Hi Tamarind,


Any good chinese storybooks that we can borrow from the library?

The Alternative Story:

Hi JayneLL, kitty2 and littlewoman,

We have been looking for a place in Yishun as our current place at
Yishun Ave 11 is too small for us. However, we have not been
successful in doing so. We have also been looking in the Ang Mo
Kio area and did find a place that seems quite suitable. However,
we have not confirmed anything. We are quite serious about this place
and will let you know once it is confirmed.

TAS

Hi TAS,

Yes!! Hopefully, you can settle on getting the AMK place..I was
really so so excited when I saw your post. I stay at Bishan and AMK is so much nearer than Yishun. Glad your lease at Yishun expires next year and it is too small for you

ZacK:

Then payment by KSP pts?

Sorry, I am new here but how do you get KSP points? :?

happy_learner:

Hi All,


No, I didnt buy the my home tutor series cos i thought doing assessment books will probably be much better. at least my children will get to practise on paper like in their tests and exams. Looking at the computer probably wouldn't help them - it feels more like watching tv...

To janice_0950: my boy is currently under a math home tutor, and so far so good with his results. but i live quite far from tampines so i'm not sure if his tutor will want to go to your place for tuition. i can give you the tutor's contact if you want. otherwise, you could request for a tutor from a tuition agency like what i did. but be careful with the tuition agency that you request from cos many are not doing a proper job. tuition centres are so expensive...hope this helps.

Hi,

Do you mind if you could pm me this math home tutor that you have?

Hi TAS,


You have a workshop at the forum galleria? what is it about? Could I have the details of the workshop? :lol:

The Alternative Story:

Hi GilTang,

For reading, you can get your daughters to have an exercise
book with them when they read. As they read, when they come
across good phrases that they can use for their compositions, they
can put a coloured tag on that page and continue reading.
When they have finished reading the whole book, they can go back
to where the tags are and copy down the good phrases from the
storybook into their exercise book. They would also need to
categorize these phrases. For example, if there is
a phrase that described a drowning scene, they can write it down
and put in under the heading 'Drowning'. They would need to
leave a few pages for that category (so that when they come
across more drowning phrases in the future, they can then add
them in).

You can then get them to use these phrases in their writing but they
must apply them to their writing and not copy the phrase word for
word as sometimes the phrases might not totally suit what they
are writing.

Example:
(This is taken from Hostage by Chris Ryan)

Category: Reaction to danger
Amber stared back, frozen with fear. Up close, the size of
the creature was overwhelming. With huge effort, Amber controlled
her terror. Her brain started to work again and she realized that
she was staring death in the face. A second later, her body jerked
into action. – pg 13

This phrase can be used to describe a reaction to seeing a panther
on the loose. It can also be used to describe seeing a car coming
close. For the car scene, they woud need to apply this phrase:

Application:

I stared, frozen with fear, at the car careening down the road. Up
close, the vibrations on the road as the car came closer were
overwhelming. With huge effort, I controlled my terror. My brain
started to work again and I realized I was staring death in the face.
A second later, my body jerked to action and I started running.

In order for children to apply what they have read to their writing,
a concerted effort must be made. If your child balks at the
thought of copying down these phrases, then perhaps you could
get the books from us. Our books do come with creative
writing phrases that have been extracted from the books and they
are already in categories and hence, your children can file these
phrases up and look at them when they are writing their compositions.

Example of our creative writing extracts:

Monster Republic by Ben Horton

Chase (adapted)

Rora had summoned an extra burst of speed from somewhere and
was already way ahead of him. There was no catching up with her.
– pg 33

Shouts and splashing footsteps suddenly sounded in the distance.
A searching torch beam probed the gloom. Cameron flinched at
the intrusion of the bright light. – pg 58

Late night walk home (adapted)

The journey took a dark and lonely hour, interrupted only by the
passage of a car or the footsteps of pedestrians. The wind howled
and the leaves rustled as he made his way home. –pg 62

Burglary (adapted)
Cameron took a deep breath and crept along the side of the house.
As he rounded the corner, his heart jumped into his mouth. There
was somebody in the garden! Waiting, silhouetted against the night
sky. The person stood in the shadows. Suddenly, he stood and made
his way stealthily to the Lim’s house and began to pry open the door.
A burglar. Cameron was seeing a burglary take place before him.
– pg 64

TAS

Hi TAS,

I really know how to go about getting my girls to write better now, thanks!! How do I purchase these creative writing extracts from you?

Hi TAS,


My girls are in a good school where the other girls are all quite good in their English paper 2. But for paper 1, I find that the teacher does not focus a lot on it. And while they write quite well, it is still plain and simple. They also attend another learning centre for writing but the writing is still about the same. They do read a lot as well but they do not use what they read in their writing. I was wondering how to go about helping them. Maybe you could give some advise about translating what they read to writing. My oldest at P5 reads books like Inkheart and books by Anthony Horowitz. For my middle one, she is P2 and reads Geronimo Stilton and Magic treehouse books. Could you advice on how to help them further? Thank you very much!