Next week will be L's last lesson at Tweedlewink. She loves going to Tweedlewink although daddy insisted that she's bored and has not been paying attention. "No need to go anymore lah, I can see she's bored already. Let her go to edudrama!"
I'm not sure if L is bored or daddy's bored... haha. I think it's more like daddy's bored since he's the one who's been assigned to take L to class every Sat morning. Oh well, nevermind. We'll find some other activities for L. She's been wanting to do ballet (not sure how she got the idea). Whenever I ask her what class would she like to go for, she'll immediately (without hesitation) say ballet. Daddy does not agree to L doing ballet - "what for" he says. He wants her to do edudrama just like what H did when he turned 3. The problem is the centre H went to does not now have any classes for 3 year olds. So how? What's wrong with ballet anyway? It's not like she'll be doing real ballet. For kids this young, it's more stories and play acting through simple dance steps so it's pretty similar to going to drama classes anyway.
I'm going to check out this ballet school I was recommended to later today irregardless... hehehe... L can go for a trial lesson and see if she really likes it. Maybe daddy can go along so he knows what baby ballet is all about.
Showing posts with label enrichment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label enrichment. Show all posts
Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
My Art Studio
Since H is no longer going for his edudrama class, I thought it would be good for him to try out art lessons. When I told Hubs about this, his reaction was, "we need to be smart about choosing the programmes for our kids cos weekends are precious, and art isn't a priority!" Why not? I totally disagree. Art is not just about sketching and colouring, it's more than that but most people just don't see the value in it. Anyway, I was quite adamant about H taking on art. I asked H if he wanted to go for a trial lesson and he said yes. He was actually quite excited about going to the art class (perhaps it's more to do with being with his cousin who's also attending the same art class).
I must say I'm really happy with My Art Studio. For the first time, H was actually keen to participate. I had no problem getting him into the class, he went in on his own. I also had no problem leaving him there on his own (I can't be sitting there waiting for him for 2 hours). Perhaps it's really cos his cousin is there, but they aren't in the same class so it's not like they get to interact during the lesson. But what I'm really happy about is that the teachers are really engaging. You can tell that they really adore kids, which is perhaps why H took to the teachers quite readily.
One point to note about choosing the right art school is to look at the children's work. In some schools, kids are taught how to draw and colour (almost prescriptive) so the work produced by the kids are almost identical. For me that's a big no no! The reason for sending H to an art school is to nurture his creativity and confidence in expressing himself.
Last week, the kids were told stories about Duan Wu Jie (Dragon Boat or Dumpling Festival) and were shown actual images of the different elements related to the festival (e.g. dumplings, dragon boat race, etc.). They were then asked to create their own masterpiece based on their interpretation of the festival. When I went to pick H up, I was pretty impressed with the masterpieces created by the kids. They were all so different, and so creative. H drew daddy and him among dumplings hanging from the top. The girl sitting next to him drew a colourful dragon. The drawings are all 'kid like' and that's what I like cos you know they are really their original masterpiece.
* Disclaimer: I speak only from my experience with one particular My Art Studio outlet
I must say I'm really happy with My Art Studio. For the first time, H was actually keen to participate. I had no problem getting him into the class, he went in on his own. I also had no problem leaving him there on his own (I can't be sitting there waiting for him for 2 hours). Perhaps it's really cos his cousin is there, but they aren't in the same class so it's not like they get to interact during the lesson. But what I'm really happy about is that the teachers are really engaging. You can tell that they really adore kids, which is perhaps why H took to the teachers quite readily.
One point to note about choosing the right art school is to look at the children's work. In some schools, kids are taught how to draw and colour (almost prescriptive) so the work produced by the kids are almost identical. For me that's a big no no! The reason for sending H to an art school is to nurture his creativity and confidence in expressing himself.
Last week, the kids were told stories about Duan Wu Jie (Dragon Boat or Dumpling Festival) and were shown actual images of the different elements related to the festival (e.g. dumplings, dragon boat race, etc.). They were then asked to create their own masterpiece based on their interpretation of the festival. When I went to pick H up, I was pretty impressed with the masterpieces created by the kids. They were all so different, and so creative. H drew daddy and him among dumplings hanging from the top. The girl sitting next to him drew a colourful dragon. The drawings are all 'kid like' and that's what I like cos you know they are really their original masterpiece.
