Baby steps toward self independence (3)

Did i mentioned that she voluntarily vacummed her room... her brother's room and the master bedroom as well??

heheheh free labour abuse! hahaha

Baby steps toward self independence (2)

The special day was just around the conner... she said..

*Anne...I feel bored with the ready made cakes. Can i make my on cake?*

She was extremely excited that morning that immediately after doming down from her bed, she straight away approached me in the kitchen...

My lil princess getting the weight scale ready..
weighing the butter...

the mixer...with baddin helping out...

Decoration time!! The finished cake...decorated and 85% done by the kids...

The 2nd cake!!

Pouring the cake mixture ...

Pineapple upside down cake!

The birthday girl

HAPPY 8TH BİRTHDAY!!

two siblings...

the cousins..

the rest of the families...

some more family members...

Yes..the baking of the cakes made her really tired but i think it was worth it....!!

Baby steps toward self independence (1)

The first look of the first time she was assigned to a shop on her own...

Rules: 1. I could see her movement to the shop from my window

2. She was to dial our home number in case of emergency (ies)

3. She was not to talk to strangers.

4. She was to look to the left and right and left and right again before crossing the street.

Running all the way as she crossed the street...

still running towards the shop..

Returning home from the shop

Yup... she went to the kuruyemis and bought 200 grams of hazelnut!

Bravo!

Like any mother...i was really worried and scared..thinking of terrible *what ifs*..

But if we mothers do not teach our kids the ropes in life... who will eh?

Ana Karnesi...

Yup... this crumpled pape is her mid term report card...i am no longer enthusiastic recieving her report card coz...well..i am just simply tired of it...

Alhamdulillah.. she is basically doing good...she is clearly having problem with her maths...yes.. we sort of expected it but i think she is trying her best... that is so much more important... like i said in my previous entry... look at your strengths and improve your weakensses... insyaAllah.she will be just fine...

Last week... her whole class was sad... a few girls cried... their music teacher has diabetes...from what she told me..it seems that it is an advanced one since that teacher will be quitting his job... our prayers will always be with you dear music teacher of hatice's... may Allah be with you to ease your illness and discomfort...

It will be teacher's day this monday... 24th of november... here is a poem hatice wrote to celebrate teacher's day...

Öğretmenim seni çok seviyorum
Sen okumaya öğrettin bana yazmaya öğrettin
Adam akıllı yetiştirdin
Bana anlattın,anlamında yardımcı oldun
Çarpmaya bilmezdım, öğrettin
Çıkarmaya bilmezdım, öğrettin
Sabırlı öğrettin
Sen hep sevdin, severek öğrettin
Hep akıllı olmamını istedin
Hep doğru yolu gösterdin
Ve hep örnek oldun
Seni üzdüysem özür dilerim
Yaptığın her şey için teşekkur ederim.

Translation...

My dear teacher, I love you very much
You taught me to read, to write
You trained me to be bright
You taught me, when I couldn’t understand, you helped me
I didnt know how to add, you taught me
I didnt know how to minus, you taught me
With patience always
You taught me with love always
You wanted me to be intelligent always
You always show me the right way
You are always my example
If i ever made you sad, i am sorry.
Thank you for everything

On the road to recovery

Yes...We had a big scare last week (see previous entry)...Alhamdulillah...it is all over now.....

We thank everybody for their prayers,sms and calls.. wishing her a speedy recovery...(will answer the comments in the previous entry later)

Hatice listening to her new ipod while waiting for our appointment with the doctor...

Alhamdulillah... Yes...she is recovering very well...Well...u know kids right? how their tissues mend very fast? ..totally unlike us.... adults...(Did i mention the word *old?!!) hahahahaah

Hatice and i went to the hospital again ...exactly one week after the operation...for a medical check up... to see 2 doctors...one for the allergic reaction she had due to certain chemical substance (that orangish darkish liquid)..sorry...cant remember the doctor's name... and to see the doctor who was in charge of her from the moment surgery was on till she left the hospital... Dr. Fatma Nur Hacıbaloğlu..a very sweet,polite and comforting lady doctor indeed...

Dr. Fatma Nur Hacıbaloğlu (white), hatice and her assistant (blue)..

Depending on her mobility n pain... hatice can go to school either next week or the week after next... we will see...

How is she exactly? Well... she can walk..that's for sure... we were walking from one doctor to another...First..we went to see Dr. Fatma Nur..then she demanded a blood count...so we went to give her blood for testing to the lab...Then...it was the skin specialist doc interview... by then... the result of the blood count was not out yet.....and so... mother and daughter went to the cafe of the hospital for a break... drinking the cold ice tea...

what a strong memory she has got indeed...... she saw the surgeon who operated on her... hugged him.. told him her thanks... and again..he was pinching her cheeks (just like he did before the operation)... çookk tatlı bir kız (a very sweet girl) he said of my daughter....Then... when the blood test result was out..again we went to Dr.Fatma Nur..this sweet lady noticed something wrong with her hemoglobin count... and so.. we were referred to another doc....where we finally discovered that there was a bit of error in the test reading... Grrrrrrr.....(they gave me a scare!!).... Anyway... hatice n i were moving from one level to another...but it didnt feel like a burden much coz the customer service there was good.....and hatice was walking quite well...that is as long as nobody touches her tummy part...

Since Sema is located just a few minutes away from her school.. and since she misses her friends..i offered to bring her there for a few minutes...

Her friends just got out of the physical education class..... when a few of her friends saw her.. they rushed towards her and hugged her...begging me to let her stay a bit longer... stuck in deciding between staying next to hatice and going to eat lunch... and so i agreed to let her stay a few minutes more...together with her friends at the school canteen...

You should have seen their faces.... her classmates especially... all were very happy to see her (even the boys)... Elif practically almost jumped towards hatice.... quickly saving a spot next to her for hatice to sit... Kaan was also trying to defend the spot elif reserved for hatice...happy to see her... (hatice is kaan's playmate..she plays action man toys with him in school hehee)...All of her friends were happy...all asking when she was coming back to school....Even baddin (her brother) who rarely bother about his sister in school was heard saying loudly... *o benim ablam!! burada!* (that's my sister... here!!)..He too must have missed having his sister in school... Bilginur.. the girl who is in the same school service was happy to see her... even keremcan came to us when she saw his cousin at the canteen...

Oh dear! i can see how pampered she will be especially for the first few days of her schooling days later... i am sure she will make totally good use of that opportunity... hehehe Enjoy these days lil princess for you dont get to enjoy it often...

Have a Speedy recovery dear çiçeğim!!

My dad??

We were honoured by the presence of Hatice's teacher and 10 other moms of her classmates for veli çayı and taziye ziyarete... (thank you for coming!)

Her class teacher (Nuray Hoca) was relating to us, moms of a happening in the class (in Turkish)...

Nuray Hoca (Teacher) : Children, whose father come home early everyday? Please raise your hands!
The Students :Nobody raised their hands

And as the moms were gigling over the whole matter... one of the moms added...

"Of course... if the fathers are sending the kids to this school (which is a private school)....Of course they have to work hard to find money"

In which..the rest of the moms burst into laughter! hhahahahahah Oh..how true... !

Achievement Report By Categories

Ad Soyad :
NUR HATİCE ZAİM
Sınıf :
1/B
Numara :
324
Tarih :
07.03.2008

Çözdüğü Test Adedi (Total Tests)
Recieved Points: 50.00
Class Average Points: 50.00
Overall Average Points: 50.00

Deneme Başarısı (Tests Success)
Recieved Points: 245.00
Class Average Points: 232.50
Overall Average Points: 201.17

Derse Katılım (Class Attendance)
Recieved Points: 437.00
Class Average Points: 341.92
Overall Average Points: 385.72

Kıyafet ve Düzen (Clothing and Orderliness)
Recieved Points: 320.00
Class Average Points: 350.63
Overall Average Points: 297.18

Kitap Okuma (Book Reading)
Recieved Points: 265.00
Class Average Points: 261.17
Overall Average Points: 260.01

