some time last month, while we were doing hafazan at home, hania said she was entering the hafazan competition in school. so I said, ok let's practise at home. and little miss confident said 'it's ok, i know already.' and she added she had known the suras from when she was in kindy. fulamak!
anyway so they had the competition in school the following week. she said she did okay, she knew the suras, while some others made mistakes. the only thing was being a little scared in front of the audience. this was in conjunction of the school's panitia agama islam week.
the announcement of the winners came two weeks later during assembly. i was already in the car waiting for them so got to hear the teacher announcing the winner. hania came second. the moment her name was announced she got up. well, i guess she did have reasons to be confident!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Vocab building
I started a little game on our notice board. make up words from a given sentence. We've done dragon booster, melawati, grandfather etc.
We started with any english word, but now it's 3-letters or more only. The responses have been pretty good. actually, better than expected.
Last night, when I had wiped out the previous words, the kids were suddenly throwing out big words, I wasn't sure what they were doing and then I realized they were giving me the main word. we decided on SPECTACLES.
Hania had a good list of 4-letter words going, I think all in all more than 20 3 to 5-letter words. Pretty impressive.
Some days nobody wrote down anything, some days they couldn't wait to do the word list.
Syakira has asked mummy for this at home, but wants it done upstairs or 'nanti orang kata kita tiru ibu.'
We started with any english word, but now it's 3-letters or more only. The responses have been pretty good. actually, better than expected.
Last night, when I had wiped out the previous words, the kids were suddenly throwing out big words, I wasn't sure what they were doing and then I realized they were giving me the main word. we decided on SPECTACLES.
Hania had a good list of 4-letter words going, I think all in all more than 20 3 to 5-letter words. Pretty impressive.
Some days nobody wrote down anything, some days they couldn't wait to do the word list.
Syakira has asked mummy for this at home, but wants it done upstairs or 'nanti orang kata kita tiru ibu.'
public speaking anyone?
Mummy and Ibu have been pulling our teeth out (yeah, right:)) getting the kids to speak and write English well.
This week Mummy started having the kids act out scenarios.
Monday it was simple stuff. "hi, how are you?" etc etc., basic text book conversations. Then they had to find something around the house and talk about it for two minutes.
Let's just say Azraf gave them a run for their money. His vocab and content was simple, no big deal, he's only 5, but his sentence structure was more English than the others and so less grammar mistakes. The older kids were basically thinking in BM and translating it out loud. Amjad and Syazmi had pretty good content though. Hania has good pronunciation, now if only she pays as much attention to the content!
Tuesday was a bigger challenge. They did giving directions. And for the second round, they had to choose whether to speak on favourite hero, sports or food. Syakira dumb-founded everyone when in the second round she chose as her hero the Prophet Muhammad.
Wednesday moms were exhausted and out of ideas, but the kids were gung-ho. There was a flyer from Domino so we had them do a phone conversation ordering pizza. Then they really wanted to act out scenarios. So we had them pretend to be tourists and tourist guides. They ended up sitting around talking about touristy stuff in English. Interesting.
Thursday we were all pooped out, plus Syazmi wasn't feeling well. So they pretty much had the day off.
This week Mummy started having the kids act out scenarios.
Monday it was simple stuff. "hi, how are you?" etc etc., basic text book conversations. Then they had to find something around the house and talk about it for two minutes.
Let's just say Azraf gave them a run for their money. His vocab and content was simple, no big deal, he's only 5, but his sentence structure was more English than the others and so less grammar mistakes. The older kids were basically thinking in BM and translating it out loud. Amjad and Syazmi had pretty good content though. Hania has good pronunciation, now if only she pays as much attention to the content!
Tuesday was a bigger challenge. They did giving directions. And for the second round, they had to choose whether to speak on favourite hero, sports or food. Syakira dumb-founded everyone when in the second round she chose as her hero the Prophet Muhammad.
Wednesday moms were exhausted and out of ideas, but the kids were gung-ho. There was a flyer from Domino so we had them do a phone conversation ordering pizza. Then they really wanted to act out scenarios. So we had them pretend to be tourists and tourist guides. They ended up sitting around talking about touristy stuff in English. Interesting.
