Gifted Education Programme

The results of the Gifted Education Progamme (GEP) testing was released last Friday. It caused numerous parents lots of heartache, especially when they found out that their little genius did not qualify for it. The top 5% were selected from an initial round of screening. This top 5% were then put through more tests with only the top 1% selected for the GEP.

The controversy this year surrounds the preparation offered by enrichment centres for these tests. Some argued that if the child was really gifted, why the need to prepare. Also, these tests papers are not made available to all and sundry. Then how did these centres have information on what the testing methods were like. Those who invested thousands of dollars preping their kids justified their actions by saying that the preparation exposed their children to various forms of testing, and additional knowledge acquired by their kids justified their spending. I say, let people do what they want. If they want to spend that money, its their perogative. If their children can learn from it, even better.

I know of a few children, real go getters, who did not qualify. Though their parents did not openly pressure them to make it for the GEP, these kids wanted it themselves. When the results were known,and they found that they were unsuccessful, these kids could not eat and sleep, and were unusually quiet, and kept very much to themselves. They experienced "failure" for the first time. These were kids who excelled at school. For some of them, though their parents told them it was alright if they did not get in, I think, the parents' "body language" or actions may have showed otherwise, if not, I think, their kids would not feel this way. Also, why all that bitching about others that made it!

I know of parents who feel that to qualify is the "be all and end all" for their kids. Some even stopped all of their kids "other" activities for a year, just to prep them to qualify. Some even express regret when their kids did not qualify. They feel like their kids have failed.

I tell these parents, that education is a journey, and the GEP does not mark the end of that journey. In fact, it is the start of a long gruelling journey. I liken it to climbing a mountain. The others are taking a well used path up a gradual slope, whilst the GEPers are climbing it using a steeper incline. They have a tougher route up. Both end at the same place, but the journey taken is different.

So what if your kids did not get into the GEP? They could be equally gifted, if not more gifted than some of those that did. Maybe they just had a bad day on the day of the testing. It's not the end of the world. Your kids can still excel in the mainstream. They would probably get better marks than most GEPers for the PSLE, as evident from prior years results. Anyway, they all start secondary schooling again on an equal footing, since now there is no secondary GEP.

Hubby and I were talking. We said we were glad we stumbled into this unaware. We did not even know the timing of the GEP testing, and when our daughter came home and asked if she should go for the tests, we told her: "No harm trying. But no stress, ok? It doesnt matter if you make it to the second round or not." Even when she qualified after the second round testing, we asked her: "Are you very sure you want to change schools?" We were quite happy with her school then, and she was doing well. We also reckoned that since we knew little about the GEP, we couldnt really help her much, as compared to the mainstream where we are familiar with the system and syllabus. We only started our research on the GEP and started talking to people about it much later...very near the deadline for submitting our decision. In fact, my daughter made most of the decisions herself, even the school of choice. We only supported her in her actions.

The GEP programme is not a walk in the park. In the first 3 months, we felt so sorry for her. She had absolutely no time for anything except school work, and more school work. One day she told me: "Mum, The amount of homework I have done in this one week is more than the homework I had for the last 3 years!!" And in the second year, the workload is even heavier. They have numerous projects all going on simultaneously. I am not sure what the P6 year is like, because like I said, we only cross bridges when we come to it. She just has to learn and do for herself. Sometimes she gets mad at me for not helping her with her work. She claims that a lot of her friends' homework are done by their parents. We also know of parents who do their childrens' assignments for them. I tell her that if we were to do it, then she will not learn from it. We try to support her in other ways - emotionally and physically, being there with her when she needs to stay up to do her work. Just sitting around nearby so that she doesnt feel so lonely. Looking up the internet for some things she does not understand, and explaining it to her. Giving her some ideas on how to approach some projects. But never doing for her.

To be able to keep up with all these, I believe, requires diligence, peserverance and maturity, not only giftedness.

What a way to start the day!

Every morning, when little D wakes up, she will shout: "Mummy, I want you NOW!!" She calls me so she can have her bottle of milk, and the NOW is because I am usually at the computer in the study, and sometimes, only just sometimes, I can take a long while to get to her, especially when I am blogging.

This morning, after I had done my usual morning routine, I climbed into bed next to her. I could not go on the computer, coz it being a public holiday, hubby had beat me to it! As she stirred, she turned around and saw me. She gave me the biggest smile and said: "Mummy, I love you! I love you very, very much."

Tell me, what could be a better way to start the day!

Happy Deepavali!

Vanakam!

