2012 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[Peony]

janet_lee88:

Peony:

[quote=\"PHMummy\"]thanks for the tip, yes, having supp class esp 2 x a week is rather a strain for the child. we had tutors for all the subjects for the child. :xedfingers:

Yup, DD has tuition for all subjects too and still has to attend supp classes 4x a week.

The plan was to skip at least one, but she's attending all she likes the teachers.

Supp classes 4x a week ? Very jelak.
Mine skipped Thur bcos can't cope.[/quote]Janet, she cannot decide which one to skip...
She's somehow coping... ending each day with 1 supp & 1 tuition. Liking both her sch teachers and her tutors make a big difference. That plus school's homework load has been manageable.

Weekends are reserved for play and revision with me.

[janet88]

Hi peony,

Having those teachers whom kids like is impt…they are more willing to attend suppl and LISTEN. Fortunately my son’s Tuesdays are free from tuition…so he attends it every week. It’s madness this year…so weekends have to pamper a little. A trip to IMM, Mac sundaes, desserts to motivate him. At least he will be more willing to finish the homework later on Fri/Sat nights.

[janet88]

Hi Mummies,

Are you taking it easy for CA1 ?

[Jasmy]

For me, yes. I think it is also good to know what is my dd ‘standard’ in her class/school with lesser ‘stress’.

[janet88]

Jasmy:

For me, yes. I think it is also good to know what is my dd 'standard' in her class/school with lesser 'stress'.

OIC.

[usaik]

Hi dear mummies and daddies,


I referred to the English PSLE paper format in the URL link below http://www.seab.gov.sg/psle/2012_PSLE_Subject_Info/0001_2012.pdf

and would like to seek your clarification whether for paper 1 Writing format :- Is a child expected to do BOTH part 1 (situation writing) and part 2 (continuous writing) OR the child is expected to do EITHER part 1 (situation writing) OR part 2 (continuous writing) ?

Appreciate your kind advice? Thank you.

[linden2000]

usaik:

Hi dear mummies and daddies,


I referred to the English PSLE paper format in the URL link below http://www.seab.gov.sg/psle/2012_PSLE_Subject_Info/0001_2012.pdf

and would like to seek your clarification whether for paper 1 Writing format :- Is a child expected to do BOTH part 1 (situation writing) and part 2 (continuous writing) OR the child is expected to do EITHER part 1 (situation writing) OR part 2 (continuous writing) ?

Appreciate your kind advice? Thank you.

Hi. Have to do both parts 1 and 2. Situational writing 15 marks, continuous writing 40 marks.

[softcoach]

Hi


I have a problem. My DD2 is in P6 and has lots of daily homework (approx 5-8 worksheets/papers a day) since begining of this year. She sleeps after 11pm each weekday and gets up at 6am to prepare for school. Since she is weaker in Math and Chinese, she attends MT and Maths tuition. She continues with her tons of school homework on weekends too. She has hardly any play time. CA is this week and she doesn’t seem to have the time to revise the worksheets/notes that she has done. Quite worried for my DD2. Thus really appreciate advice on how to revise for CA/SA when there is so much homework & supp classes/CCA (she stays 3x a week till 5pm). Thank you so much!

[whitety]

My dd is busy practicing for SYF, no time to revise for CA1. So take it easy. But at the same time, worry how she’s going to cope with the CA1 without revision.

[beanbear]

beanbear:

I sense many of us are really struggling with prioritising the time for our children in this critical year. I'd like to share what I've tried to do with DS this year.


I asked myself: What's really my priority for my child? I used to procrastinate making decisions about the use of my son's time until the cost was too high. I just allowed the school to determine how my son's time is used. My son was staying back in school 4 times a week for supplementary & CCA for 3years from Pri 3-5. On top of that, he had enrichment classes for Maths, Science & English Compo. Plus he had flute lessons. What was the result last year at P5 SA2? He failed Maths miserably, was borderline for English & Chinese. Science was in 70s range. His confidence was shaken and I felt terrible about not monitoring him close enough and observing the warning signs earlier.

Last year before school reopened, I spoke with DS about the plan for this year and we worked out a schedule for this year based on his time commitment for school and a timetable for homework, revision, playtime.

My TOP priority was building DS confidence in his own ability. Where there were gaps in terms of knowledge or skills, I personally observe how he does his work and analyze where is he struggling with. If he already has the knowledge & skills, then it's critical to PRACTISE to ensure what he has learnt is committed into long-term memory. I now monitor every piece of homework my DS brings home, makes sure he does every piece of work with quality. This has made a huge difference because every piece of work has been marked so far DS makes very few mistakes and he has won praises from his teacher for good work and he now feels more confident. I feel really happy that these 1.5 months of effort has paid off. My belief is my child must experience SUCCESS in order to feel confident. Tasting SUCCESS in the short term will motivate him to study. We need to build momentum towards the PSLE. Each piece of homework is treated as opportunities to build strengths and plug gaps.

2nd TOP Priority - Time to Relax, Play and Minimum 8 hours of sleep every night. DS gets to play 45mins of computer once a week, 45mins of iphone or ipad once per week. He gets 30mins TV about 4 times a week. Exercise/playground time - 45mins at least 4 times a week. Brain research has shown children who exercise & sleep adequately think and learn better so I'm totally committed to this. I also believe Play is rewarding for my child and I want him to feel happy doing what he enjoys.

How did we manage to do all this in a regular week? Firstly, I made a FIRM decision - DS only stays back ONCE a week this year. This one day is his CCA & supplementary class day. He's supposed to stay back on 2 other days but I've told the teachers he will not attend. Freeing up this time has made it possible for DS to achieve all this. It's worked for 1.5 months so far. He looks happy, tired on a couple of days but most days, he is able to focus and pay attention and we manage to squeeze in revision on 2 days of the week. I don't aim to do alot - sometimes it's just 2 problem sums from a past exam paper, sometimes it's 3 pages from a Science exam paper, sometimes, it's 2 pages of cloze passage, etc. It's bite-size revision. I aim for 30mins or 45mins and I give him dedicated teaching and focused skills. I spend alot of time just observing him doing the work because I pick up alot of information about where he is struggling and what help he really needs.

Dear Softcoach,

I've pasted my previous posting for your consideration. I would suggest you think about this questions carefully : \"What's my priority for my child right now?\" \"Where does my child need to spend their time on?\" \"Will what they spend their time on bring them the results we hope to see?\" Consider how you want to take back control over your child's time. What can you exercise control over and what you can't? Time is a limited resource but there are many choices about how to spend that time - what choice will you make on behalf your child so that your child reaps the benefit YOU want, not what the school wants. Who bears the consequence if you allow the school to make the choice over the use of YOUR child's time?