Club 3 or more Kids

[beauty79]

pecalis:

Hi all, can't remember if I've posted here but my status right now is SAHM with 4 kids, dd1-13yo, ds-11yo, dd2-7yo and dd3-4mths. Dd3 just barged into our lives but we are all enjoying her and dh has decided to spoil her already and will be giving all his money to her:)


I used to homeschool my 3 older ones for pre-school. Taught the 1st 2 together i.e. read aloud to them tog. When teaching dd1, ds would be hanging around and learning and whispering the math answers into my ears. If he is not interested, he would just be nearby playing with his toys or solving jig-saw puzzles. Dd2 was the most difficult to 'teach' as she would complain story boring. She also complained of having only 2 friends to play with, so I sent her to K2 from term 2 onwards. Then in P1 this yr, she complained tt I din teach her many nursery rhymes or songs like Old MacDonald - think she felt embarrassed not knowing them.

To answer beauty's qn, I have school time together though may be doing different things at different level. However, I taught dd2 alone as by then, the elder 2 would be in school already.

Wow! Homeschooling the kids! it must be such an adventure. did you find out what the preschools are covering? How do you ensure that they are well prepared for P1?

[pecalis]

beauty79:

Wow! Homeschooling the kids! it must be such an adventure. did you find out what the preschools are covering? How do you ensure that they are well prepared for P1?

I shared materials with a friend - we use the Sonlight Curriculum from the US. Sonlight has a lot of reading aloud to the kids - so it's rather easy for the kids as most of the time, they are being read to - very good books though. I tried teaching them Chinese but we were struggling till my friend introduced Berries to us and I just let Berries teach them Chinese and basically revise the lessons with them. For my youngest, I may attempt to teach Chinese myself using the 四五快读 as recommended by the parents here, but I have not bought the materials yet.

I basically taught them at their own pace but I think by the time they were in P1, they were about P2-3 standard. They are not gifted, just a little advance due to conducive home environment.

Share an interesting experience - when dd1 was in P1 and when her form tr and classmates heard tt she was homeschooled, they thought she shouldn't be smart as she was just at home and didn't attend school. I had to emphasize to her that she was taught at home without realising she was having lessons with me and we spent so little time on \"work\". One area I neglected is their handwriting, as I didn't believe in spending time doing tedious penmanship.

[beauty79]

pecalis:

beauty79:

Wow! Homeschooling the kids! it must be such an adventure. did you find out what the preschools are covering? How do you ensure that they are well prepared for P1?

I shared materials with a friend - we use the Sonlight Curriculum from the US. Sonlight has a lot of reading aloud to the kids - so it's rather easy for the kids as most of the time, they are being read to - very good books though. I tried teaching them Chinese but we were struggling till my friend introduced Berries to us and I just let Berries teach them Chinese and basically revise the lessons with them. For my youngest, I may attempt to teach Chinese myself using the 四五快读 as recommended by the parents here, but I have not bought the materials yet.

I basically taught them at their own pace but I think by the time they were in P1, they were about P2-3 standard. They are not gifted, just a little advance due to conducive home environment.

Share an interesting experience - when dd1 was in P1 and when her form tr and classmates heard tt she was homeschooled, they thought she shouldn't be smart as she was just at home and didn't attend school. I had to emphasize to her that she was taught at home without realising she was having lessons with me and we spent so little time on \"work\". One area I neglected is their handwriting, as I didn't believe in spending time doing tedious penmanship.

:goodpost: That is a true testimony of great determination from a supportive mum. Although I sent my children to kindergarten, I modified the 'Hands On Homeschooling' curriculum which I ordered from US. The content is quite meaty and so I overlooked bringing in Chinese. I'm still considering if I should send them to a language school for extra lessons. Tried Eduplus but not suitable for me as I need to revise heavily with them at home to 朗诵 a lot of passages and 儿歌. Are you able to share a little bit more about your experience with Berries? Are they the speech and drama type, 朗诵 type or memorise high frequency words type?

