PLECO helped my son study for his Chinese Spelling

Ryan was pestering over the weekend to get his tuition teacher to come over and help him with his Chinese Spelling ('ting seah' or direct translation: 'listen then write'). Actually, I'm not correctly saying this as there is no such thing as Chinese spelling since it is character learning. Basically, it really means listening to the character and writing it out again. I didn't want to call in the teacher this round. And I also felt that Ryan is too reliant on the tuition teacher.

I decided to try out PLECO. I talked about this application earlier. I was playing the demo version which didn't get me that far. Here is what I thought. It is cheaper than having an electronic dictionary and will definitely teach my kid to be more independent. So, why not? Then, it got me the next question. Should I buy the basic version which is for Chinese beginners, or the 'professional' version which caters for intermediate students? The catch is that I can't upgrade from basic to professional later but to buy add-ons by add-ons which may turn out more expensive. The cost for basic is US39.99 and professional is US69.99. I'm thinking that my son could be progressing to intermediate quite soon ... so what the heck.. just get the professional version. After all, shopping for a dress might cost me more than that. I decided not to get the OCR add on -- the one that you can hover the phone/iPad over the character and it will search for a match. Cool add-pn but more for 'syiok sendiri'. I feel. The package comes with handwriting which is good enough. Handwriting means you can draw the character on the iPad and a match will appear. Then you can get the meaning and even have the application pronounce the character for you. I just felt that OCR is just good to have but not necessary.

So, I tried it out with my son for his revision on 'ting seah'. I used the Flashcard function to save all the characters for his exam so that he can practice over and again. I was also able to check whether his strokes are correct. And then, emphasizing the meaning of the characters. Cool! Ryan was excited with this new 'toy' and he actually learned quite well from it.

Money well spent! And then, my husband had to say that we could have jail broken the iPad before I got the application. Grrrrr....

My son's exam - my stress or his stress?!

Finally my son's exams are over. Phew! It does sound like I'm having exam too, isn't it? Anyways, those 3-4 weeks of review were quite tiring. In fact, it was definitely harder on my son, Ryan who had to go thru 2 to 3 rounds of tuition plus school everyday. In fact, he was asking for the tuition teacher to come in the morning session before he went to school and right after school. After that, it was followed by my session with him. You see, the tuition teacher and I split work. She took up all subjects in Chinese and I took English and Bahasa Malaysia. I focused quite a bit on BM - going very slow, word by word making sure he understood each word. I wasn't expecting him to remember all but at least 80%... that's quite demanding too, I guess. Towards the last week and exam week, I did a lot of practice with him using KSSR workbooks and UPSR workbooks. I thought like what I used to do in SPM, practice makes perfect and hopefully, the teachers would use some of those questions from the published workbooks. I know that in my days, my teachers used to copy questions from different workbooks to make up an exam paper.

A word of warning though. Don't rely on workbooks that mention on covers that they are on KSSR syllabus. Some publishers just used KBSR books and put a cover saying that they are KSSR books. The syllabuses between KSSR and KBSR are very different. You know what I did? I used my iPhone and snapped my son's text book's content page and then, went to the bookstore and check the workbooks book by book before I bought them. 

So, what I did was, after reviewing a few topics on text books, I gave him practice the same topics on a few workbooks. I aim for repetitive learning. Within reach was a dictionary which I train my son to use. So, it was a very slow and painful progress. When exam came, I found that Ryan had quite some confidence. I'm very happy. I'm not expecting 100% but an above average grade will do so that at least some subjects will help to pull up his overall grading. 

On the last day of his exam, I rewarded Ryan with 2 sets of encyclopedia which he loves. This time, I bought him encyclopedia in Malay language. I found it by chance in Sogo. I'll take some pictures and show you next time. Too comfortable now in bed, blogging. 

Actually, I was pretty much in dilemma just before his exam. I knew I pushed him very hard and he has been a good boy trying to please me by studying hard even though he was very tired. I felt very heartsick to push my 7+ year old like that but I asked myself if I had a choice. Two days before exam started, Ryan said to me just before bedtime that he was very worried. Worried what if he couldn't do well in his exam. Worried what if he didn't know how to do. I told him to try his best and try not to make careless mistakes. He told me that he wanted to be a good boy and he wanted to do well. My sister in law also just told me that Ryan told her that he was stressed a few days back. I felt really bad. Have I pushed him too hard? I told him that he has improved a lot already. Even if his results are not as good, he has already improved. He can always try to do better in the next exam. My husband told me to relax a bit. On the extreme, we don't want him to get depress like those children we hear in the news who went into extreme actions like committing suicide. That got me real worried. Straight away, I sms-ed the tuition teacher telling her not to push too hard. I relaxed a bit on my coaching method as well. And I prepared a reward on the last day of exam to boost up his spirit. Actually, it wasn't so bad. He was pretty confident with BM and English. So, let's see... the results.

I don't know I was lucky or not that I don't need to coach Raymund and Rachel. At last minute, about a 2-3 weeks back, there was a notice that MOE abolished exams for preschoolers. I'm not very sure I'm that happy about that. I feel that these children will get quite a shock when they move to primary school. My son Ryan has gone thru both environments - kindy with exam and without exam. I feel that kindy with exam is preparing preschoolers better for primary school. They will have enough shock going to a new school .. much bigger.. stricter ...and definitely, with teachers with less personal touch and care.

All for my Children's Safety

It's late and I'm still blogging. Tomorrow, I am definitely going to suffer at work!!!
Just thought I'll cover another topic - some thoughts about children's safety.

The recent ordeal over the kidnapping of the Dutch boy has certainly shaken up the nation. My friends and colleagues who are parents felt it too. I just can't imagine what the boy's parents were going through while they were waiting for their boy to come home. Around the same time, my husband told me that near his boss' residence, there was also an attempted kidnapping of two boys - similar age too. Luckily, the kidnapping attempt failed as the boys were shouting and putting up a fight. Their shouting alerted people who came out to see what was happening. The boys were so lucky. They are also private school goes.

I just received a note from my residential community telling us to tighten our security as there have been cases of burglary and snatch thieves armed with parang within our vicinity. Scary!! It sure seems that the economy is not doing that fantastic. Immediately, I told my maid to lock all doors and not let my kids play outside the house during the day. You just don't know who are the bad guys.

My eldest boy is learning Tae Kwon Do. I have all intention to send my second son to martial arts learning too. As for my girl, I don't quite know yet. My initial rationale is for discipline and some sort of self defense knowledge. With all that is happening around us, it is not a bad idea after all.

