Dzul Iman Smart Khalifah

The First Few Weeks

Despite the drama in the morning for the first month, it is fascinating to see the new things Airin picked up at school, as she would happily repeat it at home.

One day, she came to me and say quietly, Ummi nak bisik. As I kneel down to her, she cupped my ears and whisper softly, "Jadi anak yang soleh! fuuuh" and blow in my ears. And gave me a big grin. Loved it, bcoz she enjoyed me doing it to her too. Thank you Dzul Iman!

And when I do something for her, she'll say "Thank you Ummi, may Allah bless you!"

Once she was talking to her dolls, and I heard her say, "Allah kan Maha Melihat"

I can see she has been introduced to many new terms, as can be heard in this video.

Recently I heard her repeat, As-Samii'un, Allah Maha Mendengar, Allah the All Hearing.

These are all the things I have never taught her before.

And the best part is, she is always repeating bacaan dalam solat. We have not taught her bacaan solat except for al-fatihah and a few surah lazim, but Masyaallah, after a month at school (tu pun on off school) she can now repeat almost all the bacaan, cuma not at the right places. That is how good a child's memory is. And of course I think Dzul Iman kindergarten repeats solat plenty a  times a day. Aganya sebab tu terbawa-bawa sampai kat rumah.

One weekend I heard her say "Sahaja aku solat Dhuha empat rokaat kerana Allah Taala". It startled me and serves me a huge reminder. Soon, she'll grow up, and what her parents doesn't do, might very well be meaningless to her.

Saaayang Ummi, kerana Allah. She likes to say.

I guess just about now is a good benchmark for your child's kindy. Kalau dah masuk 3 months and you don't hear much from them of school, then it might be the time to rethink the kindy choice.  I know of a parent who once moved her child after 6 months despite paying Rm2k registration fee because her child still cannot read and 'macam tak belajar apa'. I am not so concern (yet) about reading, but things they do at school, should be in their mind at home too, it shows a positive feedback. 

Dzul Iman Smart Khalifah

Love the fact they emphasize the importance of muallimah as much as the children!

Alhamdulillah I highly recommend Dzul Iman Smart Khalifah http://dzuliman.edu.my/v1/, with its Didik Anak Ikut Sunnah concept. They integrate Islamic teaching in all their activities and play (You'd know a place doesn't when they have special agama class). But not only that, they make it a norm to use many islamic terms, which comes of course with teachings of akidah and akhlak. To have love Allah, love Islam, love Rasulullah s.a.w. notion as the basis in every single thing your child do from the time they step into till the time they leave the school, in such a carefree enjoyable way is exactly what I wish for my children. Akhlak and Akidah is number 1 on our priority list!

Oh, they do good reading too! Within a month Airin has finished 5,6 pages of Qiraati and Malay phonics. And they are very interactive with the parents as well, showing progress reports once in 2 months and giving us parents story books to read over the weekend.

I love that its not all about the children. They have this free Khalifah Parenting course which we attended last month. A great one, I teared the whole time. booo. Ustazah Hanani Saman was the speaker, and I'll never forget how much an impact her words has given me. She got me within 5 minutes of her speech, basically. Hopefully I can share it soon. The foundation with which they build the school, is very much similar to what I felt about parenting. 

Found a status on FB from a mother who has a daughter in Airin's school

And I loved that they have usrah for the ustazahs on weekends. I was quite disappointed initially, to learn that even though the principle/owner of the branch we went to is the kind ustazah, the other two young teachers aren't (of course, coz they are still too young, which is good as teens love playing with kids). But then its a great comfort to know of this effort. Bringing up the muallimah is as important, if not more, than nurturing the kids. May you blossom into beautiful muslimah, my dear Kakak's ustazahs, I love you for the sake of Allah, thank you for taking care of my daughter. For the whole day >.< While I'm so busy attending to other not as important but so time and energy consuming T_T May Allah bless.

New spiritual guide for Teacher's Usrah Circle 

   

March, 2014

Come the third month, she has no problem going to school everyday. So it was a 2 months adjustment period thing. Sure, she still ask with a bright smile on her face like 20 times on Saturday and Sunday, "Harini cuti ke?", yet she doesn't object to going to school anymore. Alhamdulillah.

Ummi is still looking for the best school for you post kindergarten. Semoga Allah permudahkan, Amiin.

Kakak's First School.. and Other Things

Been putting this off for far too long. Funny thing is, I am at one of my busiest moments (still).. yet at this particular thought I have this really strong urge. Alhamdulillah for that. It has been very unfortunate that I keep putting off something so important. Even my endless work is not as important as this, really. 

Kakak's First School

We didn't know what to expect from her really when we decided (since long before) to send her to school at 4 years. Technically she's just 3.5 years old with no experience of school nor friends. Didn't think she really understand the concept of school yet prior to registering her. The first surprise was the day we registered her. There were some friends there, because the ustazah had school holiday classes. So they there were, the kids sitting at the desk half doing work half playing when we were finalizing payments with ustazah. It was a working Friday, at about 9 am I think. She happily joins in, especially attracted to the toys on the table. And when it's all done and we were about to leave, she sort of refused to leave, having fun with new found friends. To which the ustazah said, why not stay here just to try for the day? And Kakak looked happy at the idea, we didn't have the heart to say no.

