Most parents actually just use whatsapp to track the lessons conducted as well as check in with their child after each lesson. Most tutors are extremely flexible with lessons too, so per lesson payment fees would be good.

xueyan:

Hi


May I know is it reasonable for me to expect tutor to cover creative writing in the English tuition? I believe creative writing is quite specialized and not all tutors can teach?

Please advise

Thanks.

I believe you might be talking either about creative writing in the language arts aspects (IP schools) or creative writing for the CAP programme which is MOE programme. You can ask for a tutor that is proficient in teaching that because as mentioned its pretty niche, however yes its not a standalone!

CarenL:

Scrabble. Especially when you allow the use of a dictionary, because that is how you learn new words while having fun. #2 would be chess.

Agreed! I actually think games related to important skills like languages/ math should be encouraged.
I think higher level thinking games are also quite good like bridge!

Perhaps its an alternative view but i think the reason why most kids are distracted (nowadays) is due to use of handphones/ other devices. Might be quite good to cultivate a habit in them/ get them to set aside their use of devices during periods they need to concentrate.


My friend does that with her son and it seems to work very well! He seems a lot less distracted as compared to other children when studying etc

JoeC:

In the end, it really depends on the tutor you engage. A part -timer maybe responsible enough to accommodate as much as possible timing wise for the kids. However, the issue is of course due to time constraint as they are part - time. Same goes for student tutors, as I have engaged an undergrad to teach my kid (who is in primary 5) and he is a good tutor. However, when it comes down to prepping for finals for himself and my kid, there will only be that many available slots he can offer.


Thus, in the end I went with a full-time tutor, and was fortunate to be able to engage a good tutor who can help my kid improve the results tremendously. Hopefully my tutor can work with my kid to give me a pleasant surprise for the upcoming finals!

You're right! We usually recommend parents to get Full-time tutors if they want more slots and options for their child + more flexibility and extra guidance.
Sometimes part time tutors have their own commitments or may have their own uni exams to focus on and may not be able to take up that many slots.

But I think as long as parents make clear the intention of ramping up lessons and doing the usual background check on tutors to see how long they've been tutoring, they should be able to get a responsible tutor

Otherwise, changing tutors is also possible (not the best option, but better to change earlier than later!)

Chenonceau:

jnj0910:

How do you control their exposure to junk food outside eg at friends' house, parties, or simply hanging out with frens after school?

And til what age?
Again the concern is that of not being too \"different\".
If her classmates want to go to MacDonalds after school, should she tag along and drink plain water? if just go along and \"fit in\" or at least not be too different?

Before a child gets exposure to food outside the home, his/her tastebuds are trained at home. When they are little, I make sure these foods are taboo. But I also make sure that as they get older, AFTER I have educated their palate, they get a taste of such things. We DO order pizza in... and we DO go out to McDonald's as a family, but the kids know that it isn't good food... and they can taste it.

I spent many years in France and the French are proud of their food traditions. Burgers, fries and all such are considered food for a palate that is not adequately educated at home. I know this sounds so snobbish and I apologise. But even in French farm houses... and families of truck drivers... and plumbers... good food made from the produce of the season are prized. I somehow assimilated this aspect of the French culture. The people who know where to eat good food are French truck drivers and they don't mind spending to indulge their palate.

From the time my children were babies, I tried to educate their palate. I would hold a slice of lemon to my 6 month old's tongue and nose... let them mouth small bits of strawberries... Later, I allowed them to taste different kinds of butter, olive oil... Analyze the chicken rice from different stalls. Deconstruct the shui jiao's taste. Taste the difference between different kinds of rice. Food analysis can be a marvellous bonding activity.

For the end of year class party last year, my son demanded that I make a ham, mushroom and oregano quiche. In the end, he was the only one to eat it because the other kids wanted to eat potato chips and jelly sweets. My son came home and said \"My friends dunno how to eat properly, Mommy\".

I have no potato chips at home... no sweets... no soft drinks. We have lots of chocolate, but they're all Grand Crus. This was not my doing. My daughter went and developed her own palate for chocolate in early teens. When they were little, I was very strict about junk food. As they get older, I pull back, because learning how to differentiate good from bad food requires exposure to bad food too.

My son's tutor wanted to feed him French fries for lunch one day, and she was so surprised when he refused to eat any, and he took a filet o' fish only. It helped that he watched the documentary on McDonald's with me. And he consistently refuses her offers of packet sweet drinks, preferring plain water. I sometimes pack frozen Ribena on outings only to find that my son wants plain water. His palate is not just used to it.

