Challenge one...

It was Monday (2 days ago)..

He gave me his homework. Inside..i was starting to dread terribly....thinking... one page of written homework..4 lines per hour... one page?approximately 10 lines....Argh!!!

Well.. we did the routine... him playing.. never wanting to sit still... i started my get angry mode.. nope.. didnt work... ceza (punishment).. nope... didnt work either... him crying... me.. going out of my sanity... i tried every trick in my head... soft mode... angry mode... screaming mode.. u name it..i did it...i mean .. come on!! how can any mother endure dealing with the son's homework for 2 hours and a half for just a simple one page writing, eh?

When he begged me to allow him to stay at home on tuesday...he had a terrible flu... he was not feeling well.. i reluctantly let him..but i was determined to not let him play all day long... n so i made him write *el* in his exercise book using the cursive writing...

and when we were getting started.. i remember my beloved's suggestion that i should *time* him... and so..playfully.. smilingly... i told him that let say.. after 5 minutes, my handphone alarm will ring and he should finish writing a line before that... i told him that i would be somewhere else and that he should call me whenever he finished a line...energeticaly, he did..in less than one minute per line!!! Of course after each line we played *chase and run*.. he was having fun and for once..i was not acting like a crazy screaming mom...(THANK YOU ALLAH for letting me remember that suggestion of his!!!)

Today, once he came home from school..i was afraid that yesterday's method wouldnt work today... Alhamdulillah..it still works..i mean.. he did all the 10 lines in less than 30 minutes!!! why havent i think of it before...?? baddin is into numbers...this is just perfect for him!!time.. he loves!And from what i see, i think he will be fine after all in writing... i dont expect that he will have the perfect cursive handwriting.. but at this stage..as he was writing *ele*..he did not tremble while writing as he did last year as i was training him to write properly..i think his finger muscles a much uch stronger come grade one..

It was also yesterday i realise what a nice man (insyaAllah) he will be...

Yesterday, i needed to buy the heater..esp since baddin has started to catch cold... our home heater was broken... n baddin... being the sensitive (hassas) child that he is... prone to health problem (we have 2 nebulisers at home)....it was necessary to drag him with me as i drove the car to bahause at içerenköy.

Of course since bahause is just next to Carrefour, i decided to buy some necessary groceries as well...And u know what?? he was forever helpful!! Acting like a big guy, he tried to push the trolley... later he helped to empty almost all the stuffs we bought onto the payment counter... that was not enough... he even helped carry the grocery bags into the car...later out of the car..into the apartment and into the kitchen..!! he even offered to carry the box containing the heater!! hahah naturally i declined his help..i think the box was even bigger and much much heavier than he is!! hahahahaah i think that he has appointed himself as the guardian of us girls... his sister n his mom... coz my beloved n i kept telling him...

*once u r grown up.. even though by age u r smaller than ur sister.. u have to protect ur sister...u r a guy. Dont let anyone hurt her*....i think he listens to that...

That of course doesnt stop him from being naughty!! He just told us today that he got punished for pretending to be and acting like a *heykel!!*... his dad had explained to him why that was wrong and seconded with the punishment that his teacher had iven him (and another friend)... He said he saw that on the movies.. Oh gee..my kids rarely watch tv..n movies.. n we r strict about what they can watch.. n still.. he is negatively influenced somehow... We need to watch over him... carefully.. my beloved n i at home... Arzu hanim n all the teachers in school...Alhamdulillah..i am glad to say that i can send my kids to this school with an open heart and an easy mind coz i know that he is in good hands...insyaAllah...

Malaysia... summer 2008

If going to another country where his roots are, meeting other people with different sets of character, languages and cultural values did not become an invaluable lesson to him,then, i rest my case.

Fortunate for him, staying in Malaysia for two months and getting to know the part of roots he has never known before has made a great impact in his personal live. I can see it in the way he evolves pre and post Malaysia.

