First Grade Homeschool Choices

First grade is the year I begin more structured instruction.  My child can sit for 20 minutes and engage in a topic with me.  Reading the list below of the resources I use might seem long and overkill, but trust me when I say they get done in just a few minutes.  First grade should need only about an hour of seat work per day.  And it certainly doesn't have to be done all at once!  Sometimes sitting the child down with spelling and handwriting while you get dinner ready is just the right thing.  Here is a list of what I've used before for First Grade, and what I plan to use with my next first grader Insha'Allah.  As always, I advise you, the parent, to preserve the relationship over the curriculum.  While not all days are happy and smooth, you don't need your homeschooling hours to be full of stress, tears, and screaming.  Make dua and start small.  It's a journey for both you and your precious child.

Language Arts:

Spelling: Spelling Workout A and B (my first grader had already learned how to read and level A was too easy for her) (4 days a week about 10 minutes each)

Handwriting:  Handwriting Without Tears Level 1 (daily for 5-10 minutes)

Grammar: First Language Lessons Level 1  (3 days a week)

Writing:  Writing With Ease Level 1  (4 days a week)

Reading: Leveled readers from the library, practice phonics. Read aloud from many suggestions found online or in First Language Lessons/Writing With Ease.

 

Math:

I used Math Mammoth which you download in PDF and print pages.

Check out Math U See and Singapore Math.  The publisher websites often have sample lessons.

Saxon Math is very parent intensive K-3.

 

History:

Story of the World Volume 1: Ancients with Student  Activity Guide

 

Science:

Real Science Odyssey which follows the recommendations in The Well Trained Mind, it’s just all printed up and ready to go for you.  Again, check publisher websites for sample lessons.

There also Mr. Q's  science which is easy and Level 1 (which you would use) is free. You download it to a computer and print as needed or just read it together off the screen:

 

Art: crafts, there are learning DVD’s you can use or just from library books.

Islamic Studies: I Love Islam or a schedule of reading from some book you like.

Quran: Sometimes, a morning meeting of 15 minutes at the kitchen table to recite memory work from the Quran is effective.  You could use that meeting time for any Quran/Dua related memory work.  Quran classes at the local masjid can be great at this age.

 

Arabic:  www.ad-duha.org is good for handwriting and connecting letters.  I used it one year and since the instructions are in English, the kids could work on it themselves. I’m thinking of getting a book for Aisha this year.

 

Ramadan Printable Magazine from Easel and Ink

Assalamu alaikom

My friends over at Easel and Ink have put out their third Ramadan magazine for FREE.  It is a cute and interactive printable document that is fun for kids.  There are little poems, word finds, articles, coloring pages, and tidbits of information all about Ramadan and Eid.  It might be a little 'old' for the older kids, but I think up to about age 10 it would be a hit. Check it out!
Ramadan Magazine

Ramadan Enrichment Program Day 2

Maryam went to the second of eight camp classes at the mosque and had this to share about their activities:

Today we made iftar bowls ( when we break our fast). We put dates, dried plums, dried apricots, and mini sunflowers. We  hade a lot of fun doing that, after that our teacher told us a story about the prophet (salla Allahu alahyi wa sallam).It was very exiting!  While she told us the story we had a mock camp out in the classroom with friends, we set up the whole classroom with blankets, and pillows

                                Here is a picture of the bowl.

 



Ramadan Day 5 at home

Assalamu alaikom
Even though I'm fighting a painful cold, I really wanted to spend at least half an hour with the girls doing some things from our Ramadan pile of activities.  I can't believe how many bloggers are out there putting out free printables and lessons for the community.  It's easy to get into overkill and feel like you have to do it just right or do all the crafts, but luckily I'm not like that :D  I have printed a few blog pages I like and am doing them with the younger girls for a few minutes daily.
Today we talked about the five pillars of Islam while Aisha colored in the page I found from A Muslim Homeschool.

And Maryam worked on her binder which has a nice printout also from A Muslim Homeschool plus other printouts.  I'm having her practice Arabic writing by doing copywork in addition to reading verses related to fasting in Ramadan.  I included some Quran reading tracking and fasting tracking pages.  Here she is filling in one of those pages for some acts of worship she's done.

I've enjoyed having some focused Ramadan activities to do.  I find that a good time to do these are in the afternoon when it's too hot to play outside.

