Series of Mini-Tests
From week 4 of Primary One onwards, my children started their weekly spelling and 听写. By term 4 of Primary One, they have weekly English and Chinese dictations too.
My P1 girl now brings work home 2 or 3 days a week while my P2 boy has homework almost every single day. The amount of work they bring home is dependent on how fast they complete their assignment in school.
Holistic Assessments start from term one of Primary One onwards, and they get more intense as the school term progresses. For English and Mother Tongue, they commence with spelling tests in P1 and gradually move on to listening comprehension and grammar tests. By the term 4 of P2, they face examinations, comprising of listening comprehension, composition, grammar and vocab test, oral and pictorial discussion. These components are tested on different dates.
Our school notifies the parents of the test dates of each subject. Mathematics is the most straightforward. The assessment is broken into 2 mini-tests a term to ensure that revision at home is bite-size. However, the tests for languages seems to be never-ending because there are various components involved. This week is Oral and next week is Grammar. I appreciate the breakdowns because the children feel less stressed up. My P1 girl even commented that she had no test on a particular test date. To her, it was just regular daily work.
No Test?
But I was dumbfounded when my friends revealed that their kids, who are studying in elite schools, have their spelling and 听写 on alternate weeks. Their schools do not even make known of the mini test dates and test topics. Erm, my kids are studying in a heartland school.
Here we are at home, tabling up a schedule to ensure that we revise all the topics to be tested, and yet my friends and their kids don’t do much at home.
I was initially upset with how our school approaches the holistic assessments. Endless revisions and test and I thought MOE said holistic assessments are meant to reduce the amount of stress the kids and their parents are facing.
Managing My Angry Thoughts
I took a couple of days to cool off. I decided that receiving advance notification from the school on the test dates and topics are not that bad an idea after all. My kids are not the fast track kind. They need time and consistent practices to get the hang of certain topics, especially Mathematics. So, notice given by the school forces me to look through their progress and work on their weaker areas. And since the mini-tests are in bite-size, learning is a lot more manageable.
Some other parents advised that academic challenges leap from Primary 2 to Primary 3. Glossing over my children’s P1 and P2 academic performance may not be the right approach for my kids. Having to face a sudden increase in academic difficulties without an adequate foundation may be demoralising and stressful.
I have to strike a balance between play and work. Unstructured play is still crucial to the kids’ development because this is where they discover themselves. Having siblings to play with also mean they hone their skills in self-control, self-awareness and conflict management.
We don’t have a lot of time after school for work and play because by the time they wash up and have their lunch, it will be already 3 plus in the afternoon. Nonetheless, we try. We will do work before going to the pool or linger at the playground. My hubby once asked whether I am training the kids for some swimming competition. Why are they in the pool almost every other day? I replied swimming helps them relax, so why stop them? I will approach their learning journey with more positivity, infuse fun into learning so that they are not ladened by my expectations and stress.
It is their Responsibility, not Mine
This is a tough one, at least for me.
I made an effort to diarise their test dates in my Google Calendar and take note of the topics tested. Perhaps I am an overly anxious parent, I created a schedule to ensure that learning is on track.
After attending primary school for over a year, my eldest son has accepted that tests are part and parcel of school life. He knows the importance of revising the assessments and attaining respectable results. We never insist that he needs to score better than a particular number nor be the top few. Knowing him, we only emphasise on the need to try his best and achieving a higher grade than what he had before.
Whereas for my P1 girl, she is still enjoying school, and not stressed up by the various tests that she is facing. Happy-go-lucky each day, she does not mind not revising nor getting low scores. While I try not to spoil her fun, I always remind her that revision is essential, especially if she faces an impending test.
To get them to have a better sense of what’s going on, I got them wall calendars (Avengers for him; Shimmer and Shine for her) to hang on their walls. This year, I write the test dates on the calendar for them; come next year, they have to get down to do it by themselves.
The calendar works wonder. My daughter is now more mindful of the important dates to take note of, though the most highlighted days remain to be her birthday and mine!
CCA Try-Out
The P2s have the options to attend CCA trials starting from term 3. Not all CCAs are available for trials. I guess those available for try-outs are the popular ones such as badminton, table tennis and dance. They can select up to three preferred activities and rank them by most preferred to least preferred. The school will decide on the activity they will take part in, depending on availability.
When the children progress to P3, the school and the children will decide whether to continue with the same activity or to switch to a new one. From P3 onwards, the children are discouraged from changing CCAs.
My dear P2 boy did not opt to join the CCA try-outs. He said there is nothing there he likes. I guess we can’t force him to join something that does not interest him. Finger-crossed, I can only hope he can find something he will love to participate next year.
You may also like:
Preparing for Primary One – Money, it is not just about buying food
2017 Half Year Reflection – My Son’s Primary 1 Journey
First Week of Primary One – our experience
KooBits ProblemSums – Effective Mathematics help for the kids
Prepping Our Kids For Their Exams With Ease
Enjoy my post? Please click Like and Share.
Don’t want to miss my posts? Subscribe here to get updates from me.
