Maths Orientation

Attended my first P1 parent orientation. .. and guess what. I ended up fearing what is expected of us as parents from the school! Maths has always been easy breezy for me in primary school and never did  I expect to feel stress and anxiety sitting in a course that no longer requires me to take an exam. There were a total if 3 workshops organised for the parents by nan chiau primary school. First was a brief by the English Hod who kept boasting about her children's competencies and how they can read beyond their peer level under her engaging tutelage to make reading fun and a part of our lifestyle. We were reminded by her to encourage our kids to read physical books ie no ebooks or newspapers and make learning interesting by encouraging role play etc. She demonstrated how a show and tell should be presented ie with illustration and short scripts to tell a captivating story. I wonder if p1s can all do it.. or will it end up as a parent homework under family bonding facade. Parents are left with 2 piece of home work post session:-
1. Bring your child to a library over the weekend
2. Write a note to your spouse and child everyday to espouse the love for writing.

Well maths was more chim. We were made to sit  through bonds and model drawing.  Teachers shared tips on how parents can help their kid Understand bonds through daily items. Train using coloured sticks/ egg trays / red packet games etc key is to Learn through play.

For maths word problems,  the computation is split between method marks and answer marks. Students are required to show proper steps and model, Write the equation and final statement. Although model drawing is not compulsory, it helps in visual illustration.
Students have to ensure not only the fact that the answer is correct, methodology or steps cannot be missing as teachers are checking the linkages.

Last but not least it's Chinese. The Chinese standard in Ncps is really high. The teachers speak in perfect mandarin with 诮舌. I made a video which Chris said it puts him to sleep instantly. 老师说家长要与学校陪合。在家要多阅读和孩子进修。MOE had also designed a home online teaching curriculum to equip parents with the skill to encourage Chinese learning. http://xuele.moe.edu.sg/xuele/slot/u107/index.html

First week was gone in a breeze and dear Natalie complained that there wasn't any learnings. Little did she know that post this orientation period she will have so much more things to learn and information to absorb.