Ramadan Enrichment Program Day 1

Assalamu alaikom

Our masjid is offering a class for various ages that incorporates crafts, songs, Islamic stories, and other goodies into a 2 hour, twice a week program this Ramadan.  Today was the first day and was a hit with my 9 year old who is going to help me write the rest of this blog!  She says:
First, we sat in a circle and introduced ourselves.  Then we talked about Ramadan, and our teacher told us a little story about Fatima (radiAllahu anha), the daughter of Muhammad peace be upon him.  After that, we made thikr beads which will help us remember to say little prayers called 'dua' in Arabic.  Here is a picture of my beads:

After that we made a box to put the beads in.  I decorated my box with teal beads, and I put a moon and a star inside the lid of the box.  We put a sparkly blue cloth inside of the box to make it look pretty.





I had so much fun today, and I can't wait to go back on Thursday.

Happy Ramadan

Assalamu alaikom

It's the 4th day of Ramadan, we are back home after travelling to Dallas, and we're getting things back in order.
I'm using this blog and the links in there (some of which are not working) to give us some Ramadan activities each day. 
It's a little hard to accept that my almost 12 year old and my 13 year old are past wanting to participate in the activities I want to do.  I know they would benefit from some facts review and from a nudge in doing extra worship, but they are so resisting it.  I will keep praying for their guidance and for their hearts to be steadfast.
The 5 and 9 year olds are still up for lapbooking, worksheets, and coloring, so I am plugging away with them!
We're starting the Ramadan Lapbook from this website today.  Here's one page about the months in Islam.

Ideas for improving Quran Classses

There has to be a way to reform the way we teach people (children) to read and memorize Quran.  Over the past ten years, we have tried at least half a dozen ways.  And each time we run into similar problems and complaints:
* teachers have a heavy foreign accent and the kids have a hard time understanding them.
* they sit around a table left to themselves for the majority of the hour (or hour and a half).
* they aren't given any tools to memorize except to read to themselves over and over.
* they get yelled at.
* they get compared to other kids in the class or to one of their siblings.
* other kids in the class are rude to my kids or just goof off because they don't want to be there either.
* my kids come back with headaches and whine for at least an hour before and after.
* the teacher takes phone calls or texts a lot during the lesson.

These are just a few complaints I have with the experiences we've had.  I'm so fed up with it.  I've tried incorporating memorizing Quran into our schedule, but it is much harder to follow through with it than you might think.  Talking to an experienced Quran teacher once, she told me that she sends her teen son to someone else to learn because it just doesn't happen at home. 

So I was thinking that maybe I could form some kind of format or suggested guide to improve Quran classes.  Since the teachers are usually volunteers with little experience in education or childhood development, they don't have the tools or resources to structure their class time with.  I'm no expert, but I have taken an early childhood development class, I've been homeschooling for over 3 years, and I read up about education as a hobby. 

Off the top of my head I would divide up the hour and a half into 25 minute clusters (or less) and do different things instead of expecting the child to sit for that long supposedly reading and memorizing on his own.  Other things I would suggest (and I might just think more on this subject and come up with a formal packet and present it)
* have a cheerful attitude.
* respect the child.
* take the age of the child into consideration including what skills he likely has and doesn't have.
* realize they are coming to you at the end of their school day and are likely a little tired.
* take advantage of multiple teaching methods: in pairs, have one student read along while another recites that sura from memory, then switch. 
* spend a few minutes actually showing them how to memorize and giving them tips and methods to memorize.
* realize that because they are young, you will want to repeat tips and instruction each time to drill it into them.
* set realistic goals.  or just set some type of goal instead of just showing up each time with no clear direction.
* show up 5 minutes before class starts so that you are there before the students. set the tone and get them busy as soon as they walk in with some type of warm up.

These are just a few of my thoughts.  I've been a little fired up about this topic (again) for a couple of days, and I really want to organize my thoughts so that I might present it to our Quran school.  I don't personally want to teach the classes, and I don't want it to depend on me; rather, I want a successful model to be used by all the teachers so that the students and families can have a better experience.

Seasons

Here we are again with the changing of seasons.  It gets me every time.  As if I weren't expecting it.  As if it were a party I forgot I was going to, but somehow I arrived there and found myself not ready.  Not ready, but I'm still glad I'm there, and not to worry, I can just be ready in a minute.

A new season comes and I wonder how I can let go of the way I've been living day in and day out for a whole new way.  Will I get used to the longer days?  Won't I miss the cozy, dark days I've grown accustomed to?  After all, I had to get used to that a few months ago and feel quite happy about it right now.  How can we shift our activities and routines suddenly?? I'm not ready!  This means digging out different clothes, shoes, and accessories of all sorts.  It means putting away the snow clothes, snow boots, gloves, and hats for wind breakers, gardening gloves, bike helmets, and flip flops.  It means eating dinner when it is still light outside... heck, it means doing EVERYTHING when it is still light outside because by June, it will still be light at 9:30 at night!

