Advice to Parents whose children are going to Pri 1

I am teaching P1 this year and i realised that kids nowadays speak well but cannot read as well. As a result, they cannot complete their test papers on time as too much time is spent reading. My advice is start your kids on reading before they go to P1.
 


deborah,
you are partially right. my boy can speak well....he can read well...the problem is that he does not understand what he read. he has to read a few times, or even i have to read it before he understand what is being written. it has since improve as i forced him to read more frequently.

ya...any other things we need to prepare for P1? TIA
 
Hi Deborah

Thanks for sharing. How about the writing part? My dd's handwriting is terrible, always never space in between words, have told her till I give up.

Any mummies have that problem?
 
Hi mummies,

My gal is in K1 now and i already start worrying about the Pri 1.

My gal can speak relatively well, but lazy to read and write.....

Yet i know they are expected to write short composition in P1.......... Hai........
 
I'll be posting mistakes that P1 kids make as and when I have the time.....hopefully, that'll help you guide your kids, and P1 will be less painful for you and for them!
 
PressuredKid,
my boy's handwriting used to be terrible for both chinese and english. i guess practice makes perfect. now his handwriting is so much better.

Deborah,
TIA.
happy.gif
 
Hi fz

Your boy do not mind writing? My gal hates it leh, so how to motivate her to practice? Since young I've trouble getting her to write a page of alphabets or strokes in chinese, she'll finish just 1 row and that's it, complain she hand ache and give all excuses. She cannot sit still so only prefer to do maths and matching kind of assessment, when it comes to writing or coloring, she'll skip those pages. She'll still do reading of passages and complete the compre questions but her writing is something I can never accept, even for short ones like rearranging of sentences, she will write very horribly. You see her write, can faint ah.
 
pressuredkid,
my boy does not like writing too. but we don't do it daily, so he is still ok. he gets motivated when we praise him for his nice handwriting. for mandarin, his teacher in berries commented that he needs improvement so he got no choice but to practice. i do not allow my boy to skip pages when doing assessment...i usually give a variety of matching and writing.

it'll get better when she starts practicing.
 
its true that they are expected to be able to read as there are problem sums in maths and they need to read all instructions before they can start doing the homework...

My gal started P1 this year. Started her on Kumon english and maths last Jan and it helps a lot. Now she enjoys reading very much!
 
i think it's very important to teach them phonics well. it need not be "branded" phonics, that is, going for special phonics training. it's better that parents just spend 10 or 15 mins each day on phonics with their kids. once the child is familiar with the sounds, it's easy for them to pick up on reading. don't need to spend too much on costly phonics classes.
 
hi deborah,
can u provide some advice on how we can teach kids phonics?
shd we be buying any books on phonics? any recommendations?
thanks!
 
How should I go about teaching my child to prepare her for pri 1? Maybe that's the reason why parents send kids to childcare/playgroup so they can learn better. They are better off than staying at home.
 
me too having a gal going p1 next year but i look at her she is like totally unprepared. Still day dream, refuse to do her maths. Writing worst but enjoys reading. how how
 
PressuredKid (pressuredkid) & fz (zhen49)

Ha ha my ah boy just like ur kids lor, handwritting very terrible.

Actually he likes writing, but he just can't get the shape/strokes right. After so many times of teaching/holding hands/scolding, the same words he still writes in the same awful way.

I also try to help him to learn phonics. Eg. I'll ask him write "OOD" and teach him the sound, and then i will add in different letters in front like F-OOD, G-OOD, M-OOD etc. and ask him to write and read to me. So far it works pretty well this way.
happy.gif


As for Chinese, I would number the sequence of the strokes on the row i wrote for him as example. In the end the shape is almost there but I must stress repeatedly that the sequences make a difference in Chinese, if not, he would just be like drawing squares and lines and try to piece them together to look like a word.

I would say that for reading, he love to be read to rather than read himself. Must really coach him word by word many times then he can read out 1 book by himself.
 
Illegible handwriting drives teachers mad...ha ha...but really, it's important for the kids to learn how to write clear enough for the teachers to decipher what is being written. so, start penmanship for your kids now! praise and reward them when the writing is beautiful. it's really a matter of practice.
 
start with the a e i o u sounds for phonics. for those who want to know what's next to teach for phonics, you can pm me....i'll help answer if i have the time....for now, do vowels first.
 
hi deborah,
these days i start to hear alot abt parents sending their kids for creative writing. What do they teach in the creative writing classes, and when shd we start kids on these lessons?
My gal is 5 this yr and i dont knw how to gauge where her standard is now. am afraid for her if she is behind the rest then she will hav difficulty coping during P1.
 
will reply soon. for now, start with the sounds of a, e, i, o, u. don't rush your kids. let them slowly digest. i'd suggest you do one vowel per week. for the very fast ones, one letter every 5 days. give them examples like 'a' cat, 'a' bat,....u, hut, u, but....
 
Hi Deborah,
Great to see a dedicated teacher like you helping all the parents out here.
What are your views on those chinese teacher who cant speak proper mandarin ? How are they going to teach han yu pin yin??? My son speaks fairly well mandarin & able to read & write mandarin. He is currently in K2 , going to primary one next year. Just wondering will those teacher be offended when a young boy corrects their mandarin. & how am i going to teach him to be more diplomatic ??? As his current kindergarten encourages the kids to be more out spoken, so i am just afraid he will offend the teacher.Pls advise.
 
hi kssg,

oh, are there chinese teachers who can't speak proper mandarin? in my school, the chinese teachers are really proficient in their mandarin, so i really can't advise you on your question.
 
