(2002) Any 2002 babies?


jan,
haha...my boy is opposite. he is the kind that likes to tell on those who doesn't follow rules. if people talk in class...i think he will be likely to tell teacher.
hope he doesn't get alienated by his friends because of that...:p
 
fz

I have finally made the decision to withdraw my girl from Kumon. I feel that she is burned out after 3 years in this intensive programme.

It is an overdue decision because she has been procastinating when doing her homework the last few months. However, I felt so wasted to give up so I kept delaying this decision. Now I feel so relief!

hehe, probably I am the one being burned out by my own nagging
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hippo2002,
ya..it is good to stop now before your dd's interest is affected.

kumon is a long term programme, i am still hesitating to sign my boy up cos i too worry that he may be burnt out by the homework load when he reaches Pri 1. i also do not wish to have to then withdraw him by that time, which may mean that he discontinue what ever level he has achieve so far.

so are you looking at other Math enrichment for now?
 
fz

Not looking at other enrichments. Let her relax for 1 whole year before starting P1
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next year dd2 will attend nursery daily for 3 hours. I can spend some 1 to 1 time with dd1
 
Hi fz, your ds will be the school prefect in future! Actually, that's what I tell my kids - to let the teachers know if anything like bullying or something not right. However, not sure if that promotes telling tales. But dont' know how else to protect themselves in school without getting into trouble. Guess that's better than retaliating right.
 
Hi fz / hippo2002, no more abacus for my ds, for now. On the last lesson of stage 1, he came out from the class and told me ' I don't want stage 2'. Had to request for cancellation and fortunately can refund becoz have paid a week ago when he said he wants to carry on with stage 2 THEN. Like fz said, stop before he lose interest. Just 10 lessons only...!
 
Jan

my dd2 also very chatty, made new friends after a few weeks in her abacus class. Kept talking to her new friends. Teacher said she cannot concentrate. Sigh...also don't how long she can last in her abacus
 
Hi hippo2002, ya lor...On the one hand glad that they make friends in class but on the other hand, can't pay attention.
 
Jan
I don't think "let the teachers know if bullying or anything not right" would make a person a prefect. In fact, qualities like leadership and taking care of others & helpfulness are the pre-requisites of a prefect. My girl was selected as a prefect at end of P2; so she has been prefect for P3 & P4.
 
Hi caroline3sg, agree. Was just wondering out loud how should kids escalate such situations without promoting telling tales. Take it as a corny joke with my 'conversation' with fz. No offence to prefects - don't take it so seriously. Come to think of it, I was a prefect in primary school too!
 
haha jan, ya it is a joke between us. if ds1 ever gets to be a prefect, i guess he is following his dad's genes...not mine. :p me and my hubby think ds1 likely to be 3rd-generation civil servant (aka 'always follow the law' type of people) cos his grandpa and dad both civil servant. :p

my boy's 1st stage abacus just ended. next week is the start of the second stage...mental addition, i think. initially i think to stop, but then again, i think perhaps let him continue while i source for other 'replacement' math enrichment for him. didn't want to rush into anything new now cos ds1 just started his swimming with a new coach and i am concern that he may be overwhelmed by so many changes at one go. had told him that if he find abacus confusing, i will 'analyse' with him the methods the teacher use and then try to simplify it for him. :p

caroline3sg,
ya..leadership and helpfulness are indeed pre-requisities of a prefect. but there is a thin line between leadership and bossiness...and helpfulness vs being nosy. i think the main diff is the EQ part. i guess..
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hippo2002,
i am taking a different approach from you. between now and P1, i am trying to let ds1 try as much stuff as possible, then when he enters P1, to drop most of it so that he won't feel the load.
 
fz

actually my girl attmepted lots of stuff the last 2 years (piano, swimming, Chinese dance) but she doesn't seem to show much interest so we have dropped everything


<font color="aa00aa">mommies</font>

<font color="aa00aa">are your kids vocal in expressing their preference like which enrichments they want, which they don't like?</font>


I have been asking my girl for months whether she wants to take a break from Kumon since she obviously is not keen in doing her worksheets. She insisted she wants to continue. In fact, she cried when I say I want to withdraw her from Kumon if she cannot finish her homework quickly.