I'm going to have some bedtime stories with my kids in the next few days centering around the topic of what to do when there are bad guys, creating scenarios whether at home, in school, out shopping and so forth. This is long overdue but never too late. In fact, I told them today that if they encounter bad guys, shout as loud and make as much noise as possible. The first rule of defense.

Ok! Time for bed! Nite, nite!

Electronic Chinese Dictionary vs Online/Apps for Chinese 'super' Dictionary like PLECO and NCIKU

I don't know about you but I'm hopeless and helpless when my boys ask for my help with their Chinese. I am good in spoken Cantonese but I am as good as illiterate when it comes to reading and writing Chinese.

In one of my previous posts some time ago, I mentioned about an online Chinese dictionary called NCIKU that is very useful for people like me. Besides the usual look-up, I can use the mouse and 'draw' out the character on the space provided. NCIKU will then try to match with the characters in their base. Once I find the right character, I can just click on it and the han yu pin yin and meaning will be displayed. There is an option for the computer to pronounce the character as well. Very useful! Check it out at www.nciku.com. It was a lifesaver when my son was desperately trying to do his Chinese homework one of those days. It took a long time but I was able to help my son. That's what counts... at least during emergency.

Nowadays, technology has made it simpler for us what with smart phones and tablets and then, the creation of apps. Recently, my friend told me to try out an app called PLECO. I googled it up and found some postings saying that PLECO is the best Chinese dictionary around. Here is a demo on one of the coolest functions.

Basically, all you need to do is activate the camera function on the PLECO app, then point your iPhone or iPad or Samsung Galaxy over some Chinese characters and PLECO will search for a match in the base for the same word!! Then out comes the meaning of the character etc etc!

Only the basic PLECO dictionary is FREE. The rest of the add-ons like the above feature they call the OCR and all others are PAID upgrades. However, they have the demo versions which are FREE and they encourage us to try it out before we purchase the full version. That's good enough as I have downloaded it all to my Samsung tab. Let me tell you what it can do. Besides that cool stuff that I have just shown you, we can 'write' the character on the tab and a match will be searched. There are add-ons to have the app pronounce the character for you. Also, we can even 'speak out' the character to the mic on your device and it will then search for the app. I have yet to test out this last feature properly. Few times I did it, I was doing it in a noisy environment. Didn't work.  Lastly, it can help create flash cards for learning. Haven't done that either. Despite all these, I'm truly amazed at what the world has advanced to. What used to be conventional thick books of dictionaries during my school days have now come to this stage. But I love it!!!!

 

Actually, I was on the verge of getting an electronic Chinese dictionary for my son as advised by my son's teachers and some parents. They said it will help him with his Chinese. I went to Popular and found that the cheapest and most basic one costs more than RM800!! And the reasonably good ones are way above RM1000!! And to get for my kids and KNOWING that what goes to them wouldn't last, it will be most painful to me. I didn't get one then and was still considering. Just as well! 

Comparing, if I really have to pay for a full fledge PLECO. Well, there is no need to have the full full fledge ones as the advanced bundles are meant for adults and professionals. All we need is Pleco Basic Bundle US$34.99 which comes with the dictionary, full screen handwriting, doc (online) reader, flashcard system, stroke order diagram and audio pronunciation both male and female. And if we want the OCR, it is another US$11.99. I guess we don't need the one that lets us speak into it for the app to search. In the first place, I have to know how to speak it out first which I don't. All in all, it wouldn't cost even near to RM800 --- just a very affordable, very worth-it... RM143 !!! And it is just as handy, plus plus plus!!!

I haven't bought the full fledge version yet. Thought I will see if the demo version suffice. So far so good. 

With NCIKU, the app only comes with the basic dictionary. They don't have the full screen handwriting yet ... unless I miss it out. So, here it is.. something to share.

The wonders of apps and devices!

The Best English-Malay-English Dictionary for Kids..that I have found so far!

I've got something to share!
And yes! I'm probably one of the most irregular bloggers ever. Just the same old song... if only I have more time of my own.

I was browsing in the bookstore the other day. For some reason, I remembered a friend of mine was looking for English-Malay Malay-English dictionary for her 6 ear old son. So, I decided to browse along the dictionary section. My son is currently using Oxford dictionary for English-Malay-English references. Not exactly ideal as it is meant more for older kids and adults. I've been revising with Ryan on his Year 2 Bahasa Malaysia syllabus for his very-soon-to-come exam. To instill some interest and memory, I've been asking Ryan to look up words that he doesn't know from his dictionary. My kids' English is ok but their Malay is horrendous. With the Oxford, I felt that the words used are a bit too 'adult'. I'm looking for one which is for kids who are starting to get familiar with the language.

So, I was browsing. And I picked up this Collins dictionary and decided to flip thru a bit. To be honest, I always have preference for Oxford despite everything that I have said and I have always viewed the Collins is not exactly on par. It is that brand thing that gave me that sort of impression. No particular basis really. So, flipping thru, I actually liked what I saw. I wouldn't have appreciated it if I had not started revising with Ryan on his Year 2 Bahasa Malaysia. I went to the Malay-English section and found that the dictionary is meant for young readers. For each Bahasa Malaysia word, it indicates KATA NAMA (nouns) or KATA KERJA (verbs) or KATA ADJEKTIF (adjectives) etc. For example, for certain words like KATA NAMA, it proceeds to explain the meaning of the word and then.. gave an example of the usage of the word in a complete sentence... and not just that, it also proceeded with variation into KATA KERJA with examples on the usage of the word and so on. I should have taken a picture of the inside/content. Regret! I was so tempted to buy but Ryan has a dictionary already. I didn't but I'd like to share with you if you are looking for one.

It is not the regular Collins dictionary. Look for this one.

COLLINS EASY LEARNING
ENGLISH-MALAY BAHASA MALAYSIA-ENGLISH DICTIONARY


If I remember correctly, it costs RM39.90 thereabouts. You can find it in all major bookstores. I saw it at Popular Bookstore and Borders.

Hope this helps.

A Visit to Popular Bookstore

Following the earlier post... yep! I'm panicking. My children... nah!!

Reflecting.. I don't remember MY mum panicking during my time. Why ah? But then again, my kid's  Standard 1 syllabus now is my Standard 3 syllabus then. It is therefore no wonder why my mum can't understand why I'm so worried about my kids' studies. The pressure on young kids today is so great .. sigh!

So, I need to expand both my sons' Chinese vocab and literacy thru reading. And I need workbook practices of KSSR syllabus in preparation for Ryan's exam. I can only do English and BM for him.

