Education Fun Fair @ Dyslexia Center Ampang Hilir

Phew! It's been a week and only now I have the inpiration and time and idea to make an entry on this event. Actually we were just filling in some slots as some of current students of Persatuan Dyslexia Malaysia could not make it. We had fun nonetheless.

The event was held in collaboration with Deutsche Bank (Asia Pacific region if am not mistaken). They had sponsored PDM for 2 years straight as part of their community service. Their management took the trouble to come from different countries to the event. Eventho yang datang tu berpangkat-pangkat, it was obvious they know siapa yang diraikan dan siapa yang meraikan. Speeches were kept short, almost no protocol yang memeningkan, no kerusi bereben-reben, no bunga-bunga kembang setaman etc. The kids tak sempat sangat nak restless menunggu. I loike. Takdelah macam kononnya nak raikan anak-anak yatim, pastu tukang rasmi lewat barang sejam dua sedangkan budak-budak dah tunggu 2 jam awal. Pastu ucapan panjang berjela. Meja makan dialah yang berbunga lebat, siap berhidang bagai. Anak-anak yatim pulak ala kadar aje layanan. Dah terbalik pulak, siapa nak raikan siapa. Contohhhh........

Bila lah agaknya companyku nan tercinta nak fokus lebih kepada aktiviti sebegini?

Among those who attended. Lunch and tea were by Felda Catering. I loike the fish and that jelly dessert. Yummeh. Takde gambar tho, I was busy makan and berborak. At such event we can share our experience, ask others and do some networking. Iman had serving after serving of fried chicken and sandwich. I don't like sayur, je said. Referring to the sayur dalam sandwich.



The children were divided into 4 groups, Blue (Iman is in this team), Red, Yellow and Green. They sat and eat at their designated table with other team mates. Since most are from the current session (Jan-Mac 2011), Iman, as an ex student (his session was July-Sept 2010) had difficulties mingling around in the beginning. But alhamdulillah, he got on well later.



With his team-mates. Waiting for the games to begin.



Outdoor Game 1, Iman complained katanya sudu ni tak basuh! Ada-ada ajelah dia ni. Kena lari with a golf ball in a spoon and kat tengah-tengah tu ada beam that they had to walk on. Beam walking was one form of occupational therapy Iman had gone through before so dia berjaya berjalan atas tu without so much problem.

It's not everyday I got snapped in a photo! Me, seen in photo giving support to Iman while he waved on. See that man in red ferrari tshirt? That's En Tebby as he looked on. Anyway, we went not in red ferrari but my silver viva :D



Outdoor Game 2, Lari Dalam Guni. Not so graceful start. Rupanya dalam guni tu ada sebelah kasut budak sebelum Iman tercicir! While he was at it, Iman tergolek sekali. I thought he was going to cry. He got up and continue. That's my boy. Oh btw, the lady with Iman dalam gambar above, Teacher Sharifah used to be his class teacher while he was in Ampang Hilir July-Sep 2010 and later his tutor from September 2011 onwards.

Outdoor Game 3. Yang ni complicated sikit. Memula lari half way, pecahkan belon. Then the other half, golekkan bola dengan hoolahoop (benda gelung tu, itu kah nama omputihnya?). Iman memula cam hesitated sebab dia sangat tak suka bunyi yang kuat, contohnya beloh meletup. Walaupun sebenarnya kalau dia menangis or gelak, memang rasanya jiran selang 2 pintu pun senang-senang ajer boleh dengar! But he did that anyway. Sampai je kat seberang sana, terus aje dia annouce 'i am winner, i am winner'

Outdoor Game 4. Acara tarik tali between teams. Blue team won the first round but lost in final round. Just look at my son. Gaya mesti ada! Kelakar pun ada nengok gelagat budak-budak ni. Sampai tercabut kasut pun ada.



The boy in blue, Imran, is PDM's VP's child. The other boy is the brother of one student there. The boy's mother told us that he learned to read on his own at the age of 4! Talk about gifted people. When his brother having some learning difficulties, his parents of course are worried. Who wouldn't right?

You cheeky boy! Having some helping hands while making his way on the monkey bars. This is not one of the outdoor games tho. Must be hard for the lady.. he's around 26-27kg now.

1st indoor game. T-Shirt painting. The theme was 1 Malaysia. Too complex for Iman to digest. He told everyone he was going to draw a fish! Lucky thing, this was what he did. Apparently someone had explained to him that a fish has got almost nothing to do with 1 Malaysia.



