Schole Sisters with Misty Winkler, Pam Barnhill and Brandy Vencel
Thank you to our Sponsor
A BIG THANK YOU to our sponsor, WordUnited! The one-stop destination for 1000s of fun learning resources, including hard-to-find resources, books and educational toys for children from birth to 11 years old. WordUnited is the fastest growing educational toys and books supplier in the UK. Delivery is fast and customers can receive free delivery over £40, free gift wrapping and even free batteries if requested.
I’ll be back LIVE again next week, Sunday 19th January 2020 at 10am GMT, with another episode of Raising Mums on my Facebook and Instagram accounts insha’Allah.
Next week we’ll be discussing…
Homeschooling during Pregnancy!
I hope I’ll see you there!
Peace and Love,
Never Miss an Episode…
Signup to our mailing list and the NEXT EPISODE of RAISING MUMS will be sent straight to your inbox!
It’s time to find out what we’ve been enjoying in Our Muslim Homeschool this month!
Welcome back friends! This month I’m excited to share a lot a wonderful books and educational resources that we’ve discovered!
There is also a GIVEAWAY this month. If you’d like to enter ,scroll down to the bottom of this post and enter via the Rafflecopter widget.
Dont forget to watch the accompanying YouTube video, to get a closer look at all the products mentioned in this blogpost.
WATCH THIS VIDEO:
January Homeschool Favourites
Life of Fred Math
I know what you’re thinking …”Not another Maths curriculum Gemma?!?!”
LOL!….I can’t help myself!
In the homeschooling circles, I have been hearing about Life of Fred Math for a long time. It is well known within homeschooling circles as an unconventional method of approaching maths. Life of Fred Math teaches maths in a narrative form, with humorous story line and a distinct lack of practice questions!
It is unlike any other maths book you’ve ever seen!
I’m not sure what it was that finally prompted me to order it, but I’m so glad that I did!
My son absolutely loves. When ask him, “What maths book shall we do today?” he always says, “Life of Fred!”
Despite a minimal amount of practice questions and worksheets, the mathematical principles we are covering seem to be sticking in my son’s mind. He loves how each chapter incorporates lots of other interesting facts and information (not always Maths related) and how the maths is put into real-life context.
We have the levels “Apples”, “Jelly-Beans” and “Icecream.” To decide which book is best for your child, visit the Life of Fred website.
For more information about Life of Fred Math, you can visit their website by CLICKING HERE.
Life of Fred can be difficult to find in the UK. I purchased mine from Conquest Books. They are the largest supplier of Homeschool curriculum in the UK, and have loads of other useful curriculum for homeschoolers. To visit there website CLICK HERE.
If you are based in USA, Life of Fred is widely available from most homeschool stores including: – Life of Fred Website – Educents – Amazon
Islamic Behaviour Chart
We have been using this sticker chart from MuslimStickers.com to establish a good morning routine with the children. My family have been using the Islamic Behaviour Chart for 4 weeks now, and the change in my kid’s behaviour in the morning has been phenomenal! No more sluggish and sleepy boys!
No, they’re ready long before I am!
Having a good morning routine is so important, even as adults, to having a productive day. I have seen that when we are slow to start school in the morning, we never get as much done and the children are less enthusiastic.This reward system has helped us all get ready for the day and begin school by 9am insha’Allah.
You could use this sticker chart in so many ways! When you recieve it, it is almost completely blank and you can customise it as you wish.
For MORE INFORMATION about the Islamic Behaviour Chart, and see what is included in the pack,
Receiving this book was such a blessing to our home and to our family.
Young Explorers’ Adventures in Makkah is the story of a family’s trip to Mecca for Ummrah. In addition to talking about Hajj and Ummrah, the book also relates their travels around many of the historic sites in the area.
Many of you are aware, that the authorities in Saudi are slowly demolishing and covering up sites of Islamic historical significance. Whatever their reasons, there is a risk that knowledge of these places with be lost from the general public.
This wonderful book, shows you where many of these sites can be found. It locates the house of Khadijah (ra) and what it looked like inside. It tells you about the birth place of Prophet Muhammad (saw) and where it can be found. More than half of the book is dedicated to sites around Mecca that hold an importance with the Seerah and our Islamic heritage.
