TheAnswer:

ammonite:

I did estimate the quantity of minced meat from the price tag and it is only enough for two boys at my end. I think you are right that it is about the stage of their growth. I do also try to fill them up with enough varieties so that they don't have too much space left in the chip/ice cream compartment of their tummies! But sometimes I do just give up. It is too much work!

I have 2 sad looking red bean Potong that no one wants to eat in my fridge. Told them I won’t be getting ice cream until the potongs are gone.

I love Potong ice cream. Have to refrain from buy Every time I go ntuc and pass by the ice cream freezer. But Hubby and DD1 more atas, only go for magnum.

My girl is attending moe kindergarten, K1. There will be no spelling or tingxie, even at K2. For phonics, they are learning the beginning consonants and have not started on blending. Han Yu Pin Yin will not be taught. I believe the school encourage the students to ask questions and to learn through play. They encourage them to speak up and do sharing with their classmates. There are arts and crafts that they need to work with their classmates, supposed they are encouraging teamwork. Not so much on writing. For areas that they are not teaching or I think they are not teaching sufficiently, I will try to teach or send for enrichment. Overall, the teachers are patient and caring. My child enjoys going to school.

What has happened is serious. Your dad should know. In fact, he should already have been informed when she is required to repeat JC1. Do reconsider your decision.

Will be travelling to Tokyo in early Dec. As there are 7 of us, am thinking of taking private transport from Narita to hotel. Would anyone has any contact? Thanks.

ammonite:

Cloud Cloud:

DD1 is underweight. Drink 2 cups of full cream milk a day. Does not seem to help. Maybe the genes. Hubby and I used to be underweight.

Recently the doc said ds2 is underweight. He looks good to me leh, round cheeks, round butt, and a little tummy. I think 1.41m and 34 kg?

Cloud,
Is she going through a growth spurt? I find that they will lengthen out before filling out again during a growth spurt.

Always been underweight. We were asked to see HPB during her primary days. She is 158 cm but only 36 kg. Seldom sick though and got silver for her fitness test.

DD1 is underweight. Drink 2 cups of full cream milk a day. Does not seem to help. Maybe the genes. Hubby and I used to be underweight.

Mine are 2 girls and they don’t eat as much as boys. My sil who has 2 boys and 1 girl said she spent much more on home cooked meals. I will be cooking yong tau foo soup with Xiao Bai Cai tonight. Don’t feel like doing stir fry. Usually $6 of yong tau foo ingredients is sufficient. I buy them from the dodo counter at Cold Storage.

iRabbit:

My boy almost completed Y1 of IP (all paper exams over) and I would like to share my take on the IP. First of all, it's a myth (propagated by some) that there is not much teaching in the IP. This is just not true, and I feel that saying that is quite unfair to the teachers in the IP. It alluded that they have an easier time compared to their counterparts in non-IP sch.


I know that my post will be drowned out in a week of so by newer posts. But for what it's worth, I would like to share that it's not that there is not much teaching; in fact, there is a lot of teaching - but a different kind of teaching dictated by a different type of paedagogy. I think this is best illustrated by an example.

There was this lesson my boy had, and it went like this. The class was instructed to download materials for the lesson from the sch's online system before the lesson. The class was also told to read up the materials beforehand, jot down any queries they had, expand their knowledge on the topic through online learning by themselves. The actual lesson will be used for peer-to-peer sharing, and for the teacher to clarify the doubts that the class had. This is how they teach in universities too. The sch merely implemented the same style for its secondary sch students. Obviously not all subjects can be taught in this manner, but I hope my example would give potential lP parents a view of what IP education is like.

We have all heard about the IP requirements for students to be self-driven, motivated, independent (and may I add, intelligent) learners. So what do these attributes entail? Let's break them down individually based on my example above.

Self-driven - The boys need to be self-driven to adhere to the instructions of their teachers, to plan and set aside time for this activity. They need to know when to stop their computer games and start their research (an indefinitely less fun activity for many). We parents should not have to nag at them to get them to do their work. Anyway it's not always possible to do so coz a lot of instructions in sec sch are passed directly from teachers to students, bypassing parents.

