(2002) Any 2002 babies?

My hubby will coach my son on English when he is not travelling. As for Maths and Chinese, I will be the one.

He will be travelling next week again and the week of my son's examinations. Thus everything falls on me again but I can only take 2 days leave cos we are going for holidays this coming dec. Hope my hubby can keep to his promise to take 2 days off during the PSLE marking week to revise with my son on his english grammar, etc

Hopefully my son will work hard during these remaining 3 weeks.
 


Hi All,

Its been quite a while since i chat in this thread. I hve been pretty busy now tat ive 2kids (eldest pri 1 & youngest just turned 1yr old).
Jolene,
Same, I also has no patient teaching my girl & she ended up crying most of the times coz ive been shouting & yelling if she do careless mistakes/never read instructions carefully!
Recently when doing compre wif my girl, she just write the correct answer w/o writing complete answers *faint* her reply to me was too lazy to write all over again...!faint!
 
Today I flared up at my gal..threw my pen and stomped out of the room..leaving her weeping at the study desk. I did not understand how her brain is wired..I was revising with her on the "Tens and Ones" and "Addition/Subtraction within 100" since last week and she did quite well. Today I tested her and she gave me all the crappy answers. This is not the first me she did this to me. She is very inconsistent in her performance. And to think that easier topics like bonding..she can forget how to do. We have been going through those topics umpteem times over the past few weeks. I am so disappointed with her.

Told my husband that he may have to apply leaves to coach her...otherwise I might kill her even before she attempts the exam.

Hiaz...I do feel sorry for her (and ashamed of myself) when I am unable to control my anger. I am really not suitable to teach her...simply no patience. My husband is better in teaching her maths..he will try to understand why she gives "crappy answers". But since Jun, my husband has been so busy at work and hardly at home (travels almost every week), I can't relinquish the task to anyone else.
 
bebe75
I totally understand how you feel. My gal will give me crappy answers for that most simpliest question. Sometimes I guess it is me expecting too much from them.

They are P1. Need to enjoy school. So I learn to let go. Sat I spent time making her write. Sunday she is a bit lax and not cooperative. I just tell her it is her life if she wants to lead it this way then by all means go ahead
 
bebe, i really empathize with you. Hang in there, we are here to hear you out. I do experienced similar situation as you too...
Maybe we are pressed for time, so many things to revise and so little time...
To think of it... their school works would seems simple to us but may be difficult to them, moreover, we are older than the kids by more than ¼ century... HTHs..
 
Chicken Little, i said the same words to my dd too...

bebe, try to relax... i know its easier said than done...but we must try...
 
Valerie
Hi5. Ha ha you know we either raise our voice at them or making them fearful is not going to do them good.

Now I feel they have no sense of what exam is all about. Even when my husband tells her if she does not do well others go to P2 and she will remain in p1. She just dun care and even told me isn't it in newspaper that there is no exam for P1 and P2 ?

Sigh. No point for us to get so work up and they dun feel a thing. So we just try our best to coach, then "ting tian you ming"
 
Ha..ha.. ya i know, but sometimes really cannot control myself.. My dd still do not understand alot of things that is happening in this world..

She told me that even fail SAs also can go P2 what... so why study so hard... Faintz. like you said "ting tian you ming"

bebe, cheer up ok..
 
Whenever we see a road sweeper/beggar/ etc, I will ask my son if he wants to end up like them. He will say NO so I will remind that if he does not do well in his studies, he might end up to be one of them.

For this upcoming exams, I told him if he does not do well, he can forget about going to Japan (his fav place) with us this year end. Will see the results of the threat tonite cos I have given him new homework to complete *keeping fingers crossed*
 
Valerie
Same lor. She knows she can go to P2 even if she fails but she just dun want to let us know she knows.

Avrilf
I oso told my gal that she oso dun bothers.
 
Bebe, I can totally understand your stress cos my hubby oso travels quite often.