Hi kssg,
it is good to teach the kid to be more diplomatic. not only towards teachers, but to friends as well...just in case he offend some older kids and get into bullying situation.
I told my boy to let me know what are the teachings that he think is incorrect and then i will guide him accordingly. his current PCF's teacher did made certain mistakes (mandarin words usage, english words description) and we told him to clarify on the basis that the kid may hear incorrectly instead of the teacher teaching wrongly.
jmho
 
Hi deborah,

What about maths? Are the P1 kids expected to know multipication too?

Am thinking if i should send my K1 gal to Kumon for maths and chinese......

She's lazy in doing work at home so maybe kumon environment will cultivate the habit of doing work..... Yet i am afraid i place too much pressure on her..........
 
hi , my son is now in N2, last time he does not like to write . But after i change him to a new childcare(Capier Diem), he likes writing alot. Now he is writing 1-30, A-Z ( upper and lower and also some chinese words with the correct strokes...
I think a good preschool really matters alot
 
sorry,

i've been so busy at work and at home, so couldn't write. another mistake that kids make is when they erase something and in the process, something else is erased and they completely forget to write that back. in a test when the answer is not clear, we'll just mark it wrong.
 
Hi fz

Your boy do not mind writing? My gal hates it leh, so how to motivate her to practice? Since young I've trouble getting her to write a page of alphabets or strokes in chinese, she'll finish just 1 row and that's it, complain she hand ache and give all excuses. She cannot sit still so only prefer to do maths and matching kind of assessment, when it comes to writing or coloring, she'll skip those pages. She'll still do reading of passages and complete the compre questions but her writing is something I can never accept, even for short ones like rearranging of sentences, she will write very horribly. You see her write, can faint ah. [Unquote]

Hi PressuredKid,
Your comments about your dd exactly describes my son. He is in P1 and his handwriting is still terrible for both Chinese and English. He scribbles when he does his school homework. He dislikes doing assessments, dislike art (drawing and colouring), dislike reading, dislike going for enrichment classes. The only plus point is that he likes Math and I have no worries that he'll do well in that subject.

So how? Now I am trying to find a good Chinese enrichment class with good/nice teachers to create learning in him.
 
Adeline
My gal going P1 next year. I can't help worrying for her too. She loves to read but hates to sit down and do the work. Cannot be bother about homework in fact school does not have and I am the one who is feeding her with things to do. sigh

Where do you stay ? Currently I have 4 kids at my house 2 in P1 and 2 going P1 next year attending chinese class on Sat by a native teacher. If you are near CCK, you may like to join us
 
Yuki

Kumon is indeed very shiong for the child, even more shiong for parents

I withdrawn my girl from Kumon last year because she day dream & sat at her desks for hours.
I placed her back to Kumon a few months ago at her request. But still the same leh. I must sit right next to her & keep nagging her. Where got independent??!!

Aiya, plan to withdraw her this year before she goes P1. Too time consuming lah

She's doing fraction now. I think no point being so advanced, better tackle the P1 & P2 syllabus first

Nevertheless, Kumon is good if your child has the discipline to do homework automatically & independently
 
deborah

I heard there is a test during P1 orientation to stream the kids into respective classes.
What kind of test is that? English or Chinese?
read a passage or a written test?

also, any advice on how to reduce carelessness?


thanks
happy.gif
 
indeed very stressed! my gal next year P1...aiyoh!!! stressed!! worried also the Math problem sums. they can read the problem sums but dun understand it...then cannot do. but when I explain, she can do. but cannot always explain to her....ultimately me not following her to school.....
 
In P1, the kids will be required to do compo in the 2nd semester. Compo will be tested on. The kids are required to write min 8 sentences. Get your child to write simple sentences now. Start training them in their tenses and punctuation.
 
Wow P1 doing compo! I dun recall doing any compo while I was in P1... Being a parent now is as stress as being a student in school.
 
Hi Xuer,
My son is in St Stephen's. Although the school's standard is not high but they have homework everyday, sometimes for all 3 subjects, sometimes 1 or 2 subjects. Actually not much time left to do revise work or reading with him.
 
I read a blog from tamarind. She shares with us how she taught her children to read. Very informative. If I ever come across the link will share with you. Now her kid 4-5 yrs can read chim story books! She's a ftwm and still she puts in a lot of effort to teach her childrent o read. Pei fu...
 
Hi adeline,

Does that mean that your son spend most of his time doing homework? My son is only 4 years old this year. I gathering feedback and info to decide which primary school is suitable for him. Considering from SAP school to neighbourhood school... kinda kiasu :p
 
Hi mummies,
Actually most of the schools will start Compo writing in P1. My P1 son is doing that too, sitting for written expression test tomorrow, its part of their CA2 English paper.

Adeline,
My son also has homework almost everyday too. There was once he was absent for 2 days, he came home with many pages of homework for the different subjects and all to be handed in the next day! I agree, really not much time left for revision.
 
Hi Xuer,
It depends on how fast my son does his homework. I also want to give him some time to relax and enjoy life a little, let him play or watch tv. I heard some schools don't have much homework e.g. Temasek Primary. But I suppose their parents have to work a little harder to give them assessments to practise what was taught in school.

Hi WahWah,
Which school is your son in?
 
Yes hi_squirrel (hi_squirrel), thanks for posting the link cos I lost the thread already.. Trying to search in vain. Hi Mummies, do take alook. I think it may help you too..I am going to try that to my child, hopefully I can see results.
 
Hi mummies,

Maybe you might want to send your chldren for creative writing class it very effective. The school accept children from k2 to upper primary for both chinese and english class. It located at AMK and Seragoon
 

Hi natellehcim,
Yes, I stay in Sembawang. So where did you send your kid to? Endeavour Pri or Wellington Pri?
I think its stressful for parents not the kids, my boy is not stressed at all. Maybe he is too young to know what is stress. So far, he still enjoys going to school, doesn't mind sitting for tests and exams too!
 

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