Child Tuition
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Hi everyone. To all those who have experiences having a kid around in the house, I have a a few queries and require some help. I'm currently giving tuition to my cousin who is in pri 3 now.
First of all, I had planned to give him 2 hours of tuition but it seems that at the most he can at least try to focus and concentrate is roughly about an hour and half. After that, whatever I say will not register in his mind and he will look tired and sleepy or he will simply not concentrate at all. Hence, I usually stop teaching after 1 and a half hour of tuition. Should I carry on doing this? His mom herself is having difficulty making him study and teaching him in his school work. She asked me to be very fierce with him. What should I do? Because I believe that the child would enjoy and understand his studies better if he is given a more relax and less pressurised environment? So currently I'm only strict if his concentration starts to wander off and I will scold him and ask him to pay attention. What should I do?
Second of all, the homework I gave him are not a lot. I believe he would be able to finish it in time but he always did not finish the homework I given him. Should I be harsher on this? If I punish him by giving him more homework, it would not make any sense.
How do I teach composition to this kid? It seems that he does not know the idea of a composition at all. He can write the sentences. The idea is there in the sentences but the sentences are not linked to each other. I'm thinking of buying a book of model compositions for him so he can get an idea of how it's suppose to be written. Should I?
In Maths, his problems in problem sums is that he can read each sentence and understand the sentences individually but as a whole, he would not understand. He would not know what to do. I used to believe for maths, practice makes perfect. Should I bombard him with a lot of problem sums with the same concept so that he would understand the concept of doing the various problem sums?
Also in his maths, he is so dependable on using his hands for calculations, that even simple additions and subtractions does not comes naturally for him. For example 8+3, 12-4, he would have to use his hands. How do I solve this problem of his? Even multiplication also. I forced him to memorize but he just can't memorize cos he will start using his hands when I test him. Division, he will start to trial and error. Just hantam only. I just want to ensure that the simpler calculations he are able to do it naturally and not waste time and even make costly mistakes. Any methods of teaching him?
When he do not understand certain things, I would explain to him using analogies and explain to him slowly bit by bit. He would nod and say "ahuh" and "yah" but when I ask him again he say he still don't understand. How leh?
Just asking any of you guys who are experienced in teaching kids or understand child psychology to give me a hand in some of these problems highlighted.. Thanks for any.. -
Hi, I am a father of two boys and am very involved in their studies.
Getting angry or becoming stricter is not the solution. You need to find out what the problem is.
Some children cannot focus too long (even if the lesson is interesting) Some children get bored easily. Some children do not like some subjects.
The sum of the above is the same: child does not to study. Getting angry or punishing the child may not achieve much. Encouragement - share with him the joy of getting good marks. Start with simple test papers/exercise sheets so that the child has a very good chance of getting good scores. Allow the child to boast his scores to his parents. Make sure parent praise the child. Work up the difficulty level as he progresses. Reward - stickers, erasers, sweets all help. Sometimes a little break with some games thrown in helps.
Subjects:
English - Reading cannot be overemphasized. My older son reads a lot and he has no problem now that he is in Secondary school. My younger son does not read as much and it shows in his vocabulary. I am not sure what this child has read, but you need to identify is capability and give him books that suits his level. Short stories are good because there is no attention-span issues. Model composition is also good but adult supervision is necessary in explaining writing styles. My family plays Scrabble a lot and it had helped my younger son's English.
Maths - Yes practice is important, but firstly understanding the concepts is more important. If his basic is poor, work on it, don't mind him using his fingers as he'd soon grow out of it. Continue to give short exercises, but time him - say give him 10 to 20 simple questions but time him - reward him after that if he attains the timing. Reward more if he gets them all correct.
On the overall, what is the expectation of his parents on him. Most of us with that our children can become dragons
wang zhi cheng long. But the reality is that some of our offsprings are just a little more than worms (cruel analogy but true in many sense). If his parents expect you to work wonders by enforcing discipline and homework and making the child into a genius, they are wrong. Life does not work this way. Many times, we have to take baby steps and solve issues individually.
If you need any more info PM me. I am also in the learning process of bringing up children. -
When i was a kid, i use to be very scared of the cane.
If anyone use cane to threaten me, i sure will listen to them de. -
Excellent! What you have said so far is what I feel very strongly. I know rewarding helps but my auntie said no. I praised him whenever he did something correctly but somehow he would purposely "celebrate" if he got something wrong. It does not seems to work so far.Originally posted by Chin Eng:Hi, I am a father of two boys and am very involved in their studies.
