Nur Hatice Ve Okul

3rd Grade

2009-11-24T16:06:00.002+02:00

It has been a long time since i last keyed in an entry for her blog. The half semester of the 3rd grade has come. So many changes are happening. I will mumble soon. That, i promise...

iSTİKLAL mARŞI 10 kıta

2009-03-17T15:00:00.004+02:00

Ataturk ve Istiklal Marsi - benn

Korkma, sönmez bu şafaklarda yüzen al sancak;
Sönmeden yurdumun üstünde tüten en son ocak.
O benim milletimin yıldızıdır, parlayacak;
O benimdir, o benim milletimindir ancak.

Çatma, kurban olayım çehreni ey nazlı hilal!
Kahraman ırkıma bir gül! Ne bu şiddet, bu celal?
Sana olmaz dökülen kanlarımız sonra helal…
Hakkıdır, Hakk’a tapan milletimin istiklal!

Ben ezelden beridir hür yaşadım, hür yaşarım.
Hangi çılgın bana zincir vuracakmış? Şaşarım!
Kükremiş sel gibiyim, bendimi çiğner, aşarım.
Yırtarım dağları, enginlere sığmam, taşarım.

Garbın afakını sarmışsa çelik zırhlı duvar,
Benim iman dolu göğsüm gibi serhaddim var.
Ulusun, korkma! Nasıl böyle bir imanı boğar,
“Medeniyet!” dediğin tek dişi kalmış canavar?

Arkadaş! Yurdumu alçakları uğratma, sakın.
Siper et gövdeni, dursun bu hayasızca akın.
Doğacaktır sana va’dettiği günler Hakk’ın…
Kim bilir, belki yarın, belki yarından da yakın.

Bastığın yerleri “toprak!” diyerek geçme, tanı:
Düşün altındaki binlerce kefensiz yatanı.
Sen şehit oğlusun, incitme, yazıktır, atanı:
Verme, dünyaları alsan da, bu cennet vatanı.

Kim bu cennet vatanının uğruna olmaz ki feda?
Şüheda fışkıracak toprağı sıksan, şüheda!
Canı, cananı, bütün varımı alsında Huda,
Etmesin tek vatanımdan beni dünyada cüda.

Ruhumun senden, ilahi, şudur ancak emeli:
Değmesin mabedimin göğsüne namahrem eli.
Bu ezanlar-ki şahadetleri dinin temeli,
Ebedi yurdumun üstünde benim inlemeli.

O zaman vecd ile bin secde eder varsa taşım,
Her cerihamdan, ilahi, boşanıp kanlı yaşım,
Fışkırır ruh-ı mücerred gibi yerden na’şım;
O zaman yükselerek arşa değer belki başım.

Dalgalan sen de şafakalar gibi ey şanlı hilal!
Olsun artık dökülen kanlarımın hepsi helal.
Ebediyen sana yok, ırkıma yok izmihlal:
Hakkıdır, hür yaşamış, bayrağımın hürriyet;
Hakkıdır, Hakk’a tapan, milletimin istiklal!

Baby steps toward self independence (3)

2009-02-11T18:28:00.003+02:00

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)

2009-02-11T17:37:00.015+02:00

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)

2009-02-11T17:11:00.008+02:00

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?

Yunus Gösterisi (Haliç)

2009-02-04T19:49:00.021+02:00

Despite her baba's direct opposition, hatice managed to persuade her baba to allow her to join the 5 days program during the winter break...she terms it as..*eğlence okul*...or in English... Fun school...and so...both my kids were in that *fun* for that 5 days...

The kids were to learn English in the morning and visitings n other activities till it was time to go home...i decided to join the kids for the dolphin show.... I won't elaborate on the show... it is the kids that is important.. here they were...

2 B Waiting for the departure...in a line..

Still waiting..

2B class before boarding the school service with their class teacher..Nurah Çatman and her cute son..

Nur Hatice, Elif

Yusuf, Ayşenur

Elanur, Ahmet Faruk

Hesna, Furkan, Şevval

(i couldn't get these 3 to stay put to snap a pic)

Kaan, Züleyha

Talha (Elif's Elder bro), Mehmet Emin

Semih, Serdar, Yasin

Nur Hatice..

Ana Karnesi...

2008-11-22T22:43:00.009+02:00

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

Sadness

2008-11-13T20:38:00.002+02:00

She came home sad today.... you see a few of her friends in her class (5 i think) were awarded for their excellence in their tests.. i am assuming they are the top 5 students in the class coz their names are the ones who normally score the highest marks..and she was not one of them....

I can understand her feelings. She really wanted to be among those rewarded. But the thing is... she had done her best in all the tests. I know she is not the brightest in her class but she has other strong points as well that others dont... i think she is among the top in her class in english class and characterwise... she is mature for her age. Those are her strongest poıints. She should concentrate on them while trying to improve her other weaker strenghts. She should realize that having a high IQ is not everything. What is important is to work hard towards success coz success is so much more sweeter when u achieve it thru hard work.

She is so much like me... a person with an average IQ. But i worked damn well hard to earn what i got. I remember when i first entered the TESL (Teaching of English as a Second Language) course at the university. I was among the average type of students. There were totally brilliant people with bombastic usage of the language. At the end of the program, i was among those who succeeded well..... there were a few of those brilliant ones who didnt even graduate!! So was it due to intelligence or was it due to hard work? You can be intelligent and lazy but not successful. or you can be average but hardworking and successful. I wish i can make her understand this fact. To look into her strengths and move on forward from there. To not be sad... for she is only in the second grade... she is a hardworking girl..insyaAllah she will succeed..

I love you çiçeğim.. my prayers will always be with you and your brother for your success in life in all directions...

Learning never stop eh?

2008-11-13T08:49:00.009+02:00

"This is a cat.

This is my cat in Malaysia.

Her name is Milano.

Milano is a mammal.

Milano is a small cat.

She is so sweet.

She loves to eat fish.

She has fluffy fur.

I love Milano very much!"

Yup.. this is what she wrote for a homework for her English class...

Not bad eh? I only helped her with the grammar and the translation of the word *fluffy fur*..She was basically supposed to use the words she learned in class..i.e.. mammal..small...etc..

Yup.. she got it when she was in pre school (ana okulu).. and she got it again... She was the star student of the week last week for her english class...Keep up the good work!

During the friday assembly..she looks totally out of height over there masyaAllah....She is after all the tallest in her class

First rule:Always stand next to Elanur... the second tallest girl in the class in order not to look like a giant...(just like me.. always stand next to the kids in the family since i am so short! hahaha) still in line..listening to the teacher on the michrophone i guess..

cheer up girl! u will go home soon after the assembly!!

Life is Alhamdulillah good for her..She had a bout of skin allergy last week...probably due to her panty hose socks...she had developed spots over one leg where she had to carry kalamosan cream everywhere...I think it is quite ok now... we will see... ..

Things r so hectic these days that next to their daily cbbc watching in the morning..i have to admit that her english lessons at home are neglected totally...there simply isnt time for anything else... though i have to admit that i better start speaking english at home again...else... hatice n baddin might simply forget the language usage totally!

But i am very happy that both of them.. hatice esp has the same interest as i am in watching movies... I made them watch.. *the sound of music*..a classical musical with julie andrews in it. They loved it totally even though i had to skip certain parts... Then, i ordered *heidi* from amazon.com where jane seymour was one of the actresses... the magnificent view of the mountain... the green.. the character and that beauty of the unconditional love made her cry a lot while watching...and she loves it a lot! I am glad that i decided to buy that movie as her get well soon present... i am planning to order loads more of those one step at a time... english classics that will not be out of mode over time... i want her to be exposed not only to the turkish classics like Şaban or battal gazi...i want them to be worldly about a lot of things...while being exposed to different cultures and point of view...

Right now for her Maths.. she is learning how to multiply... i like the system here... first the kids learnt the *ritmik*.. the rhythm of counting... ie...
2,4,6,8,....
3,6,9,12,.....
and only then..slowly they are introduced to the chart of multiplication... thatz really good.. step by step... Hatice keeps getting her ritmik mixed up at times.. but i think she gets the concept... that is what is most important...the only thing for her to do now is to simply be careful!! hehehe (i cant blame her.. when i was a child, i was like that too...!!!)..

And i have also discovered that..i can actually help her with her maths.. language barrier that i once mumbled about was actually from the confusion in my head...i guess i am not that stupid after all... i am still helping her with her maths whenever possible despite my lack of turkish...

What about her turkish?? hehehehe That..is the hardest thing of course... but luckily.. she is learning how to read a dictionary in class... she was crying that day when she couldnt find the words in the dictionary... but Nuray hanım assured me that it will be ok over time... i have bought a big sized font dictionary for her to use at home as well as a pocket turkish -turkish dictionary to be used in school.. we will see...

The mid term report card will be distributed this saturday... hmmm..i wonder how she is...

i'll keep u updated whenever i can........

Post operation

2008-11-03T22:58:00.004+02:00

She had and is still sharing me with her lil brother for as long as she can remember... Yes... she was a total *cadı* (witch) as a baby...i clearly remember how my late mom in law (anne) gave up looking after her after 15 minutes (luckily kerim amca n meşe hala were there) when my beloved and i went to a movie..... but the truth is...she never could remember having me by her side from the age of 15 months..just me and her..alone... getting my full concentration...

I guess despite the pain n her suffering... there is one good thing over the whole thing..she got me all to herself...when she was sick at home (pre surgery)...i was basically with her day n nite...I was the one carrying her to and pro marmara poliklinik...when kerim brought her to the Sema hospital for the ultrasound..i was with her.. and i was there by her side in the hospital and post hospital until she was well enough for me to *abandon* her again and start dealing with her lil bro as well...in her time of need... she reached out to me like she had never done before simply because a child needs a mother and i was glad she had me all to herself while her lil brother had been looked after by other family members....i am truly glad that i got to spend time with my lil princess despite everything....

The first week she went to school (that's last week)..i had forbidden her to go out of her class and run around.... and sweet elanur in particular as well as her other close frends helped to lift up her spirit as well by staying in class with her and play with her... This week i have cut her some slack...yes... she can go outside the building wth her friends but with minimal running...
we basically have forbidden her to participate in her folk dance class as well as her physical education class for this first semester...we just dont wanna take the risk... Alhamdulillah...everyone understand our plight very well and are giving her their moral support in so many ways possible...

How is her lesson? is she left behind? i think she is doing quite ok...catching up i suppose...i am simply monitoring her progress right now...Yes.. she has never ben the top 5 or top 10 even in the tests but i see her improving slowly... from 24 wrongs...she got 15 wrongs..and the last one... 7 wrongs... she was happy beyond words and for us...his parents... all we can do is to give her encouragement whenever possible...

On the road to recovery

2008-10-21T15:46:00.011+03:00

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!!

Her Health ; Challenged

2008-10-16T20:31:00.053+03:00

There is nothing worse for a mom to see your child squirming. tossing and turning in intense pain for days….unable to sit or lie down…tired from exhaustion coz any food or drinks that entered the body would be out again in a second ...in a pool of vomit…wanting to sleep but couldnt…literally screaming out her pain…yet..no medicine….nor emadur nor painkillers seem to any take effect…only to discover the truth…

and to see your child being wheeled off into an emergency operating theatre…at the same hospital where the grandpa was…thinking that… *will this hospital entry end up in another death??*...Indeed...In Allah we trust…in Allah we seek the comfort we need……

It was heartbreaking to see her in pain for days… it all started after our visitor from malaysia left our place.She had complained of an intense tummy pain… we thought that it was something normal.. she was after all was having fever that day….But the pain suddenly intensified…leaving us all to speculate….her doctor aunty… meşe hala was called….the pain did not decrease despite the medication….

Come Monday morning… we brought her to Dr. Buge… the child doc specalist whom we always go to (next to meşe hala) whenever the need arises for both of our kids…Dr. Buge requested the urine n blood tests..in which we complied…. Her pain didnt decrase at all since then.. and the test results that evening suggested sand in her kidney….we were to go for an ultrasound on Wednesday and to see a doctor who specialised in urology…

But she got worse and worse…it came to a point that Tuesday where she could no longer walk and i had to carry her everywhere… her pain getting no better at all. But her baba… my beloved was at work that day…full day at the unversity for his lectures…

Sweet aunty Meşe hala suggested ultrasound….her uncle Kerim brought us to Sema hastanesi (hospital)…it was from the ultrasound that the doctor suggested that we went and see the doctor who specialises in woman’s sickness coz the ulrasound revealed an oddity in size of one of her ovaries….…….it was then an emergency operation was decided… and she was wheeled into the operating theatre…..scared…. and i as her mom watched her in numb.... snapping photos of her to get myself occupied...though thoroughly shaking....literally..

Luckily kerim was there… he informed the rest of the Zaim famiy members while i smsed my family in Malaysia…and a few friends asking for their prayers for her safe surgery….

Alhamdulillah…the operation went well… they had to remove one of her ovaries…it was on time indeed coz…..that ovary was already very big…black and dead…it was starting to affect the things surrounding the area… If we had waited perhaps another day or even another hour….that ovary might burst and my daughter could die! Allah has shown some mercy on her and us..and have let her continue with her mortal life…with one other ovary safely intact in her body…functional…insyaAllah…she will still be able to have kids of her own……

To me and halil..and baddin… we are thankful most for the fact that she is alive… for the fact that she has been spared the intense pain she had been having pre operation… True, the operation had/will set her back from school for probably 3 weeks… but it is her health that matters..and to be able to see that sweet face smiling again….and be back home…..scolding her brother and playing with him...i for one am very grateful for this gift of life...

It is also in this time..it feels wonderful to know that we are not alone... that we can count on someone...... our living is backed by doas, love, and support from many people from many locations be it family, friends, acquaintance and even those with faces i cant remember their names...

To Meşe..for being the hala as well as the doctor with great intuition that have used her instinct which may have saved my daughter's life....

To the rest of the zaim family....Kerim n family.....Funda n family...Özlem n family....Meşe n family...not excluding...the aunties...Afife teyze n family...lutfiye teyze n family..Mahture yenge... Muyessa yenge...as well as the rest of the cousins and relatives....

Our gratefulness is also extended to the doctors n staffs of Sema hastane of whom i remember not their names for taking good care of my daughter while she was in the hospital...

My family in Malaysia for their doas ...and my bro joe for his call immediately after recieving my sms..

My blogger friends for their sms n call (kak elle) which kept me sort of sane in a way esp at nite in the hospital...

All the calls of geçmiş olsun from the family members...including the one girl cousin.... friends of the family... teachers (Nuray Çatman.Arzu Özkan, Hacer...)...hatice's friends (Elif,Elanur, Zuleyha,Ayşenur, Furkan)... all the sms n calls from Bursa...America...Malaysia...Singapore...and definitely..istanbul... the moms n grandma of hatice's classmates... the school service hostess (sultan irikaya)

And the hospital visits and help by the Zaim family members as well as from Elif's mom (hatice's classmate's mom)....

It had made her the happiest girl of all of course especially when her girl classmates made a suprise visit with her class teacher where she was showered with cards..... Thank You sweet Elanur,Elif, Şevval,Hesna, Nergizhan, Merve, Zuleyha and Ayşenur for coming...She was a little bit dissappointed of course when .. she discovered that the boys classmates were supposed to visit her the next day (she learned this from furkan)... and they couldnt since she was discharged by 11am! hhehehe ..she misses her classmates a lot...

