2018 PSLE Discussions & Strategies (Born in 2006)

[laughingcat]

But I do find intensive class by the school teachers much better than the ctr.

[Estéema]

laughingcat:

Dawn123:

Hi,

Will you send your kids to the PSLE intensive class? Is it useful?

I felt that not really useful.

I used to send my older ones for P5 intensive training prior to SA2. I felt that not entirely useful. Personally I rather used the time to go through the error/careless mistake done by the kids.

IMHO intensive classes are short spurts, not long-term and lack the length & breath to address areas of deficiencies. For a child to learn well, the child needs to be in a trusted relationship and the coach must be able to show the ropes, to model, to direct, to identify gaps and close them with the child's interests in mind. These things all takes time to observe, to work with and fine tune what & how the child will learn and build around the child's prior learning and his/her interests for effective results.

In addition, consider the kick-off time needed to establish partnership. An \"intensive class\" infers a short contract period which does nothing to effectively help a child learn base on the multi-faceted factors contributing to effective learning. Moreover, there are other hindering factors such as the number of students, new peers to adjusts to, getting familiar to teaching materials & style. Intensive class tutors hv a target to meet - complete the short-programme which may not be what most parents looking for PSLE support will nec find.

I totally agree with laughingcat's perspective & therefore taking appropriate action as an involved parent, taking responsibility & not leaving the most important job of nurturing her own child.

Many parents are anxious their kids shld get ahead and secure good grades and subsequently a good future. Without rolling up their sleeves and getting deeply involved, one will never truly ustand the joy of watching your prince and princess learn and grow in knowledge and wisdom. If a child experience the personal guidance, and the hard work expanded in keeping the young child well directed in the pattern of learning and putting in sweat, the child is rewarded with secured adult modeling, and will learn well given the loving experience.

There are of course, situations where a parent have overload & diminished focus to support the child &!hence need for \"outsourced\" tuition. Even then, with sufficient attention to ensure your child is regular & attentive, u'stand'g & completes assigned work on their own, will help the child feels able and confident over time. It's the process - a process any parent shld not miss experiencing, seeing their own DC persevere, learns to deliver and never hand in half-baked work, etc

A parent role is really an honorable one but not without fulfilling engagement.

[mylulaoshi]

Dawn123:

Hi,

Will you send your kids to the PSLE intensive class? Is it useful?

Depends what class it is. I myself conduct Primary 5 Syllabus revision in June, and 虚词 and Higher Chinese courses. These cram courses fit parents who have no bandwidth to go through 18 chapters of 5A/B. And don't know how to teach 虚词. I agree that they are not 100% result effective: due to the short period, I cannot follow through the student's grasp and performance as they are not my regular students.

[lee_yl]

My kids attended various intensive crash courses. Some are good, some are less so. Even if good, i suspect it will only add on 1-2 marks more and not sure if it justifies the high fees paid. If the course is not so good, it is a total waste of time. Time is precious especially near exam

[Estéema]

lee_yl:

My kids attended various intensive crash courses. Some are good, some are less so. Even if good, i suspect it will only add on 1-2 marks more and not sure if it justifies the high fees paid. If the course is not so good, it is a total waste of time. Time is precious especially near exam

lee_yl,

That's so true & I can forgot that one other impt TIME factor. Once time wasted, u can't re-track! It'll be too late and regrets does nothing to the poor child and confidence level declines.

I find it useful for P6 kids to stay home & consolidate where areas of weakness are & close the gaps. Intensive course trainers will not hv the time to know the weakness to help much.

The lesson I learnt is to prepare our kids well & early. Think I've shared this before - exercise their brain muscles fr young & they'll be fit by P6 for PSLE. Don't leave it till last minute & panic.

I rmbr many parents start asking me for recommendations ard this time & more right after P6 CA1 coz results not as ideal & it's PSLE year. I was caught in a bind coz even if I recommend good ones, there is really little time left in 9 mths time for PSLE. It'll cause too much stress for young children to be 'suddenly' pressured to perform or pushed to perform at high gears when at normal times they are so relaxed and gets to play loads of screen games.

Learning is really a journey. Journey to build habits of perseverance, consistent work, discipline, time Mgt, self-Mgt, balance life with sports as oppose to passive couch screen activities, etc.

Don't just focus on scores in the journey, focus on their attitudes towards learning. Do they enjoy the challenge to solve difficult math problems? It builds resilience when faced with difficulties in life. They get the sense to overcome & think of solutions rather than make excuses & giving up without trying.

You'll see this in young kids at lower Pri and if the hibit is not addressed, u'll see them in upper Pri giving loads of excuses. As parents, it's not easy but we need to balance btwn being firm & loving. Some parents (grandparents as caregivers too) tend to give in but find it hard to control the child in later life.

Do they enjoy reading or prefer watching TV fr morn till dawn? They can be trained be be self-directed to balance their time. We've help them learn not to loose their time, life and life into the screen world and sap their life away. I'm not saying they shld totally cut out screen time. Loads of reports hv highlighted on the resulting anger, health issues (eyesight, emotional instability, headaches, more serious ones I've encountered a kid had surgery for aneurysm...).

Reading, play dates for sports, and even legit building or monopoly or Risks games are a lot more healthy for kids. It helps in building negotiations skills and interactions skills. The library is full of resources to help kids read to build vocabulary & introduce ideas for their next composition! Go for these as a family!

Hope I'm not too rumbling and sharing some sensible tidbits. I just hv a passion for kids learning & love kids.

[lee_yl]

Esteema, I fully agree with you that it should be consistent hard work from young. There is no magic formula and miracles will not happen overnight by attending crash courses. But it is only 8 months to PSLE now and I am pretty sure many PSLE parents (especially first time) are getting anxious now. :nailbite:


Some mummies are FTWM and some know they can’t teach certain topics (like correct Sc answering techniques). If need be, I think this June can still go for intensive crash courses but it’s probably not advisable to do so during the Sept term break cos it would already be too late by then. May just confuse the child further. :scared:

[ANWI]

Dear Parents, Can you please share where to get PSLE old questions from 2010-2015.

If any parent got these questions please respond.
Thank you so much!

[laughingcat]

ANWI…PSLE 2010 is rather old as syllabus/exam format are outdated. Do you really need that? Year 2015 onwards are good enough plus past years papers from school.


If you still really want (which I don’t think it is worth the effort), can pop down to Bras Besah 2nd hand bookstores, they will still sell if you can find.

My opinion, I have the PSLE papers all the way till 2009 but really not worth the effort to do it.

[ANWI]

Thanks Laughing Cat, I tried looking at BrasBasah Complex old book store. Couldn’t locate. If you have upto 2009 do u mind to borrow for few days only for Maths Topic.

[laughingcat]

ANWI:

Thanks Laughing Cat, I tried looking at BrasBasah Complex old book store. Couldn't locate. If you have upto 2009 do u mind to borrow for few days only for Maths Topic.

ANWI, I have just glanced carousell. Some folks do sell it.