Weekend Reflections- Welcoming the Tiger

Next weekend we will be shooing away the Cow and ushering in the Metal Tiger.  This week we will be busy spring cleaning the house and getting everything ready for Chinese New Year.  This year we will not be traveling back to Hong Kong but staying here in Singapore for a relaxing time at home.

I recall as a child I used to look forward to Chinese New Year as the highlight would be receiving red pocket money. Opening up the red packets and counting the total “collection” for the year is what we use to look forward to. It would be consider a great bonus if we received red packets of $10 and above.

I also love feasting on the Chinese New Year cookies, Bak Kwa (Roasted Meat), grandma’s homemade pineapple tarts and lots other goodies.

After I started work and got married, I  had to start dishing out red packets to the younger generation. Instead of receiving  cash I had to give out cash and it became  something which I do not look forward to. When the kids came along it started to even out the playing field as they would be receiving red packets in exchange and there would be less “monetary loss”.

However as the years pass and my cousins and  the extended family expended there were lesser chances to meet up with each other during the Chinese New Year season. Many of them take the opportunity of the extended holidays to travel overseas during this season.

Going visitation and feasting on Chinese New Year goodies are no longer appealing to me nor the boys.

I no long enjoy eating  Chinese New Year goodies as they are extremely unhealthy and do little to prevent an expanding waistline and a sore throat.

The boys too are not really into eating as they rather spend the time playing with their trains or the new Wii games we purchased for them.

It seems extremely torturous for a 3yr old and a 5 yr old to spend an hour or more at a relative’s house where one could not do anything else beside eating or watching something boring on the television.

I too do not fancy having to put unwanted restrains on the kids at relatives house to prevent them wreaking anything or pulling a temper tantrum due to boredom.

This year we will only be visiting my parents and the rest of the time we will be chilling out at home.

How will you be celebrating your
Chinese New Year?

Handling Misbehaviour in Class

It can be extremely torturous dealing with a hyper lot in class. The different personalities and upbringing of the 42 individuals in my class often leads to classes of opinions.

Almost daily I have to take the role of judge and jury as I try to maintain peace within the four walls.  It is really mentally and physical exhausting having to deal with the same errant children over and over again.

Through my career I have come across three main types of students who constantly misbehave in class.

The Clown

This student loves having attention on himself even though it maybe for the wrong reasons. He does silly actions and loves to have other pupils laugh at his lame jokes or behaviour.

The Elephant

This student can and does get physically or verbally abusive with other pupils in class. He enjoys playing the bully and destroying other pupils property and happiness.  He behaves like a bull in a china shop leaving a trail of destruction.

The Mad Hatter

The typical chatterbox who will talk about anything and everything. He doesn’t have an “off” switch and the volume which he talks can be extremely loud and distracting for others around him.

What I have realized is that there are similarities between these three personalities. What these students  are craving is for immediate attention and positive or negative affirmation. They may not receive “sufficient” love and attention at home, therefore they seek such “attention” in class.

To keep misbehaviour to a minimal in the class I have set  class rules since the start of the term.

The students follow a 3 strike system.

Strike 1- Verbal warning  is given to the student to stop the misbehaviour.

Strike 2- The student’s name is written on the board and he would have to stay back after class for a “talk”

Strike 3- The student’s parent is called up and told about the misbehaviour in class.

By implementing such a system it has helped me keep my cool and get less distracted by these “side attractions” in class.

How do you handle misbehaviour in class?

Giving your Child a Holisitic Education

Education today is focused more on educating individuals to be able to relate to themselves and society. A lot of reflection and self analysis are encouraged among students.

It is nowadays not good enough just to memorize and regurgitate what has been taught to you.  You would need to analyze and explain the rational behind your choice and support it with evidence you have researched prior to you presenting your case.

To be able to think strategically and analyze  rationally the problem laid out before you is not an easy task for an adult least a child. Getting to the crux of a problem and understanding it is already mind blogging enough.

Being able to think through and consider all possibilities plausible is quality that is expected of a great leader.

How then are we able to cultivate such a mindset in our child?

1. Give your child time and space.

   Showing signs of being  bored or irritated with your child who is struggling to find the answer will make them want to give up without trying.  Give you child ample time to source for the needed information with minimal assistance.

2. Do not spoonfeed your child with information.

   Searching for information by oneself is something that shouldn’t be robbed from a child. Information gathered through a child’s own resources is more readily absorbed than have information just placed at their feet.

   Spoonfeeding also breads laziness as they would expect everything to be given to them on a silver platter.

3. Allow your child to make mistakes and grow.

   To expect perfect results from a child every time  is simply unrealistic. As if many life lessons are learn from experience. Sometimes we do not give a child the opportunity to falter as we want to spare them the agony of failure. You may think that you are doing your child a favor
   by sparing them from the pain but in fact you are doing them an unjust as you are robbing from them a learning opportunity.

4. Teach them to think out of the box.

   There may not be a “model answer” for every question or project that one is faced with.  Different solutions may surface depending on the angle you are looking at.  It is like you looking through a prism. Light hitting the prism at a different angle will produce different colors of the rainbow.  The answer maybe easier then one had expected it to be.

5. Teach them how to reflect on their actions.

   For each action there is a consequence be it for good or bad. Being able to reflect will allow one to self assess what has been done properly and what needs to be corrected.  If the child is able to self reflect it will greatly increase their ability to understand their surroundings and how complex problems can be broken down and simplified.

Weekend Reflections- Kids Work

Ryan recently brought home this piece of artwork which he had completed in school. It was made from recycled material as the theme was on “Going Green”.   I like the idea of the kids using scrap material which they recycle.

Roy too did a few different drawings in school

Roy’s drawings look very appropriate for display for the coming Chinese New Year which we will be celebrating in a few weeks time.

What have your kids been doing lately?