum encompasses
all the 5 areas in Montessori, which is Practical Life,
Sensorial, Cultural, Language and Maths and all these
areas are done within a prepared environment. Meaning,
all materials required to teach the children all the 5 areas
are available in the centre. Montessori children tend to have
a wider knowledge of the outside world apart from academics.

Just curious, r e curriculum developers local? I guess its gd in the long run for the kids to hv a wider knowledge of the outside world..however, whether they rem or use it is another thing.

buds:

A good Montessori teacher will also cover Grace and
Courtesy with the children. There are specific ways to open the
door, sit on the floor, flip a page of a book, etc.

Wow..I didn't know that..hee..but on the whole, I feel that kids who went to childcare are better behaved on the whole..of cos i dun deny that there will still be rotton apples here & there.

buds:

Touching on the staffing part, MMI can definitely afford the best
teachers, provided they are out there... Again, this is a people
problem. It's not too bad finding good or efficient teachers, but
passionate ones (like me!) that all comes from the heart right?
Its something employers cannot enforce on the people they
recruit. Likewise for office setting..

Yep! I agree..it is very difficult to find people who r Passionate abt their job & I can see that u r..it's indeed a waste for the industry to lose a person like u! No intentions to return to the workforce soon?

buds:

As for teaching your child at home...
Please try to find out from your child's teacher what will be covered.
Then, it'll be better for you to reinforce with your own materials or
activities at home to test what your child has learnt. I normally already
prepare a draft of what's being covered in a term and i give out monthly
newsletters to my parents.

Well..I hv been asking the supervisor for their curriculum since the start of this mth & they promised to email over 2 weeks bach but till now, yet to receive any updates. Actually, the teacher did write in the com book most of the days but comparing to his previous N1 class, the syllabus seem much easier..thus, I'm actually thinking of asking the supervisor whether my boy can join his previous class as I felt that he had learnt a lot while he was there. Also, his current class is rather messy with 22 kids to 2 teachers (though there r 2 assistants in the morn) & I was really concerned when I popped by yest to peek at my boy while he was sleeping. His pants were soaked in urine & he was still sucking to his empty bottle, which disturbed me a lot as I don't know whether this is a norm a not! According to his teacher, he just wet his pants & in fact, frequently gg to the toilet. But my boy will tell us whenever he wants to go to the toilet! He wont just wet his pants even when he is sleeping!

[shylyn]

tamarind:

Last week my boy asked why he cannot make telephone calls to me ? We have been teaching him to use the telephone for a long time. He still cannot remember my 8 digit mobile phone number. He also takes too long to find a number on the keypad.


My boy saw his 6 year old sister calling me as and when she likes. She knows how to do so since 2 years old. My boy is very disappointed that he doesn't know how to do the same thing I don't know how to comfort him. He is not trying to compete with his sister, he really has a genuine need to call me and talk to me.

HI Taramind
I can imagine how u feel. Both r ur kids but one is far more advanced than the other, of cos he will feel a bit inferior compared to his sis. I guess u can ask him to get his sis to help him make a call to u and do so when he's nearby so he is able to see and learn. Try to assure him that he will eventually learn how to make calls to u..kids learn best during stressfree moments.

[tamarind]

shylyn:

I can imagine how u feel. Both r ur kids but one is far more advanced than the other, of cos he will feel a bit inferior compared to his sis. I guess u can ask him to get his sis to help him make a call to u and do so when he's nearby so he is able to see and learn. Try to assure him that he will eventually learn how to make calls to u..kids learn best during stressfree moments.

shylyn,
I believe he does not know how to feel inferior, in fact, we praise him much more than his sister, and he is very proud of what he can do. I guess we make him believe that he can do everything that his sister can do. Except for making telephone calls. My girl usually volunteers to call for him. But he really want to do it himself.

[buds]

Heyya tamarind,


Both my kiddies know how to reach me by mobile phone.
Whether its manual buttons or touch screen ones, hehee...

