<![CDATA[Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus]]>Another suggestion. Just for fun/leisure. There is an iPad/iPhone app called “Stop Motion”. It is like taking freeze frame pictures and the app will put them all together to make a video.


I believe claymation short clips are already seen widely on tv, as short trailers before some movies, and in the nation-wide NE-mation competition.

This app allows your child to have fun exploring the creative process. How to plan the plot (if any), arrange each character in each frame, how they will move, etc.

Doesn’t have to be with Playdough. Can use Lego figurines (make your own Lego movie), soft toys, etc etc. Let the child’s creativity run wild.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/topic/94549/bright-kids-not-selected-into-gep-please-give-ideas-on-how-to-engage-them-outside-of-school-syllabusRSS for NodeFri, 15 May 2026 07:54:14 GMTWed, 22 Jan 2020 11:46:50 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Wed, 22 Jan 2020 11:33:00 GMT]]>Checking back in here after some time. Thanks parents for sharing. Currently my kid is into Science and Maths. Reading widely. You all have given me some great ideas.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1960360https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1960360Wed, 22 Jan 2020 11:33:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Tue, 21 Jan 2020 11:05:09 GMT]]>

jedamum\" post_id=\"1945213\" time=\"1573114526\" user_id=\"159:

Cutepandabear,

6thisnthat9 has stated a few very good ways and programmes. But for schools that do not have these programmes, these are what you can do:-

English
. Toast masters. Check with your nearest community centre for the age group available.

Math
. Olympiad for those interested. There are plenty of competition open to children
. Suduko

Science
. Nush science olympiad. Assuming that your kid is top few in science (in non gep sch), you have a shot at this competition which allow schools to send only limited participants
. Science centre badge system. This is a great way to learn science outside of curriculum
. Busker Festival. Another great science project that expose kids to public speaking too

Art
. Origami. Diy toys. Sketching. Watercolour
. Turn them into Teacher's day gifts or birthday gifts for grandma. You have a whole year to work on them.

Music
. Instruments. Dance. Composing. Singing

Coding
. There are a couple of coding competition, but mainly dominated by schools who have the resources to train, parents who have the skills to coach or enrichment centres students.
. You can just pick up leisurely via online if you can get someone to guide you (i have no luck on this!)

Leadership
. If he is a prefect, he can volunteer around the school for stuff and run for exco in end p5.
. Not a prefect? Volunteer to be subject rep, reading ambassador etc
. Charity work

Leisure
. Swimsafer
. Taekwondo/wushu/sports
. Rubiks/speed cubing
. Youtube channel (my nephew made his own unboxing video with my bro)+ video editing skills
. Cooking

Go according to his interests.
Can decide if he prefers to be a jack of trades (try out everything) or focus on one (olympiad training is very time consuming to be the really good ones).

Nothing to share on mother tongue... :faint:
Just in case any of your kids are interested in Science Centre’s Young Scientist Badge scheme, I discovered recently thru their FB page that they have opened up the scheme to the public. Don’t need to participate thru the school anymore. Probably not many schools are supporting this scheme any more (it’s no wonder - just look at the prices per badge!! Plus the science teacher needs to coordinate for all the kids under her, who wants to bother!)

Anyway, if your child happens to be interested in any (or all) of these specific badges, you can now pay for the card yourself, the kid does the tasks (including film some videos of him doing the experiments etc), submit the evidence by email & he can receive the digital badge (and also collect the physical badge if he wants).

https://www.science.edu.sg/for-schools/teaching-resources/young-scientist-badge-scheme

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1960186https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1960186Tue, 21 Jan 2020 11:05:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Tue, 21 Jan 2020 04:28:44 GMT]]>A few good books for Bright kids


https://postimg.cc/pmKXTrqq

https://postimg.cc/6yRtqCgv

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1960094https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1960094Tue, 21 Jan 2020 04:28:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Tue, 21 Jan 2020 03:40:48 GMT]]>I attended one DI local tournament a few years back and if my memory serves me correctly I do remember seeing a few privately formed teams mentored by parents. If you go to the SG DI website (https://www.di-sg.org/) you can email the organiser Sandra to register a team I think. This year it seems that the hosting school has changed to Clementi Primary, no longer ACS.