Thursday we were all pooped out, plus Syazmi wasn't feeling well. So they pretty much had the day off.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
mid-year
time for their mid-year exam.
this year, the schedule came from PPD, and it's a weird one. Amjad and Syazmi started last FRiday. But today on Tuesday, they only have PJ paper (first time ever -- nobody has a clue what it's like, but we trust the boys will pass it), and otherwise it's class as usual. weird, weird, weird. So they still have English, Maths and Science. Science will be on Friday, the last day before school break. Maybe they're trying to cut down on the number of absentees?
Hania has Science today but spent the better part of last night preparing for her Seni. Out of the four questions, Question D is to make an ornament from paper. Everyone who read the question paper has no doubt which question miss fashion palate would choose!
The boys said their teacher said for the Pemahaman paper, most seemed to be so much better than the last two assessments i.e., more As, and they're hoping to be in those A category. I think their test taking strategy is getting better. So let's hope they'll get their wish.
this year, the schedule came from PPD, and it's a weird one. Amjad and Syazmi started last FRiday. But today on Tuesday, they only have PJ paper (first time ever -- nobody has a clue what it's like, but we trust the boys will pass it), and otherwise it's class as usual. weird, weird, weird. So they still have English, Maths and Science. Science will be on Friday, the last day before school break. Maybe they're trying to cut down on the number of absentees?
Hania has Science today but spent the better part of last night preparing for her Seni. Out of the four questions, Question D is to make an ornament from paper. Everyone who read the question paper has no doubt which question miss fashion palate would choose!
The boys said their teacher said for the Pemahaman paper, most seemed to be so much better than the last two assessments i.e., more As, and they're hoping to be in those A category. I think their test taking strategy is getting better. So let's hope they'll get their wish.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
the champs
Here they are!
This was right after their 4x200 gold finish.
Notice the now happy faces!
It was a thrilling win after all.
The kids have been watching the footage over and over again; but it's too big to put up on youtube and my video editing know-how is currently non-existent.
(and notice the muddy clothes!)
sports day pix
some pictures from the sports day 2007.
listening to the umpire's instruction. the last event for them that day, notice the tired and tanned faces.
waiting at the starting line. Amjad is first runner, and Syazmi is second runner.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Sports Day -- the report
Annual Sports Day 25 March 2007.
The condition of the field was horrendous! It had been raining a lot the past few days, the kids were happily sloshing around in the mud, some like Amjad chose to go barefoot all the way.
But the weather itself that day was very cooperative, alhamdulillah. Sunny without being too hot. Perfect if the events had gone on schedule and finished by 12; as it was, they dragged on a bit that it all ended at 1:30, and it was sweltering hot.
The organization, whatever there was of it, was bad. We're probably pros at attending sports days what tagging along with mummy and daddy all over segamat in addition to our own school experiences, and this one by far was the most disorganized that we went to. We've never been to the school's sports day before as so this was quite a shock.
Get all the bad things out of the way first so that Ibu can really Brag :) :) :)
(warning -- big time bragging ahead!)
Amjad participated in 3 events -- 100m; 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 (all the events were organized by year and gender).
His first event was 100m. After a false start (duh! teacher who was responsible for the flag signal didn't know what he was supposed to do and was given a crash course there and then by the sports' secretary), he dashed up to finish 3rd.
Their Blue House had the same team for both relay events. Amjad was first runner, next was Syazmi, then Azim and then Faris. Poor Syazmi was still so confused not quite sure whether he was in the team, so when they called for the students to go to the middle of the field, he was still going around looking for his friend. (where was the house teacher who was supposed to manage the team???)
4x100. Amjad faltered at the start, but managed to keep up with the rest of the pack, passed over to Syazmi, who really ran and narrowed the gap with the other two teams, passed over to Azim, who went like the wind and luck was with them when the red team runner slipped, passed over to Faris who kept the second position until the finishing line -- he was only one step behind the green team!
The close silver finish got them -- and everyone else -- excited. After all, blue has traditionally been the worst team, now there was even a glimmer of hope of getting a gold medal.
And won the gold medal they did, and with such excitement! They were already pretty tired by then. The house teacher/manager did a good job trying to keep the students motivated (finally!). It was blazing hot by then, he patted water down their face, put in some encouraging words etc etc. Amjad was ahead of the pack pretty much most of the way but lost the lead in the last 50 m. Syazmi started out forgetting to go into the inner lane, and most some time there, but made up for it in the last 50 m and kept the second position. Azim again went like the wind, and managed to close the gap with the red team. Faris kept up with the lead, but stayed a little behind, until the last stretch. He somehow got a second wind and dashed the last 15 m to clinch the lead -- much to the blue supporters' excitement.