Getting angry or becoming stricter is not the solution. You need to find out what the problem is. Some children cannot focus too long (even if the lesson is interesting) Some children get bored easily. Some children do not like some subjects.
The sum of the above is the same: child does not to study. Getting angry or punishing the child may not achieve much. Encouragement - share with him the joy of getting good marks. Start with simple test papers/exercise sheets so that the child has a very good chance of getting good scores. Allow the child to boast his scores to his parents. Make sure parent praise the child. Work up the difficulty level as he progresses. Reward - stickers, erasers, sweets all help. Sometimes a little break with some games thrown in helps.
Subjects:
English - Reading cannot be overemphasized. My older son reads a lot and he has no problem now that he is in Secondary school. My younger son does not read as much and it shows in his vocabulary. I am not sure what this child has read, but you need to identify is capability and give him books that suits his level. Short stories are good because there is no attention-span issues. Model composition is also good but adult supervision is necessary in explaining writing styles. My family plays Scrabble a lot and it had helped my younger son's English.
Maths - Yes practice is important, but firstly understanding the concepts is more important. If his basic is poor, work on it, don't mind him using his fingers as he'd soon grow out of it. Continue to give short exercises, but time him - say give him 10 to 20 simple questions but time him - reward him after that if he attains the timing. Reward more if he gets them all correct.
On the overall, what is the expectation of his parents on him. Most of us with that our children can become dragons wang zhi cheng long. But the reality is that some of our offsprings are just a little more than worms (cruel analogy but true in many sense). If his parents expect you to work wonders by enforcing discipline and homework and making the child into a genius, they are wrong. Life does not work this way. Many times, we have to take baby steps and solve issues individually.
If you need any more info PM me. I am also in the learning process of bringing up children.
He is doing about 60ish now. And when he gets 70ish his mom would still be not satisfied as she wants him to get 80ish and above. Target set is high. So now, is it right to tell him well done as he has improved or should his mom reacted correctly? Because, if he is praised he would be just contented with getting 70ish and would not be determine to get any higher or improve but however, if we are not satisfied with his results, he would be demoralised and wouldn't attempt any better as even when he improved, we do not seem to appreciate his improvement. So how?
I am only his elder cousin and I only see him at most twice a week. And like I said I can't teach him for more then 1 and a half hour as he would be off track. How am I able to do so many things with him? His parents are working and the timings can be really weird sometimes and when they come home they are too exhausted to sit down and focus with their child. Any suggestions?
He likes to read but somehow what he shows in his english so far does not reflect upon the fact that he likes to read.
I will try playing some games with him like scrabble. Might help I think. Any other games that might help him? -
Correct, it may work on some kids but nowadays, the kids are smart in a way. They know how to rebel. This cousin of mine has already knows how to use the word stress. My aunt has been strict to him. He very sacred of his mom. When his mom comes home, he would all of a sudden be very attentive to me, action paying attention only.. Haha..Originally posted by rathcycle:When i was a kid, i use to be very scared of the cane.
If anyone use cane to threaten me, i sure will listen to them de. -
seriously...the parents MUST be motivated enough to help their child...and their actions must reinforce this...coming home exhausted is not exactly a good excuse...its part of their own responsibility as parents...U are the cousin...and what U are doing is basically no different from a tuition teacher...or maybe even a teacher...U teach for a few hours per week and the lesson is over...there is no continuity in the teaching process in the sense that there is no follow up at home...the kid go back home....nuah for a few days...then come back and see U with nothing added in the brain...no point.Originally posted by dinky1409:I am only his elder cousin and I only see him at most twice a week. And like I said I can't teach him for more then 1 and a half hour as he would be off track. How am I able to do so many things with him? His parents are working and the timings can be really weird sometimes and when they come home they are too exhausted to sit down and focus with their child. Any suggestions?