Maybe it would be better for u to get her a tutor frm next yr onwards if you find it getting harder to control your temper. If not, it might cause damage to your relationship with her.
 
Chicken Little, I am impressed with her attitude. Maybe she is confident that she can do well in her studies
 
avrilf
are you "impressed" ha ha ? I wanted to vomit blood. You know when I pointed out on labourers, road sweepers, those coffee shop aunties, she tells me some people who are u-grad oso have to be maid in Singapore. So what can I say ?

Sometimes we thot they are innocent but yet they are quite witty at time. Like she did not score in last chinese test but she put the disclaimer saying Teacher says it is difficult. I am not expectin her to score just want to prove to her that being well prepared and dun bother will make a difference.
 
Hi bebe,
Can understand how u feel...I do lost my temper on my gal when I teach her and she will start crying in the end I engage a tutor for her and its so much easier when I do reinforcement with her...plus I am a working mum so at times if she don't meet my expectation or make silly mistakes I just flare up.....
 
Hi all mummies..thanks for listening.

Avrilf - In the past, I taught my gal languages, while her daddy taught her Maths. But due to his hectic travel schedules, I had to outsource Maths to Maths enrichment classes. We enrolled her in MPM and she likes the environment and their teachers a lot. Last week, the teacher told me she had shown improvement but she needs lots of revision at home to keep up with the later topics. That is how I ended up doing the revision work with her. My husband was not happy that I lost my cool on my gal..He told me to write down her weaker topics and he will revise with her during the coming weekends.
Perhaps, I should stop doing Maths, and focus more on her oral and compo, as these will be papers tested next week.

CL - I really admire your gal's confidence, at least it is half the battle won.

My gal has very low self esteem..Today she told me she did not know how to answer those questions because she is stupid. Hiaz..I think I have hurt her feeling when I behaved so badly in the morning.

When she came back from sch in the evening, I told her that she is not stupid. She is smart is every other ways..it is just that she is weak in Maths and takes longer time to work out the questions. And so it is okay to make errors - she just have to practise until she gets it right.

On my part, I have a long way to go to manage my expectation and also to tame my temper.
 
bebe75 : Jia You! I was kinda like you beginning of the year, especially when my girl can't read, I get really frustrated with her. And apparently, my mood affect her and she lost her confidence, and I kenna called up by the teacher to ask if anything wrong with my dd as she seems to have lost interest in class. And she cried easily especially when she thinks her classmates are better than her. It was really stressful then. So I turned to organising sprees! ha ha. And I slowly letgo. Let her do it her pace. I just make sure she finishes all her homework (with random checking through them), learn her spelling and Ting Xie. That's about how involved I am in her homework.

Oh, I went to Popular to pick out some assessment books...1 grammer & vocab, 1 compre & compo, 1 maths & 1 chinese. She has since started doing 1 test every night. But am wondering how to choose assessment books??

Also, today got a letter from the school saying there's no SA2 for P1. Is this what's happening in other schools as well??
 
Hi all

I guess as mummy our expectation on our kids are high so when they don't meet our expectations we just flared up...think we must learn to let go & take things easy aferall education is a long journey & they are only P1 and everything is new to them....
 
Jolene, i totally agree with you. I know it's easier said than done, but we must try.

I am guilty of flaring up too. I do notice that my expectation and reaction will somehow affect how my dd perceive herself but at times i was like "fire cover eyes"... must go for anger management course... ha..ha..
 
Ya I am also a "Green Eye Monster" if I cannot talk sense into my gal.

So all the more we should share and calm each other here
 
Hi Val,
If there is a anger management course, pls remember to inform me.. I think I need to go too. Hv started revision wif my boy last wkend. I think 90% of the time i am screaming at him. very tiring and stressful
sad.gif
 
Bebe,
You are not the only one. I feel guilty for scolding my gal and losing my cool. In e process I wonder if I damage her morale and self esteem. I am not a patient person. Probably will engage a tutor to go through some parts of the work with her and leave the reinforcements to myself. Anyone has any tutor to recommend that teach in the east (near bedok/simei area)?
 
