Help Your Child Learn Any Language Effectively

Most parents have a different kind of motivation, for their child to master a new language. The motivations might differ, but the goal is common to help a child acquire a new set of skills.

Read on to know what a parent can do in order to achieve this motive.

1. Get Involved

Ask the child about the daily lessons and ensure that communication with the teachers is on a good level. Ensure that the child practices what he has been taught new, in order to retain it.

2. Set a Good Routine

A child who studies by a fixed routine will be much more balanced and disciplined. Give the child time to practice the language and be with him when he tries to speak the new language. The meal time is also a good time to practice a new language.

3. Set a Good Example

Children learn by example. By just looking at his or her notebooks on a daily basis, a parent will be in control of his activities. The more a parent will communicate in the new language the more the child will be encouraged. Be a language model for the child.

4. Empower Him with the Right Tools

Select the right books, DVD’s and other study material for the child. This will boost the learning environment in the home. A great example is of getting a book that the child has already read in his native language, now in the new language.

Learning music make your child smarter!!!

Although, there have been various searches related to music and students psychology earlier to this yet, Northwestern University this time has bring forth an amazing impact of learning music. Researchers have concluded that music education greatly influences the nervous systems of children and it is of great help in developing their reading skills.

For studying this amazing fact, a number of students were hooked to a neural probe. The whole procedure was organized to see how easily children distinguished similar speech sounds. There were two categories; the first group comprised of kids with two years of music education and the second had children with one year of lessons. Doing so, they differentiated the response of their brains to the music education. It was found that one year was not sufficient to have a perfect impact. The findings of this experiment were astounding. First of all, it’s a big mistake to take music education as a quick fix. It needs to be ongoing part of their education for having an intense and lifelong effect on their listening and learning skills.

Besides, researchers have also proved that music education facilitates learning other subjects. Making music includes much more than just voice and fingers playing an instrument. While learning music one need to tap into multiple skill sets, making best use of their ears, eyes and brain too. Another surprising fact is that the children having their music lessons regularly are on an average three IQ points higher than the others. It sharpens their senses, makes them efficient and raises their grades!

Music Practice Time Tips for Beginners

If you dream to earn fame as a musician, you will probably have to give every bit of yourself in it. You will have to spend continuous hours practicing and perfect the art.

Although, professional musicians have dedicated practicing schedule, beginners can face certain difficulties in managing time. Because students have to complete school work and assignments, they will always find it hard to devote time to music practice sessions.

For that reason, we have listed some easy practice time tips for beginners suggested by music tutors in Singapore:

Spare an Hour Everyday For Practice

Try dedicating at least one hour daily from your routine for practice. Make sure that stick to this schedule. You could either devote an hour in the morning or evening.

In case, you skip the routine for a day, try to cover up with extra time in following sessions.

Warm Ups and Finger Exercises

To be a good musician, you need to warm up and exercise your fingers before every practice session. Preparing your fingers beforehand, will provide them flexibility and will make them run with no risks of injuries.

Exercising the fingers is even more important if your children are learning how to play string instruments.

Take Practice Sessions Seriously

Music course tutors in Singapore recommend dedicated practice session every day. You should also try to keep a record of your child’s learning.

Besides, it’s vitally that your kids should have open interactions with their music teachers to learn without stressing themselves.

You can set daily tasks for the kids, and reward them on completion.

Gradually Increase the Learning Time

As a beginner, it’s virtually impossible to spend hours practicing musical notes. Therefore, a beginner must start his practice, let’s say 20 minutes and then gradually add five minutes every week.

Just follow these tips and within no time you will observe significant improvement in the level of music skills. 

Tips To Help Your Child To Choose The Right Instrument

Picking a musical instrument for your child is not a small decision. A lot of factors will determine the decision making process. Money is one of the most important factors as good quality musical instruments don’t come cheap. The other primary factor would be the child himself and his level of interest in learning music.

Read on more to know about the points to keep in mind when selecting a musical instrument for your child –

1. Size of the Instrument

A child can get frustrated if he get tired holding the instrument or if it is a size too big for him. For example a small child will find to difficult to handle a violin or a saxophone at a young age. MusicTutors in Singapore suggest that he should instead start with a cornet or a piano.

2. Does The Personality Of The Child Matter?

Contrary to what parents might think, the personality of the child plays a major role in the selection of the instrument. For example an instrument that has a high pitch like a trumpet, will suit an extrovert child, whereas a flute or a trombone will suit a shy child more. If your child likes to do things independently, pick a French horn or a bassoon for him.

