Parenting Times

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Ergonomically Correct School Bags For Kids

What Is Ergonomics And Why Kids School Bags Should Be Ergonomically Correct

Ergonomics is the science of refining the design of a product for optimal human use. Characteristics such as the user's weight and proportions are considered. These days ergonomics design for school bags are essential because children carry heavy bags daily for years. If heavy school bags are not properly designed or adjusted, children using them may suffer from bodily fatigue, stress and even injury.

Besides textbooks and several exercise books for each subject, children are required to carry many workbooks to school as well. In addition, they have their lunch boxes, water tumblers, art materials, gym outfits and more to fit into their school bags. That is why more and more parents are now opting for ergonomically correct school bags for kids.

Where To Buy Ergonomically Designed Bags For Kids In Malaysia

One of the places to buy ergonomically correct bags or spine protection school bags is Dr. Kong. Dr. Kong Malaysia is well known for their healthy shoes and foot care products. Established since 1999, they are dedicated in developing functional foot and spine health products including their pressure free chirobag. This spine protection bag is designed to reduce the pressure from the neck, shoulder and back.

Dr. Kong's Back To School 2017 Promotion

Parents, you can now get Dr. Kong's spine protection bags at a discount during their back to school 2017 promotion period which runs from 15 December 2016 to 15 January 2017. You get 15% off your first product, 20% off the second, 30% off the third and beyond. T & C applies. You can view their bag selections here.

Besides bags, the promotion extends to their shoe products as well as shown below.

Where To Find Dr. Kong in Malaysia

Check out the chart of Dr. Kong's outlets in Malaysia below to find a Dr. Kong outlet near you.

You can also find them online here:

Website: http://www.drkong-malaysia.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drkongmalaysia/

Free Printable 2017 School Time Table For Kids

Members can click on the image above to download the free pdf time table

It's getting nearer to the new school year 2017. Time really does fly. In the blink of an eye the year-end holidays 2016 is almost over. Those with children going to Standard 1 or Form 1 will soon be attending orientation days or just recently attended one. In no time at all, the new school session will begin. Kids will soon receive their new time-tables and they have to start getting used to their new school routines.

I used to create time tables for my kids when they were younger. They were in A4 size so they wouldn't misplace them. I would print one copy for them to put in their school bags and another copy for pasting on or above their study tables. In this manner, I always have a point of reference for them and for me.

Last year, I created a free printable school time table for kids for the members of our parenting platform which comprise our website, blog and FB groups. It was very popular and useful so I am making a new one for the year 2017. The time table is created using Microsoft publisher software with clip art from the software.

Members can click here to login and download this free printable 2017 blank school time table for kids now.

I hope you find it useful. You can print it out now for use in the next 1 or 2 weeks or bookmark this page for use in the next two weeks. To make the time-tables last longer, you can either laminate it or do as I did. I would print out the time-table, cut out a hard cover page from a recycled magazine or old unused book, then wrap it up using transparent plastic book wrapper and tadaaa I had a time-table that lasted all year round of "abuse" from being taken in and out of bags.

Tip: Hold back on the wrapping part for the time being because in the early part of the term, there may be some changes here and there. However, if there are major changes, you can always print out the blank time table and make a new one!

Sunday, December 18, 2016

KSSM - What's New Compared To KBSM

This post is for those going to secondary school or Form 1 in 2017. In this post I will talk about the new KSSM syllabus and subjects for lower secondary school going kids or SMR. I will not be talking about SMA syllabus or subjects.

Firstly before you continue reading this post, you should know some of the terms used and what they mean.

Terms used in this post:

KSSR = Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah
KSSM = Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah
KBSM = Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah
DSKP = Dokumen Standard Kurikulum dan Pentaksiran
SMR = Sekolah Menengah Rendah (Lower Secondary School)
SMA = Sekolah Menengah Atas (Upper Secondary School)

What does all this mean to us as a parent? As a parent, reading all the acronyms make our heads spin a little. So, in this post, I will try to make it as simple as possible, cutting out a lot of technical terms with lengthy explanations. You can still get those too because links will be provided.

Please note that this is not an official document/article. This is merely what I got by researching and curating information found around the web to try to understand the subjects or syllabus that kids going to Form 1 starting in 2017 will be studying.

Kids going to Form 1 in 2017 will be the first batch that completed the new KSSR syllabus and sat for the new format UPSR in 2016 for the first time.

They will now move on to do the new KSSM syllabus in Form 1. Before this, secondary school students did the KBSM syllabus. So, what is the difference between KSSM and KBSM?

Here are some links you may find useful on this subject:

1. Taklimat KSSM kepada pengetua by slideshare user roszelan majid. Note that the slides were published in 2012 so there may be changes thereafter. The slides are embedded below for easy sharing.

Go straight to page 11 of the slides to see the subject changes of KBSM vs KSSM. You will notice that the following subjects are not in KSSM syllabus.

