10 tips to free your child from tuition

Phew! Your kids have already completed their exams and the school term has come to an end! As parents, do you feel that sometimes you are more anxious and worried about the final exams than your children? Many of us feel forced to give our kids extra help in the form of tutors to keep ahead of their other classmates or simply because all our colleagues and friends are doing it too!
Amidst all the rush to secure the most qualified tutors, theAsianparent talks to a working mother who does not believe that tuition is necessary for her children! Not only are Mrs Choo’s five children studying in top local universities, junior colleges and secondary schools, they have always done well academically. She shares with us some of her tips and secrets to her kids’ academic success.

1. Determine if your kids really need tuition, but know when to stop!
There are 2 main reasons why kids may require tuition. The first is known as ‘Foundation Tutoring’, where children are unable to keep up in class. Furthermore, falling behind in class may result in them losing interest in the subject altogether! In this case, tuition is necessary to help your child get back on track. So, find a qualified tutor who will be able to inspire your child to learn to love the subject. Most importantly, the end goal of tuition is to make sure that your child does not need tuition in the future! The second reason is that your child may not be fulfilling their potential and may need extra coaching a few months before a major exam. The goal of the tutor here will be to help your child consolidate their knowledge and answer any questions they may come across when doing practice papers.

2. Be your child’s Learning Coach and find ways to make learning fun
How can learning be fun, you ask? Well, the key here is to improvise and use whatever you can find to make new learning tools for your kids. For example, Mrs Choo made simple flashcards to teach Mandarin words to her children, printed out handy timetable charts for memory on the go, used jigsaw puzzles as a tool to learn spelling and colourful ice-cream sticks to help her younger kids visualize Math problems. The list goes on, so be creative!

3. Subscribe to magazines and television channels
This is Mrs Choo’s sneaky way of getting her youngest child interested in Science without her even knowing it! Mrs Choo subscribed to channels such as National Geographic and magazines like Horrible Science, which is a science magazine full of fun facts and experiments kids can try at home. (Definitely not as “Horrible” as its name suggests!) So by the time her daughter was introduced to Science at Primary Three, she had already cultivated a liking for the subject. She also subscribes to Reader’s Digest and Time for her older children.

4. Take your kids to the library
We know you’ve heard this one before. But the truth is that it works! Besides exposing your kids to reading at a young age, the library can also be a place where you discover your children’s other interests. Perhaps your daughter tends to borrow books on Arts and Crafts or your son somehow seems to gravitate towards the Cooking section? Your child may have interests they’re not telling anyone about, so observing the types of books that attract them may give you a clue!

5. Set aside a fixed study time every night
Discuss this with your children and agree upon a fixed study time, say from 7 to 8.30pm every school day. During this time, all distractions like their gaming consoles and mobile phones should be put away. Mrs Choo saw that the fixed timing idea works well on her younger kids as it provides them with a daily structure, making them more likely to focus as they know they can take a break after study time is over.

6. Plan a revision schedule and set goals before every exam
Probably a month or so before an exam, Mrs Choo sits down with her kids to list out the topics tested in the exam, fit the exam dates onto their calendar and draw up a revision schedule. Another important thing is to set goals for the coming exam. Now, remember to be realistic here! Look at your child’s current grades and encourage him to aim to improve by one grade.

7. Don’t bribe your kids to do well
“If you do well in the exam, Mummy will buy you that new toy you wanted.” Sound familiar? Many of us know that threats only serve to stress kids out so we resort to promises of rewards in order to “motivate” our children before an exam. But did you know that this is doesn’t work well too? We’ve heard stories of kids not being able to focus in the exam because their parents promised them a holiday to Switzerland and they were too worried that they would not do well enough to go!

8. Get your older kids to coach the younger ones
With five children to raise, Mrs Choo knew that she could not afford tuition for all her kids. So she got her older children who were able to handle their work independently, to teach their younger siblings. This reinforced their knowledge and her younger kids found learning more enjoyable. But only do this if your older children are done with their own work, you wouldn’t want to cause them unnecessary stress!

