CMA Math - Discussion

[norman08]

concern2:

My son also attends CMA, been about a year now. Very good course, highly recommended! I send my son there because my son is left-handed. Wanted him to use his right hand more often, and CMA uses 2-hand technique. He didn't seem interest in music so didn't send him for piano...


Anyway, ks2me, the amazing thing about the abacus is that it allows you to do complex arithmetics, more than + - x /, even includes decimal places.. It's also about brain training cos it ultimately trains you to do Math without using the abacus (that's why it's call mental arithmetic). But almost like Kumon, it's practice, practice, practice...so got to do lots of homework.. I mean, if you are Kiasu like me, you'd want your kids to do as much as he can everyday so can finish the course early and move on to other things. Also, once the kids reach primary school, there will be more school work to worry about, so the earlier you start, the better...usually about 4 yrs old.

Truly amazing to see your child calculating faster than you, without relying on ANY tools.

your son must be learning at thunder speed with wonderful results. I hoped that the same for my girl, my main objective is not the mental, if only i see her more focused and concentraion level upped, I guess I be as glad as u.

Can I use you as referral?

Where is your son having lessons?

[jaseric]

my daughter has been in CMA for 1 yr 2 mth, she is somehow slowing down in her CMA work and refuse to do more than what the teacher had stamped. I know many parents in CMA is rushing their kids to finish the book so that they could get on to the next grade, not sure whether this is healthy for the kids as they may feel very tiring.

[norman08]

jaseric:

my daughter has been in CMA for 1 yr 2 mth, she is somehow slowing down in her CMA work and refuse to do more than what the teacher had stamped. I know many parents in CMA is rushing their kids to finish the book so that they could get on to the next grade, not sure whether this is healthy for the kids as they may feel very tiring.

actually if parents dun rush, woul it be the kid will be staying put on that same spot?

But rushing may not mean the child has grasp the idea. *Dillemma*

My worries is such too, i dun wan to rush my girl, at the same time i dun wan her to take it too easy and become her attitude.

The greatest fear of all is she giving up when the learning get difficult.

[concern2]

You are very wise, Norman08! It’s good to set our objectives so we don’t get carried away. Jaseric – personally, I think if we measure the speed of their learning by the number of sums/pages they do everyday, that’s not really fair to them. The sums get more difficult and to me, they are doing ‘mental acrobat’! I think positive reinforcement works best for my son when he feels unmotivated. When he completes a page we play high 5s and 10s - for a laugh or two. Or do a quick maze to break the monotony. That sort of eases the pressure, so he can quickly get back to the next page.


He’ll ‘bargain’ with me to do less for sure! And he’s learning the art of negotiation, mind you! haha!

[Ca3kids]

ksmummy:

No Prob, JSC.


My son is currently attending art lesson at NAFA as well. He has a very keen interest in art and craft. I am thinking of signing him up at Tony Buzan Learning Centre at Hougang Mall next year. Am more interested for him to learn 'how to learn', rather than focusing too much academically.

Appreciate any review on Tony Buzan Learning Centre.

TIA!

Hi KSmummy

May I know have you send yr kid to Tony Buzan Learning Centre? Can feedback your view and experience there? :lol:

[foreverj]

hi, may i check with the parents whose kids are with CMA, when did your kid start? is three plus too early? understand there are some pre requisites like the child needs to know how to write the numbers well. is that true? thanks

[JHJC]

foreverj,

my girl starts at 3 plus. So long the child can write 1-10, motor skills is ready- to clear the abacus. Can understand instructions should be ok.
I believe the centre manager will access the capabilities before they decide where to start the child.
My girl went for her first ever certification recently few weeks ago…thts how young they hv exams! hahahaha

[foreverj]

hi JHJC


thanks. wow, how old is your daughter now to go for certification? hmmm, my daughter has not yet mastered all her numbers, esp 8. the rest roughly can make it la. so do i call up the centre to see if they can do assessment for my daughter first? and are there any trials available or i have to sign up for one whole term right from the start?

worried i may turn my daughter off with so much worksheets :!:

how did your daughter respond to the regular worksheets? daily right? did u have to force, threaten, strangle her to make her finish them?

my concern is how to motivate such a young child to excel in something so academic and would be grateful if experienced parents can share

[JHJC]

foreverj

she is just slightly over 4 now. The certification is basically for speed and accuracy. For exposure.
As for the assessment, I think if you want, you can go for it, no harm. No there is no trial class.
There are 3 books, everynight she will do like a page each. Somedays she do it fast, some days she takes her time. The daddy is the one that will sit down with her while i put the brothers to sleep.

My only concern is, when she goes P1, she might not produce workings for her Maths questions… wonder how the parents here manage this?

[jaseric]

Hi JHJC,


No worry about that, just make sure she follow the way teacher teaches in the school and use CMA skill to counter check the answer instead. Their math ability will definitely be better than their peers who didn’t learn CMA .