Any Mommies in mid-late 30s or over 40 with small children?

Hi mummies,

I hope everyone is keeping well. Haven’t posted anything recently but definitely enjoy reading and taking in all the posts. A lot of good points debated and brought up.
Some of the threads on SMH, I read with bemusement and its almost like reading the tabloids. This thread, I read to enrich myself and bring a lot of thoughts into perspective.

Mumusings,

I recall reading that your son is a Hi-5 fan and you go to a lot of their shows. My boy has recently fallen in love with Hi-5 and watches the recorded shows over and over again.
How do I found out when Hi-5 tours Singapore? I think he would really enjoy a live show.

Snowball32,

All the best in setting up your dream home. This is one project you really need to micro-manage to the last detail but will be worth it.

After my last challenge of hauling 3 kids all the way to UK and back, dealing with toddler jet-lag, my hubby throws me another one. He will be going on a biz trip to the States in Oct for 2 whole weeks. Leaving me to fend for myself with the trio. Although I do have a helper, I am still rather nervous as we have been so hands on, none of the kids are close to her.
Well, guess I have no choice but to bite the bullet.

Have a lovely weekend, all. xoxo.
 


Hi Gerbera,

You can check their official website and also the twitter/facebook accounts of the individual members
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I definitely agree that this thread is fantastic because I've learnt so much from all the mummies here (even though some are now very busy). This is the only thread I've bookmarked!

I'm sure you'll do fine with the kids!
 
Helen,
You are right that if internal ranking is still based on grades, then teachers will still pressurized kids, otherwise if the whole class gets 60+ marks, the teacher will not get any bonus.
That's why I feel that the scrapping of secondary school banding is only a cosmetic change, more changes need to be made in order to make any difference.

GEP is supposed to develop creativity and critical thinking, I do feel that all kids should be given a chance to attend this program. It is not fair that only the top 1% is entitled to the best education.
 
pink gerbera, mumusings,
I also think that this thread is much better than others
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I feel that mommies here are more mature in thinking compared to others.
 
dear mummies
this is also the only thread i bookmarked as i have learnt alot from all of you here! from food to kids to education.... Thank you for your sharing. In fact i get to read the "top stories" from the links provided. heehee save the trouble of reading papers. cos it usually takes me more than an hour to complete reading.
THANK YOU!
 
Hello all,
Made chicken rice at 8am this morning because I didn't eat dinner last night. Fat-free, msg-free and low sodium chicken rice. Can't make myself cook a whole raw chicken so fried chicken bits instead. S$4 of ingredients makes 5 sets. Soup/rice/chicken/omelette. Rice turned out fragrant enough but definitely not as 'tasty' as the ones out there because I didn't stir in chicken fat or add msg.

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Carrot 'V' = victory hahaha actually I'd give myself a 6/10 today because I didn't have cucumber slices and the correct chilli+chicken.
 
Hi Mummies,

how is everyone doing? I am still struggling and surviving....lucky for work, the projects have been delayed and I can devote more time to micro-manage my reno works (Yes, Pink Gerbera, even tho' we have an ID whom is supposed to monitor all our reno works, things still go WRONG, WRONG and still WRONG
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First, its the shower area in my MBR bath....need to redo as the area catered is too small tho' we have a bigger than usual bathroom, then its the kitchen cabinets' wall tiles (supposed to be spray-painted glass and now all tiled up....urrghhhhh) We managed to get the tiler to amend the shower area but decided to leave the kitchen wall tiles alone.

I shall perservere and survive
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Yes, I put up both my hands and legs to agree that this is a WONDERFUL and informative thread and has definitely left a bookmark on my home and office PC.....hurray.

So much for now....CYA
 
Hi all!

I see that everyone had something to say about our education system... I think I should also join in the fun.

