Second Semester and Update

Where do i begin? i had missed writing a lot of her development ..mainly due to time limitation and computer access problem. So many had happened. She had gone through so much. Development i should have typed in but was unable to.

I guess by now, Hatice's class teacher, Nuray hoca is so used to my small notes; the notes i always write (at times in turkish, at times in English depending on my mood) of the possible problematic areas Hatice may be facing in her learning. Lucky for me, her teacher never take that notes the wrong way. She always do a follow up on my notes, in which i am forever grateful. Of course, the notes are slowly expanding to other teachers as well. I really hope the notes won't be misunderstood as something negative. They were/are and will be sent so that Hatice will be able to learn better.I am only thinking of my daughter's success in developing her potential so that she will live up to the surname and genetics that she carry with her each day.

I had a one to one chat regarding Hatice's development so far with her clss teacher Nuray Çatman earlier today. She is happy with her development in class. Nuray Hanım personally find hatice wonderful, both character wise and intellectual wise. Her development in class is good. Her only complaints were hatice is a bit untidy and she needs to enrich her turkish vocabulary and language usage. Of course having a mom who cannot speak proper Turkish and whose father is working all the time, that is a big problem for us. So in the end, it was decided that Hatice should write short stories using different words and her teacher will keep a tab of her language development. Just because i do not speak the language properly, i do not want to be the one responsible for destroying her language. I strongly believe she should be lingually fluent, be it in Turkish as well as in English.Malay? i will leave that for our Malaysia trip :0) They will learn Malay better there.

The First Semester where tears were shed, temper ran high and loads of writing were done... Alhamdulillah..they are the things in the past. Hatice has learned to read and write Turkish during the first semester of her first grade school life.... and by the end of the first semester, she had recieved her report cards together with this...

"Altın Çocuk Belgesi"

A certificate awarded to 5 example students of each class. Kızım, i am so happy for you and proud of you!

She completed learning all the alphabets and was basically reading slowly by the end of the semester. Of course, if you are in Coskun schools, 2 weeks of school holiday will also mean a holiday book ( tatil kitabı) to be completed within the duration of that 2 weeks. In addition, she was to finish reading 15 provided story books complete with comprehension book. It was interesting to listen to the other moms telling their stories of their kids during the holiday specifically of their homework activities... :0) Their stories made mine as if i had an easy time :0)..Simah..dilin ısırın!!

The main aim now is to make her read as fluent as possible. For now, we are aiming for 50 words per minute in which hopefully by the end of the semester, she will be able to reach the 72 words per minute target. Dictation is also an important thing. I see that she is getting better each day. This must be the effect of doing loads of dictation in class each day.

But what saddened me most is that, Hatice has forgotten her English. Last Semester, i didn't have the energy nor the strength to look at her English level. We were too busy concentrating on her learning to read and write. She had forgotten most of the things i had taught her. There is no doubt that she is doing well in her English class, but my expectation of her is higher. And so, i am starting to push her to be better in her second language; English. They need to speak at least a bit of a decent english if they are to communicate with their grandma, grandpa and my other families in Malaysia this summer.

I also find that spelling is difficult for her for now. Since her ABC is of the turkish alphabets, saying ABC the normal way is difficult and confusing for her. I have decided to let her memorize the spelling without involving the pronounciation of ABC to avoid confusion. She will learn words as they are in chunks. We will see how it will go. I am yet to discuss this with her English teacher. I think i will go and see her next week.I need to think of my future plans for her english language development. I need to check my TESL books as well as some other stuffs i had bought during our last trip to Malaysia 5 years ago.

Learning is a form of a battle; who will come out alive and happy in the end? I truly hope Hatice will be one of them survivors .... to win the battle with proud eyes and happiness coz she has earned it. And to be Happy with the knowledge that she has gained all that while. As a mom, i can only pray.