Joke

Summer is still with us but my daughter's summer holiday is over. Her school starts today.

To get ready for her new school term, Jasmine was excited to prepare her box of sharpened pencils, buy glue sticks and file folders. I didn't do much but thought it's a good idea to borrow The Funniest Back to School Joke Book Ever from the public library.

With a few laugh-out-loud jokes up my sleeves, I can make the trip to school bus station more fun for everyone. Humours and entertainment aside, the book has reminded my daughter at least some school stuff in a not-so-serious way. For mathematics, we learn why six is afraid of seven (because seven ate nine). In terms of English, we find out which part of English boxers are best at (and that's punch-uation). As for science, we are taught the noisiest part of our body - our ear drum.

But, if your kid study in a less laissez faire school than my daughter's, you won't have to follow my example. Your kid probably has a pile of book reports and summer holiday assignments to occupy the summer. My daughter has none. That's good news. How often do we hear that children love summer holiday assignments? Few activities are as nerve-racking as summer homework, which usually ends up in a battlefield - between the kids and their parents. Giving our children homework throughout the year, including summer holiday, is the same as charging our smartphone full all the time: it causes the battery lifespan shorter, not longer.

If you don't believe me, here's a story about a son who complained about it, "Dad, I'm tired of doing homework."

"Now, son, hard work never killed anyone."

"I know," replied his son seriously, "but I don't want to be the first."