Tam posted a letter from straits times on 2012-09-02. I share the same problem with the writer. My son was in a neighbourhood, prob below average PCF kindy and I didn't let him go to any enrichment class except for berries which I also didn't enforce him to revise very often. Many a times, I left him alone with his toys and his very cheerful happy childhood with everyday trips to the playgrounds and trips. I regretted when he was half way through K2. He can't read and of course, can't write half a year short of P1 and I was worried stiff, cos my colleagues 6-yr olds are able to read and write quite well already. That's when the rush to send him to phonics classes and reading of Peter and Jane books (tam and most of the old-timers, remember?). There's a lot of scolding and tears and heartaches and worries. I told myself that I have to start my other two younger kids earlier.

I started my 2nd child phonics class and berries the same time I started my son's phonics class. she was about 3+yrs old then. I started her on the music and movement with phonics. And full day childcare too as I have a young baby at home. and reading faithful Peter and Jane. Thank goodness she took to the lessons quite well and progressed fine. She finished the whole series of P&J last year, at 5yo. I took her out from the phonics class too as I switched her to another childcare centre closer to home. I think she is well-prepared for P1, though I didn't send her to any other tuitions except for Berries. Recently she asked to go for Arts class and I signed her up at a nearby CC.

My little boy will be in K1 next year. Like his sister, he has fantastic memory and can remember words read out to him once or twice, in both Chinese and English. Like his older brother, he too, is quite lazy and didn't want to read dear Peter & Jane beyond Book 4a. I didn't force him, but am planning to ask him to read one page a day from Book 4a onwards next year. He is attending the same CC as his sister and although I think he rather stay at home (and watch TV), I prefer him to go to CC as I think he has some social problems and may need some help to integrate. He also goes to Berries, which he enjoys. (he sits by himself while the rest of the group sits in a group... even after a year...)

my conclusion? Every child is a person and they are all different. There is no one medicine that will cure all, so there has to be some balance some where. And this 'balance' is not easy to find/strike. To change the system, I think we have to change everyone's mindset first. otherwise, it will still be a vicious cycle, never ending. There are parents like me who thinks that the current curriculum is too heavy for the average kid, and yet there are many kids who fares so well in the curriculum - hence the GEP to pick these kids - and the vicious cycle? Parents hoping that their own kids can get into GEP, thus sending kids to tuition class and more enrichment centres. this indirectly pushed up the level again and the curriculum became too easy for the kids and parents ask school why lessons and tests and exams are so easy... on and on and on...
 
ok, now back to business...

Anyone heard of any comments on Tony Buzan's program? They are offering once a week programs for different subjects and also mindmaps workshops etc.

I am thinking of putting #1 to a Science program. I heard that TB's has experiment, lecture and worksheets. Not sure of the quality though.
 
Well said, Rona.

I've attended Tony Buzan's course before. Interesting and engaging if he's the one speaking. Some methods will work and many are commonsensical.

Example: kids/most people remember things that
-matter to them
-has been repeated (until somehow it gets in)
-are fun
-are outstanding/special
-are first relayed/last-said

Mindmaps - helps for those who like visual representations. BUT, this will work well only if your kid likes doodling and enjoys translating details into 'point-form like structure.

Overall I think TB's course can be applied very easily but there's no need for the whole family to attend. Best to check what is covered. Can be rather gimmicky. Lots of demos, 'games' (memory, mindset-switching etc).

How much are the courses by the way? Mine was sponsored then (when I was working). Came back, applied whe I was relief teaching. The kids HATED mind-mapping. They prefer to be left alone to decide which method is better. Some kids love it but others prefer their bullet/linear/structured lecture notes.

Mindmapping takes effort and won't work if kid is too lazy to even think through the concept/whatever-to-map.

Hope this helps. Good to hear from you again, Rona
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Mumusings,
I went to one last week, tony buzan was the trainer. I learnt how to juggle! I dont like to doodle, no talent in it, but i still find mind-mapping useful. I think for some science topics, it will be useful to use mind-maps, or flowcharts... heheheee... but i think its a good summary of keypoints and clearer and therefore easier to remember.

