2013 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[G38plus]

I think parents should thank verykiasu2010 to start this thread. That's the very right thing to do.... start in p5, and not p6. P6 is a bit too late.


My kid just finished PSLE. I started paying attention to sending kid for tuition only in p6 except for Math and Science (started in p5). I do not give any work from my end. My philosophy is to maintain good relationship with my child and let the school and tuition centre handle the academic aspect. I must thank my friends who were more anxious than me the parent. Well, they have more experience. What they said was that better do what we can as parents ... at least for our peace of mind... that we did whatever we could to support our child. So, I started exploring for tuition centres. I tried several places and would be happy to share my experience if you PM me. The GOOD, BAD n UGLY...

[Lock]

Careermum:

I think all of us here are not being kiasu by early early preparation. Better than last min panic. Also, some subjects cannot have last min prep. eg language esp chinese.


Like what LKY said, need to start speaking mandarin to our kids. I think speaking to kids in mandarin since P1 is not being kiasu.

DS just completed PSLE. I regretted not speaking to him in mandarin. A lot of simple basic words also he don't know. I bought a lot of guide books for him. He may be able to memorise, and used the knowledge for paper 2, but he doesn't know how to use the words in compo vs another child who speaks mandarin at home, and has been using the words in his everyday life.

I think differently frm u n LKY. I don't speak Mandarin to my kids cos my pronunciation is no gd and my vocab is v limited. I can't even complete a sentence w/o peppering some EL words. I feel that I am exposing my kids to sub-std Mandarin instead of helping them improve. so I've stopped trying to speak to them. But I hv a pte tutor (on top of sending them to tuition centre) who comes to my place once a wk to speak n read mandarin with my kids. so far I hv no complaints as they are doing well in the subject (Band 1). In fact, when my kids speak, most ppl think they are not local cos of the precise pronunciation they pick up from their Beijing tutor.

EL is their 1st lang cos that's the lang we speak at home and that's both my hub n my master Lang. We make sure they speak the std EL fluently. We find it grating to our ears when we hear a mixture of EL n CL in a sentence. We will always see CL as a second lang. They learn that to fulfill exam criteria n enough to converse comfortably with their non EL speaking aunts n uncles.

[Careermum]

Agree with u Lock. Basically, we need to start early. Like in your case, it is good that u started exposing your children early to good Mandarin speaking tutor.


What I’m saying is, it is not kiasu to start preparing for 2013 PSLE, so no need to feel paiseh about it. Do not wait till P5 or P6 to prepare them for the languages as languages take time to be acquired & polished.

[ftwm]

I agree that we should start plan early. So what is the bench marks for end of the year that you will be worrying and started to find tutor?

[Mamo]

Careermum:

I think all of us here are not being kiasu by early early preparation. Better than last min panic. Also, some subjects cannot have last min prep. eg language esp chinese.


Like what LKY said, need to start speaking mandarin to our kids. I think speaking to kids in mandarin since P1 is not being kiasu.

DS just completed PSLE. I regretted not speaking to him in mandarin. A lot of simple basic words also he don't know. I bought a lot of guide books for him. He may be able to memorise, and used the knowledge for paper 2, but he doesn't know how to use the words in compo vs another child who speaks mandarin at home, and has been using the words in his everyday life.

Same here. My DS just completed PSLE and his mandarin is just as bad. I regretted not starting him early too. Now with my little one, I started speaking to him as much as I could \"remember\" to do so since he is in Nursery and he can converse quite well with the elderly. Hence, exposing our kids to our MT early is not being kiasu, it's \"adaptation\".

[Lock]

ftwm:

I agree that we should start plan early. So what is the bench marks for end of the year that you will be worrying and started to find tutor?

Depends on the sch your kid is in. Cos top schs' papers are generally more tough than those from neighbourhood sch.

My dd studies in an average sch and their papers are usually do-able (not many surprises and with very little challenging questions). So, if she scores below 80 for the subject, I think I will start to think of ways to help her improve. I am not for sending her to too many tuition (currently she already has CL and Math tuition). But if her grades keep sliding to below 60, I will seriously consider sending her for external help or change the current tutors.

[KSP]

:thankyou: vks2010 for starting this thread.... i will come in very often to learn from the parents here although my dd's PSLE is in 2014..... :goodpost:


what do i hope to achieve here?

well, hopefully my dd can do most of the top school P6 papers by 2013 end...... :boogie: that is at the end of her P5.....

what do u guys think? achievable? too ks? :imcool:

[kittycat01]

ok…so much have been said about early preparation for psle 2013. Our kids are in P4… should have finished SA2 by now. What are the concrete plans you’re taking for you kids now. Next step?


For my dd, her greatest struggle is Math. I heard there are good tuition centres like mindchamps and meow tuition agency. Thought of signing her up. What are your feedback on the centres?

[verykiasu2010]

kittycat01:

ok.....so much have been said about early preparation for psle 2013. Our kids are in P4.... should have finished SA2 by now. What are the concrete plans you're taking for you kids now. Next step?


For my dd, her greatest struggle is Math. I heard there are good tuition centres like mindchamps and meow tuition agency. Thought of signing her up. What are your feedback on the centres?

better that you go down personally to talk to the teachers and also find out the environment

different tuition centre suits different students. find one that fits

to realise the weakness in math now is one step forward, rather than finding it out later on at end of Pri 5 .... that would be desperately desperate

[Pen88n]

KSP:

well, hopefully my dd can do most of the top school P6 papers by 2013 end...... :boogie: that is at the end of her P5.....

what do u guys think? achievable? too ks? :imcool:

Note that though most topics are covered in P5, there are some not covered yet and will only be done in P6. So may not be able to expect your kid to do the whole paper (esp. Maths and Science) at end P5. Languages may be possible.

Question: if your DD finished all the top school P6 paper by year end P5, what is she going to do in the P6 year? Repeat doing the papers again?

I know early preparation is good, but parents need to note that kids get bored doing the same thing over and over again. Start them doing practice paper too early may make the kids very \"sian\" before reaching PSLE. Trust me, the schools will load them with so many practice papers that the kids wil be very \"bored\" with doing papers and just wanting PSLE to be over.......Don't let them get bored at start of P6, make sure you maintain the momentum till PSLE.