Even for activities like Chinese dance, she says she likes the class, wants to continue. But when we peeped through the window, we realized she is dancing half heartedly, sometimes just standing there instead of following the teacher. So we stopped her Chinese dance class.

Asked her whether she wants to learn swimming. Also say yes. Learnt swimming (24 lessons) from a female instructor. Scream & cry in the pool. Aiya, I gave up. She's not ready

She took private piano lessons for 1 year. She hates to practice & I hate to nag. Both of us gave up after 1 year. Asked her recently whether she wants to pick up her music again? She also say yes.

Aiya, I am very doubtful leh, everything says 'Yes, I like' but her action proves otherwise & we ended up withdrawing her. Waste time & money. Don't understand why she cannot express herself properly when she's so vocal in all other matters

Yet she seems to genuinely enjoy the classes because even if she's sick, she will cry if we want her to stay home to rest. I'm getting a lot of mixed signals from her.
 
Hi fz, so your ds is like the movie title "Just follow law'?!
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same same! My ds last class for stage 1 was last week, supposed to commence stage 2 this week. He already did addition and subtraction in stage 1 though. Just started on the tens. Do share if you find other interesting maths enrichment. Actually, my ds enjoys maths and I would like to develop this interest.
 
Hippo
I think "Yes, I like / want" means they wish they can be so good. But in reality, we see different conflicting body language. It is because they dread to practise, it is difficult and that kills their motivation.

It could be we are not teaching innovatively, we cannot instil their interest.
 
jan,
ya..my boy tend to want to do things the 'correct way'. i am now trying to let him see that there is more than one way to get the correct answer...sounds like he is pretty rigid and inflexible. :p

hm...are our boys in the same abacus class?
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from wat i read in this forum and their respective websites, MPM, Enopi and Kumon seems to be geared more towards self-learning..ie they are given worksheets to do and when they encounter difficulties, they will ask the tutors for help. i prefer the traditional teacher teaching method. For sakamoto, caroline3sg's comments stated that this method may not gel with mummies who are hands-on...and i am very hands-on type of mummy...so i am hesitating on this. i may be giving those type of 'not-so-branded' math enrichment centres a try cos i did find a few low-key enrichment centres around the neighbourhood with pretty good 'testimonials' (eg ex-student's results) pasted on their noticeboard. have yet to talk to them yet. so, for the time being, it is abacus for my boy now.

hippo2002,
i only get to expose my boy more in enrichment when i become a SAHM last year...so he has had his share of 'care-free' times when i was FTWM backthen. :p anyway, i have already told my boy that he can feedback to me if he like or dislike the class, but ultimately, I am the one who will decide if he will continue or stop. my boy tends to only like what is familiar, so i have to be cautious when he said he doesn't enjoy lessons (eg last holiday, we signed up for a 5 day workshop, first 3 days he complained that it is boring and he dreads going there, by the 4th day, he is all excited about it and now he pester me to sign him up during dec holidays). currently, he is also displaying the 'upset' attitude towards his new swimming class. i am trying to encourage him as far as possible. i have told him that for some things, even if he doesn't like it, he still has to complete the course (else waste my $$ and waste his time and effort). :p
 
hippo2002,
i agree with caroline3sg. maybe you can encourage your kid more and/or praise her more for the effort than the results. enjoying the process and worry less about the results are some areas that we as mummies have to learn to take note of as well.
 
Hi hippo2002, besides verbally confirming that she likes it, showing that she enjoys it is more accurate as a gauge. You can stop for a term and pick it up again later to see how she reacts to the class. But it's true, no point spending money and time to upset / stress kids and ourselves. However, have to give them some time to grow to like the activity.

A poll - what are the enrichment classes your K1 kid have now?
My ds has swimming, art, gymnastics and music (just started). Same approach as fz, will most likely stop some when starts pimary sch.
 
hello mommies, thanks for sharing your opinion
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Jan

dd will be left with 2 enrichments gymnastics & Arts after withdrawing from Kumon. nothing academic

Where is your son attending his enrichments?
 
fz
I want to caution you against those you label low key neighbourhood enrichment centres which produce some good results. Someone told me before, every centre market it through displaying results.

