Club 2002 Kids

[jedamum]

KSP:

so our 2002 kids is now about 2/3 the pri sch journey..... if u can turn back the clock to P1 what would u do differently in handling their study? what will u do in the next 2yrs to prepare your kids for PSLE?


let me start first, I would start EL/CL tuition plus creative writing and 作文 in P1.... Maths and Sci tuition in P3.... now that I'm aware that I have started late for some subjects but I hope dd is still be able to catch up in the next 2yrs....

and getting the right tuition and assessment books are important coz we may not want to waste too much time to trial and error.....

for me, i would have started Eng enrichment in P1...but quite hard back then cos of no compo and he manages >90marks, so did not think have the need to. should have inculcate a love for reading. he only chooses non-fiction books and til now i am still having a hard time choosing boy fiction books for him as he is not the typical boy (ie not so rugged type) and he outgrows jeremy strong kindof humour books already.

[jedamum]

silverhorse:

Dear KSP,
I can't turn back the clock and refuse to think about it. But I have my DS2 going to P1 next year. Whatever I did for DS1, I reversed it. I send DS2 for Berries and Math to give him a good foundation. I learn from my experience from DS1. Yes, agree that getting DS1 good tuition/ enrichment is important now as we are building the right path to PSLE.

dear silverhorse,
me have a ds2 going p1 too.
i intend to start him for english enrichment as his grammar standard is appalling. his math also not so good, but i intend to still coach him. unlike his bro who likes enrichment, ds2 actually detests going for extra class. he keep saying that i can teach him at home, so prefers to spend the free time at home instead of going for enrichment. now that i have switched ds1 to private tuition and he no longer attends berries, ds2 grumbles and said why he still needs to attend berries.
math-wise, i dont see any good enrichment for math at the moment. for ds1, i had focused a lot on problem solving and neglected his arithmetic part, resulting in calculation errors even when he knows the question....and handwriting part too. for ds2, i am going to focus on arithmetic and handwriting for the lower pri years to make sure he gets them perfected.
my path towards psle for ds1 at the moment is, we intend to stick to 2 enrichment for languages only. it will be worrying if he can get 250+ score only if he goes for tuition in 4 subjects. we are giving top tier schs a miss and looking at 2nd and 3rd tier schools realistically.

[jedamum]

Laura02:

As usual, my views probably stick out like a sore thumb. If I could turn back the clock, I would have tried harder to read with my dd every night, or have dh read with her. Reading, not just a story book, but reading and discussing the passage - meanings of unfamiliar words, implied intentions behind words, predicting what will happen next.

I think that getting a good foundation for the languages, with some EQ insights thrown in, is what I'll work towards for the coming year. Dd still doesn't go for tuition for any of the academic subjects - do Guzhen and ballet count?

dear laura02,
welcome to 2002 club!
unlike ds1, i have been trying to read to ds2 everyday. ds2 proves to be a better thinker than ds1 (i think), but our setback is that ds2's spoken language is not good and he stammers (he had speech delay).
if i can turn back the clock, i would have got ds1 to pick up computer skills earlier and encourage him to pick up a hobby. at P4, he has no distinct hobby to turn to to destress....unless you consider doodling comics a form of hobby . ds1 likes public speaking and this is an area that i am proud of that he picks them up or inherited from his dad as i am terrified of speaking in front of public. he aspires to be an actor!

[jedamum]

smartmummy:

If i can turnback the clock i would start cma for

maths and mother tongue.

I try first if i couldn't handle then i will send.

dear smartmummy,
cma for math, something i did not opt for my ds2 cos ds1 went for abacus training (not cma) and does not help in his arithmetic.
i had wanted cma earlier too, but we settled for piano as form of brain training and hobby for ds2.