So, that calls for shopping for books. I tried going to those local bookstores usually opened by Malay or Indian proprietors, thinking that KSSR for Kebangsaan schools and SJKC books are the same. Actually they are NOT. Coz I actually took a snap of the BM and English syllabus with my phone. Then when I was at the store, I checked the workbook's syllabus with my son's school books. They are not the same. The shopkeeper thinks that the KSSR syllabuses BM and English for SJKC are easier.

I made a visit with my kids to Popular Bookstore instead. I got about 3-4 books each. This is so that I can do repeat practicing by topic when I coach Ryan. And while we were there, I got some Chinese books for Ryan, Raymund and Rachel. Ryan loves encyclopedia and we found a good one in Chinese. He has been holding onto it since that day and every day and sleeping with it :). For Raymund, I got some simple Chinese storybook reading with English translation and Han Yu Pin Yin as well. Rachel didn't want to lose out, so she got herself a small Chinese English similar book and a Disney Princess tupperware.

 

All my kids were happy. But that is just the beginning. I have yet to find time to read with them. Then again, I'm Chinese illiterate. So, I have to depend on my tuition teacher instead.

My next task now is to find children's encyclopedia in Malay. So far, I can't find any. And I don't know where to look for. To get Ryan to expand vocab in any language is to get him to read his area of interest... encyclopedia. I'm asking around still.

All these collections of books will be used to help Raymund later. Hopefully, he will share the same interest in knowledge. Ryan has managed to influence him a little. But Raymund is still young. He is still very attached to his toys :). He is very partial to pencil boxes and containers.

My Kids' Exam is coming...who is panicking??

My kids' exam is drawing near... in May. Yes, its another month's time but it is really not that far away. Now that all 3 kids are schooling, I don't know who to concentrate on first and whether I can cope for all at the same time. And I only have weekends to do so. My work is going crazy now too. Ryan is still my main focus since he is in Std 2 but Raymund is in his last year of kindy.

I was asking their tuition teacher about Ryan's progress. No doubt better but she thinks Ryan is still going to struggle in Chinese esp Science and Math where the questions are going to be in narrated. Ryan's school teacher also fed back the same. I have established a communication method with Ryan's school teacher. The same what I have done when my kids are in the kindy. It's thru the Message Book. It is worse in Primary school and especially so in Chinese school where the access to teachers is so very restricted. Practically little or no opportunity to talk to teachers. Yep, I may be a bit anal but I want to know my kid's progress. So, I tested to see if the teacher is receptive to notes to her thru the Message Book ('tung kau pu') and I got Ryan to pass it to the teacher to see. She is ok and in fact, my tuition teacher has also been communicating to her on Ryan's studies. Works well. And I recommend for mummies to try. During Std 1 days, I used to write notes on a paper and get Ryan to pass to his teacher but the Message Book is lots better so that there is a trail and consistent place to look out for messaging. Once even, his teacher initiated a note to me telling me that Ryan had not been studying for his spelling and was the only one with zero in the class. Since then, I was able to push for interest and good results from him. This 2 way communication proves to help either party to know where are the weaknesses that we can concentrate on for Ryan.

Because exam is round the corner, I dropped another note to the teacher to ask her where are areas that we should concentrate on. She advised to get Ryan to read more Chinese books to improve his vocab. She also mentioned that she has moved Ryan to front roll to 'watch out for him' knowing that he is not a 'Chinese based' boy. Cool or what :)

With Raymund, he is still in kindy. I'm less worried as he has been quite consistent with his exam results. That is 100% in all subjects. His teachers have been pretty responsive and when there is a problem, they will call me instead. The one piece that I have to concentrate for Raymund is reading. He is almost hopeless with Phonics blending. I noticed that this is a common problem in a lot of children. My colleagues' kids are having the same problem. His other problem is obviously Chinese!!!! Am I surprised??

Looks like I need to set aside time to guide my kids. The good thing about this is all my kids love it when I guide them ... even though I can be quite fierce when they are not concentrating :). I guess they want Mummy's attention.

I'm just worried I'll fail. Sigh!

Teacher Yap Creative Learning Centre for Chinese & Bahasa Malaysia Enrichment

I have discussed at length on Bao Bei a while ago. You can check out this post 'Just Checked Out BAO BEI Reading Wonderland (Chinese Enrichment for Age 3-10)' for details. 


My friend told me that a comparable and perhaps better Chinese enrichment is this centre called Teacher Yap Creative Learning Centre or 葉老師創意教學中心. I decided to check it out today.







Teacher Yap Creative Learning Centre is not operating a franchise. This was one of the 1st questions I asked when I got there with Raymund and Rachel. I prefer that it is not a franchise. At least there will be more consistency in standards and offerings. 


The selling point for Teacher Yap CLC is that the teaching focuses on full attention 1 to 1 learning for children aged 3 to 12. They stresses that the learning levels depends on the child's capability. For the very basic level, they will start with big flash cards with simple to hard chinese characters. They will use interesting interactive ways to teach the child to absorb and remember the characters. The basic level also includes reading the Odonato 'red dragonfly' series. I have written about these Odonata book series which comes in series of 100, 200... all the way up to 1200 characters recognition. According to the facilitator, the founder Teacher Yap had put together various compilation of chinese characters initially for her own 3 kids. When she found that it worked on her kids, she proceeded to set up the Centre to get young children ready for Primary and thereafter. The Odonata is the reading series supporting the flash cards piece. The centre does not believe in teaching children long sentences and pushing them to go for difficult reading. Like Kumon and Enopi, children will know and familiarize before moving from level to level. The methods, they say, are very simple and easy to understand and fun to increase absorption. The teaching comes with some fun activities like drawing and such. At the beginning, the kids will be given 'homework' which they will need to complete in class. The focus is yet again on 1 to 1 teaching. The facilitator also stresses that it is important for us parents to talk to our children, particularly in the language that they are learning. Coupled with what they learn at the centre, it would be easier for the kids to apply, understand and speak. 

Interestingly, the Centre also provides Bahasa Malaysia enrichment. Parents get to choose to go for either 1 language or both. The teaching remains 1 to 1 as is their focal point. For BM, the basic level starts of with sounds and suku kata and so on. The aim is to get the kids ready for Primary KSSR. BM and Chinese syllabus for Standard 1 today is not what it used to be. In my time, what they are studying now in Standard 1 was our Standard 3 syllabus. Poor kids! It is no wonder that us parents are frantically starting our kids young. The stress on the young children! And a great investment opportunity for those who pursue their career in offering enrichment for children. 


Teacher Yap Creative Learning Centre has centres in Sri Petailing, OUG, Bandar Kinrara, Bandar Puteri, Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Kota Damansara, Taman Segar and Taman Equine. The first centre was in Sri Petaling started in 2007. The contact is:


Sri Petaling: 26-1,Jalan 14/149L, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, 57000 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-9059 5991 / 016-2155 377




The minimum number of lessons per week is 3 and up to 5. Each lesson is 1 and half hours. Depending on whether you pick Chinese or both languages, it will still be 1 and half hour each lesson. 


