Kelvin wears specs, too!

Few weeks ago, Kelvin started complaining about now seeing faraway things clearly (mostly letters and numbers).  We sort of just brushed it off, saying his eyes might just be tired after playing with the computer. But then the complaints kept coming until one day when he came home he said his teacher suggested he should have an eye check. It seems that he was having difficulty seeing things on the white board. I called HPB to check if he can still go there for eye check up. Unfortunately, they usually just cater to those below 7 yrs old. The customer service officer suggested we either go to the polyclinic or any optical shop. So I called the polyclinic for information and also inquired from the optical shops near our place. It's a toss up between having to queue for hours at the polyclinic, paying around $15 for consultation and going to the optical shops, paying around $20-$25 if not ordering the specs on that shop.

We finally decided to just bring Kelvin to the mall since there were more optical shops there to choose from. We first visited the place where we bought Ira's frames. Eye scanning was free (yes!) and we found out that Kelvin's eye sight was already 100 degrees! He definitely needed to wear glasses. We were in the process of choosing the frames for him when we received an urgent call. I think it was a blessing in disguise cause we decided, after attending to the urgent call, that we could get second opinions from the other optical shops in the mall.

Kelvin had his eye scanned twice - at Capitol Optical and at Better Vision. We finally settled with Better Vision as the customer service person was more attentive to our queries and he was giving more information. He was also the only one (among the 3 shops we checked) who suggested for a more thorough eye check after the scanning. This process has a cost ($29) but is waived if we get his specs done at the shop. We decided since he was already there having his eye checked, and we were contented with the service of the sales people, that we will buy his specs from the shop.

We looked at possible frame designs suitable for Kelvin. But final decision was his. He preferred one that was black and squarish. He settled with a charcoal colored squarish frame which costs $99. The lenses cost $60 (normal, plastic ones). Final bill came up to be $139 with $20 discount, which meant the frame cost us $79. Not bad for a good-looking, durable frame.

 Here is how he looks like now:

our kids both nerdy looking but cute :)

2011: Turning points for my 2 boys

2011 is going to be a challenging year for my boys.

Ira just entered primary school. He is P1 at Montfort Junior School. So far it has been a good adjustment period for him. I guess that's because he didn't have to "adjust" to the environment so much. He has been going in and out of the school whenever Kelvin had events in the past 4 years. He is also quite sociable so I didn't really about him having new friends. And he is quite vocal and independent. On his first day in school he already bought his drinks from the canteen drink shop! That's an accomplishment I should say. The term is almost ending and he has shown some improvements in his hand writing, reading, vocabulary and grammar skills, as well as MT language learning skills. I think it helped that they have a new teaching method and assessment method for P1 and P2. Hopefully, he could progress as expected of a P1 student, if not better. His form teacher and MT teacher has given him good feedback during the parent engagement session. I'm hoping he will continue to do a good job in class.

Kelvin, on the other hand, is now in P5. The starting point in preparing for PSLE. First week in class and they have already been asked about their target PSLE mark! I think it's good in a way because it gives the students a goal to look forward to and work on. It will keep them focused on their studies to reach their desired marks. So far he has been doing ok in his English and MT spelling, considering he doesn't have his MT tutor now. They have more homeworks now compared to last year. And the math problems are becoming more and more difficult. Sometimes even I couldn't figure out the solutions! It's going to be a big challenge for him to do better. The hardwork that he puts in this year will have an effect on how he will fair in the coming PSLE next year. He just needs to be more focused. And he really needs to believe in himself. His teacher gave a good feedback on him based on his performance in class. With consistent monitoring on my side, and more focus, practice and self-confidence on his side, this year will be fruitful for us.

Ira's P1 MT Spelling

Mother Tongue will always be of great concern for me as a mom because we are non-Chinese speakers. But so far, Ira has shown improvements in his spelling.

Term 1

spelling 1

spelling 2

spelling 3

spelling 4

spelling 5

spelling 6

Ira's P1 English Spelling results

Term 1

spelling 1

spelling 2

spelling 3

spelling 4

2011 - Stellar Program and Changes in P1 Assessment

During the Parent Engagement Session last Friday (Feb 18), we were informed that there has been some changes to the assessment methods for this year's P1 and P2 cohort as per suggestions based on the survey done last year by the Primary Education Review and Implementation (PERI) Committee.

Here are some of the information disseminated during the meeting:

Aim of Primary Education

• lay a strong foundation
• nurture the whole child (to be a cornered citizen, active contributor, confident person, self-directed learner)

Assessment as part of learning

1. learn new topic or skill (teacher teaches)
2. shows how much he has learnt (teacher assesses)
3. gets feedback (teacher gives feedback(
4. improves

Assessment at P1 and P2 

• shorter assessments
• more and richer feedback
• appropriate types of assessment
• written assessments
• oral assessments
• for P1 - short weighted assessment tasks in term 2, 3, 4 (short and regular)
• for P2 - short weighted assessment tasks in terms 1&2, CA2 in term 3, SA2 in term 4

This means no long exams for the P1 students every term (hooray!). But then the next question is...

