academic Archives - Page 2 of 5

Eye Level Centre – Our Verdict on the English Lessons

Attending Eye Level English classes is really the very first time that my kids are exposed to an academic enrichment centre. Because of the “taste” of chance to spend time for extra-curricular academic assistance, they gain much in terms of knowledge as well as appreciate their freedom of no tuition. But having said that, 2 months after our last lesson at Eye Level, my kids still talk fondly of Teacher Jdrea and her lessons. They even told me that they do not mind continuing the lessons after the sponsorship! I certainly did not expect that! I guess that speaks volume for their experience with Eye Level!

Topics covered

After the Diagnostic Tests, Missy 12 was recommended to start from Eye Level English Level 6 and Master 10 to start from Eye Level English Level 5.
In case you are curious on what is taught, here are the topics!

Eye Level English Level 5	Eye Level English Level 6
Sentences	Verbs
Punctuation	Sentences
Parts of Speech	Punctuation
Vocabulary	Vocabulary
Reading Comprehension	Text Patterns
Informational Text	Informational Text
Literature Analysis	Elements of Literature
Research Skills	Genres
Writing	Writing
Figurative Language

What we like about Eye Level English Lessons

Independence

I believe when a child takes charge of his own learning, he will be responsible for the consequences of his efforts. I truly think that hand-holding for learning cannot achieve much and will cause more harm than good in the long run. The last thing I want to hear from any of my kids is that they are working hard for ME than for themselves!

I like that Eye Level trains the students to be independent even from small details like taking their own homework from the shelf to giving the students an “air-time” for one-to-one consultation to clarify what they do not know with the teacher. The best part of it is the full attention dedicated to the student during the one-one teaching. This, perhaps, constitutes a great part of success in Eye Level curriculum.

Duration

The duration of the lessons is well-timed to allow students to focus at best within 45 minutes. Even though it may seem short compared to other enrichment centres, slow and steady wins the race in the long run. You cannot force to cramp knowledge by extending excessive hours beyond what the students can absorb. Thus, the duration is just right.

Drilling on Comprehension

Yes, my kids complain on the numerous Comprehension practices during lessons and homework. I am totally with Eye Level that Comprehension practices are much to be appreciated in terms of training understanding, exposure to a bigger word bank, getting used to Grammar and sentence structures, etc. Painful as it may be, exposing to more Comprehension passages help in the long run.

However, Comprehension practices are not all there is in the curriculum. There are much more learning in the basics of English, like Quotation marks, Capitalisation, Tenses, etc that may seem trivial at Level 5 and 6 but totally helpful to correct previous inherited mistakes.

Learning at Own Pace

In my opinion, the allowance for students to learn at their own pace is paramount. The reason that many fall behind in normal school hours is because lessons are conducted to a class of varying learning abilities and intellectuals. If a child were to send to an enrichment class and similarly fall behind in the class pace again, this child will be deprived of proper learning and a chance to grasp fundamental concepts.

Eye Level curriculum tackles this aspect very well. The teachers cater to the learning pace of each individual student, allowing them to advance only when they have mastered learning concepts and are comfortable to move up. So, if you are a Kiasu parent who is looking towards a fast pace teaching, then Eye Level will not be a suitable option. Like I mentioned, “Slow and Steady wins the race”. Learning takes time, and mastering takes even more time.

Little Gesture Motivates

Another thing I like about Eye Level is more on Teacher Jdrea, whose practices I hope, are a representation of all Eye Level teachers. Instead of marking a cross on wrong answers, she put a circle instead. This serves as an encouragement to students in their learning journey. This may seem to you an insignificant thing, but I see it as an important gesture to boost a child’s confidence and motivates him/her. A cross, to me, especially when it is drawn in exaggerated dimensions, can be intimidating and demoralising. I certainly would not like my boss to draw crosses on my proposal when I present to him. What’s more, a child.

