My Little Graduate : Kahfi’s FS2 Convo

congrats my little graduate! abcs 123 doremi. next yr welcome to UAE social studies and arabic! it’s my 2nd son’s 1st graduation day, and we’re making a big deal out of it! there were singing and dancing – the kids are just so adorable as always!

 

 

this is the small hall they have next to the classes, usually used for music class or short assembly. simple decor but still festive!

 

 

graduated at an arab country, so took a picture with a camel haha enjoy the rest of the post with pictures of kahfi and his fellow graduates!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

kahfi & his classmate muhammad. cute!

Pirate Adventure Maths Day @ Kahfi’s School

i applaud the school’s initiative to create fun themes when they organize english day or science day – and the did a good job having a pirate-themed maths day at school. i can see the kids totally enjoyed dressing up like pirates, holding their own treasure box with stuff inside to count!  

 

my little pirate kahfi. the pants has holes on the knees, so i just cut them off, and cut frills below the pants to give him the tattered pirate look! tie up my pashmina around his waist and voila! captain jack ‘kahfi’ sparrow! left the eye patch and parrot on the shoulder though!

 

i made him his treasure box, and printed out a few ‘money’ and also threw in some gold candy wrappers! looks authentic la kan haha.

 

 

i brought kazim along as the maths activities can certainly appeal to him too. there were many ‘stations’ all around the school, and each station addressed different types of maths problem – add and subtract, counting, puzzles and money transactions. i love it! parents can guide the children to various stations and play along with them. so no particular station was ever crowded and every activities went smoothly.

 

 

owh the boys had fun with this one – making pizza! count the number of pepperoni (red), cheese (yellow) or veggie (green) that you need, and then use glue to stick them on your pizza! (what’’s the blue color for i wonder?)

 

‘how many legs do two beetles have?’ is just one of the many questions printed on a laminated card on the table. most stations have these cards that students can read by themselves and try to figure out. it’s fun!

 

 

how many beads do you need for a 20cm string?

 

 

there was a puzzle station too. time yourself and see how fast you can complete the puzzle! kazim loves puzzle and he’s quite fast. he can concentrate well and just do the job. kahfi…haha kahfi is a bit impatient when it comes to puzzle. once stumped and unable to find a fitting piece he would just call it a day!

 

 

‘how long did you take to finish the puzzle?’ and even a sand timer is set on the table to keep you on your toes!

 

 

do you wanna make a pirate hat? kids learn to follow instructions, step by step.

 

 

my little pirates. kazim was not too happy with his pirate hat because it’s just made of folded newspaper. haha.

 

 

the end of pirate adventure maths day. we had fun! next maths day, lets do a business theme for kids dress up in little suit and tie, and three-piece suits for the girls. gonna be adorable!

Pajama Party & Storytelling @ Kahfi’s School

every year the school organized a storytelling session, and the kids come to school in their pajamas. adorable! cant get any cuter than that? it can! they were also asked to bring a favorite plush toy. so kahfi brought his favorite stuffed toy, those monster fly-buddies we get complimentary when we fly emirates.

(yes, kahfi, if you’re reading this when you’re 20, you once HAD a favorite fluffy toy. he was yellow and weird looking, and you call him puppet. once kazim spilled milk on it, you were upset and asked mak to wash it. i just threw it in the washing machine – its faced was splat against the clear washing machine lid, and looked really creepy. haha. and yes, you sleep with that yellow, pink-nosed puppet. true story.)

 

kahfi wore his favorite buzz lightyear pajamas and his favorite fly-buddy.

 

the teachers collaborate and staged a cute, simple story of the gingerbread man. there were a lot of repetitive lines from the story so that when the kids do it, they can easily memorize the lines. after the kids had their turn trying out the short play, it was the parents’ turn! most parents were reluctant – ye lah, mesti la malu-malu sikit, takkan nak melompat terus kan haha. however, i always tell khaleef and kahfi to participate actively in class – put up your hand, ask questions, be the first to answer, be part of the conversation – so i immediately volunteered, to prove my point. get in there, moms! get involved, dads!

walk the talk!

 

 

..and so i was the moo cow. mooooo~ hihi

 

 

* * *

 

parents can also enjoy the stories. naturally, most of them busy snapping photos. haha.

 

  

 

this is a fun initiative by the school because 1) the kids can enjoy an evening of story-telling, 2) they can watch their teachers in a lighter environment acting out the story of gingerbread man, 3) they have fun with friends in a more casual setting, and later act of the gingerbread man together, and of course 4) parents had the chance to goof off and put a smile on the children’s faces when it’s the moms and dads’ turn to act!

also, there was a fee to join this storytelling session, and all the proceeds go to charity. kudos to the school!

Khaleef & Kahfi @ International Day (Happy 42nd National Day, UAE!)

on 2nd december, UAE celebrated its 42nd national day. so the boys’ school continued the merriment along when they had an international day parade last 5th december with everyone, including the teachers coming to school wearing traditional costumes of their country or in UAE abaya and kandoora.

it was one colorful, fantastically festive day!

 

khaleef with his classmates from egypt, sri lanka, the philippines, romania, india and many more; right before the parade. (for ‘malay college kuala kangsar’ boys, if you think khaleef’s sampin looks familiar, it’s because it IS the mckk school sampin – the very original one worn by his father while in school.)

 

the girl in hijab is norissa; the only other malaysian in khaleef’s class. in the fourth picture was after the parade, and they were sitting at the field under the morning sun; but it was nice coz the weather was quite cooling!

 

meanwhile, kahfi was still malu-malu with his classmates. my cheeky 2nd boy seemed so reserved and shy as I enthusiastically asked him to pose with his charming classmate marco from argentina. I didn’t know then that kahfi and marco are really good friends in school. inseparable!

