The ONG family Homeschool

Our Homeschoolers Sing! Christ the Lord is Risen!!!

As I mentioned on the FB page,  conducting christian young persons choir is one of the more meaningful things I do as a homeschool mom. It is not meant to be an exclusively homeschool choir, but it turned out that the homeschoolers were the ones who were able to attend on monday afternoons. Kids who go to school are already quite tied up with school and CCA activities.

Anyway, we started this choir to give our children an opportunity to sing in a choir setting: sing in parts, do sectionals, learn singing techniques, etc.The fruits arising from this endeavour has been tremendous! Most exciting are the reports from parents of how their children are practicing their parts at home, enjoying singing together. I can testify to that: my own kids have been breaking out in song and in different parts whenever and where-ever (especially when they are travelling... :) )

We have been putting up half yearly concerts for the children to present what songs they have learned, as a chance to perform before an audience of family and friends. I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful and supportive community of homeschool parents who will turn up and enjoy their children's work. And their children are simply a pleasure to teach: responsive, polite, and attentive. Creative and humorous! They make choir sessions such a fun learning time.

Alas, with baby no. 6 due end June, I decided to have just one term of choir this year and we culminated all the choir we had done from January till March with a mini Ressurection week concert. Will certainly miss the kids. :(    

During choir, I do allocate some story and activity time that is related to what the children are singing so they sing with greater understanding. We enjoyed learning about the passover sacrifice lamb and Jesus the Lamb of God. What a blessing to teach (in most cases here, reinforce) bible truths to the children, how Jesus loves us to come to earth to die for us.

Without further ado, here's the older choir (9 -15 yrs) singing Look and Live. I challenged them with a more difficult program this term and they really rose to the challenge. Well done!!!

Listen to the last chorus where they sing acapella. :)

 

And this was the grand Finale combining with the younger choir (6-9 yrs) with Christ the Lord is Risen Today. So wonderful to hear their pure voices singing in glory and honor of Jesus!

 

Lord willing, we will re-start choir next year (2013). When bb no. 6 is 6 months old! :)

Blessed Resurrection Weekend to all. Jesus died once that we might live. He rose again to prove He has conquered death and we who believe in Him will follow in the same!

 

Letters from Readers: Homeschooling beyond PSLE, feelings of inadequacy, and are some children more disposed to the homeschooling setting than others?

Wow... I've all too quickly come to the last week of my second trimester! I shall miss you, second trimester.... First trimester is always about hormonal adjustments, third trimester is plain heavy, hot and achey. The backache already started a little last night after spending time in the kitchen cooking dinner, and that reminded me: third trimester is here.... horrors....

 Well, since the first 6 months have zipped by so quickly, I do earnestly pray that the last three will zoom by as quickly. :))

Funny thing, our Beijing chinese lao shi asked me the other day why I was sprouting so many pimples. I said must be all the chilli I've been eating. I bought a bag of chilli padi and have been eating it with my lunches. Then she said the Chinese have a saying that with boy pregnancies mothers like to eat sour and with girl pregnancies- spicy hot! haha... they were right (in this case.)

 

So anyway, lately, I've been getting several emails from folks who want to find out more about homeschooling, or they just want to talk to someone who is homeschooling. I'm publishing one such exchange (with permission from the asker) for other's benefit. This asker and her husband are praying for the Lord's will concerning their children who haven't gone to primary 1 yet. Maybe there are other folks out there who have similar questions and doubts. These answers from me are, of course, purely my opinion and are based on my experience thus far, so take it or leave it. :) But I do hope it will be helpful to you, dear reader.

 And thank you for writing me, J! :D

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 First, what are your thoughts on higher education? We were just thinking if we homeschool through primary school, what's going to happen after that? Unlike the US where there are plenty of options and more people homeschooling, I'm not sure about our local scene. Can we homeschool through secondary level? But that would be like 9 subjects, and I don't think we can handle that (horrifying thought!) Or what happens after that? Polytechnic probably? Is JC still an option? I do recognize that God makes every child different with different gifts, but I would like to know more about the options available.

