← StudyLab home
📓 Journal
Plain-English pieces for parents — what actually helps a primary school
child with maths and English. Nothing is being sold here.
Vocabulary in Context: One Word, Two Meanings, and Why Children Pick the Wrong One
24 October 2026
A child who knows the word still picks the wrong meaning, because the meaning they know first is not the one the sentence needs. A four-step check, six common slips, and a six-sentence try at home.
Should You Reward Your Child for Good Marks? What Helps and What Backfires
23 October 2026
Whether to reward your child for good marks: why rewarding effort and habits tends to work better than paying for scores, which rewards backfire, and a simple week to try at home.
Grammar Cloze: Why the Word That Sounds Right Is Often Wrong
22 October 2026
In a grammar cloze, a child often fills the blank with the word that sounds right and loses the mark. A four-step method, six common slips, and a six-blank check to do at home.
Speech Marks in Composition: Where the Quotation Marks and Commas Go
21 October 2026
A good line of dialogue can still lose marks: speech marks round the whole sentence, a full stop where the comma belongs, a stray capital. Six common slips, and a six-sentence check to do at home.
Running Out of Time in a Maths Paper: Skip, Mark and Come Back
20 October 2026
Why a child who knows the maths still leaves the last page blank, and the simple habit of skipping, marking and returning that gets more of the paper attempted.
Who, Which or Whose? Why Children Pick the Wrong Joining Word
19 October 2026
One wrong joining word, as in a girl which lives next door, is often all that is wrong with a good sentence. What who, which and whose are for, six common slips, and a six-sentence check to do at home.
Working Backwards in Maths: Undo the Steps, Last One First
18 October 2026
A child can do "I had $30, spent $12" and still stall on "I have $18 left, what did I start with?" Why backwards questions feel different, four slips, and a forward check.
Fair Tests in Primary Science: What to Change, What to Keep the Same
17 October 2026
A child can know the science and still pick the wrong pots, because two things differ between them. The three jobs behind many experiment questions, six slips, and a kitchen fair test.
A or An? Why “an hour” and “a university” Trip Children Up
16 October 2026
A child who knows “an before a, e, i, o, u” can still write “a hour” or “an university”. The rule goes by sound, not letter. Four kinds of word that break the shortcut, and a seven-sentence check.
Circles: Radius or Diameter? Why the Area Comes Out Four Times Too Big
16 October 2026
A child who knows the circle formulas can still get an area exactly four times too big, because “14 cm across” means a radius of 7. Five slips, and a string-and-lid check.
Adding Fractions With Different Bottom Numbers: Why 1/2 + 1/3 Is Not 2/5
15 October 2026
A child who adds 1/4 and 2/4 easily can still write 1/2 + 1/3 = 2/5. Why the add-the-tops rule fails, five common slips, a five-minute check and what helps.
In, On or At? Why Children Mix Up Time Words (on Monday, in March, at 6 o’clock)
14 October 2026
A child who writes “in Monday” or “on June” usually knows the words and misses the pattern. The five usual slips, the sixth that is no word at all, and a six-sentence check to do at home.
He Go or He Goes? Why Children Drop (or Misplace) the S on Verbs
12 October 2026
A child who says "my brother play football" or writes "my brothers plays" usually knows the rule and misses the check. The four usual slips, a one-question test, and a five-sentence check to do at home.
Their, There, They’re: Why Children Pick the Wrong One
11 October 2026
A child who can spell every one of these words can still write the wrong one in a sentence. The usual sound-alike pairs, a one-second check for the apostrophe words, and a two-minute test that shows which pair to work on.
Number Patterns: Why the Next Number Is Easy and the 50th Is Not
10 October 2026
A child who can carry on 5, 8, 11, 14 often cannot find the 50th number. Why continuing and jumping are different skills, the off-by-one slip, and a five-minute check for tonight.
Three Quarters of 24: Why Fraction-of-a-Quantity Sums Go Wrong
9 October 2026
A child who understands fractions can still get 3/4 of 24 wrong. The four common slips (stopping at one part, dividing by the top number, answering with what is left, the wrong whole), a five-minute check and what helps.
