All About Preparing For Primary One

[Precious Summo]

Thanks Champion

[glendt]

Concept Math from what I know is started by an ex Ai Tong teacher. I heard that she teaches very well and you would see many Ai Tong kids there. She goes faster than the school and the questions given are harder than schools but it is geared for the MOE syllabus. Good to start with them if you can from P1.

[Celyw]

i3mum:

Hi kvk,


Is you child in a child care? If yes, I think it's manageable

My is in a 3 hour kindy and on hand she has 7 enrichment classes, so I do not know what to cut down. She seems to like all of them. :sad:

kvk:

My DD is now having 3 enrichment classes.
English/Maths, Abacus and Chinese.
Do they sound alot to you?

my child is in 3 hour kindy too and having ICR, Abacus, Berries, Swimming and Piano is it too much? :oops:

[Celyw]

phtthp:

a) for language(s):-


phonics and 汉语拼音 are fundamental.
plus accompanied by lots of reading storybooks.

Speech & drama (optional) - but useful in helping child in P1 'Show and Tell' overcome shyness, display confidence during expression of his thoughts and articulate audibly with the right pitch tone voice, in front of fellow Teacher and classmates.

b) for Maths:-

i) Montessori Maths helps a child set foundation right from the start in understanding key basic, fundamental Maths concepts. To me, this is crucial.

ii) abacus (optional), MPM (optional).


c) for Science -

exploratory fun experiments help a child set foundation in understanding key Science basic principles and concepts. Kids learn more via the fun way, not via boring worksheets style.

Fastrackids Science exploratory 2 year programme (K1, K2) is good:-
http://www.fastrackids.com/fastrackids
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=869

Hi phtthp,
when I see your this post I am very thrilled haha..because my child is completing ICR by end of this mth, completing HYPY enrichment in school by Nov, taking abacus and completed his 2 years FTK already...does that mean he is well prepared?

[Scary]

Celyw,

My DS attends some of the enrichments mentioned by phtthp and he is definitely ready for P1. Believe yours is ready too!

i3mum,
My DS has 10 enrichments this term. 4 will be gone next year as they are currently held in his pre-school. I think as long as we can manage the time and the kids can still do well in school, it is ok. Once the kids show signs that they cannot manage, we need to start thinking which one to cut.

[nms1]

Wow - that’s a lot of enrichment. Doesn’t it end up more expensive and more of a hassle than sending them to childcare all day ??!!


My daughter was in full-day childcare and only did Speech & Drama as an optional extra there, Berries and ballet when she was in K1 & K2. I felt that was enough as Berries & ballet took up all of Saturday morning leaving very little "downtime". Now she’s in P1 she does swimming on a Thursday afternoon as well as she, ironically, has more time.

I really don’t think they need that much to be ready for P1 as a lot of the content will be covered again to ensure everyone is up-to-speed and if the child knows too much of it, you run the risk of them being bored.

[janet88]

P1 is not easy…but dont over-prepare the child as it may backfire.

Again, it depends on the school and how much/far it wants to go.

[Scary]

nms1:

Wow - that's a lot of enrichment. Doesn't it end up more expensive and more of a hassle than sending them to childcare all day ??!!


My daughter was in full-day childcare and only did Speech & Drama as an optional extra there, Berries and ballet when she was in K1 & K2. I felt that was enough as Berries & ballet took up all of Saturday morning leaving very little \"downtime\". Now she's in P1 she does swimming on a Thursday afternoon as well as she, ironically, has more time.

I really don't think they need that much to be ready for P1 as a lot of the content will be covered again to ensure everyone is up-to-speed and if the child knows too much of it, you run the risk of them being bored.

It's not that ex as his pre-school has negotiated for quite good rates. The best part is, the lessons are conducted after his classes. Saves me the hassle of fetching him as the school bus will be in-charge of it.

Most of DS's external enrichments are non-academic except for Berries. Thus, don't think he will be bored.

[phtthp]

hi Celyw,


your child is more than ready for P1 at least, he should be fine.

a) Speech & drama

whether English or Chinese Speech & drama - can help your child in P1 Show & Tell. Nowadays a high percentage of marks are allocated for P1 Show & Tell.

i) for K2, some Montessori kindergarten set tests for K2 kids close to K2 Term 4, to assess readiness. Some minor non Montessori kindergarten also do this. However, most or majority of non Montessori kindergarten, church kindergarten do not set tests for K2.

thus for English P1 grammar, nouns, vocab, etc - towards K2 Term 4 entering into P1 Term 1, at home you may start download, printout sample P1 English worksheets from the school(s) you choose - let your child practise at home, so as to gauge where your child stands academically, & test his readiness for P1. After child finish, you may mark the papers yourself:-

http://www.orlesson.org/orp/EnglishExam.html

btw, some schools like Tao Nan had gone a step even further - the school introduced Show & Tell for Maths subject, at P1.

of course, not all schools are like Tao Nan. It depends on the subject HOD in that school - how she intends to teach & bring across concepts to kids. Different HOD approach teaching Maths in different style.


b) han yu pin yin (hypy)

since yr child started hypy in K2 - when go P1, it'll become a quick revision for him. gives him confidence in Chinese hypy tests during P1 Term 3, since earlier he had been exposed to hypy before.

you may let child practise P1 Chinese hypy practice papers from:-
http://www.orlesson.org/orp/ChineseExam.html

c) abacus training will help him because he won't be afraid of numbers, also easier & faster for him to mentally calculate + - x / for numbers presented in both vertical & horizontal format.

sharing ....
my friend was a P1 relief teacher in a primary school in the east. She said at P1, there were some kids in her class where they still start using their tiny little fingers to count, to add or to subtract. She said the pupils were slow in counting - because they had never attended any Maths enrichment class before, during crucial kindergarten foundation K1 / K2 days.

however towards P1 Term 4 entering into P2 Term 1 onwards, do start to expose your child to heuristics. because MOE changing Maths curriculum:- 2 parts now:-

i) Foundational Maths
if yr child had been exposed to any of the following like abacus training, Montessori Maths or Kumon Maths - your child ought to have been exposed for this part.

ii) Heuristic Maths
note:
abacus training, or Montessori Maths or Kumon Maths exposure - do not prepare your child for this.

d) also depends which school yr child is going to:-
P1 still ok, still manageable.
but moving forward from P1 into higher level:-

i) there are some schools where teachers are very hardworking. They really teach pupils. If your child attends such school, your child is blessed.


ii) however, there are some hot popular schools where teachers assume that either parents themselves or some external tuition teacher hired will teach. So they don't teach much, or they touch on the topic very lightly even if they do teach. Yet during Maths tests, they set tough questions, may or may not have been taught in class before.

iii) there are some schools whereby they tend to focus on the best 2 or 3 classes. The rest they kind of ignore - leaving it to parents to manage somehow.

fyi:-
MOE changing Maths curriculum, for P1 to P6:-
http://www.chijpritoapayoh.moe.edu.sg/NWeb/documents/Maths/Pri%201%20to%206%20Maths%20Syllbus%202011.pdf

[libran269]

My dd is in N2 now. Just started her with Kumon and I focus on phonics & reading at home. Hope to put her in Speech & DRAMA soon. Any recommendations? How is Lorna Whiston?


Not sure if i should be worried or I am too relaxed. Havent thought about the science classes till I read few posts here.