And there you thought you were only stuck with me here… Periodically I’m hoping to invite other parent bloggers/ writers to guest contribute, beginning with Azita, previously from Canada, who homeschooled her older boy before successfully entering him directly into K2 under the age of 4 and plans to do the same with her younger.
The following is all her.
Azita Crerar has been living in Macau for the last 11 years. She left her job as a school teacher when she and her husband made the decision to start a family. She has been home for 7 years, and in this time, besides taking care of her two sons, has cultivated her passion in writing.
1) How would you describe raising a child in Hong Kong today?
I have 2 boys – a 3-year old who is currently at home with me, and a 6-year old enrolled in P1 at School of the Nations in Macau. It is an International school, using English and Mandarin.
Macau is not as congested as Hong Kong, not as populated, not as busy. That said, there are similarities. Many moms are working moms and their pre-school age kids are either with domestic helpers, grandparents, or in daycares. I made a decision to stay home for my kids, probably based on the fact that I am not from Macau and this is what my mother did with us. It certainly has its challenges.
Sometimes I am the only mom in the park with my kid (first the older one, now the 3-year old). The helpers and grandparents wonder why my kid is not with a helper or in daycare. I have to defend my stance as a stay-at-home mom!
Facilities have improved in Macau over the years. We used to have few alternatives if the weather was rainy or too hot. Now we have indoor play centers and Macau’s new Science Center.
2) Particular curriculum, class size, physical layout/facilities, ethnic demographics, results in exams, commitment to extra-curricular programs, sports/music/arts programs, homework, private tuition, training/qualifications/dedication of teachers, whether the school is accredited by an outside organization (CIS, IBO etc)
Which of these are more important to you when making a decision involving your child’s education and why?
I generally like to think what is good for locals is good enough for us. I actually tried to enroll my 6-year old into a local Chinese school when he was almost 4. After all, his father is Chinese and grew up in Macau. When we went for the interview, the school was concerned that my son’s Cantonese wasn’t good enough to cope!
The school that he currently goes to has small class sizes, and this was especially important for the kindergarten years for me. It also has a customized kindergarten programme developed especially for the school, so I knew we were in good hands.
At such a young age, I am not so concerned about exams, extra programmes, homework, tutoring, etc. I want my child to be happy at school, to be confident, to be in a nurturing environment, to know that character training is uppermost. With this sort of environment, I am happy to send my son to school in the morning. The rest are details, the frosting on the cake, and can come later.
3) How important is learning music and/or playing a sport as a supplement to your child’s education?
We have not yet jumped on the bandwagon of filling every extra minute up. We tried swimming when my son was 4 years old, but he was tired after a day of school, and after two weeks dissolved into tears. I would have liked him to continue, but it was for his benefit, not mine. So we stopped, and of his own accord he showed an interest when he was 5, splashing around the pool in the summer, trying to learn on his own.
We do tennis one day a week after school. He enjoys it, but we have to juggle homework and dinner on that day. He also does soccer once a week on Sundays. He expressed an interest in it, so we were happy to place him in a second sport. It helps keep his weight down, and we find that he does not get sick as often as he used to.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8xxgFpK-NM]
We are also waiting for a Capoeira class to start at school. It is a combination of physical prowess, music, and coordination, but over and above this, it teaches cooperation, self-confidence, working in groups, etc. It sounds exciting as it takes a rather holistic approach to body and mind.
We haven’t yet looked into music (besides the integration into Capoeira). That will probably come in a few years. When I broach the topic now, he is adamant about not going for lessons, so taking our cue from the swimming lessons 2 years ago, I know he is not yet ready.
4) How important is learning an additional language like Putonghua, Spanish, French (or other)?
I come from a multi-lingual background, so it is natural to expect that my kids will grow up knowing more than one language, and they do. They get English and Mandarin at school, English and Cantonese in the home.
We have French books in the house, some Spanish DVDs, but I haven’t yet pushed these. They don’t need to know these languages living in Macau, but they may be useful if they were to live elsewhere when they grow up. Since they are learning 3 languages at the moment, I know that they can easily pick up a 4th, 5th, etc. language at a later point. There’s no hurry. Who knows? They may turn around and tell me they want to learn Japanese or German one day, and that’s fine. They may also express little interest in learning more languages, and that’s fine too.
5) Everyone’s children are different, and what helps one child excel may not work for another child… What decisions are you especially proud you made regarding your children, and why was this particularly well-suited to them?
I don’t know if I did this for myself or for my children, but I kept the older one home until the year he turned 4, and am doing the same with the younger one. In Canada no one would have batted an eyelid, but here many heads have turned and many tongues have wagged. They say every child is different, and they also say mommy knows best. This mommy made a decision that her older kid was still quite a baby at the age of 3. When I sent him straight into K-2 at the age of almost 4, I saw that he readily adapted to school, never cried, never clung to me. He jumped right in, fitted in, participated well, and was quite sociable. We skipped the tears, skipped the insecurity, skipped the misbehaviour. I’ll never regret this.
With the 3-year old who is currently at home with me, I thought that he might be ready for a half-day in a daycare. Or possibly, I thought Mommy might be ready for half a day to herself! I was wrong. He’s not yet ready. So we are biding our time.
