Help me educate my daughter.

[Dad in Thailand]

I’m starting to plan out a basis curriculum for what I will teach my daughter in the coming years, from age 3-12.

She will be going to a Thai school and I will educate her each evening about things she would not learn about in Thai school.

I will be doing so in a manner that she does not recognize as ‘teaching’. Learning through activities and fun.

It is basically home schooling, but unformal, and with less time and pressure to get a set curriculum done. The age range will be from 3 years old to 11/12 years old (when she finishes Prathom 6).

Daily time, about 30-60 mins. I certainly don’t want to overwork her after a long day at Thai school. (Ideally I would prefer her to start school late and miss all the morning Thai conditioning and conforming, but would not want to open her up to treatment from the Thai teachers because she is different etc.) This thread is not about this anyway.

Also note that I am European and won’t be focusing on one region (for example American history).

Ideally I will be teaching her the following (open to suggestions):

Primarily:

World history, World geography, social studies, her place in the World as an equal.

Secondary:

Music (piano 1st, then guitar 2nd), cooking and home economics, theories and unknowns (in relation to Space, religions, the universe and World at large).

I am not religious and won’t be raising her under any sort of religion, but teaching her about the different religions (and at a much latter point the pschological reasons why people become religious and also the methods used to indoctrinate and condition, but that is much farther away. )

An example of the methods used, for example when I am educating her about World history for approx. one week I will pick 5 very different things to teach her about (if time allows, there will be no rush or pressure put on her). For example:

Monday:

The pyramids of Egypt. Make models out of card after reading the history of them. Mark them on our large World map.

Tuesday: The first Moon walk. Watch a documentary, pictures and videos etc, quick read up on the Space race, act out the first moon walk (climbing down the ladder) by climbing down our stairs like an astronaut and quoting the first words. Mark the shuttle take off point on our large World Map.

Wednesday: The Suez and Panama Canals, read up on the history and look at photos, look on the World map to see why they’re needed. Using Play-Dough as land, and two small toy ships, see who can carve a canal out of the Play-dough the quickest and then sail their toy ship through. Mark them on our World map.

Thursday: The Mona Lisa. Read up on the info of it. Print out a copy of it and try to trace it, or use a computer program to try and make pop-art images of it. Mark out where it was painted and where it is now on our World map.

Friday: Australian aboriganes. Photos, map and reading history. Try to make a didgeredoo out of card (rolling it as a tube) try to do an aboriginal painting, try to figure out how they arrived in Australia (historical human migration). Mark their key histories on our World map.

What I would like is:

Some advise from teachers on here about what different stages (ages) I should focus on different things, so I can start to map it out. I really don’t know what age I should teach her the different things.

Having a map of:

Age 3: x,y and z.

Age 4 x, y and z

Age 5: x, y and z etc. would be fantastic.

Advise on subjects/activities I should include for each, especially in terms of social studies and her place in the World as an equal. How do I do the latter? We have a fish pond and some birds living in the garden and each morning it will be her task to feed them and fill the bird’s water bowl before leaving for school. More ideas like this but on a human level would be appreciated. Ideally I would like us to visit a local orphanage for 2-3 hours every Sunday morning to play with the other kids, and help with whatever needs doing, not handing out stuff, but getting involved with them as equals and using the time for developing their English while we are there every week, but I’m not sure about this yet.

What sort of subjects should I teach in social studies and around what age should I be doing them with her?

Resources... If anybody has free web resource pages where one can get materials and info for subjects it would be great.

Any advise from teachers would be muchly appreciated.

I would like this to be a serious thread and not a discussion on schooling in Thailand, people choosing to raise their child in Thailand etc.

Thank you.

[I Like Thai]

Here is a link to a Home Education site that's used in Ireland. The content may not suit you, but it may help provide the kind of structure you're looking for

http://www.schooldays.ie/articles/home-education

[culicine]

You're best to find out what is in the Thai curriculum first. Thai students cover a LOT of work across many different subjects, ranging from science, maths, Buddhism, social studies, dance art, music, PE, etc. They do these subjects right up to the end of high school. e.g. music and art are still studies by all students in the final year of high school. Kids do study history / geography / culture of other nations, but it's generally in high school when they do this. So I'd be inclined to start there. Thai students generally don't do a lot of hands on activities, so maybe you could follow along with their curriculum and supplement it with some experiments. Anything that will support what she is learning at school would be greatly beneficial.

[Dad in Thailand]

If any International school teachers are on here, and can answer my post from this point:

"What I would like is:"

It would be great.