Feedback

As mentioned in my first post, I love the feedback given by Teacher Jdrea at the end of each lesson. Parents and Teachers should work hand in hand to complement each other in terms of educating a child. With that, I greatly appreciate that parents are given feedback on their children’s weaknesses and strengths. That helps me in identifying and focusing on the necessary areas of weakness.

American English

After singing so many praises of Eye Level, one thing I am not so in favour of is the American English that Eye Level is using for their English curriculum. As Eye Level originates from Korea, their books and lessons are all taught in American English. This is opposed to Singapore’s English which uses British English. As a result, I was afraid that my kids would be confused between the two. Schools do not allow American English to be used in examinations. Hence, I put up a request to Teacher Jdrea that whenever she comes across a part of the English language that uses American English, to explain to my kids the equivalent in British English. She was kind enough to accommodate to this request.

Soon, I found out that perhaps my fears were unfounded. My kids seemed to be able to differentiate between American and British English without difficulties. It could even be a plus point, like what Teacher JDrea said, for them to be exposed and know the difference between the two. After all, kids, by nature, are excellent in adapting to changes and differences.

Then, I was told a GOOD NEWS! Daekyo, the parent company in South Korea, is in the midst of reviewing the syllabus to replace the American English Curriculum with British English Curriculum! More details will be out as soon as they have firmed it up! That means my only concern on Eye Level English Class will be eliminated!

I have written our verdict on Eye Level English Curriculum, now is a chance for your child to experience for himself/herself!

GIVEAWAY!!!

Thanks to Eye Level Singapore, I have the pleasure to host a very generous GIVEAWAY for Kids R Simple Readers!
Not 1 or 2, but 5 lucky readers will get a chance to attend a ONE-MONTH FREE LESSON with a choice of Math or English at Square 2!

Contest details:
Prize – 1 month free lesson to 5 winners (choice of Math or English at Square 2)
Giveaway ends – 28 July 2359
Announcement of winners – on facebook post and this blog post

Steps to participate:
– Answer this question on the facebook post: Give 2 reasons why you think Eye Level will benefit your child.
– Complete the steps in the Giveaway App below.

1 Month Free Lesson @ Eye Level Square 2 x 5 WINNERS

Winners Picked!! Congratulations to all of you! Eye Level personnel will be contacting you via email soon!

Joanne Ho
Denise Yu
Olimomok
Anita Kaur

More information on Eye Level Centre:
Fees: $140 for 1x per week lesson; $180 for 2x per week lesson
Website: Eye Level Singapore
Facebook: click here
To enquire: call 6397 6117
To find a centre near you: click here

Click here to read my first post on how the English lessons at Eye Level is conducted!

Disclaimer: We were invited for 8 English lessons at Eye Level @ Square 2 for the purpose of this review. I would like to thank Daekyo Eye Level Singapore for the pleasant experience that my kids had in attending the lessons. I am happy that they have positive feedback and enjoyed their time while learning new things.

Learning English at Eye Level Centre

Hey! Didn’t I advocate no tuition for my kids? Didn’t I say I place absolute trust in MOE teachers to teach our kids well enough to excel in PSLE? Well, indeed I did and we are still going the NO-TUITION way towards PSLE, just in case you wonder. But while we are doing the revision on our own, it is a good opportunity to review an Enrichment centre’s program to learn good tips and tricks so that we can use them at home, just like what I shared about the MCE workshops’ precious takeaways!

Hey! Didn’t I advocate no tuition for my kids? Didn’t I say I place absolute trust in MOE teachers to teach our kids well enough to excel in PSLE? Well, indeed I did and we are still going the NO-TUITION way towards PSLE, just in case you wonder. But while we are doing the revision on our own, it is a good opportunity to review an Enrichment Centre’s program to learn good tips and tricks so that we can use them at home, just like what I shared about the MCE workshops’ precious takeaways!