The kids' achievement made up for the disorganization of the event :).
Amjad and Syazmi, I take back all my thoughts about you guys being 'kaki bangku.' In addition to talent, the spirit that you both showed was just awesome!
WONDERFUL WONDERFUL JOB BOYS!!!!
p/s will post the pictures here later.
The condition of the field was horrendous! It had been raining a lot the past few days, the kids were happily sloshing around in the mud, some like Amjad chose to go barefoot all the way.
But the weather itself that day was very cooperative, alhamdulillah. Sunny without being too hot. Perfect if the events had gone on schedule and finished by 12; as it was, they dragged on a bit that it all ended at 1:30, and it was sweltering hot.
The organization, whatever there was of it, was bad. We're probably pros at attending sports days what tagging along with mummy and daddy all over segamat in addition to our own school experiences, and this one by far was the most disorganized that we went to. We've never been to the school's sports day before as so this was quite a shock.
Get all the bad things out of the way first so that Ibu can really Brag :) :) :)
(warning -- big time bragging ahead!)
Amjad participated in 3 events -- 100m; 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 (all the events were organized by year and gender).
His first event was 100m. After a false start (duh! teacher who was responsible for the flag signal didn't know what he was supposed to do and was given a crash course there and then by the sports' secretary), he dashed up to finish 3rd.
Their Blue House had the same team for both relay events. Amjad was first runner, next was Syazmi, then Azim and then Faris. Poor Syazmi was still so confused not quite sure whether he was in the team, so when they called for the students to go to the middle of the field, he was still going around looking for his friend. (where was the house teacher who was supposed to manage the team???)
4x100. Amjad faltered at the start, but managed to keep up with the rest of the pack, passed over to Syazmi, who really ran and narrowed the gap with the other two teams, passed over to Azim, who went like the wind and luck was with them when the red team runner slipped, passed over to Faris who kept the second position until the finishing line -- he was only one step behind the green team!
The close silver finish got them -- and everyone else -- excited. After all, blue has traditionally been the worst team, now there was even a glimmer of hope of getting a gold medal.
And won the gold medal they did, and with such excitement! They were already pretty tired by then. The house teacher/manager did a good job trying to keep the students motivated (finally!). It was blazing hot by then, he patted water down their face, put in some encouraging words etc etc. Amjad was ahead of the pack pretty much most of the way but lost the lead in the last 50 m. Syazmi started out forgetting to go into the inner lane, and most some time there, but made up for it in the last 50 m and kept the second position. Azim again went like the wind, and managed to close the gap with the red team. Faris kept up with the lead, but stayed a little behind, until the last stretch. He somehow got a second wind and dashed the last 15 m to clinch the lead -- much to the blue supporters' excitement.
The kids' achievement made up for the disorganization of the event :).
Amjad and Syazmi, I take back all my thoughts about you guys being 'kaki bangku.' In addition to talent, the spirit that you both showed was just awesome!
WONDERFUL WONDERFUL JOB BOYS!!!!
p/s will post the pictures here later.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
sports day
for the boys, the current flavor is not the pkbs scores, but the sports' day that will be held this sunday.
they're not having classes this week, instead, it's all sports practise.
both of them are taking part in the same events -- 4x400, 4x200. We're lucky they're in the same team, so there's no need for split loyalty.
as a 'tempias', I had to iron Syazmi's sports clothes this morning. Sahrim washed them last night and didn't take them out to dry so the boy woke up, started looking for his clothes and realized oops, they're wet. So he put it in the spinner, and then I had to iron them dry. but luckliky, it was syazmi and not amjad. He was simply matter-of-fact about it -- amjad would have thrown a fit and pouted and ibu reacting to that would be screaming in my head while ironing the clothes -- which wouldn't be a good start for the day! So with Syazmi, it was simply a matter of -- uh oh, we have a problem, let's just solve it, no need to get upset about it.
we'll cry ourselves hoarse this sunday :).
they're not having classes this week, instead, it's all sports practise.