They have weekly lessons on the three subjects. But i thought science with hands-on experiments and some worksheets andeexplanation maybe beneficial to him. Still thinking, cos he is a more hands-on person.
 
Hi Rona,
Sounds like his courses have not changed one bit. Yes, I remember the juggling. Some activity on positive thinking by asking folks to think of non-uses/uses of X-object, memory game, remembering the planetary system in order and getting a few guys to share their testimonies. How much was the course btw? I think he autographed on my book (the one he wrote on mind-mapping).
 
rona,
Your 2 younger kids are doing very well
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Not every child is academically inclined, your eldest son will excel in other areas. I do wish that schools do not focus so much on marks, and allow every child to develop his/her unique talent.

It is true that because of the existence of GEP and all its unfair benefits, parents hope to get their kids into GEP and push up the level. Every parent wishes their kids to have the best education, so the gahmen cannot stop them. Both the system and parents' mindset must change at the same time. Otherwise, I predict that my grandchildren will need to be very good in algebra before entering P1, since the level will continue to rise.

Some of my colleagues like to use mindmaps. However, I do not find it very useful in helping me to memorize facts, may be I am not the visual type of person.

Personally I think that Science is like maths, practice makes perfect, so I try to expose my girl to many types of science questions.
 
snowball,
I can understand how busy you must be supervising all the reno work, all this effort will be worth while when you move into your new place
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I was also very tired and confused during the renovation period, and then so much more work had to be done when we move !
 
Hi mommies,
Many letters were published in the Straits Times concerning our education system. The following letter is the best that I have read so far :

Competition shouldn't be key benchmark of educational success

I DISAGREE with using competition as the primary benchmark for what constitutes a successful education ("How will we assess merit?" by Mr Tan Wah Thong; yesterday).

A successful education nurtures the student to do his best in all that he undertakes, and to be the best person he can be to himself and to society.

It does not value success more when students outperform those from other schools, which is a zero-sum game that only cultivates a self-centred approach to life.

While exams and competitions are important, their most crucial outcome should be for the student to be tenacious and to push himself to his limits, and then seek to surpass those limits.

Rather than be concerned about someone else performing better, the student should have the positive attitude that competition brings about higher standards for future generations, rather than just individual, egotistical achievements.

A school's board of governors should know the qualities to be developed in students, and assess the school staff on how well they pursue this course, rather than how well the students outperform others.

But if the board members do not have such a mindset in the first place, it is no wonder that they are at a loss when rankings and bandings are abolished.

When a student graduates and starts work, his future will not depend on whether he was among those at the top of his cohort, or how many international competitions he won.

Rather, his career will depend on his discipline; the ability to be independent in doing certain tasks and getting diverse personalities to work effectively as a team, delivering win-win solutions.

His success in his personal life will depend on how he prioritises his obligations to those closest to him, his social contributions, and his willingness to help others without necessarily benefiting himself.

A student can learn all these in the course of his academic pursuits; it is an injustice if school staff are appraised primarily on his academic performance.

Appraising staff performance will be more challenging, but is worth it if we get the priorities right.

Conversely, the convenience of rankings and bandings simply offers a shortcut that leads to the wrong priorities being emphasised.

Chen Junyi
 
Many parents think that competition will spur kids to do better. The fact is that this is only true for the top few %. For the majority of kids, failure to achieve the highest marks compared to others is actually very de-motivating. Those kids who are average or below will lose the motivation to work hard because they feel that they are just not as smart as others.
 
Tam,
My main worry for the competitive kids is that they may one day worry too much not been the first in their class and then go crazy! They can't take failure and don't understand 失败乃成功之母。 I personally heard of a boy like that. He is a really smart boy but as he can't take the stress thinking that he maynot be the first in class anymore, he went bersek!
 
hi mommies
agree with rona and tam. as human, we all like to experience success. not many can take failure as a step nearer to success. Great scientists are great not because they have done too many "failed" experiments. They took the experiments as steps nearing success!