Heard of Eye Level? Let me introduce to you that Eye Level originates from Korea 41 years ago!! What a long history and still going strong must show something for sure! There are 18 centres in Singapore islandwide. It specialises mainly on Math and English. Eye Level caters to all students of different learning abilities and pace. That’s one thing I like about the flexibility of progressing according to the students’ needs. Eye Level also encourages self-directed learning and one will see that the students here are encouraged to be independent and everything is kind of systematic and has its own place.

Eye Level’s curriculum takes students from the basic motor skills needed for reading and writing, through the building blocks of Grammar, to the more complex concepts that allow the mastery of verbal and written communication.

What Makes Eye Level English Different?

– Fundamental Language Skills : consists of basic language arts and reading with vocabulary.
– Individualized Program : allows students to begin at the point where they are able to work independently with confidence.
– Interesting and Fun : helps to foster students’ interest in reading, writing effectively, and approaches it in a fun, creative way.

Eye Level English guides students in the mastery of English language proficiency through in thematic approaches, repetitive practices, and strategies that combine listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Here are the topics the English program covers:

Environment

Eye Level Centre at Square 2 is located at Level 4. It has 2 rooms, one to conduct Math lesson and the other for English. There is a waiting area outside with benches for parents to lounge around waiting for their kids. Not only that, it has a low shelf with toys and books to entertain little ones too. I think that’s very considerate.

Diagnostic Assessment

Prior to the first lesson, Missy 12 and Master 10 had to take a diagnostic assessment test on a booklet. This is to gauge their level of competency to determine which level they should start with.

Each Eye Level lesson has a duration of maximum 45 minutes. I am totally pleased with this duration as I have learnt from my #30minrevision that kids’ attention span is really just that short. Eye Level recognises that and thus 45 minutes is sufficient to grasp the kids’ full attention and efficiency in learning.

Self-directed Learning

On our first lesson, we signed in attendance via the Tablet at the reception. We were greeted by the friendly Teacher JDrea whom my kids took an immediate liking already when we first met for diagnostic test. She spoke clearly and softly and has a warm smile. I liked her instantly too! I always believe if the kids like the teacher, they will tend to excel in the subject. Considering this is the first time the kids attended an academic enrichment class, I was glad that they had a good experience and thus, would continue for the next 7 sponsored classes. My worries about their reluctance to go for their first academic enrichment class were unfounded!

The kids were brought into 1 of the 2 rooms in the Eye Level Centre at Square 2.

All students have to take off their shoes upon entry and the next thing they do is to find their marked workbooks from previous lesson from the shelf with their names. Then they will each go to their respective study desks which are divided by partitions for privacy. They listen to audio and do assigned exercises.

There is an English curriculum to follow through. Every lesson targets to complete 2 exercises per workbook which is to be brought home as homework. And each workbook has 4 topics and that makes it 1 workbook to be completed within 2 lessons.

Teacher’s guidance

During the 45 minutes of lesson, each of the kids is assigned another booklet to be used in class. They are to complete the selected exercises and go to Teacher JDrea to go through their mistakes. This is a 1-1 session of 5-10 minutes whereby the student will have full attention of the teacher to guide him/her through the topic to ensure the student understands the mistakes made. This is akin to what I have done during our weeknights’ 1-1 #30minrevision where I assign Missy 12 to complete some exercises and go through her mistakes right after that. But the difference is that we have now a proper English teacher to help her in her English as opposed to me, an amateur, self-taught English tutor!

Feedback to Parents

You know what? I love to talk to educators, instructors, trainers and facilitators! I get to learn lots of knowledge and even get refreshed and corrected on what I had learnt before! Each time I talk to Teacher Jdrea, I learnt something new in English. I never knew I have got some simple Grammar rules wrong! Sometimes, I feel a tinge of regret that I had not read enough books and spent more time on language. But, it is never too late to learn now, alongside my Missy 12!

When the lesson ended, Teacher JDrea would give me a summary of what the kids had learnt for the day. She bothered to explain in details on each topic of English Grammar that they had covered. I find that very useful to me as I got feedback on which areas each of the kids was weak in and needed more practices. With that, I am able to focus more on their weak areas during our own home revision.