Their fees structure for now looks like this:


  Registration fees = RM100
  Material fees  =  RM50 for 1 subject   or RM100 for 2 subjects


  For One Program, One Teacher  (ie. 1 language)
     3days/week  12 lessons/mth   = RM300 per month
     4days/week  16 lessons/mth   = RM350 per month
     5days/week  20 lessons/mth   = RM400 per month


  For 2 Program, 2 Teacher  (ie. both Chinese and BM)
     3days/week  12 lessons/mth   = RM350 per month
     4days/week  16 lessons/mth   = RM400 per month
     5days/week  20 lessons/mth   = RM450 per month




If you are interested in this, hope this info helps.


I have yet to decide as I have a main problem since I'm not a SAHM. Timing and Transport!! Sigh!

Sending a English-based Kid to a Chinese School - Is it a good move??

Kinda strange. When I resumed blogging, what is top most in mind is not just my children but their education. No, I'm not saying that this is not in my mind but the focus wasn't really there. Hence, I have somewhat slacked in that area. Now that I'm back, this piece is coming back in sharper focus. The guilt of slacking naturally comes with it.

I was having this conversation today with a friend. Her daughter will be starting school in 3 years time and darn, she is already wondering which school to send her to. She was asking my opinion on SJK(C) versus a private school. Is there a hard and fast rule to it?

A few months back, when my husband was coaching Ryan on his BM, he was real upset to see that Ryan's Malay literacy was and still is below par. In fact, his Chinese now is a lot better than his Malay. We started to question.. have we done the wrong thing by sending Ryan, an obviously non-Chinese speaking and pretty much a banana boy, to a Chinese Primary school. He went thru a very tough time during Standard 1.. to the extend that he dreaded going to school. His results other than English and Math, weren't encouraging then. His spirit was really low. Now that we realized that with this approach, we could be doing it at the expense of Malay literacy. Is it worth while? After all, we are living in Malaysia and Malay is definitely very important. Now, I'm not saying that Chinese is not important but should it be Chinese in all subjects? Our earlier decision to put him in a Chinese school was also because we wanted the strict disciplinary training that usually comes with the teaching culture. But what's my cost here?

In fact, at this stage, I'm kind of stuck. Ryan can't go to a Kebangsaan school. He will be soooo lost especially with his weakness in BM. But can he strive thru all the way to Standard 6 in a Chinese school? I'm not confident about his grades. And I don't want also a Grade 2 if he does badly in BM next time. That leaves us with the consideration of a private school. Of course, the cost is real $$$. I have many friends in similar situation who ended up pulling their children out of SJK(C) and into private schools.

I was given so many opinions of private schools. Not all are favourable. There have been sweeping remarks that children from private schools tend to be spoiled and kinda self centred. And there have been some that said that it really depends on the school. I have yet to check out the different private schools. I felt that what's important when it comes to that is the parents' testimonial and the course structure/syllabus of the school. I'm in fact quite weary of the over-commercialized private school. Ryan was in such similar over-commercialized private kindy and guess what? I have get him out and raced against time to get him ready for Standard 1.

Frankly, I don't know where to start searching. At this point, I will be most happy for any recommendation to me :)

I'm not going to pull him out of SJK(C) just yet. Ryan is showing good signs of improvement especially now that he takes pride in his results and achievements. But it is still a long way to go. My husband and I agreed to wait for his term exam and see how he fares. The decision will come after that.

Sometimes, I feel really bad for Ryan. Whatever and whichever moves/decisions we make for him have always been a trial and error. And definitely, there have been glaring mistakes and he has to do quite a bit of catch up. Raymund and Rachel are more fortunate. That is probably why I focus a lot of attention on Ryan. Nevertheless, I'm pretty worried over my younger kids as well and whether they can survive SJK(C). My kids are all banana kids. My hope is that different kids have different pick up and learning capabilities. I still maintain that SJK(C) is still the 1st step. But I can always ram up their base first.... and therein lies yet another headache especially when I'm not a SAHM... coming up next...

Registering for Primary School Admission in 2012

It has been bothering me... how come there is no notice for me to go to Ryan's school to register for Raymund. I remembered that I have to get his birth certificate stamped by the school as part of the procedure of applying for a place in the SJK(C) school for him. I asked my colleague some time back and she said that she was also waiting for the same.

I knew I had done the online application via MOE for Raymund. I had also filled up a form brought back by Ryan that asked for Ryan's sibling who will be attending the school come next year. What I didn't remember was going to the school to submit the relevant documents, get his birth cert stamped and fill up some stacks of forms. 

March has gone and now April. I remember that during Ryan's time, the cut off date was March to do all this. I was definitely panicking. I had finally managed to get thru to the school and speak to the school admin. I had a moment of panic when she said she couldn't find Raymund's record despite my online application thru MOE. She told me she had to search thru 700+ records of application to search for his record and told me to call back. When I called back, she told me that she found Raymund's record and that I had already went thru all the procedures including getting his birth certificate stamped. Gosh! Must be old age! I seriously thought I didn't do it and I was so certain that I didn't even check his birth certificate. Whatever it is, thank God I did it!

I quickly then called my colleague. Her situation is different as her son is the eldest and going to Primary on his own. Raymund's situation is better as he is tagging in after Ryan. When I told her about the deadline being end of this month (that's what the school admin told me), she dropped everything and went straight to the school to get everything done. 

So, to all mothers out there. Please check that your children's admission into Standard 1 next year is in order. The deadline is THIS MONTH APRIL. I was also told of another situation. Having an older child in the school DOES NOT GUARANTEE a place for the younger. So, let's be prepared.

First thing first, I reckon that calling the school to check for your child's record may be a good step. Be prepared with your child's IC number as they will search by IC. You have to ensure that if you have children born in 2006 and 2007, the procedures for school application should be in order by now. Children born in the year 2008 will start registering next year - that's for my Rachel.

Lastly, for children's admission to Standard 1 next year, we can check the result online in Aug. Good luck to all of us!

Challenging My Sons... I'm still testing

It's 3am and I'm still blogging!

I haven't been as attentive and as close to my sons' studies as in the earlier days. I'm relying on my tuition teacher quite a bit here as my work has been pretty demanding lately.

