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.

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 

I love Fiction books

The wonder of iPhone. I'm now blogging on my iPhone as I wait in a long queue to see my doctor. As the weather gets hotter, more people fall sick and the docs get richer :). Anyway, Calyn's comment in my chat box made me think of my book collection and my love for reading... Fuctions mostly with thrillers blended in. I remember when I was a little girl, I love Disney tales and Enid Blytons. Err.. Did I get the spelling right? Then there were Nancy Drew series too. Wonder if kids of today share the same interest with Hannah Montana, High School Musicals and Ben 10!! I live those books and I believe I read all the collections. Reading actually brings me to another world and makes imagination fun. But of course, don't get sunk in after that la.

When I was in primary, my English was soooo bad. I spoke in chinese and could hardly converse in English. I never read then. It was all play play and play. When I got to Secondary, my school, BBGS mandated only 2 spoken languages. I remember that we had to speak English only on Mondays, Malay only on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and the rest if the days in the week, either English or Malay. I had it bad. I spoke in broken language. Then I got to reading. Believe me, that is when it started to get better. The fact that I enjoyed those books and authors spurred more reading. It would have been tough if I had to force it. I'm hoping to build this interest in my kids, hence I'm actually I'm collecting children's books. Till they are able to read independently, the books are there for them.

Actually my sons are curious about reading now. They have been seeing me reading fictions and asking me about it. Good sign but with my new job, I have yet to find reading time with them. How sad!

As I was saying, I have been reading and collected so many books overtime. I read and read over again enjoying the thrills and the wits if my favourite authors. My favourites are Julie Garwood, Judith McNaught, Catherine Coulter, Iris Johansen and more... Simply because of their writing styles. I'd probably put up some of these in ebay later coz I have no more room to store the new ones. Got to find some time to get down to it. My house is a mess already :(

joanne

I Must Find Time to Read with Ryan

Another batch of Scholastic books that I have ordered through my kids' new kindy arrived a few days ago. To be honest with you, I have not even finished half of what I bought in the earlier rounds. No time to read to them. But books are books ... there is nothing wasted about buying books. I have got 3 kids... they get passed down.

I received a call from Ryan's class teacher not too long ago. She called to check on Ryan's progress and more so, if I'm happy with his progress since he is the new to the school. This is what I like about SuperFun Learners. She told me about his progress and participation in class. While not as advanced as the kids who came to the kindy from day 1 at 4 years old, Ryan has shown good progress. I noticed that too. I even noticed Raymund's syllabus. When compared with Ryan's when he was at Raymund's age at Eduland (now, Beaconhouse), what a difference!! And it is the good difference. In the same conversation, I told his teacher that I'm worried about my son's reading ability. She advised that at this stage, having frequent reading with Ryan at home will help alot. Let him learn to recognize words from frequent reading.

I told myself that I have to make time to read with Ryan. I have bought so many story books for them. I will let Ryan choose one to read every night. Raymund is still young but Ryan has to go to Primary next year. I have to make time for him first (Correct or wrong?? Gut feel tells me I have to start coaching Raymund too - Sigh!) Saying is easy. My mad schedule was just mad! I was too tired. I finally got down to it tonight. I must say that Ryan hadn't slipped. Must be the kindy and his home tuition. I praised him when he read well! He was very happy and that got him to read more. We agreed that we will do again tomorrow before our Wii game session. I just thought if I can't read with him everyday, at least I should try during the weekend. I have certainly slipped up with my coaching. I depended wholly and too much on the enrichment classes that I have arranged for him. Ultimately, it still needs parents involvement.

My Sons Are Hooked on iPhone and Wii Games!

Are computer games bad for kids? Especially kids so young like my sons (they are 5+ and 3+ years old)? Some would think so.. especially when the games show bloody and violent killings. But then again, us parents can always choose not to buy these games for them, right? I just got my brand new iPhone a couple of months ago. Love it! It just spoiled my choices for other phone brands. It's like having a mini computer in your hand, all the time. And I discovered the wonders of games and applications. Haha! I put my iPhone out my sons' reach. Do you how fragile is that thing? Eventually I still let my sons play with it - provided they sit down and hold it carefully. Once tried, they are hooked. Even my 3 year old son knows how to play the games. I'm amazed how they can figure it out just like that. I don't even know how to play with some of them. My eldest has already figured where to buy the games on the iPhone and has been bugging me to download! Of course, I choose only the free ones and the RM0.99 ones :)

The good thing about it? Well at least they sit still, AND quietly, in restaurants and in the car. And that's saying something :) Two weekends ago, we got us the Nintendo Wii. The initial intention was to get both of them a handheld game set each. Gameboy is lousy. To buy 2 handheld Nintendo DS is nuts. For about the same, we got Nintendo Wii instead. We had some fun. Mummy and Ryan played together. Daddy also joined in. Raymund is not too keen.. he still prefers the iPhone as it is easier for him. So, while we are on the Wii, Raymund sits quietly with the iPhone. Parents-kids bonding! What more can you ask?! I love it.