Thanks.

[Scott]

What would be ideal, is to give her a stimulating home environment with the chance to do a fair amount of things and ask questions. Pursue questions until they are answered to her satisfaction. Teach her to think, expose her to music, art and sports.

[Dararasmi]

Give the kid a break. A day at school is way more than enough. (Or did you forget?)

[Ruin]

What a good father! I like the idea of fun activities and games. Get lots of English in there too. Language, grammar, literature.

Maybe http://allinonehomeschool.com/one will help.

[rct99q]

If any International school teachers are on here, and can answer my post from this point:

"What I would like is:"

It would be great.

Thanks.

Can I ask first why you want information from IP school teacher? I work in one in the North East of Thailand and the best information I would give you (as a parent myself) is find out what type of personality your child has first. Children from the early onset develop specific learning habits based on their individual personality. Some are spacial/visual learners, auditory, reading/writing, tactile learner or a combination. You as the parent will need to observe and evaluate your childs learning style/s and from there you can develop your supplemental teachings.

Just filling your childs brain with information will not necessarily make them "smart".

Good for you for being involved.

[sunsamourai]

My kid (3 1/2 yrs old) still goes to Thai school for now, but I make sure he comes late (about 8:30) and misses a lot of the BS these kids have to endure.

This conditioning shlt will stay with them forever, and when you look at the results in adults, you really want to avoid that as much as you can.

[advancebooking]

''It is basically home schooling, but unformal, and with less time and pressure to get a set curriculum done''

I hope your not going to try teaching her too much grammar as it might be best to teach the teacher first. ''unformal'' = informal

I wonder if this is OP's first child? Its always the unfortunate first born that gets smothered in attention and love... sometimes too much and then it grows up with social problems.

You will wear the kid out if you keep up the above schedule for 7 nights a week. Let the kid be a kid.

[advancebooking]

My kid (3 1/2 yrs old) still goes to Thai school for now, but I make sure he comes late (about 8:30) and misses a lot of the BS these kids have to endure.

This conditioning shlt will stay with them forever, and when you look at the results in adults, you really want to avoid that as much as you can.

what do you mean by 'conditioning shit'?. Im sorry but I dont understand your post

[HeavyDrinker]

I like the idea of mixing learning with fun activities as it removes a lot of the dryness which can make education stick in the throat of many a kid.

Though I wasn't home schooled, you could maybe try role-playing scenes. My dad used to write small scenes of historical events especially related to places we were visiting or learning about at school and we loved acting them out. Kids love dressing up and play acting - it will stick in the memory.

Good luck.

[Docno]

I think you're doing a fantastic thing here. I think the best you can do for your child, if possible, is to instill a love of reading in her. I'm not an expert, so I don't have any empirically-based suggestions other than to say make reading fun. Let her choose her own books, read together, ask her to tell you the stories back to you, etc etc. I don't know what happens in Thai classrooms, but I find that the adult Thais I know don't seem to read that much ... I suspect that comes from reading being made a chore in school. I think that if this is the case, you may be able to provide a counter-weight and show that reading can be an intrinsically enjoyable activity. I believe that helping her develop a love of learning will be ultimately more important than exposing her to a lot of knowledge (though I don't think that's a bad thing also... and your hands-on techniques would seem to encourage a love of learning also). Help her develop the attitude and tools, and you're ahead of the game. Just MHO.

[Pomthai]

The most important thing to teach a child in a Thai school is critical thinking. Encourage them to think about and question the world around them. Teach deduction and reasoning not blind acceptance of whats told to them - add the ability to view themselves from another persons perspective - I don't mean for them to become self conscious more of a "If I were in you shoes I would...etc" thought process.

Edited for some spelling typos - teach em that too.

[BlackArtemis]

Somewhere I have the Prathom 1-6 maths standards for Thailand.

The standards are comparable to many other countries, sadly the schools just often lack the resources to carry it out properly.

[falangadang]

"She will be going to a Thai school and I will educate her each evening about things she would not learn about in Thai school."

You're going to be very busy in that case!

[sirchai]

You'll find most material for home schooling on a well-known bay website. Then let her watch English cartoons, easy books with Thai vocabulary as well. You'll find some good books at ED book stores.

They come in different levels. Then websites like Bangkok Post for young learners, etc....

Speak as much English you can, as they don't speak that much at school. There're so many websites,where you can learn all four strands for free.

