THE DAILY TEN

Nope.
I'm not referring to that entertainment programme on E Channel. (My favourite though! Hee!)

In a way , this one is also E Channel . In this case the 'E' stands for Education.

Now, Maths is a subject some may love and others ...hate.
Unfortunately most of the pupils and tutees I have taught before and still teaching do not really fancy Mathematics.
The tricky thing with Mathematics is even though you have grasped the basic Maths concepts, you cannot just sit down and do nothing about it.

You have to be exposed to as many Maths sums as possible.
The more you practice, the better you will be at Mathematics.

It is high time I reach out to more low ability children out there, other than my Bottoms Uppers.

Parents and Educators, do you agree that IT IS SO FREAKING DIFFICULT TO GET FOUNDATION MATHS (or even English/Science, for that matter) ASSESSMENT BOOKS!


I personally feel that the reason you don't find piles and piles of FOUNDATION assessment books is probably the publishing companies feel that it will not be commercially viable for them.

My readers, if you have friends...cousins...whoever...whose kids are taking PSLE this year, I beg you: Please share this entry with them.

What I am about to reveal is something that has been tried and tested with my former upper Primary pupils and The Bottoms Up Club tutees.

The only difference is I'm starting earlier this time.
I used to only 'unveil' THE DAILY TEN to my kids in June.

However this time, after discussing with my team members from The Bottoms Up Club, we have decided make The Daily TEN available to as many Primary 6 low ability pupils as possible!

WHAT IS THE DAILY TEN ABOUT, I HEAR YOU ASK?

THE DAILY TEN consists of 10 questions which review everything learned up to Primary 6. (Eg: Whole Numbers / Fractions/ Decimals/ Percentage/ Angles…)

With THE DAILY TEN, your son/daughter/cousin/niece/nephew/sister/brother/tutee will have to glue their butts to the chair and tackle the 10 questions independently every single day.

Parent: WHAT? But my child is already so occupied! I already put him to tuition. Every day he is having remedial lessons. Can he cope with THE DAILY TEN?

Don’t worry Sir/Ma’am. The 10 questions in each sheet of THE DAILY TEN are manageable. Your child can do this while having his Nasi Lemak breakfast… Your child can do THE DAILY TEN before he can get to play the computer or block catching with his friends…. Your child can do THE DAILY TEN in the car if he is stuck in a traffic jam on the way to JB….

Parent: Must I mark the paper? I very busy one you know. Somemore, my Maths is half past six.

Relax! An answer key will be provided. For questions that are deemed a little tough, a step by step method will be included in the answer key.

Parent: Any problem sums? My son ah very weak in problem sums one leh.

Yes of course. Must be ‘holistic’. Questions 1-8 short and sweet kind of questions. (MCQ/Short answer kind) Questions 9 & 10 will be problem sums which will require a little bit more of thinking. With regards to problem sums, I always tells the kids: “You need to think harder…work harder to earn your 4 / 5 marks, children.”

So, with THE DAILY TEN, our children will know that they are required to do a worksheet a day.

Now, imagine....

Today is 1st of May.

Your child will take the worksheet dated 1 May (That's 152 days to PSLE by the way! Yes, I included 'COUNTDOWN TO PSLE' thingy on every sheet of paper.)

He/She will take MAXIMUM 30 minutes to complete.

Then together, you look through and discuss the answers. Do refer to the answer key provided.

All done? Now, give each other a HIGH 5 and a BIG TIGHT HUG.

The next day, (and the next and the next and the next etc) repeat the steps above. :)

Cultivating a good habit of practising Maths every day? CHECKED!

Sense of responsibility? CHECKED!

Parent and Child Bonding? CHECKED!

With this routine, we are encouraging children to be disciplined and independent learners. PSLE is just 5 months away.

With our beloved children doing the May, June, July, August, September issues of THE DAILY TEN consistently,

they are tackling 10 questions a day.

That amounts to 300 questions a month.

By the time, they sit for PSLE, they would have had the experience of tackling ONE THOUSAND AND FIVE HUNDRED questions! Fuuuuh!

They say....'An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

In this case....

"10 QUESTIONS A DAY KEEP THE 'U' GRADE AT BAY!"

So parents/educators/aunties/uncles/brothers/sisters/ of Primary Sixers who are taking Foundation Mathematics and struggling in Standard Mathematics, THE DAILY TEN is highly recommended for them!

Our MAY issue of The Daily 10 is now available at my blogstand.

We will be mailing out our May Issue from 26th April onwards!

Each issue of THE DAILY TEN is just $9.90!

If you would like to subscribe to the MAY issue of The Daily TEN, please email me at nuraesman@gmail.com

PS: In July and September, our team from The Bottoms Up Club will be emailing our subscribers a MOCK PSLE MATHS EXAM.

Peeps, together, let's help eradicate the number of 'U' graders!

And I'd like to end with this quote found inside Professor Amy Chua's book I read recently titled 'Battle Hymn Of the Tiger Mother' :
"Every day that you don't practice is a day that you're getting worse.

Kiddos, it's "PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT" TIME! Remember...Maths is a subject which requires consistent practice and attention. And THE DAILY TEN will assist you in building up your stamina.

I'm confident that THE DAILY TEN will help you ace your Mathematics...You (and your parents) will smile when you receive your PSLE results...just like my previous pupils and tutees!