What’s after PSLE?

Now that we’ve cleared our 1st encounter with PSLE, what’s next?

We’ve been asked this question a lot. Otherwise most assume that David will just take his O Levels as a private candidate.

Well, we’ve decided at this point (we are always open to the Lord’s leading) that we will not be doing the O and A levels route.

Why?

At this point in time and for this child, we are aiming for entry into University (College for my American friends ) In the standard operating procedure in Singapore this means one takes his O then his A Levels and then uses his A Level results to apply for entry into his selected University/ies. However, this route is not very friendly for homeschoolers.

O levels is mostly doable although lab work gets complicated and challenging. But A Levels gets even more challenging. From what we understand from the MOE website, entry into NUS requires A Level results WITH a component called Project Work. (Project Work is graded by the teachers in the school and the child is also assessed individually and as a member of his group.) And this accounts for 10% of the child’s marks. I was told that we can just ignore the Project Work component and “lose” that 10% but that is assuming we have enough points/marks to lose that 10%!

Also, the O and A level textbooks here have no easily available teacher manuals since it is assumed that one would be learning under the guidance of a specifically trained teachers for the various subjects. So if we have questions or need clarification we’ll hit a brick wall. Which means tuition

But if we go the Advanced Placement (AP) or SAT way, then I can use the easily available and numerous homeschool textbooks/manuals which are mostly written to and are geared to the student. These homeschool curriculum often assumes that the parents don’t know a thing about the subject (which just about sums up my grasp on maths and physics!) and provide more information and explanation than the usual public school textbooks.

This tip I learnt from Liz Binz of The Home Scholar who has many helpful articles and books on her website and blog to help parents successfully homeschool the high school years.

Yes, we are treading on unfamiliar waters here as most homeschoolers we know put their children into the school system once they hit the secondary school years. Are we right or wrong in this path? I have no idea. I only know that God in His mercy will continue to guide and lead us in the way forward. And if we heard Him wrongly, that He will be gracious to let us know – sooner than later And meanwhile, I am reading as much as possible to educate myself on homeschooling the high school years.

And the curriculum we have chosen?

This is our pick thus far :

• Language Arts (aka English ) – Progeny Press for Literature, Rod and Staff for Grammar
• Maths – Life of Fred
• History – Notgrass Exploring World History (thanks Misti for the lead!)
• Science – Apologia Science
• Chinese – we are actually proceeding to do O Level Higher Chinese. Imagine that!

We’ll assess how things are faring around March or so and then decide if there needs to be any other changes/addition or not.

A post for all homeschoolers

While clearing my email inbox I clicked on my weekly CurrClick newsletter that I had not have the time to read. Along with its weekly freebie, there was an accompanying article entitled Not Everyone Should Homeschool by Stephanie Prahl that had me nodding my head in agreement all the way

So I thought I should share this with all potential and current homeschoolers out there. You can find out more about Stephanie Prahl’s products at her website at 4 Little Penguins as well as at CurrClick by clicking on the icon below.

Not Everyone Should Homeschool

There I said it. Not everyone should homeschool. It is good that as a group we generally whole-heartedly support anyone’s decision to take the plunge into the homeschool pool. We eagerly dispense advice on the best places to find curriculum and our personal favorites in the textbook world. We easily proffer little knowledge nuggets like learning styles and how to use the library to round out our homeschooling efforts. Sometimes we will ask why someone has decided to homeschool. The reasons for homeschooling vary like snowflakes it seems.

However, homeschooling is not a solution to all ills. Homeschooling for the wrong reasons can be like getting married for the wrong reasons and like an ill conceived marriage; homeschooling for the wrong reasons can lead to disaster for parents and children alike.

The next time someone announces with a joyful voice that they too are homeschooling this year feel free to be brave and ask the following questions.

1.    Do you feel called to homeschool?
2.    Are your husband and you of one accord with regards to homeschooling?
3.    Are you ready to completely jump in and embrace the LIFESTYLE of homeschooling?

When I am asked what I mean by embracing the homeschool lifestyle I’ll often reply thusly:

“Homeschooling involves your whole life. Your day, how it develops, what activities you attend or decline, everything you do will be summarily affected by the fact that you now homeschool. It is like getting married. When you were married your life changed from when you were single. How you approach everything changed to a degree because you are bonded to another person and out of respect and love you share your life with them.

