Choosing and Evaluating Primary Schools

[walala]

thank you @floppy and @zac’s mum… our concern is because our child struggles with sleep so being able to go to the nearest school is definitely a better option for us. That being said, we clearly hear the logical point of view given by fellow parents. Perhaps more can share on how to cope with children as they adapt to primary school and waking up early or any struggles etc and experiences?

[Xzienlyiia]

I just realised the alumni I’m thinking of enrolling my daughter does not provide school bus this year. Last year they did but not this year… any parents know of any private school bus service that is recommendable? Sengkang to Yishun.

[floppy]

walala\" post_id=\"2028480\" time=\"1624974446\" user_id=\"193152:

thank you @floppy and @zac's mum.. our concern is because our child struggles with sleep so being able to go to the nearest school is definitely a better option for us. That being said, we clearly hear the logical point of view given by fellow parents. Perhaps more can share on how to cope with children as they adapt to primary school and waking up early or any struggles etc and experiences?

Firstly, I think the “sleep” argument cannot apply to CHS and KCPPS. The distance between the two schools are not that substantial. The 10mins extra of sleep is not going to make that much of a difference.

To get them to wake up on time, the best is to get them to sleep early. You can practice lights off / turn down at a certain timing everyday. Once it becomes their habit / routine, you shouldn’t have much of a problem.

[zac's mum]

walala\" post_id=\"2028480\" time=\"1624974446\" user_id=\"193152:

thank you @floppy and @zac's mum.. our concern is because our child struggles with sleep so being able to go to the nearest school is definitely a better option for us. That being said, we clearly hear the logical point of view given by fellow parents. Perhaps more can share on how to cope with children as they adapt to primary school and waking up early or any struggles etc and experiences?

Agree with floppy. KCPPS is only 1-2km away from your home. It’s not the other end of the island like how some alumni schools are. For those cases, I’d pick the school next door over waking up at 5am for the school bus.

Sleep training is part & parcel of parenting. To get ready for P1, we trained during the Dec holidays, progressively sleep earlier & wake up earlier, set the morning routine well. I forced myself to wake up 10 min earlier than kid so that I can have my necessary caffeine & set my mood right before facing the kid (I am so NOT a morning person, nope, but I still grit my teeth & wake early for primary school like today. He is in P5 now! Plenty of parents & kids all across SG are awake now & getting ready so there’s that group comfort I guess)

[sharonkhoo]

zac's mum\" post_id=\"2028498\" time=\"1625004535\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2028498 time=1625004535 user_id=53606]

walala\" post_id=\"2028480\" time=\"1624974446\" user_id=\"193152:

thank you @floppy and @zac's mum.. our concern is because our child struggles with sleep so being able to go to the nearest school is definitely a better option for us. That being said, we clearly hear the logical point of view given by fellow parents. Perhaps more can share on how to cope with children as they adapt to primary school and waking up early or any struggles etc and experiences?

Agree with floppy. KCPPS is only 1-2km away from your home. It’s not the other end of the island like how some alumni schools are. For those cases, I’d pick the school next door over waking up at 5am for the school bus.

Sleep training is part & parcel of parenting. To get ready for P1, we trained during the Dec holidays, progressively sleep earlier & wake up earlier, set the morning routine well. I forced myself to wake up 10 min earlier than kid so that I can have my necessary caffeine & set my mood right before facing the kid (I am so NOT a morning person, nope, but I still grit my teeth & wake early for primary school like today. He is in P5 now! Plenty of parents & kids all across SG are awake now & getting ready so there’s that group comfort I guess)[/quote]

What do you mean by \"struggles with sleep\"? Is it the going to sleep (is it insomnia or just not getting to bed)? Or is it the getting up (actually getting out of bed, crying, having breakfast, etc) in the morning?

Either way, ZM's advice of sleep training well in advance is good. Very few children (or adults) like waking up at 5/6 am, but they can get used to it and toerate it with practice. Generations of Singaporeans have done so. If you say exactly what the main difficulty is, then others can tell you how they coped.

[walala]

thank you once again @floppy and @zac’s mum for your assurances and advises!

my child struggles to fall asleep we can lights out at 9 and he flips till 1045 before settling down but generally it takes 45 mins to an hour… and we’ve been trying to get off work as soon so that we can bring our children home earlier. perhaps can Zac’s mum share abit more about how you did the sleep training in Dec? eg what time you start lights out and how was the progressive earlier bed time achieved ?

