PSLE tips and resources Part 2 - Science

PSLE Science gives me a headache when I recall our P6 experience last year.

While Science is a very fun and interesting subject to learn, to score well, it may not be easy. To start, MCQ takes up more than half of the marks of the full paper with each question being allocated 2 marks. This means that any mistakes would be costly as it would be “0”. So, 3 mistakes would place your child in the below 90 range (based on just Booklet A).

I attended some webinars last year; some were paid and some, free. One common advice given by most educators online was to try and score as high as possible for the MCQ section. This is because in Booklet B - it is a free response section so marks can be lost if keywords are not included or the child has not acquired the correct technique of framing his / her answers.

In this post, it would be more of sharing my learnings and perhaps key areas to look out for in addition to resources which we have found useful.

:: Books

Honestly there are many many good books out there in the market so the intention is not to list 20 books but the few that I think are more useful:

1. Science PSLE Revision Guide

This guide is a very popular title as most of my friends have it. It has good notes and detailed notes and explanation and covers all topics. Local parent influencers have also shared comments on it before. You can get a copy here if you prefer online shopping as opposed to visiting physical book stores. 

2. Science Process Skills Series

Interestingly, not many of my friends know of this series. Most are into buying mock papers and this seems to be a tad under the radar. It has a series for P3 & 4 too but for the purpose of this post, I am just sharing the photos for P5 & 6 (Upper Block). 

I like these books very much as they do a few things. 

a. They build process thinking skills through the questions specially designed 

b. They attempt to make Science relevant by challenging the students to think deeper by linking it to real-world context (see right most diagram). 

A few of my friends shared that they bought these from Popular bookstores so if you are keen, you may like to call them prior to check on stock before heading down. 

:: Topics

I am not an oracle (lol) so I cannot predict what topics will be featured but based on the past year papers that the kiddo has done, both upper and lower blocks are covered and are equally important: topics like magnets, electricity, plant and body systems, life cycles are often seen – sometimes in both Booklet A and B.

However, some of the topics the kiddo found trickier were “Heat”, “Changes of States”, “Energy” as well as “Forces”. Thankfully, we were blessed to have found many free resources to reinforce concepts and clear misconceptions.

Here are some to share:

Free "live" webinar:

One resource which I would strong recommend is Science Heuristics FB Live (they were conducting this weekly last year) at 8pm. Mrs Koh (the presenter usually) cuts straight to the point and her sharing is very focused on the right thought process and answering techniques. 

(Print screen is that from Heuristics Science FB Live)

In the video above, she was sharing specifically on keywords. 

They also conduct "live" webinars on different topics too so do hop on over and subscribe / follow and watch with your child weekly. Here's one on conductors of heat. 

Besides "live" coaching, here is a list of printable resources / online reading which you may find useful. 

Forces

Science Shifu has a post on understanding forces illustrated by diagrams which you may find useful.

Pique Lab has many posts on forces and I have to say that their resources and notes were really helpful. They also have a special focus on answering techniques where steps and “templated answers” like these may help children.

 

(Print screen is that of Pique Lab's website)

Energy Conversion

Science Shifu also has a post on common mistakes made on energy conversion too.

Heat and Changes of States

Infogaphics are a great way to learn and Blue Tree Education created many which I found to be useful for a quick recap / overview. Here, Blue Tree Education created one which is on another common misnomer: boiling versus evaporation.  

Here Pique Lab also has many articles on Heat where it also analyzed exam papers of primary schools and provides suggested solutions (with clear explanations). 

Science Shifu also has other articles on other topics which you can find here.

 

:: Useful skills

For MCQs, I have to say that many questions are tricky. Children must have very strong conceptual understanding (and a clear head I must say!) to avoid being misled.

Like many children, my kiddo tends to be careless – skims through the questions without reading properly (misses out clues- sighs), forgets key words in her FRQ (double sighs) AND (lo and behold!) missing out on questions (every parent’s nightmare)!

I always remind the kiddo to do these steps denoted by acronym UIC.

 

1. U – Underline

As your child reads through the questions, it would be good to underline (or circle if she / he prefers that instead) the key information and what the question is asking for.

This slows the child down in skimming through and it points the child to the key information quicker.

 

2. Ink trails

What are the key words that this question is looking for? For e.g. if it were to be a question on plant and the conditions it needs to make food, it would be good to draw / make notes on the diagrams as your child compares the experiments in the questions (short 2 – 3 words will do, not full sentences).  

 

3. Cross out

As your child completes the first 2 steps, the next step will be by rule of elimination – so cross out the options that do not apply. This reduces shading mistakes in the answering sheet too.

Heuristics Science also has other videos which are focused on their own answering technique (TCR) and here you can see an example as Mrs Koh shares on SA Revision using this technique for Booklet B (FRQ).

I hope that you find these links and free resources useful in your revision as much as I found them to be last year! This is my second post in this PSLE Tips and Resources series. You find my Post 1 on English here. Do share this post / link with your friends if you have found them useful! :) And, stay tuned to my next post which will be on Chinese. 
  

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PSLE tips and resources Part 1 - English

2020 has been an extra-ordinary year for most. For my case, it has an added dimension of another layer of parenting woes – the PSLE.

The kid was not as engaged online learning as compared to physical classrooms and we had to work through gaps in the last few weeks leading up to the national exam. During those 2 months, I have sat through quite a bit of webinars and devised different revision plans as well as flipped through many different guidebooks and assessment books.

I thought that it would be useful to share them with you in a few posts split into the different subjects. 😊

:: English

This has always been Dumpling’s pet subject and while we did not have to revise as much, there are a few elements in this subject that I wish to highlight.

1. Oral

Oral is a great way to earn marks if your child is confident, reads widely and is able to contribute to conversations meaningfully. However, for some children, having the context to talk about and the vocabulary bank bring about another set of challenges.

There are a few areas which I think would be important for us to highlight to our children.

-        -  Read and speak slowly and clearly

Due to nerves, a lot of students may ramble off or read through the passage at a lightning speed. This to me is a pity as read-aloud is a great way to secure as many marks as possible as your child will have time to see the passage prior and prepare.

- Be mindful of the ending consonants and expressions. 

Can the examiner hear the “t” and the “th”? Is the dialogue in the form of a question? Was the character speaking in anger? Model those feelings accordingly. 

Looking at the rubrics sent back over the years, pupils are rated on accuracy (of pronunciation), fluency and their expression.   

-         2. Stimulus based conversation

Instead of leaving it to the last minute to prepare for this section, I think it would be a good practice to engage your child and have casual conversations about a menu, poster or an advertisement.

“Would you be keen to purchase the carton of oat milk? Why and why not?” and if the visuals are food related, they usually are linked to health themes. “Have you tried oat milk before? How do you think we should maintain a healthy lifestyle?” 

Of course, in our conversations with them, the discussions are more casual, but the idea is to get your child comfortable in sharing and commenting as the less the examiners prompt them, the better. 

A book which I used last year is this below.  It has both listening comprehension practices and oral practices which make this a convenient resource to have.

(Note: Listening comprehension is also a tad trickier at P6 where the questions often times require deeper thinking and do not have as many "direct questions" like the lower levels. For e.g. they may describe a sequence / a path and the question may require the child to think in the reverse order of the sequence. Hence it would be good to have some practices in this too.)

2. Synthesis and Transformation (S&T)

This gave me nightmares when the kiddo was in Primary 5 and for the first time, did badly in a paper component for English.

With S&T, it is what I refer to as a “sudden death” – you either get the full 2 marks or you get 0, hence it would be very easy to lose 5 - 6 marks in this section.   

There are extremely strict rules regarding S&T – if the subject is in a plural form, it must stay in a plural form. For instance, if the question listed “apples” then after transforming the sentence, it has to be same – “apples”.

I noted that in most past year papers, reported speech (direct to indirect speech) seems to an area which is always tested on. On this area, the child needs to follow the “TPTP” rule and Lil But Mighty has a great post here.

There are not many S&T books available at the bookstore. Here’s a book which you may find useful where it explains the rules, connectors, etc., and provides practices after. I understand that some local schools also has this title listed in their supplementary / recommended lists too. 

Away from the monotony of the syllabus, I also subscribed to Kids Discover which the kiddo reads for leisure. 

In the comprehension components for exams these days, passages may include current affairs or things on general knowledge. This site has topics which aid to increase our children's knowledge and could in turn, encourage them to read more. 

Additionally, the passages from this site allow you to customize your child's reading level (according to the Lexile levels) based on his/her readiness. You can also choose a "read aloud" function which will assist your child in the pronunciation of words which he/she could be unfamiliar with. With Dumpling in Sec 1 this year, she has also found this site useful for History too. :) 

Edit: I have done up the second post on Science tips and resources. 

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A fluttery affair at Science Centre Singapore!

Do you know that the butterfly:

• Has 4 wings?
• Can taste with their feet?
• Can see red, yellow and green?

Those were amongst some of the things that the kiddo and I learnt about in our recent visit to Butterflies Up-Close! Developed in partnership with Sentosa’s Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom (BIK), Butterflies Up-Close takes visitors on an immersive journey through all four stages of a butterfly’s metamorphosis – from egg to adulthood and the kiddo and I, had the chance to tour around in this latest exhibit at the Science Centre Singapore.

We are not new to the whole metamorphosis process having previously bought a kit where we witnessed the process and then setting them free. But we still found loads to marvel at, when we visited Butterflies Up-Close at the Science Centre recently.

:: The set up

One of the latest exhibits at the Science Centre Singapore, Butterflies Up-Close is segregated into 4 zones, with the last zone being the enclosure. The exhibition is simple but well thought through.

The first zone was an “introduction” from a higher level where even a World Map is placed and children can learn about some of the different butterfly species from around the world before entering the exhibition. This is where we also saw a breath-taking artwork ~ made with more than 4 thousand wings (none of the butterflies were killed for this artwork but they were specimens carefully collected by the artist over many many months). (See pic below) 

The second zone focuses on "orientation" where a key feature are big fibreglass models of a big Atlas Moth and a Jezebel butterfly so that hildren can see the main differences between the 2.

The third zone is a walk way through of the life cycle of the butterfly with fun facts where children can lift up the ladybirds to unveil the information panels and read the information.

Pic above: our guide S, getting the kiddo acquainted with the life cycle

Above pic: information panels are peppered with fun facts on these beauties

To encourage children to read up and go through the 4 zones, a small butterfly booklet is handed out where children can look for various stations at the different zones to emboss on the booklet. (See pic below)

:: The Enclosure 
The enclosure is the last part and definitely the best part of the exhibition where it is a small air-conditioned area with a dome in the centre of the room. The butterflies at the enclosure are all free range where you can observe them up close and personal.

Above pic: butterflies lapping it all up!

A glass case stands on the left side of enclosure where chrysalis and cocoons are hanging in it. I love how pretty the metalic colored chrysalis are in this case. These are all "live" chrysalis and cocoons which are slowly metamorphosing.

Here's a fun fact: do you know that the chrysalis of butterflies are different from species to species?

Look at how large the Atlas moth is!!!

Be advised that these butterflies are quite "inquisitive" and do not shy away from visitors. Over the hour that we were there, we had some that landed on our heads, shoulders, bags, and even hands. The kiddo was unfazed as frankly, they do not bite or cause any itch so she was pretty cool with them. 

The variety of butterflies there is amazing. They are specially brought into this enclosure where the temperature is specially controlled and some of them have host plants specially brought in too. 

Just check out these colorful beauties! 

(Check out the bevy of beauties)

If you are looking at an educational spiel to this, the dome houses 2 stations where one shows the magnified butterfly parts while the other allows children to interact with the exhibit to see the iridescent colors of the butterflies as they "glimmered" and "shone" at various angles. 

The enclosure is not a large one but one can easily stay there for an hour to 2 if you take the time to sit and observe. We did just that and I even managed to observe the proboscis (tongue) of a butterfly where it curled and uncurled! Here's the clip to share! :) 

Our hour there flew by so quickly that the kiddo actually asked to head back again. This will be a lovely place for an unhurried morning where you can just enjoy the cool temperature and beauty of these butterflies. 

Now, in case you are not aware, the Science Centre Singapore has waived off all entrance fees for Singapore citizens on off-peak period. Hence you only need to pay $10 for an adult / for a child and $8 for senior citizen to visit this exhibit. (Details can be found here.)