Homework

As Eye Level encourages self-directed learning and independence, naturally there will be homework to do. To be frank, the kids were not so keen to do the homework assigned. Who loves homework anyway? They found that there were many Comprehensions to do in the workbook. As much as I could feel for them, I appreciate the many Comprehension practices because it helps to train the kids to understand Comprehension passages and learn how to answer them. By reading more passages, it helps to boost their understanding and exposure to sentence structure and Grammar rules. Only by doing more of such Comprehension practices will one improve the Comprehension segment of the exam paper.

Reward

I have heard of many enrichment centres dishing out expensive rewards. I am not so sure if that won’t make the kids materialistic and consequently send the wrong message to these young ones. But Eye Level did it just perfectly. Each of the students is given a reward sticker board. They need to collect about 20+ stickers before they can fill up one board and get to choose a reward gift on the gift shelf. I look through the rewards and they were mainly practical stuff like stationery and small toys. The value of these rewards is not too pricey but enough to motivate the kids to work towards collecting them. I am definitely not for expensive rewards and find such high value rewards tend to desensitise the kids’ idea of what a reward should be. Even for me, I give my kids a small gift of their choice that is within the budget of $20-$30 for the hard work they put in for the whole academic year. I don’t believe in expensive rewards as a motivator.

Assessment

Before a student proceeds to the next level and a new skill set, an Eye Level instructor will give the student a level test to evaluate if they have achieved mastery of the current material. This constant monitoring of the kids’ competency with close teacher’s guidance during the 1-1 sessions, allowing learning at the kids’ own pace, plus the Feedback from Teacher to Parents and vice-versa are really the strong building blocks to effective learning. Many Enrichment Centres hold big classes which makes learning at own pace impossible. Further, 1-1 sessions are limited or none. With such comparisons, I come to appreciate Eye Level way of helping the students to learn effectively.

Well, stay tune for my next post on more information on Eye Level English Curriculum as well as our verdict of Eye Level Centre!

More information on Eye Level Centre:

Fees: $140 for 1x per week lesson; $180 for 2x per week lesson
Website: Eye Level Singapore
Facebook: click here
To enquire: call 6397 6117
To find a centre near you: click here

Disclaimer: We were invited for 8 English lessons for the purpose of this review. It is a good first time for the kids on academic enrichment class and we have many takeaways in terms of gaining knowledge and intangibles which I shall share in my next post. All in all, I am glad that they have a good experience with Eye Level!

Life Goes On in PSLE year – from a Mum with NO Expectations

Life goes on in the PSLE year. I must ensure that. Indeed we are doing that.

I gave ourselves a day off from revision on Good Friday holiday and played board games at home and relaxed on that rainy day. And we are talking about 3 weeks to SA1. We do not stop the piano lessons and the art classes because of PSLE. We still go for kids run events, check out Safra Yishun new pool, go for dinner gatherings, have sleepovers, and Missy will be taking her piano exam in July. Nothing is very much different except that we revise almost daily, doing just #30minrevision. We are fine with skipping a day or 2 of revision and choose sleep over study. When people ask Missy if she is stressed with PSLE preparations, she replied no. With that, I think I have done my part to shield her from academic stress. Remember? I was determined to make PSLE year a not-so UNenjoyable one for her.

But ask me if I feel stressful with my first child’s PSLE year. My answer is a Yes.

I am stressed because I worry that I may not be capable to help her meet her expectations to enter her target school. I put the entire home teaching responsibility on myself since I decided to go the No-Tuition route.
I am stressed because even though I know time is insufficient, I cannot cramp in too much revision time because I advocate balance and play.

And ask me if I have any expectations for her? The answer is ZERO expectations if you are talking about grades and marks and target schools. Expectations on ATTITUDE? Yes, plenty! Don’t bluff! You might say. Believe it or not, the only expectation comes from Missy herself. My role is to help her to get into the school that she targets for. That’s all.