 

Ans 1)  With homeschooling, the options for secondary school and beyond are wide open. Yes, JC is still in the cards for a homeschooler, poly too...... In fact, you don't have to think of how you are going to teach 9 subjects like the schools do. Your child doesn't need an O levels to enter university. (That's why the "through train" students in some schools skip O levels altogether and go straight to A levels in 6 years.)

You could use the homeschool curriculum certification and perhaps add an SAT or some other recognized certificate to apply for the institution of higher learning of your choice. For instance, there are ACE students in Singapore who have been admitted to certain faculties in NTU and the polys. And not just ACE of course. (I personally know such young ex-homeschoolers, btw.)

This is my take:
The beauty of homeschooling through the pre-college years is that you get to draw out the path together with your child, with God's guidance. Indeed, it is not a cookie cutter path that is predetermined by the school which just kinda pushes you on to the next level and the next, but it is a highly individualized, tailor-made education with an end goal in mind.

What I'm saying is that, for us as homeschooling parents who love our children and are so in tune with our children's talents, strengths and weaknesses, pray for God's will for the child's life work, and then chart out an education path to get them to that goal.

Like if you know your child is inclined to maths and engineering, you would want to help your child get all the prerequisite certification in order for him or her to enter in a course to get the relevant degree.

Sure, it sounds "if-fy". It is hard to know from the start what the child is inclined to do, or God's specific will. This is faith and trust and holding God's hand through the journey of growing the child God has given you. It is a way of choosing your child's education with God's will in the centre of it. Not just going with the tide of society and economic needs, or even what stream or class your child lands up in in Secondary School!!

Then there are also the arguments for homeschooling your child through the teen years. The teen years are the best years to really bring to fruition all the training you have been doing in the childhood years. Letting them go to be trained by peers and other folks who do not share your convictions is really such a waste of effort when you could be using the teen years to really dig deeper and bring out the best of character training.

For us, we are sharpening our arrows for the Masters use, where-ever that may be!

 

 

Second, do you struggle with feelings of inadequacy? I must confess I am not as patient as I ought to be :( And I find myself shouting at my children at times, and have to seek forgiveness. I get tired quite easily too, and at times wish that I could accomplish more. I suppose homeschooling parents would have to actively seek out opportunities for their children to make friends, or join some external activities or some field trips. Will that be overwhelming, on top of academia and the normal running of the house?

 

Ans 2) Do I struggle with feelings of inadequacy? lol, constantly! (just read a couple of posts down and you will see, I mention it ALL the time.) Yes, I loose my temper too often and yes, I do have to ask my children for forgiveness. Nobody steps into this parenting job with all the answers and with a perfect record. I take it as myself learning together with my children at the feet of Jesus. I am learning about my sinful self and how I do need my Saviour to cleanse me and help me parent, not in the flesh, but depending on the Holy Spirit.

Field Trips and seeking out friends... yes, we do that. Mostly it is the ready community of brethren at church that our children play with. And then, there is quite a sizeable and active community of homeschoolers in Singapore and there's so much going on with these folks. Parent initiated activities, learning groups, Science days, geography days, history days, Sport's Day, museum trips, Open houses, etc etc....

As homeschoolers, we have the flexibility to work our daily schedules around field trips. Call a holiday when it's a birthday or something. :) It's only overwhelming if you are trying to accomplish too much. But if you can let the school work rest for a day, catch up on another day, it is really meaningful for the children to learn outside of the desk and books.

 

Third, I have heard of stories where homeschooled children grow up, not appreciating the parents' decision to homeschool them :(  That would be very sad. Have you encountered this, or what do you think could have caused this to happen? I have heard someone said before that children with certain characters are not very suitable to be homeschooled. For instance, children who are very outgoing, sociable, and love to make friends may find it stifling to be at home mostly (unless the family has many children). Do you think this is true?

 

Ans 3) Yes, I have heard of these accounts as well. Why not ask how many children who are sent to school end up rebelling against, ostracizing and disrespecting their parents? :)
 
Bottom line is, homeschooling can be seen as merely a vehicle of transferring family culture to the next generation, the academic part being a "by-the-way" thing.  Parents can be successful or unsuccessful in doing that.

