Preparing kids for P5 in 2011

[jesschan]

jesschan:

Glad to receive some positive comments. I think the location is not very big issue because since this is meant as a short term thingy. It can be held in my house or the tutor's or the kids can take turns to host. The bigger issue is where to find the experienced tutor who can engage and motivate the kids. So now we have Koalamummy and who else is interested?.

Yes. Holidays is the best time for revision, anyone else interested besides koalamummy?

[Brenda10]

janet_lee88:

cimman:

actually it doesn't stop after the exams. Best to use the holidays to really get the child up to speed on the weak areas. Holidays are a godsend. No homework, no school, no CCA, lots of time to focus on the weak subjects. When school starts, it's fire fighting again.

Learning cannot stop during the holidays...holidays is the BEST time to revise the weak areas...the idea that holidays mean taking a break from school work cannot work. Imagine a month of relaxation and going back to school in Term 3 and the brain cannot gear up.

Yes. We always make use of holiday due to once the school is reopen we are unable to predict what would be the school work and also the child has no much energy after the supplementary class.

[pixiedust]

Well, I don’t know about my son but I will surely burnt-out if I don’t take a break in June. Planning for our June vacation is what kept me going these few weeks. We will take a good break ! 休息是为了走更长远的路 !

[Lynn2]

Hi Pixiedust,


Very true, good rest is impt to carry on the rest of the journey.I did the same for the last few years.I usually look forward to year end holidays cos that is the only factor that keep me going while going thr her learning journey.

All the best.

Cheers
Lynn2

pixiedust:

Well, I don't know about my son but I will surely burnt-out if I don't take a break in June. Planning for our June vacation is what kept me going these few weeks. We will take a good break ! 休息是为了走更长远的路 !

[janet88]

With daughter in P1 and son in P5, I follow public holidays & school holidays A LOT this year...really burnt out in Feb, April/May and Sep/Oct.

[Chenonceau]

We’re taking 5 days off in June too. But I’ll be teaching ahead in Math up to SA1 P6. At least, we will try. At the moment, given his aptitude for Math, it should be doable. Then, we will work on Chinese Oral, Compre and Compo also.


The school will test beyond what is taught so I have to teach beyond what the school will be teaching.

[janet88]

Chenonceau:

We're taking 5 days off in June too. But I'll be teaching ahead in Math up to SA1 P6. At least, we will try. At the moment, given his aptitude for Math, it should be doable. Then, we will work on Chinese Oral, Compre and Compo also.


The school will test beyond what is taught so I have to teach beyond what the school will be teaching.

Same here...since his weak subject is Maths...this June, have to reinforce and teach a little faster since it will be fire-fighting in Term 3/4 with several 'holidays' bcos of PSLE.
Must definitely revise but give him and myself some days of rest.

[Picolo]

Pen88n:

Chenonceau:

[quote=\"Brenda10\"]

Hi Chenonceau

I'm sure your ds has no problem to achieve this in end of P6 lah.

In fact, the syllabus for P6 has almost all completed now and understands from her form teacher after SA1 they would just focus on working a lot on oral, compo. practice and pass year paper on class or during supplementary class time.

Aiyo... dunno leh... but I take your advice seriously. We now work on oral and compo practice. To save him time, I actually do the easy Math worksheets for him so he has time to practise the challenging sums and also to do Chinese.

I do not have the answer but I question parents doing easy Maths worksheets for the kid to save the kid time to do revision / other more challenging questions. Should that be the solution? I am not trying to argue, but can you imagine what chaos it will be if Singapore parents are all doing easy worksheets for the kids just to ensure kids with their limited time can spend time doing more and more challenging questions. What is this education system becoming? Isn't there another solution?[/quote]Last year, a P5 boy's mum told me that she had been also doing some of the simple routine Math homework given out to the whole class (2nd top class) routinely for her son, otherwise her son would have little chance to go to bed by 11 pm. In P5, the amount of homework is a big jump from P4. When my ds1's time comes, most likely I'll do the same too if it means giving him adequate rest, more time to focus on weaker topics or more time on the subject with the weaker foundation.

Pen88n:

I think this is a case of the school streaming system not taking into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of the kid for individual subjects. If it is streamed purely based on all subjects average, this issue will surface.

Upon hearing you say that you are doing the easy Maths worksheet for your DS so that he has time for the more challenging questions, I really :shock: :faint: . I dread the day I have to do that for my DD (in P1 only) :!: and if I really have to do so and end up the one dishing out the challenging questions (cos not covered by school) , I might as well home-school her! Afterall, the parent is the one doing all the work, so why bother to go school to collect the easy-to-do homework?? :stupid: :stupid: :stupid:

So far for DS, his school provide from basic to challenging Maths worksheets for the students, but again, I do not know if it is because he is in the top classes. I really think family support is very important for kids nowadays, and I sympathise with those families who are unable to provide the learning and other guidance for their kids. It is no longer a level playing field. Is this what the education system should be?

Not everyone has the time, aptitude and resources to homeschool their kids. How many of us can tackle P5 Math and Science on our own? I also want my children attend a mainstream school and let them learn to live in the real world. Having said that, I actually hope that MOE will allow some kids to be homeschooled in their P1 and P2 years, then 'return' back to the mainstream school from P3 onwards. My understanding is that once you choose to homeschool, you have to do it at least from P1 to P6. Is it true? Anyone knows if this has been attempted before?

[cnimed]

A homeschool child can return to mainstream anytime. The challenge is getting permission to homeschool, not the other way round. The requirements for getting permission to homeschool are constantly increasing and MOE will now conduct home visits, but it can be done - either way. Personally I think the main consideration is how the alternative weighs up and the child's temperament.


Back to the thread, I'm shocked that parents now have to help kids to do their homework just so that they can sleep by 11pm. I don't know if this is representative of the norm, but among my relatives are MOE teachers and I understand from them that they really don't have as much \"power\" over our children as we may feel. When my son was struggling with his homework load (at P1!), they actually told me to tell the teacher that I will pick and choose the homework for him. P5 is a lot more critical, but I'm sure there is a lot of repetition across the board and surely every child will be better off with a targetted approach.

[metz]

Picolo:

My understanding is that once you choose to homeschool, you have to do it at least from P1 to P6. Is it true? Anyone knows if this has been attempted before?

Definitely not true. One can apply permission for Homeschooling at any time, not necessarily at P1. (But I think very few parents would do so when their child is at P5 or P6.) The same holds true for returning to mainstream schools. Earlier this year, a personal friend enrolled her P2 child in a mainstream school after one year of homeschooling.