After some reflecting, I was able to tie in to this cycle a different cycle.  It's the cycle of prayer times in one day.  Similar to the seasons, the times of prayer change with the amount of sunlight hitting the earth.  So, in the shorter days of the year the prayer times are very close together.  In the longer days of the year, the prayer times are very spread out.  Just as I feel I'm not ready for spring, I feel like I'm not ready for the widely-spaced prayer times.  I wonder how I can let go of the way I've been living day in and day out for a whole new way. Will I get used to the longer days? Won't I miss the cozy, dark days I've grown accustomed to? After all, I had to get used to that a few months ago and feel quite happy about it right now. How can we shift our prayer times so drastically??

But we do.  The seasons change and the days change.  And our routines and activities change.  And this is a good thing.  It makes us pay attention.  Old routines need to catch up and adjust.  Hopefully it's a chance to refresh, to ditch a bad habit, to start a good habit, or to just enjoy the variety that God has given us in bounty. 

I think this kind of change is testimony to the fact that while humans are in need of change, we are also in need of rhythm.  The seasons, mercifully, are only four, and they do cycle back.  We can anticipate what is to come (rhythm), and we can benefit from its going (change).

Now let's hope I can wake up on time tomorrow since we moved the clocks forward!

Table Time/ Morning Basket

Some of my addiction to reading homeschool forums and researching curriculums has paid off recently in a big way.  I found a way to solve our years-long dilema of how to incorporate Arabic and Islamic Studies into our daily lives. 

I collected a variety of books in a large wicker basked I had lying around.  Any vessel that suits you will work.  For me, I easily found a few different levels of I Love Islam books lying around.  We just bought almost $100 worth of them for our enrollment in the local Sunday School which was a short-lived effort.  I also put in the basket this reading primer which we've used successfully in the past, a Quran with English translation next to the Arabic text, and a variety of smaller books from Ad-Duha Institute for any spare reading (mostly the translation of the short sura's that are adorable for younger children).

After deciding to pull my children out of the weekend school, I thought long and hard about what it was I wanted them to learn.  They've tried just about a bit of everything when it comes to this type of thing: private lessons in someone's home, semi-private lessons at the masjid, sunday school, and way back in the early days, they were enrolled full time in private Islamic school.  I decided I was done with outsourcing this subject and would take matters into my own hands (which I had tried before without much success).  This time would be different thanks to this basket.... read on.

I decided to apply what I've learned from homeschooling to this subject.  Daily lessons that were short and continuous would get the job done.  I simply worked backwards from the time we had to leave the house everyday and established a start time.  Everyone has to be at the kitchen table at that time dressed with shoes and jackets on, ready to go.  The deal is that we meet for 10 minutes and then head out to the school bus stop.  I start by reciting one short dua', or supplication, that I'd like them to have memorized and used to reciting with ease.  Then I open that Quran, read one page in Arabic and then read the English translation (this amounts to about 5 verses).  Close that up.  Open this other book I have that is written for approximately KG kids, but it has short stories that teach a valuable core belief with each short lesson.  We go through those and solidfy that little characteristic for the day.  If not that boook, then I open up an upper level I Love Islam book and go through a chapter there.  The end.  We close with an oral recitation of Suratul Asr and then go walk to the bus stop.

We all benefit from starting our day remembering God, glorifying Him, and learning about Him.  My children and I connect for those 10 minutes before scattering.  And I feel good knowing that slowly, but surely, I am giving them and Islamic education.

On weekends we spend a little time doing written work around the table.  This is for Arabic reading and writing, mostly.  All I have to do is remind them that Sunday school took up about 3 1/2 hours of their day if they start to whine about having to open up their Arabic books!  Half an hour around the kitchen table looks like a walk in the park compared to the alternative.

This method can work in your home, too.  Pick a time of day that is consistent in its schedule or routine whethere it is breakfast, after dinner, or before bedtime.  For us I picked the moments before we leave for the bus because that's when everyone is dressed and not in the middle of doing something else.  Collect items you would LIKE to use and keep them in a tub next to your work space.  I keep my wicker basket next to the kitchen table on a shelf.  Do Quran for sure and then mix up the other topics.  The kids have found this very intersting, and I can see them more interested that they ever were before in the subject.  I print out coloring pages for my youngest to color while we all sit around the table.

Ramadan is half over

Before Ramadan starts it is easy to feel apprehensive about it. 
"How hard will this be?"
"I don't want to give my morning coffee"
"Argh, taking care of 4 children while fasting will be a disaster"
"Iftar is so late, how can we have just one meal a day?"

