(2002) Any 2002 babies?

fz

My kids like to ask me which are the top primary schools and which are the top secondary schools. I must have mentioned NUS High is strong in Maths and Science so she 'confirmed' right away she wants NUS High because she likes Maths and Science.

I told her there's no urgency to decide so quickly, I must do further research. I prefer the IB programme & NUS High is not on that programme if I recall correctly. Anyway, still plenty of time to build DSA portfolio
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Is your boy good in oral? Both English & Chinese?
 


Aly nat: If your gal's chinese foundation is not strong then I wont recommend you to put her in a purely compo writing class. I juz went for my son's chinese feedback session at HUA on sat.

One of the parents was asking abt the compo class, the teacher commented it would be good for children with good or better basic foundation. As they will learn more idioms and 词汇.

Maybe you should register her for basic chinese class as they touch on 造句,理解问答,听力,阅读,看图写段落,etc...
 
Yen Ling: On good side,it means ur children mix with the right group of friends thus leading them to work hard. But muz watch them out in case they give themselves too much stress or become to competitive.

My son does not bother how well or bad his classmates do. Not even his good friends' marks.

Instead one of his classmates knew how well my son fared last yr and told me he lost to my son by a couple of marks. Thus he has to settle for 3 place in class. I was so shocked when he told me tat during 1 of their recent school outing. Best part he even knew who the top student in school was.
 
regarding 作文, my dd is attending class at a nearby CC. She writes a passage once a week. I treat as immersion since teacher is native speaking. Yet to see results though. She copied the helping words and sentences provided by teacher. Can't really write independently yet.

However, instead of me nagging her to write one Chinese essay each week (mission impossible!), she's 'forced' to practice some writing in class. Good enough for me at this point in time, cannot have high expectation since the fees are so affordable
 
avrilf
If that classmate is 3rd, your boy must be either 1st or 2nd position? So smart!

My dd keeps track of top scorers in her class. She can even recite who are the top 10 in school
Not that she does anything about those information. Just kaypo lah
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yawn yawn: he was 2nd in class. smart or not I dunno but i knew he gave away marks for carelessness.

wow...she keeps track??? At least she is not stressed.

I think my son's classmate is competitive from the way he talked to me. My son, on the other hand, cannot be bothered.
 
yawn yawn,
I hope you hear from the big pond school soon.
Also, can u enlighted me with "build DSA portfolio"? How do u tell if one is good enough in the selected portfolio to be accepted by the school

Yoshi,
ya, me too. another gal waiting to go to sch. I ask myself: will I enrol my #2 to #1's current school? Answer: no. So I hope #1 successfully get transfered into a school of our choice, then no need to worry abt primary school for #2. This, amongst many other reasons.

fz,
what's BPGH?
Is it true that if kiddo dun take higher chinese in PSLE, then cannot go to SAP school or go to GEP? No way my dd can qualify for higher chinese. She simply has no interest nor patience for chinese. But she also accept the fact that there is no way out for her, and she has to manage a decent mark for her normal chinese exams.

avrilf,
thanks for your advice. What do u make of this: My dd is good with her hanyupinyin, can ren zi (if the word is taught in class), ting li ok, ting xie ok, n most times can manage tian chong . but when it comes to zao ju and comprehension, she has BIG problem constructing a decent sentence!!

She likes her chinese teacher. So I'm mindful not to kill that little interest which her teacher has instill in her this year. Her chinese grades improve a little from last year's.
 
aly nat

Based on my understanding (still in the process of researching) submit child's results from P1 to P5, any awards and competitions won, CCAs represented at inter school or national level, etc...include every achievement into DSA portfolio

As to whether can get a place in school of choice, there's no guarantee, depends on how competitive it is that year. Must go for interview. The good thing about DSA is can submit portfolio to a few schools. Cast net wider
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yawnyawn,
my boy is not really good in MT Oral. he can recite things that we revised, but not when it is totally new topic or the Conversation section.

aly_nat,
BPGH is Bukit Panjang Govt High. heard not bad. not easy to get in too ba. :p

i only know that those who took Higher Chinese for PSLE can have a mark or two added (depending on their PSLE results) if they chose SAP school.

my boy does not read Chinese books at home, but if i let him choose which past year papers he wants to do, he will choose Chinese over Math and English cos to him Chinese paper is easier and lesser pages.

yawnyawn,
what DSA talent you gearing your girl for? my boy has no talent. his swimming is also so-so. so i am counting on his diligence to do well.
 