I thought I was the only monstrous mother here..sometimes I wonder what will my neighbours think of me when I yelled at my gals...likely they will think I am one of those crazy women..keep shouting and nagging all day long. My in laws were surprised to learn that I have such a fiery temper at home. They had projected me as gentle and patient mother...ha ha.

I guess the kids are immune to those scoldings and naggings too. I spoke to my neighbour whose son is now in P5. She said I have a long way to go..conserve the energy and wait till the kids go upper primary. It will be even more stressful then..P1, P2 levels are the honeymoon period, let the kids enjoy some sch life while they can.
 
Bebe,
I also thot abt this honeymoon period. But then it's the system that force us to be competitive. If the foundation is not build up, then they won't be able to catch up later on. I not only scold them but have broken a few hangers in the process. Hit too hard!
 
Maisy

I agreed with you. If P1/P2 already having difficulties, P3/P4 will sink further because the higher levels are even more difficult!

I live in the east too
wink.gif



mum2zm

I'm waiting for popular bookfest, assessment books usually cheaper. This year bookfest on 11 Dec at Suntec
 
Hi,

I agreed that foundation is important but somehow rather I still will focus on the marks. I must really learn to let go....most importanty is the consistent of work...is the process and not the result.
 
Jolene,
I've been telling myself marks not important. But when the "truth" comes, I still cannot take it. My gal scored band 1 for maths in midyear exam then the precious CA2 she was careless with multiplication n division so her grades deteriorated so much to Band 2. My dh and I were so disappointed that we lectured her whole night.

Probably I myself must first learn how to accept failure!!
 
Avrilf,
Can share how long is the creative writing prog at LW? Do you find it useful?

Anyone heard about Morris Allen English and British council programs?
 
Hi Maisy Daisy

I understand how u feel this is happening to me as well....as my gal did very well for SA1 & I am expecting her to maintain her standard this time round for SA2 pray that she can do it...but I was thinking if she drop by a few marks then its ok with me but I also won't be able to take it if she drop from band 1 to 2...very contradicting lor
 
jolene, maisy,
i can understand that too!
my boy did really well for SA1. but for his usual assignment papers in class, he made a lot of careless mistakes! his SA2's oral made a few major careless observations too! haiz. won't expect him to do as well for SA2. just hope that he can squeezed into the top 2 classes by the end of P1.
 
fz

So fast to group into top 2 classes at P2

For my girl's school...official channel, top classes grouping done at P5. Grapevine channel, I heard they actually start grouping at P3 because class size increase to 40 from P3 so there would be some reshuffling
 
hi mummies,
is it true that most school's P3 will have higher no of students? Heard my niece's class has 40 kids. Teachers having problem handling 30 kids, cannot imagine when the class size increase to 40 kids.
 
Maisy Daisy: Usually it will run for 2 weeks. You can choose to do 1 week too. It is from Mon-Fri and about 2hrs / 2.5 hrs per session. Everyday they will teach the children and ask them to write on different topic each day.

40 pupils a class in P3?? Tat is alot. Doubt the teacher can cope. It is quite hard for the teacher to concentrate on the weak ones. Hopeful my son's sch will not ve the same issue when he reaches P3.
 
natellehcim: our sys works well esp for the smart ones. Tat is why our smarter fellow Singaporeans can do so well in overseas uni.

BTW wat is band 1 and band 2??? I am lost.

Was marking the homework I have given and realised he made quite a number of carless mistakes. Told him to work hard for these 17 days and I will also help him. Tentatively he kept promise and does the homework I gave w/o asking. Hope he can continue this drive for the remaining 17 days cos he has set some high std for himself!
 