I also used it as motivation for my sons to do their homework and study. Works also. Something like a reward after they have been good. The game itself? Nintendo Wii games are quite ok. Not violent ... at least not the ones I have. Actually, I encourage my kids to play computer games, whether on PC, TV or even on the iPhone. I believe that it helps my kids with hand eye coordination. Even reflex. Not to mention, working up some young brain juices to figure out the games. No harm there. Having said that, excessive is not good. So I control the time. Like I said. As a reward. When it is not easy to get, it becomes a treasure :) A weekend fun time .. only if they have completed their homework. Am I mean or what :) No Wii on weekdays. They have to be in bed early. And I do not want to spoil their eye sight! So, tomorrow is Wii time. Ryan had already mentioned it tonight.... reminding us. Smart boy! I just used this to negotiate reading time with him :) I got him to read 4 Clifford Phonics Fun Books with me at bedtime tonight :) The fact that I got new games today helped. Ha,ha!

Chain Post #3.. Enrolled into Cambridge English for Life

Earlier, I have been pondering and pondering about whether to add another English class for Ryan. Worried that I would overload him. Wondering if it is truly necessary. All these thinking and dragging were wiped out in a matter of seconds after that phone call from his new teacher.

I took Ryan to Cambridge English for Life and immediately confirmed a class for him. Then the question was really about whether to put him in JE1 (the basic class) 3rd Term or JE2, the more advanced. At the back of my mind this time, it is clearly about reestablishing his fundamentals and foundations. My mind was pretty sure for JE1 3rd term (which is still around sound blending) is most suitable. JE2 class is too advanced. But still... I was not 100% convinced. (If you want more to know my 2 cents worth about CEFL junior classes, click here for my earlier posts.)

I was there at the centre with Ryan about 3:30pm on Saturday. It was like a fish market! Parents were enrolling their children and it was the 1st lesson for the year. By the way, just so you know, CEFL follows school term breaks. By the time, I have completed the necessary and paid the fees, it was close to 4pm. They have another JE2 class starting at 4:15pm. I asked to let Ryan join in the class to have a feel of the lessons while getting the teacher to assess if Ryan should indeed start from 2nd half of JE1 instead of JE2.

Peeping into the class, it didn't look easy. They were doing the 'air' sounds and spellings for words like 'hairbrush', 'dairy', 'repair', unfair', 'September, 'October' ... my son ain't ready for these. It was later that I discovered that that class was in the final term (4th) for JE2... no wonder!

I had a word with the teacher .. which coincidentally turned out to be a teacher for Ryan's kindy too. She advised for JE1 2nd half. Convinced and assured, I settled Ryan for it. Then there is this other thing that I mentioned earlier about not being able to attend classes on some Saturdays. We have to go back to my husband's hometown. How so, I asked. Would there be replacement or even a 20min quick brief before the following lesson? You see, CEFL follows a syllabus. If a child misses 1 class, then he misses that day's lesson. That is also probably why we pay by number of lessons. For JE classes, it would be RM48 per class x 10 lessons = 1 term. There are registration and book fees as well, totaling not more than RM200. Oops, I have spinned off tangent again! Back to the topic, I just told them that once a month, we wouldn't be able to make it. So the fees was prorated. There will be no replacement or even a quick brief unfortunately but we can arrange for the class work to be taken home to complete. Have to settle with that also.

Ryan likes the class.. he wants to attend CEFL. I suspect it is mainly because there are books and computer games in the waiting area. Whatever it is, this is an incentive to get Ryan to go for CEFL lessons. It is not as easy for E.nopi, though.