Effective homeschooling is similar. It is a bond you’re creating with your children, that you are promising to prepare them for whatever the future may hold, to the best of your ability. You’re promising to make sure that they are educated at least as well and with as much interest and time as a brick and mortar school. It is not a hobby to be toyed with enthusiastically for a few months a year. There is sacrifice of time, energy and money.”

As you can imagine this response often gets me “fun” looks. I am not trying to scare anyone away. Homeschooling is a decision that is very scary for some. It is a LOT of responsibility. However, unless all 3 of the above are truly met with a yes then homeschooling can be an albatross tied to you and not the glorious adventure it was meant to be. It should not be a rash decision made when you’re  arguing with the school principle over an overdue school library book.

A lot of prayer, thought, care and consideration should go into the decision. The homeschool family should pray over this decision every year. Not Everyone Should Homes chool and Not Everyone Should Homeschool Through High School. Make sure the decision is made for the right reasons each year and even in difficult days your family and you will be happy to be homeschooling.

Stephanie Prahl is a veteran homeschooler who earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from USCS and then went on to obtain her Master’s in Education from Converse University, magna cum laude.  She has been writing and teaching in the homeschool community for several years. For more information about Stephanie visit her company website 4 Little Penguins . See all titles from 4 Little Pengiuns at CurrClick!

Dollar Days Sales

As an affiliate of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, I just received an email informing me of their Dollar Days at TOS! at their store.

Go check it out. Many of the items are heavily discounted with many at just $1! So I finally caved in and just purchased for myself The Schoolhouse Planner for US$10 instead of the usual US$39! There are over 120 forms and over 600 pages in the ePlanner. And best of all, it is interactive! Meaning, I can key my own stuff in and personalise it! Hmm…I wonder when they’ll have a sale on their Student Schoolhouse Planners.

Now I don’t know when the sale will end so go check it out Dollar Days at TOS! now!

Happy browsing!

Year End Reflections and New Year Resolutions

Reflections and resolutions. We should always do this. Reflect on the year that has gone by and make resolutions for the new year so that hopefully, we won’t repeat the same mistakes. And yet, there is no point beating yourself up over what has happened and then be overly ambitious for the new year

It has been a hectic year to say the least. You would have noticed by the very sporadic posts on this blog and over at Building Up Moms. Trust me, it wasn’t because I had nothing to say! I just didn’t have the frame of mind nor the time to write.

The biggest thing was, I would suppose, having PSLE loom over us Even if we didn’t want to get stressed, questions people around asked would invariably trigger some sort of stress response in me As I have said before, I felt as though our whole lives were being judged by the outcome of PSLE. How silly isn’t it? But the fact is our homeschool “experiment” was put to the test.

Well, God came through for us as He said He would. David did well in our eyes and was even interviewed by Straits Times So one down, 6 more to go! But seriously, in a way, David’s PSLE results affirmed for me that what we are doing is working and I am encouraged to keep on keeping on. Even when the going gets tough – which can be rather often

Health wise, we had yet another child who had to wear glasses – sigh. Then there were lots of variation of allergy attacks – in the form of eczema, blocked noses, blinking eyes, unexplained spasms and even aches and pains. It has been stressful dealing with all the permutations throughout the year. But God was faithful…again And so we press on.

Ministry wise, dh’s schedule has been packed! Which also means I had to hold the fort alone more. Tension rose and had to be addressed and resolved. Again….God came through for us! Halleluah!

Personally, I have gone through a second round of Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest and I am grateful at how God has used it to speak to me again and again even though I do not have the time to spend hours meditating on His Word. Indeed “He gently leads those that have young”! (Is 40:11).

God has been using the devotional to remind me again to remember His call upon my life and to heed that call to the exclusion of all else. Focus on obeying Him. Don’t get distracted.

So that will be my single resolution – Work on fulfilling His call upon my life so that I can indeed sum up my life in 6 Words That Say It All.

May you have a blessed new year as you heed His call on your life!

I love SOW

I know I have raved about our Bible Curriculum, Student of the Word or SOW before*. But I really like it! Although it is a complete K6-12 curriculum (excluding Maths) we have modified how we use it to just using the Bible portion.

