Kumon: Student and Parent Requirements

A Peaceful, Conflict-Free Day

Had a good day with Beth yesterday.

The funny thing is, things didn't exactly go as intended. She had committed to finishing her school homework, two practice sessions on the keyboard of 30 min each, bath and Chinese homework.

She managed her school homework fairly easily, except for parts of the math homework. I thought it was the perfect time to introduce her to algebra and the concept of X. Was so pleased that she showed such enthusiasm for learning something new and managed to grasp the concept right away.

Getting her to practise the keyboard was much harder.

She dawdled till after dinner before getting to it, but when she did, she managed to do so with a good attitude and to keep her temper in check, which made it easier for me too. After all, it takes two to have conflict!

She pleaded exhaustion midway through her scales so I wisely (with God-given wisdom and self-restraint) decided to let her defer the practice of the remaining scales to today.

Hopefully, she keeps up her good attitude and we'll be right on exam day (now 10 days away).

Getting Our Learning Act Together

Beth has just been offered a 30-minute slot with her current Yamaha keyboard teacher to start on the AMEB pathway. We had worked out that if she is to attain at least a Grade 5 before Year 6 (the year scholarship applications are submitted), she must start the AMEB now.

We're very excited because the arrangement is perfect: it's straight after her Sat group lesson so we don't have to make a separate trip on a weekday for lessons.

Yesterday was her first lesson with the Yamaha Junior Extension Course. It's so different from what the routine has been like for the past two years. For one, the emphasis is on self-learning, so parents are no longer required to sit next to their children during the lesson. The kids are expected to follow instructions independently; the parents sit at the back of the class and observe. What a relief.

The material is also significantly different. This year's focus is on Solfege singing and reading and Ensemble playing, with a lot more music theory homework (no more childish coloring in!).

Am having to work with Beth to overcome her biggest weakness: expecting Mummy to read the score for her when she should be attempting to sightread!

Yesterday was also the first Chinese class at the new venue: Point Cook Community Learning Centre. The location is splendid for parents who want to go shopping for groceries across the road: Coles, ALDI and Glory Asian Groceries are all within walking distance. And for display home tragics like me, all the new estates like Waterhaven, Innisfail, Alamanda, Featherbrook and Karinya are within 5 minutes' drive.

We spent an hour grocery shopping and the rest of the time on Old Geelong Road looking for a bunk bed for the girls. Have finally found one that both CA and I like, and that we think Beth will love. The colour scheme is white and lilac, perfect for her newly painted bedroom. At $867 for the frame and $219 per mattress, it's going to blow a hole in our budget, but this is just one of those things you can't avoid. If having her very own bunk bed encourages Beth to sleep in her room, I'll consider it more than worthwhile. I'm getting tired of being squashed between two bodies every night, especially when Jordanne keeps kicking me in the face or stomach.

How To Spell HOMEWORK: F-U-N

Beth came home with a page of links from her teacher.

As part of her extension literacy and numeracy homework, the lucky girl gets to go online and do quizzes and play games, under the guise of learning grammar, spelling, reading and math.

She gets homework on Mondays and has until Friday to hand it in.

Life's good!