Am I having fun setting up all these classes for my son? No! Not because of $$, not that much anyway. I'm just very saddened and truly heartsick that my little boy is already going through the study stress. He is only 5 years old!! Just yesterday, a toddler and not too long ago, a baby! But today, the education is already pitched at this level. And we know some children even start lessons as early as 2years old. It wasn't like those days, my time, when kindy was all and only about having fun and getting playmates. How time has changed everything. Is it really the education system or the higher expectations from the parents of today? I felt that I'm a guilty member of the 'kiasu parents' club. It's just that we have to 'do the Romans do' now to keep our heads above water. How sad! For the children!

Chain Post #2.. Then Comes The Panic!!

Fingers were depressing the panic button... and still not letting go. When do mothers normally freak out like that??... I would say it's usually something that involves her beloved precious children.

It started off on Friday... a lovely day, had a great lunch and some satisfaction in my work areas. Then the phone rang at 3pm!!

"Good afternoon, this is Teacher A from SFL kindergarten. I'm calling with regard to Ryan. He has brought home the new set of text books and exercise books, 13 in all. Pls help him write his name and wrap it all up in plastic .. and then bring them back to school on Monday..."

I was thinking... either that was a very good 1 to 1 teacher-parent service ... or that is NOT the reason for calling. Here comes...

"At the same time, can I request for your help to assist Ryan with his alphabets and numbers? He doesn't seem to know the sequence about what comes after what. Not too much about numbers but more so the alphabets. We need your assistance as our syllabus will go very fast starting next week and your son may have a lot of difficulty otherwise."

Puzzled. "What do you mean that he does not know alphabets? Can you pls give me a good example?"

"I asked him to tell me the missing alphabets in a sequence and he couldn't do it."

"Could it be that he was nervous?" I said... heart beating faster already.

Immediately after this call, I placed a call to Ryan's tuition teacher. I told her to check him out. She was his Eduland class teacher last year and she was pretty surprise when I told her that. She assured that it could be that Ryan was nervous at that time.

6+pm. I was on the way home, hoping to catch the tuition teacher before she left. I called her to make sure. She told me that Ryan REALLY does not know the sequence of alphabets! WHAT!! I have never focused on alphabets when I was guiding Ryan in the past years. All these time thinking that his kindy Eduland would have taken of that well. Imagine my horror! What has his kindy been doing? How come no one there picked this up? And it has to take a new teacher in a new kindergarten to pick it up within the 1st 5 days of school? What happened??? I have some insights alright... coming up later.

Then came Panic #2. I saw the new books! The syllabus are so advanced.. for all 3 languages. The English and Chinese are into short stories. English going into grammar. Math in double language - English and Chinese. My worry was mounting. I showed it to the teacher and she too was surprised. Ryan was just into a little bit more in sound blending in Eduland/Beaconhouse. As for Malay, Eduland/Beaconhouse was only introducing basic Suku Kata which all students were still wishy washy at the end of the year. Do you know that the books are already into narrations/stories and the respective language's basic peculiarities?? If I have to guess, it looks like Ryan is at least 1 year behind!! Who wouldn't panic!

I did some desperate moves. My husband and I agreed that he needs some intensives to pump up his foundation. Did these...

• Got his Tuition teacher to follow the new kindy's syllabus instead. And to reinforce his kindy's teaching and help him with his daily homework. Forget about the leisurely pace of revisiting Year 5 Eduland/ Beaconhouse work! The Tuition Teacher asked for more $$. We agreed but until Ryan stabilizes. Can't take the cost and I'm open for other options later.
• Signed Ryan up for Cambridge English For Life today. Joined the 3rd term JE1 class, instead of JE2 to brush up the foundation
• Stopped temporarily his GlobalArt classes since Cambridge is also on Saturday. It's heavy enough for him
• Tell myself to make time for Ryan every day, at worst every other day, to reinforce his alphabets and numbers

Panic #3. Did the alphabets with him after dinner today. He was really upset. He was not confident with the alphabet sequence or even able to say the name of the alphabets smoothly. Poor boy. I hugged him good after the lesson and explained to him that he has to put in a bit more effort.. otherwise, he would have trouble in class. I had a discovery. He had absolutely no problem reading out the sounds of the alphabets but not the name of the alphabets. Thinking back, I remembered that Eduland insisted that they teach and concentrate on the sound of the alphabets instead of the name of the alphabets in Year 4. I remembered that this was one of the contention I had when I was considering whether or not to let my son continue for Year 5 in Eduland/Beaconhouse. The kindy convinced me that they are different from other kindies who goes A ..(a sound) , apple....and that their method is much better so as not to 'confuse' the children. See what happened?!! Probably I would not have spotted this if I had not decided to change kindy for Ryan. I'm just thankful that I'm still able to do something about it before he goes to Primary school.