How will the child be assessed?

• through performance tasks
• reading, speaking, representing, writing
• poetry recitation
• show and tell
• cooking / baking
• level party
• through review work sheets

examples of how the child will be assessed:

• Math 
• shapes, patterns, measurements
• journal writing
• mini written tests - MPA (math performance assessment)
• MT 
• dialogues
• show and tell
• Game skills (PE)
• rhythm and composition (Music)
• artistic expression (Art)

There was a slide show of the sample assessment tools for P1 and P2. The actual assessment  plan and schedule will be handed over to parents in the coming week. I already got the said documents as of time of writing :)

Another change for this year is that P1 students will move on to P2 in the same class and form teacher, as compared to the time when Kelvin was in P2, wherein they were put into classes according to their final results in P1 (at least that was what I was told).

More information about Primary Education in Singapore and the current programmes can be found in this website - http://www.primaryeducation.sg.

After the general overview of the changes, we were sent to the classrooms to meet with the form teachers to know more about the STELLAR program. 

What is STELLAR?

STrategies for 

English

Language

Learning

And 

Reading

This is the method of teaching they now adapt for P1 at Montfort. 

1. Shared reading experiences
• children read the storybook with the teacher and engage in oral discussion with teacher and peers
2. Shared writing experiences
• the teacher models writing using children's language. 
• children engage in writing together and in writing independently
3. Language use activities in learning centres
• teacher prepares mini lessons based on specific needs of children to prepare them for the reading and writing activities (eg. grammar, vocabulary)

Stellar and Language learning:

Classroom environment is:

• focused on children's interaction rather than on teacher talk
• enriched with children's written language
• filled with various reading materials for children's use

Each STELLAR unit includes

1. Key teaching points 
• concepts about print (eg. spacing between words, reading from left to right, punctuation)
• vocabulary (eg. meaning of words, phrases)
2. Development of the four language skills
• listening
• speaking
• reading 
• writing

I believe this is going to be a more interactive and fun way for the kids to learn as opposed to just telling them straight about the English language details like vocabulary, grammar, etc. And it covers all language skills in each step (STELLAR) of the way.

During Kelvin's time in P1, they had a textbook and an activity book for English. With the changes in the mode of teaching, Ira now is learning English language without the usual textbook and activity book pair, but they have STELLAR activity books. I specially like the red "My Grammar Handbook" which is a summary of the parts of speech and building vocabulary topics. I have been looking for a book like this since Kelvin was in P1 but I couldn't find any. The books they usually have at the bookshops are activity/exercise books. I am looking at other books under the same publisher (Teacher's Production) which I found at the back of Ira's book. I have yet to visit their shop though (located in Ghim Moh Rd). Currently, their website is under construction. 

Anyway, here are some of the suggested activities parents could do with their children in line with STELLAR program:

• go to the library together
• allow your child to choose books to read and reread
• have lots of books, magazines and newspapers in your home
• read to or with your child or have your child read to you
• get your child to retell a story to you in his or her own words
• suggest that your child give a different ending to the story
• ask your child to identify words beginning with the same sound, for example "p" - pancake, pick, put, police, pat, etc
• play language games like word scavenger hunt
• make a list of high frequency words
• help your child learn more interesting words by thinking of new words to replace known words, for example "big" - huge, enormous, large, gigantic, etc

To help the teachers and the children in this learning process, parent-support is very crucial. Our involvement in our children's education is going to be of great help in their holistic development.

Parents can help:

• by being Role Models - read and write notes and message in front of your child
• by Understanding - each language learning requires frequent exposure to listening, reading, speaking and writing opportunities and activities rather than simply completing work sheets

P1 Parent Engagement Session (for Ira)

Last Friday (February 18), I attended the parent engagement session for P1. The school officials discussed the changes in P1 assessment (I've written them in a separate blog).

After the discussion at the hall, we headed to the respective classrooms to know more about the Stellar Program and to meet with the respective form and MT teachers.

Feedback for Ira was good. I talked to the MT teacher first (shorter queue). She mentioned that Ira improved tremendously over the last 2 months. There were different activities to teach them hanyu pinyin and Ira is coping well.


In MT spelling, Ira got only a 50 in the first test (which I thought should be the easiest one). Then he improved on the next one (85) and those that followed (100). The teacher thought that maybe Ira was able to peek on his seat-mate's paper during the second spelling test. So on the 3rd spelling test, the teacher purposefully moved Ira to another seat. That was when Ira got 100! The teacher then realized that Ira really improved over time. And she said he will continue to improve as long as he works on his MT. 