Forgive me if i forget to mention your names... but all those people who were there for us from day one she got sick... your kindness w shall never forget....Please make your rights halal over us..

Now she is Alhamdulillah recovering at home... she is able to walk on her own slowly. She still feels pain and we give her painkillers for now. This is the best part of all where she is showered by gifts from everyone.... from books and colouring materials...to pyjamas and toys... to cards and pictures...and flowers and plants....and even an ipod....!! But the best gift of all is the fact that she is well loved indeed as her recovery is filled with doas from all corners of the world...She awaits her cousins' visits eagerly...for next to her recovery... next to the homework she gets from her teacher (she is sad to miss her lessons)... they are the best emotional support (along the calls she get from her classmates) she can get...

May u recover soon my princess... for the sun in my heart shines everytime i see you smile for you and your brother are my life...,

Before the operation.. in pain...she told me that she gave up wanting to be a doctor... post operation..when i asked her...

*Are you sure you don't wanna be a doctor anymore?*

She answered:

*I think i changed my mind. I wanna be a doctor once i grow up. They make me better.*

Here are the pics snapped to telll the whole ordeal... mind u.. the one with blurry pictures may be due to the holder of the camera shaking in tears..

while waiting for the ultrasound...

hatice totally in pain

getting ready for the operation...
a scared face heading towards the operating theatre...(she was angry at me coz i told her i would show the pics to her cousin Zam in Malaysia)
into the operating room..
post operation...

inside the container... her ovary..all black and abnormally big in size for an 8 year old girl..

Recuperating... still in great pain...wanting to cough..n yet scared coz it had hurt so much...

Post operation..

A father caressing his daughter's hair with all the love there is in him..

a card from Elif..the cousin..

a card from Zeynep...the cousin..

happy to be surrounded by the girls classmates...

she misses them sooo much..

Reading the cards given to her by her classmates namely;

Elanur,Hesna,Elif, Merve, Şevval, Nergizhan, Zuleyha,Ayşenur (in no particular order as some have no names)

Meşe hala helping hatice to go to bed after a stroll with her baba

Her happy face after a stroll with her baba along the corridor on the wheelchair

going home..while waiting for her baba's car..
Still looking sick but so much better..

Ceza...

2008-10-09T14:29:00.002+03:00

On the first day post bayram holiday, she came home from school... took off her shoes and said...

*Anne... i got punished by my english teacher*...

It turned put that she accidently left her file containing her english homework inside the bus service..thus, the punishment... she had to write lines as a result...

Well.. my dear kızım... next time take responsibilities of your own things!! I doubt that she wont forget her things in the school service again (DNA inheritence from her anne n baba hehehehe) but..well... :0)

How is she in school? well.. she is as always a very responsible student in her class... i suppose active too in answering the questions... But of ourse.. naturally that doesnt imply that in exams, she is among the best students... they have a test once in two weeks... well... for the first test.. she got 24 wrongs... the next test saw an improvement on her side where she got 15 wrongs... She was so sad naturally especially when her competitor...elanur only got 5 wrongs.... she cried even ...

My response was this...i asked her...
1. did you read the questions carefully? she said yes.
2. did you try your very best to answer all the questions right? again..another yes.

I told her that if she did what she could.. and 15 wrongs were what she could get... i would be happy for her...

For now.. occasionally.. her dad is still around to help out with her math and turkish homework... next week... he will be late from work (past the kids' bed time) for at least 3 nights a week since the lectures will start..i suppose after this.. i will have to start calling either her dad on the phone or her aunties or cousins to ask for the answers ... it is a good thing too that we have a lot of numbers to call... zaimlar... yakında..biz size biraz rahatsız edeceğiz :0)

When asked about her school life...
1. Do u like school? Answer: No
2. Do you like homework? Answer; I hate it
3. Do you like your teachers? Answer; I love them!!

So i suppose...learning does depend a lot on the teachers... if the teachers make the kids love them.. they will make learning more bearable and perhaps enjoyable for kids like hatice who dislikes shool and most importantly homework... hatice knows that school is essential for her to achieve her dreams... she wants to be either a doctor or a teacher...so for now she will endure school whether she likes it or now...

What do i see in her? I think she will be excellent as a language teacher... i think she will excell in human resource department where she will interact with people.. I think her language and her social skills are excellent... though i do forsee her having difficulties in math and pure sciences... she is sooooooooo like me... but we are not giving up on her...her baba and i even talked of hiring a special tutor for these subjects whenever the needs arise...After all.. what we want is for our kids to excell as best as they can... they may not be totally excellent but we want them to give all their might in whatever things they endevour...

Annen ve baban seni çok çok seviyoruz.. sakın unutma... !

Don't raise your hands please!!

2008-09-25T18:18:00.002+03:00

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..

2008-09-24T21:34:00.002+03:00

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

2008-09-19T11:11:00.024+03:00

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

2008-09-12T12:12:00.009+03:00

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...

Yılsonu gösterisi (the videos)

2008-06-02T09:18:00.002+03:00

1B YSG - halk oyun

1b yil sonu gosterisi - tem grating potatoes

1B yil sonu gosterisi - hatice ve br yavru salce

Yıl Sonu Gösterisi (the photos)

2008-05-28T08:18:00.049+03:00

The fact that this blog has not been updated for a long time is purely my fault. Life offers loads of challenges and time is an essence i try my best to utilize fully...though not really successful i have to say.. :0)

The first semester of the year had ended ages ago, which left us mothers with great relief since that also meant that our children could brace the second semester with less workload n stress. My princess is not left behind as well.

Though she is not extremely fast in her reading, she can read just fine. As the overall, she is doing well in her class. The homework burden of the first semester has been lifted.. As the second semester is nearing it's end... it was also time for the kids to let down their hairs n prepared themselves for the end of the year performances... and thus... us mothers were presented with ..

this invitation card... for families of these princesses n princes to watch them in action..

Top from left:
Kaan, Serdar, Furkan, Nergizhan, Merve, Semih, Vedat, Ahmet Hakan

Middle from left:
Atakan, Zuleyha, Yusuf, Zeynep, Enes, Nur Hatice, Talha, Elanur

Bottom from left:
Elif, Hesna, Ahmet Faluk, Emin, Muzaffer, Yasin, Ayşenur, Şevval

My princess

Unlike last year where the performances combined all the 3 classes in one night,the first grade had special performance for each class...Therefore, making the performances more private, shorter n more fun...Here r some of the pics of the performances...

Hatice leading one of the songs during the choir..

her baba n lil bro

cuceler.. with vedat stealing the show as he made everybody laughed..

semazen

semazen...close up...

The dads were called upon to enter the peeling n grating competition...

her baba won second place... not bad eh?

the first price winner were given a grater as a gift! hahaha
nice touch eh?

Bohçacı...

hatice n her good friend Zeynep as bohçacı..in the drama

eski istanbul (old istanbul)

eski istanbul drama..

Step dancing..

n who says fat people cant do exercise eh?

just look at the children? they danced nicely despite their fat costume...

with Elif as the leader...

Drama... behind the scene film shoot out..

Gymnastics..

The cook...

folklore

folklore..

My dad??

2008-03-14T14:05:00.008+02:00

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

2008-03-07T07:43:00.007+02:00

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)

2008-03-02T22:30:00.003+02:00

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

2008-03-02T15:18:00.007+02:00

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

2008-02-26T14:41:00.012+02:00

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

2008-01-14T18:35:00.000+02:00

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!

Slow as a snail

2008-01-09T15:12:00.000+02:00

On Monday, i sent a note (as i always do) of the problems i think Hatice is facing while doing her homework at home. The weekend (done on friday) practiclly drove me mad snce it took hatice 15 mnutes to understand a simple question that by the time she finished her math homework ..as we were moving towards her hayat bilgisi homework, i stopped making her read all the questions and read the questions for her.

Today, her class teacher called me...to discuss the problem. It seems that hatice is slow in doing her work in school..she writes slowly...she finishes her assignment in class slowly that when she couldnt finish everything fast, she had to bring them home as her homework... more work in addition to her normal homework..

It is also a general happening in the class for the students to have difficulties of understanding what they read...

I have noticed that she does her homework slow... she writes slowly too..

The thing is...she realises it too. She kept telling me in turkish.....

*anne... i write slowly because i want to write my best. But i can't finish my work fast. and i still can't write as beautiful as Elanur or Atakan*

i keep telling her to write as beautiful as pssible but at a faster speed. I don't know how to make her write faster. I don't know how to make her understand what she reads coz at times, i don't understand the questions myself...*sigh*..

Her teacher said that next week she will do something ...good luck Nuray Hanım!! Allah size sabırlı versın!.. let us see her development in 2 weeks' time...i hope she will improve by then....

ÇaLIŞ KIZIM ÇALIŞ!!

and she also needs to work on recognising numbers... her big problem so far..i need to think of what i can do for her on this.....she needs to learn recognising numbers fast... maybe baddin can help her on that? we will see...wish her luck!!

Her dede's death and update

2008-01-06T09:27:00.000+02:00

May you rest in peace dede...
our family..with her dede..snapped a few years ago

hatice and her cousins singing a specially made song for him (taught by safa)
on his 80th birthday

sapanca 2007

their last summer with their dede..

sapanca 2007

precious moment snapped using the handphone

hatice explaining a movie she watched at the cinema a few years ago...

i think it was *ice age 2*

Her dede had always been a very important part in her existence. In him she seek the love and affection of a grandpa and a grandpa since her baba anne died when she was young and my own parents are far away in Malaysia. She spent most of her lives spending time with her dede.....we used to go to baba very often.....we spent most of our summer with baba in Sapanca every year...and even edremit...a very special place for her....she went there with her dede twice..her existence is with her dede's presence in tow.

When he got sick, i quickly sms-ed her class teacher Nuray Çatman to inform her of the situation, asking her to keep a close tab on my daughter. She did. My daughter had went through a span of depression in class. It was also not very easy on Hatice when her dede was hospitalised for 2 weeks. She went to visit him 3 times there... the first one organised by baddin n hatice's class teachers who went there together with Önder bey and i suppose the school headmaster.....then they went there again twice...on saturday mornings when it was school holiday.

And the fact that it was on that last visit, they (hatice n baddin) got to see him that last morning of his conscious day....... to see how happy he was to see them.....how he looked at them with a wonderful smile and said *çok guzel*......as they kissed his cheeks as they were leaving......it will be a memory that they will carry all their lives....

Again... Nuray hanım were and are there to be a support for my daughter in school despite her heavy teaching workload... for that.... Sizin Hakkınız helal olsun Nuray hanım.. i am forever grateful and foever debtful to you for being there for my daughter when she needed someone to rely on. My debt is also on the other teachers for being understanding on hatice's condition. My daughter feels too much. This is an event in her life she will need time to get through painfully slow. I am glad to know that my daughter is in safe hands...THANK YOU!

This is the eulogy i wrote of her dede and was published in Today's Zaman, an english newspaper...

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=129157

Until this week, Hatice used to sob herself to sleep. Her tears fast falling her beautiful cheeks as her heart misses her dede. She has a picture of her n her dede together with her bro in edremit next to her each night in bed. I have resorted to making my kids listen to the yaasin on mp3 player before bedtime each night. It seems to be working,Alhamdulillah. She is better...

What is her development in school? Well...she has finished learning all the alphabets. She is slowly able to read. Her problem is understanding what she is reading these days. For now, it takes her 15 minutes to understand a simple question in her textbook. That drives me crazy of course since there are many many questions for her to understand each day in her homework. But i suppose i am not alone in this. i am sure many other moms are in my position. İ just need to keep reminding myself to not scream at her all the time...no matter how hard it will be.... Allah...help me pls... :0)

She used to bring home homework mainly on writing n reading... nowadays it is more on maths and lfe knowledge... well..i just need my daughter to understand what she reads first...that i the most important thing now.

On top of that,I have also realised that with my limited turkish, i am finding it hard for me understand most of her homework nowadays. I can ask her dad of course, but he comes home past their bedtime most nights. I suppose from now on, i will be phoning everyone in the family to ask questions on her homework . i do not have a choice. Her education system is totally different from mine and i have difficulty explaining many things to her. I feel sad about that but it is beyond my control. My dear daughter.... please bear with me...u need to understand everything in school properly so that u can do your homework easily at home. You cannot depend on your mom much except for your english....

Good luck my love and dont forget that i will be by your side even though i cant help you much...love you loads.

Her disappointment

2007-11-14T23:46:00.000+02:00

It was friday...The moment she entered the door... she exclaimed in Turkish...

*Anne, today is the worst day of my life!*

Of course, i was shocked to hear her say that... she loves school.. something musth have happened... it turned out that though she was nominated as a candidate.. she did not get enough vote to be the class monitor or the deputy monitor..

Oh yes... the class had a formal vote..with real ballots... i guess she needed to work hard on her campaign strategy, eh? coz the elected monitor promised the friends something regarding the *play station?* hehehe

Seriously speaking... yes. my daughter was really sad and dissappointed. She was sad... she was really looking forward to be elected...she knew she has the capabilities...it didnt happen....so she has to learn to contain her dissappointment n be happy on behalf of her friends (Now she likes Vedat less! hahahaha..she'll get over it...)... she will need to deal with this type of disappointment....real life is full of it.... *hugs*...

Nuray hanım... o resimlar açılmiyor.. size zahmet.. bana emaile bir kaç tane resim yollar mısınız? sağol.. benim email adress...

refcobass@rocketmail.com

This is the only picture that i could open.... hatice while voting :0)

Today, there were immunisation injections for the first grade... i managed to catch hatice on time....Yup... here she was at the school's nurse room ...

2 injections..
one i very terrible tasting something...

Nope..she didnt cry a bit... she never did cry for her injections..even ever since she was born...

Last Sunday... Report Card day... Went to the PTA meeting... got her report card.... went to see everyone of her teachers....

1. Nuray Çatman - Class teacher

2. Mine Cumcum - English

3. Tüğba Yaşar - Physical Education

4. Nurdan Solmaz - Music

5. Havva Yıldırım - Art

6. Enbiya Yazıcı - Drama

7. Emel Türkmen - Chess

8. Gülizar Yasankal - Folk Plays

9. Nazım Tuma - Computer

I didnt hear any bad comments from her teachers... a number of them describes hatice as *perfect*... some hinted that hatice is among their fav students... and most agree that she is *mature* in a good way.....

True...she is mature...simply because she didnt have the chance to be spoiled like most kids.. she had to act like a big sister at a very young age... Even now... she is still acting like a bigsister in school.. going thru baddin's drawer... asking baddin's teachers whether he has been naughty or not...etc..etc...

I dont really want that for her... i want her to enjoy her childhood as much as she can... responsibilities will come to her anyway...i have always feel guilty that she has become too mature for her age... My only comfort is... ever since she entered her first grade.. i see more of the child in her..i saw her ran with her friends.. i saw her play with her friends.. the way kids do...

Dear hatice... pls be a kid while u can... enjoy ur childhood coz they r the best times of all... a life with no worries...

Development Update after one month n a half school entry

2007-10-27T12:06:00.000+03:00

My daughter came home yesterday (friday) from school with these.....

a crown

( a scanned picture coz our digital camera is broken)

The same crown as above ..scanned in a different way...

She was given a crown because......

" For your systematic work, i congratulate you my hatice.

For not making me sad and for working hard, i thank you my child."

Your teacher

Next to the crown, she was also presented with this certificate...

This was given to hatice by her English Teacher

My only assumption is.... she has been a good girl after all :0) Aferin sana!

What has she been up to these days? Well... academically, i think for this semester, the focus of education is more on the kids learning to read and write. The school is applying the *cursive* writing style for the first grade... what is the cursive handwriting style??

"Cursive is any style of handwriting which is designed for writing down notes and letters by hand. In the Latin and Cyrillic languages the letters in a word are connected, making a word one single complex stroke. In British English, the phrase "joined-up writing" is far more commonly used, while the term "running writing" is sometimes used in Australia. Cursive is considered distinct from the so-called "printing" or "block letter" style of handwriting, in which the letters of a word are unconnected, and from "print-writing", which is a cross between cursive and printing, with some unconnected letters and some connected. In the Hebrew cursive and Roman cursive, the letters are not connected."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursive

Basically, these r what hatice will be using in her school work... these r the sheets given to me by her class teacher to help her with the writing skills using the cursive style...

So far... Hatice has learnt the letters... a, e, i, l, t and n. It is quite painstakingly torturous to do homework with these letters...but hey! what can i do eh?

What i notice is that the teacher is using the phonic sound to represent a letter and those phonic sounds r combined to form a sentence. I personally think that it is a good idea. When i was learning to read in Malaysia, ours was more of a music system... a is a n not *a* in the phonic sound. It was not needed in Malaysia since we do not have the letters ç,ş,ü,ğ,ö, etc as part of our alphabet letters....

How is hatice doing? Well.... frankly speaking... i think she is doing ok...she still tend to mix up the phonic sounds of a and e... she still need help to actually remember the phonic sound i. she may be a bit slow in her reading, but in time and with a little bit of help.. i think she will make it.

She does drive me crazy though. The thing with hatice is SHE CANNOT BE UNDER PRESSURE. Once she is in pressure, she tends to falter. Let me illustrate, let say we r reading the word *anne*. Like i said, she sometimes got mixxed up between the phonic sound *a* and *e*. She may read, *anna* instead of *anne*. When i said, hatice, look carefully at the letters...remember the sounds. She will start getting panic and may come out with another word totally! So, indeed, NO RAİSED VOİCE at all in teaching her..though it is proving very hard to do..... But i am confident she will do just fine :0)

Another matter is on reading.... let say the word *atlet*... she may read the word by diving it into 2 syllable.s.. *at* and *let*... she can read the syllables correctly, but when it comes to matching the 2 syllables, her mind tries to find words that she knows with the first syllable sound that she may end up saying *atla*!! ..i mean imagine... she was reading *at* ...*let* and in the end she ended up saying *atla!*... i keep saying to her (trying not to raise my voice which ifind really difficult esp at the end of a tiring day) not to *made up* words in her mind...concentrate on what she is reading... argh!... but deep down, i know... patience is a virtue... i shall not give up on my daughter... she may be a bit slow but she is one very very hardworking girl (just like me hhehehe perasannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn)... she will always have my support one way or another... :0)

Here are some of her homework she had done all these while... her writing speed is faster these days as well... this weekend, i suppose i will have to upöoad on her spelling skills (ie..i read a word and she writes)... we will see...wish me luck!

Among the earliest work

*e* is for *eşek*

early stage of cursive style of*e*

4 ekim...thatz my birthdate by the way :0)

*el*... means *hands* in english

This is actually one word she never get confused of..dunno why..

In our effort for her to learn to write her own name... now she can! see how she got better towards the end of this writing exercise?

*a* for *at*

Her handwiriting.. not bad eh? i cant even write like that! hahaha

My dear daughter... i wish u all the best. I cant wait for u to be able to read properly. All my love to u!

Teachers' Daily Notes on Hatice

2007-10-19T17:46:00.000+03:00

One wonderful thing about this school is that the parents can access their child's development on the daily basis on the school's site.... So here is hatice's teachers' entries (mainly of her class teacher, english teacher n PE teacher) ever since she started her school life in the first grade.The notes r printed weekly for the parents to see...

Tarih
Olay Açıklaması
19-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Çocuğumuz eve geldiğinde eksik malzemesi varsa mutlaka sevdiği bir şeyden mahrum ederek ona ceza verelim.Verelim ki bu davranışımız pekişsin... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

19-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - DEĞERLİ VELİM;SINIFIMIZDA 4 TANE KURALIMIZ VAR.1.'Sİ;ZİL ÇALAR ÇALMAZ SINIFTA HAZIR OLMAK.2.'Sİ PARMAK KALDIRIP SÖZ HAKKI ALARAK KONUŞMAK.3.'SÜ İZİNSİZ AYAĞA KALKMAMAK VE 4. 'SÜ ÖĞRETMENİMİZİ VE ARKADAŞLARIMIZI CAN KULAĞI İLE DİNLEMEK.Bunları pekiştirelim - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

19-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - Canım yavrum;sınıfta uslu durduğun için teşekkürler...Kurallara uyalım,UYMAYANLARI UYARALIM... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

19-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - Düzenli çalıştığın için teşekkür ederim canım yavrum.Biraz daha gayret edip,öğrendiklerini tekrar edersen daha başarılı olacağına eminim... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

19-10-2007
Derste Etkinliği Başarıyla Bitirdi - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

19-10-2007
Kılık Kıyafetine Özen Gösterdi - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

19-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Değerli velilerim bu hafta bilgisayarımda yaşanan bir olumsuzluk ve yoğunluğum bir araya gelince ÖTS'ye çocuğum hakkında düzenli olay girişim olamadı.Bu yüzden sizlerden ve çocuklarımdan özür diliyorum.Ama bu hafta beni çok üzmediler... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

19-10-2007
Bu Hafta Derse Katılımı ve Gayreti Çok İyiydi - Mine ÇUMCUM - İngilizce

16-10-2007
* Ders Araç - Gereci Getirmedi! - Sayın velimiz;beden eğitimi dersinde öğrencimizin ayak sağlığının bozulmaması için en kısa zamanda spor ayaakabısı temin etmeniz önemle rica olunur. - Tuba YAŞAR - Beden Eğitimi
p.s - she is referring to the fact that i forgot to give hatice her school shoes for her PE class (sorry)

10-10-2007
Ev Ödevini Önemle Yaptı - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

10-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Sayın Velimiz; Gelecek hafta havuz dersleri 2 hafta süre ile erkek öğrencilerimizle devam edecektir.Kız öğrenciler spor salonunda ders işleceyeceğinden dolayı spor kıyafetlerini çantalarda bulundurulması hususunda önem gösterilmesi rica olunur. - Tuba YAŞAR - Beden Eğitimi

10-10-2007
Kılık Kıyafetine Özen Gösterdi - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

10-10-2007
Derste Etkinliği Başarıyla Bitirdi - Yazı çalışmasını önerilen süre içersinde bitirdi. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

10-10-2007
Bu Hafta Derse Katılımı ve Gayreti Çok İyiydi - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

10-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - Canım yavrum,Bayramını en içten dileklerimle kutluyorum.Bayramda büyüklerinin ellerini unutma.Uzakta olan sevdiklerinin bayramlarını kutlamak için telefon aç.Seni çok özleyeceğim.Beni ararsan da çok mutlu olurum.SENİ ÇOK SEVİYORUM - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

10-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Çocuklarımızın tatil boyunca öğrendiklerini unutturmamaya özen gösterelim. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

10-10-2007
Bu Hafta Derse Katılımı ve Gayreti Çok İyiydi - Mine ÇUMCUM - İngilizce

09-10-2007
Ev Ödevini Önemle Yaptı - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

08-10-2007
Ev Ödevini Önemle Yaptı - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

05-10-2007
Derste Etkinliği Başarıyla Bitirdi - Aferim canım yavrum,evde tekrar edersen daha başarılı olursun... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

05-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Bundan böyle dolap kontrolleri yapılacaktır.Dolabını düzenli tutmalısın canım yavrum... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

05-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - Yazın çok güzelleşti.Seni tebrik ediyorum canım yavrum... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

05-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Canım yavrum,biraz daha düzenli olamalısın!... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

05-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - Canum yavrum,5 Ekim değerlendirmesinde çok başarılı oldun.Seni tebrik ediyorum.Seni çok seviyor,başarılarının devamını diliyorum. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

05-10-2007
Ev Ödevini Önemle Yaptı - Aferim canım yavrum,tebrikler... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

05-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Bu hafta kişisel bakım konumuzu işledik.Bu konunun pekişmesi adına evde uygulattırırsanız sevinirim.Ayrıca her hafta mutlaka tırnak kontrolü yapılacaktır. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

05-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Çocuklarımız sıralara zarar verebilmektedir.Bu noktada evde uyarırsanız memnun olurum.Bundan böyle bu davranışı gösteren çocuğumuz ÖTS ye girilecektir. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

05-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Çocuklarımızın malzemesi eksik olarak okula gelmemesine dikkat edelim.Eve eksik malzeme ile gelmişse uyaralım. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

05-10-2007
Bu Hafta Derse Katılımı ve Gayreti Çok İyiydi - Mine ÇUMCUM - İngilizce
Tarih

03-10-2007
Ev Ödevini Önemle Yaptı - Aferim canım yavrum.Teşekkürler... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

02-10-2007
* Ev Ödevini Eksik Yaptı! - Türkçe ödevi "l" sesi çalışması - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

01-10-2007
Derste Etkinliği Başarıyla Bitirdi - Aferim canım yavrum.Bugün tüm etkinlikleri başarı ile bitirdin.Tebrik ederim.... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

01-10-2007
Ev Ödevini Önemle Yaptı - Aferim canım yavrum.Tebrikler... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

01-10-2007
Ev Ödevini Önemle Yaptı - Aferim canım yavrum.Seni tebrik ederim... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

01-10-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - Hafta sonu ödev olarak verdiğim performans ödevini çok güzel yapmışsın.Seni tebrik ederim canım yavrum... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

28-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - Bu hafta yaptığımız çalışmalarda oldukça gayretliydin.Haftaya senden daha yüksek performans bekliyorum.Seni çok seviyorum.Sen çok tatlı bir çocuksun..İyiki varsın. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

28-09-2007
Bu Hafta Derse Katılımı ve Gayreti Çok İyiydi - Mine ÇUMCUM - İngilizce

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - Okuldaki başarın beni çok mutlu ediyor canım yavrum,başarılarının devamını diliyorum... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - Ders etkinliğini başarıyla bitirdi.Hayat Bilgisi - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - Matematik etkinliğini özenle yaptı.Etkinliklere katıldı. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Canım yavrum,iyi ki varsın! - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - ÇOCUĞUMUZUN OKULDA YAPTIĞINI TAKİP ETMEK VE BU YÖNDE YARDIMCI OLMAK AMACIYLA DOSYALARIMIZI GÜNLÜK TAKİP EDERSENİZ MEMNUN OLURUM. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - DEĞERLİ VELİM;BEDEN EĞİTİMİ DERSİNİN VE HALK OYUNLARI DERSİNİN OLDUĞU GÜNLERDE ÖĞRENCİLERİMİZİ OKUL EŞOFMANLARI İLE GÖNDERİRSENİZ SEVİNİRİM.OKUL KIYAFETLERİNİ GİYDİRMEYE ÖZEN GÖSTERİRSENİZ MEMNUN OLURUM... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Böyle güzel ve düzgün giyindiğin için teşekkür ederim canım yavrum... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Okul araç gereçlerini dikkatli kullandığın ve koruduğun için teşekkür ederim canım yavrum... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - DEĞERLİ VELİM;SİZDEN RİCAM ÖĞRENCİLERİMİZİN KALEM KUTULARINDA BİR KALEM,BİR SİLGİ VE BİR KALEMTRAŞLA OKULA GÖNDERMENİZ(NE EKSİĞİ;NE DE FAZLASIYLA...)BUNDAN BÖYLE EKSİKLERİ GÜN GÜN ÖTS YE YAZILACAKTIR.BİLGİLERİNİZE... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Malzemelerini düzgün kullanmanı ve hiç eksiğin olmadan sınıfa gelmeni rica ediyorum canım yavrum... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Senden bu yıl çok güzel başarılar bekliyor sana çok ama çok güveniyorum.Güzel yanaklarından öpüyorum canım yavrum. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Derse karşı ilgili olman bni çok mutlu etti. - DEFTER KULLANIMINDA ÇOK GAYRETLİYDİN TEŞEKKÜR EDERİM CANIM YAVRUM. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

27-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - ***Öğrencilere çok barbie,actionman gibi özendirici olamamak kaydı ile oyuncak vererek okula yollayabilirsiniz,tenefüslerde ve öğlen tatilinde oynayabilirler. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

24-09-2007
Ev Ödevini Önemle Yaptı - Aferin canım yavrum :) - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

21-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - ÖDEVLERİNİ DÜZENLİ YAPAN,ETKİNLİKLERİ EKSİKSİZ YAPIP DERSE KATILAN TÜM ÖĞRENCİLERİME TEŞEKKÜR EDİYORUM. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

21-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - SENİ SEVİYORUM CANIM YAVRUM.... :) - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

21-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - DEĞERLİ VELİM;BU HAFTA ETKİNLİK KİTABIMIZDAN SAYFA 17'YE KADAR TAMAMLADIK.EKSİK YAPMIŞ OLAN ÖĞRENCİLERİMİZİN HAFTA SONU TAMAMLAMASINI ÖNEMLE RİCA EDİYORUM. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

21-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Olumlu ) : - Canım öğrencime okul hayatında başarılar diliyorum.SENİN GİBİ BİR ÖĞRENCİM OLDUĞU İÇİN ÇOK MUTLUYUM.İYİKİ VARSIN.SENİ ÇOK SEVİYORUM. - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

21-09-2007
Sınıf Çalışmasına Katıldı - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf Öğretmeni

21-09-2007
Öğretmenin Notu ( Bilgilendirme ) : - Canım yavrumun araç ve gereçlerini (kalemleride dahil) etiketlemeyi unutmayalım... - Nuray ÇATMAN - Sınıf

Honoured guests

2007-10-03T22:23:00.000+03:00

There is nothing more honourable than to have the teachers of ur kids come and visit ur home... Oh yeah.. we had these honourable guests at our home last tuesday for iftar..Among them, hatice's class teacher Nuray Çatman...

Again..talks of my kids' development were among the important topics...From what her teacher told me... she is a good student... though she is quite forgetful esp when in a rush (she got that from me hahahah)... and her mind love to wonder, directly letting her work left undone ...very very typical hatice *chuckles* and as usual, her social ability shines...she is totally social...

I was/am so happy to discover that the teacher will only give one page homework on weekdays... at least hatice wont end up crying while doing her homework or i wont end up screaming at her on my xtremely stressful days (that is like forever)...

This semester, they will focus on learning the alphabets and learning to read... i am

really looking forward to that...

It was also obvious that hatice's class teacher is a nice lady...

Dear Nuray hanım,

And from the bottom of our hearts, as her parents, we thank you for all u have done so far and what u will do to help my daughter achieve her highest possible capability... THANK YOU to u and other teachers who r involved in my daughter's education..We r eternally grateful :0)

Further development

2007-09-25T19:42:00.000+03:00

From what i see, she can do her homework faster nowadays... her hands r used to the shapes needed to be done as the homework.. she is feeling happier about it too...and she does not cry much nowadays after doing 2 pages of homework... unless of course she feels really exhausted.. which she normally is....

i missed the first parent meeting with hatice's class teacher today as well.. she forgot the letter yesterday.. by the time the letter reached me... (5pm)... the meeting was long over (10.30am)...fate i suppose...

according to her, they will start learning to read tomorrow....i await her further development impatiently...

we parents have also been given the sample of how to write from A to Z....we r suppose to make the kids work on the writing of the alphabet...we barely have time to finish the homework each day... i wonder how we will ever be able to work on the alphabets ..hmmm...

