Horrible Math!

Heard of the series of books called "Horrible Science"? My boys love reading this series of books. Apart from the facts, they especially love the humor. On my end, I am putting together a compilation of Darling son KW's Math problems from school. I call the compilation "Horrible Math". However, there is no humor involved here. I know the teaching of Math in the woods is far from that back home, but I'm really disgusted at the way the problems are put together and the way they are being taught. If you are easily disgusted, do not continue reading. Else, let's proceed to go down the disgusting lane of Horrible Math!

Simple question, right? Find the area of the parallelogram. You know the formula to find area, you know your multiplication table, you can easily work it out. So what is the fuss about? Square Centimeters. We do not write the words when dealing with Math questions and numbers. Throughout the worksheet, I see the words "square meters" and "square feet". I'm a little disgusted, having to write down the notation throughout the worksheet and highlighting it to my son. Ok, the disgust is mild. Let's move on. Note that this is question number 3 on the worksheet.

Question Number 2 on the same page. A question that requires the students to do fraction multiplication. Did he learn that in school? No. It requires the kid to know how to convert the fractions to improper fractions, to know how to multiply, to divide, then convert from improper to proper fractions. So I had to spend some time teaching my boy all the above and let him do a few extra questions to make sure he really understood what was going on. The level of disgust definitely went up a notch. Not because I had to teach him, but I felt that the curriculum planning at school is poor!

What do you think of this? Question 4 on the same page. Yes, the kids learn lattice multiplication in school, a very different method from what they teach in Singapore schools. His teacher went through the normal way of multiplication, prior to giving them the worksheets. So the kids have a choice of using either method. Fine. But look closer. This is decimal multiplication, which they were not taught at all. So I spent another considerable amount of time revising with him two digits by two digits multiplication, followed by decimal multiplication. Level of disgust at curriculum planning and lesson planning went up at least two notches!

The final question on that page! I should be happy, right, since I'm at the last question? But no! My jaws dropped when I saw this question! I was already sitting with my boy for at least an hour, going through the worksheet, teaching him fraction and decimal multiplication. My boy was exhausted after an hour of learning and relearning new things. He is after all, a Primary 3 student if we are back in Singapore!

Looking at the question, he knew he had to do division, and he could form the equation. But when trying to divide, I could see that he was going to cry. He didn't feel good after going through questions 1 to 5. Demoralising. When you get a worksheet to do at home, you are supposed to be apply knowledge you learnt in school. Yes, and No. The depth of teaching is very shallow in school. This was when I knew I had to stop my lesson with him. "Let's just use the calculator", I told him. I am very against kids at his age using calculators, and I always remind him not to use it when doing simple calculations, since it is required by the school to have a calculator in his desk. The level of disgust is super high, but it has yet to reach its maximum ... read on ....

Looks like a simple question, right? It is, just that there is no space provided for the kids to do their working. All the teacher requires is the answer. How does the teacher check the understanding of the student when there is no working? A wrong answer could mean "No understanding, cannot do, therefore, wrong answer". It could also indicate that the kid understood the question, but a careless calculation led him to the wrong answer.

Lack of curriculum planning, lesson planning, in depth practice, and checking of the student's understanding. And that's Chapter 1 of my Horrible Math! I need a break ....

Kids' Drawing and Writing

Darling son KW brought home from school the above drawing. Asked him what it was, he said it was a page on his imagined computer game. From wanting to be Lego-Designer, he is now a computer game "designer".

Here's his Lego Design called Blizzards' Peak. I found it among his stack of drawings on the table while tidying up the room.

Here's another drawing of the Ben 10 aliens. The drawing on the aliens were done during the Ben10-craze sometime back. So many sheets of drawing ... if only I can sell them for some pocket money for them =p

Darling son YW brought home a piece of writing on Spring.

Here's what he wrote about Spring :

Spring is good because we can play with water guns.

Spring is good and fun because you can wear shorts.

Spring is sunny and there are birthdays in spring.

Spring is sometimes hot.

