2012 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[its888me]

My child’s school has 2 mock + 1 prelim exams this year. I almost had heart-attack on the result of the 1st mock exam, ie. low 70s for 3 out of the 4 subjects. The worst result that is in the history. My child also seems to lose his motivation since P5 and it’s the worst this year. Anyone has experienced this and can provide advice…?

[mummy so kiasu]

janet_lee88:

The yummy soup served in bread bowl is at this cafe along Eng Hoon St...called cafe pralet. But this is a popular dish and often finished early.


The pressure is definitely heating up...this is last week of July and psle oral are in August. :nailbite: Gosh, Chinese prelim is not even over yet. Now pumping kids with lots of liquids to stay hydrated.

My boy's Prelim starts on 31 July. Not much time to do revision. Time to give them confidence instead of stress. Have to take care & don't fall sick.

[janet88]

mummy so kiasu:

janet_lee88:

psle oral are in August. :nailbite: Gosh, Chinese prelim is not even over yet. Now pumping kids with lots of liquids to stay hydrated.

My boy's Prelim starts on 31 July. Not much time to do revision. Time to give them confidence instead of stress. Have to take care & don't fall sick.

although prelim results are recorded and important, there is really no point stressing them out for it...believe they are quite prepared. tell my son to look at the big picture.

[mummy so kiasu]

its888me:

My child's school has 2 mock + 1 prelim exams this year. I almost had heart-attack on the result of the 1st mock exam, ie. low 70s for 3 out of the 4 subjects. The worst result that is in the history. My child also seems to lose his motivation since P5 and it's the worst this year. Anyone has experienced this and can provide advice....?

Are those easy or killer papers? 70s for tough papers are consider good. Is it due to carelessness or weak in concepts? Have you or the tutor focus on your child's weak topics to better prepare him for PSLE? Since Prelim & PSLE are getting closer, the most important thing to do now is to give your child confidence so that he will do his best on exam days. All the best to your child!

[fightingmom]

its888me:

My child's school has 2 mock + 1 prelim exams this year. I almost had heart-attack on the result of the 1st mock exam, ie. low 70s for 3 out of the 4 subjects. The worst result that is in the history. My child also seems to lose his motivation since P5 and it's the worst this year. Anyone has experienced this and can provide advice....?

First of all , you have to understand by checking with the FT how is the whole cohort of p6 did for the 1st mock. If overall are getting low 80s and 70s, then your child is ok ... Probably the school set very difficult papers to wake the pupils up.

However if majority are gettings high 80s or 90s for the cohort, then you have to step in to check what's is the area that your child is weak at. Try to fill in that gap by either do more similar questions or maybe go back to basic - is it the concept or it is the answering technique that is wrongly applied. sometimes it could be time management problem, that is, your child has no time to finish the paper or no time to check thus made some careless mistakes. Then you step up on by timing him to finish the paper within the time frame with at least 10 mins to check. Buy a timer if you need to. For maths, in general, 3 marks question should use about 3 mins, 5 makes questions about 5mins to solve.
Find time to speak to the respective subject teachers to find out more.

Celebrate small wins too. If he can manage to solve certain questions or say get 35/40 MCQ for Science Section A, give him a big hug, maybe go out for an ice-cream treat. Encourage positive attitudes.

Encourage your child. Remind him that the past does not equal to the future. He still has Prelim before PSLE so still have time to work towards getting good grades. Every child needs affirmation.

All the best ! :rahrah:

[its888me]

My child knows the strategies and technique. Somehow he is not motivated but just thinking about play and play and still play. He even claimed that he is doing a lot whereas others are not (?!)


I don't think the papers are difficult as I heard some children got A*. It's his problem per se.

Giving him confidence? With this kind of result, he still has not learnt but still thinking of playing.... Thus, if I give him confidence, it's like encouraging to relax more...? no?

Really at a lost. :?:

[fightingmom]

its888me:

My child knows the strategies and technique. Somehow he is not motivated but just thinking about play and play and still play. He even claimed that he is doing a lot whereas others are not (?!)


I don't think the papers are difficult as I heard some children got A*. It's his problem per se.

Giving him confidence? With this kind of result, he still has not learnt but still thinking of playing.... Thus, if I give him confidence, it's like encouraging to relax more...? no?

Really at a lost. :?:

Just a suggestion:

Maybe you should really sit down with him to have a good heart to heart talk. Tell him you understand his desire to play and have fun , everyone loves to have fun. However, since Prelim and PSLE is near, you just need him to commit to you and himself 2 months of solid revision and study. Just 2 months only. Get him to own that responsibility and tell him he owe it to himself because it is his future that we are talking about.

Talk to him gently and not talk down to him. Hopefully that will wake some sense into him. I did that pep talk to my nephew too and it worked then. hope it helps !

[janet88]

its888me:

My child knows the strategies and technique. Somehow he is not motivated but just thinking about play and play and still play. He even claimed that he is doing a lot whereas others are not (?!)


I don't think the papers are difficult as I heard some children got A*. It's his problem per se.

We are in the same boat. He has been playing with his toys a great deal of late :faint: beyblade etc etc. The other day, he told me his friend went to Universal Studios...why can't he ???

[its888me]

Thanks all for the advice.


When he got back his result last night, I tried to have a good talk with him and he told me not to mention anything anymore, he knows what to do. Then he went into his room doing his school work (??) and half-way he told me he wanted an album for his playing card (!!!)

I’ve tried many methods, but none is working. Perhaps I should really hands off and let him fail his PSLE and really learn a lesson…? However, it’s so difficult for me to let go…

[mummy so kiasu]

its888me:

My child knows the strategies and technique. Somehow he is not motivated but just thinking about play and play and still play. He even claimed that he is doing a lot whereas others are not (?!)


I don't think the papers are difficult as I heard some children got A*. It's his problem per se.
Giving him confidence? With this kind of result, he still has not learnt but still thinking of playing.... Thus, if I give him confidence, it's like encouraging to relax more...? no?

Really at a lost. :?:

Your child is a smart boy & he can perform better if he is motivated. Your son mentioned to you that he did a lot & his friends did not. At this age, they tend to compare themselves with their friends & get influence by their friends easily. If his best friends are playful ones, most likely he will end up playing too. You have to find out what motivates him which is very critical. Reward system only works if you have the right \"carrot\" & the target set must be realistic & attainable.