For us, it is the biblical injuction to train up our children in the way they should go: according to the Bible, this responsibility is given primarily to the parents. So that's why we do it with confidence.

Having said that, I do recognize that not all families are suitable to take the homeschooling path. I've come across many parents who think homeschooling is a great idea but who are at the same time fearful, and not confident, (and are content to stay that way). And then there are some kids who need to be exposed to social interaction situations so they know how to respond (like kids who are autistic.) Pulling a child out of school, when the child has become very happy with being surrounded by peers day in and day out, might be one of the difficulties parents may face, But by and large, I believe the success of homeschooling rises and falls on the parents, not the temperament of the child.

There is an excellent book about this subject matter by Michael Pearl, it's called Jumping Ship. (See right hand column of the blog, it's there.) His observation is that parental hypocracy is the biggest reason why Christian homeschooling families do not produce offspring who keep the faith.

To buy Jumping Ship (and lots of other excellent Christian parenting and homeschooling books) in Singapore, please go to beiandkai.com

Blessings!

Suwei

The Homeschool Teacher

Just some random thoughts off the top of my head, thinking about some recent happenings around here.

I've heard some moms say that they can't homeschool because they don't have the confidence to teach their children (probably to reach an educational goal or certificate in mind, like the PSLE.) In some cases, it may be a valid reason. One valid reason I can think of would be if the parent is not proficient in English....like I mean problems in  grammar, vocabulary, what have you..... Basically, like me with Mandarin. If I were to prepare my child for exams in Mandarin, I too will say I am not adequate. 

BUT I need to clarify, homeschooling is really not only about preparing our children for exams. Some folks I've encountered have a misconception of the term "homeschool" and think I'm doing like a private school with my own children as my students and have enquired if I am able to take in their children as well. Seriously. Where do I begin to explain myself??? lol

No, in homeschooling, we are preparing our offspring for LIFE- and the scope of teaching and learning is far wider than Languages, Maths and Science. And anyway, to make up for my inadequacies in Chinese, we do engage a home tutor for the children to, well, prepare for the exam. As a family, we have been trying to make a conscious effort to speak more Mandarin to each other. It has been an uphill task but not without laughter. Like when we use phrases wrongly. More often, my children transliterate their English into Chinese and the mistakes are hilarious! 

But to address those parents who don't have the confidence to teach or homeschool because they are the "rather be safe (ie. public school) than sorry" (ie. homeschool) folks (as if the school system is really the "safer" route) I have the following to say in my most friendly and loving way:

Being a Homeschool Teacher is a lot of O.J.T.

On the Job Training. Just like becoming a parent for the first time. O.J.T.

As concerned parents, we constantly assess ourselves and our children to check if our processes are working well, fixing what doesn't work well. Do the children relate well to us and to others? Are they growing as they should? Are they lacking in anything? etc. etc.

So, as a homeschooling parent, there is just the added dimesion of academic progress and responsibility. The parenting part of the equation (the concern for the welfare of your own children) comes naturally. The academic part of the equation can be picked up.

I am a "trained" teacher but I reckon I really apply 5% of what I learned in teacher training school in teaching my kids. Plus, I was not trained in Pri. school teaching so most of what Singapore curriculum stuff my kids are learning, I'm learning together with them. And many of us homeschool parents are not trained teachers. So what to do?

Ask around. A HS mom friend says the playground is the best place to get the latest info about exam related stuff. lol.

Go for courses.

Get good books/ websites.

There's so much self help available.

The Learning Curve

I'm talking about the Homeschool parent's learning curve. Not the child's. It really does get easier when it comes to teaching the next child in line and the next (and the next and the next... in my case. lol) You have more insight into how to teach a certain topic of maths, or explaining a certain scientific concept. (I noticed this in myself just the other day when teaching no. 2 how to round off numbers...)

The number of teaching tools you have also tend to grow over the years. Because, as a concerned homeschool parent, your ears are constantly tuned to information on a good website to teach geography, or the latest electronic device/ learning aid on the market. And you acquire those that you feel can work for you and your family's needs. If they don't work well, sell them off. ;)

Parent Teacher VS School Teacher: Who will love the child more?

