(2002) Any 2002 babies?


Thanks mummies for your sharing.

fz,
yahor, come to think about it. dd now still taking school bus home. whenever she's not home by the expected time, I start to wonder what's taking the school bus so long, and i will keep looking at my watch.

Nat/Valerie,
my family members also don't agree with letting my dd come back by herself.

my dd also seemed oblivious to her surrounding at times. her journey from school to home does not require her to cross any roads at all.
 
My dh is against the kids taking public transport, not even MRT on their own. For us, it's better to be 'safe then sorry'. So we will continue to chaperone them till they "graduate" to secondary school. Even when I let them watch movies on their own (2 of them + a friend), I will nag and remind them not to talk to strangers. A 8 year old boy was molested in the public toilet in a yishun shopping centre before. So I don't think we can take safety for granted, even in Singapore.
 
FZ - ya..I did my gal P3 Science note last year..it came to me that she has difficulty understanding the textbook and applying the concepts. The textbooks are so full of pics and the teacher's note are so wordy that she does not know how to find the key concepts. I read up the science guide (at least 2 guides) and assessment on her behalf and highlight those key points, consolidated them and summarise for her. It is very tedious and time consuming..and worse still..at times, I dunno if I am overteaching her or underteaching her. I guess this method is not working effectively as her exam is still borderline. Hiaz....this year I decided to change tactics..ask her to practice the science assessment instead..but with CCA and extra lessons..we do not have much time to the assessment..

re - the accident at Sembawang..heard that the light was in his favor..and yet the driver did not stop and knock him down. The impact was great..so I guess that driver must be speeding..
I also do not think my gals are ready to go home on their own..they have no sense of danger..even walking in carpark they do not take extra caution to cars behind them..taking safety for granted.
When I was in Primary sch, I started taking public tpt at P4/5..during those times, we did not have so many vehicles on the road..
 
talking abt science, my gal brought back her science homework and I saw the word Stoma..I did not know that that refers to the opening in the leaves. I only know of the stoma surgery that my dad had when he had colon cancer..geeze..I need to read up on P4 science liao..
 
bebe75,
doing past year science papers is good. for foundation building, do lots of MCQ, it'll help to identify which areas need improvement. MCQ need not take up a lot of time and it is better than no practice. each MCQ is 2marks, so if kid can score full marks, can pull up the overall score. last year, my boy typically loses 7-8 marks (out of 30) on Section B if he can answers all the questions (ie know how to do all the questions). so if he gets more than 3 mistakes in MCQ, it became a borderline band1. hence i am still focusing on MCQ this year. i no longer teaches him concepts; he reads up the guidebooks by himself. i keep myself updated by marking his work (and referring to model answers). i find marking science assessment to be the most tedious...

i think the term is 'stomata'? i too find science so difficult nowadays!

i started walking to sch by myself when my sis went to sec 1; i was P5 then. met a neighbourhood 'flasher' (low IQ) everynow and then. it was so so scary....
 
FZ - I hate marking science assessment books too..dunno whether to give or deduct marks..sometimes model answer also funny funny.

Stomata is the pural form..cheem hor?
 
bebe75,
really ah.... did not know stomata is its plural form. Jialat!

mummies,
can I check, besides model method, does your kiddos' school teach other heuristics methods like algebra and UTM?
what about those who attend tuition - does the tutor teaches other methods?
 
hi bebe, may i request a sample of your science notes for P3? like how you make pictures for the kid to understand the concept. my dd is in P3 this year and she has difficulty understanding the concept as well, espeically when she has difficulty in English. I did not do any notes for my ds, he just read up himself from the guidebook and through his Sci teacher's teaching. Thus not sure what kind of pictorial pix for my dd.
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Hi Mummies,

Alot of discussion had been going around
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Bebe75, fz and Maisy Daisy: I will try to scan and email you this week. I forgot to bring the notes to office today
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Maisy Daisy: My son's english is with Mindstretcher too. As for his Chinese, he is with HUA @ United Square.
 
bebe75: In mindstretcher, they are asked to file the notes according to the topics. Thus quite easy to revise during exam. My son loves to read the science guide book over and over again.