Long Multiplication: Where the Carry and the Zero Go Missing
8 October 2026
A child who knows the tables can still get 34 x 6 wrong. Where long multiplication goes wrong (the carry, a zero in the middle, the placeholder zero), a five-sum check and what helps.
Long Division: Why a Child Who Knows Their Tables Still Loses the Answer
7 October 2026
A child who knows 4 x 6 can still lose their way in 672 divided by 4. Where long division goes wrong (zeros, bringing down, a first digit that is too small), a five-minute check and what helps.
Mental Sums: Why a Child Who Can Do Column Sums Stalls With No Pencil
6 October 2026
A child who adds and subtracts correctly on paper can go blank when asked 49 + 26 aloud. Why it happens, six sums to try at the table, and five small strategies that make mental sums easier.
Composition: When Your Child Says They Have Nothing to Write About
5 October 2026
A child stares at a blank page and says nothing happened. Why it is rarely about ideas, five questions to ask aloud before any writing, and a ten-minute routine for the week.
Maths Words Children Mix Up: Difference, Share, More Than and Others
4 October 2026
A Primary 3 child told to find the difference between 48 and 19 adds them. The everyday words that carry a different meaning in maths, and a five-minute check to do at home.
Goed, Eated, Teached: Why Children Get the Past Tense Wrong in English
3 October 2026
A Primary 3 child writes "goed" or "eated" and loses the mark. Why it is a sign of learning, four different slips behind it, and a five-minute check to do at home.
3 x 4 or 4 x 3? Why the Order Can Matter in Primary 2 Maths
2 October 2026
The answer is 12 either way, so why did the teacher mark it wrong? Why the two are taught as different pictures, and a five-minute check to do at home.
Place Value and Zeros: Why Children Write the Wrong Number
1 October 2026
A child who can add still writes 4,050 as 400050 or 450. Five place-value slips with zeros, a five-minute check, and how four boxes and money fix them.
Reading Graphs and Tables: Where Children Misread Them
30 September 2026
Why a child who can add and subtract still loses marks on graphs and tables: the scale, the wrong bar, the key, and mixing up more and altogether. A five-minute check and what helps.
Angles and Protractors: Where Children Lose Marks
29 September 2026
Why a child who can use a protractor still loses marks on angles: reading the wrong scale, lining it up badly, mixing up 180 and 360, and subtraction slips. A five-minute check and what helps.
Getting Your Child Ready for Primary 1 Maths (Without Overdoing It)
28 September 2026
What MOE actually says about preparing for Primary 1 maths, why P1 and P2 carry no weighted exams, and the one thing worth building at home before term starts.
From P3 to P4 Maths: What Actually Changes
27 September 2026
Why P4 maths can feel like a different subject overnight: two brand-new topics arrive at once, fractions stop being simple, and what actually helps at home.
From P1 to P2 Maths: What Actually Changes
26 September 2026
Why a child who breezed through P1 maths can suddenly find P2 hard: three things arrive at once — bigger numbers, regrouping, and a brand new operation — and what actually helps at home.
Volume and Capacity: Why cm³ and Litres Confuse Children
25 September 2026
Why a child who can multiply confidently still gets volume questions wrong: forgetting to cube the unit, missing a dimension in a diagram, and not knowing that 1 litre is 1000 cm3. A five-question check and what helps at home.
Algebra in P6: Why the Letters Trip Children Up, and How to Check
24 September 2026
Your child can do hard fraction sums but 3y turns into 34. Why P6 algebra trips children up, the five slips that cost marks, and a check that needs no answer key.
Metres, Centimetres, Kilograms: Where Unit Conversions Go Wrong
23 September 2026
A child who can multiply perfectly still writes 3.5 m as 35 cm. Why conversions slip, the four places marks are actually lost, and a five-minute check you can do at the kitchen table tonight.
Factors and Multiples: Why Children Swap Them, and How to Check
22 September 2026
Your child knows her times tables but still swaps factors and multiples. The one picture that separates them, the four slips that cost marks, and a two-minute check.
Averages: The Three Slips, and How to Check
21 September 2026
Your child can find an average but loses marks on questions that use one. The three places it goes wrong at upper primary, and the one habit that fixes all of them.
