It is praise worthy to have you take notice of your girl's interest and want to encourage the growth in these areas. There is so much we can talk about the kinds and types of interest a child can have. There are also countless psychological writings we can read online. But after all, it is about the practical in what we can do for a child.

Things are rather straightforward as to how to know what she is interested in and which enrichment class should she get into. Indeed to just be aware of the emotional attachment of something not fully because of genuine interest. If she show interest in cooking, let her do simple cooking with you. If she is in preschool, you can let her throw in noodles or vegetables and if she is older, let her assist you in chopping up ingredients. The time you two spend together will be a lot more meaningful then to just send her to a enrichment class. Since she love to draw and is good at it, let her do so and you can find plenty of art related DIYs from internet. From crafts (e.g. making flower paper and making birthday cards) to painting and drawing (e.g. vegetable stamping and different painting and drawing mediums). Explore all of them with your girl. :hi5:

All children (and adults) loves doing things that are fun to them. Well, who would not like to have play time? Just tap onto her interest and as you play with her, there are many things as to being able to teach her along the way. Giving an example of how that can work out, there was a Primary 3 boy I once taught. He was doing so terribly in science and never want to sit down and do any science related subjects. Also, like most boys, he loves playing card games, fighting games and such. Tapping onto his interest, I created and handmade a board-game injecting PSLE science and math syllables into the board game. As you would imagine, he love playing the board game. He then genuinely looks forward to play the game and as a Primary 3 \"slow learner\", he actually started and did well in learning PSLE science stranded questions. Interests are crucially important in a child's learning experience. Tap into her interest and you will see her bloom like nothing else.

All of us are still in a growing and exploration process. So don't be too caught up with wanting to fully understand your daughter. After all, she have such a happy exploration mind. Likely, she will have a whole ton of things she may be interested in. In the things that she likes, she will naturally excel in, and vice versa. If you want really clear indications , simply encourage her to express herself, to keep communication open to you. Would that not be a way easier method as to knowing what she wants to do and is interested in?

Cheers to your parental journey of learning and fun.
:rahrah:


@momkiasu, you may wanna change the center fast?

Hello joskelpw,


Know that you have posted quite awhile back but your forum posting really struck a chord in me and made this account to reply to you. Allow me to first introduce myself to you. I am Sarah Ng and like your child, I am also dyslexic. Have graduated from Dyslexic Association of Singapore (DAS), highly suspected language impairment (SLI) and am currently a Engineering Diploma holder.

To also help you and whoever's reading this post, there's such a huge varying 'degree' of dyslexia. Let's face it, education in Singapore is not the best for children with unique capabilities and what more on an area that is not well understood. Dyslexia is more than just swapping words and not being able to read and spell properly. There is a huge difference in how we perceive the world around us and in how we understand and express ourselves too. Being dyslexic means a total different way as which our brain is wired. From the way dyslexics comprehend to how we learn and function. All of us are different. There is no such thing as \"one size fits all\" method.
I also have a share of the struggle in group tuition and have more or less tried all methods (like mind-maps, assignments and all the common methods Singaporeans use). It is also extremely pressuring to have studied in Rulang Primary School. During certain classes, I was taken out of my class to go for special care class, suppose to help slow learners have a better teacher to student ratio. But those classes mainly drill students to memorize phonics and spellings. Which is the very same method schools still use today for (best) special needs/ slow learners. And it is failing terribly. Hardly does it help special needs but pound in so much more stress and resentment towards studying. And schools and teachers do not seem to realize that there are many ways to learn.

Through my experience in DAS and through to higher education, I strongly believe that learning is a life-thing and is suppose to be something that is beyond textbooks and classrooms. Learning can take place from videos and drawing to real life home experiments. And the best is to teach students base from their own interest. There was a Primary 3 boy I once taught and like most boys, he loves playing board games, fighting games and such. With that, I made a fully handmade board-game injecting PSLE science and math syllables into the board game. He was so happy and looks forward to play the game and as a Primary 3 \"slow learner\", he actually started and did well in learning PSLE science stranded questions.
Keeping bright minds alive, I managed to explore ways as which schools nor any tutors do not teach. And to study and came up with ways to help different individuals to best understand and learn in fully customized methods. And people me around started to ask me to teach them in studying too. And they saw for themselves how meaningful and fun my method is. By word of mouth, people started referring me to their friends and so on. And 8 years have already passed and I am truly passionate in teaching and seeing the transformation of students lacking in confidence to becoming confident and shine as an individual.

It is all about learning how unique every individuals are. Not just dyslexics. The crucial part is this: to hone on to your daughter's strength is the best thing to do. At the end of the day, it is not about \"Who can do the most things in everything.\" but \"Who is the best in doing specific tasks.\". Nor would it be about the marks she have in schools but the beautifully critical and creative mind will bring her further and happier.
Some deem dyslexia as a disability while others see it as a gift. It depends on who is looking at your girl. It just takes the right people to realize the gift and help discover and guide her to be the best individual that she can be.

Keep your smiles up to explore new creative ways to help your daughters and will realise how gifted it is to be a dyslexic.
Wishing you the best on this amazing journey of being a dad.
:rahrah: :hi5: