DITL

What is Homeschooling? | Life and Learning in a Muslim Homeschool

what is homeschooling? Life in a muslim homeschool

The beauty of home education lies in its diversity. When I’m asked “What is homeschooling?”, I struggle to answer! Home education looks different in every family you come across. It’s true!

However at its core, homeschooling is when parents have chosen to educate their children outside of mainstream schools. Simply put, it is when parents take a much greater responsibility in the education their own kids.

The reason why homeschooling looks so different in every family is because home educators don’t believe in the “one-size-fits-all” approach of mainstream schools. Instead, homeschoolers are creating bespoke learning experiences for their family, based upon their ideals, beliefs and the individual needs of their children.

what is homeschooling

I am delighted to bring Shazia into this space, to share her story with you here. Her approach to raising her children is an inspiration to me, and her many followers on Instagram.

In this blogpost, Shazia explains what homeschooling is to her family; what it looks like, how it all began, and some parting advice for those who want to know how to start.

It’s truly an honour to share her insights with you here. 

what is homeschooling

Life in a Muslim Homeschool

“Assalaamu alaykum, my name is Shazia and alhamdulilah I am a mother of three beautiful children aged 13, 11 and 8 years old. We live in the East Midlands in the UK and I began to home educate nearly 7 years ago.

As a family we love to spend much time together, whether it is in the outdoors, at museums, heritage sites, islamic events or just being at home snuggled up to watch a movie or playing board games.

We love travelling and especially visiting Muslim countries to explore the rich Islamic history they have to offer, perform ziyarahs, and absorb different cultures. 

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We do plan things last minute and are quite spontaneous and adventurous in our trips, the children and their dad more so than me. I have woken up to being told we are going France and by the evening we are driving into Paris, or that we are going camping in Wales on a late afternoon and are pitching our tent as the sun begins to set.  

How our Homeschool Journey Began

We never started off as a home-schooling family. In fact, I had never even come across the concept of home-schooling until my husband mentioned it to me when the children were toddlers and I was contemplating nursery settings.

At that time, I wasn’t keen on the idea and never pursued it until the children began attending school. This is when I began to feel the void of them being away from me for so many hours.

Related: Day in the Life | What Homeschooling is REALLY LIKE!

I started to look more into home education and then deregistered them from primary school. The work at primary level was so basic, and I felt confident that as someone with a university degree, and as a part qualified accountant, I could just teach them at home and enjoy them during these most precious years where they need me to help them build a strong foundation.

Alhamdulilah, Allah facilitated this opportunity for us as it has truly been such a blessing for us as a family. My elder children have now started their journey into secondary school education so I now have just one child at home who has never entered the school system.  

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What is Homeschooling to us?

A typical day in our home always begins with Fajr prayer followed by the recital of Quran and dhikr. I feel it is so important to feed our soul early in the morning and then feed our body.

This structure has always helped us to begin our day in a calm and relaxed manner. Once the elder two have left for school, I sit with my eight year old to read our current read aloud book. This is normally followed by literacy work around the book which may be comprehension worksheets, creative writing, or poetry.

We have a short snack break and begin her maths work. I prefer to keep our lessons hands on and find unit studies allow us to incorporate many subjects from one topic.

We have plenty of free play time in the day and I try to plan days in the week as our ‘outing days’ and a few as our ‘home days’ as this helps me to balance my household chores for the week.

We have a very large home-schooling community in our city and many activities are always being arranged. We take part in a monthly forest school session, climbing, ice skating, cooking club and many random park meet ups.  

Related: Homeschool Day in the Life with Arabic Flashcards

How to Start Homeschooling

Due to Covid I’m sure many parents will be wanting to embark on the home education journey and many will have decided it’s not for them. Either way, we are all home schoolers, some on a full time basis and some when the children return from school/weekends or holidays.

Having children in school and at home, I know there are pros and cons to both. What matters the most is you and your child being happy. You know your child best and you are the only one who will ever want them to succeed in deen and duniya more than any other teacher.

You really will make some of the most amazing memories together in this time. Admittedly home-schooling isn’t easy, and requires a sacrifice from you in your time, income (if you have to leave work to pursue it) and personal interests. It doesn’t mean you lose all of these but you must forgo part of them for a greater thing which is time with your children.

I would say sit down and plan how you want to educate your children, how you will allocate your household chores during the week and how much time you need for your own self. Don’t forget to have time for your own self, for your own spiritual needs where you can pray Salah and read your Quran without interruption.

When you are elevated spiritually you will feel happier and be able to give the best of yourself to your children. May Allah put barakah in your home-schooling journey and do perform istikharah before you make this decision.”

what is homeschooling

Thank you Shazia, for showing us what homeschooling is for your family. JazakAllah khayr. That was so inspiring! mashAllah

You can follow Shazia, and her incredible our home-schooling journey on Instagram  CLICK HERE


If you would like to share your family’s unique Homeschooling Experience with our community, please get in touch!
We’d love to hear your story too. insha’Allah.

Peace and Love,

Our Muslim Homeschool Dr Gemma Elizabeth

 

 

 

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Day in the Life | What Homeschooling is REALLY LIKE!

Let's Read by WordUnited

Watch this video and spend the day with us! See what home education in the UK really looks like for Our Muslim homeschool!

Home education simply means to educate your children outside of the mainstream school system. What that looks like for each family is different but for us, as it does for many others, it involves plenty of time outside, sports and activities with friends and formal studies at home.

To get a better idea of what Homeschooling looks like for us, Watch this YouTube video!

Watch how we teach Quran, our swimming classes, outdoor time and a heart-to-heart chat about “What homeschooling is REALLY like!”

 

This video and blog-post was sponsored by WordUnited, who kindly sent me their Arabic and Phonics programs, and compensated me for my time. This blog-post also contains affiliate links. See Disclaimer for more information.

Homeschool UK Vlog

WordUnited

WordUnited is an incredible website that stocks hundreds of high-quality educational resources for children aged 0-13. They have everything you can imagine on that site, from beautiful baby toys, resources for literacy, numeracy, science, special needs and even multicultural toys section! With hundreds of new products being added every week, WordUnited is set to become the next big thing!

Let's Read by WordUnited

WordUnited kindly sent me two sets of books to review; the “Let’s Read” program, which teaching children the foundations of phonics, and the “Let’s Read Arabic” program which teaches children how to read Arabic words.

Phonics books by WordUnited

Each set consists of eight books. As your child progresses through the program, they gradually increase in complexity and build upon lessons learnt in previous books.

Learning Phonics with WordUnited
I love visual cues under each word to highlight the different sounds!

The books are small and easy for young hands to hold, as well as colourful and engaging to to children. They illustrations feature realistic high-quality images of objects that children will be familiar with in their lives. I really appreciate how the creators of these books have used visual cues to highlight the individual sounds that make up each word.

Let's Read Arabic WordUnited

These books are ideal for home educators are they include parent guidance at the beginning of each book. This is really important to read as it clearly explains what is being covered and how to use that particular book effectively. I love it when a curriculum make it simple for parents!

Let's Read Arabic WordUnited

The books can be purchased individually, or as a complete set.

Let's Read Arabic WordUnited

To see my children using the books, WATCH THIS VIDEO.

Make sure you also visit their Amazing Website. You will be blown-away by the variety of products they have on offer!

CLICK HERE for the “Let’s Read Arabic!” 8-book set.

CLICK HERE for the “Let’s Read!” 8-book phonics set.

 

Other Products Mentioned:

Safar Qaidah (Indo-Pak Script)
Graded Steps in Quran Reading (Uthmani Script)
Digital Timer 
Audible 30 FREE TRIAL + 1 FREE AUDIO BOOK

Go Outdoors Store

If you are interested in seeing what homeschool curricula we are using with our children CLICK HERE!

Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to watch our YouTube video. I hope it’s left you feeling inspired and given you something to think about.

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Please remember us in your duaas.

Peace and Love,

Dr Gemma Elizabeth our muslim homeschool

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| Day in the Life | + Arabic Flashcards GIVEAWAY

Muslim homeschool UK DITL Arabic

Since we began using the Ambleside online homeschool curriculum, our daily routine has changed. We are spending more time reading living books, less time doing worksheets and even more time outdoors!

WATCH THE VIDEO below to see a typical day in our Muslim homeschool.

Also, make sure to scroll down to the bottom of this blog post to enter this month’s GIVEAWAY!

Muslim homeschool UK DITL Arabic

This blog post is part of a sponsored collaboration with Word United, who generously sent me their products to review. Our Muslim Homeschool uses affiliate links in posts and the sidebar. Please see Disclaimer for more information.

 

WATCH THIS VIDEO!

Word United Write and Wipe Flashcards

We are using the write and wipe flashcards from Word United to enriched our homeschool English and foreign language curriculum.

These cards provide a hands-on approach to learning a language that has kept my children engaged and enthusiastic to learn more!

Word United Enlgish flashcards

The Word United flashcards are available in English, Arabic, French, Spanish and German; teaching the alphabet, numbers, colours, shapes and actions in each of these languages.

Each card showcases the word or letter with a beautiful high quality photo on one side; whilst the other side has the word written out, and then space for tracing and hand-writing practice. These high quality cards are kept in a magnetically closing box, along with two wipe-able board pens.

Word United English flashcard

If you would like to learn more about these flashcards, WATCH THE VIDEO above, visit their website (www.wordunited.com), or find them on Twitter and Instagram.

Word United Arabic flashcard

Other Products Featured

Arabic Flashcards
English Flahscards
Abacus
Scythe
How to Read a Book
Home Education: Volume 1
Charlotte Mason Summaries
Primer Free and Treadwell
Matilda
Harry Potter

Wizards of Once
Mr Poppers Penguins
Beatrix Potter Collection
Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

 

GIVEAWAY

This month, I  am thrilled to be sharing the beautiful Word United Write and Wipe Flashcards with THREE WINNERS!
Each winner can select ONE SET of the Write and Wipe flashcards from WordUnited.com.
The giveaway will run from Saturday 28th November  2017 until Saturday 4th November 2017 at 12am GMT.

This giveaway is OPEN TO UK RESIDENTS ONLY.

All entrants under the age of 18 must have parental permission to enter.

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.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I know it can be fun to see how other families home-educate their children; but more than that, I hope you found something useful in our YouTube video. Whether its a new book to read, or a new idea, I sincerely hope that by sharing these moments of our lives with you, I am helping you and your families in someway.

If you would like to see more of us, and an almost daily look into our homeschooling day, you can follow me on Instagram or Facebook.
In need of your duaas.
Peace and Love,
Our Muslim Homeschool Dr Gemma Elizabeth

Eagles, Apples and Bears! Our Homeschool Week | 2nd – 6th October 2017

Homeschool UK Charlotte Mason

It’s been wonderful to get back into our homeschool curriculum this week, after the disruption of last week! We’ve been learning more about the Vikings, have enjoyed some great works of literature and made loads of art projects from our Toucan box.

Read on to take a look into a typical homeschool week with us, using the Charlotte Mason approach to education and the Ambleside Online homeschool curriculum.

charlotte mason homeschool uk hawthorn

Monday 2nd October

This morning the kids worked through a few lesson of CTC Math, on the computer. They are enjoying the programme and benefiting from the way it approaches maths. My eldest learnt about map co-ordinates and different types of graphs; whilst my younger son learnt about the concept of symmetry. It was a fun morning!

Today in circle time, we learnt about famous viking explorer, Leif Erikson and looked at another famous painting by Hokusai, “Mishima Pass in Kai Province.”

We have been using a wall calendar for picture study, as they are very inexpensive compared to art books, and can hang easily on our wall; allowing the kids to look at it and learn from it throughout our school week.

Muslim homeschool circle time

Tuesday 3rd October

The highlight of the day was the Toucan box came in the post! Thankfully the boys had already done most of their school work before it came, otherwise nothing would have been done! It was all very exciting!

We have recently upgraded to the largest of their boxes, the “Super box”, which contains 4 different craft activities and a picture book. To read a review of the Toucan box and see an un-boxing video we made, CLICK HERE.

For more information about Toucan Box, visit their website HERE and use the referral code GEMMA-9E6X to get your first box free!

Out of the four, the boys decided to do the underwater scene first. It turned out lovely, and we read the picture book that came at bed-time.

Toucan box

Underwater sea craft from toucan box

The postman also brought a new new book to go along with our study of Medieval Britain, A Knight’s city by Philip SteeleThis book is AMAZING!

It is filled with the most incredible pop-ups that are so intricately designed. The book takes you on a tour of life in a medieval city, and it is full of great information along with pop-ups of a cathedral, castle and bridge. It really sparked my boy’s imagination and has helped them to visualise the scenes in the living books we are reading from.

Medieval history pop up book for kids

Sight word game for kindergarten

After all the excitement, we spent a little time in the afternoon reviewing sight-words with the game POP from learning resources.

Wednesday 4th October

Today we learnt about Hereward and his battles with William the conquerer. Never heard of Hereward….me neither! But if you are covering medieval history this year you should look him up!

We also raed about Prophet Nuh (Noah) from the book Lives of the Prophets by Leila Azzam. We discussed how Nuh’s wife and son were not from the believers, and how faith is a gift from God and should be cherished.

The afternoon was filled with activities outside the home; like Quran class and a Muslim beaver scouts meeting.He came back with even more badges for me to sew on! MashAllah.

Thursday 5th October

Along with the usual school work, the boys had a swimming class this morning. The long drive there gave us an opportunity to listen to the literature component of our curriculum Understood Betsy.

We have really been enjoying listening to the audiobook version on Audible. In fact, I have personally enjoyed it so much, I have been tempted this week to put it on for myself to listen to whilst I was getting on with housework! It’s really good!

After swimming, and a Seerah class with their other home-ed friends, we went into our garden to enjoy the autumn sunshine.

We have been using these flashcards from word united to teach handwriting and reading to my 5-year old, as well as using their French and Arabic range for foreign language study.