Hi fz,
Yes, i agree no waiting list is better. The only problem is that my gal's grades are average
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So chances also not very high i think. My bro's son was also from BPGH...now in NUS high.

Hi yawn yawn,
IS the NUS High that your gal wants to go in Clementi? if it is, my nephew is currently there in sec 1. According to my bro & SIL, they find it rather lax. However, it still too early to tell till final exams are over. Think the teaching method are rather different from main stream. Just know that's they have more project work.

Hi aly_nat,
Actually i dun mind my gal's current school. The school focuses on character building and general enrichment for overall development versus strictly academic grades. I think generally that's what mission school adopts. The only setback is that there's no affiliated sec school! Since my gal's grades are average except chinese which she cannot make it, I tot it will be easier for her if she can goes to a school with affiliation. Saves me the headache when PSLE comes around. She likes her school and is very happy there....so another issue to consider.

Hi yenling,
I would think its good influence for your son. My dd can't be bother with who gets what grade too..
 
HI yoshi,
the school sound alright to me. If u list down the pros n cons, it might help to decide whether to transfer or not. My dd makes friends rather easily, so I hope she will have minimum or no problem with settling in. I hv more -ve vibes re. my dd's current school. For me, academic standard is one, but not top of the consideration at the moment. Does that make me inadequately ambitious? Sometimes I wonder if this is the reason why my dd is so bo chap.
 
Hi All,
Its been a while since i chat in this forum. I have been very busy with work and my 2 kids. My girl gotten her results for her SA1. She failed both her maths and chinese. She is very careless and weak in her problem sums. Guess I'll need to go thru the papers with her and brush up her mistakes and carlessness and to remind her to check her work again and again and again. I hope to chat as often as i can. Take Care! Cheers!
 
My gal told me abt her Maths and Chinese results yesterday. The actual papers are still with the Teachers. She said she had 75 for Maths and 78 for Chinese. I told her I am reserving my comments (or scolding..hmmm) until I see the the actual papers cos I need to analyze her mistakes and weakness. Frankly speaking, I think she has done within expectation..no exceptionally good results but acceptable given the effort she has put in. Now I am more concerned abt her English paper..I had a feeling that she might fail the paper as she told me she found it "very difficult" and "do not understand". Well..what done cannot be undone now..

Secondary sch
I have not given this issue a serious thought as I think kids will change as well as the SG education policy. I am so confused by the DSA, IP, cut off point prog. Most likely I will start thinking abt them when my gals hit P4. As of now, I think it is important to lay the foundation right. And also to teach them the correct attitude towards study..always ask my gals "Ask for help if you do not understand..better make the mistake in yr daily revision than in the actual exam..check yr work...revise constantly..keep on reading..blah blah blah"...I think they find me a nag.

My gals are also those bochup one..do not bother who scores this and that. There is a girl (different class from my P2 gal) but we stay a few floors away..she always asks my elder gal what mark you get for this..what did you get for this test ..which assessment books did you buy..blah blah blah..my gal always gives her a flat answer "I don't know."
 
Hi all,
My gal also just got back all results. English and chinese were good but maths was band 2. She said she hated maths. Sigh... How to improve maths? Does it help if I buy the moe guide? Or is Simon Eio's guidebook sufficient?

Yawnyawn,
Your gal is so mature leh. Is she the type who will lose sleep over her results? My gal still 'gong gong'. I've to remind her her results are slipping. She still can tell me she is not the worse in the class. Faint..

Re: DSA
Besides orchestra and band, what other cca is good for DSA? My friend told me performing arts like choir and chinese dance also consider. Is it true? How about Wushu? Must they be in school team to get into the school?
How about music (violin and/or piano)?
 