Deepavali (or Diwali) is the Indian Festival of Lights. It is a major festival celebrated by the Hindus around the world. This festival focuses on lights and lamps, where the lights or lamps signify the uplighting of darkness and victory of good over the evil within.

Deepavali is celebrated for five consecutive days at the end of Hindu month of Kartika (purminata) or Ashwayuja (amanta). It usually occurs in October/November, and is one of the most popular and eagerly awaited festivals in India. Those that celebrate it regard it as a celebration of life and use the occasion to strengthen family and social relationships.

Little D's school also celebrated Deepavali. They learnt about the festival in school and made oil lamps as well. Here's a pic of Little D in her lengah all set for the celebrations.

Little D brought some rose shaped muruku to share with her friends for their Deepavali party.

Little D was given a bindi to wear on her forehead.

Superlatives

The most destructive habit......................Worry

The greatest Joy...............................Giving

The greatest loss................Loss of self-respect

The most satisfying work...............Helping others

The ugliest personality trait.............Selfishness

The most endangered species.........Dedicated leaders

Our greatest natural resource...............Our youth

The greatest "shot in the arm"..........Encouragement

The greatest problem to overcome.................Fear

The most effective sleeping pill........Peace of mind

The most crippling failure disease............Excuses

The most powerful force in life..................Love

The most dangerous pariah..................A gossiper

The world's most incredible computer........The brain

The worst thing to be without................... Hope

The deadliest weapon.......................The tongue

The two most power-filled words..............."I Can"

The greatest asset..............................Faith

The most worthless emotion..................Self-pity

The most beautiful attire......................SMILE!

The most prized possession................Integrity

The most powerful channel of communication.....Prayer

The most contagious spirit.................Enthusiasm

The most important thing in life..................GOD

Jigsaws

My older daughter, S, started fixing jigsaws from the age of 2. She started off with the 4 piece Spot jigsaws, and never looked back since. She can do puzzles that are up to 2000 pieces. She loves the challenge of jigsaws and can spend days figuring them out.

My son, on the other hand, isn't as interested in jigsaw puzzles. He fixed the odd puzzle or two when young, but was never really into it.

Little D loves jigsaws too. She started fixing them at the age of two. She did not like the 4 piece puzzles, so she started with the 6 pieces. She had progressed to the 16 piece puzzles in a short time. Every time we went out, she would harrass us to buy her new puzzles. The largest that she has fixed is a 30 piece floor puzzle, and she had no problems with it.

Yesterday, Little D pulled out her sister's old 60 piece jigsaw puzzle. She started working on it on her own.

After 15 mintues, she had completed all of it (58 pieces actually as 2 pieces were missing).

We were really surprised! Quite an achievement, considering she is not even 3 yet! Well, looks like she is like me. I love jigsaws too!

Are you a Motormouth?

What is a motormouth? It is someone who talks incessantly. But the definiton was changed slightly for the TV show: Motormouth USA. It was shown on Singapore TV not so long ago. Here's how it works: It catches people who sing in their car when they thought nobody was listening? The producers take to the streets, traveling the country two cities at a time, in search of America's "most entertaining" singers and most outrageous drivers.

In Round One, they catch unsuspecting drivers singing alone. In Round Two, these clueless crooners are joined by their friends, who set them up-encouraging their singing and ridiculous behavior. In round three, they ambush these dashboard divas and reveal that they have been caught singing on national television. In each town they choose the number one Motormouth and at the end of each episode, these two local loudmouths square off as they crown that episode's Ultimate Motormouth.

It was really entertaining and hilarious watching them.

My daughter thinks I should be on motormouth. Why? Because I love to sing along with the radio in the car.

"How come you know all the songs?" she would ask me.

I dont!! Some how, lyrics and tunes tend to stick in my head. I can sing along - but if you were to ask me for the title or singer, I have no clue. I simply enjoy singing along - it makes a journey less boring, it keeps me occupied, and when I am singing, I drown out the arguing that takes place between the kids. Ha! With my singing, they can't get a word in. So, it's my secret weapon.

Are you a motormouth too?

Celebrating Halloween!

Halloween is a festival celebrated mainly in the Western World on 31 October. Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses", pumpkin carving and viewing horror films.

We do not usually celebrate this festival, but since the children's exams had just ended, we decided to have a bit of "fear factor" fun as part of Halloween celebrations.

We had body parts to eat - eyeballs, ears, false teeth as well as worms and snakes. Fortunately for them I got the chocolate and gummy variety.

They also had some Halloween paraphenalia to wear - witches hats, hairbands with spiders, halos, devils horns, fangs, courtesy of their aunt who just came back from a vacation.

All in, we had an enjoyable time!