Handwriting flashcards

Toddler fun!
Keeping herself busy…You have to pick your battles with 2 year-olds!

Friday 6th October

It’s Friday! Hurray!

Friday for us means nature walk! This week we went out to a patch of scrub-land near the river and explored. It was beautiful!

Homeschool UK Charlotte Mason
RUN! Woohoo!

Charlotte Mason homeschool

Along the walk, I noticed some beautiful cowslip flowers by the pavement. I stopped, without saying anything, took a photo of them and walked on. A few minutes later I turned around and found my sons sat down by the same flowers having their own discussion and conversation about them.

There was no need for me to say anything, and “force” a learning opportunity. Instead of saying, “Look at these boys,” or “Do you know what these flowers are called?”, they were able to make the discovery themselves! These are the moments that will stay with them and that they will retain, not incessant lecturing from me!

I have to remind myself often, to follow the advice of Charlotte Mason, and stay quiet! I find it so tempting, in my enthusiasm, to give constant prompting to the boys. This was a beautiful reminder to myself, that they don’t need me to do that! They have each other! mashAllah.

Nature study

Amongst some other discoveries, we found a few apples trees growing along the route, and a muddy puddle full of different foot prints; different kinds of birds and dogs (although my boys were convinced they were bear foot prints!)

My 5 year-old also found the biggest feather he’s ever seen! He was so excited and, as we had seen birds-of-prey in the area last week, and decided it was an eagle feather!

Bear footprints nature study
Bear footprints?

After a stopping off for hot-chocolate at a cafe, we started walking back to the car. It was a long walk, so I decided to distract them with Quran!

Each of the boys had to recite all the Quran that they could remember. We talked about how the Quran is the word of Allah, and everything in creation wants to hear it. So as they recited, we talked about how the clouds in the sky, the grass under their feet and birds in the trees were listening to them. Subhanullah! Before we knew it, we were back at the car!

We made it to Jummah prayer at the mosque. Although we went to a mosque I don’t usually visit, there is something very powerful about standing shoulder to shoulder with women, whom I didn’t know, praying together. Unity.

We didn’t have time to sketch and paint in our nature journal’s today, but the boys did make a lovely chicken a mushroom pie! It was a great end to the week.

How was your homeschool week?
Please do let me know and tell us all about it in the comments!

Peace and Love,

Our Muslim Homeschool Dr Gemma Elizabeth

A Week (or two) in Our Homeschool | 18th-29th September 2017

Blackbird egg nature journal

I think the theme of the last few weeks should be how to homeschool when nothing goes to plan!

We were just starting to get into a rhythm and a good homeschool routine, when flu hit and then an un-planned road trip really challenged our schedule.

Monday 18th September

I was sick today! With a terrible fever and flu, we kept it really simple today with maths on the computer, reading practice and some Quran.

The kids were still unwell too, so they finished off an activity from their Toucan Box and made this awesome Dinosaur egg with plaster of Paris. We love our monthly Toucan box. You can read a review I wrote about it HERE.

Dinosaur egg craft

After dosing up on paracetamol and ibuprofen, I felt human again so we read aloud from A Child’s History of the World, learning about King Alfred.

Honestly, I had never heard of Alfred and his treaty with the Vikings before….it was really interesting!

A child's history of the world

Tuesday 19th September

Since we missed circle time yesterday, I made it a priority today. We revisited a painting by Hokusai and the children gave a lovey narration of it. We sang some French nursery rhymes from Comptines a chanter  and finished off the Shakespeare play “Two Gentlemen of Verona” from the book Beautiful stories from Shakespeare for children

The boys struggled a little ( a lot) following the plot of the play. I am thinking of encorporating peg dolls or some props to help them to narrate the plays. It is not the language that they find hard, but the complex story lines! We’ll find a way insha’Allah.

After reading about the Battle of Hastings from Our Island Story we stopped school for the day and tried to get better!

Year 2 Ambleside online

Wednesday 20th September

After two days being stuck indoors, I was itching to get out!

After a little morning school, we went to a nearby park and get some fresh air. I had been reading in Home Education Volume 1 by Charlotte Mason about the importance she placed on breathing in “outdoor” air compared to “indoor” air, and so I felt inspired to follow her advice!

Muslim homeschool

Thursday 21st September

By now the kids were well enough to go to their home-ed classes and were able to go swimming and to their Seerah class.

Those long drives to classes were my saving grace! We look our iPad and listened Understood Betsy on Audible on the way there and back. If you remember in my last blog post, I said the boys were not enjoying that book AT ALL! Well they seem to really like the Audiobook. Alhumdulillah!

I was so impressed with how responsive they were to the audiobook, that I used up all my free credits with Audible to get almost all the books we will be using this year with the Ambleside online curriculum.

