2013 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[carin004]

sigh.... I really don't know what else i can do to help my DD. Her marks has been slipping for every revision paper done in school ..... she nearly fail two of them (english revision paper)!! Her performance has been consistent for the past years.


After going thru them, i noticed DD had been \"improving\" on her carelessness :slapshead: Even her better subjects (Math & sci) suffered!!! Her concepts and methods are there... its just plain carelessness...... sigh.... Her languages (esp english) are the worst hit....

I had been taking \"nicely\" to her until now. I thought all is well when i see that she is able to do and score for the past year school exam papers.

Any advise?

[NYPS]

happyheart:

Just curious. Do you insist your PSLE DC do revision or homework on friday night or let them chill out after the tedious 5 days school work?

You should let them chill out. Otherwise they will :frustrated: & will be burned out

[happyheart]

NYPS:

happyheart:

Just curious. Do you insist your PSLE DC do revision or homework on friday night or let them chill out after the tedious 5 days school work?

You should let them chill out. Otherwise they will :frustrated: & will be burned out

Yes agree and that is what my heart says but my mind hor....OMG :yikes: ! So many stuff not finished yet and it is not like DS works fast! So I will insist he does mindless school homework like 习字， 改正 etc.

[icy_mama]

happyheart:

NYPS:

[quote=\"happyheart\"]Just curious. Do you insist your PSLE DC do revision or homework on friday night or let them chill out after the tedious 5 days school work?

You should let them chill out. Otherwise they will :frustrated: & will be burned out

Yes agree and that is what my heart says but my mind hor....OMG :yikes: ! So many stuff not finished yet and it is not like DS works fast! So I will insist he does mindless school homework like 习字， 改正 etc.[/quote]i agree with happyheart. too much work, too little time. i usu let dd decide for herself, if she's too tired she should stop.

[BeContented]

happyheart:

NYPS:

[quote=\"happyheart\"]Just curious. Do you insist your PSLE DC do revision or homework on friday night or let them chill out after the tedious 5 days school work?

You should let them chill out. Otherwise they will :frustrated: & will be burned out

Yes agree and that is what my heart says but my mind hor....OMG :yikes: ! So many stuff not finished yet and it is not like DS works fast! So I will insist he does mindless school homework like 习字， 改正 etc.[/quote]
DS did his PSLE last year and DD doing it this year. Our routine din change much whether its for sch exams or PSLE. While they are not allowed to play computer games during weekdays Mon-Thu, they are allowed 2 hours each day on Fri-Sun. On Fri, once home they will try to clear up some work till dinner time ~7pm, after which its R&R till ~10.30pm.

That's a typical case, however on situations when they really really have lotsa work, their R&R would only start from 8.30pm onwards. During DS time, his load was quite manageable, no issue. For DD this year, her workload can be quite scary. After a few hiccups, she has learnt to estimate her time and would automatically adjust ie. she would do more and decide when her R&R starts (sometimes 9.30pm, sometimes none). But because she owns the process, I feel she is more responsible for it. At times, she would of course go off track and we have to remind/nag her. But if DD does not want to listen, she will have to bear the consequences ie. sleep later on Sun to finish up or get punished by her teacher for incomplete work.

Personally, I think by giving them some R&R to look forward to.....it helps. :love:

[ngl2010]

happyheart:

NYPS:

[quote=\"happyheart\"]Just curious. Do you insist your PSLE DC do revision or homework on friday night or let them chill out after the tedious 5 days school work?

You should let them chill out. Otherwise they will :frustrated: & will be burned out

Yes agree and that is what my heart says but my mind hor....OMG :yikes: ! So many stuff not finished yet and it is not like DS works fast! So I will insist he does mindless school homework like 习字， 改正 etc.[/quote]习字 reminded me about what my son's CL teacher told me last week. She said my son is slow in writing (he is slow in everything lar...) so he cannot finish the compo mock exam the teacher gave in school. She told me to hurry DS when he is writing 习字. From now on, I am going to sit next to him when he is doing 习字 :rubhands:

[wonderm]

BeContented:

DS did his PSLE last year and DD doing it this year. Our routine din change much whether its for sch exams or PSLE. While they are not allowed to play computer games during weekdays Mon-Thu, they are allowed 2 hours each day on Fri-Sun. On Fri, once home they will try to clear up some work till dinner time ~7pm, after which its R&R till ~10.30pm.