[/quote]

Thanks! The same Sandra from ACSJ?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1960073https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1960073Tue, 21 Jan 2020 03:40:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Tue, 21 Jan 2020 03:26:32 GMT]]>

manorway\" post_id=\"1960047\" time=\"1579564658\" user_id=\"9303:

Agree that DI and OM are amazing experiences!

Based on our experience, I slways thought at least at the SG Primary levels, only teams representing schools can participate. We cannot form private groups. In the USA, there were some private teams.

In the SG Pri levels, ACSJ dominates the scene though, sending multiple teams. So few schools joined that sometimes it was a walkover, straight to DI Global and OM World.

I always wish MOE would make more schools offer this as a CCA, the way some secondary schools do.

Maybe riules have changed now.

Tessdeomma, if you know of teams formed privately, pls share more!!

Thanks

tessdeomma\" post_id=\"1959892\" time=\"1579483000\" user_id=\"183779:

For HA children, you could try signing them up for Destination Imagination or Odyssey of the Mind. They are both tournaments that are based on a similar concept - getting children to come up with solutions to inter-disciplinary problems and then showcase their solutions using creative methods. I've mentored primary level teams for this before and I find that these are really good platforms to stretch HA kids and help them hone their critical thinking and inter-disciplinary thinking skills 🙂 And it keeps them actively engaged for a whole year. There are local tournaments that are organised and winners get the chance to represent SG for the international tournaments!

Even if your child's school is not organising a team to participate in these, us parents can also build teams to participate!

https://www.destinationimagination.org
https://www.odysseyofthemind.com

I attended one DI local tournament a few years back and if my memory serves me correctly I do remember seeing a few privately formed teams mentored by parents. If you go to the SG DI website (https://www.di-sg.org/) you can email the organiser Sandra to register a team I think. This year it seems that the hosting school has changed to Clementi Primary, no longer ACS.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1960066https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1960066Tue, 21 Jan 2020 03:26:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Mon, 20 Jan 2020 23:57:38 GMT]]>Agree that DI and OM are amazing experiences!


Based on our experience, I slways thought at least at the SG Primary levels, only teams representing schools can participate. We cannot form private groups. In the USA, there were some private teams.

In the SG Pri levels, ACSJ dominates the scene though, sending multiple teams. So few schools joined that sometimes it was a walkover, straight to DI Global and OM World.

I always wish MOE would make more schools offer this as a CCA, the way some secondary schools do.

Maybe riules have changed now.

Tessdeomma, if you know of teams formed privately, pls share more!!

Thanks

tessdeomma\" post_id=\"1959892\" time=\"1579483000\" user_id=\"183779:
For HA children, you could try signing them up for Destination Imagination or Odyssey of the Mind. They are both tournaments that are based on a similar concept - getting children to come up with solutions to inter-disciplinary problems and then showcase their solutions using creative methods. I've mentored primary level teams for this before and I find that these are really good platforms to stretch HA kids and help them hone their critical thinking and inter-disciplinary thinking skills 🙂 And it keeps them actively engaged for a whole year. There are local tournaments that are organised and winners get the chance to represent SG for the international tournaments!

Even if your child's school is not organising a team to participate in these, us parents can also build teams to participate!

https://www.destinationimagination.org
https://www.odysseyofthemind.com

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1960047https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1960047Mon, 20 Jan 2020 23:57:38 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Mon, 20 Jan 2020 01:16:40 GMT]]>For HA children, you could try signing them up for Destination Imagination or Odyssey of the Mind. They are both tournaments that are based on a similar concept - getting children to come up with solutions to inter-disciplinary problems and then showcase their solutions using creative methods. I've mentored primary level teams for this before and I find that these are really good platforms to stretch HA kids and help them hone their critical thinking and inter-disciplinary thinking skills 🙂 And it keeps them actively engaged for a whole year. There are local tournaments that are organised and winners get the chance to represent SG for the international tournaments!


