How to help your child learn at home

Guest Post by Geoff Taylor, Head of Young Learners at British Council Malaysia

During the pandemic we have juggled work, family commitments and the stress and strain of living under the MCO. Many of us have also been given a new job: teaching our children.

Many parents I speak to tell me that they find themselves overwhelmed by this. They find themselves becoming irritable with their child and feeling guilty. They worry that their child may fall behind with their schoolwork.

However, there are tremendous benefits to a parent teaching a child that cannot be replicated in a classroom. With a few basic strategies in place we can ensure our children profit from our help and relieve some of the pressures we put on ourselves.

Routine

Children, particularly younger children, need a routine. Not going to school and seeing their friends is an enormous disruption to their lives and can be upsetting and stressful. Help your child by putting in a routine for home study. At the same time every day your child will study, and you will be available to help when needed. While none of us have time to replicate a regular school day, we do not need to. As we are teaching the kids one to one, rather than in classes, they can get more done in less time.

Patience

What takes us a few minutes may take a child half an hour. We need to be patient and have realistic expectations. Be prepared for everything to take longer than you anticipate. If we start to get frustrated, we need to take a breath and control our emotions. A positive attitude is contagious, and we want our children to enjoy learning. So, take a breath, count to ten, smile and try again.

Breaks

We need to remember that children are still growing and physically developing. Because of this it is actually painful for them to sit still for a long time. If they must sit for a long time they will start to fidget and become distracted. We need to have regular breaks where the child can move around. In classes at the British Council teachers will build this into the lessons – a ‘treasure hunt’ for children to find answers that are ‘hidden’ in the classroom for example. Google ‘brain break’ activities and check out some of the fun ‘action songs for kids’ on YouTube to ensure your child is quickly refreshed and ready to continue to learn.

A good learning environment

Having a suitable environment for learning is vital. The place where your child studies should comfortable, ideally with a desk and a chair, be well lit and well ventilated. It should be free from distractions – there are so many things in our homes that are more fun for a child than studying! Ensure laptops, iPads, toys etc. are not visible. Where possible siblings should study separately, again to avoid distractions. While we need to be close at hand to provide help where needed, we should avoid ‘looming’ so our children can focus. Often, we are the biggest distraction of all!

At the British Council we offer a range of courses for children. We have both online courses and courses in our teaching centres. If you are struggling to help your child learn at home, perhaps we can help share the load. Find out more here 

 

Controlling Nearsightedness

In this digital age, many of us are heavy users of digital devices in our daily life particularly when attending online classes or working from home, where we tend to use our PC or laptop for longer hours. With this current change of habit, it is not surprising there is a surge in the number of people suffering from myopic (nearsighted) condition or with frequent increase of eye power. 

Nearsightedness is common and can be fixed with the help of glasses or contact lenses, but the increase of myopia exposes one to higher risks of developing other eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration.

Don’t worry! Here’s a solution for you to control myopia or commonly known as nearsightedness, which is known as Orthokeratology lenses. And one can go glasses or contact lens free during the day.

What is Orthokeratology?

Orthokeratology, also known as Ortho-K, is a non-surgical procedure of reshaping the cornea gently while you sleep, with the help of specially designed therapeutic gas permeable contact lenses. This type of contact lenses can correct myopia (nearsightedness) and astigmatism. It may even help to correct hyperopia (longsightedness) or presbyopia (loss of ability to focus on near objects).

Ortho-K can be defined as the temporary reduction, modification or elimination of refractive errors through the application of specially designed contact lenses.

How OCUVIQ® Ortho-K contact lens works?

Ortho-K is prescribed for 2 purposes:

1. Slow down myopia progression

2. Vision correction – user will not need glasses or daytime contact lenses if refractive errors is fully corrected.

Who can benefit from OCUVIQ® Ortho-K?

With the help of OCUVIQ® Ortho-K lenses, one is not only able to control the increase of eye power and obtain better vision, but also able to experience freedom from glasses or contact lenses during their daytime activities. OCUVIQ® Ortho-K lens would be a convenient and beneficial option especially among children and those with an active lifestyle requiring them to engage in many physical activities.

OCUVIQ® Ortho-K lenses are suitable for both adults and children. However, one will need to consult a professional eye care practitioner for the fitting and suitability of wearing Ortho-K lens.

Click the banner below to redeem complimentary professional eye care practitioner Eye Screening and product e-Voucher worth RM220.

Scan QR code or click here for Participating Optical Outlet List available for redemption

 

What is the fitting process for Ortho-K lens?

A full Ortho-K assessment is required for the fitting of Ortho-K lens. The eye care practitioner will perform an eye examination, which includes checking of refractive errors, eye health evaluation and measuring the curvature of cornea. The assessment is to ensure these custom made lenses are perfectly fitted for each individual.

In-clinic training on how to insert, remove and take care of Ortho-K contact lenses will be provided by the eye care professional upon lens fitting. Parents and child must comply with a few periodic follow up scheduled by your eye care professional to ensure that the lenses are performing well.

There are a variety of options to help control or slow down the progression of myopia. Consult an eye care professional now to get advice on the most suitable treatment for your child.

This is a sponsored post by Oculus (M) Sdn Bhd

The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Back to School 2021 Value Buys

Black shoes or white shoes for school? Either way, it's Back to School season soon and discussions on starting school and to-buy lists are trending hot topics on primary school parents groups on FB. 

That said, we are happy to bring our readers and members some Back to School Shopping Tips from Parkson. Parkson's nationwide Back to School promotion is now on from 8 Dec 2020 to 24 Jan 2021.

Back to School Shopping List 

Below are some must have items for back to school. This list is useful for parents with kids just starting school. These are the basic essentials kids need for school.

• School Uniforms
• School shoes and socks
• School bags
• Stationery
• Water tumbler and food container

How to get the most out of your back to school shopping

While we need to shop, it is a good idea to shop smartly

• Look out for super value buys, bargains and discounts. Parkson has great deals starting from RM5! 

• Keep an eye out for exclusive deals. You will find exclusive deals available only at Parkson for backpacks or trolley bags from Icon, Poly Pac, Handry and more available only at Parksons!

• Save more with bundle sets for example, Parkson's bundle set include a combination of school bag, tumbler and pencil case. Not only do you save, you'll also get cute looking matching items.

• Make use of your member shopping cards (use your Parkson or BonusLink cards to get 10% off Parkson's in-house school uniform brand Parkson School Shop).
  

Back to school gift ideas

This list is useful for grandparents, aunts, uncles looking for gift ideas

• Get cute stationery etc in the child's favourite cartoon characters (Check out the character merchandise for boys and girls. They make great gifts! Girls will love the Minnie, My Little Pony, Barbie, Frozen and other sets while boys may delight in Transformers, Ejen Ali or Spiderman bags, stationery or food and drinks containers. )
• Buy items that come in a set or bundle. They are good as starter sets and look great as gifts

Click here to view Special Selections from Back to School 2021 from Parkson!

Remember to follow Parkson page for more latest promotion:

Parkson Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parkson
Parkson Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parksonmalaysia/

Happy Shopping!

2021 Malaysia School Calendar

 

 

This 2021 Malaysia School Calendar is on a monthly basis and for schools in Kumpulan B ie schools in Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Perak, Putrajaya, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor,

Kumpulan A schools ie schools in Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Johor observe Friday and Saturday as public holidays. Therefore the dates may vary by one or two days due to the different weekend dates.

Only National public holidays are included in this calendar. Below is a sample of some of the pages. This calendar is edited using Microsoft Powerpoint Calendar Template.

Our FB group members may head on over to the following thread to get the password to download the calendar.

Malaysia Primary School Parents on Facebook Group Password Thread
Malaysia Secondary School Parents on Facebook Group Password Thread

School Holidays and Festive School Holidays are based on the following and are subject to changes by the Ministry of Education. The dates may be downloaded from here: KPM - Takwim Sekolah 2021.