I'm amazed at the things he can write about spring! And that he is observant enough to notice that Spring, although cold and missing most of the time, can sometimes be HOT! Yes, there were a couple of days when it felt like summer instead of spring. I really enjoy reading his writing. Did you notice that the teacher do not correct him on the spelling? As such, the kids are encouraged and motivated to just write and write. And they can just write about anything! I love their creativity and their imagination!

Click, Clack, Moo!

The school term is almost coming to an end. Teachers are almost done with the assessments and wrapping up the different units for their teaching. Field trips, class plays and other activities are usually organised during this period.

Darling son YW's class put up two plays, each lasting five minutes. He was the narrator of the play, Click, Clack, Moo. Here's our three narrators.

And here's Farmer Brown, the cows who love to type, and the chicken.

We had fun watching the play. The kids worked hard rehearsing their play, and they did well! Being younger, they were given shorter lines, and each play lasted only five minutes.

I think these plays help to boost the kids' self confidence and their public speaking skills. I really hope that Singapore's primary schools can be just as fun and as nurturing. Memorizing phrases for composition is not being creative. Doing lots of homework is no fun. Staying back for extra lessons is exhausting. Why did all the fun and creativity go then? Kids are kids. And kids learn best through play, not through numerous assessments. You want them to learn a skill and to know their strength and weakness. You don't want them to learn a fact to get an "A", only to forget about it a couple of months later.

So for the time being, I'll let my boys enjoy their childhood as much as they can, before entering the stressful education system in two years' time.

Author's Tea

We missed the Author's Tea last year, when Darling son KW was in Grade 2, as we flew back home for vacation. This year, we had to attend, as this would be the last year my boy would be in Mrs W's class.

The Author's Tea showcased stories written by the students. Do you see the Author's Chair in the photo above? Well, that's the chair for our little authors. They grabbed their book, sat on the chair, and with their parents sitting besides them, read the story out loud for everyone!

Well, the kids were given the freedom to write on anything they want. It could be a fiction or a non-fiction story. Most kids chose fiction, while one girl wrote about whales. The class was taught a unit on Whales and Mammals. Darling son chose to write a story about a friend's Grandma who swallowed a fly.

Seriously, the parents play no part in helping to write the story. The story and story illustrations were done in class. We had no idea what our kids were going to read to us. So you see the amusement on the adults' faces when the kids read "I love playing computer games, but I had to share the computer with my Dad." or "My dad ......".

We had a good time, and we sat through a 1.5-hour session, listening the stories. The event started at 6.30pm at the school library, and when it ended, it was almost 8pm! The kids were hungry, and were happily munching away the cookies brought to the event by the parents.

The boys were tired by the end they went to bed. And Darling son KW came to us and said "Thank you for coming to my author's tea.". So sweet. And we told him we enjoyed his story!

Teacher Appreciation Week

Teacher Appreciation Week was two weeks ago. Unlike Teachers' Day back home, which is a one-day affair, the kids in the woods have one whole week to show the teachers their appreciation. Many of the activities are parent initiated ... tea and luncheon for all teachers, parent volunteers of each class coordinating "Snacks and Treats" day, "Thank-You Card" day, "Class Party" day, "Flower" day etc. Each class will have different activities. It all depends on the parents of that class.

Darling son YW's teacher in Kindergarten was heavily pregnant with twins during Teacher Appreciation Week last year. The art teacher, who is also a parent of the class, initiated a class project to thank the teacher. The kids painted a rocking chair (chair donated by parent) during their art class! Don't you just love the way the parent, kids and teacher work together as a team? No wonder my little boy said to me on the very first day of school ..... "I love school!".

This year, Darling son YW is in a different class. He helped me with owls, for this ThankYou Card in a photo frame. This is a chipboard frame with a plastic cover. I don't have to worry about my son breaking the glass cover while carrying it from home to school.

I made a big envelope and placed the "Card" inside. Made an owl badge to seal the envelop =) The little one was very pleased with the wrapped up "card". He came home and said "Ms B puts the frame on her table!".