I will try playing some games with him like scrabble. Might help I think. Any other games that might help him?
monopoly will help in calculations. -
No no, please don't view the parents in a negative way. His mom is very motivated and is more then willing to improve her son's studies in anyway. But she just can't seem to find the right method. My elder brother taught her other elder son and it was good. My elder taught another of my cousin, and she is doing very well in her studies. When it comes to this cousin of mine, my elder brother went up to my aunt and said he surrender. I suggested making him go tuition centres but she say he would definitely not focus in a group study. I took this up as a challenge and also as an experience so I would know what to do with my children in the future.Originally posted by Xcert:seriously...the parents MUST be motivated enough to help their child...and their actions must reinforce this...coming home exhausted is not exactly a good excuse...its part of their own responsibility as parents...U are the cousin...and what U are doing is basically no different from a tuition teacher...or maybe even a teacher...U teach for a few hours per week and the lesson is over...there is no continuity in the teaching process in the sense that there is no follow up at home...the kid go back home....nuah for a few days...then come back and see U with nothing added in the brain...no point.
monopoly will help in calculations.
You are right, the teaching process has to carry on after the tuition finished but how? -
I would punish if the child did something wrong on purpose.
In all seriousness, getting 60+ at P3 is really not too good. My own targets for my boys have always been 80+, in my case, they usually get it. But before someone starts to tell me that I've set my targets too high, let me say that my preparation for my boys' learning process started very very early. Therefore it is not a reflection of what everyone should do ( I also know of some parents who want nothing less than 95+).
To get a child to perform better, I usually sit with the child and review each question and look at why the child was not able to answer those questions. In the case of mathematics, I always pointed out to my son that if he's just a little more careful, he'd gotten a almost perfect score, but because of his carelessness, he lost some marks. The child need to know where he had gone wrong, meaning, he needs to understand the reality that if he'd just pushed himself a little more he'd get a much better marks. Most important, a child need to be able to push himself. Unfortunately, this has got to do with the home structure (see below on parenting)
I think the critical thing is NOT to make him get 80+ but to consistently delivering 70+. Consistency is the key word. So I'd say your immediately goal is to push his scores to 70+ for, say, over a period of 3 to 4 test. But in the interim you need to dissect each paper as to which section is he doing badly in (you are aware that the papers are all broken in sections right). Bear in mind that the long term goal is PSLE. Where the short term goal is concern, address all the weak areas in the tests.
Parental support - this is, to me, the weakest link. If a parent has no time for the child, I believe the child is lost. This is nothing you can do. I (with my wife) spent lots of time with my sons. We do lots of things together. As a matter of fact, tonight, we will be putting the finishing touches to our 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle. My family is extremely close and enjoy each others company and talks a lot with each other on how we spent our days.
Discipline - I firmly believe in the cane, but I have raised my boys well that I don't need it anymore. Discipline is NOT about venting the parent's frustration and anger on the child, it's about teaching and moding the child's behaviour. It has to be done in love and instruction. Never cane when the adult is angry. Never cane when there is no explanation.
Hope this helps. -
Agreed so far.. But how do I solve those area of studies he is weak on? For english, reading helps signifcantly? If so, what kind of reading materials? Maths, the calculations problem. Should I push for him to memorize his time tables? The problem sums leads to the problem of his english as he has trouble understanding them. Any suggestions how to improve them?Originally posted by Chin Eng:I would punish if the child did something wrong on purpose.
In all seriousness, getting 60+ at P3 is really not too good. My own targets for my boys have always been 80+, in my case, they usually get it. But before someone starts to tell me that I've set my targets too high, let me say that my preparation for my boys' learning process started very very early. Therefore it is not a reflection of what everyone should do ( I also know of some parents who want nothing less than 95+).
To get a child to perform better, I usually sit with the child and review each question and look at why the child was not able to answer those questions. In the case of mathematics, I always pointed out to my son that if he's just a little more careful, he'd gotten a almost perfect score, but because of his carelessness, he lost some marks. The child need to know where he had gone wrong, meaning, he needs to understand the reality that if he'd just pushed himself a little more he'd get a much better marks. Most important, a child need to be able to push himself. Unfortunately, this has got to do with the home structure (see below on parenting)
I think the critical thing is NOT to make him get 80+ but to consistently delivering 70+. Consistency is the key word. So I'd say your immediately goal is to push his scores to 70+ for, say, over a period of 3 to 4 test. But in the interim you need to dissect each paper as to which section is he doing badly in (you are aware that the papers are all broken in sections right). Bear in mind that the long term goal is PSLE. Where the short term goal is concern, address all the weak areas in the tests.
