2012 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[Essential]

Hi anyone here to share science tutor or enrichment centre for p6 beside newton apple as is FULL

[24hr_mum]

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.

How you make your child to follow your schedule closely.
I also prefer to sit by my dd side to observe what she is doing bcos I can pick up where she is weak in. Since begining of this year she refuse to let me sit by her when she is doing homework.

[janet88]

Essential:

Hi anyone here to share science tutor or enrichment centre for p6 beside newton apple as is FULL

Have you checked out this centre called bumblebee ? Someone called me yest...but i am not very keen. Don't know exact name of centre though. Heard newton apple science is full as principal himself and other senior teachers are teaching. Maybe you can also check out science buddies.

[Champion]

janet_lee88:

Essential:

Hi anyone here to share science tutor or enrichment centre for p6 beside newton apple as is FULL

Have you checked out this centre called bumblebee ? Someone called me yest...but i am not very keen. Don't know exact name of centre though. Heard newton apple science is full as principal himself and other senior teachers are teaching. Maybe you can also check out science buddies.

Janet,
Is this the one that you referring to?
http://www.bee.com.sg/
Bumble Bee Learning Hive is a certified service provider of the People’s Association (PA) and our courses are conducted by our Ministry of Education (MOE) certified teaching faculty to ensure that your child receives the best-quality learning experience possible.

[beanbear]

24hr_mum:

How you make your child to follow your schedule closely.
I also prefer to sit by my dd side to observe what she is doing bcos I can pick up where she is weak in. Since begining of this year she refuse to let me sit by her when she is doing homework.

Hi 24_mum, Yes, when I'm not working, I do sit next to DS to observe him doing his work so that I can see his thinking process. I would look through the homework first to see whether there's a need for me to sit next to DS. If it's straight-forward, I don't sit next to him. I sit next him if I'm teaching - ie I'm demonstrating a method or giving him tips on how to do a certain task eg composition. After observing a while, I leave DS to do the work himself. I believe children want a sense of independence also.

What do you think caused the change in your DD's attitude? Does she want to be more independent? Does she feel \"intimidated\" by your presence?

My children comply with my schedule because my parenting style is very much based on setting Clear Expectations, Clear Rewards, Clear Consequences. It's not just a schedule alone but also a whole approach/system that I set in place. Once the child knows how the system works, why the system is there, what happens if they comply or don't comply, it's quite easy to get it going. But a lot of discipline is required from the parents. It's about consistency and follow-through. Because the system also incorporates the \"fun\" and \"relaxation\" stuff, children comply because they see it's a fair system. I always tell my children, I always give them uninterrupted playtime, tv time, computer time, etc. I deliver on my promises of fun hence I expect them to deliver on their commitment to work.

I also work although my work is flexible but there are weeks where I'm out of the house the whole day just like other regular working parents. During those times, I rely on my maids to follow-through on my system. Children and maids are briefed on what's expected. When I return from work, I hold maids & children accountable for the work to be done. If work is not done, consequences are meted out immediately. Rewards are also given immediately if children have complied.

[Edureach]

I am now recalling the times my 2 kids took their psle exams in yrs 2005 and 2006. Comparing to most parents here, i think i wasn’t half as devoted.


I am amazed parents here are paying much attention to the details in their kids’ psle preparations.

Can’t help but expect many of your kids to do well.

[fightingmom]

beanbear:

24hr_mum:

How you make your child to follow your schedule closely.
I also prefer to sit by my dd side to observe what she is doing bcos I can pick up where she is weak in. Since begining of this year she refuse to let me sit by her when she is doing homework.

Hi 24_mum, Yes, when I'm not working, I do sit next to DS to observe him doing his work so that I can see his thinking process. I would look through the homework first to see whether there's a need for me to sit next to DS. If it's straight-forward, I don't sit next to him. I sit next him if I'm teaching - ie I'm demonstrating a method or giving him tips on how to do a certain task eg composition. After observing a while, I leave DS to do the work himself. I believe children want a sense of independence also.

What do you think caused the change in your DD's attitude? Does she want to be more independent? Does she feel \"intimidated\" by your presence?

My children comply with my schedule because my parenting style is very much based on setting Clear Expectations, Clear Rewards, Clear Consequences. It's not just a schedule alone but also a whole approach/system that I set in place. Once the child knows how the system works, why the system is there, what happens if they comply or don't comply, it's quite easy to get it going. But a lot of discipline is required from the parents. It's about consistency and follow-through. Because the system also incorporates the \"fun\" and \"relaxation\" stuff, children comply because they see it's a fair system. I always tell my children, I always give them uninterrupted playtime, tv time, computer time, etc. I deliver on my promises of fun hence I expect them to deliver on their commitment to work.

I also work although my work is flexible but there are weeks where I'm out of the house the whole day just like other regular working parents. During those times, I rely on my maids to follow-through on my system. Children and maids are briefed on what's expected. When I return from work, I hold maids & children accountable for the work to be done. If work is not done, consequences are meted out immediately. Rewards are also given immediately if children have complied.

:goodpost:

[Chenonceau]

Edureach:

I am now recalling the times my 2 kids took their psle exams in yrs 2005 and 2006. Comparing to most parents here, i think i wasn't half as devoted.


I am amazed parents here are paying much attention to the details in their kids' psle preparations.

Can't help but expect many of your kids to do well.

DD took her PSLE in 2005. It was almost a non-event for us compared to what I am going through now. Her syllabus was much less challenging... her exams were much less challenging... her school did not expect parents to take an active part in teaching.

Schools these days organise talks to teach parents how to help their kids with PSLE requirements at home... the system has gone out of control. I just discovered today that DS' Teacher marked his CA1 \"formal letter\" writing without picking up on the lack of a proper format. DS got 13/15 for this part of the paper when he should have barely passed because he had failed to format the letter properly and use the proper language register.

If I don't teach my son, he will be penalized at PSLE.

[HAPPYH]

Chenonceau:

Edureach:

I am now recalling the times my 2 kids took their psle exams in yrs 2005 and 2006. Comparing to most parents here, i think i wasn't half as devoted.


I am amazed parents here are paying much attention to the details in their kids' psle preparations.

Can't help but expect many of your kids to do well.

DD took her PSLE in 2005. It was almost a non-event for us compared to what I am going through now. Her syllabus was much less challenging... her exams were much less challenging... her school did not expect parents to take an active part in teaching.

Schools these days organise talks to teach parents how to help their kids with PSLE requirements at home... the system has gone out of control. I just discovered today that DS' Teacher marked his CA1 \"formal letter\" writing without picking up on the lack of a proper format. DS got 13/15 for this part of the paper when he should have barely passed because he had failed to format the letter properly and use the proper language register.

If I don't teach my son, he will be penalized at PSLE.

:yikes: What happens if the parents' english is not good?

[janet88]

Edureach:

I am amazed parents here are paying much attention to the details in their kids' psle preparations.

Can't help but expect many of your kids to do well.

There wasn't so much hype back then for PSLE...no so much emphasis in crash/intensive courses, remedial during holidays etc etc. Definitely not so commercialized as compared to now. I cannot bring myself to ignore PSLE and the importance of it. But i must remember not to push him over the cliff.

After my son's PSLE this year, I would have gained some experience what to expect when my younger one sits for it in 4 years time. But I will be facing double stress as one will sit for PSLE while the olde one has O levels.
But in meantime, focus on older one first.