I do not want my boy to suffer at this very young age. Truly upset and hoping for a miracle.

Phonics or Words Recognition... and Sight Words??

I learnt something new... and all from this new kindergarten parents briefing at SuperFun Learners. If you have been following my blog, I have always been trying to figure out whether Phonics or word recognition is the better way to teach my son English. My husband and I came from the old school as with all of us in our generation. We used to read and memorize and horrifyingly used Malay Suku Kata to help us pronounce English words. We didn't have Phonics. To this day, I hear friends pronouncing English the Malay way - eg. 'auto' as 'owto' (imagine suku kata). So, my hubby has been arguing with me about why not teach my son our way and here I am trying to tell him, Phonics is the way now. Then, the struggle came when some words do not work with Phonics. How? I used word recognition. I got Ryan to memorize with writing and spelling. Works well. But I was still confused as to the right method.

Guess what, the kindy briefing to parents answered this question for me. The good news is that I have not been wrong in teaching my son BOTH Phonics and Word Recognition. As we already know that there are some words that don't follow the Phonics rule. And my husband has always been saying that there are also words that he should already know without attempting to blend the sounds. And of course, I'm also arguing that he still needs to learn Phonics so that he can read new words. We are both right. We learnt from the briefing that there are SIGHT WORDS around. If you are like me, still trying to figure out what works best for our kids, then this is an eye opener. The English teacher in the kindergarten explained that preschoolers will learn Phonics, sound blending AND over and on top, sight words.

What are Sight Words? There is a comprehensive definition in Wikipedia (just click on this link) or you can Google for more. But here is a short and sweet one here. Sight Words, sometimes referred to as the Dolch Word List, are some of the most frequently used words in English. Once upon a time, before I was born, a guy named Edward William Dolch introduced a new way to improve the way reading was taught to new readers (mostly preschoolers to young children). He compiled a list of words that cannot be pronounced phonetically or even illustrated in pictures. But these words >300 in all are words that comprises about 50-70% of any reading materials, particularly children's books. There are 220 'service words' making up of pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and even verbs... plus another 95 common nouns ... all arranged by grade level. Sorry, I have given back to school the definition of some I have just mentioned :). In short, this is just common, frequently used words in books, that must be taught by sight, ie memorize. But by itself it cannot use in isolation. It is a supplement to balanced reading program. Hence, Phonics is important too. arguably, some says that there are words in the list that are no longer frequently used words since this was created in the 1940s. To me, who cares!

What prompted me to look this up. Of course, the kindy teacher answered my question. Then, I was looking up to download a Sight Words application to my new iPhone. The applications in the iPhone have brief description about this Sight Words thingy..then one thing leads to another... I checked it out further and now blogged about it. If you have iPhone, I suggest that you take some time and download Sight Words Flashcards too. It helps when you can flash it to your kid as and when ... like I did it to Ryan in the restaurant today. My kids find it cool to touch the screen and move the flashcards too. Makes the learning a bit more exciting.

I found a site that gives me all >300 words in a page, printable. Sharing with you. Click here.

Ryan's Home Tuition Going Well

Ryan has been having home tuition for 2 weeks now. His tuition teacher previously his 5 year old class teacher has been very diligent in coming to coach my boy. Hardworking lady who said that she is trying to earn more besides her permanent job as a kindy teacher. This is the 3rd week already. Last week, Ryan had an intensive one since she was available - Mon to Thurs, 2 hours each. It started off with 1 and half hours per lesson but since she has to teach both Chinese and Malay, the timing was a bit stretched. Perhaps she was also trying to be a bit more hardworking while benefiting my boy, we have agreed on 2-hour lessons. Min 2-3 a week depending on her availability until she gets her kindy schedule for 2010. I'm ok with that as Ryan is still on holiday. Earlier, we agreed on RM35 for 1 and half hours and she prorated for me for the 2 hour lessons. I have seen some good in the lessons and I don't want to be too calculative. I rounded it to RM50 for 2 hours and hopefully keep her happier to do a good job in coaching my boy.