* Disclaimer: I speak only from my experience with one particular My Art Studio outlet
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Curious Academy
There's this new enrichment centre in town, the Curious Academy, that is running the Glenn Doman programme. I've been wanting to let L try out the session and finally managed to do so a couple of weeks back. Yah this is a delayed post. Anyway, the reason I was attracted to Curious Academy wasn't so much the Glenn Doman programme, it's more the child friendly setup and the other 'side' programmes they have, i.e. cooking, music, dance, art, swimming, etc. It would have been the perfect one-stop centre for all the non-academic extra curricular activities, and they have 2 very nice playgrounds (one indoor, one outdoor) that will keep the kids occupied for hours. The only problem is that you need to join their core programme, i.e. the Glenn Doman programme, to be able to join the other programmes. Darn!!
How was the Glenn Doman programme? There's actually 2 parts to the programme, the physical component (think Little Gym, Flykidz) and the flash card component. For the physical component, the kids go through a little obstacle course, e.g. roll down the ramp, get onto the monkey bar, jump on the trampoline, swing on the hang bar and go back to where they started (something like that). 3 different physical circuits were introduced during the lesson, and in between each circuit, flashcards were introduced. So the session went something like this:
I'm actually quite torn with my decision - on the one hand I like the place, I like the physical component of the class and I would love to get L into the other non-glenn doman programmes they have; on the other hand it's pretty expensive (and crazy) to pay a premium for glenn doman when all I wanted was the physical / gym component. I could easily join the Little Gym or Flykidz for half the price.
So I guess I'll have to give this a miss.
How was the Glenn Doman programme? There's actually 2 parts to the programme, the physical component (think Little Gym, Flykidz) and the flash card component. For the physical component, the kids go through a little obstacle course, e.g. roll down the ramp, get onto the monkey bar, jump on the trampoline, swing on the hang bar and go back to where they started (something like that). 3 different physical circuits were introduced during the lesson, and in between each circuit, flashcards were introduced. So the session went something like this:
- Free play
- Clean up toys
- Sing hello song
- Physical circuit #1
- Storytime + flashcards (words from the story)
- Physical circuit #2
- Flashcards (same words for reinforcement)
- Physical circuit #3
- Flashcards (facts). For the session we attended, they were shown pictures of primates and given some facts about the species shown
- Good bye song
I'm actually quite torn with my decision - on the one hand I like the place, I like the physical component of the class and I would love to get L into the other non-glenn doman programmes they have; on the other hand it's pretty expensive (and crazy) to pay a premium for glenn doman when all I wanted was the physical / gym component. I could easily join the Little Gym or Flykidz for half the price.
So I guess I'll have to give this a miss.
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
Math Monkey
I took H to a trial class at Math Monkey today. Despite my reluctance to put him in any academic-type enrichment programme (see my previous post on mental maths), I thought I should just check it out anyway. My sister did some research on the various math programmes available out there (so that saved me some trouble) before enrolling my niece who's now in standard 1 in Eye Level (previosuly known as Enopi). But she suggested I check out Math Monkey cos they incorporate games in their curriculum, hence more fun. The reason why my niece isn't going to Math Monkey is that you need to start young (i.e. from 4) else you'd not be able to catch up on the techniques.
So as usual, I had to prep H about going to the class. I was quite surprised he did not reject the idea when I told him we'll be going for a math class at Math Monkey (I also made a light joke out of it about monkeys doing math, etc. so that he wouldn't feel intimidated). The first thing the teacher did was to give him an assessment (4-year old paper) to test his level. Of course he wouldn't go into class alone, so Po-Po went in and sat with him. After the test, Po-Po was told to leave the room so that he can continue with the trial lesson but he wouldn't hear of that, so Po-Po left the room and I went in instead.
