It’s the time of the year when children are tested and parents are stressed
theSun, Tue, 25 May 2010
MOST Malaysian school-going children have probably already sat for their mid-year examinations or are about to do so.
Parents, especially those with younger children, sometimes feel as if they are the ones taking the exams, and not their children.
They tend to get anxious, worried and stressed out if they feel their children are not prepared enough to face the exam.
A large part of our lives as responsible and loving parents involves spending as much time as we can with our children. The security of a loving and stable family and home provides our children with a conducive environment for learning.
When you have a good relationship with your child, he will be more receptive when you tell him about the importance of doing consistent revision in order to be better prepared for exams. He will also share his problems with you more freely and seek your help.
Sit with him and help him as he studies. The study area should be free from distractions such as the computer, television or toys.
Develop a routine for study time, and help him draw up a timetable. Make a list of all the subjects and topics that need to be covered to ensure that he studies everything, and not only his favourites.
Provide adequate breaks in between to allow him to rest. Younger children may have a shorter attention span and will not be able to sit down too long to study.
Short breaks will enable them to release their pent-up energy and they will be more willing to continue studying afterwards.
Make your child practise answering questions. Provide him with worksheets or sample exam questions to do. While it is important for your child to remember what he has learnt, he must also know how to use the information to answer the exam questions within the time allocated.
How we feel and act impact our child. If our stress and anxiety rub off on him, he may end up becoming nervous or overwhelmed.
Try not to upset him, and keep him cheerful so that he will face his exam in good spirits.
Also, make sure he eats healthily and gets enough sleep.
In order to help our children prepare for an exam, we need to have a healthy view of exams ourselves.
Exams are just a way of measuring how much a child has learnt and if he is able to apply the knowledge.
We must remember that all children are wired differently. Therefore, we should not compare our children with their classmates or relatives and neighbours.
Praise his effort. If he had done his best, do not blame or punish him if he does not do well. Help him understand that the results do not define who he is. They are just an assessment tool.
Review the mistakes he has made, and encourage him to learn from them.
Finally, we must remember that we are not the ones taking the exam. We cannot "study" on behalf of our children.
They need to cultivate the desire to do well. They need to learn to face the consequences if they choose not to work hard.
They need to learn to be responsible for themselves and the fact that to succeed, they must work hard.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Kinder in the garden
theSun, Tue, 11 May 2010
MY RECENT interest in gardening got me pondering about getting children involved in this activity and how it can benefit them.
I recollected the small nursery in my primary school, which was maintained by the school gardener. As an extension to our classroom learning, my teacher encouraged us to bring some seeds to plant in the nursery. While I was not successful with my seeds, I recall sharing my classmate’s excitement when her seeds germinated.
Gardening can be an activity for children to experience what they are learning in theory. Nothing beats experiential learning with some fun thrown in for the child. There is a myriad of topics a child can learn and experience in a plant’s lifecycle, from the germination of the seed to the growth of the various parts of the plant and their functions, on pollination and the involvement of various insects and worms, on photosynthesis, and finally, composting.
Getting children to tend to their plants and reap the fruits of their labour teaches them responsibility and builds self-confidence. Being able to cook and eat the fruits and vegetables they planted with their own hands give them a sense of achievement and pride. They can be taught healthy eating habits too.
Gardening also helps the child develop a love for nature and the environment. It is an opportunity to help them become aware and conscious of efforts to protect the environment, such as recycling, using organic or natural pesticides, and minimising air and water pollution.
From gardening, you can spin off to other interesting activities such as cooking, and art and craft projects using plants, fruits and flowers from the garden.
Children who usually dislike eating vegetables can be more open to eating those they have planted themselves, especially when you involve them in the preparation and cooking as well.
Gardening gives the child an opportunity to be creative. The seeds, flowers and leaves of various plants can be collected, dried and compiled into a scrapbook as a keepsake. They can also be used to decorate greeting cards, bookmarks and trinkets.
To help them cope with boredom while waiting for their plants to show results, you can get them to cut up potatoes, lady’s fingers and lotus roots, dip them into paint to be used as stamps to create colourful patterns.
They can also make a signboard, a scarecrow or a pinwheel to be placed in their garden plot.
Take them for a visit to a vegetable farm, especially an organic one. Teach them how to make environmental enzyme using vegetable and fruit scraps, which can be used for their plants.
It is not too difficult to start a child on gardening. Give him a small plot in your garden or provide him with a planter box or a few small pots if you live in a condominium.
Give him seeds that sprout and mature quickly. Plant vegetables that he likes to eat, and plants that flower quickly and consistently.
Plants with large and colourful flowers and fragrant herbs are good choices that will appeal to his senses too.
Once you have helped your child get started, you would probably have just found yourself a little Miss or Master Green Fingers.
Gardening could even become his favourite hobby, or a wonderful family pastime.
MY RECENT interest in gardening got me pondering about getting children involved in this activity and how it can benefit them.
I recollected the small nursery in my primary school, which was maintained by the school gardener. As an extension to our classroom learning, my teacher encouraged us to bring some seeds to plant in the nursery. While I was not successful with my seeds, I recall sharing my classmate’s excitement when her seeds germinated.
Gardening can be an activity for children to experience what they are learning in theory. Nothing beats experiential learning with some fun thrown in for the child. There is a myriad of topics a child can learn and experience in a plant’s lifecycle, from the germination of the seed to the growth of the various parts of the plant and their functions, on pollination and the involvement of various insects and worms, on photosynthesis, and finally, composting.
Getting children to tend to their plants and reap the fruits of their labour teaches them responsibility and builds self-confidence. Being able to cook and eat the fruits and vegetables they planted with their own hands give them a sense of achievement and pride. They can be taught healthy eating habits too.
Gardening also helps the child develop a love for nature and the environment. It is an opportunity to help them become aware and conscious of efforts to protect the environment, such as recycling, using organic or natural pesticides, and minimising air and water pollution.
From gardening, you can spin off to other interesting activities such as cooking, and art and craft projects using plants, fruits and flowers from the garden.
Children who usually dislike eating vegetables can be more open to eating those they have planted themselves, especially when you involve them in the preparation and cooking as well.
Gardening gives the child an opportunity to be creative. The seeds, flowers and leaves of various plants can be collected, dried and compiled into a scrapbook as a keepsake. They can also be used to decorate greeting cards, bookmarks and trinkets.
To help them cope with boredom while waiting for their plants to show results, you can get them to cut up potatoes, lady’s fingers and lotus roots, dip them into paint to be used as stamps to create colourful patterns.
They can also make a signboard, a scarecrow or a pinwheel to be placed in their garden plot.
Take them for a visit to a vegetable farm, especially an organic one. Teach them how to make environmental enzyme using vegetable and fruit scraps, which can be used for their plants.
It is not too difficult to start a child on gardening. Give him a small plot in your garden or provide him with a planter box or a few small pots if you live in a condominium.
Give him seeds that sprout and mature quickly. Plant vegetables that he likes to eat, and plants that flower quickly and consistently.
Plants with large and colourful flowers and fragrant herbs are good choices that will appeal to his senses too.
Once you have helped your child get started, you would probably have just found yourself a little Miss or Master Green Fingers.
Gardening could even become his favourite hobby, or a wonderful family pastime.
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