He is studying French. He just started Kindergarten in September, so honestly, I don’t know if it is/will be tough for him down the road. I am stoked at his progress so far though. Currently, he can count up to 70, recite the alphabet, and speak some basic phrases and sentences. His vocabulary is growing in leaps and bounds too. (He would ask me "what is ___ in French", to quiz me and sometimes I don’t know!!!) His comprehension skills are much higher than his spoken ability at this point. I speak decent French, and when I ask him questions in French, he completely understands me. I am not sure if he is progressing well, but given that he had zero knowledge of French when he started in September, I am quite pleased.


I don’t know what third language your child should learn. I know Japanese was very popular when I was a kid. I think with the Japanese economy in the doldrums, it is probably not that popular anymore. If your child is older, you could probably ask them to pick a third language to learn, or you can also go with what is offered in schools. (which is kind of what I did).

I picked French because 1. I speak it and can help with schoolwork. 2. It can be a very useful language for him where we live. 3. it was offered as an option in the local school system. They also offer Chinese immersion as well, but the programme is quite new, and only one school offers it at the moment, and that school is too far away from us.

I looked at the NYPS booklist. Looks like for P1, they are switching to "Targeting Mathematics", whereas for P2-6, it is "Shaping Maths". Wonder why the switch?

I am not too worried about my child falling behind in English. English is his mother tongue. We live in an English-speaking environment; his dad speaks only English, and we are an English-speaking household.


I know it's kind of strange that we live in an English-speaking environment, yet he does not attend school where the medium of instruction is in English. He is in an immersion type of programme, where until the local equivalent of Primary 4, the curriculum is taught entirely in another language. At the Primary 4 level, the medium of instruction tips 80/20, where 80% of the curriculum is taught in the immersion language, and 20% in English. Primary 4 is also the level where they start to learn English (grammar etc.). As he progresses through to high school, the medium of instruction gradually tips further at every grade level, until it is around 15/85, where English (85%) is the main medium of instruction the last year of high school.

I would love to teach him Chinese so that he could be somewhat proficient when he grows up. He currently attends Chinese classes once a week for an hour. The class is a play-based class. They sing songs, learn nursery rhymes, etc. He seems to enjoy it a lot, and my hope is he would grow up trilingual.

I completely agree with you that one should be measured when 'enriching' your child to keep up with Singaporeans. At this point, I don't push him at all, because he is afterall, only 5 years old! Believe it or not, he is the one that constantly ask me if we can do 'homework'. I figured since he's asking and keen to learn, I might as well take advantage. I am quite sure the 'more homework please' phase would end sooner rather than later!

Thanks SAHM_Tan and slmkhoo for your replies.


To answer your questions:

No, my child does not have a slot in a Primary school school in Singapore, as we have no plans to return. But who knows?

Yes, he will be attending the local school; the medium of instruction is not English. This is why I am planning to 'home-school' him for a few hours each week in English and Chinese. I was also thinking of doing Maths as well, as it seems the local curriculum where I am is not as comprehensive or 'challenging' when compared to the Singaporean curriculum, at least at the elementary level.

I was pretty confused with the textbook lists, since when I was growing up, everyone used the same textbooks in Primary school, and now there are all different variations. Even amongst the 'elite' schools, the textbook lists are different, so I was wondering if there is one textbook out there that is 'better' than the others. I was from NYPS, maybe I should just use their booklist!

I feel like a kiasu parent. I thought I wouldn't be. But when I hear about how 'advanced' my peers' kids are in Singapore, I feel bad that my child is falling behind, and that I am not doing my best for him. Seems like the Singaporean way of education haunts us even when we are abroad.

Hi there,


I am Singaporean but live abroad. My son is in Kindergarten this year.

I am looking to 'home-school' him for Primary 1 subjects in English, Maths and Chinese.

I was wondering if there are any recommendations for what textbooks/workbooks to use for teaching a Primary 1 kid. I see on Popular Book's website textbook lists for various schools, but it all seems so different.

When I went to school in Singapore, all the textbooks were standardized, but it seems different now?

For instance, for Maths, I see some schools use \"My Pals Are Here\", and other schools use \"Targeting Mathematics\", and I also see \"Shaping Maths\". Is there a difference between them at all?

In sum, can anyone recommend the textbooks/workbooks I should buy? I will be coming home for a visit over Christmas, so would like to have some ideas of books I can purchase.

Thanks in advance!