From P5 to P6 Maths: What Changes in the PSLE Year
20 September 2026
What actually changes between P5 and P6 maths: very little new content, but mixed questions, two papers with and without a calculator, working that earns marks, and answers in the right unit. What helps at home.
Order of Operations: Why 3 + 4 × 2 Is Not 14
19 September 2026
Why a child who can add and multiply still gets order of operations wrong: working left to right, reading BODMAS as a strict order, half-done brackets and lost steps. A five-question check and what helps at home.
Rounding and Estimation: Where Children Lose Marks
18 September 2026
Why a child who can round correctly still loses marks: rounding the already-rounded number, rounding down at 5, miscounting the place, and estimating when the question wanted exact. What helps at home.
Money Sums: Dollars, Cents and the Slips That Cost Marks
17 September 2026
Why $3.05 gets written as $3.5, $2.80 + $1.40 comes out as $3.120, and change from $10 goes wrong. The four money slips, a two-minute check, and what helps at home.
Division with Remainders: One Sum, Four Different Answers
16 September 2026
29 ÷ 4 = 7 remainder 1, yet the question may want 8, 7, 1 or 3. Why children do the division right and still lose the mark, the slips to look for, and a two-minute check at home.
Carrying and Borrowing: Why Column Sums Go Wrong, and What Helps
15 September 2026
Your child can add and subtract, but 52 − 27 comes out as 35 and 48 + 35 as 713. The five ways carrying and borrowing go wrong, how to tell which one it is, and what helps at home.
Telling the Time: Why the Clock Is Hard and Time Sums Are Harder
14 September 2026
Your child can read a digital clock but not the one on the classroom wall, or reads the clock fine and still gets 9:45 to 11:20 wrong. Where telling the time goes wrong, and how to help at home.
The Weekly Spelling List: Full Marks on Friday, Gone by Monday
13 September 2026
Full marks in Friday's spelling test, and the same words wrong in a composition a week later. Why that happens, how to practise a weekly spelling or 听写 list so the words stay, and what to do if you do not read Chinese.
Area and Perimeter: Why She Answers the Other One
11 September 2026
A child who knows both formulas will still work out the perimeter when the question asked for area. Why the two get mixed up, the four places it goes wrong, and a two-minute check you can do at the kitchen table tonight.
Ratio and Percentage: The Three Slips, and How to Check
10 September 2026
A child can work out 20% of 50 in her head and still get the question wrong. Ratio and percentage go wrong in the reading, not the arithmetic - the three places it happens, and a two-minute check you can do tonight.
Decimals: The Four Slips, and a Two-Minute Check
9 September 2026
A child can be fluent with decimals in a shop and still say 0.35 is bigger than 0.5 on paper. The four places decimals go wrong, why more practice does not fix them, and a two-minute check you can do tonight.
From P4 to P5 Maths: What Actually Changes
8 September 2026
Why a child who coped in P4 can come unstuck in P5: the four things that change, the "of the remainder" trap that eats the most marks, and how to tell a reading problem from a maths one.
When your child reads fluently but comprehension marks are low
7 September 2026
A child who reads aloud beautifully can still lose most of the comprehension marks. What that gap usually is, how to tell which kind you are looking at, and what helps.
Comparing your child to their classmates — what marks do and do not tell you
6 September 2026
Knowing your child scored below the class average tells you less than it feels like it does. What a comparison can honestly show you, what it cannot, and the more useful question to ask instead.
When Your Child Guesses Instead of Working It Out
5 September 2026
A right guess and real understanding look identical on a marked paper. The four kinds of guessing, how to tell which one you are looking at, and the question that works better than asking for working.
Your child's maths marks dropped suddenly — what to check first
4 September 2026
A maths mark that falls sharply usually has an ordinary explanation. What to look at first, in order, before deciding anything — starting with the paper itself rather than the number on it.
How much help is too much when you sit with your child?
3 September 2026
Where to stop when you are sitting beside your child doing maths: the difference between help that teaches and help that carries, a simple ladder of prompts, and how to tell whose work you are looking at.