As a form of reward for excellent spelling results, the teacher gives something to the students who get 5 perfect scores (100) in spelling. She shared with me that after awarding the rewards to those students who were qualified, she informed the class that there was one student who she felt showed much progress even though he did not get 5 perfect scores. She said she also wanted to reward this boy. I was holding back my tears as the teacher mentioned that it was Ira who showed much progress and was given special reward even if he did not get 5 perfect scores (he only got 3). I remembered that was the time when Ira brought home the magnetic bookmark and he was happy to show it to me. 


From the start of this school year, based also on the feedback of Ira's tutor, I knew that he was going to have difficulty in his MT subject. But I still wanted him to try and what he could do until the end of the school year. So far, his MT teacher said that if he works harder, he will learn more and will do well. I just hope that he does have the same interest and results as Kelvin when he was in P1. For now, whatever results he could get, as long as I know he does his best, will do.

When I was done talking to the MT teacher, I queued up to talk to the form teacher. I was quite worried cause I know how talkative and sociable Ira can be. I can just imagine him talking to his seat-mates while the teacher is discussing something in class. When it was my turn to talk to Mr. Thiru (heart-pounding), he smiled and said "He's ok! He's good!" I was like, "That's it?" in my head. He said Ira participates in class and raises his hands whenever he wants to answer. Although there are times when he talks to his friend, the teacher just calls Ira and then he will pay attention. 


In their star chart (reward for good behavior), he has 2 stars and no star deductions so far. That's good to know. When I got home, I asked Ira how come some of his classmates got 4 stars, he specifically mentioned that it was unfair because the boy who got 4 stars was the class monitor! Hahaha. He really knows how to complain.


Well, so much for the initial feedback on Ira's progress in class. I hope he continues to do well and have interest in all his subjects. Still a long way till the end of the school year.

School Year 2011 - Term 1

Time flies. We are now on the 2nd month of the school year. Everything has been ok so far for the boys.

With no MT Tuition, Kelvin has been doing quite well in his Chinese spellings. Hopefully, he can study well for his CA1 this coming first week of March. He has also performed good in his English spellings which are very much different from previous years. In P5 their spelling list consists of sentences and paragraphs where they need to memorize ALL the sentences while the teacher only  dictates a portion of the sentences. Got to have good memory for this type of test. His math is more like a review of last year's topics with additional higher level topics. 

As for Ira, he will not have exams this school year. This is part of the changes MOE is doing so students will have a smooth transition period from K2 to P1. He will have formal assessments and other measures which will be discussed further during the meeting this Friday. He often talks of what happens in class, especially if their group (Silver) racks up points. Last week, their group got the most points and each group member was given a small marker. His MT spellings have improved from 50/100 in the first spelling test, to 85 then 100. He himself said that he was improving and he aims to get 100 in the next spelling tests. He also got 100 in his English spelling, but still awaiting results for the succeeding ones (the teacher does not hand over the spelling notebook in time). As for Maths, he can add and subtract and do some simple problem sums. I can say he has adjusted quite well with being sleepy as the only complaint. He just needs to improve on his writing, so I make him do writing exercises everyday (when he doesn't fall asleep in the afternoon).

Can't wait to attend the meeting on Friday and know more about the assessment process for P1s this year. I'm hoping for a good result for term 1 for both of them.

Old memories, Old toys

Our scheduled trip to the Children Little Museum was finally put into action. We took a bus going to Kampong Glam and walked to Arab Street where a very small shop lead to the toy museum on the second floor.

on the first floor

Kelvin point to the brand of this very old refrigerator - KELVINATOR.

it's still working!

some displays of old robots made of tin

admission to the toy museum on the 2nd floor is $2 per person.

We've already got the tickets. Hopefully it's worth it!

It was not a really big museum of toys. There were some glass cabinets showcasing old toys and memoirs from way back 1950s. There were old school report cards and health books.

this one's an old barber shop chair and salon thing.

Ira checking out what's on sale at Ah Seng Toy store. 

a wooden sword

getting thirsty? You might want to try some cool drinks at this old drinks stall. 

They even have very all coke bottles!

toys galore from the olden days in Singapore

Ira enjoyed this car track even more. 

Displayed on the walls are the owners baby pictures and some of their formula milk and bottle (made of glass!).

the book shop - with old pencils, erasers, sharpeners and some magazines

go cart anyone?

resting for a while

old army plane with soldiers parachuting down

rocking horse on the wall

a different kind of stroller/walker

Ira leaving his mark. Writing something in the guestbook.

piles of guestbooks dated back several years

this isn't working

Ira loves binoculars

So much for our trip down Singapore's memory lane (in terms of toys). This wasn't the biggest and most collection of toys we've seen. But it also amused the kids. They also offer old toys in the shop.

Details:
Address:
40 Kandahar Street Singapore 198895 (near arab street)


Opening hours: 
Monday - Friday 11am-830pm
Saturday-Sunday 11am-6pm


Admission fee: $2


Contact person:
Allan 8196-0138
Janet 9379-1614 (please take note as of March 2012, she is no longer in connection with the Toy Museum)