Needless to say, the parent teacher has a vested interest in seeing their child succeed, not just in one subject to make it to the next year, but to becoming a well rounded, well educated person. The goals are quite different, hence the perspectives, be it long term or short term.

Our Convictions will carry us through

My hubby and I do believe that it is in God's best plan for us to homeschool our children. (For the fuller version, please go to this page.) Of course there are loads of question marks hanging over what each of our children will turn out to be. We only choose to go by the promises of God and take it one step at a time. Check your bible! God actively guides His children! We only need the faith to hold His hand through the whole process. (Readers of this blog know I constantly attest to this fact. ;) )

So, we have embraced this homeschooling lifestyle, and now we are 12 years into it and there's no looking back. I LOVE the freedom to work with my children and educate them as we deem right as a family on our family timetable.

If you have any other points or thoughts to add regarding the Homeschool Teacher, please do share in the comments or email me! :)

 

 

 

Homeschoolers' Sports Day 2011

This is a short 21 second clip of no. 1 (in black and yellow T) running, yet it says so much about the wonderful homeschooler's family oriented, parent initiated endeavours.... for the love of our homeschoolers!

The parent volunteer photographer "planking" on the track to get an interesting photographic perspective. ;)

Homeschool Mommy enthusiatically cheering her dd on!

Sounds of many many cheering homeschoolers in the background! (50 plus families represented!! only the tip of the iceberg.)

11 year old homeschoolers giving their best shot at running!

Yay for Homeschoolers' Sports Day! We had so much family fun and we are so thankful for the homeschool community for organizing this event and making it happen!

Field Trip: Terracotta Warriors

We were doubly privileged. We had the chance to see China's Terracotta Warriors! They are in town till 31st Oct. So happy that recently, homeschoolers who have the certificate of Exemption (that means only primary school going aged homeschoolers, not the teens, sadly) have been given the same privileges that school going children get. We only had to show the kid's ezlink cards and sign in, and their admission charges were waived! AMEN!

What a rare opportunity to see some of these famed sculptures. From many English Comprehension passages ago....Qin Shi Huang Di the first Emperor to have unified China. He wanted to ensure that in the afterlife, he would still be king. So he had his minions (700 000 of them) to sculpt his subjects, not only a 8000 strong army, and the calvary horses and chariots but also musicians, court jesters, farm animals, etc. etc.

 
Sadly, these are only a finite man's imagination of what life after death is. Only more of the same.  

Isaiah 55:8-9  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 

This is the kneeling archer. One of my favourites because of his dignified expression and posture.

I said we were doubly privileged because before we went to see the exhibition, we had a real life history buff, (one from China even!) give us a very interesting "pre-lesson" on Qin Shi Huang and ancient Chinese warfare. Lesson in chinese too! ;) Uncle Daan! Thank you! (So whatever little tidbits of information I share here, I attribute mostly to D. )

Quite incidentally, Daan and Carol took a honeymoon trip to Xi'an and they bought for us a mini terracotta warrior set! How cool is that, right? What a treasure to us they are!

 
The one in the front is a General and the one to the left is a commoner, no uniform.

The newly conscripted commoners have to fight wars to earn armour and rise the ranks. Before they could do that, they needed to be tough enough to survive being a front line foot man. Ancient Chinese warfare was much like the persians or romans, whereby they will set their army in formations. One tactic was to put the newbies out first so that they will run through the enemy lines and break their formation, allowing the calvary or archers or what-have-yous to go forth while maintaining their formations. So I guess that this also ensured that only the real "soldier material" conscripts actually became soldiers.

You hear lots of times that the Terracotta Warriors stand very tall, like 1.8 m tall. This fact didn't quite hit me until I experienced the exhibition, seeing them real life.... it's like woah, they ARE tall!!

Since the whole army was individually sculpted from real life faces, not cast in molds, 8000 unique faces (and different hairstyles!) imagine that.... People wondered if Qin's army really was so tall or were they just made like that to look more imposing?  The answer is yes, they probably were this tall. Firstly, Qin's army were from the North and apparently the Northern stock of chinese are taller people. (Unlike Southern stock folks like me. Sob. Shorty Southern stock me.) Secondly, Qin had plenty of people to choose from so he could have chosen only the tallest ones for his formidable army. Impressive.