both of them are taking part in the same events -- 4x400, 4x200. We're lucky they're in the same team, so there's no need for split loyalty.
as a 'tempias', I had to iron Syazmi's sports clothes this morning. Sahrim washed them last night and didn't take them out to dry so the boy woke up, started looking for his clothes and realized oops, they're wet. So he put it in the spinner, and then I had to iron them dry. but luckliky, it was syazmi and not amjad. He was simply matter-of-fact about it -- amjad would have thrown a fit and pouted and ibu reacting to that would be screaming in my head while ironing the clothes -- which wouldn't be a good start for the day! So with Syazmi, it was simply a matter of -- uh oh, we have a problem, let's just solve it, no need to get upset about it.
we'll cry ourselves hoarse this sunday :).
pkbs1 results
the results are partially in.
the others are not satisfied that Hania, in her 'dazed' studying habits, managed to pull in all A's -- even her Jawi! This year, her class teacher teaches English, and she likes her, so it shouldn't have been such a surprise that she aced both English and Spelling - 100!
Syakira so far is reporting in all A's, but they could've been stronger ones.
Syazmi and Amjad, came back with mainly B's --ack!
Syakira's teacher miscalculated one paper -- her 82 came back as 78, and that was duly changed by the teacher when it was pointed out to her -- and the girl was so happy that instead of a B, it was upped to an A.
Syazmi's teacher also did a miscalculation, although there was no grade change, but it was a mistake and was duly changed when he went back to the teacher.
So now you can see the kids getting out the calculator as soon as they got home and started adding up all the points again, and again, and again -- for all papers, regardless.
We seem to be very result-oriented here, but it's just the flavor of the day.
the others are not satisfied that Hania, in her 'dazed' studying habits, managed to pull in all A's -- even her Jawi! This year, her class teacher teaches English, and she likes her, so it shouldn't have been such a surprise that she aced both English and Spelling - 100!
Syakira so far is reporting in all A's, but they could've been stronger ones.
Syazmi and Amjad, came back with mainly B's --ack!
Syakira's teacher miscalculated one paper -- her 82 came back as 78, and that was duly changed by the teacher when it was pointed out to her -- and the girl was so happy that instead of a B, it was upped to an A.
Syazmi's teacher also did a miscalculation, although there was no grade change, but it was a mistake and was duly changed when he went back to the teacher.
So now you can see the kids getting out the calculator as soon as they got home and started adding up all the points again, and again, and again -- for all papers, regardless.
We seem to be very result-oriented here, but it's just the flavor of the day.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
School holidays
someone clueless would've realised that this week is the school holidays -- the morning traffic is so much less.
my usual hot spots are just so lukewarm, it was like -- heh, dah sampai ofis dah... wow!
not complaining since the mayhem at home will be dealt with by mummy today :)
my usual hot spots are just so lukewarm, it was like -- heh, dah sampai ofis dah... wow!
not complaining since the mayhem at home will be dealt with by mummy today :)
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
school holidays...
are just around the corner, but in the meantime, this week, the kids are taking their pkbs1.
syakira came home saying 'i got 90 for penulisan,' and the parents went 'hah? 90 only?' hmmm... if syazmi were to come home and said that, the parents would go '90? wow!' talk about expectations. but syakira did not seem stressed out about it, like she would have before.
syira broke down when she called home. after a glowing first week report, the stress -- the adjustment, the catching up, making new friends etc etc -- has gotten to her. but mummy kept her cool, not going to school and called up the school instead (ibu sees herself freaking out in her shoes!!! cutting off the umbilical cord seems so much harder the nearer the time comes). but just a few more days, and she'll be home.
her pesan to abah, 12:30 be in school ok. and I thought I had it made when I could head off for home at 2 pm.
syakira came home saying 'i got 90 for penulisan,' and the parents went 'hah? 90 only?' hmmm... if syazmi were to come home and said that, the parents would go '90? wow!' talk about expectations. but syakira did not seem stressed out about it, like she would have before.
syira broke down when she called home. after a glowing first week report, the stress -- the adjustment, the catching up, making new friends etc etc -- has gotten to her. but mummy kept her cool, not going to school and called up the school instead (ibu sees herself freaking out in her shoes!!! cutting off the umbilical cord seems so much harder the nearer the time comes). but just a few more days, and she'll be home.