Then Ramadan begins.  As soon as it is announced that the moon is sighted I get a little chill run through my body. I'm a little excited.  A special time is here.  Will I be present enough to get some benefits from it?  I sure hope so!  And even if I can't do all the 'extra' worshipping that many people do I know that taking care of my children and my husband is worship in and of itself.  One day I'll have more free time to stay up in prayer or to sit and read during the day, but for now I'm going to take it as it comes, one day at a time.

Since last weekend I've taken a little break from cooking.  My husband was out of town, so that took some pressure off :)  There was also a day-long seminar (I guess you could call it that) at a friend's house and at the mosque that included great sisterhood, lectures, and shared meals.  I ate at her house Wednesday night and Thursday night and got some of that encouragement I blogged about not too long ago.  It was refreshing to hear words of faith from a lady who has studied Islam and shared the beauty and hope of it.  It was also fulfulling to be around a couple of dozen other women, some I knew, some I didn't, who were there for similar reasons as I.  We visited, laughed, shared, and ate together.  It was a much needed couple of days with friends.

Now on to the food ... you knew that was coming...
Monday night was frozen pizzas and leftovers.
Tuesday night was dinner at a local pizza place the kids love.
Wed and Thursday were at the friend's house. For the potluck on Wednesday I took Chicken Paprika, Rice, and some Taco Soup.  Thursday Iftar was catered by Kabab Palace.

And that brings us to this weekend.
Friday, today, I'm making a carrot soup, zucchini quiche, salad, and if I find a bag in the freezer I'll heat up spaghetti sauce and make spaghetti (mostly this is for my husband).

Saturday we'll have our first guests over for this month of Ramadan.  At the first of Ramadan, Iftar started out at 9pm, but tomorrow it will be around 8:40.  That's easier for us with our little ones needing to sleep, so we're excited to have company over tomorrow!  I'll be making a leg of lamb which I season, sear, and put in the crock pot for a few hours.  Sides dishes will be roasted veggies, salad, soup, rice, and maybe a potato casserole. 

May the rest of Ramadan be filled with blessings!

Ramadan is here

Ramadan started a week ago today.  What a great month it is; great meaning it is full of blessings, forgiveness, renewal, prayer, control, and bonding.  When we think it is so hard to fast from dawn to sunset, we remember those less fortunate.  Families of my friends are in Syria right now sleeping in their hallways because snipers are shooting randomly into homes.  Sick soldiers are going home by home terrorizing the men, women, and little ones, slaughtering them after torturing them for no good reason.  Muslims there are fasting, their food supplies running low and their cash supply dwindling every day.

Fasting is like a big brother taking you by your shoulders and shaking you telling you to snap out of it (whatever 'it' might be for you).  You don't realize what you've got until that basic need (food and drink) is taken away from you for a few hours for you to realize what you have to be thankful for.  I made a funny comparison the other day.  Sometimes my kids gets caught up in a certain computer game or XBox game, and I find them sneaking a few extra minutes here and there when they think I'm not paying attention.  Or they forget all about our rules and play without eating breakfast, getting dressed, and doing the stuff I like them to do in the morning.  When they've reached that point in the past, they've been grounded from the game for a while to get it out of their system and out of their routine.  During their grounded time they come up with stuff to do!  They make up new games, draw, talk to each other.  They see other things they can fill their time with.  That's how I feel fasting is for us during the day.  Like we've been grounded from the thing we are fixated with (filling our bellies, feeling good about it, etc..).  And that gives me the opportunity to reflect on so much more out there that will hopefully lead me to a better spiritual self.

"O you who believe! Observing As-Sawm (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)” (Al-Baqarah 2:183)

Encouragement

I'm not so good at organizing my thoughts into words.  I often have so many things I want to blog about, but when I sit down to type it out the words just don't come together like I am thinking them.

I realized after looking at some old blog entries of mine that this blog does actually serve at least one purpose; it give me glimpses of days gone by.  And I remember those moments and smile because I'm happy to have lived them (and lived through them!).  And in a way, those old blog posts are little encouragements for me to keep on. 

As humans, we are weak.  Allah, our creator, reminds us of this in the Quran, but He follows it up with a way to get out of being in a state of loss.  It's by having patience and by doing good deeds.  Doing good deeds might not be so hard because it is an outward act, but having patience is harder because it involves one's will and inner self.

