https://www.scmp.com/rss/278552/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com My daughter seems to hate reading and I’m worried it will hinder her learning. I have tried everything to interest her in the classics I enjoyed as a child. How can I help her? You need to consider which aspect of your daughter’s reading you want to improve. Is it her reading skills? Is she able to read well and sound out new vocabulary? Do you want her to tackle a wider range of books? Does she only read comic books or girly novels? Or is it that you want her to read all the books you read as a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1983895/how-hong-kong-parents-can-help-their-kids-become-more-interested?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1983895/how-hong-kong-parents-can-help-their-kids-become-more-interested?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Jul 2016 04:45:48 +0000 A reader writes: I am concerned about the science curriculum at my son’s school. He says he misses the classes where students would conduct experiments and mix chemicals to see the reaction. Should I ask the administrators to check the teacher’s reason for this? Every teacher should have a lab coat handy. They could slip it on to give the kids a clear message: “now we are doing science.” Science is not just about pouring, mixing and watching the colour change or bubbles overflowing. It is about... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1979228/how-you-can-be-sure-your-children-are-learning-science-school?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1979228/how-you-can-be-sure-your-children-are-learning-science-school?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jun 2016 05:27:43 +0000 At my last parent-teacher meeting, I was told my child is reading below year-level expectations. What does this mean? Feedback sessions are a chance for your child’s teacher to tell you how well they have progressed during the year, but also how much your child is achieving – not learning – in relation to others. A child should be making similar progress to their peers, so if a child started lower in the class, for any reason, they may well be reading below the norm in the class but still... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1975446/how-hong-kong-parents-can-ensure-their-kids-are-advancing-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1975446/how-hong-kong-parents-can-ensure-their-kids-are-advancing-their?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jun 2016 05:46:51 +0000 My son’s Year One teacher lets them do a lot of colouring and paper crafts with staplers. I thought this was preschool work. He seems to enjoy it but it is not really proper education, is it? In early primary a lot of the more “academic” skills you might hope to see are still a little ahead of many student’s abilities. Instead children are often asked to tear up strips of paper, scrunch, staple or stuff them into a shape, colour, choose items for a task, follow instructions and describe to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1902326/how-craft-activities-help-young-children-train-their-muscles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1902326/how-craft-activities-help-young-children-train-their-muscles?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Jan 2016 20:01:57 +0000 My son is so disorganised I have given my helper a list to make sure he has everything each morning. The teacher also reports he cannot organise himself well and needs to be watched and directed in most activities. What can we do to help keep him be more organised? It is interesting that you have given the list to the helper. Getting organised begins at home. And being disorganised is easy if you know someone else is going to take care of everything for you. How is he going to learn how to do... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1879256/how-help-your-child-get-more-organised-tips-hong-kong-teacher?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/1879256/how-help-your-child-get-more-organised-tips-hong-kong-teacher?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Nov 2015 12:32:08 +0000 My son's year one teacher lets them do a lot of colouring and paper crafts with staplers. I thought this was preschool stuff. He seems to enjoy it, but is it proper education? In early primary, many of the more "academic" skills you might hope to see are still a little ahead of many students' abilities. Having good fine motor skills means it is easier for a child to hold a pencil correctly to write, manipulate items to count, even hold books and turn pages. What you might see in the classroom... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1636647/how-learning-arts-and-crafts-beneficial-children?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1636647/how-learning-arts-and-crafts-beneficial-children?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Nov 2014 02:14:01 +0000 What can we do to help our son become more organised? He is so scattered, I have given my helper a list to make sure he has everything each morning. His teacher also reports he cannot organise himself, and needs to be directed in most activities. It is interesting that you have given the list to the helper. Getting organised begins at home, and being disorganised is easy if you know someone else is going to take care of everything for you. How is he going to learn how to do it himself, so he... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1610669/show-children-how-organise-themselves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1610669/show-children-how-organise-themselves?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Oct 2014 02:27:12 +0000 My son cries at the beginning of the year. This is his third year in primary school and he still cries when he first goes to class. The teacher said he calms down after an hour and then participates well and seems to enjoy class and his friends. When I ask him about it, he just shrugs. Leaving the home environment for school upsets many children, and parents. Often the first day of the year has staff busy consoling children and settling them into their classes, while handling anxious parents and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1582967/how-overcome-teary-start-school-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1582967/how-overcome-teary-start-school-year?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2014 09:31:05 +0000 My daughter's school does not have any textbooks. It follows an international curriculum but I don't know what they are studying so it is hard for me to prepare her. Several parents have asked the principal to consider textbooks but they will not. What can we do? It is hard for schools adopting an international curriculum to follow a textbook, simply because few good textbooks are available. The international curriculum also offers some flexibility as to when units are taught, which is not... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1439419/class-action-why-texbooks-are-not-essential-tool-teaching?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1439419/class-action-why-texbooks-are-not-essential-tool-teaching?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Mar 2014 02:20:33 +0000 My son learned in school about the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan. Our domestic helper's family in the Philippines was seriously affected by the storm and I'd like to teach him more about it. How can I build on what he has learned? What a lovely thought at this time of year, when many children are focused on getting rather than giving. Your first consideration should be to assess what he has already learned. Talk about what he knows and understands. He may understand the events that have... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1393211/class-action-philippines-typhoon-tragedy-offers-lesson?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1393211/class-action-philippines-typhoon-tragedy-offers-lesson?