her pesan to abah, 12:30 be in school ok. and I thought I had it made when I could head off for home at 2 pm.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
fractions
I lost my cool with Amjad helping him out with his fraction homework last night.
it didn't help that Syazmi seemed to get the concept when we worked it out, and Amjad would ge 'ya, now baru abang faham' and then proceeded to show how much he didn't understand when he did the questions.
fortunately papa came home early, he said concepts and fraction sheets don't help, just give amjad the 'jalan kerja'. or unfortunate? coz now amjad can do the questions using the jalan kerja papa showed but he's still a bit blur with the fraction concept.
but anyway, papa took over and showed amjad how to derive that 2/5+ 1/5 is 3/5 and not 3/10. or that 2/5 + 3/10 is 7/10 and not 5/15.
we'll try and tackle the concept part slowly -- along???? help???
it didn't help that Syazmi seemed to get the concept when we worked it out, and Amjad would ge 'ya, now baru abang faham' and then proceeded to show how much he didn't understand when he did the questions.
fortunately papa came home early, he said concepts and fraction sheets don't help, just give amjad the 'jalan kerja'. or unfortunate? coz now amjad can do the questions using the jalan kerja papa showed but he's still a bit blur with the fraction concept.
but anyway, papa took over and showed amjad how to derive that 2/5+ 1/5 is 3/5 and not 3/10. or that 2/5 + 3/10 is 7/10 and not 5/15.
we'll try and tackle the concept part slowly -- along???? help???
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
when the takwim sekolah is useless...
alright, so this is one upset parent.
the kids get the takwim sekolah in the beginning of the year for the activities throughout the year. and so, me trying to be a supportive parent and trying to get more organized this year, dutifully jotted out the activities in my diary so that I can work out my schedule around those activities.
this weekend, they were supposed to have their annual sports' day. I arranged a meeting to start in the afternoon so that I could go in the morning to cheer the boys who will be participating. what did I learn when I went to send them to school for house practise yesterday?
boys: no house practise.
me: huh, why not? isn't your sports day this saturday?
syazmi: oh, they cancelled it, teacher said it will be later.
me: huh? how come there's no letter? (sometimes amjad forgets to give them to me)
boys: no letter.
amjad: but abang tak dengar pun cikgu cakap.
syazmi: ada, cikgu cakap masa practise hari tu.
amjad: ya ke? masa bila?
syazmi: alah, hari tu, bila ntah, angah pun tak ingat.
me: habis tu, tukar bila?
amjad: 21 mac.
syazmi: 31 mac.
boys: eh, ntahlah.
arghh!!! this is why teachers cannot just expect the students to convey the changes to the parents -- tahap 2 or not. these boys go to the same activities, are in the same class, are smart enough to understand stuff, but yet there is still disagreement about whether they actually got the information or not.
the kids get the takwim sekolah in the beginning of the year for the activities throughout the year. and so, me trying to be a supportive parent and trying to get more organized this year, dutifully jotted out the activities in my diary so that I can work out my schedule around those activities.
this weekend, they were supposed to have their annual sports' day. I arranged a meeting to start in the afternoon so that I could go in the morning to cheer the boys who will be participating. what did I learn when I went to send them to school for house practise yesterday?
boys: no house practise.
me: huh, why not? isn't your sports day this saturday?
syazmi: oh, they cancelled it, teacher said it will be later.
me: huh? how come there's no letter? (sometimes amjad forgets to give them to me)
boys: no letter.
amjad: but abang tak dengar pun cikgu cakap.
syazmi: ada, cikgu cakap masa practise hari tu.
amjad: ya ke? masa bila?
syazmi: alah, hari tu, bila ntah, angah pun tak ingat.
me: habis tu, tukar bila?
amjad: 21 mac.
syazmi: 31 mac.
boys: eh, ntahlah.
arghh!!! this is why teachers cannot just expect the students to convey the changes to the parents -- tahap 2 or not. these boys go to the same activities, are in the same class, are smart enough to understand stuff, but yet there is still disagreement about whether they actually got the information or not.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
hania and homework ...