[jedamum]

Pignite:

If I can turn back the clock I will put my son in a bilingual nursery and I should have send him to Chinese playgroup to learn Chinese poems, speech and drama... Han yu pin yin etc


Now we are struggling with his languages ( both written English & Chinese ) I realized that early exposure is the key to head start learning....10 years just zipped past so fast..!!!

dear pignite,
welcome to 2002 club!
if i can turn back clock, i wouldn't send ds1 to PCF preschool. i would send him to the church kindy that i sent my ds2. that is the regret of my life wrt to his education. will i be more proactive in sourcing for pri schools for ds1? yes and no. ds1 did pretty well in his pri sch and that had mold his love for public speaking and i wouldn't want to change that. i would however wished that that sch had focused more on character building. this year, ds1 had grown more matured, although his wings 'hardened' (ie can talk back), he is able to show more concerned and appreciation for people around him as his classmates had shown him this year. we were surprised that he is able to pass Napfa test as he proves to be the bottom few in his class wrt to physical fitness since P1. i feel that this year, sets to be the year where he'll emerge less nerdy (read as : wont do as well academically ), but more rounded (ie improvement in sports and arts and character).

we are struggling in chinese and english too! :faint:

[jedamum]

Breadandmuffins:

I also wish I had spent time reading Chinese books to DS. Now he only reads eng books but that does not mean he did well for compo. Now still thinking if need to go creative class cos the teacher kept on telling him to use more good phrases. He has no tuition in any subjects this yr, he pulled out of Berries this yr (So,Laura02, u are not the odd one out here)Reading and writing are two quite different, dont know how to help him. Chinese compo also \"same same\"....So now send no.3 and no.4 to Chinese nursery and kindergarten to start exposure to Chinese earlier.

dera breadandmuffins,
i wished i had spent time reading chinese books to ds1, but i am still repeating the same mistake with ds2. the problem we faced is that ds2 does not have the vocab capacity to understand chinese books yet. i am waiting for him to finish his HYPY course in berries so we can proceed to HYPY books so at least he can read those HYPY as i guide him on the word recognition. at K2, his chinese word vocab is better than ds1 in k2 due to preschool difference.
ds1 reads selective english books (he does not take to 39clues, hardyboys, artimis fowl etc!) and i find it hard to select books for him. and he take ages to finish reading them.
you pulled your boy out of berries? is he studying by himself?
i pulled my boy out of berries. but we turned to a private tutor. :moneyflies:

[Laura02]

Dd used to go for berries but stopped in P2. She also went for abacus in kinddy, but stopped in P1.

Dh and I use any and every opportunity we have to teach her. When she was younger, every outing was a math lesson. From counting out pencils that she wanted to buy, to calculating the costs of those pencils, and the change to expect. Now, going cycling is an opportunity for discussion on plants, speed, kinetic energy - anything and everything that takes our fancy. And I correct here grammar whenever I spot mistakes.
I spend a lot of time reading up on science, and questions that may come up in exams.

[Breadandmuffins]

I pulled ds out of berries as he is resistant to any form of extra classes . I agreed on grounds that he practised and revised on his own plus read Chinese books. But i do like berries approach to teaching tho the standard is too high for some kids.However, I hv difficulties trying to find interesting chinese bks that he can read on his own, the stories are too kiddy for him. He also disliked Jeremy strong , beast quest, 39 clues etc. Instead, he likes non fiction books but now he is into the Harry potter stuff and read non stop until I hv to keepon nagging him to revise for exams… But compo not good leh only barely passed.

[smartmummy]

jedamum:

smartmummy:

If i can turnback the clock i would start cma for

maths and mother tongue.

I try first if i couldn't handle then i will send.

dear smartmummy,
cma for math, something i did not opt for my ds2 cos ds1 went for abacus training (not cma) and does not help in his arithmetic.
i had wanted cma earlier too, but we settled for piano as form of brain training and hobby for ds2.

Oic.now no regrets.previous years i regretted.
I regret for not reading mother tongue books early years.

[smartmummy]

Laura02:

Dd used to go for berries but stopped in P2. She also went for abacus in kinddy, but stopped in P1.

Dh and I use any and every opportunity we have to teach her. When she was younger, every outing was a math lesson. From counting out pencils that she wanted to buy, to calculating the costs of those pencils, and the change to expect. Now, going cycling is an opportunity for discussion on plants, speed, kinetic energy - anything and everything that takes our fancy. And I correct here grammar whenever I spot mistakes.
I spend a lot of time reading up on science, and questions that may come up in exams.

Yup,this is the way i teach my son too.
But my dd(k2) off me.whenever i go outside with her i started like there is a mynah, she say no its a bird.then i say mynah is a bird.she still argue with me it is not mynah its a bird..