Hatice's First Days of School (First Grade)

2007-09-20T22:40:00.000+03:00

First Day of school!! R u ready dear daughter??

With her lil bro, baddin who is entering the pre school

Us..as a family...

Hatice hapily playing with her cousin, ilayda..

Hatice with her 2 best friends (Elif (orange hair band)

and Zeynep (green one)

I dont think that boy next to hatice is happy about sitting next to a girl! *chuckles* hahahahaha

1st Day

She was nervous. But she tried acting cool. I bet she was wondering who her new classmates would be. I bet she was wondering, who her new teacher would be. She would be taking an experience in a new angle.Her main advantage was….. she did her pre school education in the same school. That definitely helped to boost her morale.

She wore her school uniform, ate her breakfast while watching CBBees … Oh yeah… i still insist on BBC in the morning like last year…. Else, her English exposure will be almost totally non existence . Such a thought scares me.English, she must know.

The moment we reached the school, she quickly located her uncle, auntie n cousins… standing at the assembly hall where speeches n entertainment were being held…Soon Hatice and ilayda (her grade 2 cousin) were running..chasing each other… with baddin trying to stick to Hatice like glue… i just couldnt believe my eyes… the class had not even started yet… and there she was running around… falling, slipping onto the ground…. Making her white socks dirty…her new skirt dusty hehehehe…Welcome the new Hatice.. :0)… the typical ilköğretim öğrencisi…

After the assembly was over, the students started to enter their own classes.I went to send baddin to his class (pre school)… while Halil n Hatice waited outside. Alas, they didnt wait for me… they went to hatice’s clas soon afterwards (leaving me out of the experience grrrrrrrrrr)…

I entered her classroom. Halil was putting her stuffs in her private locker (all jumbled up i may add hehe)… as soon as i entered the class…. Zeynep’s mom (one of hatice’s best friend in pre school) hugged me…. Asking where we had been (Hatice missed the first 3 days of school coz we were in edremit)… saying she was worried..scared that we might got into an accident etc..etc…telling me her fears….her speculation as to why we were missing… And at a glance… there i saw…. My daughter… happily hugging Elif (another of her best friend in pre school).. as Zeynep watched them… Cool!!

She came home happy that day. And when i asked her about her new class teacher…Nuray Çatman,…. Her thumbs were up… that is definitely a good sign..:0) İnşaAllah..everything will go smoothly for her…

And guess what? Her first day at school and the home has started coming already! Huwaaaaaaaaaaa

And guess what? Last year’s school service chauffeur is no longer Ramazan abi…i feel sad about that… i like ramazan abi…he keeps Hatice update musically thru the radio… even the bus service hostess has changed… i really like the previous hostes as well.. she was so sweet… i saw the new one…. İ dunno how she is… we will see..

2nd Day

She came home happy. Her circle of friend is stil Elif n Zeynep… i told her to mix around with other new friends as well… after all, they will be together for the next three years… i wonder whether she will follow my advice or not…. Hmmm…

2nd day however, Hatice came home with more homework. I mean, the kids spend basically almost the whole day at school ..i think school finishes at 3pm… and coming home, they stil r given more homework…

Like today, Hatice had to finish 4 sheets of paper …by the end of the third paper, she was already in tears… from exhaustion…

Just imagine… at 6.30am, she wakes up. Goes to school by 7.35am… reaches home by let say 4.45pm.. straight to dinner…by 6pm she starts doing her homework.. and today for example, she finished her homework by 7.45pm!!! and… 8.30pm is her bed time!! So what is a child to do? No rest at all on school days? What about private family time together? If this continues…. İ fear my child may start hating school… too much homework is not a good idea esp looking at the length the child spends in school everyday.. and i am speaking as an educator… as well as a mother….a very exhausted mind cannot expand and be utilised at the capacity one is capable of… if anyone from the school reads this… please… lessen the homework…do not over burden the kids… let them have a life as well…though i know your intention is divine….

For now, Hatice loves her school life… i really hope this feeling will continue forever… with all the teachers to support her… insyaAllah she will…

3rd Day

I went to school today… i had to deliver some of the things/ documents to baddin n hatice’s class teachers. Baddin? İt was easy. İ quickly located his teacher n handed everything needed to be handed… Hatice? İt was class time. İ had to wait for the 15 minutes break before i could enter he classroom. My main aim? İ needed to tidy up her cabinet Halil didnt put everything properly. Hatice was having difficulty to find her stuffs there…

When the bell (or should i say the music) was played to indicate the break… kids from all direction started to run out of their classrooms… little feets running … i quickly headed towards hatice’s classroom… she was with Elif…i asked her in turkish…

Me: Hatice.where r u going?
Hatice: i am going out for my break….bye anneeee..

And off she went! Heheheeh i can see how teneffus (break time) is much more important than me! Hahahahaha…

Homework? Only a page… Coolllllll

4th Day

I got angry. I actually really got angry at her. Today, there were only 2 pages of homework. But when i checked her book, the 2 previous pages before the homework page was not done properly…. Hence, today, she had to do all the 4 pages instead of 2 as she should…. Of course, it was too much for her… by the middle of the 3rd page, she started crying…my temper started to run high as well….angry i was indeed though i knew it wouldnt have helped the situation… so far, i find Hatice can only take 2 pages of homework max a day…if more… it will be too much for her and her homework quality will drop drastically…and if i get angry..the worse she gets…she cannot stand anger. She needs compassion and love and patience in the dealings of her education… That at times, i tend to forget. Raised voices does not help my daughter in her learning... raised voices scares her...

Hoşcakal Arı Sınıfi 2006-2007

2007-08-24T17:22:00.001+03:00

Towards the end of every academic year, the students will have the photo sessions....The pre- school students r not left out... So here is Nur Hatice during her photo session...

Nur Hatice's personal pose..

Behind from left:

Mehmet Ali, Onur, Zumra, Emre

Middle from left:

Nur Hatice, Enes, Damla, Faluk, Elif, Samet, İrem

Front from left:

Berna, Ahmet Sait, Merve, Kaan, Aisha, Ece

Her friends she had spent her time with everyday at school...

the Arı sınıflar in memory...

It is not certain yet whether all of them will continue their first grade at the same school..if they will.. they may not be in the same classroom...

But i do know one thing though...from the bottom of my heart as a mom, i thank all her friends, her teachers, the cleaners and everyone involved in making my daughter's pre school life experience a memorable one.. Hakkınız helal olsun..

School uniform

2007-08-23T19:20:00.000+03:00

Dup dap dup dap...the girl in particular was totally excited inside :0)

Getting into the car to go to the much awaited destination...

The lady who has agreed to help us with the buying of hatice's school costume..

i just simply dunno what to buy..Sağol Meşe!

Baddin, Hatice n Safa in the car...Inspire here we come!

This year, the *inspire* shops r selling the school costumes for all the coskun schools.

Safa, Meşe, Hatice n Baddin in front of the shop

Meşe helping out with the school uniform fitting...

Safa, Hatice n Baddin after the school costume shopping

Though he doesnt need it, i still bought him the school track suit. i didnt have the heart not to buy him anything...he was looking...kesian pulak..

Hatice with her new school's track suit.. to be worn during the physical education..

The school uniform t-shirt..long sleeves for winter

The t-shirt to be worn underneath the track suit.. for the PE...

school uniform t-shirt for hotter climates

The whole lot...except for the skirts..they r a bit too long.. the shop will cut them shorter..

When a message came from the school saying that the school uniform will be selling at a shop called inspire....i was worried. True, baddin will enter the pre school. He wont be needing a school uniform.But hatice, on the other hand, will be entering the first grade.She definitely needs to wear the school uniform.

It was that day when i asked Meşe's help to bring me to the shop.. being the eldest among her siblings, she definitely knows what to buy etc etc etc... and her agreement to help was a godsend... this was my first time ever buying the school uniform for my kid... without her, i would have been clueless!!

And yes.. she did bring us to inspire... practically took over the choosing n fitting of the school uniform..etc..etc.. i was just a watcher... watching... learning so that next year i will be able to buy the uniform for my kids myself...

Safa still has his last year's uniform.. lucky meşe, she needed not buy many things for safa...

Meşe said that parents go bankrupt in September...After paying for the school costumes... i can actually see for myself that she is 100% right...and there will still be the buying of the textbooks etc..etc...

i think i will start saving for next year's school expenses from this year!

Annelar ve babalar...batiyoruzzzzzz :0)

Dear children... please study hard.. so that the money spent on ur education stuffs will be worth paying

:0)

Wild berries picking

2007-08-06T22:44:00.000+03:00

Yup... u have come to the right place..... the wild black berries of Sapanca...

Just now i asked her in turkish......

*my daughter.. why do u like to eat the wild berries?*

and her answer was...

*because they r so sweet anne*

then i asked her another question....

*why do u love the jungle trekking (büyük tür as she likes to say)*

her short answer was very precise...

*becoz it is fun and very healthy*...

her answers made me smile wide...

I was born, live and grew up in Malaysia... a country with nature. in my high school days and my university days...i can tell u countless experiences i had camping....jungle trekking... climbing hills...absailing..kayakking..etc..etc...things made possible with the existence of the rain forest of Malaysia..

She on the other hand... was born n is living in istanbul. ... a place where trees r rare... apartments r built on every possible land....and being a part of the Zaim family also means that she is living under the strict protection of the family... what i did in my younger days was and is and will be a *no no* for her...

Her dad has a bit of my sense of adventure too... considering that he was born in istanbul as well... so u can imagine my happiness when we discovered the jungle trekking (one hour and a half)... up up and down finally to the family's summer house...what is special of course is the fact though young as they r, hatice and her brother baddin do have the enrgy to go thru the trekking at every possible opportunity...

But the best thing of all was and is and will always be ...

as we all walk... along the way... u can explore the nature... u get to see tortoise near the road somewhere.. n when in season.. THE WİLD BLACK BERRİES!!...hatice's favourite!

İndeed they r really sweet... if u buy the berries from the market, they dont taste as sweet as this... this year due to the hot weather, the berries became ripe a bit early....and if truth is to be told... hatice has had far than enough of the berries this year.....afiyet olsun kızıma benim :0)

one type of berries..this is the most typical... all the berries stuck together like thi.... we normally pick the black coloured one... the red coloured one will be sour n the green one will ne unedible of course :0)

another type.... the taste is different even.. this type is hard to locate... but worth picking if u see it..

the cows n the sheeps and the white dog looking after the animals....
this time the dog got angry at the cow for trying to drink his water hehehe

halil trying to pick the berries for his princess...it was really thorny!
this is our fav place for berries picking... the berries here taste the best!

the princess being fed the berries by the king of her heart :0)

the tongue gets this color (n even worse) if u eat the berries too much..

a lot of not so ripe berries...

see that insect? its fav food r the berries..i try not to touch the berries he is feasting on...

sharing is always good :0)

hatice with baddin n her baba

hatice with baddin n urs truly...

A call

2007-07-25T18:28:00.000+03:00

Well.. the school usually send messages to the student's parents' handphone via sms to inform them of certain news... for whatever reason i am not so certain.. no news ever reach us...not halilz nor my handphone...

well.. i just recieved a call from one of hatice's classmate... merve's mom... she was asking me whether hatice will be joining the 10 days' free lessons (plus free school service) which will be held this monday... the teachers will be revising the lessons the pre school students had learnt in the previous academic calendar...

of course i was shocked of her questions as i knew not anything at all of such thing...the reason why she called was that it seems that merve told her mom that she will only be joining that 10 days' lessons only if hatice comes too ... ohhh.. that is so sweet!

Unfortunately, this saturday,halil, the kids and i r scheduled to spend our time in sapanca... most likely halil will leave us there on monday while w spend our time in sapanca with baba, mıstık...and...whoever else who wishes to stay there... i cant really back off of this plan coz if truth is to be told, my job will be basically cooking for whoever stays there... baba loves it there.. he feels happy staying in sapanca... so what is the function of a bride if i cant look after him eh?

.....so that school program is a totally an off thing... sorry merve! if i had known this news earlier on, i could have arranged the sapanca trip some other time....

i am not sure if merve's mom can persuade merve to join the program now that hatice wont be joining it.. all my best to them...

The school's effort is divine i have to say.. giving a free education course for 10 days for free (pls bear in mind that this is a private school where money is important)... i salute their effort... but i think halil and i r among those parents who r very lax about education.. this is a holiday ...i am not really keen on sending my kid to school on a holiday... no offence anyone... :0)

i have just heard that the grade one students in the next school calender (that will be hatice) will be starting the school early than the rest of the students.. (10th september)...

Like when hatice entered her pre school late.... i am afraid hatice will be joining them a little bit teeny weeny bit late for the first grade as well.....as in 3 days late (ops... guilty look to all the school teachers' who may be reading this..as i am sure there r ).. if u wanna complain.. u can always contact the dad... u can get his number from the school secrectary.. i am only a devoted wife :0)

As i am writing this.. my daughter is busy singing opera!!! the sound is really a pain to the ears!!! hahahahahahah... kızım! go to ur cousin merve (who is 18 years old) n get a voice lesson from her! hahahahahah

Summer in Sapanca

2007-07-18T14:54:00.000+03:00

All her life, summer was, is and will always be related to baba's sapanca house coz that is the place where we spend most of our days in Summer.....esp to get away from the heat of istanbul... The green...the clean air...sapanca is never too hot.... it is located uphill...and even if we do get all hot n sweaty, there is always the pool we can jump into right infront of the house, at the garden area....

Before the summer holiday, I brought that 15 YTL book from nilgün hanım.. hatice's class teacher, to be done during summer... guilty as charged, we havent even done any of the pages but one ... but what was she busy with all these time? Well

She was quite fair before the holiday...now she is dark chocolate in colour! hehehe Well.. if she goes to Malaysia with the skin color she is now..without opening her mouth, people will definitely think of her as a Malay girl :0)

At the sapanca house garden playing with her little brother and baba
Playing jump jump with her cousins

She created an arch using sticks n rubber band
I was impressed by her creativity

Hatice at the pool..she spent 3 hours daily in the pool

Chocolate cake cooking time! it was yummy!

The cats that hatice helped to feed...

Jungle trekking (büyük tür)..for one hour and a half whenever possible..and it was refreshing
coz after the trekking, we get to jump into the pool!

Kite flying attempts at kırkpınar.....there was simply not enough wind!

A bicycle ride as the dad played the basketball wth the lil bro..

She wanted to learn how to do pony tail hair design... so i taught her using 3 ropes n she did it! i am so proud of her! in a year or two, i think she will do her own design before going to school...

And like mother like daughter... she is interested in taking photos.. these r 2 photos (among many other) that she snapped while we were in Sapanca..

A rose in the garden...

A snail...

Life is not only learned in formal education.. For life to be complete... informal education i strongly believe should be inculcated within a child... and the love for nature is definitely not to be left out...

It is summer holiday....but...