The trial lesson was at the Green Monkey Troop level with about 6 other kids all around H's age (4+ years old). Today's lesson was about Bigger and Smaller. The teacher drew a staircase and wrote 0 to 10 in ascending order up the stairs. The kids were told that the numbers become bigger as you go up the stairs and smaller as you come down the stairs. They were then told to count 0 to 10 as the teacher pointed up the stairs and 10 to 0 as the teacher pointed down the stairs. Then the teacher wrote pairs of numbers on the board and asked the children which number in each pair was bigger or smaller. This was way too simple for H since he's already mastered his numbers.
Next it was game time. The kids were divided into 2 groups. The teacher will flash a question and whichever group gave the answer first will win 2 points. H actually participated in the game and he was happily beaming away cos his team was leading all the way. The game was to fill in the missing number. E.g. 5, _, 7. Again this was way to easy for H.
After the game, the kids were asked to do a worksheet from their folder. Since H did not have a folder (he's not a student yet), the teacher asked him to go to the board in front and tested him. She asked him to count backwards from 10 to 0 and write the numbers on the board, she gave him more number pairs and asked him to circle the smaller number in each pair, she gave him more fill in the missing number questions - all he did with ease. The teacher then asked him to sit for the 5-year old assessment paper. Again he did it with ease and got all the answers correct.
In the same room, at the back of the class, there were 2 other boys being taught by another teacher. They were learning about division (lesson was on halving). And the teacher had written on the board a list of numbers, something like that (I think they read half of xx = yy):
H20 -> 10
H40 -> 20
.
.
.
H was actually more interested in what the big boys were learning. H asked "mommy what are the kor kor learning?" I told him they're learning halving, e.g. half of 20 is 10. H then said "if you have 40 candies and share, each one will get 20?"
What's my take on Math Monkey?
If you've read my previous post you'd have read that my concern is that these math centres teach techniques to perform calculations but not math concepts. It's good for kids who already have the fundamentals, since all you want out of the programme is to equip them with the techniques to perform mental calculations with speed and accuracy. But for kids who don't have the fundamentals, then we're just training robots to churn out answers without really understanding the meaning of the numbers. I cannot really conclude whether concepts are actually taught in Math Monkey since I've only attended one lesson (and a simple lesson at that - perhaps at the higher levels the lessons are taught differently).
For example, in today's lesson when the kids were taught about bigger and smaller, the teacher asked, "Why is 8 bigger than 4?". I was expecting her to show quantities, something concrete, so that the kids can witness for themselves that 8 is bigger or more than 4. Instead she said, "because it's higher up the stairs", pointing to the stairs she drew on the board. I didn't think that was right. It's perhaps a good way to make the kids remember, but it certainly isn't the right way to teach quantities.
Would I send H to Math Monkey?
If H does not have the strong math concepts that he has, NO! Since he loves numbers and loves doing maths, MAYBE. I'd certainly not send him if he's at the Green Monkey Troop level. For H, he's placed at the Lemur Troop level in which mental math techniques will be introduced. It'll definitely be something new and interesting to him. Besides, participating in the games will help him come out of his 'shy' self.
At the end of the lesson, I asked H whether he enjoyed himself and whether he wanted to go again, he nodded yes. So maybe we'll give it a try :-)
So as usual, I had to prep H about going to the class. I was quite surprised he did not reject the idea when I told him we'll be going for a math class at Math Monkey (I also made a light joke out of it about monkeys doing math, etc. so that he wouldn't feel intimidated). The first thing the teacher did was to give him an assessment (4-year old paper) to test his level. Of course he wouldn't go into class alone, so Po-Po went in and sat with him. After the test, Po-Po was told to leave the room so that he can continue with the trial lesson but he wouldn't hear of that, so Po-Po left the room and I went in instead.
The trial lesson was at the Green Monkey Troop level with about 6 other kids all around H's age (4+ years old). Today's lesson was about Bigger and Smaller. The teacher drew a staircase and wrote 0 to 10 in ascending order up the stairs. The kids were told that the numbers become bigger as you go up the stairs and smaller as you come down the stairs. They were then told to count 0 to 10 as the teacher pointed up the stairs and 10 to 0 as the teacher pointed down the stairs. Then the teacher wrote pairs of numbers on the board and asked the children which number in each pair was bigger or smaller. This was way too simple for H since he's already mastered his numbers.
