Each semester starts & ends closely to the (MOE) school's semester. Meaning, june school holidays = SYT's holidays, dec school holidays = SYT's holidays. So... :imcool: ... when you can. How differently can the counter & teacher respond? :scratchhead:


Of course, do factor in the date of your kiddo's external exam with ABRSM. That is, if you had arranged it to be in early July, then don't go on hols too near that date.

cheers

Hi papamama,


Ya, from what I see, she seems very busy. OK, let me try to explain myself. Will only continue to do so for this 2 years, as my younger one will still be there.

Customer oriented, meaning she attends to her customers. Maybe you are not a "customer" yet, so you don’t feel it. Or maybe I’m just easily satisfied. In any case, below are what gave me the impression that she is.

1) She made sure that the teachers need only to concern themselves with watching over the kids (customers) during outings, by going on the outings together to tend to other matters (like lunch/snack, transportations, etc).

2) When I (a parent, ie customer) do bump into her in school (not very frequent), she’ll definitely greet and at times, stop for a little chat to understand if there’s any concern(s). Of course, I’m not the only parent chatting with her lah. In other words, she is not the type that will avoid eye contact and shun parents.

3) Most impressionable, as it directly concern my older kid. Within the 1st month of my older kid attending NAK, he developed a phobia for dance class. After sitting in for a dance session, I somewhat suspected the acoustic was not right. Due to the extremely loud noise (overly excited kids scream/shout/chatter + music) that lingered on, my kid got very scared of dance class.

I checked with the Principal, she understood & took notice, and by the following term, acoustic panels were put up to absorb the sound. Thus making dance class more enjoyable for my kid.

So… hope the above answers to your 1st qn.

As to your 2nd qn, personally I do find the environment friendly. Most parents are friendly, the teachers are friendly, even the cleaners are friendly (we greet and chat a little now and then)! Then again, you know lah… different people see/feel things differently.

I must say that I am not a particular person, so long as there’s no major problems pertaining to my kids, I’m happy.


cheers

4 classes (2 in morning and 2 in afternoon) of nursery this year. Each class about 16 or so. Afternoon session typically much lesser kids.

:hi5: To parents who limit (if not complete elimination) \"box entertainment\" to young kids.


TV at our home is switched on only when we have guests... for tv prog / DVD / Wii. That only happened during festive seasons. No problem for me since I'm not a tv person. At this point of time, my kids (4 & 6) do not ask for tv. When they are done with what they need to do, they create play by themselves.

I reckon that as my kids grow, they'll appreciate \"box entertainment\" (you know, peer pressure / external exposure), and maybe even LOVES it so much that it may create problem.

But that's the future, which is an unknown. Nature will take its course... ... but I don't want to be the one paving towards that route.

EASON MAGPIES:

I do wonder about the bad effects too but these days I guess humans as a whole rely too much on gadgets. I myself are on the net every day before I sleep.


More importantly we have peace when we show her you tube. My wife use it so she can sit still and she finds it easier to feed her.

We use it again so me and my wife can have peaceful dinner together.

However we also bring her for walk and be around nature every day so hope we can balance it out.

If everyone is at peace with the gadgets, then I guess that is fine. I brought this up as I hear caregivers finding it difficult to limit box time as the child grows and they felt vexed yet can't do much.

Nothing is wrong with spending time infront of the box, it's the intention. Make it a daily routine, you may risk addiction. Make it a hush-hush
helpline, the child is not given the opportunities to learn about self, others and surrounding.

Just my thought. Pardon for digressing from your thread.

Youtube is such a godsend, isn’t it? I love it too.


Just to share my view on AV materials. Just my personal opinion.

I often hear people say that their (grand)kids watch tv everyday. If they were to disallow them to watch, there’ll be a period of unhappiness for all. And the caregivers will usually end off with "sigh… they are used to watching tv already."

Watching tv program is not exactly a habit, I feel. It’s just that the kids had been conditioned to "learn from the box". With the colorful, ever-changing visual stimulation and beautiful music / voice, PLUS the figure of security (beloved whoever) by their side lovingly / quietly (instead of nagging), the BOX is associated to "feel good".

And if they were to repeat what they watched, the adults will go "WOO… AAHH… my baby is so clever!!" with their smiles from ear-to-ear. And as they grow, they’ll continue to do so. Why not, since it’s gonna make the caregivers happy.