2nd indoor game. Rhyming words. This frustrated him so much. He can read but not as fast as the others. Bila kawan jawab dulu, he got all tensed up and stressed! At one time he got the written word but the matching picture was not there, lagilah dia marah. Sabar ye nak...



3rd indoor game. Music activity. As seen in this photo, he was already tired, muka berlemoih and had to be coaxed to participate. This, in fact this was the last game he participated in.

While the 4th indoor game was going on, Iman refused to participate anymore. For someone with ADHD, prominently Attention Deficit, it didn't suprised me at all. In fact I was more suprised he could get along with all 4 outdoor games and later 3 indoor games. While waiting for closing ceremony, he made few things using the center's toys. I managed to snap only one. Robot, he said. While these toys look like nothing to some, they help your child's development. Hand-eye coordination, motor skill and enhancing one's creativity and attention span.



Iman - Yayy, my team won 2nd place. Means I got 2nd biggest prize :D
On top of that, each student (in Iman's case, ex-student) got a backpack. Black is rather too dull for you Iman and I think it can fit my laptop jussstttt fiiineeee! *hint* *hint*



Majlis diakhiri dengan nyanyian lagu 'We Are The World'. Everyone (well, almost) held hands with one another. All the kids went back with prizes and goodies.

Thanks to Deutsch Bank for the moral and monetary support.

And for Persatuan Dyslexia Malaysia, I just can't thank them enough. How can I not be so indebted when my son's turning point in life made possible while he was attending classes at PDM's Ampang Hilir Center.

Syukran Ya Allah. Kerana memakbulkan harapan dan usaha hambaMu ini, despite kekhilafan diri tanpa henti. Perjalanan saya masih panjang. Moga dipermudahkan.

if you feel like asking me anything pertaining to my experience, do not hesitate to leave comments or email me at aa.rozilawati@gmail.com .

Rombongan ke Petrosains

Dari minggu lepas anak-anak ai dah target nak outing hari ni. Iman siap bulatkan kalendar date 20 Januari kasi abah tengok dan dah inform abah awal-awal nak keluar pegi Petrosains. Since kebanyakan keributan dan keserabutan dah hampir settle down (insyaAllah, mudah-mudahan), we should reward ourselves kan. In this case, meraikan anak-anak.

Fenat! Jenuh jugak rupanya menjelajah Petrosains. Kakak dah pegi 2 kali, tadi her 3rd time and for Iman dah 2nd time. And yet they acted as if tadi was their 1st time. Excited kan main. Adam toksah citer lah kan. Segenap alam dia nak melawat. Malangnya masa Dark Ride tu (untuk masuk, kena naik Dark Ride ni), orang yang mensajeskan lawatan ke Petrosains telah melalak sekuat hati 'I HATE PETROSAINS, I HATE PETROSAINS', 'SAYA NAK GO HOME, SAYA NAK GO HOME'. Konfius Ummi kejap, bukan Iman ke yang beriya-iya sangat nak ke Petrosains in the first place? Nevertheless, once we were in, mulalah lupa kenangan pahit Dark Ride tu.

The kids enjoyed themselves. Every station tu ada aje benda depa boleh explore. Jom tengok gambar-gambar kat dalam tu. (Tak banyak gambar upload.. Meksis selow)

sebelum masuk, posing dulu yer anak-anak

with mock-up of siberian tiger jaw bone

the boys having fun

nak ke mana dik sampai mata camtu sekali ha ha

teropong, jangan tak teropong

Habis aje melawat, nightmare Iman berulang kembali pasal kalau nak keluar, kena naik Dark Ride tu sekali lagi. Kali ni masih meraung, cuma volume tu kurang sikit :D

Lepas budak-budak ni pau Ummi (guna duit poket Abah bagi sebenarnya heh heh) beli souvenir, kami lunch kat Little Penang Cafe. Lunch jam 4 petang, apa nak panggil ye? Teunch? (Lunch + Tea). Takde gambar pasal mood hilang sudah. Belum lagik makanan sampai, sebiji gelas dah selamat pecah...