Chinese enrichment
I am also worried abt my gals' chinese (P1 and P2). My P2 gal's result has slipped as she is weak in expressing in Chinese..my P1 gal is worse than my P2 gal..she cannot even remember those chinese characters and it is such a pain to hear her talking to us in Chinese. I doubt I have time to coach them Chinese esp when #3 is coming out soon.
Problem now is the timing..when shd I start the Chinese enrichment/tuition. I am due to deliver soon, and I doubt I have the time to ferry them to/fro to classes. Hubby will be busy with his work trips. And I am moving my house in Aug..new house will not be ready until one year later. I am not sure if I want to move in and stay with my in laws (their place is not condusive for study) or to rent another unit near the school but the school will shift next year.
Many issues to work with..gotta sit down and discuss with my hubby which is the best alternative..hiaz
 
Maisy Daisy
Did yr gal tell you why she dislike Maths? For me, my gal was weak in Problem sum..and I bought those problem sum assessment for her to practise.
 
Hmm
My girl told me her test she got 40/50. This will weight 10% of her performance this year. I also reserved my comment till I see the paper. But she herself feel it is bad result. But she has this bo chup feeling that so what if it is bad, she only felt sad for that second.

As the paper is being submitted for corrections done, we have not seen it. Daddy asked her where she went wrong and she said I dunno which pissed off Daddy. This means she did the correction blindly.



DSA
It all depends on the criteria of the school you are aiming for.

So if you are gearing up for DSA, you might want to check out the secondary school first and make the decision.

Leadership is one thing we have to start looking into it.

Imagine dance, orchestra, band are group activity, there will be so many people applying via that. And it also depends if the school team is doing well at SYF ?


Bebe75
Tough decision since you are delivering soon. Time and distance is a big factor for you. Better sit down and think and work everything out.

Joanne
Crossing for my girl's second test on 26 May liao. Did you ask Teacher Er to check through and highlight where is her weakness ?
 
Hi aly_nat,
I'm just like u.."inedequately ambitious" which results in my gal "bo Chap-ness". Since young daily activity was play, play & play! Coupled with her cousins' influence cos they are residing in US and the edu system there allows for great flexibility...freedom to choose, voice and do what they want. (they mixed around everyday when my sis comes back for hols).

On my hand, we want her to have a happy childhood, no stress from performing in academic, but on the other hand, it seems not possible once she enters P1. Hard to balance both
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Cos asking her to finish her daily homework is already a struggle not to mention assessment.

Hi mommies,
My gal's tuition teacher also uses Andrew Er challenging maths. What infuriates me is that my gal likes and can do problem sums...its her SUPER carelessness that simple addition, subtraction that gives her mark away! If she dun understand concepts, still teachable....but carelessness? How to teach...keep nagging at her to check, double check and check...still kena minus marks for wrong add/sub when she can get workings right!
 
Maisy Daisy

Yes, she has high expectation of herself. Threw tantrum the day she received her results. She was disappointed, lost numerous easy marks due to carelessness, must have been kicking herself mentally for wasting unnecessary marks. The fortunate thing is she managed to snap out of it rather quickly. The next day she could laugh candidly about her silly mistakes.

I think she's over confident and too complacent this time round. Overall, her results slipped compared to last year



Yoshi

Yes, in Clementi. I have to move house if she really gets in
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Regarding careless mistakes, my dd can tackle problem sums, draw models, etc etc but lost marks at simple subtraction due to carelessness. Very 心痛 hor. I reminded her before exam wrong means wrong, teacher doesn't differentiate whether you 'really don't know' or 'know but careless'. But still like that leh, noticed so many careless mistakes when I went through her paper

I dare not scold her though. She's already so frustrated upon seeing her results. So I zip zip
 
Besides careless mistake, another major problem is Oral. I was told by another mommy that it's easy to get full marks for oral even in higher primary. However, mine can't leh

Wonder how to help her? I bought guide books and trial run with her but her oral result is worst than last year. Probaby this year teacher expects more than last year
 
Yawn yawn,

They are expected to talk more of their feelings and comments on the picture description and during the discussion with the teacher.

Going forward, the picture will has less for them to describe.
 
Hi yawn yawn,
Oh, then its the one my nephew is currently in
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My SIL said cos its a new school so not much past data and info.