Next it was game time. The kids were divided into 2 groups. The teacher will flash a question and whichever group gave the answer first will win 2 points. H actually participated in the game and he was happily beaming away cos his team was leading all the way. The game was to fill in the missing number. E.g. 5, _, 7. Again this was way to easy for H.
After the game, the kids were asked to do a worksheet from their folder. Since H did not have a folder (he's not a student yet), the teacher asked him to go to the board in front and tested him. She asked him to count backwards from 10 to 0 and write the numbers on the board, she gave him more number pairs and asked him to circle the smaller number in each pair, she gave him more fill in the missing number questions - all he did with ease. The teacher then asked him to sit for the 5-year old assessment paper. Again he did it with ease and got all the answers correct.
In the same room, at the back of the class, there were 2 other boys being taught by another teacher. They were learning about division (lesson was on halving). And the teacher had written on the board a list of numbers, something like that (I think they read half of xx = yy):
H20 -> 10
H40 -> 20
.
.
.
H was actually more interested in what the big boys were learning. H asked "mommy what are the kor kor learning?" I told him they're learning halving, e.g. half of 20 is 10. H then said "if you have 40 candies and share, each one will get 20?"
What's my take on Math Monkey?
If you've read my previous post you'd have read that my concern is that these math centres teach techniques to perform calculations but not math concepts. It's good for kids who already have the fundamentals, since all you want out of the programme is to equip them with the techniques to perform mental calculations with speed and accuracy. But for kids who don't have the fundamentals, then we're just training robots to churn out answers without really understanding the meaning of the numbers. I cannot really conclude whether concepts are actually taught in Math Monkey since I've only attended one lesson (and a simple lesson at that - perhaps at the higher levels the lessons are taught differently).
For example, in today's lesson when the kids were taught about bigger and smaller, the teacher asked, "Why is 8 bigger than 4?". I was expecting her to show quantities, something concrete, so that the kids can witness for themselves that 8 is bigger or more than 4. Instead she said, "because it's higher up the stairs", pointing to the stairs she drew on the board. I didn't think that was right. It's perhaps a good way to make the kids remember, but it certainly isn't the right way to teach quantities.
Would I send H to Math Monkey?
If H does not have the strong math concepts that he has, NO! Since he loves numbers and loves doing maths, MAYBE. I'd certainly not send him if he's at the Green Monkey Troop level. For H, he's placed at the Lemur Troop level in which mental math techniques will be introduced. It'll definitely be something new and interesting to him. Besides, participating in the games will help him come out of his 'shy' self.
At the end of the lesson, I asked H whether he enjoyed himself and whether he wanted to go again, he nodded yes. So maybe we'll give it a try :-)
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
panic over H's schedule next year
Why is it so difficult to find enrichment classes for 5 year olds in the mornings? I'm now kinda afraid that H will end up in front of the TV all morning when he stops school next year. All the centres I've enquired only have classes in the afternoons or on weekends. I guess there's really no demand for weekday morning classess since most kids his age will be in school. Panic, panic, panic!!!
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
What should you do with your gifted kids? Errr... nothing!
We were coming out of JG after dropping H off for his weekly EduDrama class when we bumped into another mom. She stopped us and asked if we were H's parents, then started asking about what enrichment programmes H is registered in. I don't know how or why, but somehow she has the impression that H is somewhat advanced for his age and wanted to know if we did or are doing anything special with him both at home and outside home.
We acknowledge that H is smart but we've never thought of him as being gifted. He's very inquisitive, likes to learn and learns very fast. But is that really being gifted? Kids are like sponges, no? They absorb just about anything and everything they're exposed to. Anyway, this mom of H's classmate is concern that she's not doing enough to groom her son's talent. He's 4, just like H, but is already doing multiplication (he's extremely good in maths). The mom is already sending him to all sorts of enrichment programmes - mental maths, reading, etc. So the question posed to us was "what else can we do? how do you make sure that gifted kids like ours don't lose their talent?"
