Lifelong learning as a Parent

It is a humbling experience to realise that there are many things that I do not know, and many things that I need to learn, as a parent. When my eldest attended preschool at the age of 3 years old, he learnt phonics. I have never attended phonics lessons, and did not know the right sounds of most of the letters in the alphabet. I bought books on phonics as well as a CD to learn the songs. I used the knowledge of the sounds of alphabets to teach him reading, even though I am still not very sure of certain sounds of letters and combinations of letters. For example, I do not know when the letter G is /g/ as in girl' and when it is /g/ as in 'giraffe'.

Later on, when the eldest learnt about animals, birds, and plants. I was introduced to terms such as "vertebrate" and "invertebrate" and I was learning how animals are grouped into reptiles, mammals, amphibians and so on. I am still unsure of the definitions of vertebrate and invertebrate even though I have gone to the Internet to check. I was also rather taken aback to learn that a tortoise is a reptile. I learnt that salamanders are amphibians and it was also the first time I come across this creature.

I discovered how ignorant I have been.

Now that my eldest is entering Primary school, and knowing that his fluency in Chinese is very poor, I am determined to teach him the subject. While I was aceing the language during my school days, I find myself unable to converse with him in Mandarin without frequently switching to English terms. In addition, I am unable to read and write many Chinese characters due to the lack of usage of the language.
After several failed attempts to converse with him in Mandarin or to teach him reading and writing, I knew that I am not up to par.

I realised that I need to relearn the language. I need to be exposed to it frequently, or rather, be immensed in the language. I decided that I should start reading Chinese books and articles. I bought 2 Chinese magazines and a Chinese short-story and started reading them. Not so bad, I thought, as I am beginning to read faster now. I also listened to the old-time Mandarin pop songs that I used to like. When I able to think, read and write in Chinese, then I am better able to teach him.

Both my boys are learning piano, and while I have taken lessons as an adult student for close to 5 years, and had taken ABRSM grade 3 examination, I find that my theory knowledge is terrible. Recently, I gave an old piano book to my eldest to play (coached by his piano teacher of course). As I browsed through the pieces in the book, I am reminded of the tunes that were once familiar to me. I decided that I will relearn those pieces again, and I have started to do so. The nice tunes caught the attention of my eldest and he is also greater motivation to learn the pieces in the book.

Besides academics and learning, there are many other things that I have learnt in the process of being a parent. I have learnt about medicine - which one to treat which symptoms. I can sometimes engage in decent conversation with doctors on which medication to give or not to give. In the past, when I am sick, I would not question the prescription and would simply pop the medicine given to me.

Having children gives me the opportunity to learn and to relearn, but I find that the most important thing of all, is that our children learn better when we learn with them. Outsourcing to others to do the work may save us some time, but there is much fun in learning with them and it certainly will benefit them much more. We gain knowledge too...

A friend shared with me that she enjoys carrying her 5-year-old to school. The reason is that she can then listen to him recite poems. She added that she has to memorise the poems first before expecting him to do likewise. Otherwise, she would not know if he has recited correctly, and would not be able to help him if he forgets a line.

It is true that our children learn better when we are involved and show interest in their learning.