Every child will have their own strengths and interests. The best way to know what these are is to talk to your child and find out. Some children are more inclined to playing sports, making music, being artistic, or playing with computers. These interests will serve them well in future – not only are they a good way to wind down and relax, but they are also an area to be developed. When trying to find out your child’s interests, talk to them about likes/dislikes.
The reason why your child’s strengths and interests is important for primary school is because there are decisions down the line such as CCAs or extracurricular activities to join. Knowing what your child is good at and what he/she is interested in could make narrowing down these choices easier. Your child may also want to take up some enrichment classes in future, and knowing what they like, or dislike will help plan their schedules in a more organised fashion.
The commute to and from school is an important consideration when choosing a school. How will your child be getting to and from school, and who will take them there? Regardless of the mode of transport, be it by car, bus, or the MRT, your child will need to get to school and back from it safely. If the commute between home and school is too long, it could have negative consequences on your child – they may feel tired waking up early for school.
Later, your child may have to stay back in school for CCAs and other school experiences. A long commute to and from school will be taxing mentally and physically for the child. If the route home is complicated, it is more things for the child to take note of – which station to change at, which bus to take, and where to walk to go home. As such, parents should walk their children through the commute judiciously to ensure that they are familiar with it.
Each school has a unique culture – when parents visit these open houses, they will know what each school has to offer in terms of its programmes, facilities, values, teachers, and culture. Parents can get a sense of the school culture by talking to other students, parents with children in that school, teachers, or even by visiting the school website and online profiles.
Parents should look beyond academic considerations and ask their child what they think of the school culture. Will their child be comfortable participating in school activities? When visiting the open houses, it is important for your child to develop an inquisitive nature and ask about the school life and other happenings in school. After the visit, parents should discuss with their children is they enjoyed the interactions with the students and teachers.
To conclude, parents should always think about their future choice of school from multiple angles, doing what is best for their child. Primary school will be a daunting time for some students, especially when they need to build a strong foundation in time to sit for PSLE. English is a compulsory subject not only in PSLE, but also in the rest of their educational journey – it is important for your child to build a strong grasp of the English language to succeed in their primary school career. Many parents believe that English is a subject which cannot be prepared for. However, this belief could not be further from the truth.
Getting better at mastering the language requires students to master not only sentence mechanics, but soft skills like critical thinking, inference, and logic. With time, guidance, and practice, students will be able to build this foundation with WRITERS AT WORK! Our dedicated teachers and specially curated curriculum will help your child learn how to tackle the rigorous demands of the primary school English curriculum and prepare for PSLE!
Disclaimer: As of 30th April 2024, the following list is accurate. For further updates and information, parents should visit the respective school websites.
English is a compulsory subject which all students must undertake. However, mastering the English language is not something which happens overnight – it takes consistent practice and effort to learn the nuances of the language. Students must read more and practice writing to gradually improve. Cramming for a language subject nearer to the exams is an impossible feat. After all, Rome was not built in a day! Attaining such a skill will have positive implications for not only your child’s education in school, but also employment prospects in future.
The secret to writing better is to practice more while emulating good examples of writing. Having constructive feedback is extremely important in honing your creative writing skills, as often, students are not aware of what they are doing right or wrong. Trying to copy good examples of writing will help the student intuitively pick up essential skills like grammar rules and vocabulary. Reading good examples of writing will also give the student more ideas.
Creative writing helps students express their thoughts more clearly and develop a sense of logic. In crafting a believable plot which flows properly given the premise and characters the story features, a student will be able to hone their critical thinking and their ability to put things in a systematic manner. Creative writing is further important for communicating ideas concisely.
Having good feedback will help a student tremendously, as parents often leave creative writing to the student to “do their best and see how it goes”. However, this is the wrong approach to creative writing – like all skills, creative writing can be taught. It will require a significant amount of work and trial and error to get right, but it is certainly a skill worth learning.
Making a creative writing class interesting is something that W@W specialises in! Teachers are engaging, fun, and witty, allowing students to explore many possibilities of plots and characters. Our composition topics are funny and memorable, allowing students to draw on them when they face their actual exam questions. Students participate in discussions with their classmates, giving them the chance to speak up and voice out their own thoughts and ideas during the lesson.
The benefits from creative writing are lifelong – all throughout our lives, we will need to communicate with people important to us, not only at work but also in our personal lives. Being able to express our thoughts and ideas clearly is highly important to ensure other people understand what we are saying. By having a logical flow to our thoughts, other subjects in school will become much easier to learn. After all, the English language is the foundation to everything.