Motivated - They need to be motivated enough to want to learn things, to acquire new knowledge. Above all, I feel that motivation is the most impt factor for IP students. The motivation comes from the joy of learning, the fulfillment of acquiring a deeper understanding on the topics taught. Now when one is a hardworking student, he would learn and revise everything that will be covered by the syllabus, for the purpose of scoring in exams. But when one is a motivated student, he would learn for self-actualisation, regardless of whether what he is learning will be tested in exams. There is a nuance but one which I feel will make a world of difference in the attitude towards learning.

Independent - When one is reading up on a new topic on his own via Internet resources or books, he is taking the risk to explore the deep end by himself. This is bcoz there will be areas whereby the student would not understand despite double or triple takes on an article. That is normal. However, an independent learner will note the doubts he has without letting them deter him from further exploration.

Intelligent - If we take a look at the back of those ICAS papers, we would find that Singapore's education system is actually very advanced academically. What our kids are learning at P3, other countries kids will take only at P4. So imho, anyone who is able to score that 25x to qualify for the IP (whether through hothousing or not) has that intelligence to do well in the IP. It is the other factors mentioned above that will make or break the deal.

I believe most GEP parents would have no qualms packing their kids off to IP. GEP is like the precursor of the IP and if the kids were able to handle the programme by-and-large by themselves, IP should be duck-to-water for most of them.

What about MS parents, especially those whose eldest are entering sec sch for the first time next year? How would they know if their charges are suitable for this programme, especially after hearing all the horror stories of IP dropouts in recent years?

I think there are still ways to find out. For instance, for the language-inclined kids, do they hanker to go to libraries to borrow storybooks to read in their free time (I bet some even read when parents prefer that they spend more time studying for exams). These kids would rather spend time reading than wasting time on excessive gaming. To me, this is being self-driven - after all, their parents are not to ones coercing them to go to the libraries.

For the Sci-inclined, I've this friend whose boy was very interested in Sci experiments. He would spend an inordinate amount of time on youtube watching experiments being conducted. He displayed immense love for the subject. It didn't matter to him that those topics will never come out for PSLE; he understood that the joy of learning was beyond that. So if your kid exhibited similar behaviour, then to me, he has that motivational factor required for the IP.

Self-driven, intelligent students do not like to be boxed up in their learning through spoon-feeding by teachers. Rather, they prefer to be given an exploratory approach towards learning. Even if they tumble a bit here and there, it is still within the safe environment of the sch where there should be safety nets to cushion their fall.

Why did I state the motivation is the most impt criterion of all? Very often when a kid transits from primary sch to IP, his grades will take a tumble (for some, a big one). He may also find himself at the lower end of the cohort academically (if this happens, parents please be realistic and supportive). I believe it is this motivational factor above all which will keep him going, to fuel the energy to drive him further. Who knows, the one who is more motivated may eventually surpass the one who is more talented who may fall along the way.

What's the main takeaway from the IP? I guess it's bcoz it mirrors working life. In the new economy, bosses do not have the time nor patience to spoon feed employees every step of the way. It's usually a short discussion on a new project and off they go. Employees are supposed to find out for themselves the needful. If students are taught to be self-driven, independent learners during the formative years, I believe they will reap their rewards in their working life.

DD has also almost completed her 1st year IP program. Yes, she is required to read up in advance. For subjects like science where her interest lies, she read up way beyond the syllables and enjoys watching utube videos on science topics. There are many projects but so far, she is managing on her own. Since her gep days in P5, she has been tracking her own project deadlines and working on them independently. So, it just continues in Sec. So far, does not appear to have any major areas of concerns in her learning. Next year, there will be more science competitions and projects that she can take part. So far, she seems to enjoy the IP program...hope it stays that way...

Decided against eating out to avoid the Sunday crowd. Will be cooking one dish stir fry chicken with cabbage. Hubby is probably glad that he does not need to go and tabao Tze char.

DD results will be released on 2 Nov. Told me she didn’t do well for some subjects. Hope she is just trying to manage my expectations. Whatever it is, believed that she has put in her best efforts.