My gal's sch will reduce the number of class (increase the headcount per class) in P3. The average headcount will increase from 30 to 35-40 per class.
 
Yawn Yawn: Cnt rmb much cos my son only brought back the work he did there.He mentioned the teacher will show a picture and some helping words. they will discuss in the class. then guide them how to plan their essay. I think the class is abt $360++ for 2 weeks. If 1 wk will be half the price.

If you like may be u should check when the next creative workshop for parents which LW organises. I wanted to attend in Aug but the timing clashed.
 
Avrilf - you are right, our sys works well esp for the smart ones.

For my gal, who is a slow learner, she has to struggle to pass. Maybe I shd go back to work, earn more $$ so that I can send her to study abroad in future. I dunno how long she can survive in this competitive elitist environment. As much as I will like her to excel in study, I know there is limitation.

If I give my gal a fishing rod, she will stare at me and wait. If I verbally instruct her, she will say she cannot follow..and ask me to repeat. If I write down the instruction, she says she cannot understand, ask me to demo. It is not one or two demostrations, but several rounds..and in the end, I have to do the whole thing for her.
You ask her to do it herself again, she will tell you it is difficult and tiring. Tell her to take a break, and later after the break, she will forget what you have taught earlier on. And the whole cycle starts repeating. By the time, she had learnt how to fish, all the fishes are already gone. When I showed this analogy to my husband. he said she is not ready to use the rod. And there is more than one way to catch the fish. I told him in SG, everyone is taught using fishing rod, if you use a net, it seems so socially unacceptable.

By the way, apart from DHA, are there any brain food to supplement the kids? My gal seems to have shorter concentration span and memory span. (But I wonder how come she has no such problem when come to watching TV @#$@#%@#%).
 
hi bebe, sounds like my girl's pattern. I can understand. For me I do not have the patience to go rounds like you. I will have exploded long ago... Maybe you girl do not fit into 1-to-1 teaching for she is quite dependent on you to provide the answers and solutions. I believe this is very common in many kids.

Maybe you can consider those centers that provide group (of course not too big gp) type, whereby there will be some 'competition' among the kids when the teacher ask for answers... that is how the kids will learn and catch up with one another. This is what i did to my girl, she's the kind who does not speak up during these tuition one, but I'm sure she bond to pick up some learning during the lessons.
 
How about Ginko?? I took alot last time. My memory is quite good.

It depends when our children start to think. We also started knowing (开窍) that studies are very impt at later age.开窍

I guess all children can concentrate very well when they are playing or watching TV programmes *haiz*

My son oso the same. When he is playing WII Stars Wars or Indiana Jones, he can think of ways to break through the level. When I ask him to think for his studies, he will look at me as if I am talking in alien language. He has extremely good memory in remembering his fav characters but not the timetable. Imagine when he was 3+, he could tell you all the thomas & friends from no. 1 to ...
 
Natellehcim - yes, she is very dependent on us, and she dislikes to be the center of attention, and certainly hate competition. She would rather be the one standing behind the crowd. I know she likes colouring, and when I suggested to sign her up for some colouring contests, she was so terrified and started to beg me not to do that. Hiaz...i think she lacks self confidence. When she was in her kindy, teachers already commented that she was very quiet. She is very shy by nature and she is very easily unsettled by changes. It is hard to ask her to move out of that comfort zone to explore and try new stuff. So you can imagine the struggle I have to go through each time I sent her for new classes.
 
hi bebe, the more you describe, the more i find our 2 gals are exactly the same. My gal does not like to be center of attention too but do gets jealous when her brother is the center of attraction. She's in her K2 now and only started to talk to her classmates abit after 3 yrs in the kindy. Even when queuing up for the door to open for class, she never speak to them at all, nor even open mouth to ask the front student to walk up abit. When outside, her friends saw her and call up to her, she would just keep quiet and act blur or look down to the floor... not even dare to say hi back. After they have left, then she will smile to me and say "hey, that is my friend!". She like scribbling, drawing and colouring as well. Knowing her style, I did not sign her up for any contest. She does not dare to join anything, unless the brother joins her to 壮胆. When she goes P1 next year, I wonder how she's going to get her own food for recess. She is so timid to try out new things, nor speaking to strangers.
 