By the way, did any mummies order Young Scientist Level 4? My son ordered both level 3 and 4.I am still waiting for my copies.
 
avrilf,
young scientist have level 4?
wa..i am outdated! i thought level 1 is for P1/2, level 2 for P3/4 and level 3 for P5/6!
 
natellehchim - no problem..will get my gal to pass to me, and then I email you

Avrilf - not an issue, take your time..just wondering if MS science note is good and useful, if yes..I considering to sign her up..I dun think I have stamina to go thru all the topics with her..

It is good that yr son likes to read science guide..my gal has no interest at all..so no choice but to make her do assessment..then I can see her weakness and zoom to those areas..

Young Scientist
I did not subscribe this year..as I decide to get the past issue from Popular instead

Aly - my gal maths tuition and school is still using model. But I have exposed her to UTM last holiday..as I think as maths pbm get more and complex..u need to know how to apply more than 1 technique to get the answer or get the answer within the shortest timeframe. My gal is very used to modeling and does not want to use UTM..i do not force her..but will still show her the alternative solution using UTM
 
aly nat
my dd learned some algebra in her tuition class last year. She used algebra during her p3 exam last year and her school Maths teacher was really surprised. Her tuition do not teach utm. My hubby taught her but so far yet to apply in school, I think she's not as familar with utm compares to model method


avrilf
I subscribed to level 4 only. Yet to receive leh.
My dd2 is the one who is reading repeatedly, more so than dd1. don't know whether level 4 would be too chim for her or not
 
hi bebe, thanks.
regarding the young scientist, i did not subscribed. I normally will buy the whole stack at the end of each year. Last Nov, I accidentally bought a Lev 3 instead of lev 2... my ds seemed to be more keen in Lev2, but managed to complete Lev3 too. Thus bought Lev2 n Lev3 last year.
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alynat / yawn yawn,
From which book do you learn about the UTM method? Last year I used Onsponge and Fabian Ng's Problem sum and it works to solve all problems. Not sure if it'll get tougher in P4 and need to use UTM. There is also the branch method for fractions which I need to learn and teach her soon.
 
mummies,
first math test next wed right after CNY!

and we received optional CL compo supplementary enrichment, 15lessons for $90. wonder if should just sign my boy up for constant practice since it is cheap and near (after school hours in sch compound). the free sch CL supplementary class is on alternate weeks on a different day.

MD,
is Onsponge useful? i keep hearing these UTM, Branch method terminology, but no idea what it is about. will schs teach?
 
Maisy - Branch method? Never heard of it before..o dear..something new for me to read up again..hiaz

FZ - first test coming so soon?

Think it is good to go for the supplementary class conducted in school..at least for me lah..more practice = more exposure.

I bought the onsponge book last year (as it was listed in the booklist) but did not use them. Last holiday, I read up more abt UTM and started to get both my gals to work on it. And they do not like it. But I find the book quite comprehensible and interesting. For now, this book is under cold storage on the shelf. Maybe when my gals start to understand UTM better, I will dig it out again to let them try.
 
MD,
A friend recommended UTM. Can buy the book from Maths Heuristics. I'm procrastinating to buy the book cos dunno if it will confuse dd. Yet to find out how the method works.
dd finds it a hassle and confusing to draw a model. I notice she solve the problem first (n usually get the correct answer), then upon my insistence, will produce a 'half-baked' model. Her Just Ed teacher allows her to get away with solving the problem without drawing
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bebe,
is UTM an entirely different concept from model?
 
Bebe,

UTM is in Onsponge? I didn’t see it in P3 Onsponge. Have bought but not yet started to read up P4 Onsponge. It’s like my Maths bible in every exam.

Branch method is for upper primary and applicable for problem sums on ratios, fractions so we can start looking at this method second half of this year. I went for the MOE seminar and Feng Shan Primary Maths HOD explained to us. I’m not sure if school will teach but since I’m dd’s “maths tutor” I’ve to learn loh.
 
maisy
you need to get P5 assessment books for utm. I think my hubby is using P5 Onsponge. I gave up on Maths after P2, don't understand all these heuristic thingy


aly nat
maybe can teach your dd algebra, then no need to draw models. Although I've totally forgotten my algebra too, haha
 
MD - no UTM is in the Maths Heuristics books..but I tried using UTM to solve the pbm in Onsponge..

