D for ______

The letter 'D' for Daily 10.
The letter 'D' for Discipline.
The letter 'D' for Diligent.
The letter 'D' for drilling when it comes to Mathematics.

I used to assign homework to my pupils every single day back then.

'Homework' here need not be the boring kind though.
I assigned them homework on a daily basis because I needed the kids to be responsible and carry out their tasks as instructed.

I shall give you a few examples. I am so glad I didn't throw the hard copies. As I looked through my stuff, I realised that I miss classroom teaching very much though. :(
Sad feelings aside, let me continue.

Let's say...
English lesson:
14/2. (Valentine's Day)
Note: Educators who are reading this, you might want to carry out this activity on Valentine's Day! My kids (and their parents!) loved it!

What I did was I wrote a love note to every pupil of mine.
Here is an example:

Dearest Ryan,

You are a very confident and responsible boy.
Remember the time I asked you to request for the forms at the General Office?
You did it so willingly and you did not even complain although it was your recess time.
It really warms my heart to see such a wonderful student like you.
All you need now is focus in your studies and trust me, you are on your way to success.
Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love,
Mdm Nura

And their task was to reply to me AND write a love note to a family member.So fun to 'mark' this activity can?!

Now, here is an example of homework related to Science!

If you notice, I always make sure that there must be parental involvement during these fun activities.

With the lower ability pupils, one of the factors which cause them to under perform is lack of parental guidance.

So when I took over these 'last classes', I tried my very best to get their parents/guardians and even grandparents involved.

And I am very pleased to say that the constant communication with these adults through letters influenced them to participate and most importantly, bond, with their beloved children.

With Maths, the fun activities were held during school hours and also, this is a subject that really requires constant and everyday practice.
When PSLE was drawing near, I came up with the idea of The Daily 10.
The children were required to practice 10 questions every day. Their parents were their 'supervisors' and markers.

The very next day, we'd go through the questions one by one. Some of these children would even volunteer to demonstrate how to solve the question in front of the whole class. (Cher! My mudder teach me another method. Very easy one!)

Such fun times.
Even though I am no longer teaching in a school, I try as much as I can to include fun stuff during tuition.

My tutees are really getting the hang of doing The Daily 10.

At first they sighed. Those who did not complete their Daily 10 would receive lashing from me and thus required to stay back.

I also listened to their feedback. Most of them complained that 'sometimes too much leh Mdm Nura. Somemore, our teachers also give homework.' I heard their sorrows and took away the weekends, much to their delight!

Instead of doing The Daily 10 for 7 days a week, the children now are maths-ing from Mondays to Fridays.

I expect my tutees to have neat handwriting. Why? Because their handwriting will represent them during their PSLE written examinations. Hence, I would like to share with you one of my tutees' The Daily 10 exercises. Thank you Heong Luck for allowing me to share with my awesome readers!

If his mother is busy, his elder brother will refer to the answer key provided and mark for him. Heong Luck then must settle the incorrect answers and do corrections. Should he (or any other tutee) is unable to get the correct answer, that's when we will discuss during tuition.

If your child is having trouble in Maths, please don't belittle them or worse, just buat bodoh.

Think Daily 10.

1) Order The Daily 10

2) Open your mailbox

3) Give to child

4) If it's the 5th july, take out the worksheet dated 5th July

5) Sit beside your child and look at him/her adoringly (LOL!) as they try to solve the 10 questions

6) Mark

7) Go through the wrong answers

8) Child does corrections

9) You mark the corrections

10) Give each other a big tight hug and a Hi-5

The next day, repeat steps 1 to 10.

I do have some parents complaining about their children:'Haiya....I don't think my child is disciplined enough to do The Daily 10 on an every day basis. She is hooked on computer games, the Internet and mobile phones..... He loves skateboarding and soccer too much...'

I damn pantang when I hear such stuff.

One: Adults, you need to exert more control and have that healthy balance of sensitivity and strictness.

Two: You cannot just tell your kid to do. You need to lead by example and sit down with him/her. If you want your child to be dedicated to The Daily 10, then you need to show you are interested.

Three: A Daily 10 session will only take about 15-30 minutes. Short and sweet. Be committed leh.

Even if this entry is not applicable to you because your child is not in Primary 6, I hope you are motivated to spend some quality time with your child after work!

If you are a parent of a P Sixer or know anyone/family members whose children are taking the PSLE, do let them know of The Daily 10.

Parents, today is 1st July.

91 days left to PSLE.

There's still time.

For the JULY issue of The Daily 10, my inbox: nuraesman@gmail.com is always open. :)

PS: Do indicate whether your child is taking STANDARD or FOUNDATION Maths because there are 2 versions of The Daily 10.

Cheers and I wish ya all a very happy weekend.