 
Qin's Terracotta army consisted of many horses as well. 520 horses with 130 chariots and 150 cavalry horses. Phew. That's a lotta work.

See the life like expression of the horse? Looking at him, you could almost hear him neighing!

Would you believe that horse weighs 600 kg? Talk about dense. No wonder it could survive 2 200 years! It took a modern crane and 8 men to move it. And by the way, it isn't easy for all that weight to be resting on four thin stilts of legs either. (I can imagine the middle of the body section collapsing in. Or the head falling off.)

The people weigh half of that. Only 300 kg. Only.

 
Papa giving a little lesson to the kids.

We really enjoyed standing by them and noticing all the details about their clothes and what they might have been holding and their facial expressions. What a pleasure to do "school" with your own children and walk with them through it!

 
 At the exhibition, the kids had some fun activities to do. Collect stamps on a little worksheet. :)

 
There was a little parallel exhibition by a pop artist, Justin Lee. The kids totally enjoyed his art too!

So if you are in Singapore, and you haven't yet had the chance to go... you should.

 

Junior Handy Men (and woman!)

Friday morning, papa left the house with a short instruction to the eldest (11 yrs), fix up the shelf.

Fridays happen to be "bless the house' day for us. The vacuuming and mopping of the floors can take about 2 hours. I had some help from the children but I was still exhausted from my weekly exercise routine. (haha.) In the Singapore heat, I could wring sweat from my t-shirt by the time I was through!

I showered and relaxed on the bed to the sound of hammering... after a while, I went out to look. What a sight met my eyes! :)

 

It was mostly no. 1 doing the supervision: asking his siblings to organize the pieces and hand him the parts after he had consulted the manual. They had a hand in knocking in the nails and screwing the screws... under no. 1's watchful eye.

lol, since young no. 1 has loved fix it toys like lego. Now he gets to "play" on bigger, real life projects! :)

 
Now, do homeschoolers have opportunity to practice leadership skills and working in a team and character building?

Most certainly! ;)

no. 3 said jokingly, eh, why is mei mei sitting there, she didn't do any work!

So proud of my kiddos! Good Job, kids!

 

My Child Centered, Homeschooler Mindset

In Singapore, we have a Compulsory Education Act which requires all children primary school going age to be enrolled in school. So the year that the child turns 6, the parents have to either apply to a primary school to enroll their child, or..... if you are homeschooling, apply for an exemption (a COE or cert of exemption) from the CE act. Guess which I am doing?

All too soon, I have to apply for my fourth baby. I almost forgot, actually.

But that's because I have a child centered, homeschooler mindset.

You see, my fourth child is a december baby. Being a child centred homeschooler as I am, I look more for the development milestones of my child, rather that the chronological age of my child. Mentally, I place my child as a five year old. He's learning to read, do some simple addition. It's wonderful to see how intelligent he is! :D

(The other day, he figured that the answer to 6 + 4 is one more than 5 + 4. Just by looking at the earlier sum and making the connection. I'm not boasting that my children are geniuses or anything like that. I'm just a parent enjoying watching my children's development as it unfolds. The learning journeys I take with my children are dotted with surprises like these. What a joy and privilege to see them grow. Praise God!)

I forgot he is actually turning SIX at the end of the year and hence I have to apply for him now! In fact, it was a fellow homeschool mom who reminded me that I have to be applying for the COE this year. lol! Imagine that.

But how I feel sad for all other year end babies who have to catch up a whole year in development in order to do Primary One. This development gap is less pronounced in the later years but when they are young, from babyhood till kindie, what a big difference even 6 months makes for a child!

So, I've never been through a P1 registration exercise despite having now, 3 children who are primary school going age... I hope I never~ I hear it can be quite stressful. :p

Now to get on with that application... :)

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If you are intending to apply to homeschool, do email Ms Tan who is one of the CE unit staff at MOE. She will furnish you with details. TAN_Kiat_Joo@moe.gov.sg

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homeschooler FunFair 2011

Thanks bro J for the lovely photos!