But alas, as they grow, expectations are different.

So seriously, we can’t blame the kids for getting glued to the box (note that I am referring the box to both tv & computer). They were conditioned since young. And because time is spent in front of the box, they had lesser time to create play for themselves. In the long run, they lose the ability to play by themselves and had to rely on gadgets.

In short, AV materials are useful but I’d advice parents to use them randomly and not as a daily routine. Just my personal opinion.

:salute:

You are doing so much more than a lot of daddies out there! Jia you!

Your girl is 18 already. It's just about the right time that young kids are expressing their preferences for certain things/people/activities, no longer the blur-blur, laugh at every little peek-a-boos. Some kids earlier, some later. Some do so for a short period, some longer. Having said so, do understand that she is just expressing her preference, do not take that personally as a dislike.

The last thing you want, is to think so and tried all sort of things just so to please her, even at the expense of remaining as a figure of authority (on top of being a friend & playmate, of course).

I would suggest you to go slow. Don't rush into 1-on-1 activities. Do things together with mummy or simply with mummy in the background. Understand that mummy needs a break, I'm a SAHM too. But let's give the little one time to realize that this daddy is going make her feel just as secure as mummy can and provide as much fun (if not more). Once that is done, mummy can go out for me-time anytime!

Also, spending time with her doesn't need to be going out. For young kids, fun is everywhere as long as they feel secure. So, if mummy is home... spend time with her at home. Do activities that she doesn't get to do with mummy, so that she will be \"attracted\" to you. Mummy can accompany her, BUT mummy and daddy need to let her know that this particular activity, ONLY DADDY KNOWS. So in future, if you are not home and your girl requests to do that activity, mummy gotta tell her that is only done when daddy is home.

Example activities :
- Paper cutting.
At 18mths, I suppose you have not introduce scissors to her. Go get a child-friendly scissors, loads of child-friendly magazines. She cuts. You cut. Mummy cuts.

- Collage.
After cutting all those pictures (can be another session, just keep those cuttings), introduce GLUE. Stick them all on a mahjong paper, label the pictures and then showcase the \"art piece\" on the wall! She'll be proud.

- Painting.
Not the typical sit-down and paint. I'll hang our blue-&-white tarpaulin (actually anything water resistant will do) over the corridor parapet. Then tape mahjong / drawing paper on it. Bring out the colorful paints and the kiddo just paint on it!

After all the messing up, you can have water play just to clean up the corridor!

- Shower room painting.
If your shower room has clear, tempered glass shower screen, bring in the paint & paint brushes! Let your girl paint on the shower screen! After that, it's shower and clean up time, altogether!

These are some activities that you can do, exclusively, with your girl while building up her sense of security with you (not that she doesn't feel secure with you, just that she is at THAT stage). Make sure mummy doesn't do it with her when you are not home.

One more on this bonding issue, show a sad-sad face when she rejects you, put on a super happy face when she goes to you. Get mummy to point out that you are feeling hurt due to her actions. Get mummy to tell her that her actions can do magic, can change people's mood.


Walking issue
Assuming your girl has no physical, motor issues... my stand is ALL HUMAN ARE LAZY BY NATURE. Including myself of course. So, if a strong adult is with me, why would I want to do boring walking. Put me in a play area, and I can run for hours!

If it's only a short distance, and you know she can walk that distance, then don't pick her up. Just tell her lovingly that, \"I know you are tired, I am a little too. Let's rest here for a while. When you are not tired anymore, we'll continue.\"

The message that you would like to pass on is that \"the time, the world, other people may not wait for you. But I will.\" Not, I'll bail you out whenever you want to give up.

She may throw tantrums, make a scene but it's ok. It's a passing phase. Tell her how important it is to walk by herself... you know, the \"if you don't exercise your legs, your muscle will be rendered redundant and thus will become so skinny that your legs can no longer stand. I don't wish that to happen to you.\" Say it as a fact, not a threat.

Pardon for the long mail. Hope it helps in certain ways.

Both are beautiful instruments. Take your girl's lead.


Brought my kids to watch Pluck (String Trio comprising of violin, viola & cello) earlier this month. It's a Very entertaining string trio that performs classical music. You ought to go watch it with your kids the next time they come by.