 3. Do Not Be Gender Biased While Selection

Listening to what the child wants to play is very important to make the right selection of the musical instrument. Do not try to force the child to choose an instrument based on a gender image that you might have. In this modern age girls can play drums and boys can play anything they please. The important thing is to be supportive and encouraging at every step of the way.

4. Sound of The Instrument

If your child does not like the sound of an instrument, you are trying to win a losing battle. Only when a child will like the sound of an instrument will he or she try to learn it. Let the sound be the first and foremost criterion for selection of the musical instrument.

Pre-Schools with Strong Focus on Arts Education Are Growing in Popularity Now

Arts education during pre-school years is one fun way to help your child learn and develop perceptual abilities and you probably know that.

Image Credits: education.asiaone

Art is an essential animated element of every kid’s infancy; it sets that perfect foundation for a young mind’s development. Tender minds have a sharper perception to learn new things and they develop an inclination towards arts education with time.

Unlike other preschool subjects, kids show greater proclivity for arts and crafts. However, one thing we parents don’t realize is how arts as basic pre-school leaning is inventively shaping you those young minds with better communication, problem solving and social skills.

Explaining the importance of arts in child’s education during the formative years and its popularly in preschools, we have a perfect illustration of preschool story about Patrina Lew and her 4 year old daughter Heather.

Even before Heather made it to this beautiful world, her mother Patrina Lew was busy planning a perfect pre-school life for her. And just about three months after Heather’s birth, Mrs. Lew had already registered her daughter’s name at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Kindergarten.

As an expecting mother, Mrs. Lew always wanted her daughter to be in a preschool that doesn’t completely focus on an “academic” environment. So, she chose Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Kindergarten after receiving quite a few suggestions from her friends.      

Now after four years of preschool learning, Heather still loves practicing arts and has also developed incredible learning skills.

Like Mrs. Lew, there are several parent groups in Singapore who emphasize on arts as a basic preschool subject. Fortunately, preschools like Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Kindergarten and Creative O Preschoolers Bay have emerged as perfect solutions for parents seeking to impart arts education to their little ones. 

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Kindergarten has always been a preferred option among the parents and some even register the name almost three years in advance. But, the pre-school only registers kids between the ages of 3 to 6. It has a scheduled daily art program and includes topics like dance, music, art and drama.

When The Creative O Preschoolers Bay started in 1998, they just had a handful of pupils but now they have more than 30 students on its waiting list.

Even principals of both the institutes explained how kids from their preschools have shown superior aptitude to learn new things at the school level. Besides, parents have responded with encouraging feedback's and are pleased with their children’s academic records.               

Tip on How Children Can Improve Reading Skills with Music

Every child is born with a special talent and it’s you the parents who have to recognize the spark and transform it into a flare.

But, more importantly, all parents must help their kids to maintain focus on the right things. Children will not always learn if you keep correcting them or forcing them, there are plenty of fun ways of helping them to improve their power of concentration.

Teaching them music from an early age can help them to develop reading skills. Music helps the young minds to comprehend their experiences, thoughts and feelings more meaningfully and give their mind a bend towards literature.

For that reason here we have tips on how children can improve reading skills with music. Read on.        

Familiarizing Kids with New Words through Music

Make music a part of your kid’s reading routine and you will notice a curiosity in his responses. Let him or her join music classes in Singapore if you don’t know how to teach them with music.

Try reading lyrics together with your children and then follow it up with the playing of music. This approach can be practiced jointly with music and reading.

Children enjoy learning with music; it does not burden their brain unlike other methodologies.

Helping Kids Read a Foreign Language in a Better Way

Reading plain text may at times sound boring activity to a kid, especially if it is learning a foreign language. However, if this learning is accompanied by music, it will help the young mind to mug up new words in a fun way.

If your child faces difficulty in reading a foreign language, music can be the perfect tutor for him.

Try introducing him with songs and lyrics in foreign language. This way, the kid will enjoy learning new language and easily memorize word, which he found difficult to master otherwise. It also helps improve their pronunciation of words and lets them learn the colloquial use of foreign languages.
 

Read Poems and Musicals

If you've visited a pre-school, you’ll know most of them teach children the use of language by singing to them poems and songs.

Reciting and performing poems together with music helps develop better reading skills and vocabulary.

With this practice, kids become familiar with rhythmic words and can differentiate with already familiar terms.  

