Thursday, June 04, 2009

Oops...

I think I've actually put my foot in my mouth. I challenged the twins to finish their Quran (khatam) before their trip to France at the end of June (this month), and I think they may actually be able to do it!

In actual fact, the target was supposed to be last year. The children started reading the Quran when they were around 7 or 8 but every time they changed tutors, I made them start from the beginning. To me, it is more important for someone to read the Quran well than to proceed further with the chapters. An ex-colleague once confessed to me he never did complete the quran in his life because as a child he used to cheat by skipping a few pages in a week.

Ergo, after finally admitting that I was not doing a good job at supervising their readings daily, at the beginning of 2008 I sent them for Quran reading classes in the neighbourhood here. There were too many things to do around the house that making the children sit down to read at least a page a day was definitely not easy - especially with four children! Furthermore, I had my own readings to catch up with, especially during the month of Ramadhan.


So we set a target last year that they were to finish the Quran by the end of the year 2008. Unfortunately, we didn't meet the target because of our unexpected trip back home - which meant a lot of social hours!


Although it should be as simple as adding another 3 months to 2009, we realised that with some time allocated for memorising surahs and other sessions, we were a little unrealistic and had to therefore adjust it to make it more feasible. Therefore, the next target was to complete it by May.


It's June now. The boys are approaching the end of their Qurans and the excitement is in the air. Still, there are days they try to dodge out of reading it or completing the targeted amount of pages a day (for a spin on their bikes). They have set themselves to read 4 pages of the quran with me everyday. I must say that practice has indeed improved their readings. It also helps that they read from the colour-coded tajweed Qurans their late dad presented them. The essence of it all is to read frequently and also more in quantity. Some days, we get visitors or go out on trips that the body is just too tired to do any readings. Excuses.


Hence, last week I challenged them when they were on the computer. You've got 6 more juzuks to go and your trip to France is just around the corner. Aah... I don't think you're going to be able to make it!


Oh no, Mama! I'm sure we can! What are you going to give us if we can make it?


I've heard them say that many times already but they are just often hangat-hangat tahi ayam!

If you can complete before 20th June, then I'll give you whatever you want!

Really? Including a laptop?

Yes! Gulp. But you know what they say about hanging the carrot in front of the donkey, right?
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Yesterday, the boys each read 10 pages (in two different sessions). Double gulp.
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Last night, Abang H cheekily leaned over to me and whispered, Mama, do you have enough money to buy me the laptop?

With that, I am left a little bit nervous. What do I do now??? (Panic! Panic! Panic!)

12 comments:

Ms B said...

*LOL* Next time, think before you speak honey. Kids are so smart these days that one has to ensure any promise is realistic.

Go and check under the bed. Maybe all the loose changes can help you with it. *grins*

ps: my girl is also setting her target. she wants to read the quran this year. i think she's getting there soon.

Kak Elle said...

Have to keep to your word eh D?

lyn said...

salam kak D

saya suka baca blog akak walaupun saya merangkak je english ni. tapi byk jugak saya belajar kat sini. n sungguh suci murni akak nyer target tuk anak2. maybe saya boleh lakukan untuk anak2 saya jugak. thanks

Fadhil said...

No sweat lah D. You can buy them that laptop. I am sure it is something worth purchasing. It was a good target anyway.

Err... you are talking about twins, right? Does this mean that you have to buy 2 laptops? Oops...

Ryehanna said...

Hahaha..

bersedialah untuk membeli laptop!

:D

Halwafy said...

Syabas to the twins :) MashaAllah.

Don't worry D, laptop byk tak brp mahal skrg ni...;)

Naz in Norway said...

D,
Nak brochures?! hehe.
Alhamdulillah anak anak you ni :)

HH said...

hahahah... (that's all I can offer you)

jooli said...

D,
A 2nd hand one; or third?

SM@A said...

Assalamualaikum D ...

I'm your silent reader.
Bab ni, I memang kalah dengan anak-anak especially last conversation u and your son tu. Tersentuh hati I.
Kadang-kadang, come to think of it; money is not everything.
The look in their eyes tu yang priceless.
Takpe D, demi anak-anak.

Kak Anne said...

Hi Ija,

it's me from the far away home sweet home... as a mom, i think is best u stick to the promise . kids akan ingat sampai bila2 pun if janji tak ditunaikan...

Nadia said...

i don't like animals (in the house) either.....so cane tu k D? hihihihi