The Homeschool FunFair was a blast! The Lord blessed us with wonderful weather, the families came and set up their stalls, there was a happy festive atmosphere and most importantly, we all had a great time together- meeting up and making new friends!

Juggling my five stones as a marketing grab. haha

By the end of the day, I only had 3 sets left! Whee! The kids earned some pocket money that day and they are so happy. Read more about our little Five Stones Factory here!

Food stalls!!! You know, something I'm learning about food at homeschool gatherings.... always super yummy!! And the KIDS bake fantastic food too! Because it is homemade/homebaked/homecooked by well practiced hands.  Mmmmmmm...

 

Hubby and I are particularly pleased with No. 1's enthusiasm with planning, making, setting up and manning his paper aeroplane game stall. Some lessons to be learned but overall, he did a wonderful job! This game stall was a passion driven project of his own devising:

 
His planning stage. We scavenged some old corrugated boards from church and he used them to cut the holes for the planes to fly through.

The building stage involved drilling holes (with papa's electric power drill no less!) into a thin pipe and using his knots knowledge to tie the pipe to the hoop. All by himself!

As a mom watching him grow, it's really amazing to see all the things he can do now at the age of 11. I am most thankful to God for this privilege to watch this young man develop and grow! Most exciting. Wouldn't miss it for the world. :)

 
With the help of papa and another uncle, he set up his game. Just use whatever is available to prop up the boards! 
 
It was most enjoyable watching him in action: talking to his young customers, instructing them about the rules of his game, folding the airplanes, cheerfully encouraging them after each attempt, etc. etc.

 
He (and his 7 yr old brother) have become quite an expert at folding different paper aeroplanes for different flight requirements. haha.... so he could advise his customers.

 
Those who didn't want to fold planes had the option of throwing balls too. The rest of the family got in on the action as well. Papa got out the loud hailer to draw the crowds... :) I could hear him from the other end of the garden where I was manning the five stone stall...

Well, there's a (not-so) hidden agenda behind this post as well! This post was in effort to de-bunk the myth that homeschoolers aren't well socialized. lol! Where did that urban myth come from anyway???

;)

We homeschool because God's word says to. And indeed, we have been soooo tremendously blessed!

Psalms 18:30  As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

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Here's another post about no. 1's creative passion in designing: submission for the Arts Festival 2011, a PeddleCopter. :)

 Dear readers, do drop a hi! That really makes my day. :) If you have any questions regarding homeschooling or Christian parenting, do email me too!

 

 

Our Little "Five Stones" Factory!

 
It's really great to be homeschooling! The children get to learn in so many different settings and the learning is all so natural and "by the way".

This week, one of the days, we all got caught up with preparing for Saturday's Homeschoolers' FunFair. What a wonderful community of homeschoolers we have. Some homeschooling moms got together and helped to organize a funfair for the community. Yay for those moms who saw the important learning opportunities these events provide for the chidlren! I'm so thankful! The homeschoolers get to set up their own stalls and decide what they want to sell. It's happening tomorrow morning (30th July). If you want more details, do email me.

The eldest is preparing a game stall and was busying formulating the game, how it is played, cost per try and prizes. etc. His papa and I are proud of him.

But the other thing we are bringing to sell at the funfair is five stones! :D Did you play it when you were young?

How we got started with the five stones....We were at a Heritage festival at Ang Mo Kio recently. (Something held in conjunction with the National Day celebrations.) Our children had a chance to play some of the games that we used to play as children like "golie" (marbles) and five stones (bean bags).

So I cut up the cloth and no. 1 had a go at the serger. He loves it! I think to him, it's like working a power tool.
 

No. 2 and 3 helped in various ways like cutting the threads and turning the pockets inside out.

 

 
The younger ones had the easier jobs of sorting the stones and placing them into the bags.

The older ones had a hand in sewing the last seam.

haha... I told him, maybe if he can do a good job with the sewing, is interested in biology and helping people get well, he might be a surgeon one day! :p (in my heart of hearts, no, I don't want him to be a surgeon.)

We were not at our desks that day, but we were STILL learning and doing "school"!