Okulu Temsil (School performance/Presentation)
Recieved Points: 480.00
Class Average Points: 436.25
Overall Average Points: 196.41

Ödev Bilinci (Homework Understanding)
Recieved Points: 990.00
Class Average Points: 485.83
Overall Average Points: 619.58

Saygı ve Ahlak (Respect and Morality)
Recieved Points: 80.00
Class Average Points: 80.00
Overall Average Points: 62.11

Sosyal Faaliyet (Social Activity)
Recieved Points: 50.00
Class Average Points: 50.00
Overall Average Points: 50.00

Alhamdulillah She is generally doing well in her class. Keep up the good work my dear Princess!

Hatice's Stories (an announcement)

In our effort to enhance the fluency of her mind, When ever possible, My daughter is writing short stories in Turkish. I have bought a special note book for her to write all her stories. So far, she had written 3 stories. I will try to type in her stories whenever time allows me to.I think this is a wonderful way to stimulate her mind...She has the creativity in her writing (just like her mom of course hehehhe)... the only thing to do now is to let her be with the flair and with her teacher's help, she will insyaAllah be a good writer.

Here is where i have put her stories...

www.haticevehikaye.blogspot.com

the link is at the sidebar on the right side of this blog...

Bahar Okulu 2008

It is really interesting when i look at her friendship circle...When she was new to the school life... when she was in her pre school, her circle of closest friends were suprisingly of the girls who carry the same name of her cousins.... Zeynep, Elif and Merve were among her closets friends. I suppose subconsciously, she was attracted to their names. She found comfort to be among the friends who are like her cousins.

Being in the first grade, i see that she is also expanding herself. The closest friends she used to be close to are still close to her, but they are no longer the closest. Her closest friends are those she finds almost of the similar interest....

Take for example...Elanur. Hatice motivates Elanur in areas Hatice is good as... just like Elanur motivates Hatice in areas Elanur is good at. Merve (this Merve is not the same merve in her pre school mate), is another of her closest friends. This triplet, i think have the same line of thoughts and interest (and almost the same height too i have to add) which makes them got attracted to each other. As a result, they join the English club together.... and... for Bahar Okulu... is it a suprise that the three of them have also chosen Badminton???

This is Hatice's first Bahar Okulu... and last saturday, she had her first session. True, that we all had to go out of the apt by 8 am and could only reach home by 3.15pm (since her brother's football session was at 12.30 noon -2pm)... but she was happy. That is what counts. Good luck, Hatice!

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.

Reading

I made a promise to both of my kids. I told them that once Hatice can read, i will bring them to a bookstore once a month and they can choose a book that they like (within limit of course). That was what i did. We went to my favourite book store D&R in Bağdat Caddesi. Baddin chose a book that costed 7.50YTL.. but hatice chose a book which only costed 1 YTL per book (i was shocked. ii didn't realise that a book can e so cheap!). And so i told her to choose 7 books of the same group. She couldn't believe her ears. She was so happy...

the books she had chosen

It was of the same series; Ece ve Yüce. Upon inspection, i realised Hatice specifically chose the books with cursive style handwriting. Furthermore, the books are actually for grade one and grade two students. For this month, she will be reading these books till the next bookstore trip. I plan to bring them to different bookstores each time. After all, there are many bookstores along Bağdat Caddesı.

While eating dinner, she also told me that an inspector came to her class today.everybody read something one by one and they wrote something one by one too. Hatice was declared the one with the most fluency in reading while she came in second in writing (Elanur was the first). Aferin kızıma! Keep on reading! keep on writing! During weekends, she keep on practising her handwriting. She is not giving up. Like i mentioned in the previous entry, she aims to beat Elanur and Atakan in writing. Her determination reminds me of myself. I think she will be alright insyaAllah..

Today, while reading at home, i also noticed that she is more fluent in her reading. She *invented* new words much lesser while reading. Of course, being school days and all, i didn't push her to read too much. She gets extremely tired after the homework... Keep up the good work my sweet daughter! I know you can do it! I am right behind you!