The Beginning for a week ( a problematic entry)..just look at the pics pls

One girl all ready with a nervous heart.One brother feeling sad knowing that he will be left behind at home while the elder sister is at school. A father in front of the school compound holding his sweetheart's hand with a heavy heart. One mom in front of the school door entrance with an even heavier heart.

The moment she heard that we would be sending her to school on friday, her mind started to race into millions of thoughts. She started to speculate on what she would be studying..how her anaokulu (pre school) learning would be like...the place..the new friends.. her teacher..etc..etc.. She expressed thousands (ok ..ok..maybe i am exaggertating here) of her own conclusions of her future studies...inside..she waited for the day...our journey home from our holiday place in edremit meant the more nervous hatice became...the nearer we were towards istanbul..she knew that a new era of her life would soon start... very soon...and here come friday..
While we were busy splashing ourselves in the deep sea..or taking a 10 minutes peep at the turkish hamam ..or playing in the warm pool water of edremit..a letter was sent by hatice's future pre school class teacher to us..(adressed to baba..passed over to halim n finally delivered to us after we got back home from our holiday)..The letter goes like this...

A hello to a sweet child of my class.

I am very eagerly waiting to meet u before the opening of the school.

My dearest student, though i know not the color of ur eyes, of ur hair; but i believe that u r a sweet n an intelligent child.

Before the school starts, I am thinking of wonderful activities that i can do with u...What shall we do together....we will play different types of games, sing beautiful songs together, do interesting activities together and together, we will explore all the beautiful things ... My arms r open wide for u and i am waiting to explore all the best of things with u

Your teacher
Nilgün Gülen

Well..actually that is a call out letter for parents n child meeting for the pre school students before the formal school opening.. of course we did not attend it since we were at that time busy splashing ourselves at the beach n warm pool..such a sweet letter isnt it? And today...a friday...we decided to send hatice to school only for a few hours..as a pre introduction..

She woke up quite late this morning...i dont blame her..the journey from edremit was indeed tiring.. And her first words were..*anne! geç kaldım* (Anne, i am late already). I gave her a short bath, let her have a choice of what she would be wearing, braided her hair, gave her her breakfast...n we waited....lunch came...n after the friday prayer, as a family we headed to her school. If i could record the beating of her heart, i am confident it had beaten so fast n so loud that u would have pain in ur ears from the sound n noise.....she was busy speculating about what was to come at school..she practically had driven me crazy with her speculations n logics (see mona.. hatice is as good in driving people nuts with her logics as i do hahahahahahaha).... And while having lunch, when halil reminded her never to talk or go anywhere else with a stranger, she practically cried.

Yup..she was that nervous....poor her....my nervous haticem..

We reached her school. Met her class teacher at the reception hall n she was whisked away into her classroom. They were having english class at that time (she said the english lesson was very easy :0))....she did not cry..Baddin was sad naturally. He kept asking me to go n visit her *abla* (sister) in her classroom..Up to that point..hatice n baddin most of the times were always together..they were very rarely separated.. Now he has to get used to it..he didnt cry or anything..but u can see that he felt lost without his abla by his side..something he needed to get used to...
And as for hatice, i think going to school is something she needs to do. She has been getting bored n restless. I sensed this urge in her for development...to be her own self without the presence of her anne, baba n baddin. All her life, she acted in line ofwhat is expected of her.. to be baddin's sister.. She has been needing a break...a break from baddin in particular..something we could not afford to ...a chance to spread her wings....n i think this pre school is what she needs exactly...

Our sending hatice to school experience did not end there...Later of course we were given a tour of the pre school area...the rooms etc. We were given a briefing by her class teacher..shown to the rooms available for the pre school students etc etc etc etc.... There r project room (for creative projects like making cookies..etc..etc), play room (with toys inside since every child needs to play), imagination room (where they watch entertainment ie cartoon..do drama, pantomine etc), 2 toilets (one for girls n one for boys) n 3 classrooms..with one classroom consisting of 16 students (except hatice's =17). Hatice's class is called *arı sınıfı* (bee class) -9 girls n 8 boys-n from what we were told every subject is taught by different teachers.. .. ie computer class, english class, art class, etc etc.. there is also a playground in the gargen n a decent garden area for picnics on sunny days.. There r even individual lockers-a big locker to keep hatice's things (extra clothing, coat, wet tissues, etcetc)..n a small locker for keeping sport shoes.. everything is complete....

I notice one thing though.. everybody in the school..i mean everybody has a handphone.. maybe this is a school policy for the staffs.. i mean.. if there is any problem with hatice's studies etc, i can contact the class teacher anytime i want..parents n teachers exchange phone numbers..even the school service (school van) chauffeur.. if for example we wanted to pick hatice from school ourselves, we can always call the school service chauffer to let him or her know that hatice should not go home by the school service... hmmm... technology huh? in this sense, it does make life much easier...n less worries.And one good thing about the school service is that an asistant (normally a lady) will help ur child down the vehicle, cross the road n even press the bell to the apt...u wont need to worry that ur child will be run down by a car while crossing the street..