Introduce Word Structure and Meanings

When you introduce a kid with new songs and lyrics, they will learn how to structure words more systematically.  

Explain the meaning and usage of new terms to them. This will enhance the reading and writing skills of your children.

During this practice, young readers will stay engaged with new words and terms that will be completely unfamiliar to him.

Also, listening to music arouses a curiosity in children to be able to write down their thoughts as well they do through musical lyrics, thus encouraging them to find out new words and create their own meaningful content. 

Top 5 Ways to Enhance Learning

Kids are not capable of deciphering ways to enhance learning and get good grades all by themselves. They always look up to their teachers and parents for guidance. 

Image Credits: associationsnow

If you’re also worried about the academic efficiency of your kids, here’s a list of ways that will help them gain better grip on learning concepts and improve concentration. Take a look:

1.    Implement Mnemonic Strategies

Mnemonic strategies are systematic procedures used for enhancing memory. Mnemonic is nothing, but a way of converting difficult and unfamiliar concepts into simpler or manageable versions.

To develop effective mnemonic strategies, tutors offering private tuition's in Singapore need to find innovative ways to relate new information to the information students already have locked in their memory. This will help in establishing firm connection, which the brain will retain for a lifetime.

2.    Designing Interesting Games  For Classroom Use

To provide enhanced learning experience to students, teachers can adapt a variety of interesting games. Such games can be inspired from popular brain tickling television shows such as Family Feud, Jeopardy, etc.

For instance, social studies teacher can use the game of Jeopardy by designing questions under various categories such as Culture, Current Events, Rights & Responsibilities and Geography. They may increase the level of difficulty with each category and offer lucrative awards for every correct answer to each student.   

3.    Encourage Creativity and Curiosity

Curiosity is a very crucial aspect of overall learning process. Children with high curiosity levels are often encouraged to learn from the questions that gain their attention and arouse an interest. Such students tend to be self-motivated and perform exceptionally well in school.

Creativity is closely related to curiosity and should be nurtured well. To accomplish this, private tuitions in Singapore should provide free time to students to help them learn and study subjects that interest them. 

4.    Integrate Technology

We are living in a tech-centric world, where most kids are already accustomed with the use of computers and numerous other gadgets. They are the early adopters, who are prepared in advance to use technology in schools as a part of their curriculum.

Purchasing a tablet PC or laptop for your child for educational purposes and fostering them to become proficient in its use can positively affect their current and future grades. 

5.    Keep Learning New Things

One sure shot way to become a more efficient learner is to simply keep learning new things. According to a research, children who learn how to juggle were seen with higher levels of grey matter in the occipital lobes. This part of the brain is associated with visual memory. However, when the kids stopped practicing newly acquired skills, their grey matter gradually vanished.

Suppose the kids are learning a new language at school, it becomes very important for parents and teachers to ensure the child starts to frequently use the language. If not practiced regularly, the child will soon lose grip on the language.

This concept is based on a simple yet effective “use it or lose it” formula. 

Begin Teaching Maths and Science Early

At a recent event, the Education Minister of Singapore, Mr. Heng Swee Keat, highlighted the importance of transforming the overall education system to keep up with the changing economy. Mr. Heng particularly emphasized on the need to help students build problem solving and knowledge application skills.

Recently, the Education Minister of Singapore, Mr. Heng Swee Keat, highlighted the need of providing strong foundation in numeracy and literacy to children by the schools. Mr. Heng also laid stress on providing the students a good ground in STEM, i.e. Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. He said one of the many ways to promote affinity for the subjects is to begin early and incorporate math and science into the curriculum of the early childhood.

Need For Intellectual Learning

According to the NSB (National Science Board) USA, exposing children to scientific concepts at a young age, makes them comfortable with those idea at an older age.

Also, adapting to the concepts of mathematics is a great predictor of not only developing a good aptitude for the subject later in school life, but also for enhancing the reading abilities of children. Based on this concept, NSB has whole-heartily  encouraged the introduction of STEM into pre-school education.

Focus on Teachers

The importance of good teaching skills can certainly not be overemphasized. We need to remember that children are not natural scientists. Despite their tendency of exploring the world they need appropriate guidance to mold their activities into what we might consider as doing science. This is where teachers play an important role as they help in providing them that direction.

However, it seems that the biggest block encumbering the implementation of STEM in early childhood classrooms is the reticence displayed by many teachers. Studies of other countries reveal that teachers lack the required knowledge, understanding and awareness of engineering and technology. This develops a fear to implement these principles in their classrooms.