U hit the nail! Teacher indeed doesn't differentiate. Wrong answer means wrong. For example if the sum carries 3 marks, correct working only earns her 1 mark
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My gal got back all her papers yesterday. Got a lashing from hubby
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careless, careless, careless..
 
RE Careless mistakes
i told my boy that careless mistakes is a waste of our time spent in revision cos it does not reflect his hardwork that he put in. he tends to be overconfident too; a few weeks back, he lost 8 marks in his CL topical test paper cos he missed out on a page. i am actually glad that he felt embarrassed to be the lowest in his class for that paper - hope he remembers that lesson for a long long time. :D
as he does not have SA1, i think 100% SA2 is going to be very stressful.
 
Bebe,
My gal is careless and lazy. Maths is a thinking subject so she feels that it's v difficult. Many times I ask her to do a question, she will say I don't know without attempting. But if I probe her with a few hints, she can do it. Maybe I've not been consistent and firm with her.

Have you considered engaging a private tutor instead of group enrichment to relieve you of the logistics? With no. 3 coming, you must take good care of your health and not over exert.

Re: careless
Haha, seems like I'm not the only one. I'm not sure if it I should be happy that she lost more marks in "carelessness" than don't know how to do. Means that she could have done better...

Re: oral
Is there any good guidebook on teaching oral? Are the requirements same for both English and Chinese? My gal brought back a paper that tells us the requirement of English oral. They need to not only describe the pic, but differentiate whether right or wrong, and what would they do if they are in the same situation. Seem to be a lot to say... She scored 11/15 for oral. I feel still got room for improvement cos oral is supposed to "score".
 
Bebe,
sounds like you hv lots to sort out b4 bb comes. When is bb due? Youy planning to let your dd take chinese enrichment? I'm also toying with the idea, but hb not keen. He often reminds me not to overload our dd.

Berries vs tien xia vs beijing. Mummies, which would u pick?

Maisy Daisy,
Ya, I also wonder if playing the piano will contribute towards DSA portfolio.

Any mummies with kiddos taking piano, but skipping exams until the compulsory grade (is it grade 3 or 4)?

yawn yawn,
your dd really mature leh. Can plan for her own future. Envy you. Which grade is she?

Re: Oral
for those kiddos strong in language, they probably can breeze through and score in the exams. But if weak in the language, like in my dd's case, I can imagine the struggle she has trying to express her thoughts during the oral exam.
 
Maisy Daisy,
My 1st gal has the same attitude towards maths as yours. If the qn requires more than 1 step to get the answers, mine will straight away say 'I dun know' even without bothering to think.

Re: carefree childhood?
Think I let my 1st gal watch too much barney cds when she was young, now only know play, play, play .... so much for carefree childhood. Now we, the parents and child are 'paying' for that. She's a small fish in a big pond. It seems to me that her classmates are generally well/over prepared even before p1 coz she always asks me why her classmates know so many things while she doesn't 8-P ......

For my 2nd gal who is going k1 next yr, I intend to spend these 2 yrs coaching her more consistently. Beta to pace out the learning and set the right learning attitude early than to wait till p1 and start vomitting buckets of blood.
 
mummies,
My dd often misplace her stationeries - she's either losing her eraser or pencils or ruler every other week. Am I the only one with this problem? What can I do? It's not a big deal, but I'm tired of replacing them ever so often. I've tried not replacing them, but it didn't bother her. She just went to school and borrow from her friends. arrgh!
 
aly_nat
yr dd is like my dd2..I have lost count of how many stationeries, lunch boxes she had misplaced at sch. So now I told her no more fanciful stationeries and lunch boxes...and I fined her for each misplaced items..but she is still not learning her lessons. Hiaz..

Cookiepie/Maisy Daisy
My dd1 used to have such attitudes, esp towards lengthy, wordy problems sum. I have to sit through the questions with her and guided her steps by steps to work it out. I believed it is her language weakness and lack of confidence that is hindering her. But things does improve with constant practice..so long as yr kids are not lazy..you shd encourage them to practice on a daily basis. I asked my gal to attempt 3 problem sums (2 steps) or 2 challenging questions each day.