If you haven’t tried Audible before, they are a publisher and distributor of the world’s largest selection of digital audiobooks and spoken word content. There is a 30-Day FREE TRIAL available at the moment if you’d like to try it with your family.

 

In the evening, we sang French songs with our cookies and milk!

Homeschool french songs
Cookies and French songs!

Friday 22nd September

Although I was still not feeling well, there was no way we were missing out on nature study! I love it too much!

We spent the morning sketching a blackbird into our Nature notebooks with the help of some fantastic YouTube videos by John Muir Laws

nature journal watercolour blackbird

We headed off the our nearby park for our usual nature walk, but within minutes of reaching there, the heavens opened! It was raining so hard we had to run back to the car and eat our picnic there! Whilst we were eating we listened to an excellent CD, A Guide to British Garden Birds., until the rain stopped.

british garden bird song cd  nature study acorns

Once back home, we painted our blackbirds using water colours, and the children spent the remainder of the day with their grandparents.

(Sketch book: HERE)

nature study blackbird

 

Saturday 23rd

The boys worked on the next chapter in their Islamic Studies books. My 7 year-old read about Life after Death using the Safar Year 3 book, and my 5 year-old learnt about how to use the toilet and keep clean using the Year 1 books.

Safar Islamic Studies Year 1

Sunday 24th – Tuesday 26th

My in-laws are visiting at the moment, so we decided to make the most of our flexible schedule and take them to Alton towers. This kids enjoyed spending time with their grnadparents and they loved going on all the rides!

cbeebies land alton towers homeschol trip

cbeebies land alton towers homeschol trip
Justin’s House was her favourite!

With it being a weekday, there were no queues! I have never been to a theme park where you didn’t have to queue up for anything! It was brilliant for the young kids.

My daughter got to meet Postman Mat (which she is still talking about), and the boys got to go on some faster roller-coasters. They’re now planning how they can build their own roller coaster at home out of Lego! Whilst there,we stayed in a hotel within the resort for a few days and came back Tuesday afternoon.

It is worth noting that Alton Towers, and all Merlin attractions, do offer a home-educator discount, but you will have to prove you home school with a letter from the LEA.

Wednesday 27th September

After getting back from out trip, I decided to spend the remainder to the week catching up on what we missed last week. Initally the morning was spent doing the usual daily workl; Quran, Maths and Reading. My 7 year-old son started The Bears on Hemlock Mountain which he seems to be enjoying.

During circle time we learnt about Prophet Idris (Enoch)(AS) from the book Lives of the Prophets by Leila Azzam.

Then the boys remembered that their Seerah teacher had asked them to make a list of 5 good things they wanted to do/acheive this new Islamic year. Their lists included things like learn to swim, read more Quran, be better to my mum! My 5 year-old son wanted to type his list up on the computer and here he is mashAllah!

Islamic new year resolutions
Islamic new year resolutions

Thursday 28th September

Today we went seemed to spend most of the day in the car! After a little “morning school”, travelling to the boys’ swimming class and Seerah class took up a large part of the day.

We used this time once again to listen to audiobooks, listening to Parables from Nature using Audible

It was lovely to have some sunny weather today though. However, as all you mums know, sunny weather means catching up on laundry! After being sick, and going away for the weekend, and the endless rain we’ve been having, there was a lot of washing to do! By the end of the day I had 4 or 5 loads of clean laundry to fold/iron and put away(…eugh), but seeing that empty laundry basket was satisfying.

what homeschooling really looks like!
This is what homeschooling really looks like!

Friday 29th September

Fridays are our favourite day! We spent the morning walking in nearby woodland. We spotted a squirrel with a sweet chesnut in his mouth. When we followed him we found the tree and hundreds of sweet shestnuts on the floor! The boys decided to collect as many as they could carry to take home for the squirrels in our garden!

nature walk homeschool

nature walk homeschool
I don’t know what they’re looking at!

nature walk homeschool
Sweet Chestnuts EVERYWHERE!

In the afternoon, the boys planted some of the sweet chestnuts in the garden and left loads out for the squirrels.

They added a green/blue blackbird egg to their nature notebooks and had a class at home with their French tutor. The rest of the day was spent helping to cook dinner. They made chicken curry and rice mashAllah!

Blackbird egg nature journal
Adding to their nature notebook later that afternoon

 

 

So it has been a “higgledy-piggledy” week. We are one week behind in schedule set out by  Ambleside online, so instead of beginning week 5 we will beginning week 4.

I’m not really concerned at all if I’m honest! Instead of taking 36 weeks to compete the year, we will take 37.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our week.

What do you do when your children get sick?
Do you prioritise any subjects and try to get something done?
Or do you just take that time off?
Please let me know in the comment below.

Peace and Love,

Dr Gemma Elizabeth

Our Homeschool Field Trip to London

Last weekend we traveled down to London with the children to visit the historical sites and museums.