Because I do not have expectations, it guides me a great deal in our revision plan.

I started by focusing on her weakness and basics. Initially, I was alarmed that her foundation was so weak in various subjects. Since I have no expectations for her to go into any top schools from the start, I calculated that we have time to start anew and drill the basics. If I have expectations to target for top schools, then I can bet that our revision will be a super stressful one to cover basics and advance to being able to do any kind of killer questions. Tackling killer questions is NOT our priority nor a MUST to master. If time permits, yes, we shall do that and A* will be a bonus, but NOT a MUST-HAVE.

Once the basics were grasped, which was really quick because of Missy’s good learning attitude, we explored further in depth. Within 4 months from January to now, we are ready to tackle the harder questions in Math, putting more ticks than crosses in English Paper Booklet B, and getting the hang in answering Science Open-Ended Questions.

I do not ask for her to complete all the 10+ sets of top school papers for every subject, nor do I expect her to complete half the assessment books. We try to do revision within our means and time available. There is still much laughter in the house everyday and Missy is still her jovial self. Seeing that she still has a life despite everyone else getting stressed up in this year, I am really happy.

I can’t emphasize enough on how Missy’s change in learning attitude drives her to improve in a short time. It makes revision time so much easier. In the past, we spent much time dealing with tantrums, testing each other’s patience, teaching through gritting teeth with angry tones that refused to enter the ears. And not forgetting the eyes-rolling, head turned away and arms-crossing act. By and by, it took more than a year before she came to an awakening, got motivated, became receptive to my teaching and cooperated perfectly during revision time. I must say consistent love helps a lot in her attitude transformation.

I told Missy:

If there is any improvement in your academic, you are the one to make it happen.
You will certainly do well, it is just a matter of time.

I hope she continues her good attitude which will certainly bring her far in life.

To PSLE, here we come!!

————————————————————————-

Follow our PSLE revision sharing here!

PSLE SERIES – How We Learn Mathematics

There is really no cheat sheet in learning Mathematics. And how I wish there is one. Mathematics was one of my worst subject in Primary School. Eventually, when I reached Secondary School, somehow I finally could grasp the Math concept and began to score high, and that’s how I start to love it and Mathematics became my strongest and favourite subject. I shared this experience with Missy 12 and told her:

“If you hate a subject, all the more you should make it the subject that you will LOVE! Go and conquer the challenges, love it and you will do well!”

I am not sure if it sounded abstract, but I realised that it was really like that for me. Once I grow to like it, I do well, it is as simple as that.

“If you hate Chinese, then conquer the 汉字, and you will grow to love it!” I told to Master 10 too as remembering the strokes of 汉字 is his biggest enemy at this moment.

How do we Learn Mathematics at home?

1) Identify the weaker topics that you child is facing

The moment I realised Missy 12 failed her Math in P3, it was a wake up call. I bought the P3 Math assessment books after her SA2 for that year and went through all the topics in the books for the December school holidays. There was work and play, I always ensured that. Since I realised her weakness in the subject so late, which went unnoticed, I felt that I should help her to re-learn all the basics. Hence, if you don’t already realise the weaker topics that you child is facing, perhaps, it is good to try to find out as early as possible to nip it in the bud before the challenges snowball to a big magnitude.

2) Flip through the school worksheets and focus on mistakes

This method works for almost all subjects. Make sure the mistakes previously made are understood, especially that topic in entirety, not only limited to one question, then re-do these questions to ensure the child gets them right.

3) All information / numbers given in the Math Question are to be used

Many times, I find that my children may leave out a number given in the question, and leave it unused in their working. There is one important thing to remember: the question will not give extra information, all information and numbers appearing in the question MUST be utilised.

4) Infer!