Often, when you come across a book about Hajj and Ummrah it will fall into one of two categories. Either it will be very factual, listing what is fard and sunnah etc., but may be a little “dry”. Alternatively, you may find a story book which, although it is very pleasant to read, it provides little information to teach the children from.
This book falls somewhere between the two. Children are captivated by the emotive story-line that runs thoroughout, whilst also learning from the wealth of information it offers about the pilgrimages and the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad (saw).
If you are interested in purchasing this book for your family, it is available from Amazon (USA) Amazon(UK) and Wordery.com
This is the story of a young boy named Huthayfah, who gets angry with his mother. This touching story draws on the Prophetic advice for the best way to deal with anger.
It is well written and the illustrations are colourful with faceless characters.
If you have a child who struggles to control his or her anger, this book may help you and you child to find ways to cope.
The author, Sarah Javed, is a fellow homeschooler from the U.K. She shares her snippets of her homeschooling life on her Instagram account.
I’m so angry is available from Amazon (USA) andAmazon (UK).
Tiny Twinkle Products
Now for something a little different!
I have been aware for sometime that mainstream bath products contain potentially harmful ingredients. Using natural and/or organic products on my children puts my mind at ease.
What a delight it was to be introduced to Tiny Twinkle Products on Instagram who produce Organic, Natural and HALAL bath products for children.
The products contain only natural ingredients, and gentle on my children’s skin. They are all labelled with the “halal” sign, and (very importantly…) they smell incredible!!!
The products in their range retail between £7.50-£18.
The business is run by a Ruhana, a primary school teacher and new mum. When I asked her to tell me a little about herself and why she started her business, she said:
“About a year ago I found out I was pregnant. This was a happy and overwhelming experience as I would become a mother for the first time. During my pregnancy I started making a list of what I’d need to get for my new arrival. I asked other mothers about their recommendations. I then heard about Johnsons baby products having cancer related chemicals and thought I don’t want to put chemical based products on my baby. So I started researching. I first made my own nappy balm with all natural organic ingredients. After my daughter was born I started using this on her, and noticed that she got no nappy rash at all. My husband was also impressed and told me to start a business selling organic baby products. Some friends and family had asked about these products as there was a gap in the market for purely organic halal baby products, so I started creating my own brand called ‘Tiny Twinkle’. Alhamdulillah, since starting, the response has been amazing. ”
If you are looking a range of halal, natural bath products for kids, I would recommend Tiny Twinkle.
For more information about their range, and to place an order, visit them on Instagramand Facebook.
GIVEAWAY
It’s Giveway time!!!
This January I am so happy to be able to share SIX of my favourites with one of you! It’s MASSIVE!!!
I will be giving away:
– I’m So Angry by Sarah Javed – (RRP: £5.99)
– Young Adventure in Makkah – (RRP: £10.05)
– 1 Islamic Behaviour Chart – (RRP: 4.99)
– 3 Products from Tiny Twinkle (including the Nappy Balm, Mild Shampoo and Whipped Lotion) – (RRP: £29.50)
The January 2017 Favourites Giveaway will run from Friday 27th January at 12AM, until Friday 3rd February at 12AM GMT.
The giveaway is open Internationally.
All entrants under the age of 18 must have parental permission to enter.
Please aware that if entering from overseas, you may be liable to pay customs tax (or the equivalent), so please check beforehand.
You can enter by following the directions in the Rafflecopter widget posted below (click HERE is you would like to know more about Rafflecopter).
I’ll announce the winners on THIS blog post and contact them directly through email.
The winner has 24 hours to respond, otherwise I will have to select another winner.
I hope you found it useful to see what we’ve been enjoying in our homeschool this month.I’d love to know what your family has been using this January 🙂
Please share in the comments section below insha’Allah.
Make sure you don’t miss the next blog post bySubscribing to my mailing list.
In this blog-post I will share some of the products and books we have been enjoying in our Muslim homeschool this month.
I’m thrilled to show you a really great science kit, some art equipment that my son loves, and even an app that my youngest son plays!
We also have a GIVEAWAY running this month, so if you’d like to enter, please scroll down to the bottom of this post to the Rafflecopter widget.
