Don't raise your hands please!!

2 best friends...

Elanur and Nur Hatice..

Enjoying themselves in class...
as well as comptetors in learning...

Hatice came to me today and said..

Hatice: Anne... elanur and i were forbidden to raise our hands to answer questions in class for 3 lessons!!!

shocked. That was not what i ever expected from her...

It seems that both of these girls keep on raising their hands to answer questions in class (just like Hrmoine in Harry Potter) that the rest of the classmates havent the opportunity to answer questions!! hahahaha

And then she added...
Hatice: Anne.. we didnt raise our hands for 3 lessons but the rest of the classmates didnt raise their hands either!!

hahahahaah

Hopelessness..

I feel hopeless and helpless... i cant help her with her turkish lessons homework anymore... and i just discovered that due to language barrier... i dont understand her maths homework as well!! Gosh!! This is really depressing!!!

Yesterday, nuray hanım told me that she did her math homework (the ğrevious day) all wrong... i should have checked her homework.. but how can i? Even though my turkish is not so bad.. but for formal education like this... it is just beyond me... her dad is also normally working somewhere... he cant help there...my only home is her class teacher...Nuray hanım...

Looking at this positively... my hatice will have to be independent in her learning. She has to understand and know it all herself....

Negatively however... i am reminded of myself... of when i was young..i soooooooo wanted to ask my parents to help me with my homework... my dad was always awayanyway for months since he was a custom marine....he was never at home... i remember once i even tried to ask my dad a simple question just simply because i wanted him to deal with my homework for once even......of an english homework in which i knew the answer ... he said...*i dont understand...go ask ur sister*... i didnt of course since i knew the answer...

in Hatice's case..i am seeing a repeat of my past...whichever homework which will require an understanding of turkish as the core language..i cant help her anymore... the rest... yes..i can.. english?? i'll welcome her with an open arm!! heheheeh..

Her class teacher is aware of this problem... I feel guilty to add more burden to her already heavy responsibilities.. but i have no choice.. Being the dedicated teacher that she is..i know that Nuray hanım will not let hatice down... she will help whenever she possibly can....and in Allah we trust that my daughter will be fine to be whatever she wishes to be in the future... All i can do is pray...

Malaysia ...Summer 2008

There we were..in Şevval mother's car...heading towards school after iftar...

i noticed she was telling her friends about Malaysia.. n laughing over it...Her teacher also told me that she kept telling her about her malaysia days...yup..2 months she was there... n she sure has got lots of stories to tell!
i am sure it was a trip that has enriched her life experience as well as getting connected to a part of her roots..the part where money cant buy! Yes..i think she can now proudly say that i am half Malay n be proud of it!

Yes... her Summer this year was educational indeed....Priceless even!

hatice enjoyed eating using hands..the malay way

holding a local flower at the monkey park area...

At her Yana Teyze's wedding...
Hatice n baddin's apprearance as the flwer girl n boy made the wedding even much more special


Hatice in atraditional malay dress complete with her headcover..

Yana Teyxe's wedding day..

Yana teyze's wedding day...again in Malay traditionl dress..

with her cousins..

with her uncles n cousins at the water park.. she had fun bullying them all day long hehehe

the only girl cousin of the day...

at the water fall...cooling indeed!
(Kedah)

with her teyzes...eniste...cousins...uncle..at a family day game ..

with pak ngah joe...

Helping atok dede to hang the clothes...

at the butterfly park....

with abi dayı n atok dede... doing the things she loves best... playing with the cats!

with yana teyze n tok wan anna anne..

at the waterfall...penang

U have never tasted real pineapple unless u come here... hatice was in love with the freshly picked pineapple..sweet n juicy...

with her uncle on the motorbike...
her first n last! hahaha

she said to me...

*Anne... i was wearing skirt!!!*
24/7.. the cats...

2nd Grade

Breakfast on the first day of school
before leaving the door..

with the cousins...

in the classroom with her classmates...


Alhamdulillah...the terror of first grade has passed.. Hatice left first grade with a certain phobia over reading books... n she purely hates homework..in her mind... homework is not something she is looking forward in doing...she does it because she has to.She is an obedient child after all.



8th September... her road in gaining more knowledge continues in 2B..3 of her classmates have moved school...Zeynep...Atakan n Ahmet hakan if i am not mistaken...She is particularly sad about Zeynep coz she was one of her best friends in pre school...



Luckily her class teacher has not changed.. Nuray Çatman is still her mentor and from what i have spoken to her... Hatice's fear n dislikes mainly stem from self confidence... in which she promised to look into.. n hopefully by the end of this term... my daughter will have a more positive view towards homework...n reading turkish books...i know my daughter is in safe hands....n i put my trust in Allah... n her teachers to make her education as smooth as possible...



This academic year however, i have stopped making her do her homework with me next to her... With her brother entering 1st grade and i needed to scream a lot... she is doing her homework in her own room instead of the living room......So far so good... for now.... i am simply observing... monitoring her...giving feedback n getting feedback with nuray hanım whenever necessary.....

Her bed time has also been extended from 7.30pm to 8.30pm. I have also gven her the permission to watch the *beşinci boyut* tv episodes every thursdays which ends by 9.30pm since that is the tv episode that she loves most and it promotes extremely good human values in the stories as well as reminding us to be thankful to Allah.

I wish u all the love n luck my sweet flower...
Bloom into a ravishing flower from the simple bud u r..
for u r the princess of my heart
and i want others to see the princess in u...
shine...