... are simply like oil and water -- they don't get along well together!
getting her to actually start working on her homework is an achievement by itself, sitting through the whole enchilada with her should get anyone a citation for patience!
amjad would try and finish all his homework in school so that he'll have more free time at home.
syakira will get down and work on her homework the first opportunity she gets when she gets home from school.
syazmi, this year, has to be more alert as he's now in the same class as amjad, so we don't really need to go through any of the boys' bags -- just check with the other one.
back to hania. her method in tackling her homework is easy -- if it's not due tomorrow, it's okay if you do it at a snail's pace. if it's due and you don't know how to do it, just leave it blank -- agh!!!
we did maths last night. the girl's confused when there's a zero -- nine hundred forty will be written as 904 etc., but if she sees 940, she can tell you it's 'nine hundred and forty.'
and when it's deciding say 456 -- which is 100's, 10's and 1's -- more confusion, she'll go the largest number is the 100's, and the smallest the 1's.
but at least we know what to work on with her.
but oh, the pace -- 3 pages in half an hour -- and we're talking only about the maths activity book, which has big font size and lots of pictures.
patience....... insya-Allah.
getting her to actually start working on her homework is an achievement by itself, sitting through the whole enchilada with her should get anyone a citation for patience!
amjad would try and finish all his homework in school so that he'll have more free time at home.
syakira will get down and work on her homework the first opportunity she gets when she gets home from school.
syazmi, this year, has to be more alert as he's now in the same class as amjad, so we don't really need to go through any of the boys' bags -- just check with the other one.
back to hania. her method in tackling her homework is easy -- if it's not due tomorrow, it's okay if you do it at a snail's pace. if it's due and you don't know how to do it, just leave it blank -- agh!!!
we did maths last night. the girl's confused when there's a zero -- nine hundred forty will be written as 904 etc., but if she sees 940, she can tell you it's 'nine hundred and forty.'
and when it's deciding say 456 -- which is 100's, 10's and 1's -- more confusion, she'll go the largest number is the 100's, and the smallest the 1's.
but at least we know what to work on with her.
but oh, the pace -- 3 pages in half an hour -- and we're talking only about the maths activity book, which has big font size and lots of pictures.
patience....... insya-Allah.
Look Ibu, I'm reading!
this year, Azraf gets to take home the book he's currently working on for the reading programme in school.
the first day, he was so excited and insisted we went through the whole book 1 of read easy and also buku 1 of bacalah anakku -- ibu yang tak larat!
then, as expected, the enthusiasm went up and down according to his mood for the day, but so far, he hasn't really made an issue trying to get out of practising at home, not that we do it every night.
I know that with buku 1 & 2, he was 'cheating' a bit, rather than figuring out the suku kata, he was really doing a whole word kind-of thing. but it was important that he felt he was making progress, so I just let it go.
last night, we started with bacalah anakku buku 3. according to teacher su's note, they've been working on the book for 3 days and he has only gotten as far as page 3. we started with page 1, then after page 3, he decided he wanted to go ahead to page 4.
and the light bulb was switched on. as he was doing it, he realized he was actually figuring the words out on his own, and he could really read! he stumbled a bit on the the new suku kata, but otherwise it has started to dawn on him that hey, I can actually really do this!
and he was so enjoying this -- he insisted on working throguh the whole book!
oh, and abang amjad sagely gave him this advise -- abang de practise sampai 20 kali, mesti abang de boleh buat punya.
the first day, he was so excited and insisted we went through the whole book 1 of read easy and also buku 1 of bacalah anakku -- ibu yang tak larat!
then, as expected, the enthusiasm went up and down according to his mood for the day, but so far, he hasn't really made an issue trying to get out of practising at home, not that we do it every night.
I know that with buku 1 & 2, he was 'cheating' a bit, rather than figuring out the suku kata, he was really doing a whole word kind-of thing. but it was important that he felt he was making progress, so I just let it go.
last night, we started with bacalah anakku buku 3. according to teacher su's note, they've been working on the book for 3 days and he has only gotten as far as page 3. we started with page 1, then after page 3, he decided he wanted to go ahead to page 4.
and the light bulb was switched on. as he was doing it, he realized he was actually figuring the words out on his own, and he could really read! he stumbled a bit on the the new suku kata, but otherwise it has started to dawn on him that hey, I can actually really do this!
and he was so enjoying this -- he insisted on working throguh the whole book!
oh, and abang amjad sagely gave him this advise -- abang de practise sampai 20 kali, mesti abang de boleh buat punya.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Rentas Desa
2 Feb 2007.
Amjad and Syazmi participated in their first ever rentas desa competition in school. Ibu, Abah and Mummy went, we probably made up half of the parents who came, excluding the YDP PIBG.