I guess this is typical of most Asian parents. We want the best for our kids and will do everything within our means to give them a leg-up in life. Sometimes parents get so engrossed with enriching their kids with knowledge that they forget that there are other more important aspects to life. Is it really necessary for kids to be ahead in reading and maths? These are skills that can be picked up rather quickly once the kids are developmentally ready (some earlier, some later but they all get there eventually). If the kids are interested and want to learn more, sure, don't stop them, but never push them beyond their capacity just because you think they can or they should. The worst thing a parent can do is to take the fun away from learning. Focus should always be on the process of learning, not outcome. At the end of the day, we want our kids to enjoy learning, know how to acquire knowledge and how to apply the knowledge acquired. We also want them to be critical thinkers, to be confident and be able to articulate their thoughts and ideas. Otherwise, what's the point of having all these knowledge and ideas? These are soft skills that are important and much much harder to teach than academic subjects like language and maths.
Again I digress. So what should you do with your gifted kids? Well... nothing special. The fact that they're already academically more advanced than their peers means that you must be already doing something right. Just follow their cue - they will let you know when they're ready for more. For example, just the other day H asked me what is divide (in math) while playing with blocks. I'm not sure where that came from so I explained to him the concept of divide by using his blocks. That's what I mean by following their cue. I don't send him for special math classes, nor do I tutor him at home. What I do is I teach him math concepts whenever he asks and that's how he picks up math at home. And the same goes with other subject areas like reading, general knowledge, etc. What I do want to know, however, is how do you teach those other soft skills I mentioned like confidence, EQ, etc?
We acknowledge that H is smart but we've never thought of him as being gifted. He's very inquisitive, likes to learn and learns very fast. But is that really being gifted? Kids are like sponges, no? They absorb just about anything and everything they're exposed to. Anyway, this mom of H's classmate is concern that she's not doing enough to groom her son's talent. He's 4, just like H, but is already doing multiplication (he's extremely good in maths). The mom is already sending him to all sorts of enrichment programmes - mental maths, reading, etc. So the question posed to us was "what else can we do? how do you make sure that gifted kids like ours don't lose their talent?"
I guess this is typical of most Asian parents. We want the best for our kids and will do everything within our means to give them a leg-up in life. Sometimes parents get so engrossed with enriching their kids with knowledge that they forget that there are other more important aspects to life. Is it really necessary for kids to be ahead in reading and maths? These are skills that can be picked up rather quickly once the kids are developmentally ready (some earlier, some later but they all get there eventually). If the kids are interested and want to learn more, sure, don't stop them, but never push them beyond their capacity just because you think they can or they should. The worst thing a parent can do is to take the fun away from learning. Focus should always be on the process of learning, not outcome. At the end of the day, we want our kids to enjoy learning, know how to acquire knowledge and how to apply the knowledge acquired. We also want them to be critical thinkers, to be confident and be able to articulate their thoughts and ideas. Otherwise, what's the point of having all these knowledge and ideas? These are soft skills that are important and much much harder to teach than academic subjects like language and maths.
Again I digress. So what should you do with your gifted kids? Well... nothing special. The fact that they're already academically more advanced than their peers means that you must be already doing something right. Just follow their cue - they will let you know when they're ready for more. For example, just the other day H asked me what is divide (in math) while playing with blocks. I'm not sure where that came from so I explained to him the concept of divide by using his blocks. That's what I mean by following their cue. I don't send him for special math classes, nor do I tutor him at home. What I do is I teach him math concepts whenever he asks and that's how he picks up math at home. And the same goes with other subject areas like reading, general knowledge, etc. What I do want to know, however, is how do you teach those other soft skills I mentioned like confidence, EQ, etc?
Tuesday, 23 October 2012
Smart Mandarin Kids
Since I was on leave yesterday I took H for a trial class at Smart Mandarin Kids. As usual, he was reluctant to go when I told him we were going to try out a new class. After much persuasion he agreed (I told him I will be going into class with him). I must say I was quite proud of H. He actually participated after he warmed up. I was expecting him to be all clingy as he usually is when he's in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people.