Even if your child's school is not organising a team to participate in these, us parents can also build teams to participate!

https://www.destinationimagination.org
https://www.odysseyofthemind.com

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1959892https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1959892Mon, 20 Jan 2020 01:16:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Fri, 22 Nov 2019 09:23:02 GMT]]>Hi cutepandabear


Do you have an elder gep child? My elder child was gep and younger one was not selected. She is very high ability thus teachers were surprised she was not selected. Teachers who taught both children feedback they have similar ability but very different learning attitude. From P4-6, I did not do anything extra or special for the younger one, I left her alone. The school would pick her for all sorts of enrichments and sent her for competitions, thankful to the school. Sometimes she read during lesson time and most of the time, the teachers left her alone. She had easy life in P4-6 and I think it was good for her as she dislikes doing school work (not too diligent). she did very well for psle and went on to the school of her choice. she is stretched in secondary school like her elder sibling, so "no loss" not being in gep class… she had easier life in P4-6 and so much more free time to read, day dream and "do nothing"…

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1948041https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1948041Fri, 22 Nov 2019 09:23:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Fri, 22 Nov 2019 02:26:37 GMT]]>Hi, first I’m so sorry, I started this thread then I didn’t come back to reply. What happened was that I hurt my hand and I couldn’t really type. But I was reading. And now I’m back and my hands still cramps up a bit now and then. But much better. Thank you for all parents for contributing ideas. I will definitely try your suggestions.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1947780https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1947780Fri, 22 Nov 2019 02:26:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Fri, 08 Nov 2019 05:13:50 GMT]]>Totally can understand.


I have 2 high energy level kids. The bright one need sufficient brain "food" before she can fall asleep. Can tell me a to z in school and outside. The sporty one, we need to find activities for him to exert his energy so that he focus better in studies if that makes sense.

But both succumb to music, piano.

Zac’s mum, "They are full of energy. They don’t only read plenty of books, the extrovert ones want to TALK about the books and discuss every.single.point. they have learnt. As a parent of such a child, it’s like their motor is forever go go go…I only get some mental rest when he finally concusses after bedtime."

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945384https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945384Fri, 08 Nov 2019 05:13:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Fri, 08 Nov 2019 01:40:03 GMT]]>Good post! Very helpful insights.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945340https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945340Fri, 08 Nov 2019 01:40:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Fri, 08 Nov 2019 00:45:10 GMT]]>

zac's mum\" post_id=\"1945322\" time=\"1573165640\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=1945322 time=1573165640 user_id=53606]
... cos internet is a very very wide dark hole if I just let him search in broad search terms.[/quote]
When my kids were as young as yours, I didn't allow them to do their own searching. They would tell me what they were looking for, and I would help them do the search, and bookmark useful sites. They would just use the bookmarks. If they came across links to other sites which looked interesting, they would let me check first. I also set some basic ground rules - they were never to disclose any personal info, or communicate with anyone on the internet, without clearing it with me first. The computer was only to be used in shared common spaces (study and living rooms) and not their bedroom. And I imposed time limits too. I explained the reasons why I did this, even if it was restrictive to them and troublesome to me, and my kids understood that we had their safety and well-being at heart. And the penalty for disobeying was confiscation for x days (depending on severity of transgression) which they knew I would carry out. I don't think they ever caused me to confiscate the computer.