2007-06-22T23:06:00.000+03:00

She was supposed to miss only 3 days of the last week of school days.. but she missed four.. It was fate i suppose that she was with high fever n terrible headache on Monday... She was crying all day..which got us thinking of the worst... only later when we saw spots inside her mouth were we feeling so much relieved that all those pain was due to that..and so she was on antibiotics...

She was feeling a bit better on Tuesday. Halil told me not to send her to school that day but i knew then as i know now that if she didnt get to say her farewell to her closest friends, she would be sad... besides, it is not a sure thing that everyone will be in the same class when they enter first grade... With a promise that i would pick her up after a few hours, she left for school...armed with ibufen just in case her fever decided to reappear.. and minoset for her headache..

I called the teacher at 11am to enquire of her condition... she said that my princess was doing fine... and thus, she came back home at the usual time...

She couldnt eat anything.her throat was really painful... but u know what? just two days of *swallowing* the sea salty water while we were basking ourselves under the sun in Çeşme.., the magic of the sea had done its magic! she was healed!

If u ask me.....did i regret not sending her that last 3 days n instead went to Çeşme for a holiday... Yes... she had to miss the chess activity on Saturday, she did miss the swimming in the school pool with her classmates ... but Çeşme was something else as well...something i am gad we didnt miss...

Anyway.. there was the extra activities on monday, tuesday n wednesday after the summer holiday started... she missed the wednesday activity but she did get to join the swimming activities on Monday....Anyway... Summer Holiday may be on.. but i will keep on updating this blog whenever i am in istanbul.....

here is a picture of hatice at the school pool... :0) i didnt put other kids' picture in their swimming suits just in case their families r against it.. but if they want to see the pics, i'll gladly email them to u... :0)

Yes.. it is summer holiday... but Hatice is missing her friends... only today she cried coz she was missing her friends... she talked to elif today on the phone... n if i let her she would even call all her close friends! hahahah...and guess what? she keeps asking...

*anne.. how many days r there in 3 months??*

... oh dear little princess...be patient! and she even made me call her class teacher Nilgün hanım coz she misses her teacher while we were holidaying in Çeşme.. how sweet!

We will be splashing ourselves in Sapanca this Sunday for a week.. i bet she will demand that i call one of her friends from there *chuckles*... please remind me to bring that list of her friends' phone numbers!! else, i may get into trouble! :0)

Especially for YOU, Nilgün Ögretmenim..

2007-06-09T16:08:00.003+03:00

What do u do when u have a daughter whose hair is this long?

What do u do early in the mornings when she needs to go to school? do u just give her a hair band or just tie her hair up in a pony tail? I am no coiffeur... i have no idea how to style hair...but i do know the basics of braiding hair... and i love to play with hair...

It is an honour for me when Hatice's class teacher, Nilgün Hanım made a request specially for me to put Hatice's hairstyles in this blog... except for the first 4 hairstyles, the rest i did within less than 40 minutes after she made the request... I think i may have forgotten some of the hairstyles i always make with hatice's hair... these r all i could do..she was getting restless from too long sitting still :0)

Nilgün Hanım.. bu entry.... özelikli sizin için...

The pearl of my heart...

The hairstyle during her school show..

I once made this style (upon hatice's request) n decorated it with real flower... she went to school like that and her friends was impressed by her hairstyle.. it took us 15 minutes to finish the hair braiding but i think it was worth it..
The hairstyle from side on the day she was to have her first sleepover at Ece's place

from the front look

The simplest of all..but it is elegant in its own way... and besides, hatice can tie her hair this style herself..

The french braid... i learnt this style by just looking at my friends braiding their hairs when i was in high school...

The pony tail..i think school girls look cute with pony tails, don't u?

u can add in fresh flower at the middle part of the hair... n secure it with pins... i didnt have it at that time... so i just left it bare.. (mainly because hatice was getting restless that day hehe)

The hair style on days when i am Xtremely lazy :0)

scrunchies will always be an important part of hair styling ..n they have so many types n style these days..
Another very common hair style..
The gypsie style... very useful on the days when hatice feels like she wants her hair down but without the hair coming into her mouth :0)

This is definitely not a style for hatice on days when she needs to jump about (i.e PE class).. it needs more accessories as well i think

This style is best when u r wearing cheong sam...it reminds me of the chinese girls i used to watch on tv as i was young :0)

It is suprisingly interesting how small cute hair clips can create such a wonderful mark on the hair..

Bisiklet Şenligi

2007-06-09T15:02:00.001+03:00

Yup.. the bisiklet şenligi was held last Wednesday..Some of the moms came as well... The spor saloon was the venue where cute bicycles with cute n adorable owners cycling them as the super sweet n handsome teachers monitoring them as well.. n the music hehehe all very lively definitely...

It was not a matter who won in the races (though i have to say.. hatice's team lost all the 3 races hahahaah).. it was how much the kids had fun...i definitely had fun laughing at the kids (sorry kids!)..

i snapped some videos as well.. but i think imeem.com is acting up right now.. i can of course upload the videos to utube or photobucket..but am not in the mood right now... will try to add them in later during the summer holiday...

So here r the kids... during their bicycle day! Enjoy!

Some of the girls

Some of the boys..

The first game..

Hatice run!
The second Game..cycling n putting the blocks at the appropriate place..

Break time! Marshal arts performance by the girl's seniors..
The 3rd game...

who says that the moms dont get excited over the whole thing? :0)
Break time!... marshal art performance by the boy seniors..

The possibilities were.. there was either water or flıur inside the baloon hehehe
The fourth n final game.. i think the teachers had the most fun of all seeing the kids got *attacked* by the flour n water... hehehe
hatice's classmate (i think thatz Zeynep)... with the lady PE teacher
Melek ögretmen sitting n clapping her hands together with the kids... The lady PE teacher snapping Hatice's photo as i snap theirs hehehe
just look at the boys having fun!

The princesses and princes of Arı sınıflar together with their male PE teacher (who happens to be Halil's friend in high school)

Toys should be a part of rewarding ..i totally agree :0)

The medals....

My daughter looks like a vampire with her 2 front teeth missing hehehe

Hatice n her medal with her number one fan :0)

The crush..

2007-06-07T13:25:00.000+03:00

I wont be making an entry on the bisiklet şenligi yet... nor will i be writing an entry on a special request by Hatice's sweet class teacher..YET...... I will leave that for the weekend coz they will take a lot of uploading.. n i havent got the time yet for that.. bu hafta sonu... yakında gelecek onlara..

What i will tell u is an event... something hatice when she grows up... she will *kill* me for sharing this with u heheheheeh...

It was on the last day when our visitors from Malaysia was at our home... a couple... my blogging friend whom i will refer to as *ibu* n *ayah*....They were in the living room with hatice n baddin...i was in the kitchen, busy preparing the breakfast..

When i approached the living room, *ibu* laughingly told me that my daughter has a boyfriend... of course i was shocked... her being so young and all.. for God's sake! she is only in pre school.. n how come i had never heard about it?

After a bit of questioning.. she told me that she *likes* this one boy friend in another class by the name of Kerem...ı teased her in turkish and she was soooo shy about it....

*ama anne... sadece arkadaşız....kötu bir şey değil ki* (pls ignore my terrible turkish)
But anne... we r just friends... there is nothing bad about it...

Well... the fact that she thinks that the boys in general (in the pre school) r naughty... i was really suprised to hear that she likes one boy...hahahahaah... now looking back.. i think i remember that a boy named kerem did give hatice some presents (winx magazine and something else i cant remember).. at one point... i thought the boy was hatice's classmate... obviously i was wrong! hahahahahaha n she was scared to tell me about it... hahahaha i suppose some things kids just r scared to share with their parents huh?

when i asked her...in turkish..how the boy is.. is he tall? is he handsome?
she said yes....

And i got to take a peek at my *future son in law* (chuckles)... n yup... he is good looking... white skin...sort of yellowish hair... totally the contrast of hatice's -esmer- features :0)

Kızım... dont kill me for sharing this with the whole world! hahahahahahah.. i love u toooooooooooo!!..

I just hope one day..once u grow up... if u ever decide to choose a life partner... bear this in mind...

1. how is his religous belief?
2. How is his character..does he have a good mannerism..does he have a high moral value??

Whether he is handsome or rich.... that is not important... what is important is for u..to find the man who is right for u... who has the belief in Allah in his heart...someone who doesnt drink alcohol.. n someone who can make u happy.... take ur baba as an example...n insyaAllah..u will be happy... my prayers will Always be with u... and ur happiness. will always be my major concern... seni seviyorum...

A date...

2007-06-05T17:04:00.000+03:00

is somebody getting engaged?
What's with the hugging?

Yup... school year is ending really soon... and that means... the kids will be in the first grade middle of september...

I was quite suprised really that many moms turned out for the farewel lunch today between the moms n the class teacher Nilgün Gülen.. and that ring was the ring from all the moms as a form of our appreciation for all the love n care our kids had recieved all these while...

I got to know the rest of the moms as well.. though i have to apologize for forgetting which mom belongs to which kids..... i have to admit.. they r really friendly as well....

We had a nice lunch which was delicious.. n considering the place, each person is only charged 17YTL! and for the food we ate... that's really cheap! Of course baddin was so scared there coz the open space meant... ants... flying insects..etc.. n he is simply scared of them hahahaha... but thanks baddin for enduring today... :0)

If any of the moms read this... thank u for today.i had a great day!

The view of where we had our lunch..

Ahmet Sait's mom and Ece's mom

Zeynep's mom with Damla's mom

Nilgün Hanım (the teacher), a guest ( a friend of Zeynep's mom) and Zeynep's mom

Kaan's mom with İrem's mom
Merve's Mom with Enes's mom

Elif's grandma with Elif's mom

Zumra's mom, Emre's mom with Faruk's mom

Urs truly..

Resim Şenligi

2007-06-05T16:56:00.000+03:00

Saturday was the day when hatice's school had become the host of the picture drawing competition among the pre schools... unfortunately, as the host, the pre school students of hatice's school were not eligible to enter... Thus, a separate drawing competiton (without any price included) was held for them... Of course, hatice was there too...

She drew something..but can u believe it? i forgot to snap the picture she made! silly me huh? anyway..afterwards, there were shows .. n my favourite.. (i assume every other kids' fav) was the magic show...!!

The sun was scorchingly hot that day... but hatice n baddin had fun esp when they met their cousin İlayda who was there to make a performance...

And as a form of appreciation, every participants were eligible to collect a medal at the entrance exit... cool :0) Hatice's first medal..

The call..

2007-06-01T16:30:00.000+03:00

Today i recieved a call from hatice's teacher asking me when we will register hatice for the first grade... we went to school that day... but because the zaim kids' situation is not normal, we thought she was already registered. obviously, we were wrong... i am so nervous now especially now that the teacher just told me that half of the places for the first grade r already full... n the registration is now open to the public..she fears that if i wait some more, hatice may not have a place for the first grade... oh great!..

i am panicking... i made a call to baba asking comfort of the whole situation.. he said he already talked to the person concerned regarding the whole matter...bla bla bla.. there should be no problem for the rest of the kids... still..since i am going to hatice's school tomorrow.. i will just check with the secrectary of the school regarding the registration.... n worse.. halil wnt be around tomorrow... oh boy! i just love this! grrrrrr..

last year's nightmare still haunts me... so i am overly panicked over a matter like this... i like this school.. i want my kids (if possible) to go to this school...*sigh*..

and guess what? next week, the kids will be swimming in the pool for their physical education class! hatice is so happy about it.. she loves swimming... n she misses swiming as it is... i bet she will be the *abla* that she is n help those who know not swimming ..n comfort them with her words... n at the same time.. i bet she would swim.. dive... n do the things she does in the pool...

i am jelous...!! well... i better find her swimming suit then... oh dear.. i cant remember where i had put them!!

End of the Year Talent Show

2007-05-28T00:07:00.000+03:00

If u r here.. u must have hopped from my own personal blog n r very curious of Hatice's school show.....:0) THank YOU for Hopping oVer... i sooo much want u to see this one entry in particular!

It is 12.08 midnight. ... though the entry will say it is 11.08... my feet hurts... both the kids r sleeping..totally exhausted... i would love to join them... but i know many of u my friends r curious of Hatice's end of the Year school show.. i will try to write at least half of the entry for now if not all...

And just imagine this.... a five star hotel... and imagine that hotel is a school... That was what i felt as i enter the Coşkun Maltepe Lisesi (Coskun Maltepe High School). ... the high school where the end of the year show for the Coskun pre school students was held... the hall was big and magnificent.. it spelled luxury all around... the students who study there r sure lucky students...!!

Believe it or not, i pressed the record/snap button of the camera 80 times... at times to snap photos..at times to record the happenings... The school also record the whole even on dvd...... we will buy that one.... particular to send a copy to my parents back home in Malaysia...

Hatice was involved in the introduction speech... the drama in English.. the drama in Turkish.. the choir.. the traditional dance... and the dance plus speech of the children of the world (in English)...with hatice dancing as a Turkish Girl..

Hatice.. she did us proud!! She did everything she was supposed to do very well... even Merve was impressed by her...she didnt get enough of the whole show even after it was over! She was happily singing n moving her hips.. !!..i am afraid..this girl of mine... when it comes to the talent part..she follows her turkish ancestors...!! When i asked her whether she was nervous on stage, she replied in Turkish, *why should i?*.....

I wont waste ur time with my words... Here r some of the photos i snapped...I will also add in some of the video clips for u to see... they may not be too good.. ..the show ended almost 10.45pm.....we were hungry n exhausted definitely...and so we managed to catch the drive in Mac Donalds (as the last customer) n g0t a bite of the menus at home....

While i was trying to upload the photos last night.. i practically fell asleep in front of the pc... so here i am again... presently u with my beautiful daughter Nur Hatice Zaim... in her End of the Year Pre School show.....Enjoy the show! (couldnt snap all photos coz i was also busy recording the show)

The girl who would perform.. MaŞaAllah.. isnt she beautiful?

The mom with her kids... (*ibu*....kenal tak tudung tu? hehehe)

The not nervous dad with the girl who would perform n the boy who ran up n down the stairs of the hall....

All the 3 classes of the pre school students on stage with their traditional dance costume

to sing the English n turkish songs

The turkish dance (cant remember which kind of dance this is)

Hatice's class dancing their traditional dance
(i think their dance was from the *ege* area dance

Anothe class presenting the kafkas dance (this one involves a lot of jumping on the boys' part)

Hatice as the rabbit in the turkish drama

(she's the tall one in white)

Again the turkish drama

The drama was reminding us to keep this earth clean..

the alien came to earth n wanted to take over the green clean earth coz their planet was too dirty

Those from the family who came...

Merve, zeynep, meşe,ilayda n halil

All the boys in the padlişah drama..

the costumes r of the ottoman empire costume type.. they were great!
all very handsome boys... may they grow up to be with the strong characters of the padlişah!

The ending of the night.. each student was given the certificate...

Now i will add in the snippets of her last night's show....u should try to play each video clip for full 3 times to get the smooth flow coz the loading of the clips may take time esp if ur internet connection is very slow ..

Video clip one:

She introduced the whole event together with another 2 of her friends..

