No tuition please

I'm praying that my children can be tuition-free at least until PSLE. I didn't attend a day of tuition in my school life and survived this crazy educational system. But I understand that climate has changed over the years. Instead of minority taking tuitions, it's the reverse in today's context.

How to keep my kids tuition-free? This is my plan. I plan to coach them in their school work when necessary but not over-prepare them ahead of school syllabus. I plan to read and write with them or expect them to read more in their free time when I'm not around to supervise. I plan to bring them out to play more to prevent myopia. This may sound out of point, but I think worklife balance should be cultivated from young. We need to be their role model who play hard and work even harder.

I've heard horror stories of P4 maths and heuristics taking over algebra. I haven't figured out what heuristics is all about. In my era, I always start my problem sum solving with "let it be x" and end with "x=?". At P1, my son is comfortable with number bonds & grasping concept of simple multiplication. I won't be coaching him in heuristics as I have no idea how it works. But I know the importance of reading and comprehension of problem sums starts from P1.

I've heard potato children failing Chinese and memorizing composition to pass. Although we don't fall under that category, reading Chinese books and speaking mandarin should suffice at this stage. I will continue to look for interesting Chinese books to entice the boy to read on his own, which I'm not too successful yet.

Science only comes into the picture in upper primary. I reckon that my son won't have much problem as he likes reading non-fiction books on animals and subscribes to national geographic kids magazine. My girl may have some resistance with science facts as she prefers princessy novels and fairy tales. We will factor in some science experiment activities if the need arises. We will continue to explore parks and zoo to appreciate mother nature.

The journey is a marathon, not a 100m dash. I hope we can smell the roses and enjoy the breeze along the way.

(afternote: I hope all parents have the right mindset when sending children for tuition as mentioned in this article http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/things-consider-sending-child-tuition-classes-102823408.html)