I realized that I crave more enouragement and look for it from others.  I need to hear over and over what a blessing the children are, how our efforts with them are for a purpose, and most of all how other Muslim moms and dads find comfort in practicing Islam in our day to day.  Sadly, it's not a commonly voiced sentiment in our circles.  We praise God every other word, practically, by saying such praises such as "Masha'Allah", "SubhanAllah", and "Alhamdulilaah", and I do believe those are sincere.  What is lacking to me is that spark of joy that glints in the eye and that tone in the voice that sounds like a song.  I shouldn't compare my life to what is shown on TV or what the Duggar family represents on their show or blog... those are all edited, tweaked, and prepared ahead of time.  But it is so nice to read from their blog (or watch a show) and see that joy and positive attitude from the family.  That is encouraging to me, and that's what lead me to this blog post today.  I can try to be that positive influence to others, and in the meantime I pray that someone can be that for me.

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

Our family visited Fossil Rim Wildlife Center the other day for the first time.  It was a really neat experience that I know we'll all remember for a long time!  It's not everyday you get zebras and deer poking their faces in your car!

It took us almost 2 1/2 hours to get there, so we were ready for our picnic lunch upon arrival :D  The sandwiches turned out great; the chips we bought specifically for this trip sadly stayed at home in the pantry.  Oh well!

This is an outdoor wildlife area where you drive along one road (one-way) and observe animals roaming in their environment.  You do not get out of your car, and the animals love coming up to the cars hoping for a little snack from visitors who've bought the food from the front desk.

We chose not to buy the feed bag, so we started on the path with windows down ready to observe.  We didn't need any food to attract these guys over!  They're so friendly and are probably expecting some food to drop out of ever car that passes, so they are happy to mosey over to check it out.  The ostriches and emu's were pretty funny to look at, and I'm sad to say that I only took video of them and not any still photos.  One guy in front of us was brave enough to feed the ostrich out of his hand; and it did eat from his hand; and you could hear him screeching all over the park from the pain!  (they advised to feed only giraffes and to merely drop the food for the other animals rather than have them eat from your hand)

There was no shortage of deer and zebras.  There were deer of all sizes and with different antlers.  There were the little Bambi-like ones:

 

Then there were some slightly bigger ones with fancier antlers:

Now here you can see how friendly these guys were... this one comes to see if we have any food

 then he decides to head on over to the folks behind us.... lol

 He's telling these guys how we didn't have any food for him!!!

And scattered around were tons of beautiful zebras.  I got pretty startled when four of them wandered over and acted like they wanted to sit in my lap!  Here are a few great shots of them:

 This one below is when I turned around and found them coming over unexpectedly.  I did panic a little, although they were perfectly nice and tame. Masha'Allah, just gorgeous animals.

Also, we saw a pretty giraffe family.  They had a new baby this year.  Here are two shots of them:

Masha'Allah, seeing the beautiful natural views all around me put a big smile on my face.  There were some nice rolling hills in that area, and the evergreen trees and rocky slopes reminded me of the terrain in parts of Jordan.  Seeing animals lounging, walking, playing, and resting out in the sunshine in vast acres of land was so neat.  Its' nothing like a visit to the zoo.  My kids reached out and touched the zebras and deer on their muzzles.  We brushed and petted a lot of goats, too.  It was a fabulous learning experience and a nice way to spend the day, alhamdulillah.  All praise is due to God alone who created the heavens and the earth and all that is within.  Seeing the prefect stripes on the zebras and the artistic symmetry of deer antlers made me remember our Creator even more.  It is absolutely amazing. 

Here are a few verses from the Quran where Allah reminds us of His power:

Surah: 40, Ayah: 62

ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَأَنَّى تُؤْفَكُونَ

Such is Allah, your Lord, the Creator of all things. There is no god except He. How then can you turn away from Him?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Surah: 6, Ayah: 102

ذَلِكُمُ اللّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَاعْبُدُوهُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ

That is Allah, your Lord. There is no god except He, the Creator of all things. Therefore, worship Him. He is the Guardian of all things.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Surah: 35, Ayah: 3

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ هَلْ مِنْ خَالِقٍ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَرْزُقُكُم مِّنَ السَّمَاء وَالْأَرْضِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَأَنَّى تُؤْفَكُونَ

People, remember the blessings of Allah to you. Except for Allah, is there any other creator who provides for you out of heaven and earth? There is no god except He. Where then do you turn?

Hajj Lapbook

Assalamu alaikom everyone,

Note: Eid ul Adha is in two days, Hajj starts today, and we've been working on this project for two weeks.  I know it won't be very useful for any Muslim families right now, but hopefully it will give you some ideas for next Eid. 

