mummyoftrio:

Hi parents,


Anyone knows if TAS is starting a Pri 3 new class? I would like my ds to join a new class so he can start afresh. I am also interested in their pri prepatory class. I heard they have a class on tuesday. I am looking for weekend classes. Anyone wants to start a new Pri 3 or pri prepatory class with me? I heard they need 4 to start.

I am interested in Pre Pri classes. But sunday evening a bit hard for me as I would be at my in-laws house for dinner.

Help, my kids’ eyesight is worsening! Now DS1’s degree is 300 plus, last year was 200. I make him watch tv from quite a distance. Look out at the green but nothing seems to help. Is it anything to do with the food he eats?

Hi jeestan or any TAS parent,


I have not sent my kids to TAS although I wanted to after sending them to their holiday programme where I found them very good. I decided for convenience sake to stick to their current tuition centre. However, I find my kids not very motivated nowadays and they are also not doing well. How is the English and Science over at TAS for their regular classes. Any feedback? (in terms of are your kids motivated to go for classes, and when the kids dont improve, what do they do to try to help? the current centre keeps saying english takes time to improve and tt the paper is hard, but they have been saying that without really analysing what is wrong and they have been saying that for over 1 year, I am not asking for a miracle cure, but what I want is at least that the teachers or centre takes what you say and really try to give a solution)

I know of kids at brand-name tuition centres who also do not improve, I know a lot depends on the child and also the parents but I also do not want the tchers to keep giving some reason like paper is hard, eng hard to master certain sections etc. It is like they do not even try.

Will go to Sentosa and book a hotel room with my sister's family and my own but we will usually do it after christmas so we do not jostle with christmas crowd.

northernstar:

tks LadyBug3... i shall ask my colleagues whether they want or not

Just remembered, there is also this very nice Western food stall (something like Botak Jones) by this Aussie family, it is at Ang Mo Kio ave 4, opposite the private houses. It is near Esso petrol station. Sorry I forgot exactly where it is.

Hi TAS,


Thank you for Survivor 2010. My kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves even though they had to walk the whole time at Botanic Gardens, this is no small feat as they do not like to walk much especially in non-air conditioned places.

They kept talking about the venus flytrap and the Survivor challenge as well.

Just want to check something: At the end, one of your staff passed me a flyer for some science toy making programme during christmas. I want to bring my niece and nephew along as well as I feel they can learn about science in an interesting way. Is that possible? And do I call Yvonne for that?

northernstar:

pls help and thanks

There is a nice fish sliced hor fun and fish XO soup coffeeshop near Mayflower Primary school.

The Alternative Story:

LadyBug3:

Hi TAS,


What do you mean by 'building tension'? I read in your book about it and can understand but how to get a child to understand it better? :?

Hi LadyBug3,

Most children do not know how to build tension, their stories
tend to jump from one point to the next or they tend
to solve the problem too quickly and as a result the
stories are not gripping.

Example:

I heard a creaking sound in the house. I wandered
downstairs and saw, to my horror, a masked man. He must be
a burglar! I stood rooted to the ground, I was shaking with fear.
The burglar suddenly turned and saw me. He advanced towards
me and then he caught me and gagged me.

In the above example, the writing seems good in the sense that
it has no grammar mistake and there is a smattering of
good vocabulary used, however, as a reader, you are not
gripped by the problem. The tension in the story is not built
up, the burglar catches the main character too fast.

Here is another example of the same story but one where
the tension is built up:

Creak..creak. What was that? I heard a strange creaking
sound come from the ground floor. There was no one else
at home. My parents had gone for a holiday. Was it a ghost,
a burglar or simply a stray cat?

Shivering, I tiptoed down the stairs. The hall and dining room
were dark and forbidding. Shadows loomed in the corners.
Just as I reached out to switch on the lights to dispel
the gloom, I heard the floorboard creak again.

Turning around, I saw a masked man advancing towards me.
Petrified, I stood rooted to ground, too frightened to move.
With a sneer on his face, the man came nearer and nearer.
I had to escape. I had to. I forced my trembling legs to move.

\"Get back here!\" the masked man threatened.

Without a backward glance, I ran up the stairs, slammed the
bedroom door shut and opened the window to call for help.


In this example, the tension is built by slowing increasing the
intensity of the problems the character faces:

1) Heard a creaking noise

2) The character is alone at home and in a
big house
- being alone makes it more scary for the character and being
in a big house makes the source of the sound harder to pin down,
you need some time before you discover who or what caused the
noise

3) The rooms were dark and shadows loomed in the corners,
making the character more fearful

4) Just before the light is switched on, the creaking sound is
heard again

5) The character finally finds the source of the sound-
the masked man

6) The masked man advances

7) The character bolts for the bedroom

At this point, the masked man has yet to catch the character.
Unlike the other example, where the problem escalates too fast,
here the intensity of the problem slowly increases, thus
making it more gripping for the reader.

You can get your child to do this when he writes, get him to think of
how he can increase the intensity of a problem slowly and write down
the points of increasing intensity before writing his story.

TAS

Thank you TAS for the clear explanation. I do not have the time to look through your old treads but I heard there is a lot of good stuff on synthesis, grammar etc. Do you mind if you can type out the links here? Thank you very very much! :lol:

krazykid:

I realize this is an old thread but just in case someone searches for tap dance classes in the central area...


You can check out Dance Arts @ Funan

http://www.dancearts.com.sg

Is your child at this centre? How do you find it?

deminc:

My ds did that when he was 4 plus for half a year. I felt it was linked to stress so tried to address that.


Dh and his sister both did that, also linked to stress. It can damage the teeth, esp the molars, over the years. According to the dentist, dh's molars are as worn as someone ten years older than he is. For adults with chronic grinding, a teeth guard can be worn to protect the molars from excessive wear and tear. It is possible to grind until the teeth are excessively short, but this take years to happen. The grinding can also cause headache and jaw stiffness during the day. The best is still to address causes of stress and tension. At one stage I would get ds to practise relaxation techniques before sleeping (he had a hard time sleeping).

What are some of these relaxation techniques? My hubby grinds his teeth all the time, I am worried that he is too stressed up at work.