Starting to Read #3

Phew finally. Alhamdulillah. March 2013, I can satisfactorily say Kakak completed her Hijaiyah flash card. Except for 2 to 3 letters lagi yang dia ingat on and off. Penat tu pujuk every flash card session.

I think it has taken us a bit more than 1 year for her to remember all, then again, sessions are not consistent, sometimes months went by without consistent sessions (consistent session means everyday in a week; skipping days might mean back to square one, though not completely, if you know what I mean).

Bought hijaiyaah flashcard from Pn Lina

The last three letters still in need of practice

Maybe some tips to share:

1. Before each session prepare the upah siap-siap, and do some serious coaxing using the bait! I usually use either chocs or more preferably, play sessions. "lepas kita buat alif ba ta ni kita main playdoh sama-sama ye.. kita buat masak2.." and then kalau macam tak nak jugak, "kita baca alif ba ta skejaaap je.. sebab kakak dah pandai.. lepas tu kita main lama-lamaa. Baca skejap, main lama, nak tak?" -__-

2. Before starting, some kata semangat is a must. "Kakak, haritu ingat tak? kakak baca laju je kan, semua kakak dah ingat, pandai sangat kakak.. ummi ingat kakak tak ingat lagi, tapi rupanya semuaaa kakak dah ingat kan? pandai sangat. jom kita buat kejap.."

3. Each session cannot be longer than 10 minutes! Or, if she is super cranky at that time (usually bcoz sleepy/tired) abort the session straight away. Don't let it be the cause of tantrum coz she'll grow to dislike the flash card. In other words, if coaxing is starting to sound more like forcing, better stop. Which is why it's important to choose the right 'time'. Fresh, in a good mood, and not in the only-bottle-can-cure-it mood. Once she say, "kakak penat dah," I stop and my brain starts to think of how to coax her in a few hours time.

Of course, at times, she really like her flash cards, and she would do it on her own, or willingly when I ajak her the first time. A few times she even quietly 'teach' it to Safa. But there are times when main is all she has in her mind, hence to suddenly become all teacher and school with her needs some coaxing.

4. At Pn Lina's course I tried all her methods, like hanging the Hijaiyaah letters on the fridge, walls, cupboards, but for this particular little girl it doesn't quite work. Maybe my starting method is wrong, it makes her feel that flashcard sessions are 'study sessions', so masa tengah happy-happy main, takyah tunjuklah flashcard, in no way is she gonna get tricked into thinking flashcard is a game ;p Sigh. Must be my fault somewhere. I ought to make flash card light and fun and part of a game. But once her Abi succeed in making it a game, she had to run across the living room to pick the letter we shouted at them, made her so happy. So there are a lot of ways, it just needs us to be creative, and observative of our child's likes and style of learning. You know, like, visual, auditory, or kinesthetic.

5. Consistency is the main rule, obviously. Flashcard is a one-second, repetitive method. Which is a good thing, really. I don't think we have more than 10 minutes of patience anyway, huhu.

And so, in the middle of March, Kakak at 2 years and 10 months, we are able to start al Furqan series Book 1. Alhamdulillah.

And again, it needs a whole lot of coaxing techniques to get thru this book ;)

In making it more fun, we can think of words that makes sense, and using the flash card, build words like this:

But I would need more than 1 set of Hijaiyaah letters, which means I have to do some printing to create our own cards. And later, when she has done with baris bawah (kasrah) and depan (dammah), I am sure she will  love it when when she can spell Pa-Da Sa-Tu Ha-Ri. Ada guna juga all those story telling sessions yang memenatkan tu.

No words can describe the joy of seeing your (first) child read a book by herself, even though its only one syllable sounds with no meaning! I was estatic. Rasa macam nak menangis pun ada. Our baby all grown up and so smart. I'm sure every parent experience this! Priceless kan? (So please bear our over excitedness). Especially if you had to overcome so many hurdles; tantrums, patience, tiredness.

And yet, rasa kerdil sangat when I see other parents, some of it you can see at http://didikanquran.blogspot.com/. Nak fikir tanggungjawab tu banyak sangat, nak ajar hafazan, arabic language, sirah, akidah, feqah.

Tak apalah, we try our best as parents. Allah knows. Semoga kita termasuk dalam golongan ini..

Dari 'Utsman Bin 'Afan ra., ia berkata : bersabda Rasulullah saw : "Sebaik-baik kamu sekalian adalah orang yang belajar Al-Qur'an dan mengajarkannya." (HR. Bukhari)

“Dan orang-orang yang bersungguh-sungguh di jalan Kami niscaya akan Kami tunjukkan kepada mereka jalan-jalan [menuju keridhaan] Kami. Dan sesungguhnya Allah akan bersama dengan orang-orang yang berbuat ihsan.” (QS. al-Ankabut: 69)

Kakak Speaks #4

Two nights ago I did something so bad, I have to jot it down to remind myself.

Lost in fatigue and alone handling the two little princess, I wasn't thinking straight. I was reaching for the crying baby when Kakak stepped on my thigh. In pain and anger, I accidently pushed her a bit too hard and she fell onto the bed flat faced. Of course she immediately cried, a bit louder and longer than usual, which makes me feel so so bad. I felt horrible when she cried, "Kenapa Ummi tolak kakaaakk..." Like punched in the gut.

She always cried so bad when she sense her parents intentionally cause her hurt.

In agony, I tried to soothe her. I repeatedly say, "Maaf Kakak.. Ummi tak sengaja," Felt so bad coz I knew it was an action in anger. Then almost tearing up with guilt I said, "Kakak, Maafkan Ummi kakak, maaf kan Ummi,"

She looked at me, in tears, and said so honestly.. "Kakak minta maaf  Ummi.."

I groan inwardly. She always minta maaf to me when I say sorry to her coz when I say "minta maaf kakak" she thought I said "kakak, minta maaf kat Ummi".

Heart wrenching I tell you!

That's children. Seperti kata Kak Najibah,

Itulah anak-anak, ada banyak kesilapan yang kita lakukan. 

Tapi semudah itu mereka melupakan.


Whenever I muhasabah and I look at them, I'll remember, mereka benar ahli syurga (masih kecil tiada dosa). Yang banyak dosanya ialah kita. Tak layak kita nak marah ahli syurga yang hatinya bersih ni dengan keadaan hati kita yang banyak sungguh kotornya. Apa lagi bila kita marah, kita yang memalitkan kekotoran pada hati mereka, kerana tiada marah yang akan memberi kesan baik pada anak-anak kecil.

I better  remember that pitiful face everytime I feel like screaming at her!

Giveaway #1

Yes, this is the CD I bought at Ustazah NorHafizah Musa's Seminar. And..

... I have made copies!

Simply because I love it so much. Made me cry. T_T

Feel free to say "Yes I want it!" and I will mail it to you, free of charge.

Usrati Jannati Bersama Ustazah Norhafizah Musa Siri 1 is the title of the CD.

It has 100 hours of Ustazah Norhafizah Usrati slots on IKIM since last year.

Fun Activities #2

I owe this post to someone, to share what Kakak has been up to lately. Its true we need loads of ideas from each other coz its not easy to find things that can occupy the attention of these active young minds!

I promised her this present once she finishes her Hijaiyah letters. Bought it like 6 months ago, bertahan jugaklah tak buka, until recently. (Even though at this time she only almost complete her hijaiyah).

Play Doh again! Price: ~RM50. It comes with 4 small tubes of PlayDoh and so many cookie cutters.

So what did we do with it? Cakes and sweets!

And...

We bought a mini kitchen for her recently, about RM 60, at Nilai 3.
It comes with light and sound lagi, so cute! And pots and pans. So we cook the cupcake on the stove! Hihi nampak sangat Ummi nya tak pernah bake cake, anak dia ingat bake cake macam ni.

Ain't this stove cute? The picture doesn't do it justice

So yes, we had loads of fun!

Kakak Zara suka tak nak main macam ni? ^_^

Siapakah kita di sisi Allah?

I would like to share this with my class..
But the first rule of giving tazkirah is to not feel that you are a better person than the person you are giving tazkirah too. So, before this is to anyone, this is for me..
Hamba yang kerdil, sarat dengan dosa, yang dhaif, serba kekurangan, hina dan jijik pada sesuatu ketika. Tapi aku bencikan dosa-dosa ku itu...
Segala hidayah dan pertolongan itu adalah dari Allah.

Perlakuan kita kepada Allah SWT menentukan perlakuan Allah kepada kita. Kedudukan kita di sisi Allah ditentukan oleh kedudukan Allah di dalam hati kita.

Seorang sahabat Nabi yang bernama Samurah bin Jundab pernah berkata: "Siapa yang ingin mengetahui kedudukannya di sisi Allah, maka periksalah kedudukan Allah di sisinya."

Siapa yang menghormati aturan-aturan Allah, lalu bersegera melakukan perintah-Nya, dan menjauhkan diri daripada larangan-Nya, juga berusaha menghiasi diri dengan adab-adab Islam, itu pertanda bahawa ia menghormati Allah.

Maka, kedudukannya di sisi Allah pun terhormat. Jika ia berdoa, Allah akan bersegera mengkabulkan. Jika ia meminta bantuan, Allah akan bersegera membantu. Allah juga akan memenuhi hidupnya dengan kedamaian dan rahmat Ilahi.

Allah SWT berjanji: Barang siapa yang mengerjakan amal soleh, baik laki-laki mahupun perempuan dalam keadaan beriman, maka sesungguhnya akan kami berikan kepadanya kehidupan yang baik dan sesungguhnya akan kami beri balasan kepada mereka dengan pahala yang lebih baik daripada apa yang telah mereka kerjakan. (al-Nahl: 97)

Dan siapa yang teragak-agak menerima hukum Allah SWT, malu-malu mengamalkan Islam, itu pertanda ia belum sepenuh hati menghormati Allah.

Maka kedudukannya di sisi Allah pun sekadar mana kedudukan Allah di dalam hatinya. Apabila ia berdoa, Allah tidak bersegera menjawab doanya.

Namun begitu, Allah akan terus mengingatkan dirinya dengan pelbagai cubaan dan musibah agar ia memperbaiki dirinya dan kembali beriman kepada Allah.

Allah berfirman yang bermaksud: Telah nampak kerosakan di darat dan di laut disebabkan perbuatan tangan (maksiat) manusia. Demikianlah Allah merasakan kepada mereka sebahagian daripada akibat perbuatan mereka agar mereka kembali (kepada Allah). (al-Rum: 41)

Setiap maksiat yang kita lakukan merupakan pertanda rendahnya kedudukan kita di sisi Allah. Berkata Abu Sulaiman Al-Darani: "Mereka sangat hina di sisi Allah, itu sebabnya mereka dibiarkan bermaksiat. Andai mereka mulia di sisi Allah, nescaya Allah akan menghalangi mereka daripada bermaksiat."

Dibangkitkan

Manusia yang paling buruk adalah orang yang berpaling daripada Allah. Ia menolak menerima Islam sebagai aturan hidup, bahkan berani menentang ketentuan Allah. Tiada sedikitpun tempat bagi Allah di dalam hatinya dan bermaksiat tanpa malu-malu.

Apabila ia tidak menghormati Allah, itu pertanda bahawa ia sangat hina di sisi Allah SWT. Di akhirat nanti akan dibangkitkan dalam keadaan hina dan tiada siapa yang bersimpati kepadanya.

Allah SWT mengancam: Dan barang siapa berpaling daripada peringatan-Ku, maka baginya penghidupan yang sempit, dan kami akan membangkitkannya pada Hari Kiamat dalam keadaan buta. Berkatalah ia: Wahai tuhanku, mengapa Engkau membangkitkan diriku dalam keadaan buta padahal aku dahulunya boleh melihat? Allah berfirman: Demikianlah, telah datang kepadamu ayat-ayat kami, maka kamu melupakannya. Begitulah (balasannya) pada hari ini kamupun dilupakan. (Taha: 124-126)

Allah lebih cepat

Allah sangat mencintai hamba-hamba-Nya. Tangan-Nya selalu terbuka untuk menyambut sesiapa sahaja yang ingin kembali ke jalan-Nya. Bahkan, langkah Allah lebih cepat daripada langkah hamba-Nya.

Dalam sebuah hadis kudsi, Allah SWT berfirman: Jika hamba-Ku mendekat kepada-Ku satu jengkal, maka Aku akan mendekat kepada-Nya satu hasta. Dan jika ia mendekat kepada-Ku satu hasta, maka aku akan mendekat kepada-Nya satu depa. Dan jika ia mendatangi-Ku dengan berjalan, maka Aku akan mendatanginya dengan berlari. (riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim). 

Wallahu a'lam.

Source : http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/Bicara_Agama/20121218/ba_01/Buta-di-akhirat

Darwishndarwisya

"Bersegeralah dalam mendidik anak sebelum kesibukan melalaikanmu, kerana sesungguhnya apabila anakmu telah berumur dewasa dan berakal (tetapi tidak terdidik) maka dia akan menyibukkan (menyusahkan) hatimu dengan keburukkan"..

Alhamdulillah Allah bagi ilham, and thanks to a soon-to-be mommy friend, I re-visit Pn Lina Karim's blog, http://darwishndarwisya.blogspot.com. I found her blog way before I gave birth to Airin in 2010, and I was soo inspired. I was in awe.

So much so, last year we celebrated Airin's 2nd birthday, 26th May 2012,  by going to Pn Lina's Kursus Mendidik Anak-anak Membaca Al-Quran. Its a revelation! Every child can do it. Super inspired, bought hijriah flashcard and went on full throttle. 

The engine cools off after a few months. (Never really died tho)

Back to the story. So this morning I re-visit the blog.

Gulp.

"Diam tak diam, sudah hampir 25 surah yang dihafal oleh anak saya, jauh dari sasaran saya iaitu cuma 17 surah sebelum umur 3 tahun."

At the age of 2 years 11 months, Darwisya has memorized 25 surah.

At almost Airin's age, she has memorized 25 surah!

I remember thinking, her daughter is an angel. Looking so obedient and bright. But now I know my daughter is too! She sweetly copies everything I say, like any 3-year-old. 

All babies can do it. I really believed that. It has been proven that they have that ability in them. As Pn Lina said, after her daughter, she tries it with her son (to see if only the daughter is somewhat a genius), and the son could too. It means every child can.

.

.

.

So WE failed her.

One day, she will turn her face at me and say, "Ummi yang tak ajar kakak!" 

T_____T

But it's not too late. Although only at Al-Ikhlas and little bit of Fatihah, and almost all hijriah (all except 6 letters). 

Its not easy. In between me not providing only the best food to her (Pn Lina only gives kurma and nuts as sweets to her children whereas I feed her everything -__-) and me being at home with her only 6pm onwards where she would be too sleepy or tired by 8 pm, it's difficult. 

Struggling with the Hijriah, I knew. Only managed to do it on weekends mostly (excluding weekends spent at in-laws!), it takes me more than a year to get it done. Bila dah tinggal a few weeks, it took as long to memorize it again. But you know what,  the confidence you gain as they progress - priceless! Knowing they can do it. (But careful not to put the pressure too much - the delight and disappointed face I wear is sometimes too much for her - she will be pressured sampai jadi cranky, you know how children tries so hard to please their parents)

Oh, can't wait for the day where she got it all correct and I can start this book series with her (Pn Lina's recommendation; starting with Book 1)

Pn Lina said at that age her daughter can do a surah a week. Actually, the best way to start memorizing is by reading, not merely memorizing by listening, hence why mengenal hijriah is so important. As the mother to Pn Lina advice us at the kursus (we met her masa makan-makan), the first and hardest step is the flash card kenal huruf, after that once you start with the book it'll be easier. Anyhow, I think it help to familiarize them with the surah by memorizing bit by bit by listening while we get the hijriyah done.

I truly believe children should be let to play at this age. I would not want to pressure her with reading. But Quran is a different thing. If nothing else can protect our child at this difficult times and era, be sure the Quranic verse he/she has in their hearts can. Wallahu'alam.

"Bersegeralah dalam mendidik anak sebelum kesibukan melalaikanmu, kerana sesungguhnya apabila anakmu telah berumur dewasa dan berakal (tetapi tidak terdidik) maka dia akan menyibukkan (menyusahkan) hatimu dengan keburukkan."

Starting to Read #2

Sharing a very interesting article from a question and answer session I found at http://cepatmembaca.blogspot.com.
The questions we parents usually have, kan?


Jom kita share some favourite questions from parents.


1. Nak ajar membaca BM ke BI dulu?

Jawapan: Ajar anak membaca dalam bahasa ibunda (first language at home). Menguasai kemahiran membaca akan menjadi mudah dalam bahasa yang tidak asing. Walau bagaimana pun, ibubapa boleh menggunakan lebih daripada 1 bahasa untuk berinteraksi.

2. Boleh tak anak belajar membaca BM & BI serentak?

Jawapan: Ya sekiranya anak berumur 6 tahun ke atas. However kena define the class. Beritahu anak, "Sekarang ibu nak ajar BM, " atau "Now we are going to learn English."

3. Ok ke anak tak tau abc(ei, bi,si) bila belajar fonik atau bunyi huruf? 

Jawapan: Very ok. Walaupun kita tak ajar nama huruf, abc..z(ei, bi, si... zed), kita masih ajar bentuk dan rupa huruf.
Melalui pengalaman kami, kalau tak tau abc, lagi baik. Lagi senang ajar membaca. Lagi anak tak keliru. Bagi kanak-kanak fonik, kalau guru/ibubapa sebut /bi/, dia tahu ia adalah 'b' dan 'i' bukan semata-mata huruf 'b'. Kanak-kanak yang tahu abc selalu keliru 'b' dengan 'bi', 'c' dengan 'si', 'g' dengan 'ji'. They make a lot of spelling mistakes.
Anyways kami cadang, ajar anak nama huruf abc(ei, bi, si) setelah anak lancar membaca. Just point to the letter and say "Bunyi /b/ ni namanya 'bi'."
Jangan sekali-kali suruh mereka membatang dan mengeja perkataan, sebagai contoh, 'em(m)....ei(a),
ma. Ti(t) ... ei(a), ta. Ma ...ta because anak kita sudah lancar membaca dengan menggabung bunyi.

4. Nak ajar huruf kecil dan huruf besar serentak ke?

Jawapan: Pada peringkat awal, ajar anak membaca menggunakan huruf kecil sahaja kerana huruf kecil paling kerap digunakan dalam teks bacaan. Huruf besar digunakan pada permulaan ayat dan nama khas sahaja. Bacalah Anakku menggunakan huruf kecil dalam Buku 1-5, huruf besar Buku 6-8. Readeasy pula menggunakan huruf kecil dalam Buku 1-6 dan huruf besar diperkenalkan dalam Buku 7 dan 8.

5. Macam mana anak mengeja dan menulis kalau tak tau abc?

Jawapan: Kanak-kanak fonik tahu mengeja dan menulis kerana mereka masih membaca dengan menghubung kaitkan bunyi dengan bentuk huruf. Walau bagaimanapun pada peringkat awal, mereka mengeja dengan menyebut bunyi. Sebagai contoh mereka akan mengeja 'masin' dengan menyebut
/mm/, /aa/, /ss/, /ii/, /nn/, masin.
Untuk penulisan, mereka hebat menulis kerana kanak-kanak fonik tidak keliru dengan nama huruf yang bunyinya sama dengan bunyi suku kata(i.e. nama huruf 'b' sama dengan suku kata 'bi'). Sesetengah kanak-kanak fonik menulis dengan sendiri kerana mereka dapat mengait bunyi dengan bentuk huruf dengan begitu baik.

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