He wrote: "wo xiang wan" (I wish to play) as his new year resolution. Indeed that's so KK!
Well, he certainly got his wish fulfilled during the past weekend, happily declared "the best days ever" by KK. On Saturday, he was out for more than 12 hours, starting with Mindchamps class, followed by Shannon's birthday party and then it was 4th uncle's place, returning home only at 2am. Sunday, we hosted our relatives with a small luncheon, that meant more people to play with again. This was followed by dinner gathering at 3rd uncle's place. This non-stop partying should come to an end with CNY drawing to a close but the idyllic lifestyle of KK will continue, for this year at least.
Besides 4 hours of school everyday, KK spends most of his days and nights simply playing Transformers or watching his Spongebob Squarepants DVD. Ok, this year, he's got Chinese writing homework on Fridays and a simple spelling test on Monday but life for him is generally carefree.
I found out recently that many of his classmates at Mindchamps are attending other additional classes such as 'speech class', phonics, mathematics, chinese lessons and 'prepare for Primary 1' tuition. For KK, the 2-hr Mindchamps class is the only additional 'lesson' we gave him and even that one, the kids have lots of activities and fun playing.
The mothers told me they are worried for their children as they are going to Primary school next year and their kids can't seem to speak well, read well, count well etc. But I thought isn't that what Primary school is for? Primary school is the beginning of formal education and that's where I expect my kid to learn how to speak, read and count well. If you know everything already, then school will become boring for the child cos there's nothing new to learn. If the education system is working, then shouldn't K2 prepare you for P1 and P1 prepare you for P2, so forth?
Or am I being too naive and laid back? It seems my son is one of the rare ones who does not have a series of extra lessons built into their little life. But I'm unrepentent. I still believe that childhood is to be enjoyed and playing (structured or unstructured) should be a major component. Serious work can wait, afterall, they've got the whole of their adult life to strive for. Right now, I think it is more important to cultivate the correct mindset and social behaviour in your child to handle formal schooling, such as the concept of completing homework on time (inculcating values of responsibility, perseverance and independence), taking turns and sharing.
Yes, KK's drawing skills are really primitive, he speaks Mandarin with an 'ang-moh' slang and he .jpg)
can't yet read a story on his own, but we're happy to see progress - at least he draws stick figures nowadays, speaks more Mandarin than last year and he can read at least half a book now with help. We'll continue to wait and watch his progress and for his talents to show themselves. Then we'll not hesitate to give him all the opportunities he needs to develop and grow those gifts.
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can't yet read a story on his own, but we're happy to see progress - at least he draws stick figures nowadays, speaks more Mandarin than last year and he can read at least half a book now with help. We'll continue to wait and watch his progress and for his talents to show themselves. Then we'll not hesitate to give him all the opportunities he needs to develop and grow those gifts. Till then, play on KK!
