Before we get to the good points, I really want to start with what NOT to do when trying to prepare your child for SEA. And that is having them in extra lessons every single day until the exam. You may think that forcing your children to do an SEA Practice Booklet daily will improve their performance in the exam, but oftentimes this only burns them out very early. Not to mention, you are creating a very unhealthy relationship and unnecessary stress at the very beginning of your child’s academic career.
Let us please stop making children feel like not passing for their first choice school is any real indication of their worth, abilities or how successful they will be in life. We, as adults, know that this is not true. So why do we make kids believe that not scoring in the 90th percentile is some kind of death sentence? Stop it.
Instead, let us assure our children that we only want them to do their absolute best and as their parents/guardians, it is our duty to provide them with the love, support and opportunities to always thrive.
Here are some things that you can do to prepare your child for SEA:
Learn about the exam - Take some time to read about the SEA exam or even chat with an upper primary school teacher to find out the details about the exam. Just having an understanding of the exam - the structure and what is being tested can help you to properly explain to your child that it’s all based on work that they have been doing for all of their primary school life. Read the Revised Assessment Framework for the SEA 2021 - 2023
Identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses - To really see improvement, you need to know which areas your child is struggling with so that you can do extra practice specifically in those areas. For example, if your child is weak in Area and Perimeter, you might want to do more exercises on those topics or even focus on those particular questions in the SEA Practice Booklet.
Get a tutor - If you know what areas your child needs help with, you can get a tutor to do extra work with him/her in those particular areas. Sending your child to a group class with too many students might not be the best move because he/she might not receive individual attention. However, if you do enrol in a group lessons class, be sure to let the lessons teacher know about your child’s specific needs so that he/she can spend some time reviewing such topics.
Use virtual resources - There are many free websites that have self-paced quizzes and great explanations such as Math is Fun and Khan Academy
Do SEA Practice Booklets - Don’t just let your child try to complete full booklets if they haven’t yet finished the syllabus. This will only make them feel anxious and incapable when they can’t get through a paper. There are many ways to practice their questions. They can do section by section or even topic by topic and work their way up to completing an entire booklet. You can find virtual SEA Practice Booklets at Pennacool
Schedule days-off and breaks - Yes, I know SEA is right around the corner. But kids need to be kids and quite frankly we adults need breaks too. Make sure to schedule days when your child can just do fun and enjoyable things. Use these as opportunities to bond with each other and remind your child that this is JUST an exam. Remind your child that you are on the same team and whatever happens you will always be there to give your love and support.
SEA Prep is a very stressful time for all parties involved but it really doesn’t need to be. We, parents/guardians and teachers, need to help each other out. This is merely the beginning of your child’s real academic career so it’s important to start some best practices from now.
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