Not everybody get to participate. Only 20 students from each level, by gender, could enter and represent their house colour. They let the students off by age and gender, and the Year 4 boys got to go first. So they were very excited. There were two traffic police officers to help with the traffic (the term cross country is really just a term -- they kids negotiate vehicles and town roads!).
They finished the course without any incidents, alhamdulillah. We were waiting for kids in blue to arrive, but we kept seeing the other colours, and finally we saw one boy in blue, and then another, Syazmi was among the top 5, I think number 3 for blue, but overall not quite in the top 20. Amjad came a few minutes later, looking somewhat exhausted while Syazmi actually sprinted a little bit at the end. And people thought Amjad is the more athletic one!
Next they'll be gearing up for their sports' day.
Amjad and Syazmi participated in their first ever rentas desa competition in school. Ibu, Abah and Mummy went, we probably made up half of the parents who came, excluding the YDP PIBG.
Not everybody get to participate. Only 20 students from each level, by gender, could enter and represent their house colour. They let the students off by age and gender, and the Year 4 boys got to go first. So they were very excited. There were two traffic police officers to help with the traffic (the term cross country is really just a term -- they kids negotiate vehicles and town roads!).
They finished the course without any incidents, alhamdulillah. We were waiting for kids in blue to arrive, but we kept seeing the other colours, and finally we saw one boy in blue, and then another, Syazmi was among the top 5, I think number 3 for blue, but overall not quite in the top 20. Amjad came a few minutes later, looking somewhat exhausted while Syazmi actually sprinted a little bit at the end. And people thought Amjad is the more athletic one!
Next they'll be gearing up for their sports' day.
Monday, January 29, 2007
azraf at school
can't believe I totally forgot to write about another school-going kid -- azraf.
we weren't expecting him to have problems since he was going to go back to azzarif, but boy, were we wrong! we forgot most of his friends (especially his best friend) were no longer there since they've moved on to std 1, and this year, he's also separated from the returning kids since he's only 5 and the others are 6 now. So he has to deal with a new group of kids. And we had to deal with a crying boy who didn't want to go to school or to be left in school that first week of school!
but alhamdulillah, he's okay now, he's made friends with the newer kids. he's also excited about his ability to read.
we weren't expecting him to have problems since he was going to go back to azzarif, but boy, were we wrong! we forgot most of his friends (especially his best friend) were no longer there since they've moved on to std 1, and this year, he's also separated from the returning kids since he's only 5 and the others are 6 now. So he has to deal with a new group of kids. And we had to deal with a crying boy who didn't want to go to school or to be left in school that first week of school!
but alhamdulillah, he's okay now, he's made friends with the newer kids. he's also excited about his ability to read.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
new school year
school started again on 3 jan this year.
amjad and syazmi are now in the morning session, our 2 boys are now officially tahap 2 students. They're in the same class this year (the first time ever). And then they had to top that up with being in the same sports club (football -- what else?), same uniform body (boy scout), and same sports house (blue). But they did wise up a bit and did not sit next to each other. So that's our twin boys (the ones with different moms and dads). they're in 4 w (class #2).
Syakira is now a librarian. so she gets to wear the peach-tone uniform and black shoes & socks to school. She has also decided that this year she would wear the tudung to school. She's in 3 M (class #1).
Hania is not a Year 2 student. unfortunately for her, most of her friends in Year 1 are in 2M, there's only another girl from that class who's now in the same class with her, so she has to make a whole new set of friends. She's in 2Az (class #3).
Syakira and Hania are now spending their recess together. Hmm... talk about being 'blood' twins.
Syira is now a secondary schooler! time sure does fly. She didn't manage to get a spot in SBP, the MRSM results will only be out in february, so she's now enrolled in a program rancangan khas. Her classes only began this monday, and already she's doing tons of homework. This morning, she was still doing some homework. That, in spite of the fact that they already spent 1 1/2 hours after school everyday in prep time (supervised by teachers).