So, it came as no surprise that my son, especially the eldest, came back with bad results for exam as well as for his regular spelling, ejaan and Chinese listen and write (direct translation for 'ting seah'). It was most upsetting when his Standard 2 class teacher wrote me a note in his message book that Ryan was the only one in his class who got 0 for his spelling and that he was most unattentive in class. As a parent, I don't like to hear this. And Ryan wasn't (at that time) worried too much about having 0 result. He was too playful. My husband and I tried scolding and lecturing him. Didn't quite work. He was only bothered that I didn't sign on his book as he was worried that his teacher would scold. His school requires parents to sign on all their ejaan, spelling and 'ting seah' results. Later, I went to the extend of going a bit on reverse psychology saying that he upsets his mummy went he does very badly. Ryan is very sensitive about my feelings and he tries hard to make me happy. For this, I love my son very much. Even Raymund is the same. Both boys will always try to make me happy to the extend of 'satay-ing' me when I cook for them or something. The reverse psychology worked a bit. He came back with reasonable marks for his spelling, ejaan and 'ting seah'.

With this observation, I went further by challenging him to get 100% for all his spelling, ejaan and 'ting seah'. And that he is very clever and his parents will be very proud of him. Ryan loves to know that he is clever and he puts double effort to show this. I suppose this is because he had a hard time adjusting his Standard 1 in a chinese school in the year before. Since then, his record for all his 3 languages spelling equivalent has been 100% and graded A. He was very very proud. Once he came back with 1 wrong and he promised vehemently that he would get 100% next and he did!

Just this week, his tuition teacher couldn't make it to guide him with his Chinese 'ting seah'. Obviously, I can't either. He was most upset indeed as he was aiming high at 100% marks. He was pestering me the whole night to get someone to help him the next morning before he went to school. You see, at last minute on the day before, his school teacher had changed some characters for the 'ting seah'. Luckily, my neighbour was able to assist him. According to my neighbour, they didn't manage to finish practicing all. So, I didn't pressure for 100%. Today, when he came back, he was waiting for me to get in the house. In his hand, he was ready with the result of his Chinese 'ting seah'. It was 100%. I can still remember his face. He was proud and very happy. Naturally, my husband and I are very proud too. We fanned this spirit for perfection. We exaggerated our praise to him and even let him choose the venue for dinner. (Ryan loves to eat!!)

There is another observation. While he was putting in effort to achieve a consistent 100% in these various spelling for the 3 languages, I have also noticed that his memory power has also improved. Turns out very well indeed :)

While these were going on, my 2nd second, Raymund noticed the attention that his kor kor is having. Of course, he doesn't want to lose out. Raymund also started telling us that he has been getting 'all correct' for his spelling, ejaan and ting seah. Again, we exaggerated our praise. It became a friendly competition of who will bring back 100% for us. In fact, Raymund is kinda cute. A week back, I received a call from Raymund while I was at work. He sounded very upset. I was thinking perhaps he was sick or something. He then told me that 'Mummy, I got all correct for my ejaan...except one wrong'. He was most upset! I was trying not to laugh. Instead I asked him why not all correct and made him promised to give me 'all correct' the next round. He did! Later, his tuition teacher told me that she was in the house when Raymund called me. It was like this. When Raymund woke up from his nap, his tuition teacher asked him how he did for his ejaan. He didn't answer and looking very upset, he went straight to the phone and called me. Poor boy!

My colleague called me a 'Tiger Mum'. She told me that Tiger Mums are mums who wants and pressures her kids to get 100% perfection. Am I really? I seriously don't think so... though.. though I will be most happy if my kids are like that. In my situation, my boys are very playful and attention span is very short. Studies has not been something which is foremost in their minds. That's why the bad results on Ryan's part initially. Raymund is blessed with good memory - so, his situation is not that bad. Hence, this called for a bit more drastic action. A little strive for perfection and a friendly competition. Actually, I was really trying to stimulate interest and pride in their work. As for my girl, she is still a baby in the family :)


I am a proud mum!

The best way to learn English and General Knowledge for Ryan

Continuing from the last post - 'I Bought a Globe for my Sons'.

Buying encyclopedias and globe of the world map is the best move the I've ever made for Ryan so far. No regrets! Raymund has yet to catch on - I guess he is still young and I'm not pressuring him yet. But soon!

What started as a catalyst for Ryan to learn more English, vocab and reading stemming from his interest in science and knowledge has certainly reaped more results that I earlier expected.

No doubt I spent a lot to get him lots and lots of encyclopedia covering all topics and whichever topics that he wants. It was a good and non-regretable investment. In fact, I grabbed a lot from the last Big Bad Wolf sale. And yes, I always tend to over-provide as I love to shop. All my friends and colleagues know my love to shop - retail therapy - to me, it could be the therapy, or could it be the disease in itself? Doesn't matter. That's another reason why I need to work and forget about being a SAHM. I'm digressing...

Ryan's collection of encyclopedia ranges from geography, human body, animals, the ocean, astronomy, dinosaurs... you name it and I would say he has some of everything. His latest collection is the encyclopedia on Malaysia covering all aspects, which he was pestering me for a while to get for him. Even though it is not the updated version, it certainly provided enough information about Malaysia. I didn't buy them. I took them home before someone disposed them.

Ryan holds his collection as his 'treasures'. Every day, he will be holding one of his encyclopedia. He may not know all the words but he is trying. The Malaysian collection is certainly not for children. But what is the harm.

I noticed that his ability to read over time has improved a lot. Even his vocab. Of course, his continual drilling on his school work helps in a way.

What is more impressive is that at 7 plus years old, he is able to tell me a lot of things which... if I recall, during my time, I was happy to be able to know some of the most basics. My husband and I have been testing him in the way of a game. Of course, we were also fanning his pride and confidence along the way.
the questions we asked to him - remember, he is only a 7 year old boy going on 8 - were:

1. Where is Pacific Ocean... Atlantic Ocean... South China Sea?
2. Where are penguins found?
3. Where are polar bears found?
4. What are mammals? Are humans mammal?
5. Where are king cobras found? What about pythons?
6. He told me that lady birds are actually poisonous. And so are some species of cockroaches.
7. How many planets are there in our universe? What are they? The biggest planets, smallest planets, closest to the sun? Whether there is oxygen in the outer space?
8. What is the largest star in the universe?
9. Why dinosaurs extinct?
10. The first man on the moon came from which country?
11. About Samurais ... ancient Japan (basics)
12. Identifying where are some countries like Rome, Egypt, etc
13. Where are the deserts? The main forests?
14. How earthquakes happen? What about tsunamis? Volcanoes?
15. Human organs...
16. Different types of storms - monsoon, twisters, forked lightnings  ... and where they are
17. All the states in Malaysia and where they are

and lots more. Am I proud? You bet!!!  :)   :)   :)

Tonight, I challenged him to look up a few topics. What is a black hole in the universe. What are the differences between amphibians, reptilians and mammals. Let's see.

