Skipping K2 for Enrichment courses???

[spitzcookie]

Hi all,


Happy New Year! My son will be in K2 this year and for the past 2 weeks, he has been complaining that he doesn't want to go school. He kept saying that his friends bullied him. So, I have been trying to coax him into going school every morning, very tiring on my part

It's not easy also to find new school for him this last min cos' it's his last year (K2). So, my hubby & myself is thinking of skipping K2 & just send him for enrichment courses. I've called MOE this morning & was told that K2 is not compulsory in order to register for a primary school.

Thus, I would like your help in telling what are the courses I can send my son to. He's currently attending CMA, swimming & wushu lessons. Courses that came to my mind are: English (Phonics, creative writing), Chinese (writing, hanyupinyin), Maths & Arts. Hopefully I can get some recommendations on which are the schools I can send him to.

Thanks in advance!

[janet88]

spitzcookie:

Hi all,


Happy New Year! My son will be in K2 this year and for the past 2 weeks, he has been complaining that he doesn't want to go school. He kept saying that his friends bullied him. So, I have been trying to coax him into going school every morning, very tiring on my part

Thus, I would like your help in telling what are the courses I can send my son to. He's currently attending CMA, swimming & wushu lessons. Courses that came to my mind are: English (Phonics, creative writing), Chinese (writing, hanyupinyin), Maths & Arts. Hopefully I can get some recommendations on which are the schools I can send him to.

Thanks in advance!

I understand a child's unhappiness of going to school...but what if this is primary school and he complains of the same problem. Pre-school is not compulsory but primary school is.
Have you talked to his K2 teachers to find out what happened ? At K2, this problem can be resolved since class size is small.

[MMM]

Yes, I sort of agree with Janet_lee88.


If he is "prone" to bullying, maybe it’s good to guide him on how to handle it eg. through role play, etc… He will need these skills in primary school.

In addition, I feel that K2 provides the social environment/ discipline to prepare them for P1. So it’s not just the academic aspect but also the social aspect. This part I doubt enrichment class is able to do as much.

[spitzcookie]

Thanks MMM & Janet_lee88 for your prompt replies.


I understand what you meant but this problem did not just surfaced. In fact, we have considered for quite a while & thus made this decision.

As I'm not working, my son has always been in the school for half a day from 8.30am to 12.30pm. After taking away half an hour for breakfast, half an hour for lunch, he's left with 3 hours. And another hour is for their outdoor play, so practically he's left with only 2 hours of actual study time. Thus I don't see why must I pay almost $700 (include $95 of one-way bus transport) for only 2 hours of academic time.

Hope you will understand how I'm feeling right now

[janet88]

spitzcookie:

Thanks MMM & Janet_lee88 for your prompt replies.


I understand what you meant but this problem did not just surfaced. In fact, we have considered for quite a while & thus made this decision.

As I'm not working, my son has always been in the school for half a day from 8.30am to 12.30pm. After taking away half an hour for breakfast, half an hour for lunch, he's left with 3 hours. And another hour is for their outdoor play, so practically he's left with only 2 hours of actual study time. Thus I don't see why must I pay almost $700 (include $95 of one-way bus transport) for only 2 hours of academic time.

Hope you will understand how I'm feeling right now

I do understand what you mean about the 'financial aspect' but K2 is a memorable year with the year end concert and that feeling of graduating from kindergarten and moving on to formal school. It's also the social aspect which a child learns. If he is not able to cope with the 'bullying' and gets away from such situations now, he may not be able to handle when he goes to primary school. Honestly, I worry for my daughter when she goes to P1 2moro (being so petite).

For adults, it seems expensive to pay for 2 hours of school fees and transport. However, for your child, he will be happy that he is able to 'escape' from unpleasant situation in school.

[smurf]

Hey spitzcookie,


My boy was complaining the same thing when he was in k2! But Since he was already in k2, I just let him continue. Though he would grumble when he had to go to school. He is probably bored with the stuff and try ways and means to 'escape' going to school.

Try talking to the teachers to see what is the problem. On the other hand, if he is been bullied in school, it's good to withdraw him and teach him at home. Tamarind has done that, you might want to consult her.



:celebrate:

[tamarind]

smurf is correct My boy did not attend K2. He was so happy enjoying life at home, until tomorrow when he has to attend P1.


spitzcookie,
I think you make the right decision to skip K2, especially since your son said that his friend bullied him. We should always listen to our kids, if you cannot find a school with a good environment for him, it is better to just keep him at home.

For enrichment classes, Berries will prepare a child very well for P2. For English, I like Morris Allen because they have native speakers. I teach my boy at home, so his English is already very advanced. But I had to go to China to work for a couple of months, so I put him in Morris Allen. His teacher, a lady from UK, is very experienced, and there were only 2 kids in the class including him so it was great. I would not send my kids to any English enrichment classes taught by local teachers, because I feel that locals can never be as good as native speakers, in terms of their English standards. But then not all native speakers are good teachers, so we need to choose carefully. Morris Allen shows the names, country of origin, and teaching experience of the teacher for every class for parents to choose.

Also, I used the money saved from sending him to expensive pre-schools, to buy him wonderful toys like Lego, ZOOB, Knex, etc to play at home. These toys are excellent for developing his creativity and fine motor skills. As for the free time, my boy likes to read children's encyclopedia and he has learnt a amazing amount of knowledge on his own. I do not believe that any kindergarten, no matter how expensive, will be able to promise the same results.

[tamarind]

janet_lee88:

It's also the social aspect which a child learns. If he is not able to cope with the 'bullying' and gets away from such situations now, he may not be able to handle when he goes to primary school. Honestly, I worry for my daughter when she goes to P1 2moro (being so petite).


For adults, it seems expensive to pay for 2 hours of school fees and transport. However, for your child, he will be happy that he is able to 'escape' from unpleasant situation in school.

The problem is that in many cases, kids cannot learn how to deal with bullies in kindergarten. There are so many kids and teachers may not be able to monitor each one closely. Chances are a child who is being bullied in kindergarten, will just have to suffer in silence because the teachers are too busy to interfere. Then they continue to suffer in silence in primary school. I don't see how attending kindergarten can help.

I feel that parents should take up the responsibility of teaching kids how to deal with bullies, and not just rely on teachers.

[keenDaddy]

I am also in the view that parents shld supplement the kindergarten lessons with enrichment courses, if they find it useful for the children… but not substituting the kindergarten with enrichment courses completely.

Enrichment courses are normally not run with the objective of preparing your kids for primary school.
Agreed also that you should try to solve the root cause of the problem by talking to the school/teachers. Alternatively, you may want to consider switching him to another kindergarten which suit ur kid better and perhaps not pay so much.

[keenDaddy]

tamarind:

We should always listen to our kids.

hi tamarind, i guess u do not mean \"always\"? Always sounds dangerous. While it is true that we should always try to listen and understand our kids but definitely not always yielding to them.