:: Location 

15 Science Centre Road

Singapore 609081

Tel: (65) 6425-2500

Fax: (65) 6565-9533

Facebook page 

Click here for a driving map / bus information

Disclaimer: We were invited to visit Butterflies Up-Close so that we can share our experience on it. We are not compensated for the post. All opinions are entirely ours. 

If you have enjoyed this post, please follow me on my Facebook Page where I share my parenting thoughts (both to the kiddo and my furkid), food photos (be prepared for tons of them!), early shout outs for giveaways and interact with you, my readers! You can also follow me on Pinterest and Instagram!  

A Busy Mum's Cheat Sheet: Composition Writing Made Easy eCourse by Big Ideaz Education (Review + Giveaway!)

I recently had a chat with a friend who shared wisely reading and writing should not be seen as "work". How true that is. As one who is in the early childhood industry, I would love for children to have more time to acquire the love for the language naturally and by naturally, I mean to read to and read, many many times over, with them. 

Alas, things are somewhat different when children enter mainstream school. Though tests are now called holistic assessments (which are basically tests broken down into bite size assessments and last over a span of 4 – 5 weeks!), end of the day, marks are still given and the papers are still graded. I have previously blogged about my thoughts on composition here. 

(Source)

Creative writing is a skill which needs to be wielded like a sword; to mesh different materials together using a variety of tools and techniques. With Primary 2 being an important year for her (the school will be streaming them into different classes), Dumpling has expressed an interest to learn more and hone her writing skill and we were blessed to have the opportunity to review a Composition Writing Made Easy eCourse by fellow mummy blogger - Hui Ing. 

:: The eCourse 

This eCourse spans over 8 lessons covering a range of techniques which includes:

• Writing a good introduction
• Describing events and problems
• Creating suspense, etc. 

What you need:

The eCourse is pre-recorded where you will need a working laptop / PC, internet connection and printed course notes. The page / materials are easily available with a simple log in where the each lesson focus is very clearly titled. 

What it entails

Each lesson comes with 3 components

• A pre-recorded video clip (which lasts about an average of 8 mins elaborating on each of the topic)
• Comprehensive course notes as well as 
• Weekly assignments

Hui Ing, in her videos, reminds the children weekly to print the course notes and have them ready before she starts. The files for the weekly course are all in PDF where it maps back to the videos and the students makes the connection with the video viewed and attempts the questions on the spot.

(The above are all discussed in the video and Dumpling would pause the video to fill in the blanks)

So basically, for each lesson, the children are to watch a video, complete the notes and then work on their weekly submissions and then submit the work. Submission can be via a scanned  PDF file / good quality jpeg file. The turnaround time for Hui Ing is 3 working days. 

:: Our assignment

Dumpling is not familiar with the new PSLE format though she is attempting 4-picture compositions in school. With the new PSLE format, the good thing is that it allows for more imagination and creativity but the concept can be a tad "abstract" for the younger children or for children who are not articulate as they may lack the vocabulary and skill set to elaborate on the essay. 

The below is a portion of Dumpling's writing assignment from Lesson 3 and Hui Ing's comments. (Lessons 1 and 2 were focused on introductions so I am not sharing here.)

:: Our thoughts and experience

A busy mum's cheat sheet!

Being a FTWM, my worst enemy is time. It is hard to schedule my time and send Dumpling for classes in addition to her already busy schedule peppered with CCA, Art, Violin, etc. So this course is like a busy mum's cheat sheet as it works like a dream. It allows us to work on things anywhere and yes, the kiddo can even watch the video on my iPhone too! How's that for mobility? 

(Print screens of the video clip from my iPhone!)

The kiddo went through the first two lessons like a tornado as she found it to be really useful. Hui Ing was able to bring the point across in a short and succinct manner for e.g. using acronyms such as "SAFE" to prompt the children to be more intentional in their attempts at writing direct speech (elaborated below).

The marked paper was also sent back within 3 working days promised where she requested for a final draft to be sent back to her. :)  

:: What I like about it:

No memorising of fabricated phrases

In my opinion, Hui Ing made some simple but sharp suggestions on Dumpling's essay. In one of the holiday workshops that Dumpling has attended (and apparently at a rather "famous" writing enrichment centre), Dumpling shared that the teacher wrote some "power phrases" on the white board and the children were told to choose from the list to use it in the composition. She hated that. 