Here are some of the pictures for him to remember for money cannot buy every moment he was there. I think he knows now what it means to have that Malay blood in him. I think this trip have enriched his life experience...

at the butterfly park,KL
At his Yana Teyze's Wedding..wearing the traditional malay costume

At the wedding in another costume

At the akad nikah again wearing the local costume

With a cousin.. man

Playing one of Malay traditional games called congkak

(we kidnapped the congkak coz he loves it so much!!) hehehe

with the grandparents...

at least somehow he knows that he has got another dede after the deceased of his Sabahattin dede

at the zoo with along teyze

With Milano the cat...one of the 10 cats he loves to play with..

holding the coconut shell...

with a local insect..the tarantula...(behind them)

posing near a local tree...

at the waterfall in penang

2nd week of school

Yup, the 2nd week we are in indeed... Yesterday as i was helping him out with his homework...i realised something...

When there was no writing lines homework....and letting him do his homework at his own pace, we managed to harmoniously sailed the homework time without screaming from my part. He admits that he hates writing...and without writing homework at home for the past few days... i was having a field day of my own... ! no stress.... i suppose this wont last... there will be homework with writing in it coming our way soon.. but seriousy speaking.....if all writing stuffs can be done at schol n we mothers need only to deal with other type of homework... life will be great!

I was watching him yesterday... silently i noticed how grown he is...He is developing into what he will become in the future and in between his imagination games.... he was taking his homework very seriously. ..maybe because he didnt have to write lines there... i see glimpses of the person he might become if he doesnt stray. I truly hope that the education system.. the teachers and everyone involved in his learning will be able to mould him into what he can be potentially.... but first...he needs to open up and be more confident in expressing his views...coz right now, he withdraws within himself and that is a big obstacle in him to show the people around him his true capabilities...i recognise those capabilities.. but will they? We will see...My prayers will always be with u my dear son..always..

1st grade 2008

Breakfast on the first day of school
all ready to go...

with the cousins...

one extremely nervous boy...

sitting in the class..

hassan serhat happily approaching baddin...

When he discovered that he would be placed in 1C, he was sad... He was in A class in pre school. He thought that he had become less bright n that was the reason he was ...

is in 1C. I couldnt stopped chuckling as i explained to him that all grade one classes are equal. 1A doesnt mean the brightest while 1 c doesnt mean the stupidest.. All students are mixed up equally..bright n less bright all in one class. !A,1B and 1 C r simply names given to the classes.

Yes... he is a first grade student now... starting from 8th september...

He was supposed to attend an orientation for 2 days on the 1st n 2nd september..but his baba decided against it. We had our holiday to enjoy at that time.

But just imagine this... everyday for homework... so far... we r spending 1 hour for him to finish 4 lines n there are10 lines per page!!And from past ezperience, more pages of homework will come no doubt!

It is not a matter of him being unable to write... he can.. brilliantly İF HE WANTS TO... but.. i cant make him sit down n concentrate at all on his homework... to make him write a line..i have to hold myself from screaming too much... coz i notice screaming only makes matters worse... but how can u be patient when u have to spend more than 2 hours a day for homework??

There is a mode in baddin... the serious mode... once i can catch him in that mode... he will sit down n do it properly.. but to get to that mode??? It gets really frustrating most times...He is one very intelligent boy... but he prefers playing with things as well as his imagination rather than finish his homework which can easily be completed within half an hour...

ı am holding myself together somehow... patience is a virtue. May Allah give me strength to get thru this first semester esp in part of writing... i dont forsee him having problem learning to read..he is excellent with numbers... i just need to be patient untill he learns to write...I did it last year..insyaAllah...i can do this again..

Just think.. baddin's class teacherArzu Özkan has to deal with more than 20 students in her class each day...n i have only to deal with one...i should be able to do it....

I pray for Baddin to be able to learn writing fast... to gain his confidence.. and be the kind of a person he was named after...i am not making any pressure for what he wants to be in the future... but yes... the pressure of doing his homework..i think i have to work hard at..

Good luck baddin!! YES... u can do this!

I love you!

My prayers for your success wll always be with you..