All About English Composition
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tisha:
She was able to read independently at around 3. I don't think she can comprehend everything she read, but that's fine with me. I started with the Good News Bible, which uses simpler English and The New Paper with more stories of what's happening around us. She don't have to read everything from cover to cover. We just moved on as she mature.
How did you manage to make your child read and comprehend the Bible and newspaper when she was in preschool? :shock: Most children would just be reading simple story books/information books at that age.rosemummy:
But we exposed her to lots of non-fiction in diverse areas, mainly areas we are interested in. She started reading the Bible, newspaper and magazines since preschool. First with Readers' Digest when she was around 4, then The New Paper in K1. She was reading The Straits Times, National Geographic, Newsweek and Time magazine at the start of P1. From then on, she was reading what we read - from books on astronomy and military history to law reports, prospectus and financial reports. We'll discuss what she read with her, and it takes much less effort to do so when that falls within our area of expertise. She started reading IPO prospectus and analyst reports in P3 when we got her involved in managing her investment portfolios. She also developed her interest in other areas eg animals and the environment, on her own.
I don't think we need to wait till she can comprehend eveything before she start reading it. She just learn along the way. For example, she knew nothing about the Scottsboro trials, the Great Depression or the Civil Rights Era when she first read To Kill a Mockingbird in P3 / 4. She started looking at it from different perspectives as she learn new things along the way. -
pixiedust:
:celebrate:
btw, I am also a SGarden fan (re: your avatar). -
jasmineong:
Hi jasmineong,
Hi chamonix,
When will you be coming back? Actually if your boy writes so well, I think he needs to just attend a few classes and should be on track for our education system.
I dont know about the magic of writing because my son was never a good writer and even for interesting topics, he could not write well. So I found in TAS the 'magic' he needed. He is now starting to read storybooks, he will read the storybooks the teacher at TAS lends out because he will get points if he reads and when he returns the book, the teacher will asks him qns on the book so he says he must finish reading and in doing so, he ends up actually being hooked in the book. I think it is a clever way to get the children to start reading.
He now enjoys writing and can write reasonably well. Memorisation helps a lot as he had no input before but now with the memory input for key parts, he can write well and he enjoys the writing lessons as he now understands the techniques good writers use and can use them himself. In the past, he would just say my friends in school write better but I also dont know how to do it. The teacher just ask me to read their compos but after reading I still dont know how to write well. But now the teacher at TAS highlights the strategies used-like repetition for impact, personification, metaphors, use of short sentences for impact. and he is intrigued by these methods and hence he is picking up quite fast now.
I have not found centres that teach writing like this so for me TAS is THE centre to go for writing but I know of well-known centres like Learning Lab, Mindstretcher that also teach writing just that they have different methods that could work for your son. Maybe you could get your son to start writing and ask some teacher here to help grade or something or give suggestions (if you know of any)
My son will be returning in time to start P4. Scary thought...
I do understand how your son had felt about writing. Indeed, it's not easy to start without guidance. But once the techniques are taught, things become much easier.
It is wonderful that TAS has worked magic on your son. I do hope that when my turn comes, TAS will also work magic on my kids. :celebrate: -
Chenonceau:
Hi Chenonceau,
On philosophy for kids ... Horton Hears a Who is quite good for a discussion on epistemology. \"Le Petit Prince\" by Antoine de St Éxupéry is also rich fodder for philosophical questions... and an initial exploration of existentialism. Other than that, I don't know much from children's literature that can help. We haven't been doing much of that. :oops:
It never occurred to me that these two books could be great materials for philosophical exploration and discussion. Thanks!Chenonceau:
You couldn't have diagnosed my situation more accurately. Well, I'm pretty sure your dose of medicine will work wonders for my son.I am relieved that you didn't think I was talking nonsense. The human psychology is is so complex that I often am uncertain unless I am myself inside the context and able to make first hand observations.
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oh Buds, ... ...
You are distracting my thoughts! :shock: -
rosemummy:
Excellent Post.
But we exposed her to lots of non-fiction in diverse areas, mainly areas we are interested in. She started reading the Bible, newspaper and magazines since preschool. First with Readers' Digest when she was around 4, then The New Paper in K1. She was reading The Straits Times, National Geographic, Newsweek and Time magazine at the start of P1. From then on, she was reading what we read - from books on astronomy and military history to law reports, prospectus and financial reports. We'll discuss what she read with her, and it takes much less effort to do so when that falls within our area of expertise. She started reading IPO prospectus and analyst reports in P3 when we got her involved in managing her investment portfolios. She also developed her interest in other areas eg animals and the environment, on her own.
