Skipping K2 for Enrichment courses???

[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.

[janet88]

Hi Tamarind,

My son was born with cleft lip and palate…resulting in him having ‘ugly’ teeth. Back in kindy then, I prepared him to handle ‘name calling’ incidents in case it happened. His classmates did give him strange looks but didn’t ask him.

When he was in P1, his classmates were more vocal…laughted and called him ‘Dracula’ in class. It got to the point that he didn’t want to go to school but I taught him to ignore the kids.
I had a talk with his FT and subsequently this stopped…but started again in P2 and P3. But I’ve taught him to ignore this and also took the opportunity to explain to him that ‘name-calling’ is not a nice thing to do and those who do that are not nice people/friends.

[jenao]

Hi all,


I am glad to have chance upon this thread. I also have the same problem as spitzcookie. Has been more than half a year since middle of K1 and till this morning, he still does not want to go to school.

He used to have lots of reason for not going to school but mainly i think he has no real friends that he can play with or click with since he joined late since we came back from US. Also, his writing and drawing are weak and slow and his friends laughed at him. Spoken to teachers and principal and they did quite a fair bit to make the situation better but still, very very reluctant, though no tantrum.

Reading this thread, I had the same thinking of Tamarind as he is also reading quite well and love to read at home and might as well saved the money to buy him more books and his LEGO toys which are so expensive.

OTOH, i also agree with janet_lee88 about the aspect on trying to deal with the problems that he faced now, try to learn how to make friends and also with K2 being the final year and graduation concert.

But one more headache I have is, he also does not want to go for enrichment class. He goes to Berries and every week he has been telling me he does not want to go. He really just want to stay at home to play with his LEgo, draw his stuff and read his books and go playground.

ANd when I ask the teacher how he was during class/lesson, they feedback that he is enjoying himself, talking to friends, playing with them etc.

So, I really do not know what to do. Taking him out from school now is ok but I do not want to send him the message that if you don;t like school, you can don;t go. So, still thinking what to do. Also been contemplating changing school but worry that if we change kindergarten, the same problem about no friends etc will arise.

[beeb]

janet_lee88:

Hi Tamarind,

My son was born with cleft lip and palate...resulting in him having 'ugly' teeth. Back in kindy then, I prepared him to handle 'name calling' incidents in case it happened. His classmates did give him strange looks but didn't ask him.

When he was in P1, his classmates were more vocal...laughted and called him 'Dracula' in class. It got to the point that he didn't want to go to school but I taught him to ignore the kids.
I had a talk with his FT and subsequently this stopped...but started again in P2 and P3. But I've taught him to ignore this and also took the opportunity to explain to him that 'name-calling' is not a nice thing to do and those who do that are not nice people/friends.

Truly feel for your DS and u as a parent, having to see him go thro' the cruelty of the world at such a young age....

I totally agree with the response u teach ur DS to have, ie to ignore the scoffers. I've always taught my kids that tho we can't shut the others' mouth, we can choose to shut our ears

As abt cleft lip, isn't surgery able to correct it? It wd save the young and tender heart from lots of pain and struggle...

Be strong and courageous! :hi5:

[tamarind]

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.

Listening to our kids mean that we acknowledge the problem and try to find a solution for them. In cases where we cannot find a solution, then we should do whatever that makes our kids' life happier. I do mean that we should always do this.

[janet88]

HI beeb,

Son’s cleft lip and surgery was repaired when he was few months old…but his teeth didn’t grow nicely because there is a missing jaw due to cleft…cannot be repaired until child is bigger. Anyway, my son went for that op in Nov last year.

I always teach my son to ignore those nasty people…they have mouths to talk and we cannot shut their mouths. So we can only ignore.

[tamarind]

janet_lee88:

Hi Tamarind,

My son was born with cleft lip and palate...resulting in him having 'ugly' teeth. Back in kindy then, I prepared him to handle 'name calling' incidents in case it happened. His classmates did give him strange looks but didn't ask him.

When he was in P1, his classmates were more vocal...laughted and called him 'Dracula' in class. It got to the point that he didn't want to go to school but I taught him to ignore the kids.
I had a talk with his FT and subsequently this stopped...but started again in P2 and P3. But I've taught him to ignore this and also took the opportunity to explain to him that 'name-calling' is not a nice thing to do and those who do that are not nice people/friends.

Sorry to hear about your son's bad experience. Parents do need to get involved. Personally I feel that if a child is older and more mature, he will be able to handle discrimination better.

I have a very big and ugly birthmark on my leg, and I have encountered many young kids who stared openly at the birthmark and looking horrified. While older kids and adults kept quiet, or asked me in a very sensitive tone whether I was hurt. Young children are very immature and they do not know that they are hurting the feelings of other people. I am already an adult so I don't feel hurt at all.

[tamarind]

jenao:

Reading this thread, I had the same thinking of Tamarind as he is also reading quite well and love to read at home and might as well saved the money to buy him more books and his LEGO toys which are so expensive.

jenao,
I pulled my son out of K2 because he was always falling ill. He was hospitalized for HFMD early last year, a month before that he had very serious vomiting. He also had HFMD when he was in N2 and had to be hospitalized. He was sick almost once every 2 months. I decided that I could save on tons of medical fees by keeping him at home.

I am able to teach my son both English and Chinese at home using excellent resources. So I don't worry about preparing him for P1. My boy told me that he preferred to be taught by me at home, and he complained that enrichment classes are boring because he is already very advanced. But I still make him attend, purely for social interaction.

My advise is that if there are no serious problems in the kindergarten, then no harm sending your son there. You should keep your son at home only if you are very confident that you are able to teach him much better than the teachers in kindergarten/enrichment classes, in both languages.

My elder brother also did not send his only daughter to kindergarten, after she came back one day with a bruised eye. His daughter only went to enrichment classes. When she was in P1, they migrated to England, and she is now doing brilliantly in school.

[spitzcookie]

Really thank you for all the advice given regarding talking to the teachers.


However, we have kind of decided to withdraw him from the school.

Hi Tamarind, my son falls sick very often too. As he has sensitive nose, he gets runny nose every now & then. Ever since he started his pre-school education, he has contracted HFMD 3 times.

Hi Janet_lee88, may I know how old is your son? My daughter is in P2 this year and she has Cleft Lip too. Had her operation done when she was just 3 months old. Just like what you have described, she has crooked teeth & missing teeth. Plastic surgeon said most probably she will have her bone graft end of this year or next year.