3 months into Primary 2
When mums come together, there's usually a few key topics we talk about and most times, it will be about the kids.
So, majority of the kids in a mums group that I hang out with have all started formal school.
Inevitably, we share things like how much homework our kids get, how the teachers are helping the kids to settle down in school, especially those in Primary 1; how the kiddos are adapting and all those stuff. Mummies who have school going kids will agree all these sound oh too familiar.
2 months into J starting Primary 2, there's still so much more both the kid and us parents need to get used to. As the saying goes, life is a continuous learning journey. I cannot agree any much more.
I find myself struggling to strike that balance for the kid. Trying not to be the helicopter mum, not pressuring him to always keep studying. Yet, the pace and level of difficulty of the subjects have increased, very much more than I expected. It is probably also a product of the kind of mum I have been all these while and the promise I made to myself as Jo was growing up.
My promise to my children and myself is,
And, it certainly is a tall order because at the back all this self-imposed positivity, #adulting is hard.
Managing emotions on a day to day basis of not only the family's but at work and socially takes being a mom to this primary school-goer quite a challenge.
Some of the more obvious challenges we faced included getting the kid used to going to school again.
He has gotten used to 6 weeks of doing nothing very much but YouTube, Fortnite and Roblox. Yes, partly my doing since I didn't have much planned for him over the year end school holidays.
We also started him on student care this year, because we wanted him spend time after school more constructively. We noticed in Primary 1, when he does have homework, he usually waited for me to reach home from work to get that done with him.
It is probably one of the best decisions we made. While he resisted with some whining initially, 3 months down the road, he constantly asks to go to student care because he knows if he does his work diligently, studied his spelling and all at student care, we don't really come down hard on him in the evenings as long as he goes to bed by 9pm. It's win-win on all fronts.
The main thing we had to deal with really is the intensity and level of difficulty of school work. It was like honeymoon of formal school has abruptly come to an end, and reality is biting us.
And if I say I am not worried at all, I am lying. And fear sometimes leads me to think about how I need to help J catch-up and even stay ahead. But, for now, I am still exercising some self-control. Sticking to my guts and letting J take the lead in his studies. And, I will just play the role of his sounding board. To prompt him with questions that he can hopefully reflect upon.
Other than the COVID-19 season, which is a story for another time, how has school and mothering been for quarter one of 2020?
So, majority of the kids in a mums group that I hang out with have all started formal school.
Inevitably, we share things like how much homework our kids get, how the teachers are helping the kids to settle down in school, especially those in Primary 1; how the kiddos are adapting and all those stuff. Mummies who have school going kids will agree all these sound oh too familiar.
2 months into J starting Primary 2, there's still so much more both the kid and us parents need to get used to. As the saying goes, life is a continuous learning journey. I cannot agree any much more.
I find myself struggling to strike that balance for the kid. Trying not to be the helicopter mum, not pressuring him to always keep studying. Yet, the pace and level of difficulty of the subjects have increased, very much more than I expected. It is probably also a product of the kind of mum I have been all these while and the promise I made to myself as Jo was growing up.
My promise to my children and myself is,
To let them grow at their own pace and ability. To never pressure them into doing things we deem as the best for them, but to encourage the right behaviour towards their studies, and their lives. To let them experience the ways of the world yet be right there for them no matter what happens.
And, it certainly is a tall order because at the back all this self-imposed positivity, #adulting is hard.
Managing emotions on a day to day basis of not only the family's but at work and socially takes being a mom to this primary school-goer quite a challenge.
Some of the more obvious challenges we faced included getting the kid used to going to school again.
He has gotten used to 6 weeks of doing nothing very much but YouTube, Fortnite and Roblox. Yes, partly my doing since I didn't have much planned for him over the year end school holidays.
We also started him on student care this year, because we wanted him spend time after school more constructively. We noticed in Primary 1, when he does have homework, he usually waited for me to reach home from work to get that done with him.
It is probably one of the best decisions we made. While he resisted with some whining initially, 3 months down the road, he constantly asks to go to student care because he knows if he does his work diligently, studied his spelling and all at student care, we don't really come down hard on him in the evenings as long as he goes to bed by 9pm. It's win-win on all fronts.
The main thing we had to deal with really is the intensity and level of difficulty of school work. It was like honeymoon of formal school has abruptly come to an end, and reality is biting us.
And if I say I am not worried at all, I am lying. And fear sometimes leads me to think about how I need to help J catch-up and even stay ahead. But, for now, I am still exercising some self-control. Sticking to my guts and letting J take the lead in his studies. And, I will just play the role of his sounding board. To prompt him with questions that he can hopefully reflect upon.
Other than the COVID-19 season, which is a story for another time, how has school and mothering been for quarter one of 2020?