Carefree childhood
I think I am also too lax in their academic devt when the kids are in pre-school. I used to believe that those academic devt shd begin in P1 when they start formal education..so I did not send my kids to any enrichment classes prior to P1 except Phonics. When dd1 entered P1, reality hit me. I did not expect the gap between P1 and Pre-school to be so vast. Wish the govt can standardise the pre-sch education!!! I realised my gal is "weak" relative to her peers cos I failed to lay the right foundation for her. For dd2, she is quite inquisitive and fast learner, and hence no problem for her to catch up. For dd1, she tends to be slower and always lack of confidences..it was a nightmare trying to build up her foundation. Given a choice, I would have done differently if I know she was that "weak" for P1.
It is so hard to balance their childhood with play and learning...but that is a phrase which every parent has to go through..

Maisy Daisy/Aly_nat
My baby shd be due anytime from now till early Jun..Ya - lots of stuff to sort out..esp the house removal and relocation of the school..hiaz..wish the baby can come out faster..so that I can kick start and end the confinement earlier and have more time to do other stuffs..
 
Hi bebe,
despite the difficulties my dd is going through now, I think I do not regret not starting her any sooner. I am proud to say that she was completely carefree till she was about 6. Growing up, hb n I "teach" her by spending quality time with her, bonding thru reading and play. We introduce formal phonics and hanyupingyin to her at 5/6 (which most parents probably think it is way too late), and diligently guide her thru her assessment books to prepare her for P1 at 6. I guess all these were made possible by the fact that we were living abroad, and we just take on the lifestyle of our host country. Things might have been different if we had lived in S'pore, given the pressure ard.

On hind sight, I wish I had paid an equal amt of attention on building her chinese foundation
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Of course, when I start to complain of her "bochup-ness", my gf tease me and said I am now paying the price for so-called "quality lifestyle" and "carefree childhood"
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. At the same time, I can't help but envy parents whose kiddos achieved academic excellence.

What an irony!!
 
aly nat, maisy

Just my opinion hor, may not be totally right. I feel that it's not easy to apply for DSA using piano, unless applying for SOTA? The child must be super good eg. won some national competition to really stand out since so many kids are learning piano nowsaday. And piano is usually solo performance, only need one pianist in each Orchestra, hence demand for pianist is substantially lower compared to other instruments


aly nat

My dd2 is learning piano, progressed to learning grade 2 recently. dd1 has no interest in piano although she doesn't mind learning other instruments in school as CCA

Your dd plan to skip grades? I was told by piano teacher must at least go for grade 3 exam. grade 1 & 2 probably can skip
 
Hi Cookiepie,
I think we can Hi-5! Sad to say, I also din lay much foundation for dd1. Cos at that time...along came dd2 when she's 4, then my son came along when dd1 turns 6. Haiz...din spent much time with her when younger ones comes along. B4 that was play, play & play. So her attitude was to play. Not kang Cheong at all.

Hi aly_nat/bebe75
Ha ha....my dd also keep losing her stationeries. Ended up, I will try to buy in bulk and keep at home. So will replace whenever she loses any. She also has a bad habit of "shopping" at her book shop! Guess its the experience of having pocket money and freedom to
buy....just like we shop.

What's worst was that during P1, her friends always ask her to buy them things without paying or give her 20% of the item cost! Chided my gal for her action. We dun want her "buy" friends. To make matter worst, hubby always give her extra pocket money everyday...and she has a separate pouch for emergency fund. FIL who fetch her to school also chip in to her stash which i cannot control
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Hi bebe75,
Take care. Too much things to handle with the impending arrival of newborn, moving house, etc..
 
yawn yawn,
ya. there're tonnes of kids learning piano. DSA thru piano, probably no chance.
How long does your dd take to progress from grade 1 to 2? I'm toying with the idea of letting dd learn piano for leisure and music appreciation, rather than clearing grades. So thinking of not sending her for non-compulsory exams. At this moment, she seemed rather happy just minding her school work, and taking swimming n piano classes. As I said, I'm mindful not to overload her unnecessarily. I want her to hv her personal time n space to do things that she enjoys. I hope I can hold on to this belief for as long as possible. To prepare for and clear piano exams takes a lot of discipline and time. Like it or not, she must put in the time and effort for her studies before anything else.
 
bebe75,
Thanks for sharing how you get your dd1 to practice maths. I intend to start getting my gal to practise at least 1 page of maths everyday ....practice makes perfect ....