In fact when Raymund is ready in half year's time, I intend to get him to join in as well. Nothing is better than personal attention. And now that I have started work, it is difficult for me to allocate time for my kids' studies. And, I'm pretty comfortable with this teacher simply because:

1. No ice breaking - Ryan already knows his class teacher
2. She is a kindy teacher. She knows what and how to teach preschoolers.
3. Most importantly, she knows how to handle young children versus asking university students to give tuition
4. I know her too. So I'm not too worried about having a stranger in the house while I'm at work.

While I left the coaching to her, I did in fact told the teacher what worked for Ryan when I was coaching him before. I told her about his behavior, how Ryan catches on - which is normally the day after. It is quite enlightening. What appeared to be difficult lesson to Ryan on a day - when he was having difficulty remembering, absorbing - became almost like a piece of cake the next day. There was no revision in between. It could be that subconsciously he had already absorbed earlier but was too tired and jumbled up to respond. It was not just a one off occasion but almost always like this. The teacher also realized it recently.

I have arranged this tuition mainly to drill on 2 languages - Chinese and Malay. But because I don't have as much time, I have asked the teacher to slot in some English Phonics reading during some lessons. I have many English Phonics books like the Clifford Fun series, the Big Book series, some short easy to read stories, etc. And to make sure that the Chinese and Malay are more or less structured, I bought quite a few reading books as well as practice workbooks. A good place to get these is from the Popular Bookstore. I've got the Sukukata Malay series from there too. Cheap and relevant - a set of 8 mini books costing about RM5+ each book. The Chinese ones, I went by publication. Sorry I am Chinese illiterate and have no idea what the kids nowadays are supposed to know at kindy level. I got some from Pelangi and so forth. The teacher said that they are good. Phew! I will take some pix another day. Too lazy now :P

To facilitate the learning and adding a bit more spice to it, I prepared colouring pencils, handheld white board and marker (Ryan loves this), exercise books (both square (medium in size) and lined exercise books), cards (for flash cards) etc for them. I told the teacher not to be too strict on homeworks as I don't want Ryan to be stressed up. Moreover, his 6 year old kindy class will come with quite a load of homeworks, I was told. When kindy reopens, I have asked the teacher to go through his kindy books and lessons to help him reinforce his learnings as well as to help him with his homework. I'm so glad that at least that part is settled. Hope it works out well. I'll have to coach my kids still - but wait till I get fully adjusted to my time. I intend to advance my son in Maths and English... and then there is Raymund who will start school now.

Cambridge English For Life

In my last post 'No Cosmotots. Take Cambridge CEFL & Home Tuition', I talked about my frustrations with Cosmotots and my plans for Ryan to reinforce his learnings. I discussed in some depth about Cambridge English For Life (CEFL) junior classes for preschoolers. If you are interested to know more, click on the link above :)

I was waiting for the centre manager to call me to advise the right level for Ryan. Should it be JE1 1st term or JE 1 3rd term (there are 2 intakes - Jan and Jun) or just rough it out for Ryan and get him to join JE2? I was shown the books for JE1 and JE2 syllabus. It looked like Ryan's level is actually between JE1 and JE2. So, I'm pretty unsure which one is best for him.

I managed to discuss with her today. Each level offers a full year program afterwhich the kids will move into the next level. Very much a class room based teaching but in very small groups. The one in Bandar Puteri Puchong allows a max of 9 kids for each JE1/JE2 class. I like that. At least, the teacher student attention would be better, hopefully. JE1 focus on ABC covering phonics sounds for single and double letters. Some light reading, some basic 1-10 numbers, even some light craft to spice up the lessons. The 3rd term for JE1 would go into sound blending. Some of which Ryan already knows but not all, and he is not exactly ready for the light reading.

JE2 goes into applying adjectives , more phonics, alternative vowels (sounds like ou and ow that have more than 1 sound - haha! I just learnt :p), words that phonics can't help such as two, even spelling and grammar. Much as I like to but Ryan ain't ready for this. I don't want him to withdraw and close up when he lacks confidence. Happened before. Ryan gets encouraged to learn with praises and progress. So, I have decided not to throw him into JE2 and let him swim ;p.

A 1 year program for each level with 4 terms. The Centre Manager advised me to go for 3rd term JE1. Not starting at the beginning since Ryan knows some sounds and blending. Luckily for us, this centre has two intakes, ie Jan and June. So they have a JE1 third term in Jan. I checked other centres; some only have 1 intake ie Jan. They follow school holiday schedule. So, most of the time, they have no classes during school holidays. What's more the JE classes are held on Sat and Sun. No need to rush from work to chauffeur my kids. Phew! But then again, we have to sacrifice 2 hours of our precious weekend for this lesson. Sigh! We can't have it all! Wouldn't it be great if they have weekday classes AND provide transport?! We can't have it all!