Homeschool Favourites | September 2016
To get a better look at all the products mentioned in this blog-post, WATCH THIS VIDEO:
Table Art Easel
This table-top art easel is made by the company Winsor and Newton. We decided to give this to my eldest as an Eid gift, because he is developing an interest in art.
Well…needless to say…HE LOVES IT!
Thanks to its beautiful leather handle, he seems to be carrying it around everywhere!
Our bay window has become his “Art Studio!”
Inside the easel there is room to store lots of arts supplies, and the adjustable arms means that it can be used with a wide range of canvas sizes.
If you have a child who loves to paint, but don’t have the space for a full-sized easel, then this table easel might be a great for your family!
We have been learning about magnetism and this kit has been a fantastic resources. It contains all the specialist equipment you need for 33 experiments (including loads of different magnets, iron fillings, magnetic discs, a compass and loads more!) and a instruction manual.
The experiments in this particular science kit teach children the basic principles of what is magnetic, why its magnetic, how compasses work, and introduces electro-magnetism. There are also instructions for some fun games you can do with the magnets!
Migo and Ali: Love for the Prophets
My kids are really enjoying this collection of stories about the Prophets of Allah. This books contains stories about fifteen different Prophets (A.S.), with a large section at the back dedicated to stories about Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.).
The stories are short, well-written and each section end with a dialogue between Migo and Alias they talk about what they learnt.
The illustrations are beautiful! It is worth noting that there are no depictions of the Prophets or Sahaba in the pictures.
They have also made the effort to have the book approved by scholars of Islam.
This wonderful book is suitable for children aged 3-8, and is one of those books that your family will pick up again and again to read together.
In Our Muslim Homeschool, we have been making an effort to teach my youngest son the letters of the Arabic alphabet. In my quest to good educational resources, I was introduced to these worksheets by Gambian Mommy.
Ngaima Sesay designed and produced these worksheets, as she was becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of resources available to teach her own children Arabic.
As a homeschooling mum herself, she recognised the need for good quality teaching material, and set about producing an incredible selection of Arabic worksheets for other mothers.
The worksheets she has put together are brilliant! There is so much variety! Whether you child learns visually, or by writing, or is an auditory learner, there are worksheets for everyone! There are even games for the kinesthetic learners amongst us!
Some worksheets are in black and white, and others in colour…they’re so pretty! It is clear that a huge amount of time and thought that has gone into these worksheets.
Each pack has instructions on how to use them, a phonics section to help parents pronounce the letters correctly, and a dictionary section to explain the meanings of words.
If you are looking for interesting and fun ways to teach young children the Arabic alphabet, I would highly recommend you
on the Gambian Mommy storeon TeachersPayTeachers.com.
Alif Baa app
When I asked my 4 year-old son what he thought of this app he said, “It’s cool!”
I totally agree with him! The Alif Baa app teaches children the letters of the Arabic alphabet, as well as some Arabic vocabulary.
There are four games to chose from:
– Flashcard style game: Where cards with each letter are shown, and sounded out, along with a new vocabulary word .
– Find the letter: The game says a letter and the student has to find it in amongst the other letters.
–Put the letters in order: The student has to put the letters of the Arabic alphabet in order in the quickest time.
– Trace the Letters: Students are shown how to write each letter and then have to trace along the dotted lines.
This app is a wonderful way to make learning Arabic fun and enjoyable for young kids.
I hope you found it useful to see what we’ve been enjoying in our homeschool this month.I’d love to know what your family has been using this September 🙂
Please let us all know in the comments below.
Make sure you don’t miss the next blog post bySubscribing to my mailing list.
I am so excited to share Our Muslim Homeschool Curriculum choices for 2016-2017.
In the U.K. my sons would be in Reception (Kindergarten) and Year 2 (1st Grade), at ages 4 and 6 years old.
We follow an eclectic approach, drawing heavily from the Classical approach and the Charlotte Mason method.
This blog-post contains affiliate links. For more information, see our Disclaimer.
Please WATCH THIS VIDEO to see what books and resources we are using this year in our homeschool. If you want more information, or would like to buy anything for your family, I have given links in this blog post for almost everything that is mentioned!
I hope you enjoy the video and find benefit in it!