Old subjects under KBSM

"Pendidikan Sivik Dan Kewarganegaraan (PSK)" and
"Kemahiran Hidup Bersepadu"

Ignore the new KSSM subjects in the slides because this appears to be a dated document. (I merely included it to show the old subjects under KBSM because I could not find it elsewhere in the newer links which I shall share with you below)

Taklimat KSSM kepada pengetua. from roszelan majid

2. What are the new subjects included in KSSM?

Teachers can download the DSKP for each subject and this information and download links are often widely available on the internet. If you search online, you may find many teacher's blogs with the download links. Many of these are dated 2016 so this will be more recently updated than the link provided above.

Here are two places you can find the DSKP KSSM Tingkatan 1 (Form 1)

http://kurikulumdskp.blogspot.my/2016/04/dokumen-standard-kurikulum-dan.html (This one is good because of the way it classifies the subjects. Easy to see at a glance)

http://www.cikguhailmi.com/2016/08/dskp-dokumen-standard-kurikulum-dan-pentaksiran-kssm-tingkatan-1.html (This one lists them all in vertical list format)

Both show two subjects previously not under KBSM.

New subjects under KSSM

"Reka Bentuk dan Teknologi" and
"Asas Sains Komputer"

I shared the two links above because they are presented in an easy to read format. However, those who are interested in the official download links and who have time to go through long pages of documentation meant for teachers who will be teaching the subjects can download the DSKP KSSM Tingkatan 1 etc. from here: Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia Document Download These will show you each KSSM subject in detail.

There are some who once the child reaches secondary school, do not follow the syllabus, subjects etc. as closely as they did when their child was in primary school.

I remember the words of a secondary school teacher who once said "Many parents think that once the child reaches secondary school, they do not need as much guidance as before. Look! They say. My child is even taller than me now. He/She can very well look after themselves." As a result, many of the parents do not even know the children are playing truant behind their backs when they drop them off to school. According to the teacher, once the child reaches secondary school, they need just as much support as well as a different sort of guidance from us. That is why I feel it is important to at least know what they will be studying in school, don't you?

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Free Christmas Themed Colouring Pages For Kids, Teens And Adults

I didn't realize that we are so close to Christmas because I have been busy working. I work online so sometimes working equals to surfing. It was while surfing that I came across this wonderful free Christmas Themed Colouring Pages For Kids, Teens and Adults. No, actually it is not merely colouring pages but a whole free downloadable holiday colouring book with 92 pages of Christmas themed art! The paperback copy is available on Amazon for $11.49 but you get to download the ebook for free.

I downloaded a copy for myself and was delighted to find so many different styles of Christmas themed colouring pages. You will find Santa, Reindeers, Christmas Trees, Ornaments, Quotes, Snowmen, Christmas Wreaths, Angels, Gingerbread Houses, Christmas Doodles, and more. The illustration styles from participating Art Licensing Show Artists are varied and the designs suitable for everyone who loves colouring from kids to adults.

Here's the download link for this free Christmas Themed Colouring Book. Enjoy! I'm off to colour my Merry Christmas Wreath now.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Placement Test To Test Your Child's English Level At British Council Open Day

The British Council Malaysia Open Day is on this week and next at their KL and Mutiara Damansara offices on the following dates and time.

Dates:

10-11 December 2016

(Ground Floor, West Block, Wisma Selangor Dredging 142C Jalan Ampang 50450 Kuala Lumpur)

Phone: +60 (0)3 2723 7900

10,11,17,18 December 2016

(Lot 245A, Second Floor, the Curve, 2 Jalan PJU 7/2, Mutiara Damansara 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor)

Phone: +60 (0)3 2723 7900

Time:

10.30 am to 4.30 pm

Kids and teens can take the placement tests to test their English level during the Open Days. Placement tests will determine your child's level for the new term starting 8 January 2017.

You will also get the chance to learn about their teaching methodology and check out the premise. We did just that today during the Open Day at the KL centre. You can check our Facebook video below to give you a good idea of what to expect at the British Council Malaysia Open Day.

British Council is an international organization. They are in six continents and over 100 countries. The centre in Malaysia aims to help improve children's grammar, vocabulary, listening, speaking and writing skills. Courses start at age 5 right up to age 17. There are 4 terms in a year for each level. Typically classes are 2 hours long per session on Saturdays and Sundays. Each term runs for about 10 weeks. British Council uses in-house materials developed by their own teachers for their primary plus (ages 5-11) and upper primary (ages 10-12) courses while their secondary level (ages 13-17) course uses selected books suitable for Malaysian secondary school students.

At British Council, English is taught in a safe and fun environment. With small classes in a team setting sitting arrangement, kids are encouraged to interact with each other. Team building and creative High Order Thinking Skills are encouraged among the learners. Fitting for those seeking for an environment that gives children the self motivation to learn, helps children think out of the box while learning essential living skills that last a lifetime.