Moderate competition is good just like suitable pressure will push one on. but too much of it will cause an imbalance. Each and every one of us are made differently so how much pressure can one take really depends. As parents, we must be observant and even vigilant to signs shown by kids when they are experiencing too much stress.

today, i overheard a colleague sharing that one mum sms-ed her to stop asking her son questions that he cannot answer as it makes him look bad in front of his peers. Sad that the mum did not try to teach the son that it is alright not to know all answers but to encourage him to find out the answers. on the tr's part, I was kinda disappoined as it is only normal how a child at aged 12 feels when not being able to answer the questions too often. If we acknowledged this fact, we will not jump at the mother's message and "give up" on the child entirely.As a mother, we worry for our kids, There is little we can do to the education system, to the teachers who are teaching or are going to teach our kids, but as mothers, let us be supportive and understanding towards our young ones. Kid rearing is like flying a kite: at times we let the string loose, at times we need to tug and pull the string so that the kite will not be out of our sight.

Let us work towards helping our kids to become a complete person. Jia you!
 
rona,
Besides mental breakdown, I also heard of suicides.
The competition in the top class can be really intense. Even in my kids' primary school, the top Chinese class includes only students who scored 98 marks and above. This means that if a kid score 98 marks, he/she will end up at the bottom of the class. Imagine fighting to get 0.5 to 2 marks more, which is really meaningless.
 
Helen,
Personal failure is not so bad. I failed many times trying to bake cupcakes at home, I don't feel bad and I finally learned to bake heavenly cupcakes.

Failure in school will result in public humiliation. My girl told me that her P1 teacher showed the results of all students on the screen, ranked from the best to the worst. If a student scored below a certain mark, the teacher commented that he should go back to kindergarten. Kids have feelings too, no kid likes to be looked down by other classmates.

Actually I will purposely pick on students who are not paying attention in my class to ask questions. The purpose is not to humiliate him, but to make sure that he knows what is being taught. Some boys do get annoyed by this, but most boys learned to be thick skinned or pretend to pay attention. I agree with you that the mother you wrote about is not doing the right thing.
 
Hi mommies,
Interesting news :
http://abcnews.go.com/US/parents-spend-thousands-test-prep-kids-gifted-kindergartens/story?id=13857020#.UGJoV7JlQ84

Quote:
"Thousands of 4-year-olds across the country spend an hour every Saturday or Sunday, sometimes both, with a tutor who helps them with analogies, comprehension and pattern-recognition. Their goal -- their parents' goal -- is a school like NEST+m on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Neither a posh private school nor a charter school, NEST+m is a public school for the "gifted and talented." It goes from kindergarten through high school and currently boasts a 100 percent graduation rate. If you get in for kindergarten, you're in for the rest of the way through high school.

At an age when many children are not reading at all, NEST+m kindergarteners have math in the morning, science before lunch, then mandatory Mandarin Chinese in the afternoon."

This is the first time I heard of gifted kindergarten in the USA. Singaporean parents are not the only ones on earth who are kiasu.
The fact is that, every parent wants the best education for their kids, regardless of race or culture.

If you have something like gifted kindergarten or GEP or IP schools, then you cannot expect parents to sit back and do nothing to help their kids.
 
Tamarind

The intention of the tr was to make sure the boy has been paying attention too. It does make a tr feel demoralised when he/she does not get support/understanding from parents. With a class of almost 40 kids, in order to keep one's sanity, I supposed, putting the child aside and move on is the next best solution...feel sad that sometimes we can only do so much.....
 
btw your gal's tr is not too professional is she? that is the danger when a child gets the "wrong tr". hence home education is very impt here, so that your gal will not be too affected.
 
Tam & Helen,
My boy is the disturbing kind, he talks non-stop in class and if he ever stop talking, that's when he will start to make funny noise to distract everyone. I kept telling him not to do it, even authorized the teachers to punish him when they deem fit. But he can't stop... I feel very bad, but am really helpless. However the teachers told me what surprised them most is that whenever they call upon him to answer question just to stop him from talking, he is able to answer correctly. This boy of mine is a very big headache to me.
 
rona,
My boy's teacher also complains that he talks too loud and too much. However, he is fine at home because he can always find things to occupy himself. My conclusion is that he feels very bored in school. I told the teacher that I am not in school so I cannot do anything, the teacher should discipline him whenever he misbehaves in class.