I'll discuss with my husband tonight to see if the timing works for us. Then, we will proceed. Very likely we'll go for it :)

No Cosmotots. Take Cambridge CEFL & Home Tuition

Today, I went to Cosmotots iqd with all intention to sign up for the classes and get Ryan to attend the 1st lesson today. But I didn't. 2 reasons. Logistic issue and I was not exactly impressed with their service.

I had to take their transport that they are charging at RM5 per trip (super expensive) and the to and fro van ride for Ryan would have been close to 2 hours since he will be the 1st picked up and the last drop off. Imagine when Ryan goes to school next year. Come back about 12 pm. Quick lunch, quick bath. Picked up at 1:10pm. Long van ride and class start only at 2:30pm till 4:30pm. Then another long Van ride and arrive home at 5:30pm.

Cosmotots has another 4:30pm Genesis class but presently they are full. They wanted me to sign up now and see if they can slot him in 4:30pm in Jan. Again the same logistic issues. Pick up at 3pm for 4:30pm - 6:30pm class. Arrive home at 7:30pm. Strenuous and 2 unnecessary hours wasted which he could have use to rest and play. By the way, the class is 3 times a week. And 2 x times a week, he has E.nopi which I will let him attend in view of the proven results. I want him to learn but not to overstress him unnecessarily.

So with all these uncertainties and I'm not sure if Ryan would like to lessons, I asked about their cancellation procedures in the event that I have to stop the class midway. You see, I have to pay 4 months in advance amounting to RM1380 term fee, RM150 admin fee, RM120 materials and RM480 transport, totaling RM2130! Guess what. There is no refund policy. Regardless of the reasons for termination, the amount paid will be forfeited. Can they do that? From the little that I remember of my university contract law lessons, I thought that if there is no services rendered, the contract i not binding, right? Shocked! The lady proceeded to say that all their children are very happy with the class, so no such issue and if I'm not sure, I can take Ryan back and go home to consider again. Ryan was already in the class. Good feel or not. Urggh! She told me that she is also unsure if the 4:30pm is available for Ryan come Jan. But I can sign up 1st and make do with 2:30pm class until (and if) there is place for the later class. Can't promise yet but 'tahan' until available. I was already telling her that the 2:30pm class is too rush for him. Well, the whole conversation... I got the message that I have to take it or leave it, they are not hard up. No attempt to listen. Just challenging my every comment. Ryan was called out of class. I left. Poor Ryan.

Since I save that chunk of $$, I was planning for alternatives. I took Ryan to Cambridge English For Life (CEFL). There are 2 intakes - Jan and Jun. So, I'm just in time :) Their classes are held on weekends. Yes! 2 hours once a week. Good too but I'm wondering if it is good enough. They follow a syllabus separated by levels. The lowest is JE 1 (Junior English 1) where 3-5 year old kids attend to learn basic phonics and sound blending, a little reading and some fun craft activities. Then comes JE2, more simple reading. I was shown the books and materials. Looks good. The only problem I have is deciding which one for Ryan - third term JE1 or 1st term JE2. The centre manager will advise me later. In case you'd like to know, here are some of the things that I found out about CEFL (at least the one in Bdr Puteri):

1. Once a week. 2 hour class for JE1 and JE2
2. JE1 and JE2 are conducted in small classes, no more than 9 students.
3. One teacher to a class
4. Thematic teaching with materials like text and workbooks
5. Obviously British English :)
6. JE1 and JE2 will be costing me RM450 tuition fee + RM30 materials for 10 weeks, and RM50 registration and RM110 books. Total 40 weeks per level.
7. Follows school calendar. Meaning, they close during school holidays but may have some classes during shorter holidays, I was told.
8. New intake 9 Jan 2010
9. No homework for these 2 levels
10. If your kids are in primary level or older, they have other English courses too.
11. It is operated on franchise basis. So, get your comfort level from the franchisee that you have chosen.
12. Check out this web for more

I'm going for this. The timing suits me and the syllabus looks ok. Have to adjust our weekends only. Just a nagging feeling about whether the once a week class is effective only.