Bibik 3 - Laila Murni

Dah reda pasal Iman pegi sekolah, boleh bukak cerita lain pulak. Kisah yang malatop kat rumah ai sekarang ialah pasal pembantu rumah. Anda konfius kenapa ai yang TSAHM pun nakkan pembantu rumah? Ai malas nak elaborate panjang, in short, we have our own reasons and that ai, takde cita-cita nak jadi superwoman yang berjaya menguruskan segala-galanya tanpa perlu memakai seluar dalam di luar seluar panjang. Dari selisih faham bab kerja rumah dan buat dosa kering, baik lah we ol hire pembantu. Rumah bersih, anak-anak dapat lebih perhatian dan kurang dosa. Itu ai ok. Orang lain ai tak tau. Cabaran hidup kita lain-lain.

Dalam masa kurang 2 tahun, kami mencatatkan statistik 3 pembantu rumah. Rekod buruk? Mungkin. Kabur somemore. Ai ni simple je, tanak keje, bagitau je lah. Ai keluarkan dari rumah ni baik-baik. Tak payahlah nak tuang minyak kat pagar dengan sliding grill ai (Bibik 1) or lari tinggalkan anak-anak ai sendirian kat rumah (Bibik 2). Kan dah berbakul-bakul ai kasi *&$#))&*^ kat depa dua orang tu.

Bibik 1 kabur selepas setahun lebih bersama kami. Baca di sini ya tentang kekaburan dia tu. Mula-mula keje memang bagus. I acknowledge dia pun manusia, ada kekurangan and whatever not up to my expectation, ai pejam mata ajer. Lama-lama naik lemak, literally and not literally. Bibik 2 pecah rekod, 2 hari je lekat, lepas tu turut kabur. Bibik 2 lagi kurang sopan lari. Bukan la lari sambil bogel tapi lari meninggalkan anak-anak ai sendirian (nasib baik Kakak dengan Iman, dah besar sikit but still...) dengan pintu tak berkunci. Hampir segala barang dia tinggalkan termasuklah bedak-bedak, kain baju, tuala, telekung, jam. Dan dia pau duit belanja sekolah anak-anak ai dalam laci. Tak sampai RM10 pun. Lagipun banyak tu aje yang ada dalam tu. Kalau lagi banyak tak tau lah kot-kot dia pau banyak kan. Sebelum lari tu sempat dia makan nasi! Banyak giler dia melantak wei. Nasib tak licin je sambal sotong yang En Tebby masak :D Kurenggg sungguh. Ai rasa nak bakar je segala harta benda yang dia tinggalkan. Cam reta si Bibik 1 yang dia tinggalkan, ai bungkus buang aje. Tak sudi nak nengok dah. Tapi agen suruh simpankan dulu reta Bibik 2, nanti dia hantar Bibik 3, dia ambik barang-barang tu.

Suprise.. suprise.

Agen datang hantar Bibik 3, ai pulangkan barang-barang Bibik 2. Guess what? Jam yang dia tinggalkan itu rupanya Bibik 2 pau anak agen tu. Elok gak ko bla Yani. Kalau idak ntah apa lagi ko nak pau. Penipu pun ya jugak. Katanya di sana jadi baby sitter. Betullah baby sitter tapi bukan baby orang, anak kambing! Dia gembala kambing. Adeh. Namanya MURYANI, badan gempal-gempal.

So apa cerita Bibik 3? Too soon to tell. Lepas 6 hari dia kat rumah, ai boleh simpulkan (based on permandangan 6 hari ya, sila ambil maklum) dari segi kerja rumah, memang neat. Sapu sampah bersih sampai ke bawah kabinet, meja semua tu. Kain baju siap basuh dan kering, dia iron semuanya. Dari sebesar-besar bedsheet, kepada yang sederhana besar cam kain batik dan kaftan sampailah kepada item-item kecik sekali. Iya, Iman pakai spender yang licin bergosok! Adoilah Murni (moga-moga se-murni namanya), you set that standard ok despite my objection. Dengan anak-anak however, mungkin sebab masih baru, masih belum mesra. Kecuali Iman. Iman berkenan sangat dengan Bibik Murni ni. Adam masih kelihatan reluctant. Kakak seperti biasa, mahu berkawan rapat. As I said, too soon to tell. I pray to Allah semuanya berjalan lancar dan berkekalan lah dia dengan kami.

Nama Bibik 3, LAILA MURNI, mohon Allah sifatnya seiring namanya dan hubungan kami sebagai majikan-pembantu sentiasa murni-murni aja...

Iman's First Few Days In School

Day 12 - all smiles!

Yesterday was Day 12 of Iman's primary schooling. Dropped him off near the big gate (there's 2 gates, one is the main gate, bigger where cars can pass thru while the other is specially for students, covered, connecting the canteen to the bus stop so the kids can still walk dry during rainy days and walk under shade during sunny days - Iman prefer the main gate somehow.. layan je lah).

