People have been asking what’s my strategy on handling my kids during their PSLE year.
How I can stay calm and relaxed, yet manage to bring their dismal scores to straight As, with the kids enjoying the ride. Sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it?
I’ve decided to chronicle #4’s P6 year, which would also serve as a beautiful journal for her last year in primary school.
I believe that the first step is their mentality. If they are motivated and willing to work hard, half the battle is won.
#4 is all psyched up and excited to embark on this final year, where the scores do matter to a great extent.
There’s a sense like finally, now it’s my turn!
She had spent the December holidays getting her room in order, personalising stationery and making sure everything is neat and tidy and conducive for studying.
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| PSLE diary |
So where does she stand?
She scored 74 for English, 44 for Chinese and 61 for both Math and Science.
Yup, lots of room for improvement, especially Chinese.
My expectations for her are to get an A for all 4 subjects and here’s why.
English:
She has always been reasonably strong in English and I hope that she can get a high A to help pull up her overall aggregate. She has never had an interest in reading and the only thing she reads is my blog and some of #5’s books which I don’t really approve of.
Action: Encourage her to read daily, with a wider variety of genres. Their English tutor who handled the older 3 girls has agreed to teach #4 so that’s settled.
Chinese:
All my kids are weak in Chinese because we don’t speak the language at home so she needs to put in a lot of effort this year. She has dropped to lower Chinese and hopefully in this banded class, she is able to progress with students of her similar ability instead of struggling with higher Chinese last year.
Action: She definitely needs Chinese tuition asap to brush up on her oral skills, composition and comprehension. Their aunt has done an amazing job tutoring the older 3 and managed to pull up their grades from borderline passes to As, so I’m hopeful #4 is able to achieve it as well.
Math:
She needs to keep pace with what is taught in school and not let her confusion with certain topics escalate. A lot more time has to be spent on drills to improve her accuracy and speed.
Action: Her aunt will be free to coach her once a week after Chinese new year and give her individual attention to spot her weak areas and explain concepts which she is unable to grasp in class.
Science:
From experience with the older 3 kids, I realise that to do well in the Science paper, not only do they need to understand the concepts but they have to be guided on the key words to use when answering the questions in order not to lose marks.
Action: I am keeping an eye out for a good Science tuition for her to recap the concepts learnt from primary 3 to 5 and to guide her in tackling the paper.
So far, the amount of homework given has been reasonable and she still manages to squeeze in 1 hour of playground time and get to bed by 8.30pm.
The year is going to move along very quickly and I hope her enthusiasm and stamina holds out!
Related posts:
6 things to do in the PSLE year
What I expect from a good tutor