I woke up with a heavy heart this morning. Ivan was hysterical last night; I have not seen him behaved like that before. He woke up quiet as usual getting ready to school. When we reached school, I asked his headmistress how is he doing in school and I was told he is a bit slow. He stared down at the floor; the sunlight makes the three dark- red scratches at the side of his cheek and nose bridge obvious. At that moment, a taste of lemon juice flows through my heart. I started thinking, is it me or is it the systems that make him behave that way? The headmistress told me that their study is getting tougher and tougher as they are preparing them for Chinese school.
“I thought he is improving?” I replied. “Yes, but compare to others, he is a bit slow.” Frankly, I felt down after hearing what she said at that moment because I think Ivan has done marvelous already in terms of his mandarin. But I must admit, he is not so good in BM and English, which needs a bit of hard work. I must really spend more time to be with him. He scratched himself on the face while saying “I will destroy myself” last night. He is whispering to me now, lost his voice from too much crying, kicking and throwing things. Guess I will too behave that way for having to work so hard with so little fun at age 5+. My husband used to tell me, “Fun and learn” (school’s name) only learn and there’s no fun at all.
Today, he came to me submitting this lovely box and told me. “Mommy, this is for you to put your watch.” Doesn’t it look lovely? But I only have so few watches, may be I should put my handmade jewelry in there instead.
jo is same, he is the weakest among his peers, i used to be very sad at first but less forcing much improving, it’s just a matter of time, so better relax.
happy mother’s day!
btw, i think most probably i will stay in KK till september. when will you be coming to KK?
I am sure he will catch up, I really don’t understand why the headmistress want to pressure the kids like that. He is only 5. The edu system is really bad here.
dont feel sad, babe. It is not your fault. It is the education system’s fault! Get your mind set at this - as long as he is improving, he is healthy and he develops his EQ well, GREAT liao la!!
The gift is so ……SWEET!! He is so good at melting your heart eh?!
I really cannot tahan the system here..that’s what the kindy teacher told me about Kieran, slower than others bla bla bla..aiya kindy only la, relax la woi! don’t take it to heart n stress the poor boy up so much. boys just take longer to pick up, mine is still failing BM n Chinese..I don’t sweat too much…just let it flow..
oh my, only 5+, & he’s so stressed up already. May be its the kindie…The homework looks a bit like what my son’s doing for std 1 le, so i guess yr son is not ‘a bit slow’ already:)
hey, thanks for dropping by again. i thought you have stopped blogging….hehehehehe. your little girl has grown so much and she is such a cutie!! That’s a lovely box that ivan has made for you. *sigh* he’s not in primary school yet and already so stressed up i am really worried for ashley next time cos we are sending her to a chinese school too
Hi, I was just blog-hopping and read this post of yours.
My heart really goes out to your boy and seriously, don’t even start thinking that your child is “a bit slow” as quoted by the teacher.
At 5, a child should really be enjoying his time, with nature, with people, making connections, loving every bit of the weather than being told that he is “a bit slow”.
Not a bit at all!
My child is 5 and I’ve currently chosen to homeschool her so as to keep her away from all these toxic comments.
Every child has his own pace and judging from what your child is writing, he is NOT slow at all.
My child hardly writes but she is as happy as a lark.
I really feel sad reading about your saying he will destroy himself. Such heart-breaking words, isn’t it?
As his mother, you have done well and trust your maternal instinct! If you know he has improved and is doing well, keep your head high and tell it to the teacher! Give yourself a pat on the back! And perhaps show his teacher what a lovely gift your child is capable of making for you!
Hi alternative-mom, thanks for dropping by my blog and the great word of encouragement.
You are so right, I should be patting myself at the back for Ivan had achieved so much already. Thanks!
May 9th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
wah melted.. got love dovey box.Happy Mother’s day to you
May 10th, 2009 at 11:31 am
jo is same, he is the weakest among his peers, i used to be very sad at first but less forcing much improving, it’s just a matter of time, so better relax.
happy mother’s day!
btw, i think most probably i will stay in KK till september. when will you be coming to KK?
May 10th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
I am sure he will catch up, I really don’t understand why the headmistress want to pressure the kids like that. He is only 5. The edu system is really bad here.
Happy Mother’s Day!
May 11th, 2009 at 9:37 am
that’s because our education system sucks and I don’t blame the kindy too cause I hear that primary 1 is a huge jump from k2.
May 11th, 2009 at 11:57 am
dont feel sad, babe. It is not your fault. It is the education system’s fault! Get your mind set at this - as long as he is improving, he is healthy and he develops his EQ well, GREAT liao la!!
The gift is so ……SWEET!!
He is so good at melting your heart eh?! 
May 11th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I really cannot tahan the system here..that’s what the kindy teacher told me about Kieran, slower than others bla bla bla..aiya kindy only la, relax la woi! don’t take it to heart n stress the poor boy up so much. boys just take longer to pick up, mine is still failing BM n Chinese..I don’t sweat too much…just let it flow..
May 12th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
oh my, only 5+, & he’s so stressed up already. May be its the kindie…The homework looks a bit like what my son’s doing for std 1 le, so i guess yr son is not ‘a bit slow’ already:)
May 14th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
hey, thanks for dropping by again. i thought you have stopped blogging….hehehehehe. your little girl has grown so much and she is such a cutie!! That’s a lovely box that ivan has made for you. *sigh* he’s not in primary school yet and already so stressed up
i am really worried for ashley next time cos we are sending her to a chinese school too 
May 15th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
thanks for dropping by my blog!
May 26th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Hi, I was just blog-hopping and read this post of yours.
My heart really goes out to your boy and seriously, don’t even start thinking that your child is “a bit slow” as quoted by the teacher.
At 5, a child should really be enjoying his time, with nature, with people, making connections, loving every bit of the weather than being told that he is “a bit slow”.
Not a bit at all!
My child is 5 and I’ve currently chosen to homeschool her so as to keep her away from all these toxic comments.
Every child has his own pace and judging from what your child is writing, he is NOT slow at all.
My child hardly writes but she is as happy as a lark.
I really feel sad reading about your saying he will destroy himself. Such heart-breaking words, isn’t it?
As his mother, you have done well and trust your maternal instinct! If you know he has improved and is doing well, keep your head high and tell it to the teacher! Give yourself a pat on the back! And perhaps show his teacher what a lovely gift your child is capable of making for you!
Hi alternative-mom, thanks for dropping by my blog and the great word of encouragement.
You are so right, I should be patting myself at the back for Ivan had achieved so much already. Thanks!
June 11th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
don’t worry…every child has their own pace and strength.