My next goal is to look up encyclopedia in BM and Chinese. My aim is to use the interest in knowledge to brush up his other languages. At the moment, he is very weak in these 2 languages... therein lies our dilemma where to keep him in chinese school or otherwise. I'll keep this for the next post.

Chao!

Joanne 

Spending Some Quality Time

I took 2 days off work on Thursday and Friday last week. And time flies. My intention was to revise Ryan's school work as next week he will have his 1st exam. Don't think he fully comprehends the real meaning of exam yet. But he does know that if he studies hard and get good results, he will be rewarded and he is very hopeful that he will get his Nerf Gun.

My work has been rather stressful. My boss has high expectation. Good in a way but my body can only take so much. I had a not-so-serious-case of anxiety attack just before CNY. Started with palpitations and a bad case of shortness of breath. I actually thought I was about to have some heart problem. Done the ECG and even thyroid test. Finally, concluded - too stressed - it was really anxiety attack. I made sure I rested during CNY and I recovered somewhat. More stressed came later what with piling work. I feel a short break in between is good for me to recuperate. At the same time, my son needs me. Ryan has been a good boy. He listened to me even when I was a bit harsh with him when he couldn't follow. I feel bad but sometimes, he needs some jostle. I always end the session with a hug so that he knows that Mummy loves him and means well. Raymund wanted to join but after a while, he lost his patience. He can't sit still. Actually, I'm not worried about Raymund. He is a fast learner.

I really enjoyed my 2 days + weekend. There is no rush or race against time. No adrenaline surges. Peace! My kids are my lifeline.... or in Chinese 'mang kan'. Seeing them together makes me very happy.. even though sometimes they drive me nuts. My husband feels the same. In fact, he joined me and took his Friday off too. My kids love it when we are at home with them. It means that they get to go out and have a little fun.

Monday is coming too fast. Definitely Monday Blues or even Manic Monday for me. I'd get very exhausted when I come back from work. But that does not stop me from enjoying my family. After all, working is a means to an end. While I'd like to excel, I consider having a balanced life critically important. Else there is really no meaning. My husband shares the same view as well.

I Bought a Globe for My Sons

Ryan is super enthusiastic about 'Science' - a word that he uses to encompass science, geography, biology and the works. He has his favorite collection of children encyclopedias that we got from Popular Bookstore. These of some of his favourites.

I am hoping that Raymund is gradually influenced by his brother. Still not yet but my little boy here loves school and studying. That is good enough for now. Ryan on the other hand is not too happy with his new school but luckily his passion for 'science' and knowledge is still strong. Lately, because of the catastrophe in Japan, he is even more interested in earthquakes and tsunamis. How does it happen and the whys. He was also talking about the location of Malaysia, Japan and the oceans around it. Being an opportunist, we decided to buy the boys a globe. Why a globe - just making sure that they know that the earth is like a ball and not square :P. And of course the fun of spinning it around.

The boys were really excited particularly Ryan. Raymund just likes to spin it round and round. I guess he is too young for it. But I involved him anyway so that at the every least. he knows where Malaysia is. I got funny questions from him asking me where Giant Hypermart is and so on. Quite entertaining.

Actually, the intent is not to show them that they can spin the globe. I'm thinking that when I read the books with them about the sun and earth, about animals and origins, and so on, I can point it out to them. Just the other day, Ryan was asking where can we find piranhas. I didn't know but luckily for his books, we found out together and got to show him where on earth... literally speaking.

How to Register Your Child for Standard 1 - for Selangor areas

Answering Alice who posted this question on my blog. Here's a set of instructions to help you. Actually I have friends asking me the same thing too. It is actually not easy for first timers as you have to find your way around. I was bumping around for Ryan's registration last year and I know what to do for Raymund now. Even so, I couldn't find the MOE site initially. For Selangor schools, you must apply online first before you go to the schools. They were less strict, I think, last year coz I went direct to Ryan's school and the school registered online for us. For Raymund, Ryan came back with a set of instructions from the school asking us to register online first before bringing in the documents to them. So, for you who are interested, here goes.

Registration for Standard 1 entry in the year 2012 an 2013 has started since 1 Mar. Registration past 30 April is considered late. This is applicable for BOTH 2012 and 2013 admission. See this little note from MOE below.

What you need to do is this:

1. Go to http://apps.moe.gov.my/esppsel/. It may take a very long time to load. Don't worry your computer is not hanging. Just have to wait very long. I had to wait a good 10-15 minutes when I was doing mine.
   
   
2. Once in, you will see an online form that looks like this. Start filling in. Get your child's IC or birth cert handy.
   
   
3. Follow the online form till the end. You will be asked to fill in your child's info and yours too. Pick the school from the drop down list that you want your child to be enrolled in. There is only 1 choice! Also do know which 'Daerah' the school is located. Pick from Klang, Kuala Langat, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Langat, Hulu Selangor, Sabak Bernam, Gombak, Sepang, Petaling Perdana or Petaling Utama. If you don't know, please google up the school for their contact number and ask first before your register.
4. Once you have successfully registered, you will be given a PIN. This is for you to login again to your registration to amend or check for status.
5. Remember to print out the form after registration. Just click on 'Cetak' at the bottom. You will need this for your registration at the school.

Yes. Registering online is only the 1st step. You have to bring this online registration form together with the following documents to the school that you picked for your child. Go during week days. Again, this registration is opened from 1-30 Mar.

• Birth certificate/Sijil Anak Angkat (original & photocopy)
• Parents'/Guardians' MyKad (original & photocopy)
• Marriage/Divorce certificate of parents (original & photocopy)
• Surat Hak Penjagaan/Perintah Mahkamah, where applicable (original & copy)
• Utility bill with your address (TNB/water/telephone) (original & copy)
• Self-addressed envelop of 4"x9" with 60 sen postage stamp
• Doctor's report & Kad Oku, where applicable (for special children) (original & copy)
• Printed online registration that you have just done

For 2013 admission, the results of registration will only be out around August 2012. For 2012, this year. Successful registration does not mean successful admission to the school that you want. My son Ryan didn't get the 1st or 2nd choice. We had to go through appeal to place him where he is.

When the time comes, go back online. Select the 4th option (See above). Key in your child's IC and the PIN number. Wait and wait and wait. You will be able to see updates where they are ready. IF you need to appeal, go to the school which your child has been allocated and you will be told another painful process.

Good luck to you.