[pecalis]

beauty79:

:goodpost: That is a true testimony of great determination from a supportive mum. Although I sent my children to kindergarten, I modified the 'Hands On Homeschooling' curriculum which I ordered from US. The content is quite meaty and so I overlooked bringing in Chinese. I'm still considering if I should send them to a language school for extra lessons. Tried Eduplus but not suitable for me as I need to revise heavily with them at home to 朗诵 a lot of passages and 儿歌. Are you able to share a little bit more about your experience with Berries? Are they the speech and drama type, 朗诵 type or memorise high frequency words type?

Berries is rather good for pre-sch and lower pri. They build on commonly used words. Some 儿歌 but just need to play CD at home as revision. I usually make my kids read the story (just 1 story only) they have learnt to me, once or 2x before the next lesson. You may request for trial lesson at the branch nearest your place.

[Breadandmuffins]

hi beauty79

Its amazing that u didnt feel stress fr hving to manage 4 kids without maid. Do u hv other help such as parents/in laws etc? I just trsf my maid and am maidless now. So i am really keen to keen to learn how one can cope with 4kids and no other help.

For me, the stress comes fr the constant squabbling between them esp during school hols as they are playing together every day! sometimes, they will play very well but on other times, not really. The stress fr chores are also endless as they are still messing up each time, food , toys everywhere. Really need a lot of patience and discipline plus nagging fr me…also the stress from the lack of time to just "relax"…Not much stress fr academic aspect too as they a re pretty much coping well in school and learning fr each other.

[beauty79]

Breadandmuffins:

hi beauty79

Its amazing that u didnt feel stress fr hving to manage 4 kids without maid. Do u hv other help such as parents/in laws etc? I just trsf my maid and am maidless now. So i am really keen to keen to learn how one can cope with 4kids and no other help.

For me, the stress comes fr the constant squabbling between them esp during school hols as they are playing together every day! sometimes, they will play very well but on other times, not really. The stress fr chores are also endless as they are still messing up each time, food , toys everywhere. Really need a lot of patience and discipline plus nagging fr me....also the stress from the lack of time to just \"relax\"....Not much stress fr academic aspect too as they a re pretty much coping well in school and learning fr each other.

Those who know me knew that I lived a very organized life, which is especially important since I have no maid. I will bring my baby to my mum before i work everyday. Now I've just quit my job, I'm learning to adapt too. I schedule my heavier housework before and after the kids sleep. Those they can help like washing milk bottles and doing laundry, I train my DD1 and DS1 to do it. As my kids are aged 5, 4, 2 & 1, I cannot afford them to pour out any toys they like as it'll be a great mess. They would not know how to start packing even if they wanted too. Usually, they will keep a toy before taking out another and I designate a play area so that the toys will not spill all over the house. I'm quite particular that the toys go back to the same set and not all dumped into 1 container. My kids are trained to do so too. For housework, I downloaded am app from Android market that helps me sets deadline for all my chores, under daily, fortnightly, monthly and biannually. Being able to check off the list gives me some motivation.

[lim]

Funx3:

lim:

new here, i have 3 kids also. actually i wanted 4 but wife said enough lah, she is tired. got to learn to be a better father from u all.

A Dad .... is Here!
:welcome: Brota lim to this Thread!
:rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah:

before i malu myself more, this one only for laubu only is it? just wanted to see how everyone cope with life(if there is one) when you have 3 or more kids.

[Castle House]

Morning everyone…


Have a good day ahead…

[beauty79]

lim:

Funx3:

[quote=\"lim\"]new here, i have 3 kids also. actually i wanted 4 but wife said enough lah, she is tired. got to learn to be a better father from u all.

A Dad .... is Here!
:welcome: Brota lim to this Thread!
:rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah:

before i malu myself more, this one only for laubu only is it? just wanted to see how everyone cope with life(if there is one) when you have 3 or more kids.[/quote]Hihi, I will have lots to learn from you. Do share with us how old are yr kids.

[Castle House]

lim:

Funx3:

[quote=\"lim\"]new here, i have 3 kids also. actually i wanted 4 but wife said enough lah, she is tired. got to learn to be a better father from u all.

A Dad .... is Here!
:welcome: Brota lim to this Thread!
:rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah: :rahrah:

before i malu myself more, this one only for laubu only is it? just wanted to see how everyone cope with life(if there is one) when you have 3 or more kids.[/quote] no .. is both la.. no worries..

We are gald to have daddy around.. coming from different perspective..