Parental support - this is, to me, the weakest link. If a parent has no time for the child, I believe the child is lost. This is nothing you can do. I (with my wife) spent lots of time with my sons. We do lots of things together. As a matter of fact, tonight, we will be putting the finishing touches to our 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle. My family is extremely close and enjoy each others company and talks a lot with each other on how we spent our days.
Discipline - I firmly believe in the cane, but I have raised my boys well that I don't need it anymore. Discipline is NOT about venting the parent's frustration and anger on the child, it's about teaching and moding the child's behaviour. It has to be done in love and instruction. Never cane when the adult is angry. Never cane when there is no explanation.
Hope this helps. -
I believe in "spare the rod and spoil the child"...this is especially useful when the kid tries to get questions wrong on purpose...attention-drifting....etc...Originally posted by dinky1409:No no, please don't view the parents in a negative way. His mom is very motivated and is more then willing to improve her son's studies in anyway. But she just can't seem to find the right method. My elder brother taught her other elder son and it was good. My elder taught another of my cousin, and she is doing very well in her studies. When it comes to this cousin of mine, my elder brother went up to my aunt and said he surrender. I suggested making him go tuition centres but she say he would definitely not focus in a group study. I took this up as a challenge and also as an experience so I would know what to do with my children in the future.
You are right, the teaching process has to carry on after the tuition finished but how?
parent-child bonding can happen at other times...revision time IS revision time.
does the mom's motivation stays as motivation and not translate into actions?
I think if the mom sits down with the kid every night and helps him with the revision...the kid should be able to improve bit by bit...and its a long term process...cannot say do it for 3 months and expect to see miracles... -
English - yes, read, and practice story writing. Get books on synonyms. Engage in long conversation, like how was his day. I believe people writes the way they speak, which is why I do not encourage spoken singlish (unless the singlish is intended) or written sms-style messages. I still constantly correct my boys' spoken English when I hear something wrong.Originally posted by dinky1409:Agreed so far.. But how do I solve those area of studies he is weak on? For english, reading helps signifcantly? If so, what kind of reading materials? Maths, the calculations problem. Should I push for him to memorize his time tables? The problem sums leads to the problem of his english as he has trouble understanding them. Any suggestions how to improve them?
Maths - yes, memorize the time tables. This one cannot be help. die die must know. Yup the problem sums can be a issue with P3 kids. Give him some time. Maybe when he does it during tuition, ask him to explain to you before he proceed with the calculation.
Boy oh boy.... you haven't covered science yet.... and you think you have problems....
ciao... packing up and go home awreaddy. -
I believe reading is the only way to improve on english...checking the dictionary helps...I dont think U will see improvement in a short time...but well...reading more never hurts?Originally posted by dinky1409:Agreed so far.. But how do I solve those area of studies he is weak on? For english, reading helps signifcantly? If so, what kind of reading materials? Maths, the calculations problem. Should I push for him to memorize his time tables? The problem sums leads to the problem of his english as he has trouble understanding them. Any suggestions how to improve them?
time tables...no choice...have to force him to memorise....at his level...they tend to use addition to make up for their inability to multiply...take note of that. -
too much details for me to read, sorry din read much....
i m one who don't like canning but oh boy i scold alot 
different child diff way bah....mine will drift into his day dreaming mode even more if i cane and scold.....maybe i din do it right altogether...i think some strictness couple with fun/motivational is necessary..depending on the situation...like if they have resistant within the learning session...then hv to be strict. Sometimes its diff to make all the lessons fun, cos some really need to be drilled....and if we make them all fun....how about in class...they will switch off i think...cos since no fun...
strongly agree with chin eng parents must not cane with feeling angry....i have learnt to walk away or ignore when i m super angry.....
and to be more patient with my son (P3), and he is showing great improvments. its really diff when it comes to a great dreamer like mine. (everyyear receive comments or rather complains from teacher he is dreams in class)
best to give bit by bit....diff child diff length of concentration...most imptly don't make them get too frustrated with studies or learning...i have learnt that from him, gets negative effect....
since the boy only has concentration for 1 and half hour let it be bah....(actually i think its very good already)........
can understand what the mother is going thru....i have struggled hard for the 'right' method for my boy...only now two yrs i found connection to his learning ha ha.....really tough....i m still learning....
does the boy like communication?? my boy does,...so those with reading a passage then instead of making him write, we discuss and tok....the next day he told me he wants to do the same thing again....
you might want to get this maths 101 problem sum....starting sure will hv some resistent and wat not.....after some tries and pushing.....they will get to understand how to go about....then it will be smooth riding....
