School is out for the years and the kids are now on vacations. Â This year has been a growing up experience for Doggie boy as it was the first year that he was in elementary school. It has been a fun and trying year for him as he adjusted to the new surroundings and expectations.
Here is a list of 10 things which Doggie boy learned about being in Primary 1.
You can sleep in…Everyday!! In fact it is okay to wake up at 9am and still be in time for school. (He is in the afternoon session by the way 🙂
You get to handle $$ and decide what you want to eat during recess.
There are more people to play with and things to do in school as compared to when he was in kindergarten.
There are tests and exams that one has to prepare and study for.
He has to be responsible for his own actions. Ie: Washing his own school shoes.
It is okay not to know everything as long as you are willing to learn.
Ask if you are in doubt.
You get lots of holidays after each school term.
It is fun especially there are lots of games/ activities to keep you occupied.
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
Classification of verbs (eg. jump, walk, crawl)Â 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:Â 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: Â 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?
