Comments on: Time to do a home ed blog roundup

By: Helen

Helen — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 21:13:47 +0000

it does seem the success of singaporean maths is due to singaporean hard graft!
However, SB does get on well with the books, and it helps us with a reference of logical progression [though as said before we jump about with maths play]
hm, maye I should quickly buy all the books!!!
I don’t think we will get the exam books then

By: Raihanah

Raihanah — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 23:57:36 +0000

Dear Helen,

Yes, even I am unable to purchase books from a series that my husband bought just a year ago when in Singapore. What I find is new books by the same authors- just done up in a different way. Educational bookstores are very popular here (with one being called Popular). The more expensive books cost about 2 GBP.

You can find all types of books with workbooks as well as assessment books- which are really intensive compared to the lesson books. I’ve always found it strange that the math instruction books from Singapore seem so “easy”, but the “exam” books are very difficult. But… this is a culture where testing is used frequently and where kids are sent for after-school tuition to “be the top”.

Raihanah

By: HelenHaricot

HelenHaricot — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:58:53 +0000

thanks Raihanah. SB did the early bird ones, so this is the primary 1B. She has a reasonable flair for maths [not genius] so finds it mostly easy enough, and when we get a glitch we stop and think about it for a bit and do more maths games in life [paying for stuff/seed counting/sowing/window counting etc etc. She never needs pesuading to do it anyway
I noticed the difficulty in getting the MPareH 2A/B from ebay because of the update issue. So will prob get from half moon nearer the time.
Hope life away from cambs is suiting you. Thanks for commenting

By: Raihanah

Raihanah — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 08:13:40 +0000

Just as a point of reference, here in Singapore children don’t begin primary 1 until they are 7 years old. Some kids go to a 2 year KG program beforehand to learn some of the basics of Math, English, and a mother tongue (Chinese, Malay or Tamil). If you are referring to EarlyBird Singapore math, kids would generally start it at age 5 in KG 1. (having said that… the Earlybird publication can’t be found here anymore… as it seems that they are continuously ‘updating the syllabus’).

Having said all of this…. relax… frustration and stress seem to play a big part in home educator’s lives (and their blogs)… but at the end of the day, things look really wonderful (if we can really sit back and see all of the wonderful things our kids have learned and how they’ve developed)

Raihanah (previously in Cambs… now in Singapore)

By: Helen

Helen — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 22:51:34 +0000

A surgeon goes to see a cardiologist about his heart. After a long discussion, he is told the best thing would be if he could be a type B rather than A. He replies that he is going to bloody well be the best type B there has ever been…

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 22:19:30 +0000

lol, yes Helen you are!

By: Helen

Helen — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 21:49:19 +0000

it doesn’t sound so bad, but we don’t really do the ‘efficient’ bit very well, and I hate that nagging sensation that could do better. [me a type A??]

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 21:33:25 +0000

All sounds really good to me – and remember she is only almost 6! So much learning still just happens at that age, when living in the sort of household/family that you have/are, anyway

By: t-bird

t-bird — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 20:45:57 +0000

re crafting… don’t worry too much, after all if I can teach myself to crochet etc i’m sure SB can too! Plastic canvass if reasonably cheap and you cn use normal (cheap) knitting yarn insted of the expensive hanks of pure tapestry wool. Keep Aprilia out of mischeif for hours!