Preschool Curriculum

[metz]

ChiefKiasu:

chamonix:

...- A K1 kid can do 5 digits addition mentally (abacus) within a short time. Completes 400-500 questions in a week. Study time - 10pm to 12 or 1 am every night...

:shock: :!: :faint: :siao:

Hmm, how about this? - The parents started training him to run 1 km when he was in N2.

[kwcllf]

There will always be very kiasu parents.


However, I believe the majority will be happy that children are well taken care off and given the age-appropriate activities and programmes so that they will be ready for Primary 1.

There are so many programmes out there but ultimately, they must deliver a basic result/objective. For me, this basic result/objective should be children that are confident, enquiring and have an interest to learn new things, ability to read/write simple words or Chinese characters.

Of course, there will always be different expectations but to me, this should at least be the basic standards chlldcare centres are required to achieve.

[ChiefKiasu]

chamonix:

...Hmm, how about this? - The parents started training him to run 1 km when he was in N2.

No words or smilies can describe my thoughts on this.

[lambchop1976]

kwcllf:

There are so many programmes out there but ultimately, they must deliver a basic result/objective. For me, this basic result/objective should be children that are confident, enquiring and have an interest to learn new things, ability to read/write simple words or Chinese characters.

Yes i agree. Let the child learn at his own pace with proper guidance of course. I also hope thro my involvement with my kids (3 boys) i can bld them up as a confident and independent learner and instill that passion for new knowledge n also the compassion for people that may not be as fortunate as them and be a blessing to those ard ... n definitely not to make my sons train for 1km at N2. Siao!!

One v comforting thing my eldest son (4yr old) told me today. We were praying and I was asking the Lord to bless all of them with wisdom n great passion for learning. My son said:\" Mom, u can pray for the 2 didi. But no need for me cos I always learning new things every day. N i want to learn all the time.\" so comfortin isnt it?

[metz]

[quote]...n definitely not to make my sons train for 1km at N2. Siao!! [/quote]
The father is a diehard fan of marathons. So, whether he deliberately set out to train his kid or not, I really have no idea. The first thing that came across my mind was the kid's physical well being.

The San Zi Jing, Lun Yu etc are actually great for introducing and inculcating people the various Chinese values. It will be good if the kids learn them with understanding. Unfortunately, those kids that I came across have no idea what they are reciting. My niece could recite a big chunk of San Zi Jing at 2.5 years old. However at 6 years old, she had forgotten most of it and could neither recognise the words too.

I do have the intention to introduce my kids these Chinese values. But I'll wait till they are older. With maturity and a better grasp of the Chinese language, I think they will appreciate those values better.

[quote]...N i want to learn all the time.\" so comforting isnt it?[/quote]Yes, indeed these are words I find most comforting too.

[metz]

vv_lim:

Quote:

My niece could recite a big chunk of San Zi Jing at 2.5 years old. However at 6 years old, she had forgotten most of it and could neither recognise the words too.


I recall back the book series 1-17 of 七田式0岁教育 that glanced through(some series skipped) before give birth.
(Reading back in details view recently)

Since you are quoting my post, I suppose it's only right that I say something.

Honestly, I'm not sure what your post is driving at mine. :? But I'll just clarify my stand.

The comment about my niece is merely a reflection of what I observed. That does not imply that I disagree with the theories you have shared. In fact, I believe most parents subscribe to the mentioned theories too. Which is why many parents introduced their young children to rhymes, poems, reading and music since as young as possible. And yes, judging from the various sharing, I have never ceased to be amazed by the abilities of young minds, regardless if their parents subscribe to any particular brain theories.

On the issue of repetition, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star itself maybe repetitive. But if a child's been introduced a variety of rhymes, songs and poems, then repetition wouldn't be an issue.

Whether it's through English rhymes or Chinese rhymes/poems/San Zi Jing, the same effect on nurturing the mind can be achieved. I believe that the young Jews are taught to memorise in their language, and not in a variety of other languages. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

In short, every parent has their own special parenting styles. For some, they hope by introducing rhymes and as such will help develop and train their kids' brains. For me, this has never been the issue nor my intention. Rather, it has always been a case of bonding for us. It was only much later that an early childhood education expert enlightened me that such bondings lead to nurturing the brains. As for San Zi Jing, I did briefly introduce my son when he was 3+. He took to it immediately and begged me to keep teaching him more. At that time, he didn't know a single word in Chinese. But he loved it cos San Zi Jing is indeed 'catchy'. Even my almost 2 girl tried to follow suit. I also tried explaining the meanings to them. However, I felt they couldn't really understand it the way I would like them to. Hence, we stopped after a while. It was way beyond their then abilities to appreciate San Zi Jing and it was not in my nature to have my kids learn something they were not ready for. Some parents, like yourself, may feel differently. Again, I would think different parents have different agendas when it comes to their kids. It just boils down to the different styles of raising kids.

