Help! my boy hates going to school

[tamarind]

Kindergarten is not compulsory. If the mommy have time to teach at home, kids can actually learn so much more at home. What they learn in kindergarten may be very simple for them, and they may find it very boring. Personally I find that it is sad to make a child so young trying to cope with boredom for half a day, or even a full day, 5 days a week. Compulsory education starts at P1, and after that there are about 16 years of serious studying. Kids before the age of 7 should have the freedom to do whatever they please, so long as they have already acquired the necessary skills of reading and writing and are well prepared for P1.


The other factor is the teacher. Not all pre-school teachers are loving and kind. I have encountered one who seems to hate her job. I pity the kids taught by her.

As for social interaction, it all depends on whether the kids in the kindergarten are nice. Some kids can really be bad influence to others. My brother’s daughter got a bruised eye from her K1 class. My brother stopped sending her to kindergarten. At P1, they moved to UK. I heard that the girl is now doing extremely well in school.

[smurf]

Thanks Bobbi for your encouragement. :celebrate:


Hi Tamarind,

I dunno how to homeschool child. Most of the time, I'm so held up by chores, chores and more chores, that I hardly have time to teach him. and what to teach? read book, I can only read few pages to him, after that, he stop wanting me to read. do maths, after 15 mins, he wants to stop and take a break. sometimes, I add in fun play, such as ask him to help me to cook, etc. so in 1 day, the 'quality' time spend with him (although we are together) is less than 1-2 hours maybe?

yes, I think he is bored, with routine, but what else can I let him do? sometimes, he would ask me, ''what can I do now, mama''? :oops:


and he can be very lazy. I'm so lost nowadays that I dunno why I choose to be a SAHM in the first place.

[corneyAmber]

Actually kids are no different from us. They need to have something to look forward to like us. Perhaps the school is not offering that?


When my child was in K2, she stopped liking school too...nothing interesting and challenging to look forward to. Towards the last 6 months, she was dragging her feet to school, could not wait to go P1.
I was not too concerned and due to lack of motivation, the body also weakened and ended per her desire, absent for medical reason. However she was happy staying at home running her own life.

Then in P1, suddenly chirpy as a bird again because so many things to look forward to....school was like the most happening thing for her.
Now there are certain mini competitions to read x number of books to chase medals and being the first to arrive in school for her class(but no prize :roll: ) that keeps her on her toes in wanting to go to school. They just need something to look forward to....so I hope the school continues to have something in store for her to look forward to because I dread the day she comes home like in K2.

[smurf]

Hi Ks2me,


really ah? I do hope that (ie, bored and looking forward to something to do) is the case lor, otherwise I dunno what to do.

[corneyAmber]

smurf:

Hi Ks2me,


really ah? I do hope that (ie, bored and looking forward to something to do) is the case lor, otherwise I dunno what to do.

Yes it was true for my child. You need to figure out if it is the same for yours.

[tamarind]

smurf:

Thanks Bobbi for your encouragement. :celebrate:


Hi Tamarind,

I dunno how to homeschool child. Most of the time, I'm so held up by chores, chores and more chores, that I hardly have time to teach him. and what to teach? read book, I can only read few pages to him, after that, he stop wanting me to read. do maths, after 15 mins, he wants to stop and take a break. sometimes, I add in fun play, such as ask him to help me to cook, etc. so in 1 day, the 'quality' time spend with him (although we are together) is less than 1-2 hours maybe?

yes, I think he is bored, with routine, but what else can I let him do? sometimes, he would ask me, ''what can I do now, mama''? :oops:


and he can be very lazy. I'm so lost nowadays that I dunno why I choose to be a SAHM in the first place.

smurf,
It is not necessary to teach a child for a few hours a day at home.

When my boy was ill due to HFMD, I kept him at home for a few months. I only taught him for less than a hour everyday. I have a \"reading scheme\" which is very easy to follow, as described in my http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/. I don't read to my boy, he reads out loud to me. I also taught him how to do addition and subtraction by counting his toys. The rest of the time, he plays with his toys and create his own crafts using paper, pencils, scissors and glue.

Many parents are buying lots of P1 assessment books for their kindergarten kids to prepare them for P1. Just do a few pages a day at K2, and kids will know the entire P1 syllabus by the end of the year.

It is perfectly OK to let a child play or daydream on his own for most of the day. Playing and daydreaming are essential for a happy childhood. I daydreamed a lot when I was young. The child still has to suffer for a long time from 7 to 23 years old.

[tamarind]

For the information of all parents :


http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/preschool/faq/
2. Is it compulsory for my child to complete Kindergarten 2 (K2) to be admitted to Primary One?

It is not compulsory for any child to attend kindergarten or complete K2 to enter Primary One. All children will be admitted into Primary One at the age of 6 as in 1 January of the year of admission.

[corneyAmber]

I agree with Tamarind that children need free time to dream and have fun.


I am one strange parent who was not particular about kindy. I did not do any homework(maybe dunno KSP then?? :lol:) prior to sending to the kindy, just choose something nearby for ease of getting there. And there was no academic enrichment outside school other than Chinese plus we did not join the school's prescribed enrichment at all either. \"Where got time?\" :lol:

Also, at kindy, missing classes was common and I had no qualms because alot more things were more important to me at that age than going to school, I would prioritise. Going kindy was just an immersion exercise for us, for her to understand what is school.

Did she suffer in P1 academically? Lucky not at all...even though 90% of her schoolmates were from premium academic kindys....it turned out more than fine for her. So this reinforces my belief that it is good to play hard when they can, no regrets when they enter formal school.

Disclaimer: Apply the above according to the child's personality as I would not want to be responsible for children not prepared for P1.

[smurf]

Hi Tamarind,


thanks for your experience. thing is, if I dun let him go Kindy, I dunno what else he can do, and he keeps asking me what he can do. :x

also must have something to do mah, if dun have anything to do, then also no fun right? :celebrate:

[tamarind]

smurf:

Hi Tamarind,


thanks for your experience. thing is, if I dun let him go Kindy, I dunno what else he can do, and he keeps asking me what he can do. :x

also must have something to do mah, if dun have anything to do, then also no fun right? :celebrate:

smurf,
When we provide enough books, resources and materials like papers and tools for creating new crafts, then the child will naturally think of things to do.

Thinking of ways to occupy his/her free time, is challenging, and this is an important skill that kids must learn. The problem is that most kids are put in pre-school since 18 months old, they are constantly being told what to do. So many kids nowadays lack this important skill.

I believe that kids are most creative before the age of 6. In order to develop creativity, kids must be given lots of free time to play and do whatever he wants.

Anyway, I am not telling you to keep your son at home lah. I am only saying that at this age going to kindergarten is not important. We still have another 16 years to worry about !