With Hui Ing's comments, as you can see, there was none of those. Hui Ing basically worked with the children's essays and guided from there. In the weekly course notes, examples of good phrases / vocabulary are given but she also requests for children to add on to the list to build up their own phrases / vocabulary bank. 

With Dumpling's compositions, the issue is not on grammar or on the vocabulary. As her stories tend to run a bit long, she sometimes does not elaborate enough on the "climax" / problem and Hui Ing was able to pick that out and zero in from there. Thereafter she gave a suggestion to guide Dumpling in her thought flow. In her email reply to Dumpling, Hui Ing was very encouraging too and I could see that was a confidence booster for the kiddo. 

Systematic approach on framework

The eCourse outline is well thought through and well planned. The lessons are systematic and the content short yet crisp. It has a very strong focus on helping children to get the framework right. 

For e.g. some of the courses which I have come across use the 5W and 1H approach. This I find, may be too generic for young children. In the children's writing, they could have all these 5W and 1H information but the story may not engage. In essence, the story does not draw the readers in. 

With Hui Ing's suggested "introduction" approaches and using acronyms to guide the children, it gives a framework where it becomes more intentional. For e.g. SAFE stands for Speech Action and FEelings and with such a technique, it helps the children to focus better when they are using direct speech, where the writing and thought process take on a more intentional and systematic approach. 

:: What Dumpling likes about it

"I like the lesson because there are lesson notes which are useful for me to refer to when I am writing. The videos are cool ~ I have never had e-lessons before. There are certain phrases and tips which I did not know and they were useful too." 

:: What the eCourse is NOT

The eCourse is great for the working mums as you can view the lesson anytime, anywhere. Having said that, there is support needed from us parents. For Dumpling, I had to support her in guiding her initially on this format and of course, we will also need to ensure that the children do their assignments and then send it back for marking.

The process of writing intertwines with other aspects of English such as grammar and vocabulary. While some of these will surface in the writing, essentially, this is a composition writing course and may not be able to deal with root problems such as poor grammar where the kid may not understand some basic grammar rules.

Lastly, like all things, practice makes perfect. The student needs to work on this consistently to be able to see an improvement over time. 

:: Extra, extras!

Keen to learn more? You can read some of Hui Ing's students' work here.

Now that you have read about this eCourse, I am pleased to share that Hui Ing will be starting a new enrollment for July! And best of all, I have a give away for 2 readers worth a total of $400!

Just take part using "Rafflecopter" below!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

:: Terms and conditions:

1) The prizes are not transferable and they cannot be exchanged for cash.

2) Only entries via Rafflecopter are valid. 

3) Answers to the question via rafflecopter (What is the most challenging area in the coaching of your child's writing process?) MUST be listed in the comment box below to qualify. Please remember to leave:

- your child's age
- your name &
- your email address in the comment box too. 

4) The eCourse is for the advanced Primary 2 students to struggling Primary 5 students and lasts over 8 weeks (2 months).  The course commences in July 2016. 

5) Closing Date of Giveaway: 16 June 2016, 2359 hrs.

6) Winners must respond to my email within 48 hours otherwise, they will be given to another winner. 

7) The giveaway is not endorsed, associated with administrated by Facebook. 

Note: Hui Ing only accepts up to 10 students per eCourse intake. So if you cannot wait for the giveaway results, please add your name to the eCourse wait list here. 

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored giveaway. We were invited to review the eCourse so that we can give our opinions about it. We are not compensated for the post. All opinions expressed are entirely ours. 

:: About Big Ideaz Education

Big Ideaz Education is the brainchild of former MOE English Teacher Hui Ing. Big Ideaz Education provides resources for Creative Writing & Composition, Writing Workshops & Online Writing Courses for primary school children.  

The Composition Writing Made Simple eCourse is designed for Primary School students who are beginning to write compositions for examinations. It is targeted at Primary 3 and 4 students but is also suitable for more advanced Primary 2 students as well as Primary 5 students who are still struggling with the basics of composition writing. The course focuses on writing compositions based on the new (2015) PSLE format.  You can subscribe to Big Ideaz Education's mailing list here to receive the latest tips and news!