As parents, we are really helpless about how our kids behave in school. I don't feel it is right to keep punishing my boy for alleged misconduct which I did not see with my own eyes. I leave it to the teacher to punish him. I only keep nagging him to keep quiet in class.
 
helen,
My girl's P1 teacher has many years of teaching experience. Some teachers probably think that kids must be humiliated in order to motivate them to work hard. Such teachers are always very nice to the top students. Only those at the bottom get negative treatment.
 
Hi all,

It's mid-Autumn festival this weekend again! Another year has passed. Don't know if it's a good thing 'cos I wish I could turn back time to do things better sometimes.
 
Tam, Rona

I do have kids who keep talking and it is true to a certain extent that he/she is bored with the lesson/s as he/she has learnt. Not every lesson can be entertaining to all kids. For these kids, I will try to get them to run errands for me, keep them busy so there will be minimal scolding/distruption to my class teaching. You can suggest this to the teacher. It may/may not work at times.

Kids learnt differently. Rona, I suppose your boy needs to talk so as to keep himself occupied and then he can "concentrate". Hard to explain this. This is not easy as we do have kids who need to read aloud exam qns so that they can hear themselves and understand the qn better. the only way is to remind them to read the qns just loud enough for themselves to hear.

The prob with "experienced tr" is they "stopped" learning assuming that they have gathered enough experience to do what they are doing. Each child is different, each batch of class student is different. The same effective way may fail miserably with a different child. As a professional, one need to acknowledge this fact and work around things.

I am still learning till today and each day I looked forward to meeting the kids as I have indeed learnt alot from the kids i come into contact with. These kids of course include my 2 gals! The fun begins and passion continues to burn when I realised how much I have learnt from children.

Don't despair! Helpless we may feel at times, just remind ourselves that kids are born with pure hearts. whatever they are doing, there is always a reason. As mothers, our kids need our love and support and understanding which they may not get from others. If we do not provide this, they will seek this sense of security somewhere else. Basically, the basic human need for security must be met before learning can carry out. Cannot remember what is the name of this pyramid(heehee learnt this many yrs ago, mayb Tam is better at this. will try to look it up on the internet)

Mumusings
Yes another yr has passed! and i have survived going back to work. Next yr another challenging yr as my elder gal will be P1. Need to adopt my mother's mind set: can pass can already...heeheehee I supposed that was how she managed to keep her sanity with 4 hyper kids and one difficult husband.

Good wishes to all of you and your loved ones!
 
Tam and helen,
My boy's P1 teacher is like Tam's gal's P1 teacher. Very nice to the top kids but treated the below average kids below average. His P3 teachers are better. They are more understanding and more patient. I'm glad.
 
Hi Rona/Tam/Helen,
Many types of teachers make up our schools. Some are fossilised in their mindset/methods, some others creative/over-lenient/impatient etc. Some teachers may be biased, discriminating while some others are nice but simply can't teach/speak properly. Some are inspiring but may border on inspiring rebellion. Not easy to find a teacher who's perfect for every kid because everyone's expectations and abilities differ. What we can do as parents is to encourage our own children to be patient, objective and focused. That's the best form of respect for the educators and also to instill some sort of confidence in our kids towards the general system?
 
Hi Mummies,

A friend of mine posted one of the PSLE Maths Paper 1 question (2 marks) which is tricky....we were arguing on the answer.....can anyone here solve the pblm?

Question goes like this :

There are 110 men and women waiting outside a movie theatre. There were at least 3 women between every 2 men. What is the max. no. of men waiting?

The answer in argument is 44 and 28.

