Parents want to have the best experience for their kids when it comes to school. Of course, you want to give your children a better future and at the same time memorable experiences. The first day of primary school is the most worrisome, but with proper primary school subjects preparations, your kids can surely keep up with his or her academic education.
How to prepare your kid emotionally?
Before you introduce primary school subjects, it is necessary to also ready them emotionally. You can give them a heads-up by:
Sharing your own experience
You can have a little conversation with your kid. This will give them calm and give them comfort that most people undergo for the first time. Share your experience on how you made new friends, eat lunch together, had laughter with classmates, and had other fun experiences.
Keeping a positive attitude towards schooling
Let your child see that you are looking forward to many good things when it comes to studying. You should avoid negative attitudes such as punishment when they failed to do school work. You can also praise them even for little things because it will give them the confidence to participate more in class.
Get involved in school activities and conferences
This will serve as an opportunity for you to know the school environment, teachers, faculties, and parents your kids are interacting with every day. All though, for sure you got a good glimpse of the school through attending the primary school open house before enrolment, it is still recommended to be consistent in being involved. In this way, you can guide your child better on how to be more comfortable in school even without your presence. If you also practice this, you can easily voice out your concerns if ever there’s something you want them to know.
Encouraging your children to be independent
Being responsible is one of the important qualities for a student. Teach and always remind them that they have to take responsibility for everything they do. Practice them also to be independent so that they can still manage to do something on their own without your full guidance. In this way, they can explore things and be more confident and brave with their tasks.
Preparing them for primary school subjects
School can be very overwhelming, especially for first-timers. Without a proper heads-up on what they will experience, it will give them a lot of stress. For your children not to be flooded with too much information, you can give them a little teaching and lesson on primary school subjects such as:
English
Teach them the basics like the alphabet and sample words that start with each letter. You can buy children’s books that will help them know additional words. You can also pay a visit to the nearest libraries where they can enjoy different picture books and audiobooks there.
Here is a list of libraries you can visit with your child:
- Woodlands Regional Library - Located at Woodlands Civic Centre #01-03, 900 South Woodlands Drive, Singapore 730900
- Marine Parade Library - Located at #01-02, Marine Parade Community Building, 278 Marine Parade Road, Singapore 449282
- Tampines Regional Library - Located at #02-01, Our Tampines Hub, 1 Tampines Walk, Singapore 528523
- National Library - Located at National Library, 100 Victoria St, Singapore 188064
- Library of Botany and Horticulture - Located at Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Rd, Singapore 259569
Science
You can try to buy charts where planets, stars, galaxies, and other Science stuff are there and place them inside their bedrooms. This will guide them to memorise the things they need to know because they see them every day. You can also watch educational videos that tackle Science matters.
Mathematics
This subject is what many children are feared to do or listen to. They always think that this is the hardest subject in school. Math can be fun if you help your children with it. Try starting by asking them to count their toy balls or adding and subtracting things. You can always insert Math into everyday life in your house, this way they can lessen the fear of the lessons from this subject.
Chinese language
Practicing to speak Chinese will help your kids excel in this topic. Teach them at least 1 or 2 new vocabulary words every day as well as their meanings.
How to further ensure your child is ready on his/her first day of primary school? Read: How to Prepare Your Child for the First Day of Primary School?