Yep, definitely time to go back to doing homework again! -- and all the battle of wills and all that schmazz.
amjad and syazmi are now in the morning session, our 2 boys are now officially tahap 2 students. They're in the same class this year (the first time ever). And then they had to top that up with being in the same sports club (football -- what else?), same uniform body (boy scout), and same sports house (blue). But they did wise up a bit and did not sit next to each other. So that's our twin boys (the ones with different moms and dads). they're in 4 w (class #2).
Syakira is now a librarian. so she gets to wear the peach-tone uniform and black shoes & socks to school. She has also decided that this year she would wear the tudung to school. She's in 3 M (class #1).
Hania is not a Year 2 student. unfortunately for her, most of her friends in Year 1 are in 2M, there's only another girl from that class who's now in the same class with her, so she has to make a whole new set of friends. She's in 2Az (class #3).
Syakira and Hania are now spending their recess together. Hmm... talk about being 'blood' twins.
Syira is now a secondary schooler! time sure does fly. She didn't manage to get a spot in SBP, the MRSM results will only be out in february, so she's now enrolled in a program rancangan khas. Her classes only began this monday, and already she's doing tons of homework. This morning, she was still doing some homework. That, in spite of the fact that they already spent 1 1/2 hours after school everyday in prep time (supervised by teachers).
Yep, definitely time to go back to doing homework again! -- and all the battle of wills and all that schmazz.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
school holidays again
the kids are enjoying their school holidays. No actual 'vacation' time with the parents but at the beginning of the holidays, I had to go to a workshop, and since it was my research group, it worked out that the whole gang could go. so that was 3 days in melaka.
the two boys went for a young elite camp for 2 days in subang jaya. then this week they have the fun english camp at azzarif. they were supposed to get circumsized this weekend, but tok nek got sick and wanted to go stay with tok ngah so atok and grandma drove her up there. it would've been pretty tiring for grandma to prepare for the doa selamat so we decided to postpone it (i think the boys were secretly relieved!)
nothing much scheduled for the rest of the break. ummm... I take that back. there's the family day next weekend, and there's the trip to kuantan during the christmas weekend, and the trip to kb for eiduladha that last weekend before school reopens.
school reopens -- agh!! school books and uniforms and materials are still not ready!!!!
the two boys went for a young elite camp for 2 days in subang jaya. then this week they have the fun english camp at azzarif. they were supposed to get circumsized this weekend, but tok nek got sick and wanted to go stay with tok ngah so atok and grandma drove her up there. it would've been pretty tiring for grandma to prepare for the doa selamat so we decided to postpone it (i think the boys were secretly relieved!)
nothing much scheduled for the rest of the break. ummm... I take that back. there's the family day next weekend, and there's the trip to kuantan during the christmas weekend, and the trip to kb for eiduladha that last weekend before school reopens.
school reopens -- agh!! school books and uniforms and materials are still not ready!!!!
Sunday, September 10, 2006
PKBS 3
I really should start posting other thingns about their school than tests, but it sometimes it seems that is all they do.
They have finally received back all their grades and class positions and Amjad came back with position #41, out of 43.
AAAAGGHHHH!!!!!
He came back that day, shut and locked himself up in my room, and cried his heart out. So that was sufficient punishment. It would've been no use for us to punish him further as he himself knew did way too badly for his own standard. And it would be counter-productive anyway, we're just going to look ahead and see what we can do to improve his grades.
Amjad, I'm reminding you of your promise that day:
a. to do much better next time
b. to listen when Ibu or Mummy teach at home.
and the bonus would be to wow everyone with an upward surge to the top 10.
others: Hania #17, Syazmi #6, Syakira #8.
they haven't received the detailed class results yet though.
They have finally received back all their grades and class positions and Amjad came back with position #41, out of 43.
AAAAGGHHHH!!!!!
He came back that day, shut and locked himself up in my room, and cried his heart out. So that was sufficient punishment. It would've been no use for us to punish him further as he himself knew did way too badly for his own standard. And it would be counter-productive anyway, we're just going to look ahead and see what we can do to improve his grades.
Amjad, I'm reminding you of your promise that day:
a. to do much better next time
b. to listen when Ibu or Mummy teach at home.
and the bonus would be to wow everyone with an upward surge to the top 10.
others: Hania #17, Syazmi #6, Syakira #8.
they haven't received the detailed class results yet though.
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