Yoshi,
Hi-5! I also buy stationeries in bulk from Popular ... my gal either lost her stationeries or "give" it to her friends ... also always complain that she does not have $ to shop for stationeries from school bookshop after buying food whilst her friends (who bring several dollar notes) to school can buy anything they want ...fainted ....
 
aly nat

She spent 4 months on grade 1 pieces. Just started on grade 2 pieces. Prior to grade 1, she attended music lesson for 1 year.

I agreed it's very time consuming. She practices between 1 to 1.5 hour a day. I'm not sure whether she has that much time for practice once she starts primary school next year.

Since she aspires to be 周杰伦, I'm supportive of her music career lah
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Yawnyawn
Your gal so hardworking. I nag and nag and she will only practice 20min. Somemore every 5 min will look at the clock. Scared she play "extra" bo hua. I resigned to fate that she is musically not inclined.

Maths:-
I was quite lax last term. But with this kind of borderline maths result I better buck up. She complain I never explain enough for her that's why her results no good. I told her every week she has to complete 2 past year exam paper. Need to stock up on assessments too.
 
RE Stationary
my boy came back with extra stationary that he said his friend gave....:p..
only once he came back with the whole pencil case missing...luckily was found the next day.
 
Yawnyawn
Your gal so hardworking. I nag and nag and she will only practice 20min. Somemore every 5 min will look at the clock. Scared she play "extra" bo hua. I resigned to fate that she is musically not inclined.

Maths:-
I was quite lax last term. But with this kind of borderline maths result I better buck up. She complain I never explain enough for her that's why her results no good. I told her every week she has to complete 2 past year exam paper. Need to stock up on assessments too.
 
Hi Cookiepie,
I think in my case is guilty conscious...both hubby & I work long hours, so give her extra $ to either buy food or what she fancy.

Hi yawn2/maisy,
Wow...your dd can actually play for 20mins/1~1.5hours! My gal max is 5mins!!! Although she passed her grade 1 exam this year, her teacher threaten to kick her out cos she's SUPER lazy. Teacher has high expectation as she's a SSO performer.
 
Maisy Daisy, my son too got back his result for SA1 math, which turns out to be the worst. I suppose due to his careless mistake lar. Then after got some lecture from his dad and me..he started to tell me that he does not like Math. During his sch mock test, he managed to score well then, I suppose he is those yaya type since did well during mock test exam should be ok. Ended up not true lor.
Overall his result is for SA1 paper is ok, except for math not within our expectation due to his carelessness. One thing about carelessness can be taught or not?!? MIL keep asking me to teach him not to be so careless in Math. I wonder how to teach him that?!?

My son also practise his piano within limited timeframe like 5 mins, when I am around keep asking me how many times. So less then 5 mins done with a piece anyhow play no counting at all.
*faint* How i wish he would spend more time practising piano and not Kapoing helping around the house when not required.
 
Not sure who is asking about the banding thing, anyway here is the info extracted from the web:
Lower Primary (Primary 1 to 4)
Band 1: 85% and above
Band 2: 70% to 84%
Band 3: 50% to 69%
Band 4: Below 50%

Upper Primary (Primary 5 to 6)
A*: 91% and above
A: 75% to 90%
B: 60% to 74%
C: 50% to 59%
D: Below 50%
E: Below 25%
 
ohohjazz,
ya loh, my hubby keep asking me to get her a tuition teacher. But I really hope that we can be more independent. Besides, it's mostly carelessness. Tuition teacher can teach carelessness?? Sigh... I noticed from this thread, many of the kids are careless in maths. Is it true?
 


Maisy Daisy, ya i am helpless with my son carelessness. just like when ask him at times, 11-5, he gave me the answer of 7 without any thinking and he when say wrong he started to argue and gets angry. Then ask him to count again then he would gives me the correct answer. So this one i think even tuition also cannot help much.
 

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