Would like to hear from you on how you manage the content of these reading materials. Some of the issue discuss might be a bit too overwhelming for a 7-8 yrs old. Like Drugs, Violence, War, etc ... -
Trapwithin:
I never had a problem with content for news articles. Newsweek and Time present issues intellectually and the opinions can be reasoned through. There really isn't much that shocks and awes to appeal. Much better than having the kids watch Mediacorp productions and some movies on Prime Time TV.
Excellent Post.rosemummy:
But we exposed her to lots of non-fiction in diverse areas, mainly areas we are interested in. She started reading the Bible, newspaper and magazines since preschool. First with Readers' Digest when she was around 4, then The New Paper in K1. She was reading The Straits Times, National Geographic, Newsweek and Time magazine at the start of P1. From then on, she was reading what we read - from books on astronomy and military history to law reports, prospectus and financial reports. We'll discuss what she read with her, and it takes much less effort to do so when that falls within our area of expertise. She started reading IPO prospectus and analyst reports in P3 when we got her involved in managing her investment portfolios. She also developed her interest in other areas eg animals and the environment, on her own.
Would like to hear from you on how you manage the content of these reading materials. Some of the issue discuss might be a bit too overwhelming for a 7-8 yrs old. Like Drugs, Violence, War, etc ...
The things I vet are storybooks and movies where fiction can be confused with reality in the child's mind.
The issues in serious journalism are real and I try not to shield my kids from reality because they will meet it one day. And in serious journalism, the issues are intellectualized and not gratuitiously violent (like in movies). Most kids watch all sorts of movies. I am more careful with movies than with news. -
Chenonceau:
I never had a problem with content for news articles. Newsweek and Time present issues intellectually and the opinions can be reasoned through. There really isn't much that shocks and awes to appeal. Much better than having the kids watch Mediacorp productions and some movies on Prime Time TV.
Excellent Post.Trapwithin:
[quote=\"rosemummy\"]
But we exposed her to lots of non-fiction in diverse areas, mainly areas we are interested in. She started reading the Bible, newspaper and magazines since preschool. First with Readers' Digest when she was around 4, then The New Paper in K1. She was reading The Straits Times, National Geographic, Newsweek and Time magazine at the start of P1. From then on, she was reading what we read - from books on astronomy and military history to law reports, prospectus and financial reports. We'll discuss what she read with her, and it takes much less effort to do so when that falls within our area of expertise. She started reading IPO prospectus and analyst reports in P3 when we got her involved in managing her investment portfolios. She also developed her interest in other areas eg animals and the environment, on her own.
Would like to hear from you on how you manage the content of these reading materials. Some of the issue discuss might be a bit too overwhelming for a 7-8 yrs old. Like Drugs, Violence, War, etc ...
The things I vet are storybooks and movies where fiction can be confused with reality in the child's mind.
The issues in serious journalism are real and I try not to shield my kids from reality because they will meet it one day. And in serious journalism, the issues are intellectualized and not gratuitiously violent (like in movies). Most kids watch all sorts of movies. I am more careful with movies than with news.[/quote]My approach is similar to Chenonceau. For war, violence etc, the child got to learn that it exists, and the world out there is much bigger than our immediate circle. For drugs, sex etc, I think they can tell quite early from the news report that these have negative consequences. She (and us too) don't necessarily have to read every article or news report that there is. If it's something too complex (as in it involves a lot of issues and undercurrents that can't be adequately covered in a single report) or disturbing, we'll usually just skip it. Or if it's of interest to us, we can go deeper and read up more about it through other sources.
We can't avoid real life issues. They exist whether we choose to find out more about it. As Chenonceau said, most of the articles from those magazines are objective and does present different points of view.
Novels and movies, on the other hand, can sensationalise certain things, like romance or materialism. Depending on the author's values, pre-marital sex, co-habitation, homosexuality, witchcraft etc may be presented as being acceptable or even desirable. It's too tiring to be auditing all the books before she reads it. I wouldn't say we should ban all such books but it is definitely necessary to discuss it with the child and present them with a point of view different from the author. That's why I limit her to reading no more than 1 novel a week to allow me time to keep up with what she's reading and discuss it with her when necessary. -
Thank rose mummy and Chenonceau for your input.
I agree with exposing my dd to the real issues in life. My concern is timing … Like at what age… Dd is only P2 this year.
I visited Anne Frank’s house last year and find it good to expose such history to her. But I myself finds it depressing walking through her house. So I decided to get a picture write up for my dd rather than the her diary. -
I will read through amazon book review before introducing any book to dd. Abit time consuming but it’s well worth the effort.
I would prefer not to let her read books with ‘dark’ or depressing outlook yet.
I go for books that are optimistic, half cup full rather than half cup empty
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