Hi,


Not sure if sengkang methodist church kindergarten, and st. anne’s church kindergarten have been mentioned in this thread. These are worth considering given the many gd feedback i have heard.

Wesim:

My girl also has slight negative attitude when it comes to Chinese. Why i said 'slight' is because she will push away the activity books (very simple books, which is only 2 or 3 pages) when i try to do revision with her. However, she will listen attentively when i read Chinese books to her.

hi Wesim, just wondering if there can be alternative mtd to teaching her Chinese? I will caution against \"labelling\" her with \"negative attitude\" cos I'm sure you do believe she does have the right attitude. Right? Right? ....

So it must be the mtd lah....blame the mtd better than blaming your girl mah.

One way I tried is to demonstrate the logic and creativity and evolution of the Chinese chars i.e. how they come about from symbolic drawings. My kid found that interesting.

Keep on trying diff things and don't give up! :celebrate:

hi Wesim and friends,


It's great to chance upon this thread and find like-minded parents. Really agree with many wise things said above.

Don't be unduly concerned with getting kids ahead, or getting more than ready for P1.
- With so many true-KS parents out there, can you really tell who's ahead?
- And are those 'advance kids' really mean they will succeed better in life?

Just take a look at our very S'pore multi-million dollar MOE programs (SAP, Gifted, and now donno what accelerated no need exam stream):
- how many of those ppl are not doing exceedingly better than those 'normal' students?
- when our very own bank DBS hire CEO, do they hire our ex-SAP student or they hire 'foreign talent'?
- our very own temasek holdg hire another 'foreign talent' (tho left)
So if the SGP education is soooooooooo fantastic, why still need to hire 'foreign talent'? Why we don't have Nobel winner? Why after so long, still only 'Sim Wong Hoo'?

So no need to be lemming-like and follow what other parents do blindly. As parents, we need to assess our own kids, and uncover their strengths and weaknesses.

In choosing, schools or playgroup or extra-lessons, need to be careful (and I'll say sceptical) about
- those that promises what left, right, center brain stuff
- those that say 'accelerated learning' (singaporemotherhood forum has alot of those nonsense)
- those that say will make your tots bright, etc.
All BS!

For me, I focus on 2 things (to me, these are life skills):
a. value and character development , including social skills
b. exploit my children's innate curiosity and inquisitive minds - lucky for me i found a playgroup in my area that focuses on this area

I avoid schools/playgroup/kindergarten/childcare with names containing these 'key words':
- brain
- university, campus
- Einstein
- anything that sounds like raffles or stamford
- IQ....
....you know what i am driving at....

The 'ABC', '123' stuff (i.e. academic), i leave it to the kindergartens my kids attend, and i think the teachers are doing a great job already.

angela:

Does anyone knows any good playgroup at Sengkang/Hougang/Punggol?

PLease advise.

I have tried PlayDates. It's a playgroup in sengkang. I like it because it's different from others which i have tried, which i think are pretty 'cookie cutter'.

maybe you can read abt them.
http://beyondplaydates.wordpress.com/about-2/

jkcy:

Hi. Do check us out at http://beyondplaydates.wordpress.com/.

Hi, cool.

I really like the playgroup outing with the firefighters - so cool

http://beyondplaydates.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/play-dates-a-date-with-firefighters/

hi jkcy,


Referring to your clear explanation, now then I really know what you meant and the difference you try to make. Let me explain.

Recently, I started my kid at a music-focused playgroup. I pay abt $25 per session (45min) at a CC. That's the OK part.

But what I really notice is that after several sessions at that playgroup:

a. parental involvement - yes, plenty. all parents were very involved. In fact so involved were they that they were almost doing all the activities (for their kids), AND also forcing their kids to 'follow instructions' from the teacher. The whole setup looks like puppet masters and their puppets. And the teacher didn't really care much abt involving the kids as long as she ran thru the standard agenda in class

b. Cultivating friendship - In that playgroup, no socialising at all. I walked into class and try to establish eye contact and no parent bothered to reciprocate. I felt transparent. All parents eyes were trained on the teacher. It's OK to focus on the class and their kids. But my point is this - if we frequently ask our kids to be nice and sociable, I wonder what role model we set for our kids by behaving like those parents. BUT BUT BUT it's really not the fault of those parents. I have attended other playgrp and noticed the same. It's the 'teacher's fault' i think. She did not facilitate, and the whole set up is just so mechanical. Come for class -> run thru agenda -> times up -> vacate class so that next class can come in. What friendship?

c. Developing an inquisitive mind - ok this is the best part in that playgroup. All across the room, the kids looked bored really bored. Including mine. Need I say more?

I'm really looking fwd to start my kid in the new playgrp soon!

jkcy:

This playgroup is different from other commercial enrichment programmes in 3 major ways:

1) Parental involvement
I have some enquiries from some parents who are under the impression that they are expected to contribute by preparing some activities for the group. This is not the case. Preparation for a structured programme requires passion and time. This playgroup is reaching out to parents who may not have time or do not want/know how to prepare something. I will be doing all the the research and preparation along pre-determined themes to save parents from having to spend time on this.

Instead, what I require from parents is your enthusiasm and participation in the activities, not just sitting in during the session waiting for time to pass. This will be different from some commercial playgroups I know which require only adult accompaniment and where the adults may range from parents, grandparents to even maids.

Cultivating friendship
I intend to create an environment and opportunities for parents and children to interact among yourselves. While it is true that parents tend to be too caught up attending to their own kids, this is NOT just another playgroup where you only attend for the sake of your child and don't have to bother with other people around you.

I will be encouraging parents to take an active interest in the other kids in the same group as well. Once we cultivate the \"culture\" of looking out for one another, you will find yourselves easing up to enjoy the playgroup and socializing with other parents and children.

Developing an inquisitive mind
This playgroup will cover a wide range of topics instead of the usual fare like teaching alphabets, numbers etc.. The theme changes every week so that the kids can be exposed to different interests. Depending on the theme, the activities will also vary from stories to songs, games, dramatisation etc and the children will bring home a piece of art/craft after each session.

any advice, anyone?

erm hi anyone can help?

[Moderator's note: Topics merged. Please do not post the same topic in multiple threads.]


hi all,

My eldest will be joining Pri 1 next year. As a typical KS parent (and proud to be one), I have some qns that I hope you can help. Pls feel free to just share your own experience.

On primary school Maths:

1. What are the top 3 problems you and/or kid face while learning primary school Maths?

2. How you currently try to resolve and what are the shortcomings?

3. Any advice for KS parents who wants to prep kids for Lower Pri Maths?

thanks!

Thanks jkcy


Sounds cool. Have emailed you at [email protected].

Let me know if you have not received my email. Thanks, your play group sounds really interesting.