How do you infer in Math? Well, lots! For instance, if the question says, “After the 10th day, there is 1/4 sugar left. By end of 12th day, the sugar left was 120g.” The child must be able to infer that 3/4 sugar was used for the past 10 days. The child must also know that from 11th day onwards, the usage and leftover totals up to 1/4 sugar. One more thing in this question to take note is that 1/4 sugar is not equivalent to 1/4 kg sugar. Hence, inferences are important in Math too!

5) Train Accuracy and Speed

In Math, there are many questions to work within the exam allocated time. There is a need to use the best and most efficient method to work out a problem. Instead of beating around the bush, one should aim to identify the fastest method to work on a problem sum. This saves time for other questions.

For example, There is a discount of 20% on a T-shirt (usual price is $100) during a sale. How much does the T-shirt cost?

Method 2 below has a step lesser than Method 1. Using Method 2 will save time.

$Math qn 1$

Besides using a more efficient method, the child should not stay at a question for too long and learn to time himself and move along to the next question. Skip a question when stuck. Train the child at home by setting time to finish a paper. Accuracy and Speed need to be trained!

6) Remember to write UNITS

Marks will be deducted for forgetting to write units. And remember to write the CORRECT Units! A quick tip: Before putting down the answer on the line, make a quick check for what the question is asking and in what units.

7) Reasonableness

Always have a quick check with the final answer and have the child ask himself/herself if the answer is REASONABLE or not. For instance, if the final discount in value is $200 while the T-shirt is $100, this is NOT reasonable and somewhere in the working, there must be a mistake. If the answer for a pen comes up to 1kg, the child should know that it is NOT reasonable too. We can help our children in understanding REASONABLENESS by bringing them to the supermarket, or involving them in cooking preparation, etc, to gauge the value in weight, length, volume. This will help them very much in Mathematics and everyday usage in calculation.

8) Relate Math concept in Everyday Life

I try to relate Math concept as and when the right situation arises. For instance, I teach them to use ESTIMATION when we calculate discounts and division of a total number of sweets among siblings. When baking, I ask them to measure 1/8 cup of flour in a measuring cup relating to FRACTIONS. When walking on the road, we identify ANGLES on road signs, advertisements, etc. We talk about PERIMETER when we walk one round in the neighbourhood. We identify CUBOIDS and CUBES around the house. There are so many things in our everyday life that is related to Math. Just look around consciously and we will find many things to talk to our children on Math.

Our Revision

I find that #30minrevision does not work so well on Mathematics revision for higher Primary, mainly because one question can take up to 15 minutes to solve and teach. However, it is still possible if we are targeting to finish 2-3 questions per 30 minutes revision block. But mostly, we use 2 hours on weekends to revise Mathematics so as not to break the momentum.

We use Visible Thinking by Marshall Cavendish Education for our materials to revise by topic. I like this book very much because the questions are usually in sets of 2 or 3 questions with same scenario but only one variable is changed. This helps to test the student on his/her understanding if the question tweaks slightly. Further, each topic will start with asking some thinking questions that I, sometimes, may answer wrongly too. It has a good representation of working steps at the start of the topic which aids me to teach my children easily. So, if you are clueless in Primary School Math, I would highly recommend this book to help you learn along with your child. We have been using this book since Missy 12 was Primary 3.

As I am very familiar with Missy 12’s weakness in certain Math topics, I am able to identify and zoom in on these topics during our revision. We will start with me explaining the Math concept for a topic using the Visible Thinking book and assigning the questions for her to do. I have learnt that I need to mark on the spot during the 2 hour revision instead of leaving till days later, this will help her to absorb better as her mind is still fresh from her thoughts while I explain to her the mistakes and where went wrong.

As the SA1 exams are nearing, I am tempted to give her the top school papers to do as we are running out of time. However, I decided to still focus to drill on the weaker topics and ensure she got the concepts right even though it means that we will do lesser papers and wasting some money. I believe slow and steady goes a long way and also the right way. Hence, focusing on weaker topics and ensuring the child gets them right should be the priority in any kind of learning.