Oyun şarkı sunacağız

şiirlar okuyacağız

hep beraber coşacağız

Okulumuza hoş geldiniz..

we will be presenting with games n songs

we will be reading u poems

let us together have fun

Welcome to our school!

second video:

All students (as a choir) and all that were present sang the Turkish National Anthem...

third video:

one of the songs sang in the choir... an english song..

hatice was the tall one next to the girl in the white dress... there was a girl hiding behind hatice hehehe

fourth video clip:

another english song..it is my favourite

fifth video clip..

The traditional dance... this one i think i record the clip badly.. but this should give u an idea of what it was... a bit at least..

Hatice was in the opposite group of the dancers (the last one).. can u spot her? she was the one swaying her hips loads heheh

sixth video:

Hatice as the turkish girl in the *we r the world* show..

*hello, my name is Nur Hatice Zaim

I am from Turkey

I 'm six years old

I love U

Nice to Meet U

Goodbye...

I was proud to that she helped her partner to say all those things... how sweet.. n that boy really deserved an applause for trying to say all those words! Bravo!

seventh video:

the drama.. she was the rabbit...:0)

PLS turn off the song in the blog (at the bottom of this blog) before u attempt to hear the videoclips in this entry...

5th of May 2007

2007-05-05T22:52:00.000+03:00

This week, hatice's homework was with a difference.. Half of her homework concentrated on Maths. All these while, i thought that all they would be learning in Ana okula was numbers from one to ten...recognising the numbers and writing them all...How wrong I was...

They have started on the simple numbers...of addition of numbers.. for example...

3 + 2 = ?

but of course it was with pictures... 3 cats + 2cats = ?

We were coming back home from carrefour today..in the car.... verbally halil asked hatice n baddin to add and substract simple numbers...and we were both impressed at how well hatice could answer! I mean halil n i r both maths flops...we were dreading that our kids would be the same too...there is hope for them as well...

This took me back to the discussion where merih complained that ilayda's math teacher is being too advance in the teaching esp for the first grade... hatice is in the pre school... if what hatice is learning now is a continuation of the system ilayda is learning in the first grade... then everything is quite normal then... i can understand why their math learning in the first grade is quite advanced.

But the problem is... unlike hatice..not everyone came from the pre school program of that school.. some may come from other kindergarden (yuva)... their systems may be different from the pre school system in this school...but then, since this school has a pre school system n naturally all or most of the pre school students will continue studying in the same school for the first grade and above..it is only normal for the school to continue from where the students had left off in the pre school ...

I am most happy with the pre school system in this school.. halil n i so far do not regret snding hatice to this pre school program. We see a lot of development in her eversince her entry here...

We thank all the teachers for their contributions in my daughter's development... and yes.. baddin will be coming soon hehehe

by the way.. hatice is still writing her numbers 5, 6 and 9 upside down hehehehe

i will try to add in the math homework once i am in the mood...:0)

What i discovered..

2007-04-28T10:21:00.000+03:00

There we were... hatice, baddin n i...it was friday yesterday. They day my dear princess will bring back her weekend homework. We were sitting in her room. As usual, i made a copy of the homework for baddin. I assigned him the same homework as his sister but with a modified instruction... on skills he needed to sharpen up... he is after all 15 months younger than his sister...There we were working peacefully, hatice suddenly asked me whether she could color one of the homework page. Though the instruction did not ask her to, i consented.

I was suprised at her request. As i remember it, she used to dislike colouring and she used to do it quite badly too. Baddin is the same. But yesterday, she did it happily and in a relaxful manner. I softly enquired the matter. I was very curious of the change of heart.

She admitted that she used to hate doing her homework because i used to get angry so fast. She said that ever since she had her own room, her own table, I had changed into a more fun person to do homework with.

Yes. I think she was right. Before she had her own room, we used to do the homework on Saturdays on the dining table where there was the tv distraction. On top of that, her dad used to interfere since he is very against the concept of doing homework ... i do too..but someone had to do it... so...the job fell on me. I was stressed out due to all of those..esp with the dad negative aura homework presence...Nowadays, we do it in her room every friday without the dad n tv distraction. Even baddin has become better in his homework...He is in fact eager to do it every friday..though of course his concentration span is much much shorter than his sister's.

2 weeks ago, i accidently sent baddin's homework together with hatice's homework to school. The response that came back with the homework from her teacher (NilgünGülen) was...

Hatice's homework:
"Kardeşine yardıma olduğun ve ögrendiklerini onunla paylaştığın için güzel kızma teşekkür ederim"
(I thank you for helping and sharing what you have learned with your little brother)

Baddin's homework:
"Sabahattin'e teşekkür ederim. Ablasıyla birlikte ödev yaptığı ve ona destek olduğu için"
(I thank you Sabahattin for doing the homework together with ur sister and giving her your support)

How sweet ...

And so my lesson in the growing up of my children continues... they r teaching me as i am teaching them...

Nisan Project

2007-04-26T20:02:00.000+03:00

Yes. This is the project of the month... to create shapes using *kil hamuru*..some sort of play dough which gets dry and stays dry n tough...the flower vase unfortunately didnt get stuck to each other once it dried up..thus, leaving the flower without the vase...(well..at least i got to snap the picture eh?)

I am guilty big time for not updating this blog for a long time. So many things has happened since i last updated this blog.

For one, hatice is being kept up to date of the latest music in turkey by Ramazan abi the school service chauffeur since he turns on the radio in the vehicle everyday. Halil and i are both impressed how up to date she is considering that her dad only listens to songs that lul u to sleep (esp of the slow type).. and i for one r more into english songs...songs which r usually found on mtv....my kids r more used to my songs... esp the ones i put on my quill of my heart blog.

The second main happening to me was... well....hatice has always loved her hostess abla..the sweet lady who picks her up from the apartment door into n out of the school service every day... she is really sweet..totally. Hatice loves this abla so much. One day she decided to draw a picture and gave it to this abla...and she came home with a cute pink hair band on her hair... a gift from her beloved abla.... u bet she was very happy...

From what she told me, i think hatice is an example student in her class. It doesnt really suprises me coz ..for one, she is among the tallest in her class. Apart from that, she has this characteristic of being a big sister...an abla.. something she is used to at home... From what i see..she is very well liked. ... at times some friends gave her small gifts even though it was not supriz gunu... Naturally, she had complaints ...once she told me how sad she was of this one friend... but then, one day, she said she doesnt wanna play with this friend.. and the next day, that friend is her best friend hehehehe kids!

Last thursday was her lezzet gunu... she was on dutyto bring something (food) from home.. she had always wanted to bring home made cookies for her lezzet gunu.. so what we did was, i prepared the cookies dough for her n she had cut the dough into heart shapes. it turned out very nice too... next to the cookies, i had also prepared sandwich fr her friends...a hot dog bread filled with kaşar peynir (cheese) and slim cut hot dog (sosis) with ketchup mix. I also sent the small pack fruit juice for everyone... Her friends loved her lezzet gunu.. she came home happy naturally.

Her report card came too. this time she got all excellent..even for the english report card. How suprising. I was beginning to think that her english teacher was too keen not to give excellent to my daughter. I guess i was wrong. Hey! I am an english teacher. When someone doesnt give excellent for my kid's english report card.. i feel sad... i am a mom after all :0)

I guess thatz all for now. Will try to update soon... There is another project next month. and very soon, the pre school students' performance will beheld as well. I cant miss that. Woah... it is only in less than 2 months that hatice will end her pre school education.. how time flies o fast..

before i know it... my kids will be all grown up....

Making a Toy Project

2007-03-30T09:05:00.000+03:00

Again..something i had noticed quite late...making a toy... i was not in the mood to be creative... so we came up with this...it is not totally very beautiful..but hey! u cant find a very colurful sheep like the one we made anywhere else! :0)

Some matters..

2007-03-24T23:35:00.000+02:00

Ever since she started going to school, most days than not, she came home with terrible headache.It got us worried... I personally worry that she had inherited my *sight defect* which i think i was born with...in which i didnt realized that fact until my mid term exam when i was in standard 3 which was full with red marks...

We went to see Mesut last friday... he is meşe's hubby n also an *eye doctor*...we wanted to be sure...Allah Razı olsun..meşe brought us to the hospital.. it turned out that her eyesight is good...hence, we all came to the conclusion that hatice cannot stand travelling in the school service...staying n movng vehicles gave her headache...

i suppose she will just need to get used to it.. i cant send her to school everyday using the public transportation.. that is even worst than the school service!!

Another thing, i discovered is the need for her to have her own room...All these while, halil n i thought that we would separate hatice n baddin into rooms of their own by the time hatice turns 10.. well..that is the age for her old bed was supposed to last anyway... MasyaAllah.. she is too tall for her age... n thus making the bed very uncomfortable to sleep in...

Furthermore, i discovered that doing her homework in the living room is very distructive...her concentration was almost nil. But the room she was sharing with baddin was too small with no room for nything except for the two beds... I decided she needed a condusive studying table n room.... hence..the new bed... baddin moving into his new room which ws the study room then... hatice now has a room of her own... she has..in fact 2 tables now... one table..this one...

is the table underneath her bed.. a bit small but enough if she decides to study there... and another table in the same room... this one (see below)
big enough for hatice n baddin to do their homework (i usually photocopy hatice' homework for baddin to do..those i think he could do..)..n they do the homework here...far from the living room distractions n this is a more condusice place to studying...

I just hope all will go well with their studies...though i really worried with baddin's capability with the pen... he still is not very skilled in holidng the pen.....

n both...hates colouring!! heheheheheh

Animal Project

2007-03-04T12:10:00.000+02:00

This was a projext done last week.. according to the paper given to me, this project should be done within a month's time period.. but then, there was that 2 weeks holiday.. n by the time that paper of instruction for the project reached us..there was less than 2 weeks to do it.. i only realised the project around one week before the due date... i would have done something more creative with the kids if i had more time to think n find the materials.. but forthat short time period.. this is the best i could come up with... here they r....Nur Hatice n sabahaddin's animal farm..again everything is done with baddin as well.. i cant let her brother feel left out can i?

The basic color backgroud.. the farm gate made from cut coloured papers..n the pond in blue..

2 kids busy with the glue

Still busy...

Baddin's animal farm (they decided on their own where to put each animal..

Hatice's animal farm

Their finished animal farm..

Birthday Celebration at school n weekly activities

2007-02-16T18:24:00.000+02:00

Her first sentence when she entered the door was..(translated from turkish)

*U forgot to give me the water/juice for everybody!*

Yes.. i am guilty as charged... by the time i remembered about it.. it was already almost the time she was scheduled to cut her cake.. my mind simply missed out on that.. my mind was occupied with halil's health n other things.. I AM SOOOO SORRY ARI SINIFLAR.. AFFET BENİ.. :0(

She also came back with terrible headache.. my guess is.. the lack of sleep did that.. she didnt eat properly during lunch as well.. eversince after the holiday, she came back everyday with the *star* on her t-shirt to indicate she was the star during lunchtime.. today..no such thing.. she told me that she didnt feel like eating..

Anyway.. with great difficulty.. i managed to extract the story today.. She was of course suprised to see the cake! she was happy to see the ballet girl on the cake..she complained about no water to drink hehehe so sorry kids! the teacher made that pinkish crown for her only to indicate that she was the birthday girl.. she also distributed the suprise gifts for all her friends..she said they loved it..soldier key chains for the boys n cute girlish mirrors for the girls...

Here she is with the crown n the birthday dress hala had bought for her during her birthday which she wore today at school....

She also brought back the weekend homework (as usual) n some art work they did during the weekdays in class.. here they r..

A mouse

A crescent with the stars.. i think i scanned that upside down hehehe

A pop up house, pine tree n a snow man from the cardboard

The sun which opens up (in the middle) to reveal..

The beautiful stars n crescent

Post holiday

2007-02-15T16:50:00.000+02:00

She didnt have problem waking up in the mornings.. i mean she doesnt complain no matter how sleepy she is..well the fact that she takes much much longer than usual to get ready is another matter of course.. instead of her usual 7am waking time.. i have to wake her up at 6.45am these days... ..

One evident thing is..she sleeps later at night than before the holiday.. it used to be by 9pm that she would start to be in slumberland..but these days.. even when we still put the kids to bed by 8.30am.. their sleeping time has gotten much later..which is a bad thing too coz they get sooo sleepy during the wake up time..

Baddin? he still wakes up with his sister...still has his breakfast with her n still saying bye bye to her..

This is what she brought home yesterday.. supposedly the nabi Nuh ship which transfered those who believed in him.. including the animals (as evident in the pic..mongkeys n lion)

Tomorrow hatice will also be in charge of the *suprise day*.. it means that she will be bringing small gifts to all her friends in her class.. i had bought cute mirrors for the girls n sort of soldier key chains for the boys..

What she didnt know.. n wont discover till tomorrow at 2pm is...she will be cutting her belated birthday cake with her friends! I tried to scan the cake picture but it doesnt come out so clear...

The cake is basically in pink n white color.. chocolate chip cake with 5 girl figures doing ballet..in the middle there will be sugar rose shaped surrounding the ballet dancer at the center with the writing..*happy 6th birthday* underneath it..

i am afraid there wont be pictures as i dare not let her use our digital camera.. n parents arent actually encouraged to join in celebration like this..just hatice n her classmates.. i hope this will be a nice suprise for her.. all of them eating cakes n hatice distributing the suprise gifts to all..

will try to get the gist of what happened tomorrow..will update later :0)

First Live theatre

2007-02-11T22:34:00.001+02:00

I had always wanted to bring my kids to live children's theatre.. well.. every other kids in the family seem to go.. i dont want my kids to be left behind.. besides.. i think turks love to watch theatres.. i think watching theatres somehow enhance the love for the culture within a person if starts young... i remember my first theatre was when i was in my university years.. even then i had to rent a car n drove into kl to watch it with my friends..

My kids.. i wanted to bring them to theatres.. but halil..always was..is always busy... i think fate had intervened last thursday when after coming back from that mind breaking unfinished matter, .. early than expected.. n the kids were at meşe.. she had promised to bring the kids to watch a theatre...but since we came back early, halil told her..*no need*..

of course hatice started crying.. baddin wanted to go too..but halil was tired. ..well..who wouldnt? we woke up at 5 am that morning.. not wanting to break their small hearts, i managed to persuade halil to send us off to the theatre venue.. i told him that we would return by ourselves..though i had no idea how to heheheh

the title? *Uyuyan guzel* i think..if u translate it.. it would be *sleeping beauty*.. my kids were fascinated by it.. there were loads of singing..even rap music.. the theatre was somewhat interactive as well.. n what i love about it was that.. at the end of the movie, the actors n actresses had managed to interact with the kids saying that *magic* as seen in the story r man made.. nothing real.. .. it was basically a very simple theatre with simple prop..interesting nonetheless.. even to this one not so very good speaker of turkish..

as it was an unexpected theatre plan, i didnt bring my digital camera.. i snapped some photos using halil's hp but i cant seem to transfer the photos to the pc..

2 happy children indeed..n their first live theatre..they left the theatre hungry..but smiling :0)

Birthday Girl

2007-02-09T18:53:00.000+02:00

Her 6th birthday should be on the 6th of february.. due to certain circumstances, we postponed it to the 7th....Location Uludağ kebapcısı.. Afife teyze took all of us to the kebapci n we took that opportunity to let hatice cut her birthday cake there...

The birthday girl with the birthday dress from her Meşe hala
The gold earrings from her mom n dad.. it took her 3 days to lose one of the earrings.. now she is back to wearing her old earrings.. need to buy her one more later.. she was sad naturally..