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Surprisingly, his interest is in science and he is doing ok in science. Only let down is the english part of the science. Spellings and so on. Anyway, he just called me and was anxious to tell me he got 30/40 for his maths test yesterday so I congratulate him and said well done but he said his mom said it wasn't enough. I think, on the surface he may not show that he care much about his results but deep down he wants to do well and make his mom proud. I can tell that when he called just to tell me what he got for his maths test. What do you think?Originally posted by Chin Eng:English - yes, read, and practice story writing. Get books on synonyms. Engage in long conversation, like how was his day. I believe people writes the way they speak, which is why I do not encourage spoken singlish (unless the singlish is intended) or written sms-style messages. I still constantly correct my boys' spoken English when I hear something wrong.
Maths - yes, memorize the time tables. This one cannot be help. die die must know. Yup the problem sums can be a issue with P3 kids. Give him some time. Maybe when he does it during tuition, ask him to explain to you before he proceed with the calculation.
Boy oh boy.... you haven't covered science yet.... and you think you have problems....
ciao... packing up and go home awreaddy.
Hmm, but I am still stumped on how to teach him composition. It seems like his school teacher is not teaching him anything.
You are a good dad. Keep it up! I would want to be like you some day but I don't think my career would allow me to do that..
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this thread is good...must put as fav,....when my mind is ready to absorb, can come here learn learn abit....
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hi dinky..
im giving tuition a p4 girl currently and she managed to maintain 85 and above so far for all her tests.. in the past, her results used to be hovering ard 60+ to 70+.. cant say that im an experienced tutor cos i onli started teaching recently but anyhows, hw i managed to get her to do it:
1. build rapport with ur student. let her understand that youre there to help her in her schoolwork and be patient whenever he/she is slow. dont let her hav an impression that youre a fierce teacher.. dont shout, be gentle.. when he or she doesnt do the work, then ask why with a serious look. listen to his reason... no time? laziness? try to work out a solution fr dere..
2. my tuition kid finishes up e hw i giv her on time because i told her that if she doesnt complete her work and drags it on to the next week, the work would pile up and she'll nvr finish it in the end.. explain to him nicely that too.. sometimes you shouldnt just teach e poor kid continously for 2 hours.. its good if you tok kok n share w him some useful tips, like for exams and maybe add in some life lessons n "relax" for a few mins, nt too long though.
3. when the child does well, u reward him or her with small lil gifts. since hes ur cousin, u can ally with parents lo. hahaha.. even better.
4. oh yahz.. and if im supposed to explain one whole chunk of stuff to my student, i'll break it up and explain to her step by step, asking questions along the way. i dunno whether u get wad i mean? haha.. after explainin everything, i'll pick n give her a question fr the textbk relevant to what ive explained.. if she dunno hw to do.. i will continue to drill the same concepts into her.. nt juz skip d concept like that.. hahaha.. im very evil..
5. its totally normal for them to use their fingers to count! really!! haha... my pri 4 tuition kid also uses her fingers to count too. its quite a bad habit lah, i admit.. but if it helps in ensuring that they dont make careless mistakes during the paper.. so i dun see a reason why they cant count with their fingers..?
but i believe they'll outgrow it when they get older la.. in pri 5 and 6 perhaps?
6. one last thing, dont hestitate to shower ur cousin with praises whenever he can solve a question.. lolz it helps.. like "yes! very good!", "well done!" or "wha... so li hai, i didnt think of that!"... stuff like that. n i realise that the more i praise my student, the better she performs..
haha.. yupz thats abt it.. are you on good terms with ur cousin? like close? try to reflect on ur teaching methods.. and consider the followin: why is ur cousin sleepy during the lessons? does he get sufficient sleep per day? are ur lessons too dry for him? 
teaching isnt just abt passing on knowledge to the child.. its abt understanding n communicating well w him..
i think kids in the past r very different fr the kids nwadays. so far for all the kids ive taught.. nt even one told me that their parents caned them.. so discipline is abit of a prob these days? i dunno manz..
when i was a primary sch kid like 8 or 9 yrs ago, my mom used to cane me whenever i was lazy and made sure that all my tests were above 90. so scary! in the end, for six yrs, i had to live up to her expectations and topped the levels in pri 1, 2 and 3.. pri 4 gt into em1.. psle special.. hahah sian manz.. what a childhood
but i guess i owe it all to her lah -
ok, im tired.
but just a few points.