But please don't forget that you've got a child. Keep everything funny and she'll love it. Good luck.-

[smotherb]

''It is basically home schooling, but unformal, and with less time and pressure to get a set curriculum done''

I hope your not going to try teaching her too much grammar as it might be best to teach the teacher first. ''unformal'' = informal

I wonder if this is OP's first child? Its always the unfortunate first born that gets smothered in attention and love... sometimes too much and then it grows up with social problems.

You will wear the kid out if you keep up the above schedule for 7 nights a week. Let the kid be a kid.

Rather, the first-born "who" gets smothered. However, I agree you should supplement the Thai curriculum. It is key to keep it entertaining. Develop within her a love for books, of course, start with children's books, but those with subject matter that correlates to practical learning. The TV can also help--news, sports, history, discovery, geography, animal channels, etc. Show her your living expenses, let her learn the cost of things. Expose her to music and the arts--concerts, museums, libraries etc. Teach her politics, religion, languages, socio-cultural differences. And, do them in ways in which she experiences it. More importantly, spend your time with her and love her dearly.

[kirk0233]

At what age is lese majeste covered? Or, is it assumed that children will learn of this law informally?

[Ulic]

Music, art and play and language until age 8. Starting formal education early is a mistake.

Being creative and confident is far more important.

[rotary]

Have a look at: brainpop.com

My kids loves it but unfortunately is is a bit yank oriented which takes a bit of shine off it but still a good site. It has some free content but to get the bulk of content you need to pay $99 a year.

[Kabayo66]

I've got two sons who are going to a Thai school, and as a parent and English teacher, I understand how important it is to supplement our children's education. In most Thai schools, the students are taught very simple lessons, with little or no opportunity for discussion. Because schools have an unwritten policy that says students are never allowed to fail, few of them have any real motive to learn. So each year, they repeat much of the same material they have already studied.

What I suggest is that you instill a love for learning in your child by reading with her on a daily basis. Read books she can relate to, and which are at her reading level. Don't do too much teaching - just read, then discuss the pasage/chapter/story with her afterwards. Also, a good children's encyclopedia (I learned with Golden Book Encyclopedia) can be useful for teaching, as it contains interesting pictures and interesting short "stories" about historical events, places and people.

Aside from reading, go to museums, zoos and other places and do loads of things together, then be sure to discuss how things work, why things happen, etc. Everything is a learning opportunity, as long as it's fun or puzzling.

In fact, easy crossword puzzles, anagrams, cryptograms and other word puzzles, even maths tricks/shortcuts can make outstanding educational tools. Logic puzzles can be a fun way to increase I.Q. and silly jokes and riddles use lots of puns, which expand vocabulary and reading comprehension.

To improve pronunciation, search the internet for tongue twisters in each language you want your daughter to speak well. My sons have learnt three languages since birth and are at the top of their classes in each one, so it's not too difficult. Practice a different tongue twister together each day. The secret to good pronunciation (and speed) is in saying them slowly. Then offer a special reward for whoever can say it faster (without mistakes) after dinner.

[Wat dee]

Starting school three years old is ridiculous. And even more crazy is to start home schooling on top of that.

Let the kid play what She want's to play and play with Her.

[mmh8]

How do you know your choices of education are not just propaganda and conditioning instilled into you as a child. Perhaps you will pass your demons on.

Maybe by passing through conditioning in thai schools children learn an inner peace similar to zen like incantations etc.

howver, show a child love and I'm sure you won't go too wrong. I'm sure kids are meant to be kids too, and not spend all day all weekend 24 7 undergoing teaching its like having to grow up too early

good luck op

[kingstonkid]

My advice depending on where you live is take lot's of trips. If you are in the Bangkok area then take day trips to different areas of the city. Take a couple of days and go to Ayutheya (sp) Do things that are fun. In tht sense you can teach her about Thai history and different things about Thailand.

Get her comics and things that she can read. and teach her how to write in Thai and then in English.

Once she gets older start to ask her for her opinion. If you watch the news TV that is a way that she can learn.

Remember how you gathered info. From my standpoint things like Sesame Street are perfect for teaching different things. Also check out the khan academy.

[Stuart21]

I would encourage her to ask you (at least) 1 question each lesson. And, let her know that she can do the same at school - most kids here are absolutely shit scared to ask anything of their teachers, I think because they would hate to cause the teacher loss of face by asking something he / she could not answer.

Asked an EE (tech) student if they could ask teach which is the active and which is the neutral (checking some wiring on house)

Student absolutely refused, nearly went into shock at the prospect of asking T a Q.

I kid you not.

BTW, chok dee. School in the morning, antidote in the evening! (Or perhaps, vice versa!)

;-)

[Scott]

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