2 siblings with funny pose

The birthday girl eating the birthday cake
Time to blow the 6 candles..with the cousins n the restaurant owner

The uncles n aunties..unfortunately funda couldnt come coz she was not feeling well.. get well soon funda!
at fenerbahçe.. time for the kids to run free..

Yeah!

2007-02-09T18:47:00.000+02:00

today is friday.. i am oficially announcing that hatice has finished all the 48 pages book homework, her english homework, sort of do a day schedule n her farklı duşunelim book.. now she is on real holiday..

My conclusion from watching her..i find that my daughter:
1. is still writing the number 4,7,6 n 9 upside down
2.she dislike colouring
3. she loves drawing
4. she loves art work

She is.. ok ok..let say.. i am too.. am soooooooooo relieved that the homework is over! Good riddance! (no offence anyone :0))

Art work

2007-02-07T09:54:00.000+02:00

This young lady was supposed t0 cut her birthday cake yesterday..

but of course, she didnt. that cake cutting will be today..

But she was out the whole day with her cousins..

polenköy(pictures will soon appear in the *life as presented in photos blog)..then dede..

But once she reached home, her mind was creative enough to produce this one her own..

A boat in the middle of the sea

from the cola turka bottle cap, a tooth pick n loads of sellotape

A closer look..

This Girl..

2007-02-06T00:09:00.000+02:00

I remember it

As if it was yesterday.
I suspected it.
I guessed it.

Yet, i was afraid to hope.
Afraid that the hope would be for nothing…

We were in the balcony eating breakfast.
We talked of possibilities..
To confirm or not to confirm.
We decided to act.

Excited..
Hopeful..
Yet, scared.

I shrieked in happiness
He guessed why.
I jumped into his arms..
The dream became reality..

It was also Zeynep’s birthday celebration that day..
That one day i would never forget..
How i smiled from inside..
Though only by dawn we broke the news..

My life have never been the same again..
To have my dreams fulfilled..
6th of February is a date forever precious..
Coz on that day…
6 years ago..
I was able to hold u in my arms..
To smell the breath of heaven
To call u my daughter.

I wouldnt trade u for anything in this world..

My Dear Çiçeğim…

Happy 6th Birthday!

Task 6: Parmak Kukla

2007-02-05T18:44:00.000+02:00

This time, hatice's task is to make smiley faces on her mom's fingers.. i decided to wear a glove n she used permanent marker pen to write on the glove..

these fingers r mine :0)
My liltle princess at work
Trust me.. it is difficult to write on a glove

The end result..

A day with my thoughts..

2007-02-04T19:47:00.001+02:00

Sunday.. it is freezing outside.. rainy for most part of the day...a perfect day to stay in n sleep the day away.. (i wish!!)

My mind drifted back to the early days of hatice's formal education.. Halil n i.. we had always decided not to send hatice to kindergartens (yuva).....The Zaim kids so far go to Coskun schools for their primary school education.... so without needing to discuss the matter, we have always known that our kids(if Allah is willing) would be going to one of the coskun schools as well...

When hatice was destined to enter her pre school education.. we had to crack our brains..which pre school to send her.. there were 2 obvious choices of course..the Çamlıca Coskun where safa n zeynep go to.. or the Yaşar Cimilli Coşkun where keremcan is..These r the primary schools...

But..do these schools have pre school program as well?

We discovered that due to space limitation, the Çamlıca Coskun has their pre school program moved somewhere else.. not within the primary school area.. the other one (Yaşar Cimili) has the pre school program within the primary school area,with its pre school building by itself n yet attached to the main primary school building..

The idea of hatice going to a pre school within the primary school area itself sounded good to our ears.. that would mean that she would be going to school at the same time as the normal primary school kids...she would also be in the same bus service as her cousin keremcan (our front door neightbour).. she would get used to the primary school life system..n yet living the pre school education.... but most importantly.. i can reach the school easily by bus...

Logistics is important to us.. personally, i would love hatice to go to the Çamlica Coskun.. that school is like a fairy tale castle up on the hill where each block is like a small chateau.. and each chateau is only for one grade group of students..the view is magnificent there...!! Very romantic!But then, the pre school would not be in the same primary school area.. ..n like i said earlier on... logistically, it is a bit far off.. not reachable by bus..only taxi..it would be financially suicidal!

Anyway.. these two schools r of the same group.. so educationwise.. their system.. their teachers r trained their way.. according to the coskun schools standard..

Easy access.. though not as fancy as the Çamlıca Coskun School....we had decided that Hatice would go to Yaşar Cimili Coskun..

Coşkun Schools aim to provide COLOURFUL EDUCATİON.. i think besides the too much homework.. i am really happy with our choice..

i see many development in hatice the last few months..

Here is something i take from the school's website:

Coşkun Schools offer a secure structure for good teaching :
****************************************************

*To educate for life-long learning based on mutual respect.

*To have high expectations for each child and to celebrate their achievements, involving family members and the wider community.

*To nurture children’s social and emotional development and promote independence and self-motivation

* To provide an environment that is welcoming, safe, caring and disciplined, where communication is clear and effective

I think as parents.. we r happy with what we see in hatice ..may she develop into a resourceful person..

Play Doh time

2007-02-03T16:55:00.000+02:00

I have basically mixed up the holiday *what to do timetable* heheh i am glad..i am not really the type to stick to rules or instructions..... i love to modify.. so here is the next task.. to be done at one point during this holiday...but is being done today...Enjoy! :0)

i dont normally buy this.. usually i make real dough from flour for the kids.. this time i am lazy with capital letters
Hatice with her hair still uncombed hehehe n baddin.. together both hard at work..
Hatice with her play dough
number 12345678910

baddin with his play dough no 12345678910

hatice's finished numbers
baddin's finished numbers

A pink flower with a butterfly on top of the flower..i asked her.. why both in pink? she said * i love pink!*..hehehe girls!

An Outing with a Mission

2007-02-02T21:09:00.000+02:00

Today.. forget the school's what to do list..forget the homework...forget everything to do with the school..it is holiday!! today is friday.. the weather is cloudy.. cold.. really cold.. quite windy i'd say.. and YES' Today is an outing day.. with a mission...kids! today we r doing what anne says!

smile in the ferry

yeah.. i know.. it is too early to be in the ferry hehehe
make funny faces behind the water fountain

Let ur brother disturb u once in a while (as if he ever stops! hehe)

Spend more time with the mom (like 24/7 n more!!)
have neck scarf sort of fight at the bus stop
Drink the orange juice.. make scary faces
or just simply feed the birds..

And stay sweet
And happy
coz the mission is accomplished:

we have met n spent the day with

*doctor in the house*..

our Dr Roza's 2 daughters

(Sarah n Sofi)

i am still confused which is which heheheh

whom hatice n baddin adore so much though they have only known each other today....

and i personally think that they r so really sweet girls!! memangg comelllll!

Task 4: Planting

2007-02-01T12:23:00.000+02:00

This is a task to be done next week..on the 8th of feb.. today, there is a different task. .. i however am lazy to do today's task..not in the mood to be creative..therefore, i have decided to swap the two activities hehehehehe..

Yes! planting time!! what what should we plant??

r we planting onions today?
Sort of.. they r the onions that will produce the buds of tulips..
Filling in the cup with the earth..
2 happy siblings
The end product.. this one icture is snapped by hatice herself..

Task 3: Watching the Movie

2007-02-01T10:07:00.000+02:00

It was the last task of the holiday.. but to go to the cinema towards the end days of the holiday is not something i look forward to.. though a bit unplanned.. we didnt know that we would be going to the cinema in the first place heheheh we went to that place for something else..

we went to see *happy feet*.. just the four of us.. halil was bored to death.. i loved the movie.. baddin fell asleep half of the movie.. n hatice was not fully entertained.. here we were.. or should i say.. they were (since i forgot to snap a pix of myself) heheh

task 2-making the necklace.. picture reuploaded again

2007-02-01T09:47:00.000+02:00

I am uploading the pictures from the previous task again since some of u cannot see the picture.. i hope his time the pic will reappear onto ur screen :0)

Task 2: Making a Necklace

2007-01-30T22:44:00.000+02:00

The second task is to make a necklace for the mom using pasta shells or beads. Again, as a trio, i assigned hatice to make a necklace for me (though in truth it is for her hehehe) and baddin to make a necklace for his sister..

The materials
2 siblings busy at work
Hatice working with full concentration
Baddin working with an even fuller concentration
Choosing which beads to use next is no easy task.. trust me.. i saw them frown while choosing the beads hehehe
Baddin's art work.. a necklace for abla

Hatice's art work...this one photo is snapped by hatice.

Task One: Making Pudding

2007-01-29T15:32:00.000+02:00

The first task for today (monday) is to make a pudding with the mom.. n in hatice's case.. mom n little brother..so all the tasks during the holiday r to be done in trio..

hatice n baddin ready with thir önluk..ready for the task
The key ingredients..Dr Öetker Pudding! hehehe

well.. it is the FASTEST n most DELİCİOUS way in making a pudding known to man :0)

We love Şutaş milk..another ingredient for the pudding
The milk poured into the pan
The pudding powder into the pan..together they work as a team..
Pour some more....work hatice! work baddin!
The mixing of the ingredients (not on the stove)
The mixing of the ingredients by the mom.. hatice n baddin r forbidden to play with hot things like the stove.
Hatice's task: to snap a picture of the pudding.

Not bad eh?

Another task awaiting us tomorrow..

End of the First Semester Report Card(s)

2007-01-27T11:19:00.000+02:00

I was shocked to see sooo many mini report cards beside the main ones... So here they r..

The Main Report Card

The Front Page
Green is for language development:music n turkish language.

Blue is for knowledge development: reading n writing preparatory as well as science and maths

Red is for Psychomotor development: games and movement as well as art

Orange is for social development: free time and drama

Green is for daily care n cleanliness

Teacher's comments: My dear sweet child of this class..Your bautiful face, your heart full with the love to learn in trying to be successful in everything you do...i thank u. I am happy to be ur teacher.

English Report Card:

all excellent except for 2 *çok iyi* (very good)

Folk Games Report Card:

Teacher's comment: I wish u success in the future

Music Report Card

Teacher's comment: Ur performance is good..Thank u.

Computer Report Card

Teacher's comment: None

Physical Education Report Card

Teacher's comments: Thank u for being an example to ur friends.

Drama Report Card

Teacher's comment: Quiet, full with discipline and successful. I wish u every success.

Chess Report Card

Teacher's comments: Dearest Hatice, I hope u will be always as careful and successful like this

Art Report Card

Teacher's comments: I thank u for the success u have had this semester

Yup.. so many report cards huh? but i guess this is good in the sense that u can see the development of ur child not just in general but in a bit of detail as each teacher makes a special evaluation on ur kid(s) in every subject..it seems hatice need to improve on her drama n computer skills...i pray for her every success in everything she does

Art Work

2007-01-27T10:58:00.000+02:00

These r some of the artwork that had been produced by my dearest bebeğim Nur Hatice for the first semester of her pre school months... Pls bear in mind that there r some more of these.. only that the mom is lazy to scan them.. hehehe

Spongebob Square Pants!! or should i say..

Sponge Girl half oval Skirt?

A basket made from papers

Pamuk Dede is a famous character of a grandpa in children stories in turkey.. his wife is called Şeker Nene

A robot made from a Cd n coloured papers.. there r the legs n hands but they r too long for me to scan them.
* Mary had a little lamb..little lamb..little lamb..*

This time hatice has got a little lamb of her own :0)

Brush ur teeth everyday .. i suppose it was done at the week where the kids were learning to take care of their teeth..
A very cute caterpillar with very strage legs hehehehe..my dear princess must have glued them upside down :0)

*Time waits for no man* they say.. Just like these things.. if i dont put a bit of effort in uploading n typing at least some of the stories in her life.. they will fly by soo easily and so fast..n before i know it.. they will be forgotten stories of the past..

Dearest çiçeğim..this is for u..

She said..

2007-01-17T08:55:00.000+02:00

Ever since monday this week.. my daughter has lost her chit chat friend in the school bus. Ever since she started her schooling days till monday, she has been sitting next to her cousin ilayda in the school bus.. chit chatting... sharing their girlish talks.. even some in depth fears.. Now İlayda has changed to another bus service to go to school..n my daughter has lost her chatting friend..she feels lost. Everyday she asks me whether we can go to ilayda's home.. we cant yet of course...

I try to reassure her that the fact that ilayda has to change school bus is due to logistics reasons.. which is a good indication for ilayda.. n that no matter how much she misses her cousin in the school bus service... the good thing is.. now whenever she goes to her grandpa (dede).. she can always call ilayda to her grandpa's place....like the old times.. n that she should be happy that things r looking up to a brighter side for ilayda...

I know she realizes this fact as well.. but can u blame her for missing the one person she makes noise with in the school bus service?

*hugs* to my lil angel..

Our short conversation

2007-01-16T18:11:00.000+02:00

There we were.. hatice, baddin n i.. feasting on the mc donalds.... we started to chat about her school ..She was telling me that one of her friends brought a *guest student* to their class.. Well, they do that.. u can bring guests to school for a day.. we were talking in turkish but i am gonna translate our conversation in english..I decided to tease her a bit...

Anne: If ur friend can bring his friend to school, then u can bring ur little brother to school as a guest for one day then?

Hatice: But anne.. baddin will miss u.. who will look after him? he is small and he wouldnt understand the lessons. (her voice becoming extremely pleading n tear streak in tune hehehehe)

Anne: But hatice, ur brother is not so small.. he can look after himself.. he wont trouble u.. u wont need to look after him all the time..he is an intelligent boy after all.. just like u...

Hatice: But anneeeeeeeee (heheheheehe i laughed inside)

Anne:Ok..ok.. if u dont want him, i wont send him as ur guest.. after all he will join the pre school after the summer this year..

Hatice was so relieved heheheheeheheheh But baddin was a bit dissapointed of course..but he'll recover :0)

Hatice n school.. i try my best to let her have all the opportunities and experiences at her own pace....AS independent as she possibly can from me, her dad n her brother.. So far, together with her classmates, they had visited the baker's shop.. they had watched theatres....went to a virtual cinema..and tomorrow, they will go to a *toy museum*....she missed on the trip to the bookstore..

The thing is.. parents r allowed to join their kids in these activities..As much as i want to join her.. i think it is best for her to have the experience alone.. if i join in, that means she will have to entertain her bro as well.. she wont be free to be herself coz she will be conscious of my presence n that is the last thing i wanna do. I want her to be her.. to be a child.. not an abla (sister)..not a daughter.. i dont want her to have any role...i want her to be her..a carefree child..a child...happy n enjoying her freedom to the fullest..

The fact that she has to shoulder the role as an abla far too soon saddens me to an extent..but for every opportunity possible....i want her to be free of any roles..n just be her.. she needs to be her in order to be happy n confident in life...n may she be...n this is my only wish..

Annelar gunu toplantısı

2006-12-29T08:56:00.000+02:00

There is a meeting day for all mothers of the kids in hatice's class twice a month.. every tuesday. I was dreading the day when someone would call and say that there would be a meeting. Last weekend, someone did... i even *chopped* halil's head for his teasing on that matter.. i had missed these meetings for 3 times.. ok..ok..i thought.. let me go once.. let us see what happens...

Yup.. it was freezing.. it was snowing on n off..i scooped my son's hand into mine and we headed off towards the school....it took us almost an hour to reach there..the mini bus was overcrowded... the traffic..but we reached there in the end. It was to begin at 1 pm.