It's really a lot like moral education, I guess. One should start early to talk about BGR, sex, money etc... and not wait till teens. When faced with an external stimuli (like junk food) without prior preparation, no child can resist. When faced with sexual temptation in the teens, without adequate preparation, no teen can resist.

Children need to be taught to discern good and bad. To teach them, we need to expose them to both good and bad, under supervision and early enough so that we can protect and guide them gently. Palate education can start from 6 months. The Chinese have long standing food traditions. We have hawker food that are an orchestra of tastes. A lot of good food doesn't cost much... and when we cook at home, it's even cheaper.

There are some days when I make raw food smoothies and toast nuts for dinner just to cleanse their palate. Once in a while my daughter will request for this cleansing meal on her own.

This said... there is some danger of food allergies with babies. The normal precautions with peanuts, egg etc... need to be taken. And exposure limited to one lick of a food perhaps twice a week or so. This also gets baby used to different tastes and maybe help them accept foods easily in toddlerhood. But still must be careful of allergies.

Really impressed with this, even though the post is really old, but it reminds us how parents entirely shape a child's taste and preferences.

Brenda3700:

I wanted my daughter to be independent, with critical and free thinking. It looks like home school has worked well for her. Her way of thinking is not contaminated by the exam-oriented education and she is not afraid of learning something new. In academics she was ahead of her peers by three to five years.

Pretty interested to have heard this POV, I personally find that the entire Singapore education is pretty rigorous. And not all students flourish in an overly stressful environment. I'm glad your daughter is doing well I have interacted with a few home schooled kids and feel that they bring a fresh POV to the table.

Of course, homeschooling isn't for everyone and may be considered a risky decision, but if anyone is open to this as an option: https://smiletutor.sg/homeschooling-as-an-option/

Estéema:

sean wife:

Hi esteema,


Based on 汪notes, do you remember what broad categories you used to group the oral notes?

Thanks for sharing.

I'm aging & getting more forgetful. Will try to recall

One other grouping I do rmbr was grouping one on CNY celebration with Racial Harmony topics together with neighborliness (there was one title on 一场风波 ).

Road safety, MRT Travel safety, Spending time on computer (I twitch to talk abt hp/games, Seaside picnic (safety swimming at the beach), On the Bus (playing, seatbelts, standing near bus doors etc), Playing in the Playground (near roads) or tie kicking football in parks to hitting neighbor's windows or an elderly than link it to possible elder care & neigborliness, etc

Helping the blind, Helping an injured frd, helping an elderly, Trusting Strangers, 走失的小孩 ...

Honesty, Robbery, Admitting to wrongdoing (in classroom & home).

Special Friend (can introduce them ideas of frds of diff races), A classmate who is fr A Poor family, etc, 珍惜友情 (treasure frdship can be used with a neighbor frd moving away or classmate switching schools), etc. or even group with Childhood Memories (童年趣事).

Do not limit just to 汪 topics, but use it as a start off & learning becomes so much more interesting coz yr child can see they can think beyond what they study coz everything ard them can be topics. That's when u can tell yr child made a breakthrough. S'times my kids gave me more ideas in their experience than I can think of introducing to them

When u use these topics to coach yr kids, u can use 口试 & 作文 Topics and their phrases interchangeably. Just remind yr child to rmbr to start off reply 从入影片我看到 (fr the video clip, I can see...) before describing place, time, ppl, event, etc for 口试; whilst for 作文 they can start off with the 5W 1H.

Don't know if abv sharing clear but hope u ladies can device sth similar to help yr kids, if I've not been clear. You know yr kids well how best to help.

This is actually super useful! I remember having a PSLE book for chinese (my chinese wasn't that great) and I copied down suitable words and suitable opinions for every single scenario available that I could think of. It worked pretty well and I remember sharing it with my peers!

Practice practice practice but ensure that the child is studying smart and has a suitable pile of materials to refer to when they eventually head off for the exam

P.S. I loved the 暴力 story HAHAHHA

A lot of where the child is in this point of their education is a built up over past experiences, or due to circumstances now. Not every child would be motivated when it comes to their studies (but perhaps it is due to their background, company, experiences in school).


As a parent it is important to show care and concern, take time off to teach them, make sure they understand instead of just stressing about it on the side, I love how the parents here are so proactive and are even seeking help from each other to see how best to tackle education related matters.

Considerations for all universities


1. Ranking i.e. tied to overseas recognition
2. Recognition by companies i.e. tied to potential pay a student is able to get
3. Recognition by students i.e. is SUSS preferred over other universities?

Would not wish to overgeneralise but these 3 criteria seem to be the natural criteria for most people when choosing a university.