As they got older, the rules were relaxed gradually, but it's wise to be strict and careful at first.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945331https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945331Fri, 08 Nov 2019 00:45:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Fri, 08 Nov 2019 00:32:50 GMT]]>

MrsKiasu\" post_id=\"1945283\" time=\"1573136559\" user_id=\"43981:

gifted kids like to have so many activities to engage themselves de mah? I feel stressful to just read them. It is not easy to be parents to gifted kids!
Not every kid will want to try everything, and not every kid will want to (or have time to) purse them all! It's like a buffet - you make available various things for them to try, and see what takes their fancy. And it will be sequential in time too - you don't put everything out at once, but offer new things along the way as appropriate.

And I don't think the \"gifted\" vs \"non-gifted\" divide is very useful. It's more GEP/non-GEP, which isn't the same thing at all. MOE's definition of who gets in the GEP isn't the only way to define giftedness, and anyway, it's a continuum. It doesn't mean that kids must first excel in schoolwork and have high IQ, then they can indulge in non-academic or stuff outside the school syllabus. Some kids may excel in some area, but be just \"OK\" in school.

Even kids who are not doing well in school should be encouraged to find something that really interests them, so they are not always just doing schoolwork. If not, life becomes a drag, and there is little sense in spending all their time at something they aren't good at. I'm not advocating ignoring schoolwork, but spending 10% of their time on something that interests them isn't going to affect their school grades that much, and will maybe prepare them for a job in the future.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945330https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945330Fri, 08 Nov 2019 00:32:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Thu, 07 Nov 2019 22:27:20 GMT]]>One thing the bright kids have is definitely creativity. That’s why I am so afraid that giving more of our dull academic work will just squelch the creativity out of them. I think even our normal preschoolers tend to lose a bit of their dreams and creativity when then enter mainstream primary school. Sigh.


We give them plenty of free time to pursue their own interests. Believe me, these kids don’t just play with normal toys. Other kids are happy with Beyblades that are bought from the shop. I’ve seen bright kids (especially if school bans them), invent their own makeshift Beyblades for friendly competitions in school. Anything that can spin, can be turned into a Beyblade lol. At first they used $1 coins, then they discovered the gear cog wheel in correction tape can balance and spin too. Then they discovered that modifying their beys with blue tack stabilizes them…

They are full of energy. They don’t only read plenty of books, the extrovert ones want to TALK about the books and discuss every.single.point. they have learnt. As a parent of such a child, it’s like their motor is forever go go go…I only get some mental rest when he finally concusses after bedtime.

That’s why I need to look for mentally engaging activities for him. I know the brain needs more challenge. Not to spoon feed him when he’s bored (heck, long long ago I already taught him to solve his own boredom problems, not my problem man), simply to guide him how to find appropriate resources in his areas of interest. Thanks for the specific tips cos internet is a very very wide dark hole if I just let him search in broad search terms.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945322https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945322Thu, 07 Nov 2019 22:27:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Thu, 07 Nov 2019 22:20:01 GMT]]>deleted

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945321https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945321Thu, 07 Nov 2019 22:20:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Thu, 07 Nov 2019 22:19:11 GMT]]>deleted

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945320https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945320Thu, 07 Nov 2019 22:19:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Thu, 07 Nov 2019 22:11:28 GMT]]>Need to clarify that this is not to classify whether kids are considered bright or not, gifted or not. But when a child is bored and over indulge in something they have affinity with e.g. non-stop reading even walking down the stairs etc, parents may just want to lead them to other activities, even can try activities which are not their forte. They should not only try things they are good at.


My child is more inclined towards cognitive skills like many kids here e.g. super memory, early reader, longer attention span, can deliver excellence, good hearing, etc, but we know she is not good with sports. but for a better overall development, we let her try badminton and dance in lower pri. Till now, she still enjoys them even though in the class she is not the most talented. We told her to take up the challenge to do something we are not talented in. Learn to learn is beneficial to the child’s development.