Imagine....its just a 2-mark question and adults already arguing and trying to solve this problem....poor P6 kids
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Saw a funny posting on a friend's FB today:

如果没有一个老师能教全部的科目，为什么要一个学生学全部课目？
 
Hi Snowball,
Good grieve. I might have lost my A* if such questions were set when I sat for my PSLE
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I would have literally drawn out 3men/2women till I hit the 110th audience at the theatre.... What are they testing? Maths/speed/drawing/imagination/logic/IQ?
 
Hi Gerbera,
Yes, the system seems to wish for all rounders but many end up being master of none, or worse, without an idea of own's calling in life (other than to earn lots of $$$).
 
Helen,
I really like what you wrote :
"kids are born with pure hearts. whatever they are doing, there is always a reason"

Are you referring to Maslow's hierarchy of needs ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs

I googled and found the above, very interesting.

Mumusings,
I recognize that my kids may not always get good teachers who understand them. My girl naturally understands that she needs to conform, without the need to be explicitly taught. My boy does not understand the consequences of challenging authority. However, I do not want to raise kids who always conform and dare not challenge authority. So I leave it to my boy to face the consequences, and hope that he can grow smarter and learn not into trouble in school.

snowball,
Schools need to set more and more difficult questions, because nowadays parents put their already very smart kids in tuition classes for advanced levels. For example, P3 kids in P6 maths tuition class. By the time these kids reach P6, they already know A level maths. The PSLE T score is calculated based on the bell curve and they cannot have too may kids scoring 100 marks, or else the curve will be skewed.
There is a letter published in the ST today, suggesting that raw scores should be used instead of the T score. I think this makes sense. A child who scores 90+ is by all means a good student, but in the current system, his T score does not reflect it because there are many more scoring 95+ for all subjects.
Students spent tremendous amount of time just to get a few more marks which really do not matter when he grows up.
 
pink gerbera,
Our system is designed so that kids learn 4 subjects, but they are not expected to get perfect scores for all 4 subjects. It's not difficult to pass all 4 subjects and move on to the next level.

The problem is that our system is also designed to stream kids from as young as 9 years old. At P3, GEP is a nation wide exam where all kids compete with each other to get into the top 1% of elites. PSLE, the next big hurdle is only 3 years later.

It is easy for the gov to tell parents not to push their kids to be the best. However, since the system is designed to filter out the so-called top students from such a young age, it is only natural that parents want the best for their kids. You cannot have a system like this, and tell parents that it is OK to let your kids end up at the bottom half. It is impossible to change the parents' mindset without changing the system.

One of my colleague is a father of 2 girls, one in P6 next year, the other going into P1. He is now working only 2 days a week, drawing 40% pay, because he needs to spend more time coaching his daughters at home. I am really surprised to hear about this. Both parents and kids are suffering under the highly stressful system.

Quote from a letter in the ST today:
"Suppose parents are not too hung up about their children getting into Raffles Institution, Hwa Chong Institution and the like? Suppose they do not care if their children did not get into the Gifted Education Programme?

And suppose it is not important to them whether their children have resumes filled with accolades.

Would the excessive stress and anxiety still be there?"

Actually many parents are only aiming for their kids to go into the express stream. If kids do badly in PSLE, they will be streamed into the normal technical stream where the syllabus is easier, which means they are very unlikely to do as well those in the express stream.
 
Hi Mumusings,

I am also arguing with my friends/ colleagues over the answer....imagine the amt of time kids has to spend on a 2-mark qn. If its my kids, I will tell them to skip such qn first. In the end, they might fail as perhaps, most or all qns are like that ?!

Hi Tam,

My cousin took 1 year no-pay leave this year to coach her son to want to ensure that her son at least clears his PSLE good enough for Express stream.....ZERO income for the entire year.
 