He was very happy indeed.

The parent-volunteer of the class suggested treating Ms B to some snacks to help her start off the week. So we wrapped some packets of dried fruit crisps. Some healthy snacks to help fuel her through the week! We contributed some cash and gave her a gift card so that she could get a small gift from the nearby mall, to pamper herself =)

As for Darling Son KW, he was given a piece of white card to write a message for his teacher, MrsW. The parent volunteer would stand outside their classroom in the morning to collect the cards, and compile the cards in an album, to be presented to the teacher at the end of the week. What a neat way to present the ThankYou cards! And so I helped my boy with the card.

Yes, owls again. All gifts to the teachers were owl related =)

Our "Thank-You Card" in a photo frame was already done up prior to the parent volunteer's suggestion of card compilation.

Here's a close-up shot of the owls.

I love these little cuties and I love my Owl Punch!

We didn't want the trainee teacher to feel left out, so we also got a little gift for her as well ... a healthy cereal snack bar to fuel her through the day! It was all nicely wrapped up with an owl tag attached, to bring on a smile =)

It was a busy week ... cutting and wrapping!

I had fun, the kids had fun, and most importantly, the teachers feel appreciated!

Spring Sing

Today is the day for Spring Sing!

So I prepared a "Spring Sing" bento for the boys =)

This is the third year Darling Son KW is participating in the event, the second for Darling Son YW, and the first time I am attending the event!

I had so much fun watching the kids performed!

And the one in the photograph is the one and only music teacher in the school. Spring Sing is a yearly event organised by the school. The kids sing the songs they learn in music class, and on the day of Spring Song, performed on stage for parents. The K/1 classes wrote lyrics for their songs. The theme of their songs? Rhyming words. So they sung songs like "I wish, I wish, I wish for a fish in a dish.". They also had fun songs like "Throw my homework into the sea!". I really love how they combine English learning and music together!

As for the Grade2/3 students, the theme for their songs is "Seasons". They wrote about the four seasons and the things they did for these seasons. Here's a song on Spring and Mud, since it gets rainy in Spring, and you get mud everywhere!

In social studies for the Grade 2/3, they were taught the different states of the United States. And they wrapped up their performance with a song about the 50 states! But my memory card ran out of memory space halfway through recording the song! Haiz! Will definitely make sure I have a spare card for next year's performance!

100 Days of School!

Today is the 100th day of school! Activities for "100 Days of School" are lined up for the K/1 students. My boys love travelling on the Yellow School Bus. And, they were delighted to see the Yellow School Bus in their lunchbox this morning. On the way to school, I told the boys "Enjoy your 100th day in school", and Darling son KW said "Not for me".

The 2/3 students don't have activities lined up for them ... they are already counting beyond 1000!

Since I was busy in the kitchen, hurrying to pack the second bento, I requested Darling son KW to help take photographs of the first bento. He was all dressed up, snow pants and jackets, and was happy to oblige. After taking a few photographs, he realised that he had a little time to spare, and so he decided to try to take a self-portrait. He was so pleased with his photo shot, he ran into the kitchen to show me! "It was a good shot", I told him. So he went to school this morning, very, very happy indeed.

In the Bento, we have Ham flower, Sausage flowers, and many florets of broccoli! To all K/1 students ... Enjoy the activities for your 100th day of school!

Bento Day!

I am very thankful for the lovely weather we have been having this autumn. Plenty of sunshine, blue sky, and cool! For the last two years, we had been getting quite a lot of the cloudy sky, rain, and not forgetting the chilly gusty winds. The ground was already covered with snow in October last year, but this year, the snow had yet to arrive.

The lovely weather is definitely having an effect on me, as I have been preparing bentos for the boys using the Lock&Lock box instead of the "Pour everything in" thermal box =) The boys are happier too, as they bring home an empty box whenever it's Bento Day!