The class is of mixed aged (4-6 year olds), most if not all of the children are from english speaking homes so the kids all spoke to each other in english. Perhaps this is the reason why H was not too intimidated. In the car, he asked if the teachers spoke english. I told him "well it's a mandarin class so the teachers will speak in mandarin", and he was concerned that he won't understand them. The class was however not conducted entirely in mandarin. Although the teachers spoke mainly in mandarin, they always translate what they said into english for the kids to understand. Not sure if this is good or bad.
We were half and hour late so we missed the start of the lesson which apparently consists of circle time. When we arrived it was snack time. H was invited to sit together and eat with the other children. He wanted to sit in a separate table with me, so fine. After finishing his biscuits, he wanted more. So I told him he has to go to the front and ask the teacher for more and he did that. He even said xie xie to the teacher.
After snack time it was flashcard time. I won't really call it flashcard time cos the teacher didn't flash the cards. She basically showed them the words on the cards and the children shouted out the words. Next she showed them picture cards and the children shouted out what was on the cards. H got interested as he knows some of the words on the cards but as usual he just whispered the answers while the other children enthusiastically shouted out so the teacher couldn't really hear him. He then got disinterested and started running around.
Next it was play time. The kids were ushered into the playroom for free play. H went into the room for a bit but didn't really want to join the other children. He ended up running around by himself (the main classroom is an open area with a 'bus' and slide).
Then it was writing time. H likes doing worksheets so he quickly came and joined the children at the table. I guess I don't have to worry about him and homework when he goes to school next time cos his concentration is really good. While some other kids were talking and running off, he just sat there and did his work. Since he was the first to finish (and really quickly too), the teacher gave him his book (well it's more a compilation of worksheets stapled together) so that he can work on another worksheet. And H almost completed the book too.
It was then time to sing the good bye song. H didn't want to sing. He just couldn't wait to get out... hahaha... I asked him if he enjoyed the class and whether he wanted to come again he said no. I guess that's expected. Then I told him I was proud of him for participating and he was happy and proud that I was proud of him :-)
So, what do I think of Smart Mandarin Kids? I think it's not bad. The teacher told me they usually also have one-to-one time with the older kids to guide them with reading and writing. I'll probably check out a few other places and let H decide. My only qualm is the timing, since they only have afternoon sessions for H's age group. This will pose logistical issues for Po-Po who will be sending him cos I can't really expect Po-Po to travel to and fro our place both mornings and afternoons to chauffer the kids around.
The class is of mixed aged (4-6 year olds), most if not all of the children are from english speaking homes so the kids all spoke to each other in english. Perhaps this is the reason why H was not too intimidated. In the car, he asked if the teachers spoke english. I told him "well it's a mandarin class so the teachers will speak in mandarin", and he was concerned that he won't understand them. The class was however not conducted entirely in mandarin. Although the teachers spoke mainly in mandarin, they always translate what they said into english for the kids to understand. Not sure if this is good or bad.
We were half and hour late so we missed the start of the lesson which apparently consists of circle time. When we arrived it was snack time. H was invited to sit together and eat with the other children. He wanted to sit in a separate table with me, so fine. After finishing his biscuits, he wanted more. So I told him he has to go to the front and ask the teacher for more and he did that. He even said xie xie to the teacher.
After snack time it was flashcard time. I won't really call it flashcard time cos the teacher didn't flash the cards. She basically showed them the words on the cards and the children shouted out the words. Next she showed them picture cards and the children shouted out what was on the cards. H got interested as he knows some of the words on the cards but as usual he just whispered the answers while the other children enthusiastically shouted out so the teacher couldn't really hear him. He then got disinterested and started running around.
Next it was play time. The kids were ushered into the playroom for free play. H went into the room for a bit but didn't really want to join the other children. He ended up running around by himself (the main classroom is an open area with a 'bus' and slide).
Then it was writing time. H likes doing worksheets so he quickly came and joined the children at the table. I guess I don't have to worry about him and homework when he goes to school next time cos his concentration is really good. While some other kids were talking and running off, he just sat there and did his work. Since he was the first to finish (and really quickly too), the teacher gave him his book (well it's more a compilation of worksheets stapled together) so that he can work on another worksheet. And H almost completed the book too.