bebe, natellehcim
they will change one

When my gal was 3 years old, she is very outspoken as she was with JG since 18 months. She will put up her hand to join the Q & A session for those Xmas show at shopping malls. Once I even remember she got fed up she was not called upon, she remained standing with her 2 hands at the waist. So no choice the MC called her and she got so excited.

Now she is so timid. But with her friends they are a hysterical bunch of girls, run , make noise. But in front of teacher she is soft spoken etc.

From her maths enrichment class which is about 4 in the class, initially she is quiet do not volunteer her answer. Now teacher says she will speak up and she is confident of her answer. So I think the teacher and the class size will play a part.

Class Size
I think for NYPS it is increased to 40 from P4 when they welcomed other students who are offered gifted stream
 
My son was very shy when he was young. He only started volunteering his answer and speaks up in class late last yr.

I would said he is too gentle and nice cos even if his friend spoilt his eraser or took his thing w/o permission. He will not make noise. We are telling him that he should not allow his friends esp 1 of them to keep spoiling his things. There was once when this guy drew on my son's art homework. In the end, he has to redraw it. Luckily the homework only due the next day.

Do ur children have such problems?
 
ya my son has 1 classmate who like to 'disturb' his fellow classmates. He always disturb my son because they are in the same group, by drawing on his book, taking his stuffs fm his school bag, etc. After some confrontment to the teacher, I understand that he is suffering from some unexplained problem whereby he is trying to catch his friends' attention by all these. Hence I've explained to my son that try to be patient with this boy, for some child is not so fortunate to be born 'normal' like others. Lately he even scratched on his arm leaving some red marks. But I held back to make complains to the teacher and see how's the situation.
 
Really??? Hmm...will monitor the situation

He din bit my son. Just took his things and damage my son's things.
 
yawn yawn,
my boy is in neighbourhood school; school only have resources to focus on 2 top classes to pull up the overall performance. they also need resources to bridge the gap of the underprivileged lower income kids, so they have to segregate the students if not the kids may feel bored. my boy is already complaining that math lessons are boring. although he does not speak mandarin much, he said that it is his fav subject cos he learns new stuff in class (already 'banded'). he is more careful with his chinese homework and handwriting than other subjects.

avrilf,
my boy is a whistleblower; he can even ask teacher if she is in the mood for complaints before pouring out his woes.

bebe,
my boy though is so far good academically, he cannot think on his feet. his good results are result of the drilling and practising at home. i know it will not do him justice in the long run, but i can't think of better way to cope with the academic system.
 
Can someone enlighten me what's Band 1 and 2?

From all these posts, there seem to be schools who will have SA1 & 2 for the kids (something like mid year & final year exams??) while other school chooses to have just topical tests.

I guess schools with exams are those top school like NYPS where CL's dd is in, while neighbourhood sch like my dd (Greendale Pri) only conduct topical tests.

CL : I believe your dd is doing well.

Maybe the standard set by mummies here are very high lah...?

Guess what! My hubby exploded last night when he discovered that my dd got some assignment not completed in school, and corrections not done. He spent last night lecturing her with a cane in his hand. 3 full hours with my hubby! I kept myself away from them with my younger dd...call me coward! But my hub gets really fierce when he's angry!

So tonight before my hub can do anything, I quickly ask my girl to take out her homework and do them with me...sigh...Now both of them sleeping already! ha ha..think too tired from using too much brain cell last night..

My hub actually told my girl he expects her to make just 1 mistake only, cos he saw that most mistakes are careless mistakes which he cannot accept...At least now he can understand how I used to get frustrated with my girl...
 



Back
Top