Cheers

Joanne

Chinese Enrichment Class

Considering what I had to do to bring Ryan up to speed on Chinese, I was deciding to get Raymund ready. At Raymund's kindy, they offer Chinese enrichment class for preschoolers starting Year 5. I'm such a bad mom. I totally forgot about it until I spoke to my neighbour who sends her kids to the same kindy.

I called the kindy enquiring whether it was too late for him to join midway. And if it too difficult for him to catch up. Also checking what kind of syllabus do they cover in the half hour enrichment every day. Guess what??

Of course, they have the usual thematics blended in but one of the key piece is reading and story telling from the Red Dragonfly series. Obviously I didn't know what that was. I checked with my kids' tuition teacher and realised that it was actually the Odonata series that I talked about. Raymund is already on it with his tuition teacher. That's not the only thing I'm happy about. I'm just happy that I'm on the right track in putting my sons through the series :) ... doesn't matter that it was a somewhat random shot!

红 蜻 蜓

:)

Standard 1 Admission for 2012 & 2013

Yep yep ... I'm on blogging spree. Making up for lost time :) Been madly busy and I decided to take break this weekend.

This post is just a prompter to any parent out there who does not already know that you must register your child now for Standard 1 in 2012 and 2013. The registration was opened on 1 Mar and for people to register within the month. I read in the MOE website that registration on 30 Apr is considered a late submission!

Check up the site. Figure out what you need to do. Most importantly which school you'd like your child to attend. Hopefully you are not too late for popular schools. I know that for some very popular Chinese schools, especially when there is only 1 or 2 in that area, parents queue in those schools as early as 6am in the morning on the 1st day.

Make sure that you identify the 1st choice properly as that is the one that is going down. Choice 2 is not in the consideration even if you have stated it. That was my experience.

Basically, prepare the following. If you are lost, just go to the school that you want to enrol your child in and ask. Bring these:

1. Your child's birth certificate - original and copy
2. The parents' IC - original and copy
3. Marriage Certificate / Divorce Certificate - original and copy
4. Proof of address that you reside in - latest original and copy of electric bil/water bill/cukai pintu/S&P with your name and residing address on it.
5. A white envelope size 4" x 9" with 60sen stamp affixed.

Double check first with the school on these docs before you go.

Good Luck!

Cheers

Joanne

Standard 1 Examination just Round the Corner!

Coming week is school holidays. Right after, Ryan has 2 weeks of examination.

Trying to get him to understand the seriousness of examination is not simple. This is the first real exam. In kindy, they were merely assessments. Half the time, the kindy was telling us parents not to pressure the kids and let it be stress free. Just easy revisions and let them go through them easy.

Now the real thing. How do I even explain the seriousness. That he has to study. That exam is important. You might say that it is only Standard 1. Then it will be 'only Standard 1'. It will have to start somewhere.

A few weeks back, I just tried telling him the examination is important. He has to study with his tuition teacher. I don't have much time as my work is very demanding, what with a new boss. I tried to explain that if he wants to be a doctor, he has to study and get all correct. My boy told me that he wants to become a doctor to take care of his Daddy and Mummy. So sweet :)

Actually, I'm not asking for top of class or really all correct. I just don't want him to fall behind and having stress picking up. That's all I ask. A good average and I'm satisfied.

With the exam, I gave him an incentive. I told him that if he gets all correct (figuratively), I will by him his much desired Nerf Gun - one of those in things for young kids today. Earlier I refused to get him because it just don't like him playing with guns and shooting at people. But he just so loved the toy. So I just told him, if you do well and all correct, that is his reward. Work for it! He said 'But Mummy I thought you say cannot?'. I just said 'I promise that I will give you Nerf Gun if you get all correct. I promise. And you promise you cannot shoot at people. But if you get 1 wrong, you get a smaller present. 2 wrongs even smaller present.' Actually my intend is to reward a present anyway. Just for studying and trying. I don't think he will get the Nerf Gun anyway ie all correct but a good incentive. So bad of me :)

I have taken some days off next week to coach him on English and BM. I have not been a good Mummy. I used to be so closed in coaching. Now I just don't have the time and I'm usually too tired. I rely on the tuition teacher a lot. I felt that the exam require my attention and so I make some time. Not enough but better than none.

The reward piece actually works. Before, Ryan used to get all wrong or few correct in his Spelling, Ejaan and 'ting seah'. Since the time I told him that if he gets all Spelling, Ejaan and ting seah correct, all 3 everytime, I will get him a present. Now he has shown me 100% for Spelling and Ejaan. He told me he has 100% for Chinese and ask me for the reward. I told him to show me. Along the way, when he showed me each, my husband and I 'drama' a bit on our praises. Works and he was very proud.

Standard 1 Blues! And worse, Chinese Primary school!

Yep! Primary Standard One blues! My son's or mine?! Both!!

If you have been following me, you will know that my children are pretty much bananas. Yellow on the outside and white on the inside. They speak English as their mother tongue. And guess what! I have enrolled my eldest Ryan into a Chinese school. I mentioned this before but the reality and the result of that reality hits now.

While I was deciding back then whether choosing a Chinese school for Ryan was a good decision.

Many advised me 'Aiya! Children are flexible and they pick up fast. Don't worry la!'

Taking a closer look, the ones who said that are often the older aunties or have no children or have children in Kebangsaan schools or that they speak Chinese at home.

Then I asked the moms who did just that. Those moms like me who can't read and write Chinese and whose kids are plain bananas. A different stories. Quite a few told me that after a year, they just pulled their kids out and put them in private schools. It was absolute misery for their children. They just couldn't follow. Others who took it through just said bite the bullet, it was tough but just continue. Very few did that.

Weighing and deciding was tough. We decided to put him to Chinese schools for 2 main reasons:

1. An additional language - Chinese - of course. And we speak English at home. I'm not gonna be worried that my son would one day say 'jilo' instead of 'zero'. I'll make sure of that!
2. The main reason. The system. The discipline. At least till Standard 6. I have simply no faith in the kebangsaan schools!

My mom was warning me. Watch out for signs. Signs of being bullied. Signs of depression. Anything. Manage it. And be really prepared that if it doesn't work, to pull him out later. We decided to rough it out with him for now.

The signs came. It was subtle. The signs of misery! Ryan started worrying. Telling things like he was worried that when his little brother Raymund joins him, he might get lost. The school is very big. I told to just ask the teachers if he gets lost. And when its Raymund's turn, he can take care of him. He told me he can't. He gets lost too. Ask the teachers, I said. 'The teachers speak a lot of Chinese. I speak a bit Chinese only'. Initially I thought he was just fooling around. When Monday came, he was crying very hard, sobbing in fact. He refused to get down the bus. Crying so hard that the driver had to call me and we had to get him back home. He kept saying that the school is very big and that he is scared of getting lost.