I find UTM useful in solving the "value" as opposed to "quantity" type of question. My gal tend to confuse these 2..and I find that model is not easy to use when come to this type of question. Model is better when u have comparison question (more than/less than)

But for now, I will follow whichever method used by my gal in Mindstretcher..dunwan to confuse her further.
 
mummies,
Happy Chinese New Year! Now let's start our engines together! vroom....

bebe75,
the math test is postponed to next week as the teacher has not finish teaching certain portions. but tomorrow they have Chinese Oral Conversation component tests - account for 5marks...i think will go towards 'CA1' as they don't have CA1 and only has mini-tests and bite-size assessment.

yawnyawn,
your kid is so advanced! P5 Onsponge! i find it tedious to learn math all over again.

avrilf,
thanks for the notes! it is really very comprehensive! as good as those science guides. wonder why schools don't teach such structured curriculum.

Re Heuristics,
my husband warned me about teaching heuristics. he said that because i had taught certain techniques and taught son to identify the question and then apply the techniques, ended up that he may not be able to fully decipher the question by himself and panic if he cannot link any heuristics method to the questions asked. he told me that since my math is no good, i should leave it to the sch or him to teach (his math is better than mine)...but the problem is that will sch teach enough? and my husband has no time to teach at all...he will only 'teach' when my boy or me approach him for help. so back to square one. husband said math is about having a logical mind...how to train mind to be logical?
 
Hi mummies,
Wishing you and your family 新年快乐, 事事顺利, 身體健康!

Wah..I am STONED with the discussions on UMT. Can the kid apply the use of alegbra method in sch? Many times I am resolving the question using alegbra to get the answer. Then try to use model to explain to my DS and resolve together. Sometimes I am wondering if model is the only way to go.

fz,
i think hard to identify question and then applying the cerain techniques. These days the math questions I find are so tough and tricky unlike what we used to have it the past. I am sweating too. Told my hubby I need to re-study my math.

RE: Onsponge
Where can I get hold of a copy?
 
Mummies - Happy New Year to all..wish everyone and yr family good health, abundant wealth and happiness.

FZ - my gal does not have CA1..but this year is streaming year right? I told my hubby and he was so taken back..haha..he was lost when I told him abt the foundation route and other routes..I said the safest route is to make sure she passed all subjects..that is why I am so worried abt Science..

Talking abt Science, I was telling avrilf, the note is very clear and concise and makes reading so easy and comprehensible..I do agree with you..why can't the sch do the same way. I can definitely do away with those pictorial textbooks..

Heuristics - I did not really teach them to my gals..I just leave it to sch and her tuition center. I understand that is just one of the learning techniques, and prob 1-2 questions in the exam. If my gal gets it it will be a bonus, if she does not, I rather she focus on the other questions and at least pass the subject. Sometimes I wonder why the sch is testing kids on something that they hardly teach..I mean, they only do 1-2 heuristics questions per topic..how much practice do they have?? They expect parents to do the rest of the coaching??


JustJazz - sometimes I also use alegbra to find the answers and then work "backward" to use model to explain to my gals..but I will ask my gal to come back to me after teacher has gone thru the solution with them..there might be other easier way to resolve the pbm..it is a re-learning experience for me..

Onsponge assessment books - can order online from their website or get from sch bookshops (if they sell them)..u can't get them from our Popular stores..
 
fz and Bebe75: Actually this is the first time, I looked at Mindstretcher notes *ooops* cos this subject is not under my charge.

I agree the notes are quite detailed and the revision paper for each topic is useful.

Maths: I concentrate in teaching him to use models as it is easier. I only teach him algebra for question that cannot be solved easily with model.