Frankly speaking, i didnt know what to expect. Anyway.. met another *mom* there.. and together we went to the meeting place.. It was actually a small building wth cozy sofa n carpet in it. The heater was not working..and guess what? i wore thin!! stupid stupid me.. The rest of the moms wore nice clothing as well.. contrastively.. i wore my customary jeans n t-shirt.. i find wearing jeans is much more comfortable than wearing proper clothing...with all the walking n mini bus experience....jeans is what i will wear everytime i go to hatice's school... appropriate or not.. that is the least of my concern.

Nobody brought any child. baddin was the only one.. i was afraid he would not be able to stand the meeting... luckily he was quite ok with it.. i gave him my handphone to play with hehehehehe.. though i couldnt help but sense that someone was not that happy that a child was around...the rest of the moms were cool about it though...

The meeting... a total of 8 moms were there.. hatice's class teacher ..nilgün gülen was there as well..

My conclusion?

The meeting was nice.. Nilgün hanım introduced topics to talk about..but it was a chance for the moms to exchange thoughts n ideas of their childrens' development both in school and out of school.

The disadvantage is..
the meeting was too long. It was supposed to start at 1pm.. i left by 3 pm n the meeting was still ongoing. The fact that it was long made it impossible for me to attend it often coz to go there with baddin every forthnight would be impossible..and i do not have anyone to leave him to...and i dont want to....occasionally, i will go..but not often..

I also noticed that there r only one or two dominators in the discussions.. at times, the dominators left no room for other mothers to join in the conversation. Other mothers were not coaxed to join in more...some may not be talkative..but if coaxed..if encouraged.. others will have something to say as well.I was not the active participator. I was more than happy to observe the ongoings of the conversation...to have my own evaluation..maybe next time...

I also conclude that Nilgün hanım is a very very sweet lady... i am so happy to have her as hatice's class teacher.. she is someone to talk to..

What i feel.. the topic on sending ur kids to school earlier than their age.. i agree withg the saying that it will be difficult for that child to reach to the standard of those around him or her.. as nilgün hanım had experienced it herself..

when i look at baddin and hatice.. both r developing at their own pace.. yes..there r ways to speed the process..but i feel that when they r ready..they will be ready... i used to worry a lot about hatice. I thought she was a bit slow in the mental development.. esp when it comes to numbers ...she has talemts in some fields..but in other fields..she worried me.. now..i see that she just need s some time to develop herself..to be ready..mentally.. now i think she is ready..

Baddin is the same... he is preparing himself too.. though he has a sharp mind.. in some areas he is not so speedy.. n i sense that he too will be prepared when he has reached that level of readiness..

my conclusion is.. unless ur child is super genius...high IQ...a mensa.. let ur child develop at his or her own pace.... let her or him enjoy her/his childhood!!

My little star

2006-12-23T13:59:00.000+02:00

My two angels..hatice holding something n baddin with his special pose there hehehe

A closer look

The Certificate

am back again!

2006-12-19T15:30:00.000+02:00

Yeah..i know.. i have been quiet for quite some time.. i dunno why.. i was not in the mood to blog too much these days..

benim çiçeğim hatice..whatz her development?

so far she is still loving her school life..it is quite difficult to convince her not to go to school even when she was not feeling well.. but of course as parents..when we said.. *dont go* to her.. she had no choice but to obey... she is masyaAllah an obedient child to begin with..

I am really happy with the fact that each month, a timetable of each day's main activities for hatice will be delivered to me... her eating timetable with the calories of each food in the menu for each schooling days will also be delivered to me each early of the month.. I always check with her to see whether the timetable is accurate.. so far i have no complaints..

She has also become the *yemekhane parlayan yıldızı* ( see the star on her shirt in the picture below) 7 times .. the star is granted for the student in the class who finishes most food during that day for lunch .. I think this is to motivate the students to finish the menu of the day.. for hatice, i think it works coz when she started her pre school education, she didnt touch her soup..only the main menu n dessert... but now..she tried to finish her soup as well so that she will be able to wear that *yıldız*..

My complain is i think the kids r given too much sweets in the school..maybe they r used as motivations for the kids to strive for the better in their studies..but i completely am so sad that hatice is eating too much sweets nowadays.. many days than not, she will tell me that she had eaten sweets at school..maybe her friends brought those sweets from home? i dunno..but what i know is that, hatice is eating too many sweets.. even nowadays at home, she eats sweets as well..this sadden me coz i do not like my kids to eat excessive sweets... hatice; before her pre school life..she very rarely eat at sweets.. more often than not, she would reject the sweets offered to her... not anymore... i know..i know..kids like sweets... she didnt used to like it.. now she does...far too much i am afraid..

The school system is good.. they try to get parents to be involved in the child's activities.. even the homework.. but i find that it may be too much for me.. for example.. there is supposed to be a some sort of competition among the mothers in particular.. each mother will buy a set book from the school office, and within a month,the mothers will read the book and there will be a competition among them.. participation for mothers r compulsory.. the aim? to incultivate the reading habit within the family members..if the mom reads for example, the child will want to as well..

Will i join in? of course not! i think this is absurd. I agree the aim is divine.. but for a foreign mom like me..i think it is a waste of my time.. i am not going to read a book in turkish n join the competition..i read at home.. my kids can see me read.. we have our own ways to create a reading interest within our children.. n i certainly do not need this kind of competition ..reading by force is not my cup of tea.. no offence dear school organizer.. i have nothing against u.. but i am not joining this competition.. n i am also getting bored with the meeting...i think i skipped the meeting twice.. n i really dread to see a call for a meeting the next time..

there is however, one thing i like that day... there was this mevlana celebration of some sort that other day... parents were invited... coctail was provided as well... halil n i came later after the cocktail.. but from what i saw.. the school had prepared many nice food for the parents n students to eat... for the mevlana night, a speaker was invited to talk about mevlana..i have to say, i was nearly asleep with his explanation but the show after that..the *sema* was wonderful.. i will add in the video clip later..for now, i will just add in the sema picture i snapped...

I think that is all for now... will write in later...........

Ödev Zamanı

2006-12-02T09:11:00.000+02:00

Every Friday, hatice will come home with a file containing her homework for the week.. Again..as to be fair, i copied some of hatice's homework for baddin as well.. Here r my kids at work..HOMEWORK TİME!!

Öğretmenim

2006-11-28T11:06:00.000+02:00

Canım öğretmenim
My beloved Teacher
Tükenmez senin sevgin
Your love has no end
Çiçeklerin içinde
Your flower is within me
BENİM Çiçeğim
My Flower
SENSİN
is YOU!

Ara Karnesi

2006-11-28T10:07:00.000+02:00

Much to my amazement as a former teacher and a mom,Saturday was the day i discovered that...

There is NO EXAM SYSTEM for the
PRE-SCHOOL (anaokulu/pra sekolah),
FIRST GRADE (birinci sınıf/darjah satu),
SECOND GRADE (ikinci sınıf/darjah dua)
THIRD GRADE (third grade/darjah tiga)
STUDENTS!!!

Nice isnt it? i wish we had that while i was still a student..What do we have here? we have...

DAVRANIŞ KARNESİ (character report card /laporan pembinaan karakter)

how cool isnt it to be a teacher in those grades? It leaves u in a less strain position and that allows u to be more creative and relaxed in educating ur students..especially in the early days of schooling years where if u love ur school life..that will be a positive beginning for a child esp for his or her future years in the struggle to get a place in a university as she or he will have to study really hard to pass the complicated...difficult system of university exam entry....

Yesterday..i died of exaustion...figuratively speaking.

Halil left me in front of the school compound by 12 noon. Then, he took safa (his nephew) and our kids to Carrefour since i am left to this excruciatingly painful task...the least he could do was to babysit his kids for a few hours, right?12.15 noon, the veli toplantısı (parents meeting) started...mothers vs hatice's class teacher..that sweet Nilgün öğretmen (Nilgün teacher)...The meeting ended up at 1.30pm where later the parents proceeded to several rooms to meet the *branş öğretmenlar* (branch teachers..ieiii other subject teachers..) It was que after que that no man will have patience to do..That is why Allah has created us mothers... to deal with these things...i went there at 12 noon n i left the school at 4pm.. tired..thirsty..hungry..(they did offer refreshments but all i wanted to do was to finish the que n meeting all of hatice's teachers..).....the day did not end there.. at 5 there was ipek's birthday... then we went to baba for a while..then the kids (nephews n nieces) were at us for a while..n by the time they left.. my body was itching from my allergy towards dust..my feet aching ..n the sound of yasin lulled me to sleep from halil's mp3 player...

What is important for me yesterday was that it was ara karne (first semester report card) distribution..this is the chance for me to see how my daughter is doing at school..how the teachers percieve her in class..

This is her class teacher's assesment of Nur Hatice ..Wanna see her status?? Yup.. as u can see.. she scored *çok iyi* (very good)..top grades for her character building..The character list is..(i hope i am translating these right.. i am not too good in turkish..will ask halil to check my translation after he wakes up)

1. The responsibility of the homework given

2. The speed and capability in preparing herself for reading and writing

3. The habit to come to school

4. The capability to use of the language, respect and words used in conversation

5. The capability to use carefully and protect the school and class property

6. The capability to use carefully and protect personal property

7. The ability to be get used to the eating habit and following the eating room rules

8. The habit of doing the homework systematically

9. The ability to listen and join the lesson

10. The ability to carry responsibilities in a group

11. The capability to bring a task to a success

12. The capability to finish a task given

13. The relationship between friends

14. The love to be helpful

15. The capability to show respect to the elders and to show love to the younger

16. The habit of waiting in line

17. The ability to speak out in class

18. The ability to keep the personal locker tidy in between classes

19. The capability to be clean

20. The ability to listen

21. The ability to follow up the basic rules of mannerism (to thank, to apologize, to say hi etc)

What is soooo cute about this report card is the personal comment from her teacher.. she used the word..Benim Minik Papatyam(My little papatya *a flower*) to refer to hatice.. isnt that soooooo sweet??

That is the overall report card..There is a separate report card for english lesson..Hatice again get all top score (Excellent) except for homework and working in pair where she got only *very good*.

The homework was because hatice did not bring one english homework to school the other day coz her mom got her homework all mixed up..(should she be blamed for this?) and the other one was because the teacher once saw her fighting with a friend...Anyway.. had to queeeee long lines..many many hours..here is what i gathered from those i went to see:

Class Teacher (Nilgün Gülen)

**************************

She is extremely happy with Hatice's development.. her character etc..I asked her whether there is any problem with hatice in her class.. she said no.. Hence, i did mention a few of my worries..n possible problem with hatice..for her to look into.. she is such a sweet lady! i even managed to chat with a few moms (of the older grades) while waiting in que.. they said the same thing too..

English Teacher (Sumeyye Özel)

*****************************

She is happy with hatice as well..Hatice is very participative in class etc..etc..her only complaint was that hatice did not bring back her homework (as i mentioned above..it was my fault)The rest..she is happy with hatice.. my only concern is.. (perhaps due to exhaustion n endless parents she had seen)..but can she ..the teacher..smile a bit???

Resim/drawing..art (Gülçin Gül Erikçi)

**********************

She describes hatice as *aceleci* heheheh *nak cepat*..i think i know what she meant.. at home i see hatice holding a pen and she can finish her drawing in seconds... she is fast... but the problem with that is..she does not stop to *think*..or *listen to instructions*...esp in class..The problem with hatice is... she is at times in a world of her own..no matter what u say (or the teacher say)...she has made up her own conclusions..hmmm... so in class..she finishes her drawing fast but not as what the teacher has instructed.. she needs to improve on that..Other than that..the teacher is happy with her.. -*sweet kid* she said..

Muzik (M. Kemal Öndeş)

*******************

A cheerful guy.. his description for hatice *Perfect...çok akılı bir kız* ( a very intelligent girl)MasyaAllah....

Physical Education (Hülya Baş)

***************************

She was not around

Computer (Gökçe Akça)

**********************

On leave

Chess (Ediz Gürol Gündüz)

************************

He think hatice is *çok akılı bir kız* ( a very intelligent girl) and he thinks that she can go far with chess if she wants to...but the aim is for the kids to love playing chess..no strains..he gave other compliments as well but better not exaggerate here..Else, somebody will muntah on this entry hehehehheeh (looking at my dearest friend M) hahahahahah

Drama (Enbiya Avcı)

******************

This teacher went to drama. He was no where to be found. Grrrrrr

Turkish Plays (Necla Aktaş)

************************

Again compliments for hatice but..hehehe yup there is a but.. hatice is a bit lazy to stand up..she prefers lying on the floor at times (but she also mentioned that it might be because the lesson is normally early in the morning.. the kids r still sleepy etc.)

Dear Teachers.. THANK YOU for ur guidance especially in EduCATiNG my daughter.. Nur Hatice. Only Allah can repay for all that u have done..

Saturday..25th November..my Daughter's first Report Card..:0)

No exams ...how cool is that??I think this is something true.. once the students have a good character base in life, this will make their life much more easier n fun.. they wont see the school as something far too seriously *boring*..I try not to mumble too much about hatice's schooling in this blog.. after all, she has her own blog for me to mumble of her schooling life..but i think i am so over the moon when the teachers compliment my daughter....which parents wouldnt, right?

U r Not a Snail!

2006-11-22T08:13:00.000+02:00

I woke up from the sound of baddin coughing. It was not dark anymore outside.. fearing for the worst, i looked at the watch... 7.15am!!!!! We were late!!..15 minutes late!! halil must have forgotten to setr the clock after he woke up for work!

I quickly woke hatice up and brought baddin to the living room.. Yeah..he still wakes up with his sister every morning...went to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast..and went to check on hatice...

I couldnt believe my eyes!! There she was... still.. lay lay lay singing n taking her time..moving her hips to the tune of her own music...one hand holding her toothbrush..the other holding a toothpaste..

*haydi hatice..çabuk ol* (hurry up hatice)

i said in panic.... did she speed up her movement? Sure..of course... NOT..

FinaLLY, she came to the living room where she knew her clothes would be. She hold her t-shirt and sat on the couch...just looking... Haydaaa........i muttered to myself..it was 7.30am..she stilll has to have her hair braided.. breakfast... toilet...to do...to go to..

I took over n made her wear her clothes in 3 minutes. That done, i braided her her as fast as i possibly could..Allaha Şukur, this time she didnt move her head too much..Breakfast?.. a slow task...she was watching tikkabilla on tv while munching her food and drinking her milk..

7.42am..i told her to stop eating.. toilet time!! that done..boots in..winter jacket on.. n while waiting for keremcan to come out of her house, she sat on a small chair (tabure) while i fed her her leftover milk n dried raisin...it is a habit of hatice's (n baddin's next year-by force most definitely).. a bit of rasin before going out to school..

phewwww.. stress over.. .looked at the window to see her safely inside the school service..baddin shouting *bye bye abla* from the window..(i told him to shout bye bye keremcan too as not to be bias but he refused...).. n off to our daily activities..

thought i'd let off my steam a bit with this entry....she takes time...doing things slowly n happily in the morning..it is good perhaps but she is driving me nuts with her ease!! i just want her to be prepared n not be late for school n she is just happily lay lay lay herself every morning .. not caring if she is late or not..

Kızım.. u r not a snail!! Hurry Up!!