Boy, how could I concentrate on my work. The next day, I took my lunch hour and when to meet my son at the school's drop off area. He was happier. My purpose really was to speak to his teacher. Reading between the lines. I understand that he felt like he didn't belong in a big school and people are not speaking in his lingo. He told me he had no friends and no one to speak to. And he only understood little what his teachers were saying. Imagine! No friends. Can't speak! Big alien area! I felt very sad for my son! My husband was upset as well. But what choice do we have. Pull him out now? I decided to speak to his teacher.

I got his teacher to understand his fear. I asked his teacher's help to place him and sit with someone who can speak both English and Chinese so they can converse and he can also pick up Chinese. His teacher was good! Phew! Thought that settled. Ryan came back happier and better.

You see, if you know my son, he always tries to make me happy and always tries to please me. Has the matter settled? No. A week later, he kept asking me every day how many more days he needed to attend school before holidays or weekend breaks. He was doing a count down. I noticed that. I started using encouragement and praises that his Chinese was getting better. Clever boy, la di da! Then the blues again! Just this Monday. He started saying that he had no friends. Only 1 friend. And his teacher scolds him. Asked further. It was because he was not listening to instructions. Asked even further, 'Did you understand your teacher's instructions?' No!'. All these over the phone on Monday morning. I was working and freaking busy. Can't get away. But worried for my son. Told my mom about it and she decided to go to his school. Again!

This time, my mom spoke to the headmistress and the teacher. She got them to understand Ryan's fears. Got Ryan to speak to them as well in front of the teacher and headmistress. We then realized that his so called partner is not his friend, for whatever the reason. Kids!! They decided to help and told Ryan to choose his own partner. Then the teacher 'helped' him to make some friends. He came back happy saying that he has ten friends. My guess is that he has more than 1 and not really 10.

Gosh! Trauma! Mine!

It was hard to take your kid's suffering. My husband and I felt helpless.

My husband was asking me what to do. I just said what else. We still have to rough it through this first year and decide after that. He has to learn independence sooner or later. It is just that the language is not helping and there is this culture shock of being in a big school.

We just have to be cruel to be kind! Very Hard!

The headmistress mentioned that she had calls from many parents as well that their kids are 'scared' of the big school. Normal, since this kids just came from small kindies. The demand for Chinese school is so great nowadays. It is from all races... not just Chinese. Bottom line, the same reasons I have mentioned. There are over 100 Standard 1 students in my son's school. Imagine the sheer number. No wonder they get scared.

I keep a very close watch on Ryan still. He is still counting down to weekends. He still tells me that the school is big and that he is scared of getting lost. I told him that he is brave and a good boy. I know that it is tough but you can do it. Make a new friend everyday. Make a new friend today and tell me tonight. He tried. Lotsa praises and encouragement. Good boy!

Don't think the situation ends here. But hopefully, it gets better faster.

Next topic - exams! Coming right up ...

Cheers

Joanne

Math Enrichment - which one is better?

I have got questions from concerned moms about which Math enrichment is better for their kids. When I first started to ask the same question myself a few years back, the choices I had were not so broad. It was then either Kumon, Enopi or UCMAS. I gave my opinion in my earlier post. To my surprise, I got quite a high visit rate there. Then again, why should I be. All parents want the best for the kids. Especially first timers, we need to get more info before we decide. I'm no first timer now that I have 3 precious kids. And the options have widen, there are more Math enrichment out there. One of the latest hit is Math Monkey.

Math Monkey claims the mathematical techniques of Vedic Math. Another jargon? Well they call it a collective name for a set of 16 Sanskrit sutras or formulas all the way from old days in Vedic period of 1500 to 800 BC. Still jargon? It still is to me. Basically it means using logical reasoning to work out problems mentally and quickly. I got this from their website. What do they really teach? I'm actually quite interested to find out. Could be a marketing hook but no harm finding out. I meant to do so for a while but I asked myself, will I stop Enopi for my sons. They too are learning Math without counting. And Enopi also have this part they call the 'Critical Thinking Math' which teaches kids about problem solving too. I dare say that because of Enopi, Ryan is one of the best in Math in his class so far even though other subjects need improvement. In fact, his teacher was quite upset with him a while back for shouting out the answer before she could finish writing the question on the board. I really don't want to shake the firm ground he is in. So far, it has proven to work.

Actually, I hear similar successes about kids who attend Kumon. They are also fantastic in Math. Is it really then the question of which one is better? Kumon? Enopi? UCMAS? Math Monkey? What else? Here is what I think:

1. We can start choosing which concept we like best for our children when we first START.
2. Which one is better? Each sings their own successes. So it really boils down to which one you like...and which one our kids like. Different kids work with different approaches. Mine worked with Enopi. And I believe, each has its own advantages.
3. Once started and results are good, why change? It's just like we cook a big pot of delicious ABC soup but half way through, decided to go for old cucumber soup. It's really back pedaling.
4. Should we add on? Already school homework is piling. Enopi has homework too. Now again Math Monkey. Besides confusing the heck out of him, he will be a mighty stressed kid.
5. Should we change later? Depends. On the kid. If he gets bored, then it's time for fresh air.

Bottom line, I want my kids to be good in Math. It is the fundamental requirement for a lot of topical studies later. It is so very important. I wouldn't say that I'm personally fantastic at it but I'm not weak either. When I was schooling, I was in Science stream taking up Modern Math and Add Math. In college I did a double Math Economics. And university, I crazily went for Mathematical Science in the 1st year until I find that it was more useful had I been in Engineering stream. I worked on Commerce instead. Not far off. But the concept is good. A lot of logical thinking I use came from Math fundamental. It helps. And I want it to work on my kids too.

One thing that I have learnt even up till now is that noone ... or maybe some genius... are born Math gifted. Despite my Math background, I was hopeless with numbers in my earlier employment days. Till I got involved in Analytics. It was then I realised that it is all about practice. Why am I saying this? I'm seeing the light :) haha! Math is trainable. It needs constant practice which Kumon and Enopi recognise. It keeps the mind fast and active. I noticed mine was rather stale :( haha! So what am I saying really? One big circle just to say... Math no matter the method or concept, it needs practice. No brainer, right! Sigh! Must be getting late and sleepy. And getting old... just wanna cerita my younger days :p

So getting back to topic. I will still satisfy my curiosity by finding out Math Monkey and some other hot ones in the market. And I'll share just as soon as I have more info. For my sons, they started with Enopi, they continue with Enopi... tested and proven at least with Ryan and Raymund is getting there.

Here is the qualifier.... I'm not saying one is better than the other despite the lack of info. Just which one my kids and I like at this moment.

Good night!