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Dec 2013 13:15:15 +0000 My son has just started into his first year of full day school. He comes home so tired it is hard for him to do anything. He used be a very energetic boy who would always be buzzing about. Now he just flops on the sofa after school. Around dinner he perks up a bit, and then nods off before we are really finished. Is this something I should talk to his teacher about? Starting school is a big step for little people. Most parents have told them about "school" and built it up in their minds.... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1321416/class-action-classroom-challenges-can-exhaust-child?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1321416/class-action-classroom-challenges-can-exhaust-child?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Sometimes when I look at my daughter's copybooks from school I find some of the work has not really been checked. There are marks in coloured pencil or there is a smiley face or just some numbers. This lack of certainty makes me wonder whether her teacher is actually marking her work. Different teachers have different ways of marking books, and the most important thing is that teachers give feedback to the students, whether that is in their books or not. You can ask the school what their marking... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1307006/class-action?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1307006/class-action?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 My son's teacher has said he is not good at problem solving, which is ridiculous. He has been in after-school maths programmes for two years and can do all his multiplication tables. He is very good at solving problems rapidly. How can I prove her wrong? You may be talking about two separate things here. Some children are numerically proficient but can't come up with alternative solutions to a logical problem. Most of us follow a similar path when solving problems. But there are those who can... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1204719/he-can-add-so-whats-problem?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1204719/he-can-add-so-whats-problem?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 My sister in Canada is very active in her children's school through a PTA group. My children's school here has no such group. What do they do and how I can form one? It is true that fewer schools in Hong Kong have Parent Teacher Associations. They started in the 1800s as a way to introduce more "mothering" into children's education. Given that here most mothers work and depend on their helpers for the daily care of their family, it is little wonder that PTAs have not really caught on in Hong... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1176625/how-go-about-setting-pta?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1176625/how-go-about-setting-pta?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 My daughter is doing art classes and seems very good. Her teacher has told me she is good at drawing but is not very creative. She enjoys art so much, how can she not be creative? Art is a very important part of a child's education but each will enjoy and benefit from it in different ways. Some enjoy the freedom to play with colour or sit quietly drawing a picture. Some take a kernel of an idea from the teacher and make it their own. Others take from it the chance to become more observant of the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1141134/its-hard-teach-creativity-so-let-your-child-draw?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1141134/its-hard-teach-creativity-so-let-your-child-draw?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 My daughter's teacher has suggested that she needs to develop better social skills. She is an only child but we try to remind her to be polite and she usually seems so well behaved. How children interact with adults differs from how they behave with their peers. Adults moderate their reactions to children's negative behaviour and respond strongly when they do something well. This is how we reinforce the behaviour we want to see. Her peers are just as involved in shaping her behaviour. If she... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1131035/how-develop-socially-savvy-kids?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1131035/how-develop-socially-savvy-kids?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 My son spends a lot of time on the computer and now his sister is starting to copy him. I want him to spend his time in healthier pursuits, but he just refuses to switch it off. What can I do? At this stage, it's a question of how bad your son's computer addiction is. Is it something you as a parent can try and control, or do you need a counsellor to hold sessions with the family to help your son cope without a computer? I know that sounds shocking, but it is becoming a very real issue for many... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1125566/class-action-computer-addiction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1125566/class-action-computer-addiction?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 My daughter loves cooking with me. She likes to sit on the bench and stir things and add the ingredients. Is this experience anything that can support her at school? Well, to begin with anything she loves doing with you is going to enhance the work she does at school. Don't underestimate the value of talking time. Discussing what you are doing and why gives her a firmer grasp of cause and effect. It lets her see what you are thinking as you do things. This, in turn, will become part of how she... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1109855/class-action-theres-lot-little-ones-learn-kitchen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1109855/class-action-theres-lot-little-ones-learn-kitchen?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 My son's teacher has suggested I encourage him to play with Lego more because his writing is not very good. I have a handwriting book and make him practise cursive writing every day. Surely this is more helpful? I assume from your comment that she means the shape of his letters. This would be to do with fine motor control. Control of the small muscles in the fingers usually develops a bit later in boys than girls. This can cause problems with pencil skills, holding the pencil correctly and at... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1105365/have-fun-while-learning-building-blocks-better?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1105365/have-fun-while-learning-building-blocks-better?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 My son loves going on school field trips but I feel like many of them are a waste of time. School fees are so expensive, surely they would be better off spending less money on "fun days" and more time working on lessons? School field trips are more than just "fun days". Of course, that may well be how your son sees them - but that is part of the point. Lessons that have a basis in a real-life experience are easier for children to relate to and grasp. Directly taught lessons may take several... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1070415/class-action-joy-field-trips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1070415/class-action-joy-field-trips?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Q: My daughter enjoys writing but her spelling is terrible. I try to help her by spelling the words but lately she seems not to write as much. Sometimes I correct the words and let her copy them over. Is this helpful?   Spelling is a sensitive subject for teachers and parents. Many parents want to judge the quality of their child's work by looking for neat handwriting and accurate spelling. A lovely letter to grandma with excellent descriptions and ideas becomes an embarrassment when the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1065053/class-action-dont-make-spelling-painful-subject?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1065053/class-action-dont-make-spelling-painful-subject?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000