 

my adorable kahfi during the international day parade. his buddies were just SO cute!

 

there were just so many wonderful, interesting costumes. the lovely beauties parading in the colors of UAE flags : red, green, white and black. there’s a few unique ones from egypt, complete with headgears. bling-blings from the indian costumes, frilly dresses and smart-looking sheiks. adorable.

 

one of the best highlights of that day was also the fact that their maklong and cousins were there too witnessing the whole parade! how lucky of them to be in dubai to experience that! after the parade, we found ‘free henna’ station at the reception area, and of course couldn’t miss it! even my niece nuna joined in, and had a cute butterfly ‘painted’ on her hand.

 

* * *

 

I wish my kids had gone to a school full of malaysians just like mak and bapak did, but I also wouldn’t trade their experience at an international school for the world. I hope this would enrich their perception and understanding of the world, build tolerance and acceptance to not just different race and religion, but different countries and customs too.

it’s not just 1malaysia here; it’s 1world.

Kahfi’s 1st Day of School!

as soon as we came back to dubai from summer holiday in malaysia, it’s straight to business – kahfi’s first day of school!

yeap, our second son kahfi is starting school already, and naturally it’s both exciting, scary and emotional. and that’s just for his mom! haha.

 

that first morning. I made sure both were up early so that they have ample time to get ready, to have breakfast, and just soak in all that first-day-o-school excitement or jitters. kahfi is passively obliging to have his photo taken. big brother is standing proudly beside. this is gonna be a fun year. hmm.

 

with bapak. day ONE.

 

khaleef is in 3D this semester; along with all his ol friends from 2D. so he immediately got comfy since everybody knows everybody – it’s just another day in school for my eldest boy. here’s khaleef & one of his bff dennis.

 

kahfi meanwhile is starting on a whole new chapter of his life. it’s a BIG deal since he’s never ever been to any nursery (unlike khaleef who was sent to nursery since he’s 1 when both me & mr. khairul were working). it was so adorable when everyone in his class were sitting randomly; carefully leaving a gap between each other. hihi.

 

getting khaleef and kahfi a few extra uniforms.

 

 

1st WEEK

the first week was tough. he didn’t like going to school.

at least it was really easy to wake kahfi up early in the morning and getting ready for school – kahfi is always obliging and never kick up a fuss. so proud of him! but while waiting for the bus, he would always sport this sad, worried face and say “I don’t want to go to school. I don’t know anyone.” you’ll do fine, kid. just give it another week!

 

 

2nd WEEK

second week was better. he started to talk about drawing and coloring in school. and started singing the songs he learned. he was happier.

to motivate him more, we got him a new school bag with his current favorite animation ‘planes’. now he’s double happy. he’s very proud of his bag and the fact that it’s his SCHOOL bag makes it easier for him to survive the days in school. hihi.

 

 

3rd WEEK

by the third week, he was completely at ease with school, alhamdulillah.

he came back from school happy. he wakes up in the morning excited. he loves his uniform. he loves his school bag. he proudly tells me what storybooks the teacher reads today. he enjoys the bus rides with big brother to school.

and he finally name one of his friends from school, ‘abdul’. aww cute!

 

 

after EID AL-ADHA holiday

it was a long 10-day holiday. after the break, it was the first parent-teacher meet for this semester. I was really looking forward to hearing what kahfi’s teacher would say about him and his development. I am proud to report that she enthusiastically said that she ‘always uses kahfi as an example for his classmates. he finishes his work fast and always participate actively in class.’

just a simple sentence from a teacher, but my mommy-heart got so big with pride.

if you knew kahfi, you know why I’m emotional. when your very-manja second son (whose fav quote is “I dowan. I don’t know. I cannot.” haha) goes to school for the first time, and you hear his teacher said THAT, any mom would be weepy with emotions; just to know that he’s settling in just fine by himself.

just fine.

 

 

this is kahfi taking a nap after school. kesian anak manja mak so tired. may Allah continue to protect my little ones everyday they’re away from me, going to school to gain some ilmu. amin.

Khaleef : Back to School!

new semester starts. year 2 awaits. are you ready for school, khaleef?

 

cool khaleef on his first day of school last wednesday. he usually goes by bus, tapi sebab hari pertama kan, manjakan sikit. hihi. bapak sent and picked him up from school.

 

it was actually amusing to see the school on its first day – mak bapak berpusu-pusu macam kat pasar malam, holding tight to their sons and daughters. teachers standing by their classroom doors waiting for their students to arrive one by one. security guards helping clueless parents to guide them to the classes.

I was one of the clueless parents kot. haha.

 

this was the weekend before school starts – we went to the designated uniform store to buy new school uniform for khaleef. ok tak sangka kedai ni besar gile! this was our first time here, because usually we buy the school uniform at his school. this time we missed the assigned date to buy from school because we just returned from malaysia.

 

uniform, uniform. you just need to tell the staff which school your kid is going to – and let him do the rest!

 

little brothers sitting patiently while big brother tried out the school uniform.

 

bapak looking for PE (physical edu) uniform. when we were in school, bapak was in red house and mak was in the yellow house. khaleef? blue house! we didn’t buy new blue-t-shirt since he can still wear the old one, but he needed a new track bottom – yang lama dah senteng! anak mak dah tinggi!

 

2 sizes bigger this time around. my eldest all grown up! sob sob.

 

the best thing about all this prep was that khaleef himself was pretty excited to start school. I don’t have to motivate him, he’s already psyched up about school.

he can’t wait to meet his old friends from year 1. he can’t wait to get on the yellow school bus again. he saw his new school books and he can’t wait to continue his arabic lessons. learn new songs. alhamdulillah. play hard and study smart, my son!