1. Calculating profit and cost. We were busy deciding on the price of each set. And thinking of all the ways to get people to buy, like having a discount if they bought 3 sets, etc. We talked excitedly about sales and if we sold at 30% discount, how much that would be.

2. Patience and perserverance. We made a total of 25 sets! That translates to 125 little bean bags!!! And that translates into lots of patience and perserverance! But I'm glad the kids didn't complain a single bit but were working happily together. I guess they were all excited about the task at hand.

3. Team work and valuing each team member's contributions. Even though younger ones did the easier jobs we learned to value each as important to get the job done, and ease the load all round. no. 4 the 5 yr old was packing the stones and twist tying the bags. He also helped in turning the pockets inside out and filling the bags with rice grains. Though it wasn't as important as using the machine to sew the side seams, he did help in the way he could and that made the job go faster!

4. Lots of Maths for the little ones. Counting in fives! Little no. 4 was learning five times table and number bonds without knowing it! Like if there were three stones, how many more stones do we need to make a set of five?

5. NE. National Education. Participating in making the five stones, my mother also had the opportunity to tell the children of the times when she was a young girl and poor. They didn't have money to buy toys so they made their own. My children were surprised that por por (grandma) played five stones! :)

6. Learning to sew with the needle and thread. The older three children had a chance to do some stitching. And they know how a bean bag is sewn now! I never knew how before this. But hubby and I did some research on google and we learned how to as well! Life long learning! :D

7. Sales. At the funfair tomorrow, the kids will have the chance to talk to their customers and sell their wares! Calculate change! etc etc...

8. Sense of achievement. Most definitely!

 
Praise God, we are happy and blessed!

 

 

 

 

Days Flying By and some thoughts about our Maths journey

I remember the days I first started blogging. Back then I could clock one post at least every three days, sometimes less. These days, I can't seem to get an entry in in ten days! Not that I have nothing to record down, but I can't find the time to sit down at the com and get it down!

Suddenly from the start of July, homeschooling life has taken a turn for the busy. We seem to be kept busy with school work, housework, other activities day in day out, seven days a week... It's been very very fulfilling and I am happy that we are growing together as a family, the children are productively occupied and learning in a meaningful way. Importantly, the children are not overly loaded with school work but have the time to play in the afternoons and do other stuff together as a family. Like swimming on Wednesdays evenings! Field trips most definitely! :)

Homeschooling Updates.

Our eldest is about 1 year away from doing taking his PSLE. As such, we have agreed that we need to be spending more time preparing for it. We've been digging into the past year papers and assessment books! I'm so glad to see him having such a good attitude about learning. He's been perservering. In a good way. :) There is a lot he needs to adjust to with the way he is supposed to answer questions for PSLE. I see the way he erases and re-do his sums, without any complaint, I am just so proud at how much he has matured. The parents reading this who have little kids who whine at doing the slightest bit of work, do take heart! They can out grow it!! I still have whineys here.... so I'm encouraging myself too. :)

I'm glad that we could take this journey to the PSLE via the homeschooling route, that is, at our pace and the child's development. Let's take Singapore Maths. Our main maths curriculum is ACE which has a lot of drill and practice. I feel this was essencial for building a strong foundation for math. Through Pri 1- 4, we have mostly been doing the MOE math textbooks and workbooks (interesting and fun) and avoided the assessment books like plague. I feel the kind of questions in the assessment books are not realistically matched to the child's cognitive development. (Questions too cheem for a child that age.) 

Every half a year, I will print out a school exam so my children can have a taste of what the kids in school do. But there is not really any real consequence for those other than letting them try. Though the don't pass with flying colours, they do pass, despite us not really working on school exams or assessment books.

Now that no. 1 is primary 5, we have started doing the PSLE maths and at this point, he is has enough maths tricks up his sleeve, his brain is more developed and able to do abstract thinking- he quite enjoys tackling the problem sums! :) Minus the tears, struggle and banging of heads against the wall. I'm thankful we can homeschool!

The bible also says there is a natural progression and development of a child:

1 Corinthians 13:11  When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Isaiah 28:10  For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: