School Resumes

Alhamdulillah, Kakak Aisyah dah start school since smlm (Tuesday, 14/5/13). In a way rasa mcm regressing sket sbb sblm ni kat UK dah masuk Reception Year kat Primary School, skali balik Msia undur balik masuk tadika. Tp x pe la, pengisian dia mcm lg advance kat Msia je, sbb kat UK tu pon walau dah Reception Year, still kurikulum dia x expect budak2 pandai membaca or buat mathematical operations, whereas kat Msia hampir semua budak dah bole buat kot. Apapon, syukur sgt2 dia rasi dgn tadika tu. Mmg byk perbezaan, bahasa, material kelas, kawan2, uniform, and also bangunan tadika yg mana merupakan rumah eng lot converted to tadika je kan, unlike masa dia sekolah kat UK dulu, but she adapted well. Maybe sbb dah biasa gi school kot. She was actually berkobar2 nak gi school, lama sgt tinggal since January huhu... Paling membanggakan (me as a mom), she stuck to wearing tudung the entire time. Ni budak yg x leh panas sket uols, tp dah bole pakai tudung x cabut2, so Alhamdulillah sgt. Cikgu2 dia pon OK, and I'm glad that she is not forced to do any learning just yet. Minggu ni cikgu suh dia get used to the surroundings, so dia mmg main je lah the whole time there dkt cooking set, kat see saw luar, slides etc.

Ada ramai yg tanya, knp x hntr tadika yg English medium, or hntr terus International School (wah, my wallet is not that thick!), but my answer is, aku nak Aisyah belajar benda yg aku x sempat lg mengajar kat dia - Arabic, Qiraati, Jawi, amali solat, doa2 dsb nya. Hok English tu, insya Allah x lupa la, sbb kat umah mmg speaking lg dgn aku, plus YouTube kan ada, kejanya asyik tgk cartoon in English je, so there's no real worries there, I think. 

Tadika yg dipilih skang ni I think is a good choice for her - dkt dgn umah my mom for easy pickup kalo x sempat nak jemput balik from school, dkt dgn my office jg, tadika agama some more, the school is run by a trusted family friend, and most importantly, I agree with the way they do things. For instance, morning snack is not provided, so kena bwk from home, which I prefer, sbb dah terbiasa buat packed lunch utk Aisyah dulu, and that way I can monitor what/how much she eats or drink. Kalo x abis air then I know to give her more water at lunch / dinner time. Kalo mkn kat sekolah, like bihun goreng, mmg budak tu x akan mkn la sbb most likely too pedas for her. Secondly, they go with the flow aje tgk ability budak2 especially Qiraati session is more one-to-one, meaning a four year old can be doing a six year old material kalo dia dah mampu, and vice versa. This is good sbb Aisyah, although masuk kelas for 5 yr olds, she has no basics for Jawi/Qiraati, then ok lah, bole start at the lowest level. Tidaklah dia rasa ketinggalan sgt, and she can just go at her own pace. Thirdly, they ols x paksa budak tu blaja the first week, and gave her time to adapt, which is a relief. Cikgu2 dia pon suka kalo kita drop off anak for the first few days and TAK tunggu di kelas. If the child cries, cikgu2 akan pandai2 pujuk. Oh, ini aku suka sgt. Mmg kat UK pon nursery ke, x bg mak bapak tunggu. Drop, Kiss and Bye-Bye. Another one, all work and books kept at school (no homework, yes! aku mmg anti homework for pre-schoolers), and x yah lugging bag berat2 everyday. In fact stationaries pon diaorg x bg bwk takut hilang (or maybe nangis2 sesama budak jeles etc), so selamatttt ... x yah la tiap2 minggu nak beli pemadam and tiap2 bulan nak ganti pencil colour hehe... Plus, get this, although class starts at 8.30 am, children are encouraged to come as early as 7 am so that bole prektis Qiraati dgn cikgu2 before the official class starts, at no extra charge. Who doesn't like early drop off for FREE, siap ada pengisian lagi tu? Even in the UK pon ada early drop off ni, dipanggil Breakfast Club (utk parents yg kena masuk keja awal), but of coz ada charge nya. Semoga Allah merahmati semua guru2 kat sini, for their hardwork and dedication. All in all, x byk beza dgn what both me and Aisyah are used to in the UK, so we'll see lah. Hopefully this is the best path for all of us.

Ni Aisyah pada hari pendaftaran last week. Siap kena amik gambar saiz passport gitu.

Ni plak on her first day at school yesterday (alamak x berkasut - dalam rumah). Lain sgt kan, compared to this uniform here. 

I hope the feeling of loving to learn sticks with her for life. Semoga Allah terangkan hati mu anakku Aisyah utk menerima ilmu yg bermanfaat di dunia dan akhirat. Mummy harap Aisyah sentiasa ceria bgn pagi and get ready nak pegi sekolah mcm skrg2 ni. I just wish we didn't have to commute for almost an hour from home to school/work everyday (jam 7 am dah bergerak). If only dpt jalan kaki je cam kat Plymouth dulu, 30 seconds pon cukup nak sampai school, then you wouldn't have had to wake up so early everyday huhu...

I am so proud of you, my honeybun!