I have seen Yes Mathematics materials, Just Mathematics materials, spoken to Maths Hub?? (Bukit Batok), they are just average. I have signed up Kent Ridge Maths (tutor was formerly teaching Nanyang Primary), slightly better. But none match my standard so far.

There is one famous one at Bishan, can't remember the name, they have several locations. I check JE, the teacher no good. They cater to P5 onwards.
 
wow, caroline3sg, you are a very resourceful mommy !

do you think it works if I just spent time doing assessment books (English/Maths/Chinese) daily with my girl rather than sending her to attend enrichments? I am thinking of DIY rather than sending my girl to other academic enrichments

By the way, is your child very advanced for her level?

thanks for sharing
 
Hi
I checked and the famous one at Bishan is Smartlab. The female teacher is good. But I have not seen the materials which is universal to all locations. As mentioned, the appointed female teacher at Jurong East is no good. Most of the locations for Smartlab caters to P5 onwards.

If you are looking at problem sums only, maybe Simplysmart (Bukit Batok). But personally I have not experienced before. Seems the trainer is experienced but young. Only he meets my criteria, according to him, his teachers can't deliver.


Hippo
The problem with my girl is, she is slow, average person - not smart, forgetful and very careless. If she doesn't have all these weaknesses, she could have done very well. Plus I am short tempered. So sometimes I vomit blood. So far, she only attended half yr Maths at Kent Ridge (first half of this yr). I feel that she is weak in problem sums not Section A & B, so I withdrew her. I need something that concentrate on problem sums. Only the boss at Simplysmart can deliver but I have not tried because time does not match and there is no people asking for just problem sums.

So I am still teaching her Maths & Science myself. English, I couldn't find good compo class, unless any of you can recommend (ie Lewin is full, I waited almost a yr still no space). Chinese, she is at TienHsia. Very good, original 12 over 20 for compo, after attending Xueni for 1 yr, she improved 2 marks. Now after 1 yr with TienHsia, 17 or 18 marks.

So to answer your questions, personally I feel Maths & Science can teach yourself. Unless you have time for English, if not compo definitely has to find someone to teach. Chinese, better to leave it to the professionals, we are "half tub full"
 
caroline3sg,
thanks for your tip on the 'neighbourhood' enrichment school. for me, location is a concern cos i got a 11mth old ds2 and most times have to lug him along during 'trips' to & fro the centres. my boy insist on keeping sundays off so i have to squeeze additional enrichment before or after his weekday afternoon classes cos so far, his Sat are fully pack (3 classes that day). :p

i am also concern about 'chemistry' between my ds1 and the teacher cos although some schools have good curriculum, the teachers' lukewarm attitude towards those 'not-so-advanced' kids puts my boy off.
may i know more about Simplysmart (Bukit Batok) - eg any website, location, etc..cos i live around that area.
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thanks.

Jan,
my boy's abacus is taught by a china lady. the english translation in the exercise books...very 'jia let' the english..heehee. but my boy like the teacher, so she is keeping his interest in learning, there.
 
Hi hippo2002, mine also no academic. My focus is more learning thru play actually, especially at this age.

Where did your dd have her Chinese Dance? What do you think of the class? I was considering Chinese dance vs ballet for my dd and picked the former which she will start next year.
 
wow mummies,
u all really put me to shame
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cos I realised I am too relaxed and lenient towards my kids (maybe i should say their mummy is TOO lazy! :p). Most of the time when I'm bk from work, I will be dead tired to do anything else.

Thanks for sharing info on the classes/schools u sent yr kids to. Location is a factor to consider too as sometimes my hb is out of town and i will have to ferry my kids for class (i m not confident of my driving skill!) or in case of rainy days, at least i dont have to travel too far. Think i really have to sit down and think thru and start planning for them.

A poll - Do u send them for classes which u think are good for them OR do u enrol them becos they expressed interests in it?
 
