Kids can be 'enriched' at home too
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mincy,
Thanks for sharing the nice story
Totally agree with you about cultivating good values and strong character. ChiefKiasu:
We have a small electronic musical keyboard at home, my kids are free to play with it any time they want. But my boy does not want to go for any piano lessons. I think to him, playing piano at home is fine, but sitting in a class to learn is \"not nice\". I am glad that he indicates his preference clearly, I would be in distress if I paid a few hundred dollars for his piano class and halfway he said he \"don't want already\".While it is good and nice to get a child to buy into doing an enrichment course, the question is how does the child know what his preferences are to make his decision when he has never experienced it himself? All children love to have fun. The way enrichment classes work is to try to inject fun and excitement into the activities so as to keep the kids interested while teaching concepts. How do children learn to do more serious things if everything must be fun before they do it?
And what if the child says NO only midway through the course? Do you stop the course immediately? Would that not signal to the child that it is ok to give up when things get tough?
These are the questions that keep me awake at night
But then he also said that his Berries Chinese class is \"not fun\", because he thinks that learning Chinese is difficult. But that is non-negotiable :lol: -
Hee hee…my gal also said her phonics not fund and will give all kinds of excuses not to go. But that is also non-negotiable cos she k1 liao and still cannot read. After the phonics class ( about 2 months ) can now read 2 and 3-letter words.
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ChiefKiasu:
Your questions in bold, my answers, \"Exactly!\"While it is good and nice to get a child to buy into doing an enrichment course, the question is how does the child know what his preferences are to make his decision when he has never experienced it himself? All children love to have fun. The way enrichment classes work is to try to inject fun and excitement into the activities so as to keep the kids interested while teaching concepts. How do children learn to do more serious things if everything must be fun before they do it?
And what if the child says NO only midway through the course? Do you stop the course immediately? Would that not signal to the child that it is ok to give up when things get tough?
These are the questions that keep me awake at night
Some kids (and even adults) are afraid to venture into unknown grounds, and will strongly resent going for extra classes when you brought up the issue to them. The fact is that they do not know what is in store for them, so they prefer to shut them out and remain status quo.
My boy resent going for his swimming lessons when I first enrolled him. Through many reassurance and some lessons later, he started to enjoy them. But as the students need to change instructors as they progress through different stages of learning, the first day of his third term, he cried and asked me to withdraw him immediately. Did I give in to his request? No...as I know very well his reason of wanting to withdraw even before he told me. Now, a month into the 3rd term and he is thanking me that I did not withdraw him as he enjoys swimming class very much.
As to 'will i stop the course halfway if the going gets tough', the answer is that i will only stop if the teacher/environment/curriculum is unsuitable for my boy. As I enrolled my boy in mostly basic and necessary enrichment (eg academic and life-saving skills ie swimming) - at the moment, I believe that these are essential courses that he needs to go through whether he likes it or not. -
kaitlynangelica:
Hee hee...........my gal also said her phonics not fund and will give all kinds of excuses not to go. But that is also non-negotiable cos she k1 liao and still cannot read. After the phonics class ( about 2 months ) can now read 2 and 3-letter words.
I think english and chinese enrichment classes are definitely non-negotiable. Where to find kids who will say that they like to study ?
But anything other than that, I totally respect my kid's choice. Then when he grows up and ask me \"Mommy why you never let me learn piano\", then I can say \"You say you don't want mah !\" Good way to save money too. -
You are right that most of the enrichment classes are very ‘fun’. The intent (I hope) is to make learning ‘fun’, and whilst it is still ‘fun’, to expose the children and let them absorb as much as possible.
I start by asking my child first if this is what he wants. I try to tell him that once you start a class, you will have to stick to it, especially when it’s something that he asks for. I hope he understands what I’m saying, because he seemed to agree with me!
In future, I will probably just ask him to choose one thing to learn first, for instance, musical instrument or taekwando (just an example). I will try to tell him that once you decide on it, try to stick to it. Of course, if I find that it is disrupting his school-life / overall well-being, then I will probably have to make the move to pull him out after he has tried hard enough.
You know as parents, we are always in a dilemma. Do you enrol your child in something that he/she is good at and loves (for instance, music), or something which you know he/she is less developed in? -
Oh, and for the record, I also believe that character building begins at home
No school, no matter how branded, can ensure this. I think this is something that parents MUST take ownership on. -
I think the "issue" is whether it is right for us parents say that certain types of enrichment courses are "non-negotiable". Is it good for us to arbitrarily decide on behalf of our children what is good for them? Would that constitute a violation of our children’s rights? Conversely, is it right for us to only let them do the things they like, even though we know there are skills that they need badly which they don’t like acquiring?