For almost 6 months, we have been meaning to take the kids to London for a field trip, and last weekend we finally did it!!!

I remember visiting the amazing museums and historical sites as a child with my mum. Maybe it’s jut nostalgia, but I wanted my children to have the same feelings of awe and also feel inspired as I was when I was young.

Homeschool field trip london uk

 

Homeschool Field trip London UK

It took about 4 hours to drive down from the North-West and reach our hotel near Kew Gardens.

Before we tackled the museums, there was something much more important that we needed to address….our stomachs!!!

The first place we visited was Southall  for some GOOD CURRY! We went to Mirch Masala and the food was delicious! After dinner, I visited a lovely Islamic book shop called Al-Jannah bookstore, and purchased a few goodies…but you’ll have to wait for my next favourites Youtube video to see them!

After a good night’s sleep, we set out to central London by car. I have always been intimidated by driving in central London, however my husband makes it look easy! mashAllah. Thank goodness he was with me!

First stop….

The Natural History Museum

Homeschool trip natural history museum london

This was the one place that my children insisted we visit because of their extensive collection of dinosaur fossils. Even as a “grown-up”, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the size of their collection.

Homeschool trip natural history museum london

 

Homeschool trip natural history museum london

The kids particularly enjoyed the robotic T-Rex!

We even found the place where Andy’s famous time-travelling clock should have been!
(You know, from CBeebies TV show “Andy’s Dinosaur adventure”!)
Homeschool Natural history museum london
It’s time to go an a Dinosaur Adventure!

In addition to the dinosaurs, we visited the section about Marine
life. The room with the life-size blue whale was incredible!

Homeschool Natural history museum london

Then we went to the Volcanoes & Earthquake section. This was my eldest son’s favourite part. It is lay out really well, with loads of hands-on learning experiences. There is even one room that you can stand in and experience a simulated earthquake!

My boys were so inspired by this part of the museum, that we are going to incorporate earthquakes and volcanoes into our science this term insha’Allah.

On the drive back to the hotel, we drove through Westminster and saw the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. However, as the kids were tired, instead of stopping to look around, we decided it was best to head back to the hotel.

After another trip to Southall for dinner, we went back to the hotel for a good night’s rest.

The next day we visited the British museum.

The British Museum

Honestly, I could spend a week in this museum!

I go nuts for Ancient history, and this museum is full of exhibits and artifacts from every ancient civilisation you can imagine!
It is my happy place!

Homeschool trip British Museum London

 

Homeschool trip British Museum London

However this time we only had a morning to spend here so we went straight for the ancient Egypt section.

Homeschool trip British Museum London

In our history curriculum, we have spent the last 3 months focusing on Ancient Egypt. It was so nice for the children to see the historical artifacts in real life. The section was very crowded, and seemed really popular with tourists, but we managed to see a lot of fascinating things.

Homeschool trip British Museum London

 

Homeschool trip British Museum London

 

Homeschool trip British Museum London

I love the British museum, and I’m already planning our next visit!

Before leaving, we sat and enjoyed some hot chips, whilst admiring the incredible architecture outside.

Homeschool trip British Museum London

 

Homeschool trip British Museum London

Travelling around central London with kids can be difficult. One of the best things I can advise is plan ahead; plan your nappy bag, plan your route, plan where you will have lunch, pack snacks…plan plan plan! Also, try not to be over ambitious with what you hope to achieve in the day. Personally, I do not expect to visit more than one place a day, and anything extra is a nice bonus!

Homeschool trip natural history Museum London
He looks like I feel after a day out in London with the kids! 😉
(Mauritian Dodo from the Natural History Museum)

Have you ever taken your children on an educational trip around London? 

We are planning to visit London again in the next few months. Where would you recommend we go next time we visit? 

I would love to hear your ideas and advice for travelling with kids.


Please leave your comments down below!

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In need of your duaas.
Peace and Love xx

 

A Day in the Life | Our Muslim Homeschool (2016)

Hi Everyone! 
  
This is A Day in a Life of Our Muslim Homeschool

Watch what we do on a typical day; from early morning Quran, morning lessons, craft projects and our afternoon nature walk!

Come along and see how we home educate our  children!