Jan

- where is your boy attending his art, gymnastics and music?
- does he like to practice for music?
- gymnastics fees expensive?

my girl attended Chinese Dance at CC for 6 months. I think the teacher didn't try very hard to teach. She usually get the older kids to dance & the younger kids just follow. I think my girl catch no ball so lost interest. Then again, other kids seems to be able to follow the steps & movement quite well, so maybe just my girl has problems
 
ssm

Only Kumon & Shichida I chose for her. Dropped both liao. The rest I seek her opinion. But my girl express interest in everything. Once she starts the classes, always lukewarm or half hearted. So we also dropped those classes after a few months
 
mommies,

did your kids crawl when they are infants? my girl skipped crawling stage totally.

I feel that her motor skill not too good. Cannot dance leh. Gym also don't quite like to follow the stretching exercise
 
fz
I forget to tell you when I say Simplysmart caters to problem sums only, this applies only to my special request to Mr Tan. Currently his teachers are teaching Section A & B as well. I have not seen their materials. You may want to call & check.

Besides Simplysmart, Just Education (Bukit Batok is HQ) is systematic, covers all sch topics but they are simple. It is good for beginners. One good thing is they teach in advance.
The fees are cheap. About $70+
 
fz
I forget to tell you when I say Simplysmart caters to problem sums only, this applies only to my special request to Mr Tan. Currently his teachers are teaching Section A & B as well. I have not seen their materials. You may want to call & check.

Besides Simplysmart, Just Education (Bukit Batok is HQ) is systematic, covers all sch topics but they are simple. It is good for beginners. One good thing is they teach in advance. The fees are cheap. About $70+
 
hippo,
she skip crawling stage??? both my kids didnt skip that stage but i noticed my daugther's motor skill is better than the brother. But then again, that doesnt mean she can dance lah.
 
Hi hippo2002, gymnastics is at Prime Gym club, kinderart at Nafa, and music is yamaha junior course. Just started the music course last week. Was looking for music appreciation rather than restrict them to learn a specific instrument. When the kids are familiar with music then decide later if they want to focus on a particular instrument becoz THAT will need practice, commitment and interest.
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The gymnastics fees are per term basis, average to about $20+ per lesson. It's a non-profit club run by parents so the fees are reasonable.
 
Re crawling
My ds is ok, very strong crawling (I call it the spiderman style, knees away from the floor) and his gross motor skills are good. My younger dd gross motor skills are very bad. She started walking independently only at 22 mths! She did crawl but the wrong way - leopard crawl style. Just drags her body with her arms as her trunk muscles (the abdominal area) are weak. Her balance is still not good now (at age 4) but she is active and tries. That's why I let her do gymnastics and dance - to help her improve.
 
Hi ssm, I can only afford the time during weekends for enrichment classes. Except for music got no choice since yamaha is full for the weekends. Was abit concerned if it's too tiring for the kids (and us!) but they enjoy the activities so just schedule best as I can.

Re poll - I choose the enrichment then promote it to my kids. Example for my 4 yr old dd, she said she wants ballet next year becoz of the pretty tutu. But I chose Chinese dance and told her she will be doing that instead. For abacus, you know the story - my ds stated clearly "I don't want stage 2"....
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Jan

how long have your boy been with Nafa Art? Do you find it good? very long wait list leh

yamaha junior course is not piano? just music appreciation?
 
caroline3sg,
Thanks for the added info. Will keep the contacts in my List cos realised that Simplysmart caters to Pri1 and above.
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Fees also my concern cos of single-income.

hippo2002,
my ds1 crawl, but as we were very protective when he was younger, his motor skills development is just so-so...run abit will trip that kind. :p Not the adventurous type of kid. And he is pretty lazy physically...walk awhile can complain about hot sun and tired legs. :p With ds2 (11mths), we tried a different approach and he is now displaying a very adventurous attitude towards a lot of things.

ssm,
i only have the time to look into enrichment ever since I became a SAHM last year. have to source for value-for-money type of enrichment and then personally take on further reinforcment from home to maximise ds1's learning.

as for what enrichment to enrol, if I feel that he needs help/exposure to that type of learning, I will enrol him, then inform him. For others, such as music which i consider optional, i asked for his opinion (i learn my music in Sec sch band, my bro doing self-learning now at 24 yrs of age, so i reckon for interest, no harm taking it up at a later stage when ds1 is more interested). if ask my boy what he is interested, he sure said nothing, cos he wasn't even sure what he will be learning, so actually he will not know whether if it will be interesting.

