Hi everyone, I am Kris. I was born in Singapore and educated there up to high school. Later on, I moved to Toronto and lived and studied there for 5 years. Since then, I have moved around a lot. I love to travel. And since I am homeschooling my adorable twins, I have the time to do that. Right now, I am staying in a peaceful town in Malaysia called Taiping with lovely hills, fresh air and a beautiful lake garden. Malaysia is a fantastic place if you are an avid scuba-diver. The diving costs are dirt cheap and the marine life is spectacular. My wife and I are homeschooling our 9-year-old twins using the Singapore curriculum. We are teaching them English, Math, Science and French. In the evenings, we either swim, play tennis or go for a walk in our lake garden. We are planning to settle down in Canada when our twins are older because I love the Canadian university education. I studied psychology at the University of Toronto and I will never forgot my wonderful days there. Homeschooling is great, isn't it? What I love most about it is the flexibility with our time and the fact that we can become a close-knit family. I see a lot of of families that are not homeschooling falling apart because the members rarely see each other. I hope to get to know all of you better. Kris
Hi Sloan and Brooke. Thanks for welcoming me on board. Homeschool Spot looks like a great place to meet wonderful people and share ideas. I will certainly be coming here often.
Thanks Leaf. I have never been to Alberta but I heard that it has beautiful national parks. I have only been to Ontario and Quebec. We are preparing to come to Canada by learning French. My children love French. In fact that is their favorite class.
You had me at Singapore. I'm using Singapore math and science as well and I'm loving it. I'm in Nova Scotia, not near where you want to be but the same country at least.
Thanks calimom, dawninns and love5c for welcoming me on board. I love the Singapore curriculum too although it is seriously tough. I can get a lot of Singapore textbooks and workbooks from Malaysia because Malaysia is right next to Singapore. And I visit Singapore almost annually to buy books and catch up with my friends. What Singapore books are you using?
I buy from a supplier in the US, Singaporemath.com. Not sure if it's what is currently being used in Singapore or not but I'm using Primary Mathematics and My Pals Are Here science for my son and Discovering Mathematics and Interactive Science for Inquiring Minds for my daughter. Love it all. Even just using the Primary Mathematics has opened up math for me, not to mention the kids. I also love that the books always teach a certian amount of content but then seem to push the kids even further, to apply their brains and make intellectual leaps. Tough definitely but rewarding too when the light bulb suddenly comes on.
Just a note, if you're interested in talking to a lot of other Singapore fans there are quite a few parents over at the Well Trained Mind forum who use the different programs as well.
'My Pals are Here' are the most popular textbooks in Singapore. Most of the schools use them. I am using those textbooks for science, math and English to teach my twins. There are also hundreds of other workbooks available in Singapore. The main reason why I am homeschooling my twins is because I enjoy teaching them. Believe it or not, my kids love to read, study and acquire knowledge. And they never yell, argue, sulk, fight or throw tantrums. I am really blessed to have children with a marvelous attitude. They are almost too good to be true. The only problem I have with them is that they love to eat too! And they are getting plumper and plumper every day, despite the constant exercise. I have to start cracking the whip. :evil:
hi! kris, welcome. beside being blessed with such a cooperative kids, your teaching has alot to do with it. you're just being modest. do you mind to share a trick or two......? i haven't start with hsing journey until this fall so it will be very helpful. thanks!!!!!!!!!! good health and happiness.
Hi Jemsmom, Thanks! My kids were born with what psychologists would call an easy temperament. However, any kid could go bad depending on the environment. Here are some of the things my wife and I did to make sure that our children remain good. One is that we encouraged and praised them whenever they were on their best behavior. Since any kid would love to have the attention of their parents, our children were good most of the time to get our attention. The other thing we did was to set very high standards for their behavior and never excused them when they behaved badly. We set limits and made sure that our twins knew their limits. And we never gave them privileges unless they have earned them. A lot of kids end up becoming spoiled brats because their parents shower them with the latest gadgets without making them earn the right for it. These kids end up becoming ungrateful because they assume that it is the duty of their parents to buy for them everything they want. Our kids know that these have to be earned - even something as simple as watching TV or eating a chocolate bar. And one of the main things we do is to let our kids know every day how much we love them! With hugs and kisses. It makes them secure and strengthens their self-esteem. I learned all this from my degree in psychology. There is so much to parenting, and I look forward to sharing them with you as the days go by.
