Parenthood 102

Parenthood is one heck of a scary journey.

And it's terrifying when I realise that even with a compass, map and GPS system in place, I will still have to fumble and try to figure my way around this long, winding path and there's no guarantee there'll be a light shinning brightly at the end of the tunnel.

I've completed the basic module Parenthood 101: The First 6 Years and now I've started on Parenthood 102: The Primary School Years. Last week marked the start of Xian's semesterial examinations. I'll be first to admit that I've not been diligently helping her with the revision. In fact, my parents are probably more anxious and worried, and they are the ones who've been supervising her closely. I don't recall them getting all flustered when I was in lower primary but I suppose times have changed.

Xian's dyslexia has also knocked some sense into me and I've adjusted my expectations accordingly. As long as she passes her examinations with credible grades (70 and above) I'm not going to quibble with it.

My fingers are crossed. Wish I could do the same with my toes. *~*

Although I never wanted to be a"kiasu" Singaporean parent and refrained from packing my kids off to endless enrichment classes, I realised that I could be doing them a disfavour if their peers are miles ahead. And the worst? Most teachers actually expect the children to be saddled with these extra lessons and hence assume that the kids already know the "basics".

Wen's going to K2 next year and I'm not taking chances because I realised Xian struggled with Chinese (which she's now taking as Higher Chinese in school). That's why I decided to send Wen to Han Language Centre to expose her to Chinese since our home environment is not conducive for cultivating a love for the language. There are several branches in Singapore and there's one just in Kovan where we stay so it's convenient for me to ferry her up and down.

Here's what I got from the website:

Pre-school Fun Learning 1 to 1.5hrs per session (Nursery to K2)
Designed to meet the key objective of arousing the students’ interest in the Chinese language, the programme brings the Chinese language alive through puppet role play, stories-listening, folk songs, interactive games, simple poems recitals and tongue twisters!

I sure hope that Wen will enjoy the classes and learn to appreciate Chinese and hopefully this will help prepare her for Primary school in 2 years' time.

With each child, I'm experiencing a whole new set of issues to deal with. Just wondering what I'll have to face when it's Wei's turn. Perhaps it's best not to worry too much about it and let things come naturally.