'Dropped' here means after pulling the handbrake and setting the gear to P, I still need to get off from the car and sent him until we were inside the gate. He waved goodbye (after my usual drill - don't cry, big boys doesn't cry anymore, be careful with your money, make sure you pack all your books yada yada yada.. told ya am one pathethic mother) and after a few steps, he turned back and shouted at me 'I love you Ummi'. Owhhhh. How can I not love you back Iman? Even if you don't, I'd still do.

Pretty easy huh?

Well, you haven't read about his first and second week. I was depressed, tensed, hurt, broken hearted. I even got 2 huge zits on my cheeks! (Yes! I finally have something to put the blame on for growing such big ugly zits.. hurmpp)

First week, 3rd day (Wednesday), around 3.15pm, my SIL (whose boy also in Year 1 in the same school, we live in the same area, along the same road) called informing us she saw Iman cried during recess in the canteen. He seemed to be looking for someone (undoubtedly me), looked so frustrated not finding me and later had problem opening his blueberry roll. He ended up crying. SIL consoled him and sent him back to his class after recess. I was breaking hearing that.

The 'tragedy' didn't end there. I was supposed to pick him up after school. Our meeting point was the canteen. Then it struck me, maybe he thought I'd be waiting for him during break. My SIL said he was crying standing at the very spot I told him to wait for me, after school, not during break. Then the bell rang, kids rushed out. I couldn't find him. Wildly scanned the canteen area and I thought my heart almost skipped some beats when I heard him cried. I can't describe how he looked. Frustrated, as if I have betrayed him. His face was read and I couldn't even talk any sense into him. For good 10-15 minutes I just stood there hugging him tightly while he cried his heart out. My heart was broken. Thing was, he went to the gate to find me and not the canteen. Lucky thing he came back to the canteen and not wandering further from the school. Nau'zubillah.

First week, 4th day (Thurday). During break time, someone called me, asking if Iman is my son. Iman cried in the canteen and as if it was the most natural thing to do, he sat on that 'someone's lap. She (that someone was a female) told me that she's been seeing Iman crying since Monday there. I politely thanked her, asking if she could send Iman back to his class. I had intended to go to see how he was doing but Tebby stopped me. If I had gone that day, Iman would've expected me the next day. And the thing will go on and on. So I didn't. But my spirit gone. And I could feel desperation started to build up in me.

Later that day, I made a call to my ex-officemate, Iffah, whose daughter happens to be in Year 1 as well and her daughter (Najwa) and Iman had attended the same kindy some years back. I asked for some favour, if it was ok for Najwa to accompany Iman during break. Alhamdulillah, my friend agreed and said she'd tell Najwa so. After picking him up, I asked Iman why he cried. He said he brought his roll and water bottle during break and searched for me right up to the gate and when he couldn't find me, he cried.

First week, 5th day (Friday). After getting feedback via FB, I sent him a little earlier than usual. Tried coaxing him to walk on his own from the canteen. He went 4-5 steps forward and started to cry. I then took sometime telling his what to expect throughout the day. Where to line up, to go to canteen during break and do not expect me there. To eat and not cry. And that I'd wait for him after school and not during break under a tree near the gate.

Finally, 5th day, no more crying. Alhamdulillah. Syukran Ya Allah. He even spent his RM2 that day. Thanks to Najwa for helping us easing the matter. And thanks to that little bribe as well. A combiner transformer. With 5 small robots combined, a big one is created. Little bribe won't spoil much eh? Or shall we call it, reward?

Tho I think I had tough time with Iman, some were even worse than me. Imagine for 4 straight days, a boy cried loudly refusing to go into his class, lying and rolling near the drain in tears. On 5th day, as if someone had cast some magic on him, he was all smiles! I asked the mother. The tips was 'Ayah dia kata kalau nangis2 lagi, ayah belasah dengan rotan!' *gasp!*

Another boy, as if getting a passed baton, started crying and refusing staying in class. He went right up to the gate searching for his father, mother, sister or whoever one of them that had sent him earlier. Once I stopped him, fearing he might go out from the gate before a teacher came to the rescue.

Tho I envy some other parents who could just leave their kids at the gate since day 2 or 3, I am still thankful that I am luckier from some other parents.