It was then time to sing the good bye song. H didn't want to sing. He just couldn't wait to get out... hahaha... I asked him if he enjoyed the class and whether he wanted to come again he said no. I guess that's expected. Then I told him I was proud of him for participating and he was happy and proud that I was proud of him :-)
So, what do I think of Smart Mandarin Kids? I think it's not bad. The teacher told me they usually also have one-to-one time with the older kids to guide them with reading and writing. I'll probably check out a few other places and let H decide. My only qualm is the timing, since they only have afternoon sessions for H's age group. This will pose logistical issues for Po-Po who will be sending him cos I can't really expect Po-Po to travel to and fro our place both mornings and afternoons to chauffer the kids around.
Monday, 15 October 2012
Activities for preschoolers
Hubs and I have decided to take H out of preschool next year. We haven't actually told the school yet, but I think we're pretty much convinced that this will do H good. There's nothing wrong with H's current preschool but we feel that since H is already quite advanced academically (we don't want him to learn the same stuff over and over again), he should spend more time just PLAYING!
This must sound so wrong... hehehe. To be honest, a part of me (my kiasu bit) was initially quite hesitant about the idea of taking him out of school. I mean, although H already knows most of the stuff that are taught in school, he must be still learning something new. Besides, the whole idea of sending him to school is to teach him how to socialise and gain independence. But I have since come to terms with the decision. Although H will not be going to school next year, there are 3 things that we must find other ways for him to achieve:
Here are some of the potential activities on top of my head:
This must sound so wrong... hehehe. To be honest, a part of me (my kiasu bit) was initially quite hesitant about the idea of taking him out of school. I mean, although H already knows most of the stuff that are taught in school, he must be still learning something new. Besides, the whole idea of sending him to school is to teach him how to socialise and gain independence. But I have since come to terms with the decision. Although H will not be going to school next year, there are 3 things that we must find other ways for him to achieve:
- Making friends and socialising
- Building confidence
- Learning Mandarin
Here are some of the potential activities on top of my head:
- Sports - H went for his first tennis trial lesson last Saturday and he loved it. Maybe we can include other sports activities like learning how to swim, taekwando, etc.
- Mandarin class - maybe 2-3 times a week. I'm still uncertain if I should put him back in Bao Bei or let him try something different. At 5 years old next year, should the focus be on character recognition/reading or speaking/listening?
- EduDrama - we will continue his weekly edudrama class. He seems to like it a lot although the teacher says he wouldn't participate during drama time.
- Fastrackids - I haven't really checked it out but I like what I read about the programme. They cover a wide range of topics such as biology, technology, natural science, astronomy, earth science, economics, etc. This will be fantastic for H since he is very inquisitive and have shown keen interest in knowing about the world and how things work. For example, during the Olympics season, he was so obsessed with the games that he chose to watch the Olympics over his cartoons. He learnt about the different games and their rules as well as flags of the different countries. Then last weekend, he saw a youtube clip of the 2004 Tsunami in Phuket (don't ask me why daddy was watching it), and the whole weekend we were bombarded with why why and more whys. We had to explain to him what causes Tsunami, about earthquakes, about what causes earthquakes, and the list goes on.
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Bao Bei vs. Mandarin Lighthouse
L came back from her mandarin enrichment class yesterday with a certificate of attendance & accomplishment. My mandarin is so rusty I can only vaguely decipher what the teacher wrote on her certificate. Seems like my little girl is doing great!
Since we're planning to send our kids to a chinese primary school, it's never too early to prepare them. Lucky for us, both H and L like the language and are happy and eager to learn it... phew!