In the Land of Homeschool there is something called Lapbooking.  I had never heard of it before I started homeschooling, and it took quite a bit of clicking around for me to understand what it is.  Once I figured it out, I figured it wasn't anything I'd be doing often.  See, it's a super creative and labor intensive project involving cutting, pasting, coloring, and folding.  You create a large lapbook (usually made out of two manila folders pasted together) that has smaller flipbooks, pockets, accordian books, and other media inside of it to represent a whole unit, book, or topic.  You take your time building the little parts (by reading and learning about them), and finally you have a keepsake of everything you've learned. 

My beef with the lapbook is that it looks like a project that older elementary kids wouldn't enjoy, but the work necessary to produce one is too advanced for a young elementary student to do independently.  Enter Mom. 

Well, a few weeks ago I was cruising the net, looking to some of my favorite bloggers for a good way to make a unit for Hajj and Eid.  Wouldn't ya know, it was a lapbook that really drew my attention.  I decided to go for it mostly b/c I wanted something fun and that would hold their attention continually for two weeks on this subject.  We read from a book I have on Hajj that bought a couple of years ago.  We also spent time talking about the little aspects that are represented in the lapbook.  Some of them were really easy for my 4th and 5th graders.  There were sections about the Animals for Slaughter and the Colors of Hajj.  Not exciting for the older kids, but I had them write the names of the animals and the names of the colors in Arabic on the cut-out cards.  We also added a few little speech bubbles with writing in Arabic for "Allahu Akbar", "SubhanAllah", "Alhamdulillaah", and "La Ilaaha Il Allah".  That was good practice for them, and it was something they could paste on their book.

I got all the help from http://imanshomeschool.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/hajj-mini-lapbook/ and from the original source: http://ummabdulbasir.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/hajj-lapbook-updated/

Here are the finished products from my three.

You can kind of tell which one belongs to the boy, which one belongs to the youngest one, and which one is made from the artistic child!  For a first attempt, I'm happy with the outcomes.  The ones on the links above my pictures look much nicer, but that's ok with me :D  I'm just glad we got it done.

Happy Eid!

Special Ten Days Start Today!!!

The big holiday, Eid Ul Adha, is coming up on Sunday, November 6, insha'Allah.  This is the Eid of sacrifice, and it falls at the same time millions of people are performing Hajj in Makkah.  And by sacrifice, I mean it marks the braveness and piousness of Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him, who was willing to sacrifice his son Ismail because that is what Allah ordered him to do.  In the end, Allah sent a ram to be sacrificed instead, and it is part of the Eid to sacrifice an animal and distribute its meat to those who need it, to friends, and to keep some for yourself.   The other Eid we have during the year is the one that follows Ramadan. 

What's really neat to me is that this Eid falls on the 10th day of the Islamic month called Dhul Hijjah, and that the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah are the most blessed days of the year in the sight of Allah.  Not all days of the year are equal, and these days are a special time to dedicate to doing good deeds, increasing worship, and even fasting.  Just silently glrorifying the Creator while you work, asking for forgiveness, and asking for His guidance are ways to increase your worship.  The kids and I made a list where I asked them to think of examples of good deeds we could do during this time.  I was thinking of random acts of kindness, for example, if we're out somewhere like complimenting a check out clerk, smiling at someone, or paying for someone's coffee if I were to go to a coffee shop anymore...  One of the kids listed 'watching your tongue' and 'smiling'.  So to keep  up this good mood and feeling of joy for doing a good thing, I strung up our colorful Eid lights one of the archways downstairs and hope to get another one up tomorrow.  The string of lights blew a strip and 1/3 of them don't light up anymore.  Good thing all the Christmas decorations are out in full force; it's easy to find what I need!  We'll also plan what goodies we'll bake for Eid and what plans insha'Allah we can make. 

Please forgive me if I've offended any of you all, and I pray that my fellow Muslims have a great ten days and a great Eid.

Here's a link http://ummabdulbasir.wordpress.com/category/hajj-activities/ to a fun Lapbook you can make with your kids about Hajj.  It's for younger ones, I think (with the numbers, colors, and animals) but we just added a few things to make it a little more advanced for my 4th and 5th graders like making them write the Arabic names alongside the English ones hehehe.  This is the first lapbook I've ever attempted, and so far it's working out how I had hoped it would.  We're reading a book that talks about Hajj and doing this project for our Islamic Studies for two weeks leading up to Eid.  It's fun and I think the information is sinking in more than it has in the past.

IPad Apps for Ramadan

Assalamu alaikom! Hope everyone's Ramadan is coming along nicely. The first few days sure are the hardest, for sure, as our bodies and minds get used to the fast.  May Allah give us patience and endurance during this time and help us to increase our worship and good deeds.