I have things to complaint about how school handled things and the students, particularly the Year 1 and the attitudes of some teachers. To me, the first few weeks should be a happy, motivating weeks for the students and not the confusion as to where to line up (imagine 1000++ students trying to figure out where to line up when there was not even a single signage whatsoever) or how hot it was standing under the sun while the teachers went all chatty under the corridors and air-condition-ed rooms and later was 10-15 minutes late fetching the kids who were burnt under the sun.

Puking oredi? I haven't even started on Iman's 2nd week yet! It's my blog anyway right. If you feel like puking, go puke somewhere else k.

Short one, promise.

2nd week saw a big improvement. I thought it was gonna be hard but alhamdulillah Allah made it easy for me. I coaxed Iman to walk on his own from the gate and he agreed! With one condition, mesti main gate. Whichever my dear as long as you agree. Not forgetting to mention here, some more little bribe.. er... reward. If he can do it, on 5th day, another robot. Alhamdulillah, without hesitation, happily walking to his class (under my eagle-like supervision that is). Once I saw his walking off track (would still lead to his class anyway), he came back to the point where he started and resumed walking along the usual track). On the 3rd day, he already claimed his rewards. A 'lugnut' this time. Go google for image. A hole in my pocket but I have a big smile on my face.

Initial hurdles passed albeit not so gracefully. I still have a long way to go and loads to do. Allah please grant me the strength. Amin.

Iman's Year 1 Orientation 31/12/2010

Finally, I have the time and inspiration to write again, tho I am not exactly sure what to write about.

Oh, btw, read about Kakak starting Year 1 way back in January 2008 here and here.

Let's start on with Iman. Every mother that has a 7yo and starting school should write about it right. Likewise Kakak, Iman is attending SK BTHO (2). We were considering private school, private instituion for special students but after discussing, seeking more information, sharing of opinions, we decided we should try the mainstream. Afterall, his disorder can be considered of a mild nature.

Orientation was on the very last day of 2010 i.e. 31st December 2010. Coincidently it was a public holiday since Malaysia won over Indonesia in Suzuki Cup. But then orientation was conducted as planned. If not, bila lagi nak buat kan. The week after, new term dah start.

We were a bit late. After picking up name-tag, we rushed to assembly area. New students were already in their respective lane according to class. As expected, the teachers asked the parents to leave their kids with them and as expected, Iman refused. Kept on tugging on my hand, tshirt, bag and whatever I had on. And as expected, I gave in. I was lining up with him and walked with him to his class. Not a pretty sight tho ha ha. We splitted. Me and Tebby. Me with Iman while Tebby attended a briefing and collected text and exercise books. Alhamdulillah, Iman's temporary class is on ground level, easier for him to find later on.

The rest of that 1/2 day, well the usual drill, coloring, joining dots and coloring, counting and coloring and more coloring. Too bad the boy beside Iman did not bring a single color pencil and he kept on using Iman's. Well, I didn't mind but Iman did. I could see his eyebrow berkerut2 and his face obviously showed he didn't like it.

He kept on looking for me and each our eyes met, I waved and held up my thumb. Good boy, I silently told him. Then it was time for recess. I was torn. Should I accompany him to the canteen or should I just let him go with his classmates. I decided for the latter. While I was waiting, I thought I should stalk him. But I didn't tho I was really itching to do so. About after 10-15 minutes I saw him coming to his class. Alhamdulillah, he found his way back from canteen to his class on his own.

After all the errands there done, I made him showed me how to go to the canteen and where the toilet is. Just to make sure he knows where things are. We went back happy. Little that we know of what was coming the week after!

To be continued.


Penanda tempat nak beratur for 1 Zuhal. Tahun ni ada 11 kelas tahun 1. Biasanya 10 aje. Kelas tambahan 1 Bintang.. dah habis planet dah pakai!

ni pulak kelas Kakak. she's in 4 Bumi this year. coincidently they'll be using the same classroom. Kakak belah pagi, Iman petang.


gigih coloring, coloring and moree coloooringggg!


he's getting out of class for recess

after recess. walking towards me.

Drained..

Life's been full of ups and downs these days. I am emotionally drained and physically tired. I can't remember when I last properly wash and condition my hair.

I'll be back writing, only Allah knows when. But in short, we've been busy with Iman's schooling (his cries, his refusal and all) sick kids, me being not too well myself, yet another one useless runaway maid. Alhamdulillah, we are still standing and breathing, trying to manage and sort things out. Albeit not gracefully.