H went to Bao Bei twice a week when he was 3. But ever since he started preschool this year, I've stopped his lessons in Bao Bei as I didn't want to overtire him. Besides, his preschool covers all three languages (English, Mandarin, Bahasa Malaysia) as part of its core curriculum, so I figured this should be sufficient. L is going to Mandarin Lighthouse, she just started last term. Why not Bao Bei? you may ask. Here are my take:
1. Bao Bei
I have no issue with Bao Bei. The reason why I sent H there was that I've heard rave reviews about the effectiveness of the programme. It uses flashcards (right brain learning approach) and H could read over 100 chinese characters in just a couple of months. The teachers are also very supportive in helping the kids gain independence, like going to the toilet by themselves, etc. However, parents aren't allowed to observe the class so I don't really know what goes on during the lessons. Classes can be big (up to 20 kids) and are mixed age (from 2 all the way to 10 years old and up). The environment is also more sterile (the typical get-the-job-done-with-no-frills type set up). It took H close to a month before he got settled in, i.e. no more crying and refusing to go into class. I wasn't sure if he was enjoying his class, but he certainly was enjoying playing teacher and flashing the vocab cards to us at home (yes they're given the flashcards to take home once they've mastered reading the characters on the cards). Overall I think Bao Bei is good if you want your kids to master character recognition / reading quickly.
2. Mandarin Lighthouse
I chose Mandarin Lighthouse for L because I wanted a 'gentler' approach since L was barely 2 years old when she started. I don't need her to know how to read or write, I just wanted to immerse her in the Mandarin language through storytelling, music, activities & games, etc. What I like about the programme is that it also incorporates elements of Montessori (since the centre is primarily set up as a Mandarin Montessori playschool) and Julia Gabriel's Edudrama (since Teacher Ho was from Julia Gabriel). The lessons are theme based - there is an overall theme for the term which guides the mini theme for each lesson. For example, the theme for last term was "All About Me" and one of the lessons had the mini theme "About My Family". During each lesson, the kids will enjoy songs, story and activities related to the mini theme. They will also be taught 3 new words and make their very own flashcards to bring home. L enjoys going to class from her very first lesson. It could be a personality thing since L is rather independent, but so far so good, and I'm pretty happy with centre.
Since we're planning to send our kids to a chinese primary school, it's never too early to prepare them. Lucky for us, both H and L like the language and are happy and eager to learn it... phew!
H went to Bao Bei twice a week when he was 3. But ever since he started preschool this year, I've stopped his lessons in Bao Bei as I didn't want to overtire him. Besides, his preschool covers all three languages (English, Mandarin, Bahasa Malaysia) as part of its core curriculum, so I figured this should be sufficient. L is going to Mandarin Lighthouse, she just started last term. Why not Bao Bei? you may ask. Here are my take:
1. Bao Bei
I have no issue with Bao Bei. The reason why I sent H there was that I've heard rave reviews about the effectiveness of the programme. It uses flashcards (right brain learning approach) and H could read over 100 chinese characters in just a couple of months. The teachers are also very supportive in helping the kids gain independence, like going to the toilet by themselves, etc. However, parents aren't allowed to observe the class so I don't really know what goes on during the lessons. Classes can be big (up to 20 kids) and are mixed age (from 2 all the way to 10 years old and up). The environment is also more sterile (the typical get-the-job-done-with-no-frills type set up). It took H close to a month before he got settled in, i.e. no more crying and refusing to go into class. I wasn't sure if he was enjoying his class, but he certainly was enjoying playing teacher and flashing the vocab cards to us at home (yes they're given the flashcards to take home once they've mastered reading the characters on the cards). Overall I think Bao Bei is good if you want your kids to master character recognition / reading quickly.
 |
| Flashcards from Bao Bei |
2. Mandarin Lighthouse
I chose Mandarin Lighthouse for L because I wanted a 'gentler' approach since L was barely 2 years old when she started. I don't need her to know how to read or write, I just wanted to immerse her in the Mandarin language through storytelling, music, activities & games, etc. What I like about the programme is that it also incorporates elements of Montessori (since the centre is primarily set up as a Mandarin Montessori playschool) and Julia Gabriel's Edudrama (since Teacher Ho was from Julia Gabriel). The lessons are theme based - there is an overall theme for the term which guides the mini theme for each lesson. For example, the theme for last term was "All About Me" and one of the lessons had the mini theme "About My Family". During each lesson, the kids will enjoy songs, story and activities related to the mini theme. They will also be taught 3 new words and make their very own flashcards to bring home. L enjoys going to class from her very first lesson. It could be a personality thing since L is rather independent, but so far so good, and I'm pretty happy with centre.
 |
| Flashcards from Mandarin Lighthouse - mandarin characters on one side, picture & pin yin on the other |
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