Extra Schooling At The Weekend For My Children

[Benjie]

Hi,

My daughter and son (nearly 5 and 3 respectively) attend a Bilingual program here in Phuket (English Program at Kajonkiat). I'm actually quite happy with their schooling, their English and Thai is very good, however I'd really like them to be exposed to subjects that are unlikely to be taught in any detail whilst adhering to the Thai curriculum. In particular world history and geography.

Does anyone have any idea of;

i. How much I should be looking at paying for an English speaking teacher for say 2 hours.

ii. The best place to use as a 'classroom'.

iii. A curriculum that I could purchase or use.

I'm not particularly looking for someone overly qualified but someone with teaching kindergarden level and who can make it fun. Are there any other subjects that might also be lacking in the Thai curriculum?

[siampolee]

Benjie.

I speak as both a teacher and a father, and not necessarily in that order either..

(Our boys are 16,14 and 10 years old, Thai mum English father.)

Do not steal your children's childhood from them by forcing them into school at the weekends concerning subjects that at the age you tell us your children are their intellectual development is not developed enough to absorb the information coming at them.

Remember it is not what we want for our children, it's what they want that matters.

Your children would be better off playing with their friends thus developing their social skills and learning all the time.

Childhood play is an essential process for the healthy development of your,and indeed all children.

You can play with them and introduce fantasy country games, introduce age leveled picture books concerning the relevant subjects you wish your children to learn about your kids will learn have no fears.

Being sat at a desk with books and writing implements to hand looking at a teacher and a white-board doesn't mean that your children are learning I assure you.

Do your duty as a parent and share and join in your children's childhood,it is I assure you a wonderful experience for both you and your children, I assure you it will bond you all for life,the results will come if you are a loving caring parent rather than a possession parent concerning your children.

Oh, just for the record,I have a masters in education and have been teaching for some 35 years at all levels.

Early years (kindergarten) which I taught for some 5 years were indeed the most rewarding and fun teaching and student learning time I have ever experienced and primary was and is the same too.

These are the formative years and extra clasess are not needed I assure you.Remember that a child's brain develops as it grows and information acceptance is governed by intellectual development which cannot be forced.

I certainly didn't have extra classes when I was young nor even when in grammar school or university either.

Let your children have a childhood .

[Scott]

For children your age, I would not recommend any additional academic subjects. Especially anything that is academically oriented. Languages are good for young learners and ideally they won't know they are studying anything if it is done correctly.

Music lessons are also great--mostly for giving them a sense of rhythm and timing as well as fine motor coordination. Again, I would only do this if the children seem to enjoy it.

Physical activities are one of the best options. Swimming lessons, ballet or Thai dancing, table tennis, football etc.

Learning needs to be very practical and very experiential. You can 'ruin' a child and destroy their natural inquisition with too much learning.

[siampolee]

Scott.

Those words are oh so true.

Benjie: I do hope that you take note of the comments made.

Edited June 20, 2010 by siampolee

[Benjie]

Hi Guys,

I appreciate the comments, I do have a LOT of fun with the children and try to teach them with play whenever possible, My daughter especially has a real thirst for knowledge. I'm not a pushy Dad but I am a solid believer that learning happens as much at home as at school, it did for me when I was young but as pointed out it wasn't through lessons or private teachers.

It's just that I remember when I was young 5-6 years old and we learned (the basics) of the history of the Romans etc... I'm not sure the Thai curriculum covers that sort of worldly knowledge.

Taking the comments on board I have just purchased the entire "Story of the world" set of books by S.W.Bauer on Amazon, which I can read out to them of a night. I'll also spend a bit of time in the garden with them and perhaps make a project out of planting some sunflowers or something similar.

I would like them to perhaps spend some time in some sort of playgroup at the weekends occasionally, Anyone have experience of gymboree?

[Scott]

I know nothing about gymboree, but reading to your kids each night is absolutely an excellent idea.

[aussiebebe]

I see the OP is asking about world history and geography; the best teachers for young children are their parents and the best classroom is everywhere and anywhere. There is some excellent advice in this thread already, I'd just like to chip in that kid's are passionate about certain things and the parents can just facilitate that to promote learning. For example, most kids love dinosaurs; Mum and Dad can buy age-appropriate books and read to/with their kids and hey presto! the kids learn about world history and geography without much fuss or trying and they love it. They'll soon be rattling off the latin dino names, informing you that T-Rex bones have never been found in Thailand, and asking you to take them to America because lots have been found there and they'd like to dig up some more.

As others have mentioned already, reading is really key to unlocking culture and history, if you can find books with games in, even better, they kids can play with their friends.

[Phatcharanan]

Some good advice already. No harm with teaching History and Geography although for the younger ages they tend to be combined. UK curriculum schools teach these subjects to Year 1 and above (5-11 years of age)

For ideas on WHAT to teach them go to this link. The Standards Site: History at key stages 1 and 2

Obviously you can use the drop down boxes for other topics etc.

Reading nightly is excellent.......as long as some comprehension is also taught. UK schools (and USA Elementary) refer to this as 'guided reading'.

Go here for some more explanations

Guided Reading Activities: Teaching Guided Reading

Wiki also explains it quite well.

To make learning more fun go to this site here. It is used for classrooms with Interactive Whiteboards (IWB) but obviously works on a PC as well. Very interactive for kids of all ages.

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Interactive.aspx

Good luck.

Edited June 20, 2010 by Phatcharanan