Next, I confirmed with Ryan's class teacher to give Ryan twice weekly home tuition for Chinese and Malay - his weak areas but on his recent kindy assessment. Not much choice here coz Ryan speaks almost zilch Chinese and Malay. And I'm sending him to a more academic kindy next year. Just want to give him some help first. I heard his new school is pretty strong in Chinese. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too lost then. I chose his class teacher for home tuition because Ryan loves his 5 year old Beaconhouse class teacher. Thought it is easier and less strenuous to learn from someone he likes and who knows him :)

I think I have more or less planned out everything for him.

• 2 x weekly, one hour E.nopi Math class
• once a week, 2 hours Cambridge
• 2 x weekly, one plus hour home tuition for Chinese and Malay
• Once a week Saturday GlobalArt class
• Shorter hours for actual kindy which is more academic focus. The fun and activities bit, I'll let him mix and play with neighbour's kids

I was told some kids get it worse, with back to back classes. Not that I'm comparing. I just want to make sure that Ryan can enjoy his learning and make good progress. I'll be watching out for signs of tiredness or stress (if any) and the effectiveness of these classes. Then, I'll readjust his classes, if needed.

With me, I have been coaching him so far. But I'll be starting my new job soon. Don't know how much time I can spare to teach. Sigh! So, I'd leave it to these classes with structured learning. I'd just do some fun work, reading and story telling with him. I can also involve little Raymund in these activities too.

Personal Tuition for Ryan.. Ain't Cheap!

I have always thought of getting someone to give Ryan personal tuition to help him with his tough areas... particularly Chinese. This is one subject that I really really cannot teach. Even at his 5 year old level, it has already gone beyond me. I can do it the very tough way by getting someone to teach me so that I can teach him but it wouldn't do. Hence, I thought of personal tuition. I didn't work on it last time simply because I couldn't find a tutor and I didn't want to stress Ryan up with too many classes while he was schooling. Now that school holidays have started, I'm thinking of getting him to go to Cosmotots and find some help for Chinese. Math is well taken care by E.nopi and I can still handle the Malay portion. More than enough for his holidays. I'll just reshuffle them when school reopens.

Finally, I got someone who is willing to give home tuition. His class teacher! I asked her during the Parents Teachers Meeting if she is interested. I thought since Ryan likes his class teacher, the lessons will be quite good for him. Ryan loves the idea. In fact, when I told him, he was asking if the teacher was coming that day to teach him. Excited or what!

But then, I was totally ignorant about the price. I used to think - how expensive can tuition for kindy kids be. In my days, my tuition centres used to charge

What choice do I have? I may try out a few lessons to see how effective. Then I will decide whether to continue...unless a better option pops up. Kids are so lucky nowadays. Parents like me are getting broke. I daren't imagine when all 3 kids of mine are schooling!

My Son's Assessment in Kindy

Parents Teachers Day at my son's kindy was here and gone. Seems my son has improved quite a bit compared to his last assessment. He is not the top of his class... and I'm not pushing him to be. But I just hoping that's he's not and will never be the bottom. Not so because of anything but I don't want him to feel pressured when demoralized esp when he goes to primary. At present, a good average is good enough for me. The thing about kindy here, there is no ranking yet as to who is top or bottom or number xx in the class. So far, they don't practice this as it's still after all only a kindy. I'm ok with that. Whenever I asked his teachers whether he is at the bottom, his teachers normally misunderstood me and thought I'm asking for position in class. You see, my son Ryan used to be one of the slowest, if not the slowest, when he was in the Four Year old class. Reason was simply because he only started to speak when he started kindy at 4 years old. Sigh! Long story .. along the lines of getting the wrong child care when he was a baby/toddler. I was worried about him then. He was a slow speaker - I even wrote about it. Click here if you are interested :), and then read on about my attempts to help him. Ain't easy :)

This parents teachers meeting to talk about my son's progress is a really good thing. I remember that in my days, during the primary school time, my parents hardly went. It was also assumed a waste of time. Maybe it was true then. Anyway, since I coach my son, I always like to check with his teacher about his progress and improvement in all areas. Also to figure out where are the areas that need reinforcements. I keep a very close tab with his teachers on normal days too. This was especially true last year when he had difficulty. It was really joint efforts with his teacher then that helped Ryan improved quite a bit. For instance, the teacher would tell me specifically which problem, eg sound blending for certain letters, then I would help him at home. It was tough then but rewarding.

Last week was the last PTM for the year. I learnt quite a bit about my son. Yes! There is always more to learn about our kids. The teacher told me that generally he is good overall. Just some areas that need particular attention, such as Chinese and Malay.