Usually for such question, I will ask my son to re-explain to me after listening to mine. This is to make sure he understands.
 
fz
no lah, that P5 onsponge book is for hubby to refer to. book is still quite empty, hehe


avrilf
I've been very handsoff, almost absolutely no coaching from me. My job is to tell dd what's her to-do list that day and chase her lor
Seems very busy leh, after completing school homework, there isn't time left for assessment books at all


justjazz
can use algebra. teacher gave dd marks when she solve using algebra. Unless question specifically indicated only model method, then really need to use model to solve
 
Can I check how many hours of sleep does yr kid have?

I send my kids to bed at 9 and they wake up by 530am next morning, no nap in the afternoon and so they have abt 8hrs of sleep.

The reason I am asking is because, I find that we are running out of time to do revision at home. As they stay longer hours in sch, ie
reach home ard 2pm - eat/bath takes an hour
- homework prob another 2hr
- break/dinner/family catch up - 2-3 hr

By the time, we are done with the above, it is already 830pm and I hardly can do much revision with them. My neighbour told me her P4 kid sleep at 11pm - 12am..so that she can stay up to do more revision.
I dunno if I shd extend their sleeping time till 10pm..but I am a strong believer that kid need ample sleep (at least 7-8hr) for brain to function well.
 
bebe,
My dd sleeps at 9, wakes up at 6. No naps. Anything less than 9hours, you will see a pair of panda eyes the next morning. I agree with you regarding "kid" need ample sleep. So far, my dd only need to stay back once a week. So still quite ok.

yawn,
Sometimes I use Algebra to solve the question when I check her work. But I hv not taught her the method.

Avrilf,
u hv pm
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Ample sleep is important. My kids go to bed at 10pm, wake up 6.30am. They don't take naps. Once, for a few consecutive nights, they slept late beyond 10pm and was down with fever. So I'd rather they sleep enough than get sick especially if it's near exam period.
 
look like my gals' sleeping time 9pm-530am is reasonable..hmm then I must see how to utilise their time better..
My elder gal is staying back twice a week, and the younger one is thrice a week. Out of 3 days, the younger one has to stay till 530pm cos of her involvement in SYF training. On top of that, they have swimming on one of the weekdays..so that also take up one of the afternoon.
I hv decided to stop their swimming lessons once they pass the next stage in Mar..and hopefully my younger gal need not stay till 530pm after the SYF competition is over (think in Apr??)
 
bebe75,
my boy sleeps from 10pm++ to 6am.

there isn't much time for revision for P4, but i am more concerned that he does not have time for leisure any more. i try to keep sundays free for him because he has 2 enrichment/tuition on sundays.
poor thing.
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FZ - exactly..I try to keep weekend afternoon free for them..but I am so running out of time to do revision.

Just checking, how many hours of science lessons do yr kids have in sch? (excl remedial/enrichment classes)

I notice that my gal has 5 periods of science ie 5 x 30min per period = 2.5 hr per week. Do you think that is enough? When I look at the timetable, she has more of the Maths/language lessons daily. I find it a bit wierd given that Science carries the same weightage as other subject in exam.

Last friday I attended the briefing in sch regarding the streaming matters. The sch actually use the SA1 (30%) and SA2 (70%) results to stream the kids. So much talking abt the having holistic education and alternative assessment...and ended up exams are the one that matter most. I thought the school shd have adopted a balanced approach ie allocating some weightage to their weekly spelling/topical test/projects. Hiaz..kinda stress now..
 
bebe75
my boy only has 5 periods too 2.5hrs.
definitely not enough.

my boy's sch has 10% minitests in Term 1 (for Language includes presentation, for math and science include 'practical'), 10% minitests in Term 2 (ditto), 30% SA1 and 50% SA2.

for streaming, need get 50% to do standard subjects.

for HMT, need to get all subjects 80 and above before teacher will recommend.
 