We left her one full day. Actually we had to go back to take an extra change of clothes, and upon reaching the school to send her clothes, she said.. 'Haa dah sampai ke.. alaa baru nak makan ngan kawan-kawan'. A good start huh? We were pleased.

She mentioned us leaving her for too long when we pick up but otherwise it was fine. Seems she had fun.

Until the next monday when she absolutely refused to go to school. Wailed and scream. The whole drama. Never seen her like that. And she was never able to explain why.

And so for a whole month it was a drama every morning. Some days I freeze my heart and send her anyway. And on some days she would resist the minute she wokes up, and right after bathing her she'd give her cute smile and say, "Sebenarnya kakak gurau je. Kakak memang nak pergi school.." The cutest. But those are just my lucky days. 

Mondays were the worse, obviously. But like today, in between crying in the car and listening to my story of a boy who resist school and end up kena langgar depan school after he tried to run (cruel story I know, huhu) she  suddenly switch from wailing to coolly 

succumbing to her fate of having to go to school. As in when we stop the car in front of her school she goes, Eh dah sampai ke, with no trace of sadness not resentment. Ishh... 4 year olds.

But what triggers my urge to write today was remembering the look on her face as I leave her at the school gate today. Super brave face trying to stop tears from falling but with a small half smile half sad look that says with great determination, "...I'll be okay." Super angelic. Subhanallah, how Allah gives His Rahmah and Nikmat through the angelic look of your children. Nothing beats that look. I must remember it always, now, at times when she's whining her wants, and later, when she's a grown up teenager sulking her needs. I must remember, that she was once that sweet-faced child, trying her best to do things.. just because I wish her to.

Choosing the School

Choosing her school ought to be a story on its own. There are so much to consider nowadays when choosing a school for a child. Be it its curriculum, its English or Arabic content, tahfiz or not. Tahfiz seems to be our main concern, but after looking over the choices, I felt it was a wish that can still wait, when I realized the one important factor more important than that. We decided that above all, regardless of the prestige or good name of a school, is the akhlak of the teachers. As a teacher, I know that this is where the value of education lies. Action speaks louder than words, I believe children especially, copy what a teacher does, as well as (if not more than), what a teacher says. Of course it was not an easy task. Its not fair to judge people base on one or two encounters, which is why I did solat istikharah just so I can trust my instincts. Other people was researching about programs best for their child, and there I was stalking the teachers though social networks. Heee.

Despite the ever growing numbers of new islamic kindergarten nowadays, one has to be careful. I knew of a famous islamic school nearby, who has a teacher who fully cover their aurah only in their classes of 6 year olds. Outside while dining, I saw her without tudung. And at other community meetings. Funny huh. You can teach nasyid songs, but how can you talk about akidah, the basics, to children convincingly when you don't (really) believe in it? And so during our school rounds, I tried to look for teachers yang betul-betul niat nak didik anak-anak penghayatan dan jiwa seorang muslim. Not because its a successful business nowadays, setting up islamic schools.

Alhamdulillah I found one ustazah who touched my heart, and so, with Kakak's permission, we chose the school.

Super soft spoken and occupies a calm demeanor, she's also so innocent! (or simply bad at maths, forgive me, but it was a mistake to her advantage) During my first visit, when I ask her about the school clothes, upon showing me the uniform, she also brought to me a school bag. An Ana Muslim bag with RM 49.90 tag. And said gently.. "Nanti kalau puan register boleh purchase this bag for 50% discount.. jadi RM 19.90" As an (avid) shopper, I gave her a quick stare and said "Errr.. more than 50% ni.." to which she gave me a sweet blank smile. The second time I went to the school, like 3 weeks later, she again take all the effort to walk across the room and bring me the RM 50 bag and said ever so softly, "Kalau puan nak purchase bag ni, ada 50% off.. RM 19.90" I was like, Are you serious? I am sold, girl! Haha, no, seriously. I found that so touching. Gahh, I probably would be so turned off if it happens elsewhere, but here, I feel safe, leaving my innocent and naive child to someone innocent as well.

She is the owner of this new branch (after teaching at another branch for four years, she opens up this new branch), you'd think she'd be more err.. insisting? More desperate to get new students?

The same thing happens to the fees. During the second visit to officially register, I realized that the fees is like RM 500 cheaper than we thought it was. How could I not realize it before? Because the ustazah did not insist on it, oh yes she explained all the fees, but never even once she said anything that tries to justify it, you know, like other kindies will go, Oh, ni mahal sikit sebab dah termasuk payment january, or registration mahal sikit sebab termasuk annual fees, or uniform or etc etc. And so I was left with the impression that it is almost as expansive as all the other kindies we checked out. Not that it matters because we were all ready to register anyway. I felt that she did not try to cheat me out of anything. Perhaps due to too-many encounters of people trying to sell things, it was a precious change.

Kakak's Delightful Progress

Will update this soon!