This is what i did.. share with you.
I kept my 2 previous phones when i got new ones.
They are old models but can still be used, even without a
SIM card. They used to play with toy phones when they
were younger and i suppose being girls, they tend to pretend
play by chatting a lot to one another using the toy phones.
Stick mobile number on the phone (wherever nicely visible)
and let them use it for pretend play or play the mobile games
on and off and also teach them how to use the SMS feature,
which they reali liked. (even though they can't send the message
over - cos no SIM card ) When we ever do pass by public phone,
I'll ask if they wanna try calling me (when younger) and they love
a chance to do that, can reali talk to mummy over the phone and
this time can reali hear mummy's voice... ( not just pretending )

When they miss their grandparents or wanna go over, i get them
to do the calling for me. Occasionally, i let them answer my mobile
calls and guide them phone manners..

Speaking of manners, one student of mine has a sister who loves
answering the house phone in a secretarial manner imitating their
business-woman mommy. I ever got an answer like this when i called
the home to speak to the mom. Its a shocker to hear a secretarial
tone in a mini voice... Heheee.. But cute.

Me : Hi there, may i speak to mummy please..
Her : May i know who is on the line, please.
Me : Yes, i'm your brother's teacher and i need to speak to mummy
about a school excursion next week... Is she busy? If its a bad time
i can call again later..
Her : Please hold the line, ma'am... I will check if she is available.
(Put on hold for a minute, while she went to check on mommy)
Her : Hi again, ma'am. Sorry to put you on hold for that long.
Mummy... eherm... Mrs Lim is in a conference right now. However,
do not worry as i will leave her a message that you have called.
Would you like to leave your number where she can reach you?
Me : (in bewilderment) Yes, please ask mummy...ermmm... Mrs Lim
to call me back... I'm in the office. She knows my number. Thanks.
I appreciate it.
Her : You're most welcome. Hope you have a pleasant day ahead!

Is that cool or what?

(She may have just been pretend playing with her mini business suit too!)

[ChiefKiasu]

buds:

...Speaking of manners, one student of mine has a sister who loves answering the house phone in a secretarial manner imitating their business-woman mommy. I ever got an answer like this when i called the home to speak to the mom. Its a shocker to hear a secretarial tone in a mini voice... Heheee.. But cute...

That's hilarious! :lol: You should tape that conversation next time and post it up here. How old is the kid?

[tamarind]

insider:

If only we can accept that our kids are average and love them for what they are without comparing them to Annie's daughter or Betty's son (or comparing him/her with another sibling), the kids will be a happier bunch...

I do not compare my son with my daughter. As I wrote earlier, we make him believe that he can do everything that his sister can do. But I cannot stop him from feeling unhappy because he realizes on his own, that he is unable to do certain things that his sister can do. I cannot possibly ask my girl not to do those things in front of him.

[tamarind]

buds,

Thanks for sharing It was only until a few weeks ago, that my son is able to carry on a complete conversation with me on the phone. Before that, he only knew how to say hello and bye bye on the phone. I am not sure why because he has been talking well since around 2 years old. Somehow he does not quite understanding that speaking to mommy on the telephone is the same as speaking to mommy face to face.

[buds]

Heyya tamarind,


3 cheers for boy-boy!
:celebrate:

[buds]

Heyya Chief,


Smart kid's age was 7 yrs old.
Was in RGPS then..

So professional, ay?

Mould from young...
Old enuf can take over business from mummy..

[tamarind]

I am now teaching hundreds of young adults of at least 17 years and above, in an institution that do not group students according to their grades. In every class, there are always about 10-20% of students who are much more intelligent compared to the rest of the class. However, we have to design the syllabus so that the other 80% of the students are able to pass. Which means that those top 20% who are capable of learning so much more, were not able to do so.


On the other hand, the bottom 10 - 20% of the students, who do not even understand basic algebra, or cannot even divide 1/2 by 2/3, are made to learn integration and Laplace Transforms. Needless to say, they were not able to understand of such complex mathematics.

I think it is not right to expect all students to be capable of learning the same thing. These students are already over 17 years old, so you cannot say that they just "need more time to develop", right ?