The deboned chicken thigh fillet was put into the oven to bake while I went about preparing breakfast for the boys. It was fairly easy to assemble the lunch box .... Scoop rice into the flower rice mold, unmold into the lunch box and sprinkle some furikake on top. Cut the baked chicken thigh into stripes and place them into a paper holder, and into the box. Arrange the blanched broccoli and some cherry/grape tomatoes around the rice. Done!

Halloween Bento!

It's difficult to avoid preparing one for the boys, when the Internet is filled with such beautifully done Halloween-themed Bento!

The kitchen in the morning is always a battle-zone.

Cooking lunch, packing lunch, preparing breakfast ... and all these on top of getting the boys out of their beds to go brush their teeth, change out of their PJs, pack their bags, and get down for breakfast! Wish I had more hands to do more things! Doing a beautiful bento is out of the question, as firstly, I'm not an expert in "Lunch Art". I couldn't quite decide what to put, and where to put. Of course, there's the "How To". Hence, I decided to do some planning the day before packing a Halloween-themed Bento =)

The sketch didn't look too bad!

I was happy after deciding on the "How To"!

The tasks for the morning will be :

Shape rice into a "Ghost" using plastic wrap.

With a cutter, cut the eyes and mouth.

Cut a bow tie from a slice of cheese.

"Ghost" is done!

Bake the fish fingers in the oven.

Let cool and place on a liner.

Cut out small squares and place on tip of the fish fingers.

Use a little mayo to stick the cheese onto the fingers.

"Fingers" are done!

Fill up the rest of the space with the cooked broccoli.

Form face with cheese and nori.

"Frankenstein" done!

After the first lunch box, I realised that I couldn't really see the eyes and mouth of Frankenstein! So instead of using nori, I changed to using cheese. The effect was a lot better than just using nori alone =) So here's the two Bento lunches for my two little darlings!

The boys went out of the house later than usual, because I was busy taking photos of the bento! It's not an everyday affair that I made such bento.

Thank you, Tiffany, for sharing with us in your blog, how to make a ghost using rice!

I had fun preparing the Bento, and I hope the kids enjoyed their bento in school!

The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg

It's an yearly affair.

Darling son KW's teacher, will put up a play every year. The kids practiced hard and performed for parents. As part of their rehearsal, they performed for invited students from other classes. Last year's plays were all about Soup, in conjunction with the National Soup Month. This year's theme was : Fables and Fairy Tales. Last year, KW played a soldier in "The Stone Soup", while this year, he was the Narrator of the play "The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg".

Although the plays were 5 to 10 minutes each, it was an enjoyable experience, sitting there and watching the kids performed. Some were nervous, while a handful, were enjoying themselves and having fun while performing. The kids were each given a big cardboard, and they were to "design" the costume for their role on their own. So we saw three different elephants, three pigs, a wolf, an ant, a bee, a sheep, a mole, a duck, and of course, the Goose!

It was really hilarious when the farmer killed the Goose. This scene was carried out behind the art easel. We didn't see the killing, which was good, cos I'm not for violence and killing. The farmer and the Goose went behind the art easel ... the Goose screamed, and the next thing we saw, was feathers flying out from behind the easel. It was enough to get group of parents laughing.

A big thank-you to the Farmer, his wife, the Goose, the hen, the cow and the sheep, and our darling Narrator KW, for providing us with a morning of fun and laughter! And a big thank-you to the teacher too, for providing an opportunity for the kids to perform. I'm sure it was a great learning experience for the kids!

Spring Break - DASHing Around!

Darling son KW had been taking rollerblading lessons for P.E in school during the last few weeks of the term. When asked if he would like a pair to practice during the Spring Break, he eagerly said "YES!".

Since I do not wish to invest in an expensive pair of blades, I opted for the cheaper ones. I thought it would be easy for me to buy these blades, but NO! There was no sale, and yet, at the stores, there was no stock available. The boy was very disappointed when we went shopping that day. Luckily, hubby dear's sharp eyes caught sight of a sign that read "Sale, 30% off Rollerblades" at a sports store on our way home. Phew! It was a little more than what we would like to pay for, but the discount given definitely made a significant difference. It was a deal!

