Schoolkid.Ph

So you’ve done as much as you think you have to prepare your child and the day to take the test is nearing.  What else can you do?

This post is part 2 of the 2-part blog post on “Project Big School Entrance Test”. You can read part 1 here.

Exam day is nearing. Quite a bit of home review and school-assisted review have been done.  Anything else that can be done?

Here are my suggestions —

1. Bring your child to the testing center well rested and well fed.

Of course,the last thing you want is to have cranky test taker just because he didn’t have a good night’s rest. That goes the same with a skipped meal, don’t you think?

2. Bring your child to the testing center 30 minutes before the scheduled time.

In any appointment where being prompt can mean “do or die”, it’s best to target to arrive the place way early.  Traffic, car-trouble, and other unexpected incidents may happen so give allowance to that. When my second son took the test, a mother and child arrived 20 minutes late. Looking stressed, she pleaded with the testing officer for her son to take the test. She was not allowed and was advised to go to the administration office to fix the matter.

Arriving early will also give you and your child time to get comfortable. There will be other kids there also waiting and seeing them will put your child at ease.

3. If you believe in superstition, then follow it if no harm can come by doing it anyway.

Okay, I had to put this because I did something in all the times my kids took the big school entrance test. You know what it was? Well, all my sons wore the same shirt when they took the test.  Yeah, so that shirt has been around about 7+ years already. It’s a petty thing, I know, but like I said, no harm will come  if they wore the ‘lucky’ shirt. Beside, they look uber-cute in it.

4. While waiting, talk about cheerful and positive things to your child.

In other words, get him in a good mood. It’s funny how I recall ways parents do this at the waiting area. I’ve seen parents talking animatedly to their child with a sing-song voice. Others talked of  holidays, vacations. Of course, you will also hear talks on rewards like a trip to the toy store after the test. Don’t overdo it though because you might end up promising something that you shouldn’t. So maybe instead of saying get him in a good mood… don’t get him in a bad mood.

5. Give your child a hug and wish your child well.

When your child is called, give him a good hug, a kiss and wish him well. I  say to my kids everyday before they go to school, “Do well and have fun!”.  As they are used to hearing me say it to them,saying it to them this time puts them in a comfortable mood, treating the day just like an ordinary day– nothing stressful. After all, we’ve prepared as best as we can so all that’s left is just take the test.

The Test Results

Ahh.. so the test is over but the whole exercise isn’t. Now comes the waiting… for the test results. If the school your child has applied for gives quick results, good for you. I had to wait at least 4 weeks to find out if my son’s been accepted. I did a lot of praying at that time.

Even though I already have my 2 older sons studying in that school, my level of anticipation remained the same. That’s because the school is not known to accept applicants with enrolled siblings automatically. In fact, I personally know a few who had children in different schools as a result of this.

Like I mentioned in Part 1 of this blog post series, my youngest child took the recent big school entrance test for admission for schoolyear 2011-2012.

Well, the test result came by mail. The kids and I were at the province to spend the semestral school break with their grandparents. My husband was left at  home and he broke the news to us by phone. When I took his call, the first thing I said was, “Is the envelope thick?”.  Without opening it, one can get an idea already if it’s good or not.  A thick one would mean a cover letter with the forms needed to submit.. so that means an acceptance letter. A thin one would only have just a single-page letter that may mean a rejection letter. Well, the letter that came to us was thick! Hooray!!! My husband then  talked to my youngest son to congratulate him.

So, my son will be joining his two older brothers in the big school next school year. I’m very sure that he will enjoy it as much as his brothers.

.. and am glad I could finally say, “Project completed!” 🙂

This post is part 2 of the 2-part blog post on “Project Big School Entrance Test”. You can read part 1 here.

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