Nice to hear your girl is developing well. She sounds an eager learner.
[quote]She is enjoying doing those '1 year behind' homeworks now [/quote]Definitely not so. In fact, she's doing age appropriate work. You'll be amazed by how much she will grow in another few months' time .

[momresource]

Hi Insider,

Thank you for your reply. I really value it and I have since, try to reduce TV time for my kids. I have seen some benefits for TV in my kid but we also shouldn’t abuse it… use it wisely and to the minimum.

Hi Buds,
I did go to MFC at Newton during my search for preschool 2 years ago but the distance and logistic put me off apart of the long waiting list. I had my concerns then about the teaching styles and whether my child can fit into those primary school setting. (eg. instead of sitting on floor vs table& chair arrangement/ individual task based vs group teaching)

Hi vv_lim,
Thanks for your kiasu curriculum! I do hope some parents can share as my kid is in nursery now and this will serve as a good guide (not to drill him) but my mental check to channel some of these topics as play activities for him.

[momresource]

Hi parents,


I had sleepless nights after attending my kid’s school event on special parent review meeting on expectations and curriculum last sat… reasons not bcos my kid is not coping well but rather I am frustrated by the overall education structure.

1st of all, I would like to emphasize that I appreciate the school school to conduct such meeting for parents to interact but overall, it is still about the talk to prepare the child for primary school. But how? Why do we have health book for our kid to monitor their development (eg. when they can sit, crawl, climb stairs), why can’t there be a guideline for 1st time parents about the academics at nursery, K1 and K2 levels? This will be useful tools for use to guide our kid to their age-appropriate activities and not over-expect or to drill the kids beyond their level.

So many talk about independent learning, thematic approach, emphasis of "play" or free play, moe approach of word recognition rather than writing (then when will a child need to write), fun learning interactive environment. If preschools are so fun and easy, will the child goes into shock when they enter primary 1?

As there are many emphasis of getting the child to be prepared for Primary One, I have my concern that if it is necessary to send my kid to those preparation class when turns K1-K2 level, just like all school-going children must-have tuition after school. Is it a normal trend for anxious parents or is our preschools now are not preparing well for primary school or educational operators seizing opportunities to cash-in?

Any parents here with preschool going children can share some of the following:

1. When did you child write (letters, words)?
2. Can your child write english/chinese words?
3. Do you emphasize on stroke?
4. When does your child read time?
5. When do your child learns number? eg. 1-20 in nursery?
6. When do your child learns math like addition, subtraction…
7. Does the preschool tell you about your child’s progress?
8. When does your child have spelling?
9. Anyone can remember the words for your child’s 1st spelling?
10. When did your child starts to have homework?

Any parents share here some of your child school activities (pls indicate nursery, K1, K2)?

Let me begin what I know my kid has done in term1 of nursery so far:
English
- knowing the letters and their sound (h, b, t)
Chinese
- recognition of words through reading boy, girl, father, mother
Maths
- Recognise and understand 1 and 2
- identify primary and secondary colours
Pre-writing skills like straight and curvelines and lots of art & crafts work.

Pls don’t ask me what he will learn by end of nursery bcos I am clueless!

[jedamum]

momresource,

you are frustrated over the overall education structure because there is no guide on academic 'milestones' for preschoolers?
many parents are already frustrated over the education system over it's overemphasis on academics. if MOE is to roll out a guide for preschool academic milestones, then parents will start to complain about no childhood for their kids.

One way of charting your kids' progress is to take a look at the MOE's guide on what a kid is expected to know by end of P1 (alternatively, you can refer to http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=117&start=0 too ). Then use that information and plan out what you want your kid to know before P1. With that, you can then supplement the school's teaching with either supplementary classes or home teaching.

[anxiousmummy]

Hi Jedamum

I thought MOE has changed its syllabus a few years ago and some schools are not even having any SA or CA? Even if there are SA or CA, I would have thought that the amount of homework would have gone down.