Is it worth the money to just use the Bible portion? Yes! Every cent of it, in my opinion.

If you were hardworking and not easily distracted with the little ones and housework I suppose you could put together a similar bible curriculum but not me! I am neither hardworking nor do I have any inclination to do so So SOW has been great for us!

For more information and details about it, do go to their website http://sowcurriculum.com. They have sample pages for you to browse. And if you would like to view it directly, then you can email me and see it for yourself.

I have written before on how we use it*. So I shall not repeat myself here. I just want to share how it has helped us.

There are so many things that I am so blessed and honoured to be able to share with the children just because of doing our Bible studies/devotionals with  SOW. Things we would seldom have a chance to talk about in the normal course of the day is brought up and discussed. Yes, even awkward stuff like adultery and fornication!

Of course during the sessions some children do take away more than others – isn’t that always so? But it was really rewarding when the 5 yr old asked to be included! And I love how she draws out the lessons she has learnt in her own SOW book that I printed and bound for her. She is also very keen to recite to me her memory verse on Fridays.

If you are bored or not happy with your Bible curriculum, you may want to consider SOW. There is a steep learning curve learning how to implement it but once you get the hang of it, you will move very fast.

It is non-denominational so you can teach your church’s doctrinal stand or not at all You can go as deep as you like or not. We are currently in the Book of James  and I am already wondering how to handle Revelations when the time comes!

* You can read what I wrote about SOW at How We Use SOW and Doing Devotionals with the Children.

Preschool Curriculum

Have you visited Confessions of a Homeschooler blog? Oh my! It is chockful of stuff for preschoolers.

Erica is very generous with the work she has done. Everything in her Letter of the Week curriculum is free! But if you want to download the whole lot faster and easier, then you pay just US$10 for the whole lot! Isn’t that value-for-money?

Since I don’t have much computer time, I just bought it and then slowly printed and laminated what I need when the young ones are asleep. It does take time to print and laminate and cut and it does take up a lot of space! But it is very worth it IMO. 

I wanted to use it for a while before recommending it to you. So I have been using it for the past month with my 3.5 yr old and her 1.5 yr old sister looking on. She loves it and keeps asking me to do school with her even more eagerly now It takes at most half an hour – the way I do it. And that to me is the best amount of time to spend doing any concentrated work with a preschooler There’s enough hands on stuff to keep her occupied and interested and enough repetition to help her remember.

We do use it differently from what she planned for it to be used since our 3 yr old already knows her letters (upper and lower case) and numbers. We sort of fast-forward the curriculum

Instead of doing a letter a week, we do a letter a day. Of course I do not do everything she provides (certain games I know my child is not interested) nor all of the activities at one go. I ”hid” some of the activities listed for when I re-do the whole set again. I am now doing it a second round, this time teaching her the letter sounds with “new” stuff for her to do as well as a review of the “old” stuff.

Discovering this curriculum has been a god-send to me as she isn’t really ready to do formal school since I do not usually start preschool till 4, I was in a fix wondering what we can do to keep her interested and not give me too much stress  So this is like a transition programme for her before I use our Rod and Staff books.

The only downside to using this programme is the enormous amount of ink that is used up for printing and the boxes of laminator sheets I’ve had to buy. Thankfully I already own a laminator (which I keep on destroying by jamming it up ) so it is easy for me to laminate the pages to keep for the 1.5 yr to use when she is 3 If you don’t own one, it may be worth your while to just go and buy one at this year’s Popular’s Book Fest 2010 in December.

Btw I do not earn anything from recommending this site. I am just blessed by her generosity and want to share it with those who are looking for fun and educational things to do with their preschoolers.

For more on what we do with our pre-schoolers, you can check out our Teaching Our Pre-schoolers post.

In the papers again!

Straits Times, 30th November 2010. Home B3.

No, we seriously do not go around courting publicity as a friend had teased. In fact, my motto is to fly under the radar as much as possible. But I guess living a non-mainstram lifestyle makes that a little bit difficult in tiny Singapore

This time round, we were in the news for homeschooling. At first we declined to be interviewed but after some thought we agreed. And things moved rather rapidly. We were interviewd on Monday, 29th November and the article appeared on Tuesday, 30th November 2010. It mostly touched on homeschoolers who have done well – by the country’s standards, I hasten to add. We are by no means the best scorer – let me put this on record as there was at least one other child who did better but has chosen not to be featured.