9. Stay away from ‘kiasu’ parents!
Okay, we’ve all been guilty of comparing our kids to our relatives’ and colleagues’ children. Whose child goes to better schools, has better grades and has the most expensive tuition fees… there’s just no end to it! Instead of getting stressed up by these ‘kiasu’ parents, talk to your child’s teacher or someone whom you feel has been coaching his or her kids well.

10. Have fun!
Learning opportunities are everywhere so don’t just restrict your kids to their study room at home! Check out our list of educational places in Singapore you can bring your kids to have some fun!


i copied from http://sg.theasianparent.com/10-tips-to-free-your-child-from-tuition/ and pasted here! *wink*

my so-not-little-one

i love u more Adib!

b'day cake

Happy Birthday to You!!!

you have a lot of money, yes money can buy everything, and u can buy a luxurious watch but u cant buy TIME. how time flew, now Adib is 5 years old! mummy so happy and so grateful u are a big healthy boy, clever boy....alhamdulillah....

At times I lose my patience over the kinds of things you say and do.

Often I feel unappreciated too.

But here’s one thing I’m very sure of:

There’ll always be this thing called love.

mummy n papa love u ...

my 4.10 years old kinder joy

i l.o.v.e. you till the e.n.d

i-city

last night we had an unplanned activity, where we were finally went to i-city.
Myself has been requested for a long time to go there. asyik tengok gambar orang je, well i know that Adib gonna be excited.
then last night after iftar at KGPA (with a delicious food) we headed to Bukit tinggi Klang to meet my hubby's client, and after, we passed by the highway (tak ingat nama highway) then saw the I-City and adib apa lagi..."jom la papaaaaa" and papa agreed!!
And Adib had a great time last night...

growing up (SO) fast!

party day

hari ni adib ada party day kat skool dia, so semalam ingat just nak goreng nuggets jer..tp lupa pulak anak dah besar ..hehe..so demand la nak jelly ( tak kuasa la )..last2 dia mintak puding pelangi..so buat la semalam ngan dia.. suka la dapat menyebokkan diri kat dapur..siap bersila atas meja.

ni sbb merajuk

ps : adib esok dah besar tgk gambar ni, ingat awak tu kuat merajuk.

and she's gone...gonna miss u Nomi.

it just about a week we started to keep her in our life.
and last nite there was a big suprise when she died.
we were so sad and shocked coz Nomi had no fever or flu.

R.I.P Nomi...we gonna miss u...:(

Adib so sad and cried all nite long...(gambar Nomi kat sebelah )

Teacher's Day

Happy Teacher's Day for All teacher's out there..



and semalam adib dah pandai mintak nak beli hadiah kat teachers dia>

Adib - Emotional

Adib got emotional today.

While i was cooking, i noticed that adib so silent and well behave,
i went to living room and saw that he looking at his classmate's (x-classmate 2009) frame.

And guess what?! he's crying and said that he had missed a few of his friends.
Pity him.




Mummy loves you Adib.

adib.hazriq.shah ♥♥

You Are My Sunshine

You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine,
You make me happy when skies are grey,
You'll never know dear,
How much I love you,
Please don't take my sunshine away!

ps : ♥♥♥♥ we love u adib !!

zoo negara

Last Friday ( public holiday - Maulidur Rasul ) we had fulfilled adib request to bring him to zoo negara. Tapi tak banyak gambar saya amik sbb tertinggal camera *sigh*.

a.d.i.b.w.e.e.k.e.n.d

-- All these picca was taken by Adib-- i think he's bored a day at home..

new one in the house

We bought this mid bulan puasa...before this Adib just using his baby cot..
tapi sbb kaki dia dah terkeluar..so we decided to buy a expand katil yang kat IKEA.

Tapi Adib berkenan yang ni pulak..bukan sbb aper ..coz of the car shape. Before we recce kat Harvey Norman..mmg mahal la .. the same thing -- and it costs about rm 1.5k without mat.
Nasib baik la mummy di sabarkan oleh papa Adib-- kalau tak melayang la duit ku aroud rm2k--*smile*

So yang ni me and hubby ternampak kedai kat tepi jalan Kuching..it just only rm 700 plus mat-- mmg berbaloi-baloi..

Kuantan - Small Vacay

Last week we went off to Kuantan...

So much fun..and Adib had a great time.