WATCH THIS VIDEO:


Products mentioned in this vlog (includes affiliate links):

Holy Quran for Beginners: http://amzn.to/2fLlL6b (UK) 
                                            http://amzn.to/2ga4DUQ (USA)

Qai’dah: https://safarpublications.org/product/abridged-qaidah-a5/

Maths: https://raysarithmetic.wordpress.com/ (free download)
Multplication Book: http://amzn.to/2gCLBLW (UK)
                                    http://amzn.to/2gvFOab (USA)

Spelling: http://amzn.to/2eZDpDW (UK)
                http://amzn.to/2ga56X6 (USA)

First Language Lessons: http://amzn.to/2eZFcce (UK)
                                           http://amzn.to/2ga6LM5 (USA) 

Alphabet Sound Puzzle: http://desidollcompany.com/product-category/sound-puzzles/

Magnetic Calendar: http://amzn.to/2gw7sno (UK)
                                http://amzn.to/2gDlx32 (USA)

Islamic Calendar:  http://ourmuslimhomeschool.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/islamic-calendar-for-children_14.html

ABC Mouse:  30 DAY FREE TRIAL! (Affiliate)
Click the link below:
 http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-8201566-12635175-1467988603000

BFG: http://amzn.to/2fiDiyT (UK) 
         http://amzn.to/2geXsf7 (USA)

Story of the World: http://amzn.to/2fLqMvI (UK)
                                  http://amzn.to/2eZGBzw (USA)

Pinnochio: http://amzn.to/2gvInZy (UK) 
                    http://amzn.to/2gf0Vdx (USA)

If you have any more questions, feel free to leave me a comment down below.

Make sure you don’t miss the next blog post by Subscribing to my mailing list.

For a daily look into our homeschooling day follow me on InstagramTwitter or Facebook.

In need of your duaas.

Peace and Love xx


Educational Games for 2-6 Year Olds





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A Muslim Homeschool: A DAY IN THE LIFE

A typical day in our Muslim homeschool, doing Reception (Kindergarten) and Preschool with three small children.

M is 5 years-old, A is 3 years-old and K is 7 months-old.

6.45

‘MUMMMMMMMY! I WANT ICECREAM!’ I crack open one eye, to find
A has crawled into the bed in the night and seems to have kicked his dad out.

‘MUMMMMMMMY! I WANT ICECREAM!’ Before he wakes the baby, I slid myself out of
bed, eyes still half-closed, and shuffle downstairs.

He gets grapes. I get
coffee.

Feeling slightly more human, I feed the cats and then have some
cereal.

7.20

K wakes up. I nurse her and head back downstairs to finish
my cereal.

It‘s gone soggy.


7.35

My husband needs to
drop off his car at the garage at 8am today, so the kids and I need to go in my
car to give him a lift home. So I do the unthinkable….I wake up M!

He’s not
happy.

After putting a load
of nappies in the wash, I make the beds and then give the kids breakfast. It
just cereal and juice this morning, and a baby puree for K.

Then I quickly scan through my emails on my
phone.

8.00

After a lot of whining, we get everyone into the car … still
in their pyjamas. I throw an abaya over mine and jump in the car.

On the way to the garage I see kids already dressed,
presumably having eaten something, bags packed, and heading off to school.

How
do their mum’s do it?!?

Superwomen no doubt!

I can’t help feeling a little smug
though as we all drive home in our pyjamas for a second breakfast!

8.15

When get back from the garage, my husband leaves for work on his bike.

A is unusually grumpy so I feed him. The cats are complaining to, so I feed them.

8.25

I remember that I need to post something on Instagram that
morning. 

Whilst typing on my phone, K starts crying. So I  finish writing the photo caption one-handed, bobbing her up and down on my hip. 

The cats start meowing that they want
to go out, M starts reading out facts from a dinosaur book, and K is still
crying.

8.40

K starts to settle down, so I grab my chance to clean the
kitchen.

A falls over and hurts himself, M is still reading
aloud (very loudly) out of his dinosaur book and K starts crying.

I give up and take K
upstairs.

9.00 

After a clean nappy and nursing, K is asleep.

I finish cleaning up the kitchen.

9.10 

I take out our ‘workbox.’

We settle on the living room floor and read from the children’s Quran the story of Qarun.


Next M reads to me from his ‘I can read’ easy reader book, and A listens.

9.30

In the kitchen, I help A make a picture of a summer garden with
paper flowers and tissue paper.

Whilst M is doing some Math fact drills and
word problems
at the table, A goes an plays in the living room and I make another coffee.

9.40

I take the meat out of the freezer for tonight’s dinner
and write a to-do list for the day, making sure to write down the things I’ve
already done, and then tick them off!


K wakes up. I bring her downstairs, and find M is angry because
he can’t do one of the Maths questions.

After diffusing the situation, I take M upstairs to get changed. This makes him angry again!

10.30

All the kids are out of their pyjamas…I am not.

I go downstairs
to discover a cold cup of coffee that I forgot about.


I cut some fruit for the kids and then feed the cats again.

M picks up some of the tissue paper that A left on the kitchen
table and starts to make a ‘buttercup picture’. A wants to join in, so I have
to get more art supplies out.

A gets bored after two minutes and demands a
story. K starts to fuss.