And I dont think this parent is just sore or disappointed at the GEP round 2 outcome. It is about how to otherwise engage her child in better ways?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945319https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945319Thu, 07 Nov 2019 22:11:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Thu, 07 Nov 2019 18:43:26 GMT]]>

Bobochacha\" post_id=\"1945277\" time=\"1573132970\" user_id=\"173200:

...
definitely much better than watching or playing roblox....
I love Roblox :rotflmao:
Frankly, bright kids shouldn't be playing Roblox... they should be creating for Roblox.

Aeons ago, I (a not so bright kid) self-learnt programming so that I can participate and code for some https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD. While I didn't pursue a career in IT, most of the folks that I have met and know (virtually) became the who's who of the IT industry. Cyberspace can also be a space to dream and be imaginative (who knows, maybe the bright kid could end up being the next Zuckerberg).

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945317https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945317Thu, 07 Nov 2019 18:43:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Thu, 07 Nov 2019 15:08:11 GMT]]>

sky minecrafter\" post_id=\"1945288\" time=\"1573137407\" user_id=\"130531:[quote=\"sky minecrafter\" post_id=1945288 time=1573137407 user_id=130531]
@MKS. Gifted or not, mostly they'd tell you what they are interested in doing & ask for your (financial?) support. Perhaps when they are momentarily at a loss, then we can throw them some ideas. Even KonMari can be a good way to spend some time![/quote]
sky, maybe due to some exposure ? So many things around and many I not heard of also..raising a gifted kiddo is certainly no easy task..no, my kids have little or no exposure on many of those. Getting them to do their own things on more proper ways, that seems more or less sufficient to me. Ability to absorb concepts faster to me is to have more time for other things including doing nothing.. but I guess gifted ones are very different.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945293https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945293Thu, 07 Nov 2019 15:08:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Thu, 07 Nov 2019 15:00:02 GMT]]>I know a kid who breezed through MS work, and he spent all his time reading science fiction, tinkering with all kind of materials. Bent paper clips, plastic parts of pen and ice cream sticks to make small-scale weapons that worked. Thought up the design, sketched and tried until he succeeded. Later the kid learnt to saw wood, use drill, bolts and nails and went on to make bigger stuff with motors, wheels etc. Did all that from home, books and videos. Whenever I speak to him, I always get the impression he has tons of ideas and never ending list of things he wants to test and try and invent. His parents never suggested this or that for him to do, so he has a lot of free time since young. They supported when he asked for books of tools.


Maybe that gave him space to dream and take initiative to drive own projects.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945292https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945292Thu, 07 Nov 2019 15:00:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Thu, 07 Nov 2019 14:36:47 GMT]]>@MKS. Gifted or not, mostly they'd tell you what they are interested in doing & ask for your (financial?) support. Perhaps when they are momentarily at a loss, then we can throw them some ideas. Even KonMari can be a good way to spend some time!

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945288https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945288Thu, 07 Nov 2019 14:36:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Thu, 07 Nov 2019 14:22:39 GMT]]>gifted kids like to have so many activities to engage themselves de mah? I feel stressful to just read them. It is not easy to be parents to gifted kids!

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945283https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945283Thu, 07 Nov 2019 14:22:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Bright kids not selected into GEP - please give ideas on how to engage them outside of school syllabus on Thu, 07 Nov 2019 13:22:50 GMT]]>My ds is in gep but during lull period like now or during school holidays, I will try to spare some time to solve math riddles or do math olympiad questions with him. It’s pretty fun for him and for myself too! In the beginning of the year we played chess too and he will search online for chess strategies, definitely much better than watching or playing roblox…


If your child likes coding, you may want to consider investing in LEGO Mindstorm. I had been thinking about it but my ds is not really interested in coding. We had tried Codakid before but he’s not keen because the mod created in Minecraft cannot be used in iPad pocket edition. I thought Codakid was pretty cool because you can code for Minecraft, Roblox and create games. You learn to code (real coding) through videos. You can create a trial account to try it out!

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945277https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/1945277Thu, 07 Nov 2019 13:22:50 GMT