Everything was well today.. before going home we went to the upper level of the school building to buy stuffs like books n stationaries that the school has prescribed for the usage of pre school students this year..we had the shock of our lives when the price of everything was like... 290YTL (1 US dollar = 1.53 YTL)...n we need to buy an english book as well later (31YTL) since it is out of stock.. ..pokai pokai... tak pa la..asalkan hatice bahagia.. dah sekolah swasta..biasa la semua mahal gilaaaaaaaaaaaa....sabar je la kan? Tahun depan lagi parah sebab badin pun masuk pre school n hatice akan masuk darjah satu..kena save la dari sekarang yek?

So starting this monday..hatice will board the school service in front of our apt at 7.42am n will reach home around 5pm. If i am not mistaken, pre lunch, lunch n tea will be provided by the school.

When i first saw the price of the yearly school fee, i was shocked because 1st grade students' fee (darjah satu) is the same as pre school students' fee. Now i see why..the cost is enormous... one teacher for one subject..etc..etc..Hatice loves the school. She finds everything there new n interesting.She is fascinated by it.... I think she will be able to adapt to her new surrounding pretty quickly knowing how self reliant she is...she is *abla* (sister).. she has been a sister of baddin for as long as she can remember..helping me in so many ways than possible (remember how she actually helped me to prepare köfte n tuna sandvich for her baba???)...knowing how she has been all these years.. with Allah's permission, her adaptation period will be quick..

my worry is for baddin next year.. being the youngest, he is spoilt..my fault perhaps..he is not as self reliant as his sister....with less self confidence..but then, i have one more year to train him before his pre school entry..insyaAllah i will be able to make him as self reliant as possible...

Anyway... this is hatice's first day experience in school.. She came back from school using the school service..her cousin keremcan who lives across our door is also using the same service..his presence somehow gave hatice courage to board the school service..(servis te yine onun başı tuttu yahuu)

All's Well Ends Well..Alhamdulllah....For this mother whose child is going to school for the first time.. this is indeed a big day for me....n next year baddin will join her sister in school.. what will i do with myelf alone till 5pm everyday?? I cant imagine the boredom!!....help...
And for my dear sweet çiçeğim...22th September 2006 is a date to remember....Her first day of attending Özel Yaşar Cimilli Ilkögretim Okulu...my daughter..a pre school (anaokulu student).....Please Pray for her..

Second Day (Monday)

Her second day of Pre school would be on Monday.. She was excited. When she came back from school on that first day, she kept saying that school was short. She wanted it to be longer... That monday (her second day of school), she woke up at 5am n called me.. * anne..okula vakti geldi mı?* (Is it time to go to school?) she woke up again at 6am with the same question posed..6.15am, the alarm was on coz halil needed to get ready for work by 6.30am... n finally by 6.45am, i woke her up. She didnt complain.. she brushed her teeth, wore her clothes (which she had chosen the night before..girls just want to impress people huh??)..let me braided her hair... quietly ate her breakfast (milk n fruity yogurt)...excited all the way...waited for keremcan to come out of the door from his flat (in front of our flat)...n together offff they went...I heard İlayda (her other cousin) screamed in delight when hatice boarded the school bus service... heheheh ilayda was that excited hahahahahahah.. n yes... before leaving the house, she went to baddin's bed, kissed him goodbye n said *ben okula gidiyorum* (i am going to school) When she came home that day...there was this shine i rarely see in her eyes... she was excited as she told baddin n i what she did in school. She said she felt happy in school.. *When i visited her that day in school to give her class teacher that 290 YTL package, i was told how hatice had hugged a fellow classmate who cried in the morning... awww that is so sweet...!! when i took a peep of her in her classroom....she looked happy as well

Third Day (Tuesday)

*Anne..biraz daha uyucağım*
(Anne..I want to sleep some more*

heheheheh u cant expect her to be excited on the third day huh?.. after the trip to the toilet.. she was again awake... ..But i envy the spirit in her.. she was no less enthusiastic about going to school..beakfast... n off to school....not failing to kiss her liltle bro a sweet goodbye..

Again...she came home with the same shine in her eyes...

Fourth Day (Wednesday)

This time baddin decided that enough is enough... he refused to wake up alone n therefore he woke up with hatice... he ate his breakfast with his abla... watched her with this longing in his eyes...wishing that he wont be left behind... hugged his abla while she kissed him goodbye... n for the first time today... n from now on insyaAllah..i have instructed hatice to kiss my hand before leaving the house...

