When Shanice was little, my hubby and I agreed to let her play as much as she can and delay signing her up for tuition for as long as possible. We both held full-time jobs back then and time with Shanice was limited to the couple of hours in the evening and weekends. Not wanting to lose more precious time with her, we kept enrichment classes to the minimal.
After all, we are average folks, holding average jobs, of average IQ, not exactly book-smart, and all we hoped was for our kids to be the best they can be and hopefully fall within the average band. Shanice however, seems to aspire to be more than her average parents – she studies hard and loves to write. One of her ambitions (there are about 10 of them by now 🙂 ) is to be an author. I recall when she was 4ish, she’d point to the small prints on the cover of her story books and ask me how to pronounce those words and if those were the authors’ names. So this is my little girl, an unexpected bookworm.
Because of her interest and keen desire to write, I’ve been toying with the idea of getting her some writing classes. Like many other ideas I have, I’d leave it shelved somewhere at the back of my mind amidst my crazy schedule. But when I got the email invitation from Creative Horizons for Shanice to join them for a term, it went like EUREKA! and I jumped at it.
4 July: Shanice took the entry test at Creative Horizons and started class that day.
She has a phobia for new things, so naturally wasn’t receptive to the idea of joining a new class. But with a little encouragement from mummy and a huge amount of patience from the school, we sent in a frowning (and tearing) child for lesson and saw a beaming girl at the end of the first day.
After a couple of lessons, the shy little girl has become less resistant. Here’s a photo taken on our way to class. I think it was before her 3rd lesson.
The learning journey wasn’t an easy one for Shanice (and mummy). There were much adapting and catching up for her.
While she does well in her school work, she wasn’t doing as well in the beginning at Creative Horizons. She was a little discouraged initially but with much encouragement from her teacher, she showed improvement.
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| Record low grade of 12/20 |
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| “Insight” is a series of worksheets with a focus on current affairs and science. The children pick up interesting information widen their knowledge while working on their vocabulary. |
There were good days ,there were not-too-good days and there were SUPER days – like when her work was displayed at the centre’s window 🙂
While Shanice attended writing classes, I would loiter around outside the classroom, help myself to the books on the “Book Chain” Shelves or knit my time away on the bench jus outside the centre.
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| My view from outside the classroom. I could see Shanice’s participation in class from the scores on the whiteboard. |
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| Her teacher conducting a lesson. |
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| Book Chain is a programme by the centre where they reward students for reading. The kids are free to borrow the books from the shelves and are rewarded 10 points for every book they read. Shanice’s a Rainbow Magic Fan so she was really thrilled to have a selection of her favourite books to borrow from. |
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| The Book Chain reward chart |
Our experience with Creative Horizons was a pleasant one. As a parent, I cannot be more thankful for the patience and dedication Shanice’s teacher has showered her with. Shanice and I would like to thank her teachers and everyone at Creative Horizons for the opportunity to learn and grow with them.
Disclaimer: Shanice was offered one term lessons for the purpose of this review. No monetary payment has been received or offered. All opinions are my own .