That's a typical case, however on situations when they really really have lotsa work, their R&R would only start from 8.30pm onwards. During DS time, his load was quite manageable, no issue. For DD this year, her workload can be quite scary. After a few hiccups, she has learnt to estimate her time and would automatically adjust ie. she would do more and decide when her R&R starts (sometimes 9.30pm, sometimes none). But because she owns the process, I feel she is more responsible for it. At times, she would of course go off track and we have to remind/nag her. But if DD does not want to listen, she will have to bear the consequences ie. sleep later on Sun to finish up or get punished by her teacher for incomplete work.

Personally, I think by giving them some R&R to look forward to.....it helps. :love:

BeContented, your routine looks very sensible. It builds discipline and provides some structure for the kids. At the same time, they are given the R&R time and also given some flexibility how they use their R&R time. No wonder your ds did so well in PSLE last year. I am sure your dd will do just as well or even better than her brother this year!

We didn't have the same routine (could have learnt from you if I read this a few years ago) but we also tried to keep to our usual routine even during exam period. Now my boys are in Sec school, with heavier workload and many more interesting activities to participate in, they realized the need to prioritize and the importance of time management.

[clay569]

carin004:

sigh.... I really don't know what else i can do to help my DD. Her marks has been slipping for every revision paper done in school ..... she nearly fail two of them (english revision paper)!! Her performance has been consistent for the past years.


After going thru them, i noticed DD had been \"improving\" on her carelessness :slapshead: Even her better subjects (Math & sci) suffered!!! Her concepts and methods are there... its just plain carelessness...... sigh.... Her languages (esp english) are the worst hit....

I had been taking \"nicely\" to her until now. I thought all is well when i see that she is able to do and score for the past year school exam papers.

Any advise?

Maybe she's tired...

For myself, I felt DS was getting sick of never ending homework so I hands off for a couple of weeks. I didnt ask about mock test or revision paper outcome hoping to ease him some stress. I am worried since SA1 is approaching but I decided to let go in case he gets too fatigued. Thankfully, he bounced back. There are still stuff he has to cover for SA1 but guess we'll take it as it comes...

[carin004]

clay569:

carin004:

sigh.... I really don't know what else i can do to help my DD. Her marks has been slipping for every revision paper done in school ..... she nearly fail two of them (english revision paper)!! Her performance has been consistent for the past years.


After going thru them, i noticed DD had been \"improving\" on her carelessness :slapshead: Even her better subjects (Math & sci) suffered!!! Her concepts and methods are there... its just plain carelessness...... sigh.... Her languages (esp english) are the worst hit....

I had been taking \"nicely\" to her until now. I thought all is well when i see that she is able to do and score for the past year school exam papers.

Any advise?

Maybe she's tired...

For myself, I felt DS was getting sick of never ending homework so I hands off for a couple of weeks. I didnt ask about mock test or revision paper outcome hoping to ease him some stress. I am worried since SA1 is approaching but I decided to let go in case he gets too fatigued. Thankfully, he bounced back. There are still stuff he has to cover for SA1 but guess we'll take it as it comes...

Maybe DD is tired.

Had a heart to heart talk to DD.... she is also noticed her work is slipping... and she is worried too. So I asked her what/where/how she needs my help most. One by one she identified areas that needs help and how to improve them. With SA1 coming.... I am very worried.... Hopefully she can bounce back soon..... :xedfingers:

[JohnYeo]

carin004:

Maybe DD is tired.

Had a heart to heart talk to DD.... she is also noticed her work is slipping... and she is worried too. So I asked her what/where/how she needs my help most. One by one she identified areas that needs help and how to improve them. With SA1 coming.... I am very worried.... Hopefully she can bounce back soon..... :xedfingers:

Hi carin004,

I love this part \"what/where/how she needs my help most\".

So detailed and I think this clear distinction and labelling can really help your child to know \"what/where/how she needs my help most\".

Hehe...I learnt something new....

There's another method I learnt about pinpointing to the exact cause and is the 3 Whys or 5 Whys....ask Why and it should bring us closer to the root of the problem....

Just curious, when you say \"bounced back\", where will she be bouncing from and to?

Thanks again for your great sharing.

John