How my son did well in his studies

As many of my friends know, my son did reasonably well for his PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) and has been accepted into one of the popular Secondary Schools. 

His aggregate score was in the "highly proficient" range, though he is not in the top. I'm very blessed that he could achieve such results. His school teachers did a very good job. He started learning independently around second half of Primary 1, and was put in the top class since Primary 3. From there on it was rather smooth sailing. We did not have to sit down with him nor monitor his studies closely. He does not attend any tuition classes either, though we did send him to various enrichment activities during school holidays.

So what's "behind the scene"? What's our "secret"? 

Recently I heard rumours of me pretending to be "relaxed" with him while secretly being very "on", which is the reason he has been doing well.

Well it made me laugh. Upon reflection, I'm not exactly "relaxed" nor am I very "on". Though I didn't really push him in terms of academic results, I did place emphasis on motivating him to be an independent learner, on his character development, on his mindset.

He's only twelve years old and still have a long way to go. We are not a "success story". We are just an ordinary family living our life the best way we know. I've been sharing my personal experiences though they may not be the best, in the hope that they inspire other parents and kids to do even better.

A peek into what we've been doing: During the recent school holidays, we started a new schedule with him. We discussed which household chores are those he enjoyed or able to commit to. Which learning activities, fun activities to do for each day of the week. What are things he should do everyday. It's a simple list, but I believe it provides structure and guidance in building supportive habits. 

For example, learning to take care of his health. Corresponding activities: fill up his water bottle in the morning (so he remembers to drink enough water), take nutritious breakfast.

For example, learning to contribute his part to the family. He volunteered to wash our toilets, feed the fish, water the plants.

For example, living a balanced life. We planned for one learning activity and one fun activity for each day of the week. I agree learning could be fun, and fun could include learning. It's just that we wanted to incorporate fun activities into his life. At the time of drafting the schedule, these two terms came to mind when we were listing the activities we wanted to do. They could have been termed "things he needs to do" and "things he wants to do" instead.

In short, learning activities refer to those he should be doing to improve his knowledge and proficiency, especially in areas he is required to or has committed to. Examples are languages, science, music theory, life skills. Of course, the idea is he should spend time on these, but it's even better if he finds enjoyable ways of doing them. 
As for fun activities, these are what he likes to do. They enhance his quality of life and happiness even when they don't serve any practical purpose. His list included visiting the library, movie, baking (I bake, he eats), game.

After listing these learning and fun activities, we put them into his weekly schedule. That is, each day of the week he has a different learning activity and fun activity.

As for enrichment, we decided to let him go to BeiJing for ten days of intensive wushu (martial arts) training.
 
This is the basic idea. There're activities which he does everyday, and there are activities which he does once a week. Just a simple guide so that I don't have to nag at him, he has something to look forward to each day, enjoys his holidays, and hopefully it is somewhat constructive in making him a healthy, happy person.

Today is the first day of year 2012. May all parents and children enjoy another fulfilling year :)