A friend of mine has a put together a neat list of Apps you use on your iPad or iPhone.  I downloaded a few of them to be used by myself and some for the kids to use.  Here is the link to her site Muslimas Oasis on the page of the App Reviews.  Take some time to read the rest of her site, it's really nice, masha'Allah. 

We're currently playing Stack the Countries and listening to Quran on the Quran Majeed app.

Ramadan is days away!

Ramadan will begin August 1 this year; just a few more days.  This is our big time, our month, and our holiday that follows.  It is one of the 4 holy months in Islam, and this one is most special because of the fasting.  Fasting is one of the 5 pillars of Islam.  The other four are 1) Saying the Shahada which means declaring there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His messenger, 2) Praying at the fixed times, 3) Giving Charity, and 4) Going on Pilgrimage at least once in your lifetime to Mecca. 

People long ago used to fast more often than people these days do.  It was done by pious people who wished to get closer to God, to give up some of their attachment to the material world, or to sit and ponder their existence.  Allah tells us in the Quran (and this is translating) that fasting in Ramadan is prescribed to us just like it was prescribed for those before us, so that we may become more pious and God conscious. (2:183)  Of course whoever is ill or on a journey should not fast but make up those days later when he can. Whoever does good of his own accord, it is better for him.  And that you fast is better for you if only you knew. (2:184)  That last part really motivates me to push through.  Allah is our creator and know us, His creation.  He gave us this month of fasting as a purification, as a way, a path, to get closer to Him, and as a way to help others.  If we have a hard time with it for whatever reason, then we should remember that it is still better to fast b/c we don't know.  He knows.  He doesn't mean hardship on us and he wants ease for us, so if we're not well or going through a hardship like travel then we can just make up those days later, and we can praise Him for his guidance and mercy.

Last year I made a little Ramadan Journal for my older kids to fill out daily.  I recommend this for ages 10+ actually, because the writing prompts are a little lengthy, and if the child isn't fasting most days then it isn't very useful.  Here is the link to the journal.  I printed everything out and put it in a binder for each child last year.  I won't do that again this year since they won't be fasting the whole month.  My eldest will probably fast most of the month so I'll make one for him, but I think I'll print out as needed for the other kids. 

The website is TJ Ramadan is loaded with ideas, recipes, crafts, and lessons. Oh boy! It's easy to feel overwhelmed when you see all you 'could' be doing!  I remind myself to keep it simple and just let the kids understand the essence behind Ramadan.  All those posters, crafts, and lessons are there if you want/need them.  I have printed out several things from this site, though, and we've made a poster and used some of dua' pages.  The kids made their own posters with their friends yesterday and we used some print outs from this TJ Ramadan page.

I wanted to share some of these kid-friendly links with moms out there looking for something to do with their children.  In the end, I think setting a positive example is the best way to set them up for success. 

I hope to have about one hour each day when we can go over our goals, read Quran, and reflect on our fasting.  That's when the journal will come out, too.  I'll have some coloring pages for the younger girls to do as well as some activity pages out of a cute book I bought last year called Ramadan Activities. Sorry,  I forgot where I bought it from.

Have a Blessed Ramadan to my Muslim readers!

rose colored glasses?

In our world of online social interactions, do we ever have to deal with life's natural ups and downs much anymore with friends?  With friends now all you have to do is comment on facebook, read their blogs, or send them text messages.  And those venues are all usually perky and filled with LOL's, smiley faces, and exclamation marks.  Blogs are filled with pretty pictures of cute kids, loving husbands, and delicious food.  You start to wonder if everyone's life is really this fantastic all the time! 

On one hand it's nice to be in touch with so many more people than we were from before.  However, it's made us more lazy in regards to actually fostering a relationship with people.  Some might say 'why does it matter'.  Maybe it doesn't, but I'm going to be an oddball and say that I think it does matter.  We're slowly being conditioned to not make the effort to see people live.  We don't even want to make phone calls anymore. Txt messages suffice.  In the end we just see one side of a person and lose the full relationship; for better or for worse. 

It's a new thing, really, the social life that Facebook has created.  Blogs, too, to a certain extent.  It is a one dimentional relationship.  Also, you never know if the author is being comletely true in their blogs. I've recently heard of a lady who made her blog life to look one way while in fact her life was the opposite.  Sad, really. 

I do wish we had more down time to be friends to one another and didn't feel the need to keep it so superficial.  Sure you don't want to be BFF's with everyone, but it would be nice to have a few more friends in real life, I think.  Or maybe all of you do have lots of friends and I'm the only one who doesn't! Hahahaha  No, I know I'm not alone. I see it and hear about it from a lot of people. 