Now that we are quite comfortable in all the tested topics, we have started to do top school papers. We draft out a revision calendar and jot down the days that the children will be late home from school on the calendar. Then we fill in the afternoons with assigned revision and exam papers to do. As I have to be realistic about what they can finish in an afternoon, along with their school homework, I assign Math Paper 1 on one day and Math Paper 2 on the other, sometimes coupling with less demanding subjects like English and Chinese on the same day. Everyday after dinner, I will pick a paper to go through the mistakes for our #30minrevision. Time is limited. Either we have English during this 30 min revision block or we have various subjects focusing on mistakes.

And I will never forget one thing. If I see improvement in grasping a concept, I will commend on Missy 12’s efforts and good attitude. I do hope she feels encouraged and gets more confident as we go along.

If you like this post and find it useful, do share with your friends who need tips for Math revision or preparing for PSLE like us. I want to selflessly teach everyone what I know and how I teach my children in academics. I do have a small ambition: To inspire more parents to go the NO-TUITION route like us! Let’s save money and save time for our children to play and unwind more! I think there is more to life than academic and tuition.

You may follow us in the NO TUITION PSLE SERIES by clicking on the link or follow us on instagram to see how we learn in our daily #30minrevision. And if you have a P5 kid, do hop over to DinoMama, a fellow mummy blogger who has started to document some good study tips from her daily revision with her son too.

Hope this post is useful to everyone out there who has a kid in school! Stay tune for the next post!

Ending March 2017 with …

March is really a full fledged revision month. In my kids’ Primary School life, I have never revised more intensively as now. We are finally staying on track with our nightly #30minrevision and our 2 hours revision on Saturday and Sunday. You would have think that this is not much but to us, this is a big jump from our previous effort on revision which is half-hearted mainly on my part. So, now, this mummy is finally getting the hang of revision with the kids and we are actually enjoying it!

March is really a full fledged revision month. In my kids’ Primary School life, I have never revised more intensively than now. We are finally staying on track with our nightly #30minrevision and our 2 hours revision on Saturday and Sunday. You would have think that this is not much but to us, this is a big jump from our previous effort on revision which is half-hearted mainly on my part. So, now, this mummy is finally getting the hang of revision with the kids and we are actually enjoying it! Yes, enjoying it because we are seeing good progress through daily work!

On PSLE Kid

Missy 12 had told me that she feels more confident in English! Whoa! I am seeing our combined efforts paid off here. Even though we have yet to see actual results represented in formal tests, I am heartened that she gains confidence with our home revision. Confidence is the start to success. I believe with confidence, she will find the subjects that she used to struggle with become subjects that she is starting to like. She then went on to feedback that we have insufficient time spent on revising Science and Math. In fact, from now till her SA1 (Semestral Assessment 1), it will only be left with 4 blocks of 2 hours revision for each subject since we have only 4 weekends left. Indeed, time is insufficient, but that is the limitation of a FTWM. I cannot revise during weekday afternoons. Time is never enough. I will have to squeeze in time somewhere, maybe increasing weekend revision hours to 3 blocks of 1 hour on each Saturday and Sunday.

1-1 Time

I realised that spending 1-1 time with each kid ranks rather high on my priority list. I try to squeeze out time for that. So, every child’s dental or doctor visit, piano exam, school excursions, etc is a precious 1-1 time. I take full day leave, bring the kid out and enjoy the time spent together. I had one with Master 10. We went to his favourite restaurant, brought him to play Animal Kaiser in Time Zone Arcade, bought 3 Geronimo Stilton hard cover books which he had been asking for a long time and shopped together. He told me that he enjoyed shopping with me and that made me ponder if that was really true or he simply wanted to spend time with me, no matter what we were doing. It was a very sweet date for the both of us.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kids R Simple (@kidsrsimple)