This is an ongoing series on documenting my learning and Dumpling's Primary School journey. 

If you have enjoyed this post, please follow me on my Facebook Page where I share my parenting thoughts, food photos (be prepared for tons of them!), early shout outs for giveaways and interact with you, my readers! You can also follow me on Pinterest and Instagram!  

Homelearning: Subscription boxes - Green Kid Craft

Even with the decision to enroll her into formal education 2 years ago, I have always been sitting on the fence when it comes to the issue of formal schooling. The questions that always lurk at the back of my mind are "Are there more things to life than just textbooks?", "Does Dumpling find her learning meaningful?" and "Do the activities and lessons propel her interest and natural sense of curiosity?"

Frankly, even now that she's in Primary 2, these questions still linger. Granted that English is taught in a more meaningful manner (Stellar) where children acquire grammar rules and vocabulary through specially selected story books, but the idea of engaging children in meaningful hands-on learning (in my opinion) seems to be somewhat lacking.

Hence I started my research on subscription boxes last year where I ordered Green Kid Craft, Little Passports and Junior Explorer. Each was specially chosen to map an area of interest that Dumpling has. These boxes were not and are not sponsored but I thought that they are pretty neat for some of you who wish to do more and do something different with your kids :)

:: History

Green Kid Crafts prides itself on being a green company that focuses and provides education activities for children with their boxes which is very much STEM based but with a little something special - all the activities are craft based.

Green Kid Crafts is a mother’s invention, created by a working mom and environmental scientist who wanted to make the most out of the limited time she had to spend with her kids. Like many other parents, she wanted to spend that time connecting with her kids, not scrambling for ideas and shopping for supplies. 

Why Green you may ask? It is because they are eco-friendly and are committed to the following:

Its boxes are 100% recycled. We use recycled labels and envelopes for shipping.

It integrate eco-awareness into our box themes as much as possible.

It minimize packaging and printing and use recycled materials.

It bundles materials using plant-based, compostable clear bags.

It avoids craft foams and plastics.

It ensures supplies can be composted, recycled and/or reused whenever possible.

It gives back. At least 1% of sales is donated to environmental organizations through its membership in 1% for the Planet.

From a parent's perspective, it is definitely a box puts my mind at ease where I know that the kid is not exposed to any toxic paints and materials.

:: How it works

Each box comes with 3 - 4 activities and you can choose a "once off" boxes or a subscription box (based on 3 months, 6 months or a 12 months plan). Besides subscription basis, Green Kid Craft also offers Discovery themed boxes that features cool themes such as Robots, Ocean Science, Kitchen Science, etc., Creativity themed boxes and STEM science kits (there are some which overlap into the Discovery themed boxes).

So you then choose the "type" you want and then add to cart.

The kiddo has tried both the subscription boxes and the themed boxes.

:: How it looks inside 

These are from 3 different kits:

Each box comes with a "intro" card (see above) which shows you the final craft item. The activities are pre-packed into each bag and most of the things you need would be in there (except the odd and end items like scissors, etc).

:: What we like: the activities

Based on the subscription boxes I have researched on, Green Kids Craft is one of those that has the best value. With 3 - 4 activities and full color printed cards / instructional sheets, I find the price (from USD19.95) reasonable.

So, how is Science being explored in these boxes?

Some activities are more fluid where it is up to you to explore the topical interest.

For us, it is a lot of conversational points. From the leaf pendent (yes, the leaf and paint were included) and the decoration of a Fabric bag, we had a chance to talk about leaves and their roles, types of leaves, global warming (based on Dr. Seuss poster below!), etc.

One of our favorite activities was a chance to build this:

This was from one of our monthly subscription boxes and yes, all the leaves and fern and even the soil, were included in the pack. Considering that the box had to travel about 3 - 4 days to Borderlinx (which is where I ship it from) and then to SG, they did remarkably well :p

As the kiddo built this, she created her own "rainforest" and with a lid over this, it was turned into a self sufficient terrarium. Over the next few days, observations were made and she saw first hand the water cycle process. 

Another interesting experiment she did was this which was on sounds:

Our conversation went like this:

(Placed salt into the balloon and I blew the balloon up)

Me: why is there sound now?

Kiddo: hmmmm...