For pre-schools, teachers can actually take cues from the many questions asked by the students and then guide their learning in ways that develop scientific thinking for successful implementation of STEM. 

Things You Should Look At Before Employing a Tutor

Hiring a tutor for your child isn’t as easy as signing up with a private tuition agency in Singapore and scanning through multiple profiles within minutes. We’ve compiled a list of pointers you should pay attention to when employing a private tutor in Singapore:

• The tutor should be well aware of the academic system, entrance exams, competitions and other such qualifying exams in your area. If the tutor, for example, has little information on the challenges a student faces at the time of getting into a college, he cannot perhaps teach students so well for preparatory exams.
  
•  Ask about a tutor’s pass percentage. Do not hesitate to inquire about the track record of a tutor. The best way to learn that is to look at the performance of students taught by him in the past.
  
• Not all tutors in Singapore have an impressive academic background. They may be excellent tutors and still have just one bachelor’s degree under their belt. But, it is still important to ask for teaching and academic certifications, especially if mentioned in a tutor’s profile available online or in the directory of a privatetuition agency in Singapore.
  
•  The tuition should be tailored according to the strengths and weaknesses of a student and therefore, it is important to know well in advance about the teaching style and methodologies of a tutor.
  
• Ask a tutor about his teaching schedule and possibilities of changing it in future, should the need arise.
  
• The tutor should have a clear idea of how you as parents are involved in the process. He should suggest a weekly or bi-weekly review meeting, for example.
  
• A good tutor would want to learn about the student before making any commitments. 

Top 10 Ways to Motivate a Music Student

The important thing to remember is that no two children are the same. One might respond to discipline and other might revolt to it. It is important to be really patient when dealing with a child who needs a little encouragement and motivation. He might do something he thinks is impossible but not without a daily dose of motivation and regular music lessons.

If music starts looking like an additional subject that needs thorough studying, the child will start neglecting it whether he has been enrolled into a part time Singapore music school or not. It is important to stress on consistent and quality practice, rather than excelling in it.

Take a look at tips that can help you motivate a child to learn music happily.

1. Practice routine

Set a fixed schedule for practice every day. It should be ideally set before any fun activities that the child likes to do. Some children like to practice in the mornings and others in the evening. Let him choose the right time for himself. You may also consider the timing of music lessons in Singapore.

2. Be real

Do not expect your child to become a music maestro in a few months. Music courses available in Singapore are no doubt great but all children do not like music and hence, do not excel at it.  Set a real target for him or let the teacher supervising a music course decide that for him. Even when it comes to practice do not expect him to practice more than 30 minutes in a day. As and when he gets older, the time can be increased. Start looking for Singapore music schools for senior students at least a year in advance.

3. Learn yourself

When dealing with young children, try and understand their psychology. They might be tired or just not in the mood to practice on certain days. Be considerate and offer to take music lessons with them. You will be able to connect to the child more this way. There are many music courses in Singapore, catering to parents and kids both.

4. Be his audience

Children love getting attention and performing in front of friends and family. Be their first listeners’ and cheer them on to do well. Play games that involve listening and playing music.

5. Provide interesting music

Have a clear idea of the child’s interest in music and provide him with his kind of music. Choose the best of Singapore music schools to give the right push. 

Parenting – Helping Your Kids Learn Faster

A parent feels most helpless when he sees his child struggling at studies. With a little patience and the right approach a feasible solution can be found to this commonly found problem. 

Encouraging your child to read regularly is one of the simplest ways to improve his learning capacity. Reading will over a period of time increase his vocabulary, improve his control over the language and also make him more confident. Parents can play a vital role in setting up a sound learning system for their children. However, they need to remember that losing patience or getting irritated will only confuse the child and not help him in any way.

Let’s take a look at tips parents can follow to help their children learn faster.

1. Listening and Writing skills

The child stands to benefit by listening to audio and video cassettes borrowed from a library or from the school. The child can be supported to improve his speaking skills by giving him topics from real life that he is comfortable talking on. Writing skills take a long time to develop and the easiest way is to ask your child to maintain a daily journal. They can be asked to write short stories on their favorite topics.

2. Grammar and Vocabulary

These skills will naturally improve when reading, writing and listening will fall into place. In the market today, there are many practice books available that the child can attempt to do. Spending even an hour a week on them are good enough.

3. Make it simple don’t be too pushy

All the tips given above will help in the overall growth of the child and in the long term improve his performance at school too. Always try to communicate with the child in the language he is most comfortable. Be ready to clarify any doubts he has about his reading material. Try and simplify it for him for better understanding.