I was amazed that the cellist (a lady) can dance around the stage with her cello!! See what amazing things people can do, once they are good (to a certain level) at something.

[youtube=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO0TO7NMG-k&feature=related[/youtube]

skc:

i have been searching through the forum for NAFA Kindergarten feedback to no avil. can anyone pls provide me on the Sch teaching and teachers feedback? thanks

I know this is kinda late, not sure if you still need any reply. Nonetheless, here goes my feedback on... ... (fyi, DS in K2 & DD in N)

School in general
Very positive. Both DH & myself are very pleased with the school. Love the classrooms set up, the vast ground for kids to run about and explore.

Teaching
I can't really give you a good comparison with other preschools, because I don't compare and I have no experience with others. All I can say is, DS can read, can do maths, gained knowledge, can play keyboard, exposed to different art media, made to do stretching at least once a week (thru dance).

Note that although the school follows the MOE curriculum, the teachers have free play in planning their teachings. That is, the school do not standardize class activities. So, different classes will have different activities to help them learn.

Talk to parents of different classes, you may get different responses. My kids have teachers that \"rear\" caterpillars in Nursery to show the kids the process of metamorphosis. Brought in real bird nest for kids to marvel at. My kids told me that the teachers found those things within the school compound! Not sure how true, but I choose to believe so. After all, the school's setting does looks like those things can be found.

No homework (except music) from N to K1 for DS. Now that he is in K2, he has weekly spelling, tingxie, journal writing, chinese zhou ji (journal) writing. Now and then, his teacher will request small little crafty projects.

For details of the curriculum, you can request from the school. Sorry, can't really remember clearly. Don't wish to give wrong info.

Teachers
No two human are the same. So, there are good teachers and not-so-good teachers too. Good, in the sense that some are more willing & have the ability to make the class activities interesting and educational. Not-so-good, in the sense that they'll just do the necessary.

As in all schools (preschools, pri, sec, tertiary), it really depends on your luck to get a good teacher.

Principal
Very \"customer\"-oriented. Love her!
She is very on the ground with the kids, responds to parental concerns promptly, go on every single field trips with the kids.

Parental Involvement
Not sure about other preschools, but this preschool is very good at getting parents involved in major school activities (sports day, fun fair, festive celebrations, etc). Be it, back end preparations or front end tasks. Take it positively (bonding opportunities with kids) and all will be happy.

Sounds good? Well, keep one eye closed, and seriously... it's great!

Busymom:

As for my girl, my biggest challenge is to get her to practise her violin everyday. In her book, the author of 好妈妈胜过好老师 wrote that we should not force our child to do what they do not like. Well, does that mean that if our child does not like to go to school or attend a class, we just let it be? When it comes to music, maybe it is alright to let go, but a line has to be drawn somewhere. It cannot be that each time the child doesn't want to do something, we just let her. She wants to learn violin, but she is lazy to practise it everyday. Should I threaten to stop the lesson if she doesn't practise? Or should I incentivise her daily practice (like half an hour of practice will get her to read her favourite book)? I have gotten angry with her, gotten angry with myself, hugged and praised her, whatever. Still can't get her to practise constantly without my nagging or reminders. Am I expecting too much from a child?

There are others, but let's start with these 2. Any ideas, greatly welcomed.

First to Chenonceau... ... :snuggles:
Then to all forumers (supporters & detractors alike)... :grphug:

I'm sure whatever shared were done with good intentions. It's human, and many a times a matter language issue, to sound different from initial intention. :celebrate:

Please do continue to share!!

Now, Busymom. Hmmm... if your girl is the one who requested for the lessons, then let her take ownership. If she doesn't practice, I'm sure she'll get a earful from her teacher right? If her teacher is the super soft & kind type, you might wanna consider sync-ing up with her beforehand. Ask her to come down a little harder on her.

A few weeks of irregular practice & facing a black-faced teacher might do her good. Have you tried stepping back on nagging her to practice and just let her \"see\" the outcome of her less than sufficient effort?

Just to share. My 5 y.o. son will go practice his piano daily (unless we have other matters that forbid him to do so) at 3pm automatically. And he'll be at it for at least 1.5 hours (effectively). He knows what is expected of him and he is moving along with the expectation.

What needs to be done, has to be done.