FZ - hiaz..2.5hr with the science lab and other conceptual teaching..no wonder they have no time to do critical process teaching..and that is why we have to chiong to Popular to seek for help..hiaz

I rather they come with CA1, CA2..at least spread the risk over the years..and really it makes no sense to spend so much time doing project and end of the the day, they are being measured with different criterion at the end of day

I told my gal, whichever combi..just pass yr 4 subjects and save the hassle of choosing 2 std + 2 foundation, 3 std + 1 foundation etc...just aim to do 4 std will do. The principal hinted no value taking HMT unless u are in band 1, I better ask my gal to focus on the 4 core subjects.
 
bebe75,
any 1 subject doing foundation, cannot go express already, i heard. your girl has affiliation to go express even with lower score, right?

our principal also not so keen to push for HMT because it is a 5th subject and happens to be the weakest subject in the sch. i told my boy to try to go for it since it helps in learning MT in an overall sense and MT is the subject that pulls up his overall score in the 'bell curve' (since others are relatively weak in MT) :p
 
FZ - the principal did not elaborate the choices we had after PSLE ie how the different subject combination will affect the normal/express posting. I do know that in the past my gals' affiliated sec sch has low COP..as low as 200 - u can go express liao..but not too sure if that is subject to the subject combi. Anyway, the affiliated secondary school does not have good reputation. I have seen how their gals behaved outside the sch and I do not want my gals to end up like them, unless there is no choice.

I think my gal is doing ok for MT..but she needs to spend more time on the other 3 core subjects and so I will advise her to focus aiming high marks for normal chinese and pass the the other 3 subjects. If she is really keen in higher chinese, she can still choose to take that in secondary sch (that is what I understand from the principal)
 
bebe75,
today is math test and my boy can go 36+7=44!!!! 8x4=24!!!! 8x4=28!!!!
he usually has no problem grasping math heuristics sums when his dad teaches him, but his Achilles's heel is simple arithmetic. sigh...dunno what to do with his constant arithmetical error....
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FZ - get him to do checking..double checking, triple checking or more if he has time after completing the papers. My gal also same thing..n easily waste marks esp on section B. I kept telling her for section B, final answer is very important - even if the working are correct, teacher will not award mark for the wrong final answers. But I wonder if she ever realises it..hiaz

As you know, she did badly for her first topical test and there would be a retest. Ytdy I had a "vomiting" time teaching her the rounding adjustment..until I have to get her father to take over. Tomorrow there would be a Science test, and she has a long day in sch and after sch she has swimming lessons in the evening. I told her to study her science guide during the break in sch. Hopefully there is not much homework today.
 
Hello mummies,
Haven't pop inside here for a long while. Saw the discussion about streaming in p4. Does every school practice that? I haven't heard anything from my gal's school yet. I switch her from group tuition to 1-to-1 tuition this year, hopefully can see some improvement.
 
Hi Mummies,
It has been a long time since I go on-line.
Been Busy with work.

Talking about sleep.
A child should sleep at least 8 hours and I heard that the brain develop between 10pm to 1 am.

So usually I will ask my kids to sleep before 10pm and wake up at 6:30am.

Alegbra
I thought Primary schools are not allowed to use as this topic is taught in secondary school. I normally will ask my kids to do the assessment and if they solve the problem, then to me, they are ok. But if they have difficulties, I will just try to ask them to read the questions again and make them do their own working/model drawing as we work together to solve the problem.

As for science, I also ask them to read up the guide book and of course I will also read it and pretend that I do not understand some concepts and make them explain to me.

I just recently drop my son from the chinese enrichment class as he commented that he wanted to try to see if he can revise on his own.

Currently, he only left with English creative writing and science tuition.

As for my P3 girl, she has english creative writing, science and chinese.
 
bebe75,
his eyes got 'problem' ah! after noticing the error, i told him to redo the sums and he gave me back the same wrong answer! ~faint~

actually, i find rounding adjustment can be confusing if the kid's concept is not clear. i got a shock when my boy's math workbook has a lot of rounding adjustment questions wrong on certain type of questions (eg what is the smallest number if the number rounded to nearest hundred is 800?). he couldn't grasp the concept until his dad looked through and then came up with a 'formula' for him to see the pattern. i get frustrated because i dunno how to help him.

cookiepie,
all pri 4s in SG will have to undergo subject banding streaming (to take standard or foundation subjects) at the end of the year.
 


From my understanding, HMT gives extra points during PSLE thus will aid in your school of choice. Highest is 3 points for scoring Distinction.

My son is currently taking HMT this year. According to the school principal, the students can only drop out from HMT when they could not cope/ score. The teachers will review during yr end.
 
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