So why did we agree to the interview? Mainly to tell the country that homeschoolers are not the riff raffs of society. As my dh said, which is worth re-quoting,

“homeschooling is a very misunderstood concept. A lot of people think we are not educating our child…we do want to educate our children; it’s just that we see education in a different way.”

We thought it would be nice to do a little ra-rah for homeschooling since past years’ reports kept on harping on how homeschoolers are not meeting the benchmark set by MOE

The last time we appeared in Sunday Times was 2 years ago. That article helped to ra-rah large families – all right up our alley as you can see

Ok – we’re now trying to go back to flying under the radar.

The question everyone is asking

One of the clauses for exemption from public school is that the child must for PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) the year the child turns 12. And this year our oldest turned 12 and sat for it.

The whole process started in July when he had to go for a National Education quiz. In August were oral examinations for English and Chinese (Mother Tongue) and in September the Listening Comprehension exams. The written exams were held in October (6th, 7th, 8th and 11th). Only 4 subjects are tested – English, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue (Chinese in our case).

The week leading up to the release of the results, we received a letter from the Mnistry of Education (MOE), telling us that the results were scheduled to be released on Thursday, 25th November, 2010, after 12noon.

Were we excited? Nervous? Anxious? Hmm…ds was rather excited. Before the letter from MOE came, he kept bugging me to google and find out the date of release since he had heard from his Children’s Ministry friends that it was to be 25th November. Unlike public schooled children, we were not privvy to all these dates. We were only told that the date was somewhere towards the end of November-early December.

The days leading up to the 25th were a l-o-n-g wait for him and we spent the whole week teasing him about it. I was not nervous until the eve of the release. It suddenly dawned upon me that everyone would be watching and waiting to see the results of our “experiment”.

Education in Singapore and most Asian societies is a sacred cow. When we decided to homeschool ds back in 2004 it was met with incredulity and alarm. It is akin to wasting his life away. Or to put it bluntly, our child is going to end up the proverbial garbage collector or garang guni man – whichever is more horrifying to you

We did not undertake the decision to homeschool likely. It was not decided overnight. The Lord told me to do so years before we actually took the decision because I was arguing with Him and telling Him all my reasons why I couldn’t do it. (See Why Do We Homeschool?)

And so all these nay-sayers suddenly appeared before me and their voices became very loud. I had to turn away from them all and to remember why we are homeschooling. And to remember that to “obey is better than sacrifice“.(1 Samuel 15:22).

We are not homeschooling because we think we can do a better job than the arsenal of experts and professionals and equipment schools have. We are not homeschooling because we are scared of the “world”. We are not homeschooling because we are holier than those who do not.

We simply homeschool because He told us to. We are to obey. Period. And we are not to look at the results as the end all and be all.

No, it is not easy. There’s always a need (subtle) to prove that we are right, that we are doing more than ok. That we have not screwed up our children’s lives. Societal pressure is strong

To those of you who are homeschooling because of a conviction from the Lord, press on! Our rewards are not earthly, though some of us may reap earthly rewards now.

So how did he do? I’ve been receiving countless sms-es and emails since Thursday

He did very well in our opinion. We are very pleased with the effort he put in. How well? He did well enough to get into most schools.

So what’s next? Which school are we putting him in?

…………………………………………………drum roll, please………………………………………………

We’re continuing to homeschool We’ve spoken with him and he wants to continue homeschooling. Actually, he’s been bugging since the beginning of the year to continue homeschooling him

So now, we are exploring our options – traditional route (O and A levels) or the non-traditional route. We are open to suggestions

To God be the glory!

And may He continue to be our Helper as we put another 6 through PSLE in the years to come

Ready, Steady, Go!

And so today marks the start of our formal participation in the PSLE machinery we are required to partake of.

One of the conditions we have to agree to when we homeschool our children is that they will sit for PSLE the year they turn 12. And prior to that, they have to sit for a National Eduction Quiz. And so, even as I am writing this, ds is taking the National Education Quiz now.