Me: what's the difference in the balloon?

Kiddo: You blew it up! Now there's air!

Yup! Sound needs (medium) air to travel 

When I asked her which is her favorite activity to date, she selected the Lava Lamp.

As you can see, the talking points are also included and these are printed on the experiment card (see bottom of the card in the picture below)

:: The shipping

This has to be the greatest concern for most of you readers who are not based in the US. I ship my boxes via Borderlinx. Borderlinx recently started an economy option for parcels from US to SG (there are certain size and weight limitations) but via this economy route, my shipping was about SGD17.

For Economy, the delivery takes longer (which I do not really mind - about 7 to 8 days so far as compared to the regular option which takes about 3 - 4 days but at about double the cost too). It is trackable BUT I realised that it does not involve a door to door delivery. The postman merely placed it in my letter box (found out after 2 days when I was trying to trace my box!).

On the whole, Green Kid Craft has been great in occupying the kiddo where she can be left to her own devices, craft and learn at the same time. The activities are usually quite simple and I personally feel that they are great for younger children (K1 onwards) if they are able to read the instructions on their own. Having said that, this will also suit children who enjoy craft and are new to Science concepts. If you are looking at specific Science inventions and concepts for your children, this will not be for you but if you are looking for a fun experimental box which encourages hands-on learning, I personally think that this box has great value. Based on the multiple awards that it has won, I don't think I am alone in thinking so.

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Creative Writing - Teaching our Children to Fish OR Giving Them the Fish?

(Source)

About 9 months ago, the kiddo brought home a piece of homework which is to write a personal recount of her field trip. As with my usual approach towards her homework, I did not hover. For English writing, what we would do is to usually jot down the ideas that come to her mind and the few key points pertaining to each angle she has thought of.

By talking it out and planning it through, what I aim to teach is for her to learn to plan the story and the flow. We also spoke about ideas on “story openers”. I then sat down to work on my blog and she proceeded to write on her own, stopping me only twice to ask for assistance on the spelling of some words.

A day or two later, she brought back her piece and a 5-page piece written by her classmate which was shared by the teacher with her class. Yup. A 5-page essay. And before you need ask, my kid was only in Primary 1 then.

So you can imagine my surprise when the 5-page essay came back as a “sample” along with paragraphs written by her other classmates, printed on a separate sheet. I understand that through sharing, the teacher is hoping to share some good phrases but I struggle with how a 5-page essay is shared as a “model” composition.

3 reasons:

Expectations:

Are the children expected to churn out 5-pagers for their P1 tests too? I am sure that they are not but is that what is implied? For parents who do not know better, they may mis-read the intention behind the sharing and start scampering to work on a similar 5-page wonder, thereby increasing the stress level of their households! 

Parental involvement:

The piece was meant as "homework" where the children brought back what they did in class and they further edit / work on it at the home-front. So, it seems likely that there was heavy parental involvement in the essay. Therein lies the question “as parents, are we teaching them to fish or are we giving them the fish”?

Overuse of flowery superfluous language

The attempt was of good effort I have to say, but what did not particularly impress me was the use of adjectives, or in this case, an overuse of them.

Like a model essay that is typically published in books which showcase “super model” compositions, the over use of adjectives to describe a simple field trip gave me a headache. As a first-read, the starting sentences were impressive but it quickly became “draggy” for me. The focus of the essay was a personal recount to the Science Centre but as I read on, the first page mainly consisted of sentences and sentences of description on the weather and the surroundings. It did not even lead into the field trip (which should be the gist of the essay) even when I got to the beginning of page 2. So are those phrases necessary? 

At Primary 1, the usual requirement is to write about 5 - 8 sentences (varies across schools) about a picture composition (it can consist of 1, 3 or 4 pictures). To produce a 5-page essay during test / exam time, to me, at Primary One, is neither practical nor doable. 

More importantly, are pieces expected to be so “manufactured” where all the starting sentences of compositions are expected to be filled with superfluous sentences? It seems many such phrases are memorized and some are not even related to the composition. A quick check with my friends confirmed my worries. It seems that many teachers do look out for such use of adjectives in essays (which they deem as "good") and it is because of that, parents are sending their children to writing classes to be exposed to adjectives and expressions, and apply it, cookie-cutter manner, to their compositions during exams.

