Preparing for primary one

Getting ready for Primary One- A Reflection

Monkey boy in his graduation gown when he was in K2

Monkey boy in his graduation gown when he was in K2

It has been nearly four years since Monkey boy entered Primary school. I remember back then when he was in K2 I had to decide in July/August which school I should send him to.

It was a very important decision back then as his entry to the Primary school of my choice would mean that I didn’t need to worry about Primary One admission for his siblings as it would mean a guaranteed entry for them.

In 2011 I wrote about Preparing for Primary One detailing what I had done while preparing Monkey boy for Primary one.  The registration processed hasn’t change that much since there.  The only difference is that  registration for Phase 2C  can be done online and Citizens are given two ballot slips in the event of a ballot at their chosen primary school.

I’m sure you know how important it is for a child to have a good and solid foundation from young in order to succeed in life.   I believe in not putting my child in a pressure cooker environment or one that can stifle his growth instead of promoting it.

It is with this in mind that I chose a school that wasn’t overtly focused on academic excellence and promoted  holistic development of the child.  The school also had to be able to cater to the different learning styles and pace of my 3 kids.

I am lucky that I was able to see experience first hand the learning environment in the school that the boys are currently studying in.  I had the privilege to teach at that school for two years before going on NPL when Tiger Girl was born.

You can say that I am well versed with the culture of the school and know both from an educator and a parents view how the Singaporean Education system is like. I know the positive and negatives points of it and how to help my kids get the best out of it.

Even though academic results do play an important part in opening doors to further education learning morals and values are what will see you through the rest of your life.  An A+ report card means nothing if one is lacking the EQ and other survival skills.

I wasn’t that concerned with the technicalities of admission when it was time for Doggie boy to be registered for Primary One. With his elder brother already in school he was already guaranteed a place under Phase 1.

I decided to focus on the physical and mental preparations that I went through with him and  wrote the series – Preparing for Primary One the 2nd time around. 

Now that he is in Primary Two and have gone through the first year of school without any issues it has reaffirmed that I have made the right decision back then on which school to send the kids.

Are you among the group of parents registering your kids for Primary One this year?

How would you be deciding on where to send your child?

 

(From  my  2011 series)

  1. Registration Process for Primary 1
  2. What is expected of your child.
  3. Before  Primary 1
  4. Preparation for the 1st day of School

(From my 2013 series)

  1. Preparing for Primary One (The 2nd time around)
  2. Preparing for Primary One- Doggie Boy Style (Mental Preparations)
  3. Preparing for Primary One- Doggie Boy Style ( Physical Preparations)
  4. Preparing for Primary One – Looking back at Primary One [ Guest Post]
  5. Preparing for Primary One- Preparing yourself Mentally as a Parent
  6. Preparing for Primary One- A look through The Eyes of a Mom [Guest Post]
  7. Preparing for Primary One- From Teacher Sarah’s Desk [Guest Post]
  8. Preparing for Primary One-Questions and Answer Round Up

 

 

 

Preparing for Primary One- Questions and Answer Round Up

Primary 1 series 2012

For the past three weeks I have been  sharing with you what I have been doing to prepare Doggie boy for primary one. Today in the final installation I will be answering questions that were asked by my readers in regards to preparing their kids for primary one.

 

Question  #1   –How much pocket money is consider as enough for P1 kids?

 My answer:   $1.50-$2 a day.  The price of food has increased over the year.  It costs anything between $0.70-$1.20 for a plate or bowl of food during recess. Your child would be able to save a bit if he brings his own water bottle and do not buy drinks.

 

Question #2 – How much parental involvement is involved? Do you help with packing the schoolbags, or do you let them handle it themselves, and not bail them out if you forget something? How much homework supervision is healthy?

My answer:
In the initial few weeks I do check his bag after he has packed it. I let my kid do all the packing of the school bag by himself. I won’t bail them out if they forget to bring a book/item to school. He has to face up to the consequences if he doesn’t pack his bag properly or forgets to bring an item.

I do check my child’s homework after he is done and do check with the teacher off an on how he is performing in school.

 

Question #3- what are the things the child needs to learn by K2 in prep for P1 (Not talking about the KS type of over preparing the kid but if the child needs to know for e.g. Number bonds by then, this would be good knowledge) and for the various subjects please

My answer: I have covered this over at my Preparing for Primary One (2011)series

 

English

Vocabulary

  • Classification of verbs (eg. jump, walk, crawl) and nouns (eg. aeroplane, house, shopping centre)

Grammar and Punctuation

  • Singularity and plurality, adjectives, pronouns, possessives
  • Present and past tense

Written Expression

  • simple descriptive sentences for composition writing (Eg, Jane is wearing a red blouse and blue jeans.
  • penmanship- legibility of words written given a specific passage.  (I’m personally not too concerned if Monkey Boy’s writing is not print perfect. It is more important to me that he and the teachers understand what he is writing. )

Oral and Show and Tell:

  • Formal tests involving:
    • Reading of a passage in the presence of the examiner
    • Discuss the events depicted in a picture with the examiner
    • Develop and present materials for a presentation to the class based on topics chosen by the teacher (eg. “My Favourite Toy”)
    • Having a dialogue with the examiner based on a given scenario.
      ( *This is something new which will be slowly introduced to the students to prepare them for the changes which will be implemented during PSLE in the coming years. )
    • Students will be graded based on clarity of delivery and content.

Mathematics

  • Addition and Subtraction up to 20
  • Multiplication in 2s, 5s and 10s
  • sequencing and number bonds
  • completing 2 step questions and problem sums

 

Question #4- P1 classes are typically much larger – 30+ to 40 pax. This may intimidate a child. What can a parent do to ease the child into it?

My answer:  It depends on which kindergarten your child has been to. Some like PAP have bigger groups with 20 kids or more in the class so they may have already been used to big groups. As a parent you can bring your kid out to events for their age or sign them up for holiday camps with activities for groups of 30-40 people so that can get used to being around a larger group of kids.

Question  #5- How would you handle bullying?  If your kid is bullied, how do you help the child to tell him / her that it is NOT OK and what the child needs to do?

My answer:   I will advice the child to approach the teacher or an adult if he feels that he is being unfairly treated. He should tell the person to stop or go away from the aggressor. It is not okay to keep his feelings to himself but approach an adult for help if cannot stop the unwanted behaviour on his own.

 

Do you have any other questions which you want me to answer?

Do put them in the comments below.

 

 

 

Post in this series

  1. Preparing for Primary One (The 2nd time around)
  2. Preparing for Primary One- Doggie Boy Style (Mental Preparations)
  3. Preparing for Primary One- Doggie Boy Style ( Physical Preparations)
  4. Preparing for Primary One – Looking back at Primary One [ Guest Post]
  5. Preparing for Primary One- Preparing yourself Mentally as a Parent
  6. Preparing for Primary One- A look through The Eyes of a Mom [Guest Post]
  7. Preparing for Primary One- From Teacher Sarah’s Desk [Guest Post]