Come August, he will have to sit for his English and Chinese Oral exams and in September, the Listening Comprehension exams. And come October, he will have to sit for his English, Maths, Chinese and Science exams – in that order.

Are we all prepared? I have no idea!

Due to the way answers are required in their Science and Maths papers, we decided to send him for tuition this year to ensure that he is aware of the requirements. If you haven’t realised, our exams don’t so much test what you know but HOW you answer the question. A child may have gotten his facts right but if he did not phrase it the way it is required, then he will be penalised – either marks are deducted or none are given at all!

Not fair? Well, that is the system here.

Meanwhile, I have been asking him to do exam papers and getting him to read as many good books as possible.

Physically, I have not been able to do much. Remember we have a super high maintenance toddler about the house As I have said it before – I am “forced” to trust God. There are many things I would like to do to prepare ds for PSLE but physically I just can’t. I feel a bit like Gideon when he was told by the Lord that his army was too big. God didn’t want Gideon to trust in his 32,000 strong army. He wanted Gideon to trust Him and Him only. God doesn’t want me to trust in my work with my son. He wants me to trust Him!

He called us to homeschool way back in 2002 and as we obeyed in faith, I believe He will come through for us. Not that we presume on His grace by just sitting back and not educating our children. We have done our work and the required revisions even. Now we just have to stand still and just trust. We do not bow want to down to societal pressure and the fear that grips many parents hearts as they think about PSLE.

Yes, easier said than done. There have been many occasions (today included) that I feel fear’s cold grip upon my heart and the murmurings of “what ifs” in my head. But I refuse to give in and pay any heed to them. 

I want to remember what God said to me as He called me to homeschool our children in Joshua 1:9,

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Homeschool Fair 2010

In case anyone is interested to find out more about homeschooling in Singapore, you may wish to check out the annual Homeschool Fair to be held this year on 9th June. Do note that this not like those organised in the US where suppliers set up stalls to showcase their curriculum. Instead here, we have moms sharing with moms what they have used in their homeschooling journey.

Please see details for more information. Do note that I am not the organiser and am just passing along this information I probably won’t be attending the Fair since I have a toddler and a pre-schooler who still need their naps. If you need more information, it is best you join the Singapore Homeschool Yahoo Group and ask your questions there.

I must say that the line up of talks and curricula looks good!

The Homeschool Curriculum Fair 2010

Venue:          

ACS (International), Sports Hall,
61 Jalan Hitam Manis (in Holland Village)

Date / Time:

9 June, 2-5pm

As a courtesy to ACS (International) for free use of the facilities, please note:

1. Young children must be supervised – on-going construction activities
2. Older children to use new Hall and Field facilities with care
3. Food and drink to be consumed in the Canteen area. Please keep tidy

 

Talks
How to choose a Curriculum?	Hilary Lynch	10-min talk (1500)
Homeschool to Mainstream	Mimi Voo	10-min talk (1510)
Other School Options
ACS (International)– post-PSLE / Secondary options	Joseph Ng, Director of Marketing & Admission	10-min talk (1520)
Victory Life Christian School	Raj Samy, Principal	10-min talk (1530)
Sports
Basketball with LJE Sports	Bernard Williams	20-min session (1430-1450), indoor Basketball court

 

Curriculum Displays	Representative(s)
Information Counter	Chia
Saxon Math + Bob Jones	Lay Wee
The Homeschool Lending Library	Littly
Writing Skills	Pui Yee
Montessori	Chern and Queenie
Life Between The Covers Online bookstore	Carrisa
The Koo Family Homeschooling – Maths & Chinese	Yam Yee
Math-U-See	Jenny Tan
Oak Meadow	Liisa Karlstedt
Our Science Co-op	Pei Yee
A-Beka	Elizabeth Janson / Fiona Lam
Right Start Math	Heather Low & Suvene
Sonlight + Tapestry of Grace	Hilary Lynch
R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey	Phyllis
Real Science for Kids	Carissa
K¹² International Academy (online)	Julie Linn
Ambleside Online	Melodie Whitaker
The Mystery of History by Lindar Hobar	Joanna Leong
Masterclass International Online School	Fiona MacColl
Selection of books for the Charlotte Mason philosophy	Angie Maniam