She came home saying that school is too long heheheheheh ..the magic of school is starting to wear off...but school is still something she finds interesting...baddin is still excited everytime hatice comes home..he has this shine in his eyes as he watches his sister tells her activities of the day... n waits for hatice to ask him what he did today so that he too can explain his activities of the day...

He misses her terribly though he doesnt say it... he showed a psychological distress as well as he wets his bed ever since hatice started school....i am tired of washing the bed cloth n cover...we will see tomorrow...

Hatice...my memory will fade but this way i wish to preserve the memory of ur school life here... u may read it urself once u grow up..if this blog is here... or someone may tell u of these entries i am writing n will be writing...

I wish u all the best...What u be in the future is ur choice... u may be an excellent student.. but then again u may be not....i only pray that u will grow up to be a decent person with manners..that is all i will ask from u...

Fifth Day (Thursday)

She woke up this morning crying from sleepiness. I dont blame her. Instead of sleeping at 8.30pm the way she always does for the previous school days, she slept at 10.30pm last night. But then, Minik mustafa had his special day yesterday... we all couldnt have left earlier last night..

She was her usual self after she washed her face...brushed her teeth...etc..etc... By the time i started to braid her hair....she was that smily though sleepy hatice.. breakfast? salamlı omelette n chocolate milk..

Again baddin woke up together with his abla. He was XXXXXtremely sleepy but for abla... he woke up... had his breakfast with her..let her kissed him goodbye... n now he is busy watching the BBC Prime..teletubbies is on i think..

Will update again once my girl is back from school..

And yes she is back..sleeping thru the tiredness of today.She came back alone today. Keremcan
had iftar at his friend's...therefore hatice was alone...baddin n i waited for her downstairs coz i know that she is afraid to take the elavator on her own...Bless keremcan... they go up n down together each day......

Our place is the last stop for the bus service. The driver is a male. .. luckily there is a bus hostess who is a female. Else, i would worry sick...u know moms... worry this n that... anyway, the bus hostess as usual helped hatice down the bus, crossed the street with her to where baddin n i were waiting..i was told that if she is alone..my daughter that is... she can also send hatice till the front of my home door... phewww what a relief!!....

Is she still in love with the school? ... she still finds it interesting but she finds the long hours really really boring at times esp when she needs to use her brain n think for some of the lessons heheheheheh kızım..tembellik yapma!!

Today she is a girl in green..fıstık yeşil..pistachio green... green pants....green t-shirt -green socks -green hair bands ...she wants to be as stylish as possible in school (girls!!) n feel happy when she thinks that she looks pretty heheheheh I really cant wait for next year when she will be wearing the same uniform everyday...yippie!! it is such a load to make her decide what she will be wearing the next day... if it is up to her, she will choose skirts everyday!! I am glad i managed to persuade her otherwise... i just dont like washing stocking socks!!...it is such as hassle!! oh geee... next year school uniform will be with skirts!! aaaaa geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

Her achievement so far? I think she has finally managed to draw a decent *star*..something her mom n dad simply cannot draw nicely (we both r useless when it comes to drawing!!).. Baddin being left alone at home has finally picked up a pen n color pencils n started to try to make something on the paper... his sister's influence naturally..n once his abla is back, he will show his sketches to her n she will make *star* shapes as her reward..(something her teacher does in school)..This way, he is getting used to holding a pen n get to have some sort of a school connection with his sister ..hmm..what can i say...she is his world... he misses her when she is in school..(will add in the star picture once blogger is less problematic)
The Rainbow is made by baddin n hatice had given him 5 stars for that

Tomorrow is friday..the last day of school for this week...More updates tomorrow..the last update for this one entry... one week will be officially over...tomorrow

Last Day of The Week (Friday)

Yup..the final day of her first week in school..she said that she enjoyed school today... later she admitted however that in school she had a small non violent fight with another girl..the other girl said something unpleasant to her n she sort of got angry n using her shoulder..softly pushed the girl n the girl vice versa...nothing happened.. when i asked her what did her teacher say? she said nothing... hmmmm...

she was happy to discover that the next day (saturday) n Sunday will be no school days.. happy to be able to wake up late again... (pls note that on saturday she woke up at 6am!! n on sunday at 7am!!)..ouch hatice!! anne wants to wake up late on weekends too!! geeee....

At the beginning of the week, she sat near keremcan in the school bus.. but after discovering the joy of chatting... n playing with ilayda on the school bus... she now automatically sits next to ilayda everytime she boards the school bus...both girls r happy this way....even when ilayda is not around, she now sits next to ilaya's friend who is a girl... n i think keremcan is relieved as well... as much as he likes hatice, having to sit next to a *girl* is not cool at this stage of his age (my assumption) ...

anyway... one week is over...Alhamdulillah..