DO NOT cane the child.
let the parents do that. never cane a child if he/she is not your own.
and im 18 now, but i still use my fingers in math.
nothing wrong with that.
as for multiplication...my dad made me do it this way:
"one times one is one. one times two is two. one times three is three..."
make him say it out loud.
it worked for me...
may write more on this topic (esp. the psychological aspect) when im not so damn tired. -
Average attention span is usually capped at 45mins. Once past the 45mins mark, then marginal returns will rapidly decline.
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try the beltOriginally posted by dinky1409:Correct, it may work on some kids but nowadays, the kids are smart in a way. They know how to rebel. This cousin of mine has already knows how to use the word stress. My aunt has been strict to him. He very sacred of his mom. When his mom comes home, he would all of a sudden be very attentive to me, action paying attention only.. Haha..
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You know what, I'm doing exactly like you do. Really, I heaped the praises when he do something correctly, I break apart the chunk and explain to him even phrases by phrases and he will say he understand but put together, he don't understand haha sometimes this guy is really cute.. Because he is my cousin, he's comfortable with me so sometimes he just can't seem to focus. And thats the bad part cos it would be so difficult to explain stuff to him. He would yah yah everytime I ask him question even when I stop asking him question he will keep yah yah. Then I realise I had wasted my breath haha..Originally posted by papercut87:hi dinky.. im giving tuition a p4 girl currently and she managed to maintain 85 and above so far for all her tests.. in the past, her results used to be hovering ard 60+ to 70+.. cant say that im an experienced tutor cos i onli started teaching recently but anyhows, hw i managed to get her to do it:
1. build rapport with ur student. let her understand that youre there to help her in her schoolwork and be patient whenever he/she is slow. dont let her hav an impression that youre a fierce teacher.. dont shout, be gentle.. when he or she doesnt do the work, then ask why with a serious look. listen to his reason... no time? laziness? try to work out a solution fr dere..
2. my tuition kid finishes up e hw i giv her on time because i told her that if she doesnt complete her work and drags it on to the next week, the work would pile up and she'll nvr finish it in the end.. explain to him nicely that too.. sometimes you shouldnt just teach e poor kid continously for 2 hours.. its good if you tok kok n share w him some useful tips, like for exams and maybe add in some life lessons n "relax" for a few mins, nt too long though.
3. when the child does well, u reward him or her with small lil gifts. since hes ur cousin, u can ally with parents lo. hahaha.. even better.
4. oh yahz.. and if im supposed to explain one whole chunk of stuff to my student, i'll break it up and explain to her step by step, asking questions along the way. i dunno whether u get wad i mean? haha.. after explainin everything, i'll pick n give her a question fr the textbk relevant to what ive explained.. if she dunno hw to do.. i will continue to drill the same concepts into her.. nt juz skip d concept like that.. hahaha.. im very evil..
5. its totally normal for them to use their fingers to count! really!! haha... my pri 4 tuition kid also uses her fingers to count too. its quite a bad habit lah, i admit.. but if it helps in ensuring that they dont make careless mistakes during the paper.. so i dun see a reason why they cant count with their fingers..? but i believe they'll outgrow it when they get older la.. in pri 5 and 6 perhaps?
6. one last thing, dont hestitate to shower ur cousin with praises whenever he can solve a question.. lolz it helps.. like "yes! very good!", "well done!" or "wha... so li hai, i didnt think of that!"... stuff like that. n i realise that the more i praise my student, the better she performs..
haha.. yupz thats abt it.. are you on good terms with ur cousin? like close? try to reflect on ur teaching methods.. and consider the followin: why is ur cousin sleepy during the lessons? does he get sufficient sleep per day? are ur lessons too dry for him? teaching isnt just abt passing on knowledge to the child.. its abt understanding n communicating well w him..
i think kids in the past r very different fr the kids nwadays. so far for all the kids ive taught.. nt even one told me that their parents caned them.. so discipline is abit of a prob these days? i dunno manz..
when i was a primary sch kid like 8 or 9 yrs ago, my mom used to cane me whenever i was lazy and made sure that all my tests were above 90. so scary! in the end, for six yrs, i had to live up to her expectations and topped the levels in pri 1, 2 and 3.. pri 4 gt into em1.. psle special.. hahah sian manz.. what a childhood but i guess i owe it all to her lah
I believe that most children at this young age, they learn by emulating others. By examples. It's hard for them to try understanding some stuff.