Jan,
for my ds1, i consider phonics, chinese and abacus academic. the only non-academic one is swimming. :p told my ds1 that i will introduce taekwondo to him sometime next year and have been psyching him up now. :p
 
Hi hippo2002, it's my son's favourite class. The kinderart program is creative and interesting. He joined this year. It's ok if you are in the mailing list. They will send you notice when to register for the class, I think regn is in Dec and that's first come first served so no worries as long as you are in mailing list.

Nope, the jmc is not learning to play the piano. The focus is on developing the child's musical ability to listen and enjoy music. Here's the link - check it out:

http://www.yamaha.com.sg/847.html
 
Mummies,
Taken note of all comments.

BTW whats the difference taekwondo and aikido (not sure if i get the spelling right)? Both are also some form of martial arts? It would be good for self-defence but just afraid my boy wl demo his kungfu on his friends! haha

fz/hippo,
Just curious, is it tough to be a SAHM?
 
ssm,
i am not sure what is the difference....but cos ds' dad and grandpa are both from taekwondo background, most probably will let this potential '3rd generation' taekwondo 'disciple' take up this martial art form. :p

as for being a sahm, it is not so taxing for me cos I live with my in-laws and they are great help. the only stress comes from balancing the checkbook, worrying about retirement funds and also dss' 'report card' becomes our 'report card' to our 'boss' aka husband. :p
 
ssm

very tough to be a SAHM! I was so stressed over dd1's 'non-performance' the last couple of months. Finally decided to withdraw her from Kumon because I feel burned out too, from all the constant nagging & stretching my patience to the ultimate limit.

I seriously need a vacation to relax & recharge & oil my engine. Hubby suggested family holiday again but what I need is time off from the kids & all the daily mundane stuff that is suffocating me! a holiday with two kids is even more tiring, I might as well stay home.

kind of weird, when I was working, I feel so guilty neglecting them. Now that I am facing them 24x7, I feel that I am neglecting myself. Need to re-discover ME again, not always about them them them

sorry, just need to vent. I am determined to go on a vacation & bounce back as a happy SAHM, even if it means asking hubby to take leave to stay home with them. Let him have a taste of SAHD
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fz/hippo,
a big salute to u both.

why i am asking abt SAHM is becos i did have thoughts to be a SAHM when my son goes to P1 which will be in 2009. But then, that would mean there will alot sacrifices, esp financially. And furthermore, i am not sure if i can face my kids 24/7. Alot uncertainties and mixed feelings lah....

hippo, go go for a vacation with yr gfs maybe, away from home, away from the kids for a couple of days.
 
Hi hippo2002, salute to SAHM. There's no annual and medical leave! Do you have a helper? That will alleviate the household chores which will leave you with some 'me' time when kids are in school and spend quality time with kids when they are home. It's a mad rush for me everyday now. When home end of the day, my ds will ask 'mummy, have you showered? can you play with me?' I will look at the clock and it's near bedtime. sigh... Well, I'll aim to be a SAHGM (grandma), hopefully not too old to play with the kiddos by then!
 
haha jan,
i hope to be a PTWGM instead....some time go work and have tea with friends, some time go play with grandkids. being a SAHGM taking care of grandkids is tough cos later conflict with DIL...opps..:p
 
yea, that's true! fz, you stay at Bt Batok? I'm at neighbouring village Bt Gombak. phew, luckily we are out of the dengue hot spot now.
 
I asked my girl yesterday whether she is interested in music school. Guess what? she said 'no'. This is the first time she said no to a school I suggested. I am very glad she is finally beginning to express her inner thoughts. my suspicion is she didn't want to withdraw from Kumon all this while because she thought I will disappointed. sigh...she's trying to second guess my thoughts instead
 
Jan
ya. i live near bukit batok area.
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hippo2002,
guess your views matter a lot to your girl, that is why she doesn't want to disappoint you all this while when she said she 'wants' to join all these classes.
 



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