Hi Snowball, answer is 28. Sol: 110/4=27.5. Sequence is mwww as one set. The remainder is 2 pax. To get maximum no. of men, therefore, is 28 men.
 
hi mommies, long time never come in. new job is taking alot of time (including weeknights and weekend).

like tam's colleague, i am also wondering if i have to take > 50% paycut to work parttime when my gal go P1 next year.... right now i am so busy i dont have time go thru her work and let her revise for her tingxie and spelling
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but really concern abt savings as 'retirement' costs alot in SG...
 
Hi Snowball/Tam/Bloom,

Good to hear from Bloom again
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I've been living on zero income for 5 years now - I don't know whether to put a smiley
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or frownie
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Every single cent goes to food, phone/internet, kid and household stuff. 2 lipsticks now last a year. Only buy clothes that are on sale and nothing fancy. My only consolation is CPF already hit retirement sum but otherwise I'm technically 'impoverished' till I can touch the funds at 30 years later.
 
rona

I send dd1 to mind mapping class before. Not Tony Buzan though. Too expensive!

I'm very budget conscious. So attended one conducted at nearby CC, more affordable & hopefully learn some basic concepts lor.

Intending to send dd2 too but don't know why they didn't conduct again. I think the response not so great so trainer didn't come again
 
tam

just know you are the one who can come up with the name. Yes Maslow hierarchy of needs! Thanks a great deal!

one course trainer calls it: inflation in the marks in math. hahaha 2 marks and poor kids have to think like siao! geez.. glad i had passed the stage but pity my gals who are gonna face it. think it is time for me to go for refresher course. even science paper also very difficult. my friend said she does not know what they are looking for in the answer. so that is to say: she does not know how to answer!!!aiyo...i really dunno why are they killing our kids' interest in learning!!!???!!!
 
snowball,
I have long heard of parents who take leave to coach their kids during PSLE. This is the first time I heard of parents take no-pay leave or less pay for such a long time. I think this is surely "uniquely" Singapore.

bloom,
Nice to see you again. I also need to work on weekends sometimes
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Recently I was talking about doing private tuition so that I can have more time at home. I don't worry about retirement since my CPF already exceeded the minimum sum. My worries are how to support my family now since the kids are still young, and I am the only one supporting my mother.

I am counting the days to 55 years old, then my hubby and I can withdraw our CPF. After deducting minimum sum, we should still have enough to go overseas and buy a house. Then rent out our current flat so we don't have to work.

Helen,
I heard that schools drill students really hard. By P5 they already finish teaching the entire P6 syllabus. Then in P6 they keep doing past year papers. I guess these kids should be already be trained to do tough questions like these. However, like you say, this will certainly kill their interest in learning.

My kids had 2 days of exam this week. My boy is totally not motivated to study the textbooks. After reading about World War 1 and 2, he was inspired to write his own comics about the World Wars : "The lucky soldier".

Check out his original comics in his blog :
http://jeromewhitey.blogspot.sg/

I could have drilled him to do many hours of assessment books everyday. However, since he is so enthusiastic to learn about history and write his own comics, I just let him do whatever he likes. He spent a lot of time working on the comics, and referred to the children's encyclopedia to do his research. I realized that learning can be fun, so long as it is not exam related.
 
Hi Elaine,
One argument is that it could be
mwwwm mwwwm mwwwm....

Then the answer could be 44. The above arrange is still 3 women between 2 men right ?

It is not the first time that PSLE maths paper have problems. A few years ago MOE apologized about a mistake before.
 
Hi Tam/ Elaine,

I got 44 as the answer as I use the same pattern as shown by Tamarind....big arguments amongst my friends whom are parents in FB :p

Hello All,

My house renovation is now about 70% done liao....Now, cabinets installation in progress...the biggest of our investment. Feeling very tired and out of energy having to juggle between home-work-new house-home-work-new house, etcccc. Hope all goes well
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Tam

Your son is quite an independent learner! good that he is doing his own comics and looking up reference on his own. I hope that with the ability to read well, my gals will be on their own when they are learning. I realised I had the advantage when I could read both Chinese and English materials and get a better view/idea when writing my thesis.

So being able to read is indeed very very important.
 


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