In problem sums, how do I explain to him the "more than" "less than" questions? He thinks that "more than" is + and "less then" is -. It is true depending on how they are being used right? For example, "How many apples do Jane have more than Mary?" This is a minus question. But no matter how many times I teach him he would still comes back saying plus. How leh? I even tried doing models with him but even models also he has difficulty understanding. Any suggestions? -
Hmmm... I can try that out.. It might just work.. Thanks!Originally posted by udontknowme:and im 18 now, but i still use my fingers in math.
nothing wrong with that.
as for multiplication...my dad made me do it this way:
"one times one is one. one times two is two. one times three is three..."
make him say it out loud.
it worked for me... -
The weakest link in this whole process is his parents. Please share with them what I'd said, if they are able to log on, I am even willing to share with what I do to my kids. They should not compare a child with his siblings or friends' children. A child is a unique individual. To challenge him to perform better, the parents need to accept the child as he is. Work on his strength and rectify his weakness. The secret of success is motivation - how to motivate the child and how to keep him motivated.Originally posted by dinky1409:Surprisingly, his interest is in science and he is doing ok in science. Only let down is the english part of the science. Spellings and so on. Anyway, he just called me and was anxious to tell me he got 30/40 for his maths test yesterday so I congratulate him and said well done but he said his mom said it wasn't enough. I think, on the surface he may not show that he care much about his results but deep down he wants to do well and make his mom proud. I can tell that when he called just to tell me what he got for his maths test. What do you think?
Hmm, but I am still stumped on how to teach him composition. It seems like his school teacher is not teaching him anything.
You are a good dad. Keep it up! I would want to be like you some day but I don't think my career would allow me to do that..
Kids all want acceptance, and being accepted by their parents is paramount. If the parents reject them (through insulting comments) kids will just shut off.
30/40 is actually quite good - projected score is about 70+. His parents need to recognise that it is not possible to have hyper jumps in scores. Each time a score improve, is a definite move in the right direction. Each time a score deprove is an opportunity to know where and why something has gone wrong - and work on these mistakes.
P3 Composition is not too difficult. Perhaps you may ask him to write on anything that interest him. It can be a cartoon show, or trip to a shopping centre - anything he chooses. This way, he can freely express his thoughts. The number of words required are not that much anyway. Once the passage is written, go through with him by suggesting linking words, or more complex words - these are the things that will score points.
School teachers have about 40 kids per class. Realistically they cannot be be relied on much.
P3 Science quite chicken feet - wait till SA2. then P4.... xiong! I need my older son to help my younger son. -
Maths: I like to use visible tools like colour pencils or Lego blocks to explain more than or less than. Lego blocks are also good to demonstrate number bonds - you know, the long bars which needed to be broken down or added onto. I had heaps of problem last year too for more than/less than. Sometimes vomit blood. But I use pencils - keep some for myself and give some to the child, and use it as a platform to explain more than/less than.
Use more visual aids for maths! Lego blocks are super! -
hey splashy... how's life?Originally posted by a_splash:this thread is good...must put as fav,....when my mind is ready to absorb, can come here learn learn abit....
I bet you are prepping you kids for SA1 hah? Me too..... long study weekend coming..... ha ha... -
hi Chin Eng,Originally posted by Chin Eng:hey splashy... how's life?
I bet you are prepping you kids for SA1 hah? Me too..... long study weekend coming..... ha ha...
how is everything.....very busy??
me very bo eng now....preparation is quite last min....and lots of juggling with the little one (two yrs old) clinging onto me....
and this year my dotter has one additional challenge, that is Higher Chinese....
hands really very full......
i m still rec'g comments from my son's teacher that he dreams in class....that part i can only keep reminding....
but at home he has shown lots of improvement in many areas (not just studies).....after all my squeezing of my brain juice for methods to apply for him (sometimes i really wish my brain can work faster in generating ideas to apply) ....it so relieving to see him show some improvement.....
i think for your boys, their saws are already sharpened by now....
its nice of you to be still sharing so much of your experience in teaching your children....keep it up Chin Eng!! do send me a link if you hv shared in any thread more ideas in any parenting area ok!