4. Don’t be too pushy

The most important advise on this matter is to not to push your child for extra practice or extra assignments if he is not willing. Respect his decision and cut him that slack. H emight be working hard already and may want to do something more interesting in his spare time. Relaxation of his mind is very essential.

’Play’ an Important Aspect of Early Childhood: Heng Swee Keat

Play is a very important aspect of early childhood development. It is helpful is stimulating curiosity and nurturing creativity, says Heng Swee Keat, the Education Minister of Singapore.  

Recently, the Education Minister of Singapore was spotted at “Back to Play! — A Tampines Learning Initiative”, which is a family festival. The festival is mainly targeted at parents to encourage them to provide children with more amorphous playtime. This will allow children to engage in creative activities in the absence of adult guidance.

Importance of Play

Addressing reporters Heng Swee Keat stated that playtime is of extreme importance for children and should never be regarded as wastage of time. Play actually helps in bringing out the core values required for developing self-confidence along with enhancing social skills of children. Play brings out curiosity within children to explore the world around them, which further helps in nurturing their creativity.

He also stated that all their MOE kindergartens and lower primary education systems are based on this very approach.

Talking about the budget, he further added that the lower and middle income families can now expect a fairly substantial increase in bursaries for their children.

The budget of 2014 has opened up significant opportunities for tutor jobs in Singapore, as more parents will now be able to afford home tutors in Singapore with the money they save on the education, the provisions of which have already been made clear in the latest budget. 

Singapore Excluding Astronomy in Education Is “Narrow Minded”: Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson

Renowned astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson in a recent conference raised an important question - if everyone is focusing on Earth, who is practically looking up in the sky? If you don’t get the question, here’s what it meant.

Recently Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson attended a press conference at the ArtScience Museum, where he was present to promote the launch of a television mini-series “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey”. This series is going to be the sequel of the very iconic first series of Cosmos helmed by the late astrophysicist Carl Sagan about three decades ago.

Dr Tyson: The New Host

Dr Tyson, who will be hosting the new series, responded to many queries asked by the members of the Singapore media during the press conference. He spoke about his experiences in school and explained how the US public schools’ previously focused on the importance of Earth science, which limited the scope of astronomy.

He also stated the importance of the Earth, but held that thinking about the Earth without considering other planets will not do. He further added that we all are deprived of a cosmic perspective that can truly shape our lives.

What’s The Biggest Mistake?

According to Dr. Tyson, it is a big mistake not to study the universe as a whole. What if we somehow go extinct because of some unknown activity or attack from the universe? He said he really wants somebody to take this point up in the near future.

Dr. Tyson also stated that he finds our educational policies not futuristic and narrow minded.

The Biggest Concern

The press conference was attended by Dr. Tyson along with the executive producer of Cosmos and Sagan’s wife, Ann Druyan. They both answered a series of questions raised by the media. The questions asked revolved around the sequel of Cosmos, and many others on several astronomy phenomenons.

During the conference, a lot of concern was devoted to asteroid Apophis, which is said to be on a collision course to actually hit the Earth in 2029. However, according to calculations, the respective asteroid will only dip to a level below some of the Earth’s communication satellites. 

The astrophysicist therefore hopes that such close shaves will provide imperative lessons for many professionals and amateurs ignorant about the study of space. 

IEEA Awards Initiated for Education Sector Stars

There’s no denying to the fact that the private players have played a great role in the education sector and in some cases, they have clearly done better than the state and national governments in India & Singapore.

Tuition centers in Singapore, for example, have helped revolutionize the education delivery mechanism in the entire country. New technologies have not only simplified the process of imparting knowledge and skills but the cost too has come down significantly.

Now, a group of professionals having both Singapore and India as common strings have come forward to initiate awards that recognize the contribution of private players to the education sector and to foster cooperation between the two countries.

Newly initiated awards titled IEEA (The Innovation & Excellency in Education) would be given out in March this year through BREG (Business Excellence & Research Group).

Private players who’re a part of the education eco-system and others who’ve been imparting education related services would be considered for these awards.

IEEA awards for this year are majorly dedicated to India because the education system in India right now holds the key to country’s performance in all other sectors.

How well these awards are received by education institutions and service providers in India & Singapore remains to be seen but such recognitions will for sure elevate the brand profiles of deserving education sector players including tuition centers in Singapore and India, innovators, and education service providers.