I have been doing a lot of research about homeschool techniques particularly Montessori methods. I am increasingly concerned that our mainstream education is not teaching our children the right skill set to deal with the future needs. For example, there does not seem to be much effort placed in helping children develop number sense. The focus is on doing endless sums and not much context is provided for learning also. This takes away a child's interest in the subject. However, we parents are busy and going through mainstream education is the only option for most.
I am looking for tips and ideas to supplement the mainstream education demands while not overloading the children. They need their idle time and recreation time too.
It's unfortunate that especially in Singapore, the frenetic pace of learning just to achieve high scores outweighs the importance of enjoying the journey of learning. It starts from the parents and society really. There are parents' groups who believe in Montessori methods and letting children learn at their own pace, but all too quickly, the system gets to them. It takes someone to toss a pebble in the pond and create ripples. In the meantime, fall back on the basics of nurturing our children with good values, good habits, discipline and a curious mind. Learn to ask questions, to debate, to find different ways of learning. Through personal experience, I learned so much more through interactive 'learning' that was disguised as play with my kids. I discovered different ways of tackling an obstacle, or seeing possibilities in what I perceived were just one possibility of doing something. I'd say, empower our kids to learn with a way they enjoy and are able to grasp the concepts. Through this holistic manner, there's true learning for both parent and child versus forcing homework and supplementary worksheets on them.