Competition among primary schools

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

The PCF I paid was slightly less than $100. Besides fully air-con, they have drama (that was the year end performance), music, dance room, computer, science, English, Math & 2nd language. For cooking, creative art work, the parents pay slightly during school holidays. Yes, they cover spelling (not the 3 letter words) & simple writing. What they did not cover is phonic which I think is very important for the children.


Some kids like to be at the top of the game, like Jedamum son (our dream boy!). Some kids have high ability, so repetition is a no no. Some kids with lower ability, will need a lot of helps and guidance. So it all depends on the child & the school they are going to be in. As we know, different schools have different emphasis & different standards.

[sleepy]

Oops, my girl is definitely over prepared


She's one of those advanced Kumon kids. In fact, there are many in the Kumon center she's attending. Like a norm rather than exceptional. Some of the lower primary kids are doing secondary level Mathematics.

I don't think she's bored at all in her kindergarten. She's busy socialising, and there are other topics taught that she doesn't know yet such as sea creatures, farm animals, how the cow get milk. Those that she already knew, I ask her to treat as revision.

I believe it's even more pressurizing & depressing if the child cannot cope

Anyway, P1 & P2 most kids have no problems. P3 onwards is the real test


Oh, just to add, there is no way a child can be over prepared for languages. Chinese is about reading & writing. The richer her vocab, the better. Ditto for English.

[metz]

tamarind:

Well, I have heard of some parents who bought P1 textbooks/assessments to prepare their kids. Such kids will probably feel bored at P1. So I am not going to do that. I only make sure that my kids read at least one page (depending on their ability) and write a few words everyday.

My 5 yr old is definitely very well prepared in this sense. We find P1 Maths syllabus a breeze. Not very different from the concepts kindergartens are teaching. In fact, another 2003 kid has started working on P1 English assessment books too.

I am not so worried about him feeling bored in school. Besides academic learning, there are other aspects of school life that he has to learn to manage.

[phtthp]

metz:

However, things will start to take an interesting change when the kids hit P3-P4.

P1/p2 are foundational years.
Real test seep in from end of p2.

[beth_ng]

Thanks for sharing!