[MrsKiasu]

For us, I got to keep reminding them to bed telling them how tired they feel during school hours if dont have enough sleep.


On days with no school, most time I let them sleep and wake up late.

Kids usually have no issue in waking early, best to tell them (till you see them nodding their head) 5 to 10mins for them to really get ready to get up.

Like most parents, I will wake up earlier to start breakfast/break/recess food prep and have my caffeine fix to condition myself first. We staying not too far fm school but would go out earlier to avoid jam hour.

[zac's mum]

walala\" post_id=\"2028524\" time=\"1625014533\" user_id=\"193152:

thank you once again @floppy and @zac's mum for your assurances and advises!
my child struggles to fall asleep we can lights out at 9 and he flips till 1045 before settling down but generally it takes 45 mins to an hour... and we've been trying to get off work as soon so that we can bring our children home earlier. perhaps can Zac's mum share abit more about how you did the sleep training in Dec? eg what time you start lights out and how was the progressive earlier bed time achieved ?

If your preschooler is still having afternoon nap on school then it’s a bit hard for them to sleep early.

Keep an eye out for any intake of drinks that may contain even small amounts of caffeine. Common suspects are iced lemon tea, bubble tea, Milo (!) and chocolate-related products, anything sugary or too sweet (even sugar cane drink!) Any of these taken after 12 noon tend to prevent easy falling asleep at bedtime.

I don’t allow all these unless special days when DC does not need to wake up early next day.

https://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/sleep-children

Primary school kids still need at least 9-10 hours’ sleep for their bodies & brains to grow optimally. So work backwards from the wake up time. That would be your target bedtime (give buffer for bedtime routine like story time, kiss good nite etc & try not to drag it out. Must be firm and say we’ll talk tmr at breakfast, not now). **If u need to travel to work, then u probably need to wake up even earlier to shower dress & makeup before your child. So u can leave together & go office straight. Or have brekkie date outside with spouse before work. Hopefully u can request to boss, start work early end early too. That’s what I did Pre-WFH.

My child likes to have a cup of milk ~1hr prior to bedtime. That is my signal to him to start getting ready (mentally) and wind down, no devices or screen time. Pack bag, drink milk & chill. Brush teeth, clear bladder & story time then lights out.

[sharonkhoo]

zac's mum\" post_id=\"2028537\" time=\"1625018848\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2028537 time=1625018848 user_id=53606]
My child likes to have a cup of milk ~1hr prior to bedtime. That is my signal to him to start getting ready (mentally) and wind down, no devices or screen time. Pack bag, drink milk & chill. Brush teeth, clear bladder & story time then lights out.[/quote]

I also believe in bedtime routines. My kids had one from the time they were very small (adjusted as they grew, of course), and it helps them settle down. A drink/snack, story/reading to them, no rowdy or exciting activities, no gadgets or TV, etc. I also agree about cutting naps - if your child is not sleepy at the bedtime you can start cutting back on the afternoon nap, and even cut it out altogether. Not all kids need a nap in the afternoon. Having some physical activity in the late afternoon is good too - then they are more likely to be tired enough to fall asleep easily.

That said, some kids are born insomniacs. My older girl is, and took about 45 mins to fall asleep when she was young (stopped monitoring by the time she was in Pr school). She got used to just going to bed anyway, and \"thinking\" till she finally fell asleep.

[marshmallow96]

samwize\" post_id=\"2028434\" time=\"1624951963\" user_id=\"178000:

I did an analysis of the % of phase 1 taken up based on the school population. This would give a good indication of what parents (hopefully with good knowledge of the school) did for the sibling.

https://sgschooling.com/blog/siblings-cohort-analysis-2020

If good, they will register for Phase 1. If not good, then they will give up in Phase 1. What do you think?

I think la there are many other factors affecting the decision to apply in Phase 1, not just because whether the school is good or not. Taking Lianhua Primary stated in the article for example, if you are a PR staying in Bukit Gombak/Bukit Batok area, you basically have no choice cos you don't stand a chance in the other highly oversubscribed schools nearby like St Anthony and Keming (and Princess Elizabeth slightly further away). Then some Phase 1 for the younger siblings, you have no choice cos you still won't stand a chance at all for the oversubscribed schools, so just send back to the same school is easiest.

I have a colleague who changed school for the younger child too, reason being the younger child's school has a later assembly time at 8am, so she just wanted to try that out.

So I think there are many other factors like convenience that affect Phase 1 choice, rather than whether the parents/older siblings are happy with the school or not.