The problem with the media is that they tend to sensationalize things. "XYZ are sending their children to expensive pre-schools that they can barely afford". "ABC are making their toddlers attend enrichment courses 6 days a week". And these reports portray such parents as kiasu, brand-conscious, and basically… brainless parents who unnecessarily stress their children. From this thread alone, it is clear that we parents may be kiasu (because the system made us), but we are definitely not stupid. We do generally know the importance of a balanced life for our children.
I suspect the reporters of such articles are probably non-parents. As I have always said… only parents will understand the stress of nurturing children through the complex stratas of our Singapore education system. -
Haha, that is the 'job' of the media
But our job as parents, is to do the best we can for our kids within reasonable limits. I think we can always bring our children to lots of classes, but ultimately, I think our children's health (physical and mental) is most important. I am sure we have met a lot of people who have sick children, and I always try to tell myself how lucky I am to have healthy children. We sometimes forget the most basic things, in pursuit of the 'lofty good-to-haves'.
Ultimately we are all parents, so we can understand the concerns behind each parent's post. We tell ourselves not to be kiasu, but when we hear of other parents sending their kids to very good schools, we are afraid that because of our own 'judgement', we deny our own children. Hence sometimes we are in a dilemma, and as parents we are not perfect too. With my first child I am a little more 'kiasu' haha, but with the second one, I'm more 'relaxed' and more sure of what I want.
What can I say.. it's a learning process -
I am teaching my 18 mth old at the comfort at home
as we are based in a foreign country at the moment since she turns one
where English is not widely spoken, not even to think of getting English or Chinese resources,
her learning path is not deterred.
I am glad & no regrets that i had given up my corporate high heels for
the precious time spent with her.
At 9mths, she spoke her 1st words.
At 14 mths, she had learnt & well versed in phonetic alphabets with
some help from edu DVD & through our play time.
She also learnt to read some basic 200++ English & Chinese words on
flash cards (which i bought from SG but i don flash, let her admire the
pictures) & my hand-written cards with words on 1 side & cut-out pictures
on the other, from mag/ brochures/ product catalogues.
At 18 mths, she can recite the 26 alphabets,
-count to 12 (read numerals to 20),
-tell the characteristics of animals (eg, lion has mane/ bear has paws/ zebra has strips),
-reading 3-letter word phonic cards (home-made),
-indicates when she need to go to the toilet (esp, poop),
-take instructions to keep her toys/ books,
-ask for \"help\" or \"please\" if she is requesting for something
-read simple sentences (esp large fonts)
-recognise the basic 11 colours
-recognise the basic shapes
-hold a paint brush/ crayon properly by herself & doodle
-play a normal playground slide by herself etc.
Early education/ literary is important as the child is able to express
herself better hence less tantrum.
She will still have moments of mischief, after all she is still a toddler.
Had never forced her into anything that she is not willing to take on.
Stop when she indicates if enough.
Had never spent a single cent on academic enrichment class so far & had improvised many learning resources.
Now even the local baby gym is free in the shopping mall, what i can ask for!
The best thing i had spent as a parent is TIME!
I dont think my child is exceptionally brilliant but we simply enjoy the time playing & learning together. :love:
Some day I will send her to enrichment classes like music/ learning an
instrument which is way beyond my capability.
I hope she can interact with her peers well despite she had learnt many things ahead.
By giving her a sound foundation, i hope she will work herself up the level
where she is comfortable. She is the one who is responsible for her future, not me!
I came from some branded sec school/ Uni myself with my own effort
with no enhancement of enrichment courses/ tuition classes.
Not born with a silver spoon, of course.
Likewise, my children had to work hard for what they would like to achieve.
If eveyone is No. 1, then who will be no. 2? just my 2 cts worth. -
rachelmum,
Thanks for sharing
I also believe that kids learn best at home, when given one to one attention.
Kids who are sent to enrichment classes before the age of 4 generally do not learn as much as kids who are taught by their mommies at home. It is really a big waste of money but many parents do not understand that.
I used to send my boy to Zoophonics enrichment class. After 5 months, he learned nothing. I withdrew him from the class. Each month cost me $100. I wasted not only the money spent, but also the time bringing him there and waiting for him.
I decided to teach my kids at home. I myself is a full time working mommy, and I can only afford to spend 15 - 20 minutes a day teaching my kids. Both my kids are able to read very well before the age of 5. And it is not just simple picture books, but books with more than 200 hundred words a page :
http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2009/09/books-they-love.html
No other enrichment classes in Singapore, no matter how expensive, can claim to be able to do that.
My younger boy is of average learning ability, with an attention span of less than 5 mins. He learns well only when given one to one attention.
The only enrichment class my kids go to is Berries chinese class which I think is worth the money because the teachers do give each child one to one attention for at least a short period of time during every lesson.
You also brought up a very important point of spending quality time learning together. Many mommies think that teaching kids at home means hard work. However, I enjoy every minute when I listen to my kids read out loud to me everyday. We have so much fun acting out the story and there are often lots of laughter when the kids are learning. It is so much better than watching TV or playing computer games.
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