At the kitchen table I read to them from yet another
dinosaur book, whilst nursing K.

11.05

We start getting ready to go out. We had planned to go
on a nature study today, but the weather is bad, so we’re going to an indoor
play centre
instead.

Not nearly as ‘wholesome’ but it’ll have to do.

11.15

Start getting the kids shoes on and get them into the car to leave.

11.35 

Actually leave.

We stay at the play centre for two hours.

The boys find a
group of kids to play with and I hardly see them whilst we are there,
except when they want their lunch!

I even get to read for ten minutes whilst K
naps in her car seat.

2.00 

Get back home.

A has fallen asleep in the car. K has not.

M goes straight
into the house, opens up his dinosaur books and starts reading and making
notes. I put a ‘Peter Pan’ audio-book on for him.


I get K out of the car, and leave her in her car seat,
whilst I carry A from the car to his bed.

K start crying. After nursing, I try to rock her to sleep.

It does not work.

After praying Dhuhr,  we come downstairs and I give her an apple slice to chew
on whilst I clean the kitchen again and empty the vegetable scraps into the
compost bin outside. 

2.45

M takes out his Atlas and starts seeing where in the
world dinosaur fossils were found.


                M:
“Mum, you know Kazakhstan?”
                me:
“Ummmm….”
                M: “Is
it under Russia?”
                me: “Ummmm…..”
                M:
“Yeah, I think it is.”
                me: “Ok
then.”

2.55

K starts to fuss, so I carry her on my hip and hang out
the wet laundry with one hand.

3.00 

M decides he wants to ‘do’ his calendar now.

3.20 

After changing K’s nappy, I put her in the door-bouncer
and start preparing dinner (lamb curry and rice).

Whilst that is cooking,
I wake up A.

3.30       

                me: “What
country do you want to learn about today?”

                M:
“Zambia.”
                me:
“Zambia?”
                M: “Yes”
                me:
“Which dinosaurs were from Zambia?”
                M:
“Actually, lets do Morocco.”
                me: “OK
then.” 

After collecting all our different atlases and social
studies books, I read from them the pages about Morocco whilst they draw and
colour the Moroccan flag.

We talk about Moroccan food, architecture, how the
families live, the capital city, the landscape and…what dinosaur fossils were
found there!

A day in Our Muslim Homeschool

M decides to start a notebook called ‘Dinosaurs around the world.’
I find a few short documentaries on Youtube about Morocco, and fold laundry
whilst the boys watch them.

4.30 

M plays ‘Dino Dan game’ online for having a ‘good
attitude today.’ A is happy watching.

4.45 

K nurses and falls asleep.

4.55 

I clean the kitchen again.

5.05 

K wakes up and happily watches the boys wrestling in
the living room.

Their dad comes home from work.

5.25 

Dinner is served.


The cats are hungry again.

5.40 

I clean the kitchen again.

6.00 

I make a cup of coffee again and fold laundry again.

6.10 

We all get in the car and head back to the garage to
pick up my husband’s car. The boys go in to ‘see how they fix the cars’.

6.40 

We get back. After changing A’s and K’s nappies, I
finish folding the laundry, and then tidy up all the toys in the living room.

The boys pretend to help and I’m too tired to make them.

6.55 

Once all three kids have had a bath and are in their pyjamas, I pray
Asr.

7.40 

Their dad occupies the boys in the living room,  so I hoover the upstairs
of the house.

8.00 

I feed K some baby porridge, nurse her and put her to
sleep. (Sigh…one down, two to go!) 

8.30 

I need another coffee, but its too late. I make a mint
tea and grab some biscuits instead.

8.45

After some gentle persuasion, I brush the boys teeth, read
them two stories, and sit with them till they fall asleep.

A day in our Muslim homeschool

10.00 

They are finally asleep. (phew!)

After praying Maghrib, I put away all
the folded clothes, tidy up all the toys that are littered around the house,
hoover the living room, and take a chicken out of the freezer for tomorrow’s
dinner.

10.40 

The rest of the evening is spent reading some Quran, praying and watching
Youtube.

Before bed, I scrawl down a quick to-do list for tomorrow, and throw a
load of clothes in the washing machine to wash overnight.

12.30 

Sleep!

Baby K wakes up twice in the night.
A wakes me up at 6.30am.

Writing this has made me realise that:
(1) I drink WAY too much coffee
(2) My cats eat a lot
(3) Half my life seems to be spent cleaning my kitchen!

How does your day look as a homeschooling mum? Is it similar to mine? I would love to know. Please leave me a comment below.


COMING SOON!

‘Our Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2015-2016’

Our curriculum choices for this coming academic year for Year 1 (kindergarten) and Preschool.

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Thanks for visiting our blog!

Please remember us in your duaas.
Peace and Love.