School holidays: keeping maths ticking over without turning it into school
2 September 2026
How to stop maths going rusty over the school holidays without making the holidays feel like term time: little and often, why the first week back is harder than parents expect, and what is actually worth practising.
When Your Child Freezes on a Question They Know
1 September 2026
She can do it at the kitchen table and goes blank in the test. Three different things that look identical from outside, how to tell them apart, and what actually helps.
Assessment Books: How to Choose One, and How Many Is Too Many
31 August 2026
Most assessment books are bought in a hurry and finished by nobody. A two-minute check in the shop, the one page that tells you if a book is any good, and why one finished book beats five started.
Should You Get a Maths Tutor? What to Try First
30 August 2026
Four different problems all look like "weak at maths" and only some of them are fixed by tuition. How to work out which one you have, what to try first, and when a tutor genuinely is the right call.
Fractions: When They Suddenly Stop Making Sense
29 August 2026
A child who was fine with numbers can stall completely at fractions. Why it is genuinely harder, the three separate ideas hiding inside one word, and the questions that show you which one is missing.
How Long Should Maths Homework Actually Take?
28 August 2026
There is no published number, and anyone who gives you one is guessing. A better question is where the time went — and three very different two-hour evenings that need three different answers.
When the School's Method Is Not the One You Learned
27 August 2026
Your child says that is not how the teacher does it, and you are both stuck. Why the school's longer method is not a worse version of yours, and what to do at the table tonight.
From P2 to P3 Maths: What Actually Changes
26 August 2026
Why a child who was fine in P2 can suddenly struggle in P3: the four things that change at once, how to tell a reading problem from a maths problem, and what actually helps at home.
When Your Child Can Do It on Screen but Not on Paper
25 August 2026
Ninety per cent on the app, then red marks on the worksheet. Four real differences between answering on a screen and answering on paper, and the small changes that close the gap.
Helping With Maths When You Were Never Good at It Yourself
24 August 2026
You do not need to be able to do the maths to be genuinely useful. What to avoid saying, the five things you can do without knowing the method, and why not knowing is an advantage.
Timing Your Child on Maths: When It Helps and When It Backfires
23 August 2026
A timer helps with facts that should be automatic and quietly damages anything that needs thinking. How to tell which is which, and the signs it has stopped working.
Two Weeks Before a Maths Exam: What Actually Helps
22 August 2026
Two weeks is not enough to build understanding that isn't there, and it is more than enough to turn near-misses into marks. What to do with the time, and the three things not to start now.
Bar Models: What Your Child Is Being Taught and How to Help
21 August 2026
Why your child draws rectangles instead of doing the sum, the two shapes nearly every bar model uses, and the four things parents do that quietly make it harder.
The Answer Was Right and the Marks Still Went
20 August 2026
Why a correct answer can still lose marks in primary maths, what working is actually for, the six places marks quietly disappear, and how to ask for working without turning it into a fight.
Checking Maths Homework Without It Turning Into a Fight
19 August 2026
Twenty minutes of homework becomes an hour, and both of you are upset. Why checking goes wrong, the three kinds of wrong answer and how each needs a different response, and a routine that ends on time.
When Your Child Says They Are Bad at Maths
18 August 2026
What a child usually means when they say they are bad at maths, why reassurance does not work, and how to find the specific gap underneath a sentence that sounds like it is about ability.
Times Tables: Memorising, Understanding, and the Order That Works
17 August 2026
A child who knows the 2s and 5s but stalls on the 7s is not lazy or slow. What the grid really contains, the order that makes it smaller, and why chanting a table is not the same as knowing it.
Word Problems: When the Sums Are Fine but the Story Is Not
16 August 2026
When a child can do the arithmetic but stalls on word problems, the gap is almost never the maths. What is actually going wrong, why keyword tricks backfire, and what helps.
Counting on Fingers: When It Matters and When It Does Not
15 August 2026
Why children count on fingers, when it is a normal step and when it is worth acting on, and what actually helps a child move past it without being told to stop.
Careless Mistakes in Maths: What They Usually Are
14 August 2026
"Careless" is rarely one thing. The four different mistakes it usually turns out to be, how to tell which one your child is making, and what actually helps for each.