What do I like about these skates, even though it was more than what I would like to pay? Well, it would get many, many years of use, as there are 4 adjustable sizes! YES!

Size 1 - 4! Both darling sons can use for the next two to three years. Kids grow fast, and so do their feet! No point getting a pair of skates when they can only use it for one summer? And these skates are really cool!

The boy was really happy that day, and he went round and round the apartment compound!

Spring Break - Learn to Bike!

For two weeks, darling son YW had been biking to school, as the weather had turned warmer. He had four wheels, not two. However, the two little training wheels were raised, and as a result, he was leaning onto either training wheels for support while biking. It was strange seeing him "tilt" to one side.

During the last week of the school term, which was the second week since he started biking to school, we noticed that he was, for quite a distance, balancing and cycling on two wheels! He was no longer tilting to one side. We told him we would remove the training wheels, and he could practice during the Spring Break ... which he did! Just one day, and he was biking on two wheels! Yeah!

He sure had practiced hard during the Spring Break!

When school starts next week, he will be biking to school, along side with his GorGor, on two wheels, not four! I will have to walk fast, really fast, to catch up with them!

Spring Break - Play Time!

The one week Spring Break had finally arrived!
Lovely weather .... beautiful blue sky, and sunny!

We walked to the school playground, to spend the afternoon there.

"Monkey" Time!

"Monkey" up the bars, instead of sliding down.

Ending the climb with a "Monkey" face =p

"Monkey" swing across the bars! WOW!

"Monkey" dance ... whose the "Monkey" and whose the "Tree"?

What's with that unhappy "Monkey" face? Thumbs down indeed =(

Hungry monkeys are angry monkeys ... Ok, Snack Time!

Two happy smiley faces after snacking =)

Time for some soccer!

Taking turns to be the goal keeper!

I guess this is what school holiday is about ... to be out of the house and to run about, having loads of fun, and free from school work!

Quick Fix Burger

Darling sons had early dismissal at 11.30am today. Lunch would be at home and had to be a quick fix meal. Hubby dear and I need to attend darling son KW's play, "Stone Soup", in his classroom in the morning. He played one of the soldiers who cooked the stone soup. Maybe I should ask him to cook "stone soup" for our next meal =p

Since I had only half an hour to prepare lunch, I settled on having a Quick Fix Burger. Simple ingredients ... cheese, lettuce, omelette, and bacon.

Bacon is definitely not an healthy ingredient for daily consumption, but a once-in-a-long-while-luxury item. You can bake the bacon while frying the eggs, or fry the bacon in a heated pan without adding any oil. I tried to pile as much lettuce as I could, onto the sandwich thins, and added a slice of cheese. The lettuce was mixed with a little mayo plus honey before putting onto the sandwich thins.

And remember to add a glass of milk to the meal ... we were stuffed by the end of lunch!

The Stone Soup

When winter winds blow, nothing tastes better than a bowl of hot soup. Hence, January has been named "National Soup Month" in the woods.

To celebrate "National Soup Month", each student from Mrs W's class brought home a "Soup Book" ... soup recipes contributed by parents of students in darling son KW's class. The class had a "Soup Day". Each child was designated to bring an item to contribute to their "Soup Lunch". I think it's very exciting and interesting for kids to learn about soups, and soups amongst different cultures.

To end their mini-unit on Soups, the class put up three plays at the end of the week. All three plays involved soups ... Tiger Soup, Stone Soup, and Soup for the King.

Darling son KW played a solider in "Stone Soup". Using stone to cook soup? Yes! It taught the villagers the value of "Sharing". Darling son KW had been telling me he felt "pretty nervous" at the thought of having to perform, and especially so since we would be attending the play. He was no longer nervous the day before the play. They already had three performances! Their teacher invited one class from each level (K/1, 2/3 and 4/5) to go to their classroom to watch the play!

This morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see the entire classroom filled with parents! I think parents of all the students in that class came to support their child!

The kids were great! We had so much fun watching them perform!