Just read an article today on parents sending their kids for tuition. With the GEP selection tests this month, some even send their kids for $200 a session to get trained for them.

Speaking as a mom who has a kid going through the first year in GEP, I would like to share my experiences and why I strongly advise against training for these tests in order to get into GEP.

My child was highly excited about the GEP selection tests, not because we had put any emphasis on it, but more from his peers in school at that time. I suspect it was a measure of 'how smart they are' when they compared among themselves.

DIY Cards

Let your child make and design their own multiplication cards. Like i always reiterate almost like a broken recorder - Children learn best when they work with their hands, "What goes through the hands... goes to the mind."~Maria Montessori. This will also enable your child to practice his or multiplication tables, while being creative.

My dd1 was also diagnosed to be ASD when she was about 3yo. It turned dh and my world outside down. Life was never the same after that. I can still recall the anguish and turmoil that we went thru. And yet, the diagnosis helped to explain the many "mysteries" surrounding her behaviour.

The positive thing is that, in discovering early, you can start your child on early intervention. This is very important as it will help her and your family cope with AS much more effectively

For mothers like us with preschool-aged children, it can be difficult to decide whether to place our children in a pre-school to prepare them for kindergarten. For working mothers, it seems practical to send their children to preschool during work hours. For stay-at-home mothers, they may have different opinions. Whatever it is, searching and finding the most appropriate preschool can be a daunting task.  

For me, I went through this situation last year, when my son was 2+ years old. I couldn’t decide whether I should send him to preschool when he turns 3. By the time I finally decided to do so, I missed out big time. When I called various preschools around Sept last year, I found out that they were mostly full for year 2010 intake.

Question: 
There were some boys and girls in a room.
If 24 boys leave the room, the total no. of students who remained in the room will be 7 times theno. of boys who remained the the room.
If 12 girls leave the room, the total no. of students who remained in the room will be 4 times the no. of boys.

How many students are there in the classroon? 

My First Lettering Book

Clever lettering can turn ordinary words into extraordinary works of art!
It's all about using your imagination and experimenting, but most
importantly, it's about having fun. And it's so simple!

With the aid of the easy-to-use stencils and basic guidelines in this book, you will be adding that little bit extra to your school projects, greeting cards, posters, bookmarks and even your very own party invitations. There is really no limit to the many ways you can use clever lettering.

Primary schools that do away with exams for P1 students have implemented Show & Tell and Written Expression as formative assessments. Our children can be prepared for both the above activities much easier than we credit them for. Here are a couple of stuff i did with my daughter. Hope these can be suggestions for your children's future preparation...

Topics for show and tell were given in advance somewhere 3 to 4 weeks prior to the actual session. Parents are encouraged to help prepare their children for it. The children will not be allowed to read from any notes or cue cards that may have been prepared from home. The session has to be done spontaneously... which means NO last minute prepz please!

General topics across schools would be :

1. My Family

2. My Favourite Toy

3. My Favourite Food (etc)