I also resumed our jogging date with each kid. Last Sunday, both sons joined me to have a morning jog at the nearby park. It was kind of funny as both ran at different speeds and I was in the middle, encouraging the slower one to catch up with his elder brother. We went for breakfast together, just the 3 of us. I like it and I think I shall make this happen more often.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kids R Simple (@kidsrsimple)

On my relationship with Hub

We have not been seeing much of each other during weekdays as the hub works late into the night. Even if he comes home early, I would be busy with each kid. When it comes to bedtime, I would fall asleep with Master 5 and miss the chance to chat with my hub. I have not been working hard on couple relationship since the start of this year and writing this down in this post will help remind me to work out something! In fact, we are going to watch A-Mei’s concert come June. Errmmm, yes, that is the only plan for couple date for now. Hubby, if you are reading this, I love you and stay tune… LOL!

Struggles I face as a FTWM

Missy 12 has been given a phone lately with rules attached. I have decided that instead of unleashing the devil with no limits after her PSLE, it would be better to start giving the phone to her during weekends and occasional special days when she would need one and let her get used to weekdays without phone. She has shown good discipline with her phone usage and even asked me to state curfew hours of no phone usage. Her request impressed me very much.

So, there was a particular weekday when she had a phone and hence could see messages from her friends. She told me that one of her friends had sent a good night message to her and already slept at 7pm, the time when we were about to eat dinner. I thought about it and envied that this friend’s mum is a stay-at-home-mom and that explains that she could revise with her child in the afternoon, have an early dinner and let her child sleep early everyday. I can only revise with my kids after 8pm and delay their sleep time till 930pm. There is not a better arrangement for FTWM and FTWM’s kids will always sleep late. How sad it is, I thought to myself.

As a FTWM, there are many things that we cannot do during weekdays as we are working. But as far as I can take a day off, I will do so for school events, competitions, birthday celebrations, etc just to not deprive my kids of their mummy’s involvement. I want to be there with them at celebratory moments, school fun and many more!

So, last week, I took a day off to be a parent volunteer (I was the only parent) to bring Master 10’s class to visit an old folk’s home. I did that 2 years back with Missy’s class too and will certainly do it again for Master 5’s school excursion in future. It was a fruitful afternoon and I really enjoyed chatting with Master 10’s classmates and helped the shy children to approach the elderly.

On days of working from home or days off, I make it a point to prepare lunches for my kids and eat with them at the same table, and listen to them rattling off the day’s events. I really treasure such times with them just as what my mum did when I came home from school everyday. Seeing them eat up my prepared lunches makes me a satisfied mum. I am determined to do things a stay-at-home-mom will do when I am off work.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kids R Simple (@kidsrsimple)

I hope my children will remember all these small little things that really matter lots to me.

I guess no matter if you are a FTWM or SAHM, you will find yourself nagging non-stop at the children. Despite my effort of trying very hard not to nag too much and let go, I am not very successful in this area. I am not sure why. I return home with a goal of enjoying some peaceful moments with the kids but it always ended up with some scoldings, nagging and breaking up fights and such. I guess this is the phase that will pass when kids are older, I am not sure. But I am going to try again and again and perhaps put up a reward chart for our family to create a better atmosphere in the house. Hmm.. sounds like a feasible idea, let me think of how to achieve that!

On a happier note…

We went for a staycation at Village Hotel Changi again! I shall be sharing our happy times in the hotel. We have also had some family bonding time with my parents at Upper Peirce Reservoir, sighting monkeys along the roads and running in the vast greenery. We also took my in-laws to JB to celebrate my MIL’s birthday with a sumptuous dinner on a school day. We hosted an impromptu dinner in our house for our parents and brother-in-law’s family. We really love hosting dinners as we enjoy having our parents over to bond with our kids and cousins to play together. I think we are doing it every month for the past few months and will be organising another big one for Master 10’s birthday.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kids R Simple (@kidsrsimple)

So, we are ending March 2017 with… academic progress and at the same time, balancing academic and play. I hope April will be a fulfilling month!

How did your March go? 🙂