Malay is only introduced for the 1st time for 5 year olds in Beaconhouse. I was told that even a Malay boy in his class also has problem.

Ryan doesn't exactly like Music. Good to know as I was considering Music instrument lessons for him.. only if he likes music. It is not like the old days when kids are pressured to learn and take exam for piano. The thought then was that it was important to learn in case we need additional source of income when we grow up. Is it still the case now? No idea!

He doesn't particularly fancy gym too. Maybe he is too meaty! Haha!

But he loves the library! His teacher thought he likes to read but I pointed out to him that there is a difference between liking books and pictures and such versus reading. Afterall, he is still working hard on his phonics. Hehe! Sometimes, we have to give feedback to teachers too :) I find this is effective so that the teachers can understand our kids better when they coach them during school hours.

And, thanks to E.nopi! His teacher is very impressed with his Math!! She said that Ryan is very fast and very good with Math. It looks like he doesn't need to count to know the answer. She told me that he had to slow down Ryan so that the class can follow. I asked how so. She told me that once she has just finished writing an addition question on the board. Before she could turn and ask the class, Ryan has already shouted the answer! Happy, happy, proud, proud :) Money worth spending :) I will continue sending Ryan to E.nopi :) :) Feedback to moms out there :). Of course, I also shared with the teachers what I teach Ryan too.. like simple multiplication concepts (which is not taught yet in kindy), big number sequencing, etc) :)

Lastly, the character and behavior. Verdict: 'Cheerful and lovable boy'. Talks a lot - a vast difference from last year. It's just that he has to participate more in class (other than Math :)). It could be the language lessons. That's why I'm considering seriously for Cosmotots iqd class.

Getting Scholastic Books

In my earlier post, I mentioned that I was trying to contact the Scholastic Book Clubs via email to get hold of the other series of Clifford Phonics Fun Pack. But for some reason, my email was not answered. I have left it alone for a while hoping to get another round of booklist offer. It's year end already. And next year, I'm transferring Ryan to another kindy near my house. This is a smaller kindy. I wasn't sure if the Scholastic Book Clubs distribute their booklist to this kindy. Spurred by one of my blog readers (Jehan - thanks :)), I have decided to check out the Scholastic Malaysia site for a contact number which I could have missed.

I got hold of the customer service number. I managed to talk to one of the call agents and I was able to check that the new kindy which my kids are going to is in their distribution list. Yea! They don't sell direct to consumers but only through schools. That's when we get the better price (vs the bookstores, if you can find the books you want). I asked about the Clifford Phonic Fun Packs series which I'm interested in. How can I get the complete set? Do I have to wait for each booklist distribution. But then again, you wouldn't know if they'd be offering one of the series the next round.

By the way, just so you know, the Scholastic Book Clubs distribute their booklists to the kindies every 3 months. I normally buy a lot. Books are as cheap as

Anyway, as I was saying, I don't want to wait every 3 months and hope that they offer one of the Clifford Phonics Fun Packs each time. There are 6 packs altogether. It will be forever before I get the full set. Ha,ha, I'm normally a bit impatient when I'm set for something :) Luckily for me, I can go to their office to get the remaining packs for the same price at RM28 each pack (original price RM47.80). Each pack has 12 books. Really worth it. It's not really just the price but I find that the phonics education in these packs are just right for my kids. Repetitive learning and by phonics sound groups. I don't want it too complicated. This is just what I want. I asked why so I can buy from them since they mentioned that they have to go thru schools. Apparently, only teaching books like this one can be bought directly from their office. Then I asked about good 'teaching' books for phonics. He advised that there are 2 books series which are most often recommended for Phonics - this Clifford Phonics Fun Packs and the Bob Books series.

If you want to see a sample of the Clifford Book, check out this site (click here).

If you want to know where the office is. The address is below. It's in Petaling street where there is a Chinese temple and Indian temple. At the end of the road, there is a police station. The office is along this road. I'm not planning to visit them any time soon until I finish my current 2 Clifford Packs with Ryan. We are a bit lazy lately. Sigh!

Scholastic Malaysia

Level 7, Plaza First Nationwide,

161 Jalan Tun H. S. Lee,

50000 Kuala Lumpur

Customer Service: 1-300-88-7818, Mondays -Fridays, 9am - 5pm

Fax: 03-2070-1898

Email: customerservice@scholastic.com.my

Hope this helps :)