FollowBack when my three girls were in primary school, our dining table would be a complete mess during exam season—textbooks, past-year papers, my notes, their notes, stationery, calculators, snacks… everything piled together. It was a sure sign that exams were around the corner.
I would sit with them and revise Bahasa Malaysia and English. Before teaching them, I would first study their syllabus, Tatabahasa, grammar rules, and whatever else they needed to know. Then I would go through everything with them. I made sure they memorized their Tatabahasa, and along the way, my own Bahasa Malaysia improved tremendously too! 😄
Since all three attended a High Performance Chinese primary school, academic results were taken very seriously. Even though I didn’t know Chinese, I tried my best to learn the basics from their Chinese tutor so I could at least ensure they revised what they needed to. Those years were not easy.
I wasn’t the chill mum who was happy as long as her children scraped through. At the same time, I never demanded straight As. My main requirement was simple: pass Bahasa Malaysia and History, because these two subjects are compulsory passes for SPM.
Whenever exam season came around, I would get stressed too. As each daughter sat for her exams, I revised alongside her. With one of them, there was even a rotan sitting next to me! Back then, I firmly believed in the saying, “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”
Looking back, I’m incredibly grateful that all three girls survived Chinese primary school. The eldest and youngest went on to thrive in Chinese Independent High Schools, while the middle one did well in a national secondary school. All three eventually sat for their SPM and achieved respectable results—not straight As, but results they could be proud of.
I would Google free downloadable past year exam papers for my girls, made sure they did those papers, marked them, and go through their mistakes with them. It was hard work.
Today, one has graduated from university and is working, the second has two more years of university to go, and the youngest will be heading to university soon.
Sometimes I look back and wonder how I survived those crazy school years myself. As a “yellow banana” who couldn’t read Chinese, I somehow managed to juggle working from home, cooking, school runs, housework, revision sessions, and disciplining three growing girls.
While I no longer have to do any of those things, I miss them dearly now that we live apart. I try to message them every day, just to check in and hear about what’s happening in their lives. Their updates always brighten my day.
Different seasons, different roles. That’s motherhood.
But one thing has never changed: my love for them, and the fact that I will always worry about them, every single day.
 |
| Exam season eye sore at the dining table. |
 |
| Cassandra’s weekly ting xie list when she was in pre-school (6yo), which I wrote each word in hanyu pinyin along with the meaning and tested her several times before the ting xie. |
 |
| Treats for them during the exam season. |
No. of times viewed = 2