Adib's First Annual Concert

Adib had an annual concert today at Auditorium UIA.*wink*

Well, my hubby and I was so worried about him since ME really not confident with Adib.
But Adib did WELL!! I'm so proud of him..and know what ' I CrIEd'

A Conversation

I was preparing for dinner , my Adib came and asked:

Adib : mummy, where did u buy this rice cooker?

Me : *shocked* owh..i got this from my fren.

Adib : For ur birthday?

Me : No. For my wedding give.

Adib : Then, i want to have one for my wedding give...

Me : *smile*

When toys may not be relevant

We went out for breakfast today and headed to Jusco Wangsa Maju.
As usual Adib will 'pow' us something eventho bende tu harga for only rm1.
Then i decided to spend time at MPH since me also dah lama tak beli buku.

Before that , Adib requested for a Hot Wheel car and i just make a face to show disagree though.
Yes, Adib would be over the moon if he could get his hands on particular toys he really likes.*smile*

But, sometimes we parents may forget that there are so many other ways of keeping the kids happy, that doesn’t involve toys. I choose to buy a book. Much BetteR.

Adib - 3.8 T.O.D.A.Y

mUmMY & PaPa LoVe YOu!!

Our LittLE Four - Soon!!

I was browsing all my pictures and eyes on the picture above when Adib just about 3 months old.
Where time flies so fast..and i do miss Adib when he's a baby.
Now he's growing up, and i think he's an independent person, hopefully, I must say, he’s a cheerful boy, but he needs time to warm up to strangers. He asks LOTS of questions. He’s into analyzing what he sees and hears.

i can see he choose his clothes by himself, wearing shoes, to have a plain water, button up his shirt, and he's a little bit choosy (dont like to wear overall- he said this is to kid - think he's big enuff).*smile*

Always helping me to serve the table for lunch or dinner, he knows that he should wipe off a table, put the glasses and plates and i know he liked to see me in baju kurung, wearing pink, know my fav's movies. He knows what my types actually. He just too close to me. He will be sad when I'm standing sad, happy for what makes me happy. He is in me..And me in my little son..Adib.

And i love enjoying my moment with him. I cant wait to hug him after working, listen to his stories, about his teacher, frens, dance, singing, cars..and very happy when we give a present even though it just a thing that we bought from oil station.*sigh*
And so I’ve been trying to teach him how he needs to learn and think about others more than himself.

Since the beginning of the year, he’s gone through phases where he was VERY rude in his replies and attitude towards me.

He’d stomp his feet, walk out as I was giving a serious talk, roll his eyes and look away, scream at my face, refuse to be with me, frown and look at me straight in the eye rebelliously.

There were times when I was furious. Lost for words. Completely heart-broken. Helpless.

And I pray double hard for God’s wisdom when such moments happen, because I consciously never want my emotions take control of my words and actions. Really, while I work out how to best discipline him in such cases, I never want to burst into irrational anger, and regret it all afterwards.

It’s tough. And I sure had my share of parenting mistakes.

In the past 3.7 years, Adib and I have gone through lots of ups and downs together. There were times when I struggled to put my impatience and anger under control. Times when he’s very unhappy with my decisions too, I’m sure.

But Adib, if you’re reading this many years from today, know this:

Things may not always be easy for Mommy and Papa, but as I always say to you, we love you not because you’re a good boy. You may be good and obedient one day, and you may be disrespectful and rude on another. We love you just the same. And Allah loves you even more than we do.

Whenever you misbehave, we feel sad about it. God has given you to us as a wonderful little gift close to 3.7 years ago and it’s because we love you so much that we must be hard on you at times, and discipline you in order to teach you what is right and wrong.

I too am learning. As your Mommy, I learn to do and say what’s right. I learn to live out my beliefs and principles as consistently as possible.

You’re a gift. You teach us things about life more than you ever know.

And we love you. More than you ever know.

Children cry.

Children whine.

Children demand and their persistent disobedience is mind-numbing.

But.

When children smile.

When children run to you for a big hug.

When children ask for you to be by their side so they don’t feel alone.

We too as parents can smile and feel loved.

And be thankful for having been entrusted by God with these precious little children.

And such moments indeed are some of the many more reasons why we should love life with children. Everyday.

ps: mummy loves adib