I do not agree with that at all.

Clearly, there should be better ways to write and to engage. Of course there are common phrases which we use and yes, it is perfectly fine to be inspired by authors where we sometimes use similar phrases in our writing, but I find it a shame to encourage our children to use “short cuts” such as through memorizing. More than that, are they using the phrases meaningfully?

The kiddo has been to writing workshops during the school holidays where one centre was also heavily focused on using suggested power phrases too. That prompted me to ponder and think: whatever happened to reading good literature (across a wide genre) and the good old practice of journaling? Am I the only naive parent here and the only one who feel this way? 

As parents who aim to support, are there better ways to go about this? Should we then be so involved in these "homework" where we are giving them the fish (or the answer) than teaching them the skills to fish? Please, do share your thoughts and suggestions with me! J

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Unit Study: Ancient China

“So, will you still be teaching her from home when she goes into Primary School?” I have been asked the question quite a few times over the past few weeks. I have also been toying with the thought quite a bit because friends with kids who are already in Primary school have said that once formal school starts, there wouldn’t be time to do any other activities / learning. Well, that certainly is a bummer for me as I strongly believe that there is more to life than being textbook smart and we have always had fun reading, learning and discussing through unit studies and activities which are Science or GK based.

But just when I thought to slow down in December, Dumpling told me one day that she wanted to learn more about China. Ancient China that is. That started a flurry of prep activities on my end as I had to research and read up on information that has long been passed back to the teachers! LOL

My style has never been the worksheet driven kind of approach and in true Mama Sue style, I decided to make it a travel adventure for the kiddo with these:

An activity book in the form of a passport AND a boarding pass!

When she was younger, I used to set up theme tables with thematic books, craft materials, relevant displays / sensory bin on a daily basis for our thematic study. It was fun for her to suddenly enter the room and see the set up and know that we have new activities to have fun and learn from. But as she got older and is able to be left to read independently, she would often be a few steps ahead and finish the books before I can even "work" with her on the topics!

(Taken in 2010 when Dumpling was 2 and we were learning about senses; taste was of course one of the senses we explored in greater details)

This was the display that greeted her when we started a new theme on that day :) And yup, Dumpling was indeed excited.

You might ask what's with the meat and the capsicum? That's part of our cookery activity that evening! Do you know that some authors have said that Sweet and Sour sauce / style of cooking originated from Hunan, China?

And so, she helped me prepare the ingredients for Sweet and Sour Chicken. Spring rolls (in the background) are of course a popular Chinese dish and we had that too. 

We learnt about the various dynasties and it is apparent that Dumpling's early intro to the Chinese language as she spotted the dynasty that the famous Poet, Li Bai was from. :)

We also learnt about inventions that came from China! Do you know that ice cream was said to have hailed from China too?!?

And so we made our own ice cream - without the use of a freezer! If you search online, most of the recommended ways are to use fresh milk and add on sugar along with vanilla essence. To save time, I used strawberry milk instead where I did not have to concoct anything.

:: What you need and the steps
You will need 2 ziplock bags (1 larger and 1 smaller), salt, ice cubes and milk!
1) In the larger bag, add in the ice cubes and sprinkle salt into it (maybe a tablespoonful of it)
2)  Shake so that the salt mixes well with the ice
3) Pour half a cup of milk into the smaller ziplock bag, seal tightly and place it in the larger bag.
4) Ensure that the ice covered the smaller bag and shake the bag
5) In less than 5 minutes, you will see that the milk starts to solidify and changes into "ice cream"!

:: The discussion
We also did one round without the salt. "So what made the milk changed to ice cream," I asked. That prompted a series of discussions about the  freezing point and the role of salt. :) How cold was cold? Below zero Degrees Celsius apparently.

I reserved more books from the library and will be picking them up and exploring this topic further and (hopefully), be able to finish it by next week before she officially starts a new journey in Primary School!

So to answer the question - are we gonna still continue with our homelearning journey? I would think (hopefully) so since homework is minimal in Primary 1 and 2. I hope to still continue on our little journey as long as she still enjoys learning and exploring. :) Leave a comment below if you would like to give us some suggestions on the next country of focus in our unit study! :)

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