What is the point of this entry? Not sure.  Just saying that what we see online is a painted picture of reality.  It might even set us up for disapointment reading everyone else's online entries.  If all you read is achievements, successes, vacations, weddings, parties, etc, you start to feel like life needs to be one big party! And we all know the reality of this.  Our life is not meant to be a party.  It's not easy.  We all strive to do our best and to have some fun along the way. 

Surah: 2, Ayah: 155
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوفْ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الأَمَوَالِ وَالأنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ
"We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, and decrease of goods, life and fruits. Give glad tidings to the patient,"

And this verse helps keep me grounded:

Surah: 2, Ayah: 212
زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّقَواْ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَاللّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاء بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

"For those who disbelieve, the worldly life is decked with all manner of decorations. They scoff at those who believe, but the cautious shall be above them on the Day of Resurrection. Allah gives without count to whom He will."

May Allah keep us all content with His provisions and keep us always praising Him.

Come to Prayer; Come to Success

Isn't it funny how our perspecitves change?  You could be going along for years thinking one way, and then you have that "ah-ha" moment and realize there is a whole other way out there?  Well, it was during a very spur of the moment and short conversation with someone dear to me (who will remain nameless here) when I had an "ah-ha" moment about prayers, praying, and worship in general.

For those who don't know, Muslims not only pray to God in personal "Dear God, cure me of my illness" type of way, but we have a presribed prayer during which we recite verses and do specific motions (bowing, kneeling, standing).  This kind of prayer is done five times a day at prescribed times, and you don't have to do it right then and there but you have a couple of hours to do it in.  It normally takes about 5-10 minutes tops.  (if you see someone at the airport doing this, don't be alarmed, it might be me) (or in a parking lot, that would be me, too)

So this is one of those basic things you start doing as a youngster.  You learn how to pray, you practice, and you try to establish the habit of doing them all, each day.  Sometimes we question 'why?'.  Why five times, why in this exact manner, why daily, etc.. Some of the answers are easy.  We all worship in the exact same way in the exact same language. Anywhere you go in the world, you can walk into a mosque, stand shoulder to shoulder, and pray with the brother or sister next to you.  But the ultimate answer is that it is Allah's wisdom as to why.  He created me, so I'm going to accept His law b/c He knows what is best for me.

Back to that conversation I was talking about at the beginning of this blog.  This dear person asked me how I find the discipline to pray five times a day.  Said person finds it difficult, sometimes, to read from the holy book daily.  That is when I thought what a blessing it is that Allah the Almighty has built in five times throughout the day when I WILL be remembering and glorifying Him.  Because He knows that if it were up to me to find the time, I might not.  If it were up to me to spend a good hour each day in prayer, on my own, I'd likely find a hundred excuses why I was too busy.  It'd be like how I justify not exercising.  Too hot, too cold, too tired, too lazy, too full, too many kids, you get the picture.  Knowing how important these prayers are and having that strong faith and desire to be on that path will keep me praying, insha'Allah.  And now I am more thankful than I was before that those times are set for me.  If you think about it, we don't really push ourselves to continue a habit regularly unless we know it'll be worth it!  I guess that's why they call it 'doing something religiously' because that is the ultimate motivator!

"Then there has succeeded them a posterity who have neglected and lost the prayers, and followed their lusts; thus, they will face devastation (on the Day of Judgment, i.e., he will face Hell)." Surat Maryam 19:59.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Prayer is the best of prescribed things, so the one who is able to do a lot of it, let him do a lot of it.” Narrated by al-Tabaraani (1/84); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb (390).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), says: “My delight has been made in prayer.” Narrated by al-Nasaa’i (3940); classed as hasan by al-Haafiz ibn Hajar in al-Talkhees al-Habeer (3/116) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaa’i.

Allaah does not want to place you in difficulty, but He wants to purify you, and to complete His Favour to you that you may be thankful"  [al-Maa'idah 5:6]

Notebook Page for Studying the Prophets

Assalamu alaikom and peace!

During our studies of ancient history (Story of the World I), we came across the story of Prophet Musa (Moses) peace be upon him.  Thanks to the fabulous blogger over at Talibiddeen Jr, I found this awesome page that we can takes notes on and save for a future book on the prophets.  We can use this template for future studies of any prophet, and I'll have the kids file them in their Islamic Studies Notebook.
Here's the template: http://talibiddeenjr.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/isprophetsprophetfactfileorig.pdf