December was so much fun! We’ve had a blast in out homeschool using these books and educational products. I am so excited to share them with you.
There are a few more than usual, but I didn’t want to miss anything out!
We are taking a short break for the next few weeks, to give ourselves time to “refuel” and get ready for the term to come.
I am really happy with the way our homeschooling has been going. Alhumdullilah!
With the exception of Maths (I’ll talk about that later), we are loving all of our curriculum. The kids really enjoy “school time” and we are excited to start homeschooling again soon!
Homeschool Favourites | December 2016
To take a closer look at the products, and see inside the books I mention in this blog post,
WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!
Myriad Toys
I am in love with this online store!!!
Myriad sell natural toys and crafts, as well as home decor and more! They stock lots of beautiful wooden toys and toys made from natural materials. If you follow the Waldof method of home education, this would be a great shopfor you.
We do not follow the Waldorf methodology, but I still adore their toys and craft!
We bought lots of things this time round, and I’ve already got my eyes on a few others bits!!!
These sweet wax crayonsare lovely for my toddler’s little hands. She can easily grasp these to colour and draw, and we are also using them to teach her the colour names.
These beautiful pencils are highly pigmented and draw beautifully! They are triangular in shape so they are easy for my child to grasp. The only thing is, they don’t fit into out existing pencil sharpener, so I’ve had to purchase one separately (around £4) from Amazon.
These were a bit of a splurge, but I needed to get two new combs for the kids. These combs are beautifully made from beech wood, and look and work wonderfully.
Beeswax candles
I’ve never had beeswax candles and I was curious. I needed some to fit into some of my mother’s old candle sticks, and thesetapered beeswax candles fitted perfectly!
Write from the Start
This handwriting programme is fantastic! I have never seen anything like it!
Instead of pages and pages of copying out letters, this book contains a huge variety of exercises that improve you child’s fine motor and perceptual skills.
My 4 year-old son loves this book, and will often pull it out and start working on it independently!
The Boys Choice: Independent Reading
This month I decided to ask the boys directly, “What was your favourite thing we did in our homeschool this month?”
I thought they might suggest a field trip we went on, or maybe a craft activity…but they surprised me! They chose their independent readers!
My youngest son (4) is reading through the “Biff, Chip and Kipper” books Level 1 from Oxford University Press.
These are great for children who are just beginning to read. There a short stories filled with sight words and CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) words. He obviously is enjoying them!
My elder son (6) chose his collection of Roald Dahl books.
These books are fun and silly, and he loves them! I must warn you, they do not teach good character traits, and some may consider them bit rude; but they have given my son so much confidence in reading. He now goes off by himself to read for fun!
A Maths Journey
As I mentioned above, we have had some issues with Maths!
Previously, we had been using Saxon Math 3. I really appreciate this programme’s thorough and systematic approach to Maths. However, for my son, the slow pace and the repetition became very frustrating for him. So we decided to make a change!
Instead of using a complete curriculum, I have been piecing together my own Maths curriculum from various resources. These include:
A Maths Journey if a collection of 4 books that uses real-life exampls to teach kids to understand topics such as geometry, statistics and algebra. They use a variety of pictograms, infographics, fun illustration and photographs to explain these core concepts.
Titles in this collection include:
Wonders of the World
Extreme Sports
Deep Sea Adventure
Computer Games
These books are fantastic if you’re looking for something to stretch you child in their Maths ability, or if your child does not enjoy the usual math book format. These books are so different and I love them!
If you are in the U.K. this collection can be purchased at The Book People.
Ali and Sumaya DVDs
At this time of year, Christmas is all over the T.V.! As a family who have chosen not to celebrate Christmas, it can be a very confusing time of the year for the kids. So the T.V. has been andoff, we have been enjoying these two Ali and Sumaya DVDs: Let’s Pray & Let’s Read!
The chidren love the nasheeds and the incredible animations. The children have learnt so much from these DVDs, even my little 2 year-old has started reciting parts of Surah Fatihah after watching these DVD mashAllah!
I have previously written two reviews about these DVDs if you want to know more about them, click on the links below:
We were struggling to get the boys up and going in the mornings. Getting dressed, brushing teeth etc. was taking forever. This meant we were not starting school until after 10am.
This Islamic Behaviour chart has been a great way to motivate the children to get ready and reinforce a good morning routine. It’s working so well…too well! The kids are up and ready to start school before I’ve even had my first cup of coffee!
It is highly customisable and can be used to motivate kids in lots of different ways; such as encouragement to do their homework, chores or improve behaviour.
The stickers are adorable with phrases like:
“Super star MashAllah”, “I Love Allah” and “Splendid Subhanullah!“
They’re so cute.
These Islamic stickersare great because, not only to they make the child proud of their achievement, but also help to make them proud to be a Muslim! Encouraging a positive self image and Muslim identity is becoming increasingly hard for children growing up in the West, and products like this make it a little easier.
Thissticker chart, along with a wide variety of Islamic sticker products, stamps, sweets and toys, can be purchased from MuslimStickers.com
As I was reading it aloud to the children, the stories it told reminded me of the stories m teacher used to teach us. It is by far the most accurate Seerah book I have come across for children, as well as the most in depth. The illustrations are beautiful, although they are not faceless, and there is a beautiful family tree in the front of the Prophet’s family.
As I read this aloud, it moved the children and evoked feelings in them, like not other children’s Seerah book has.
Since it goes into quite a lot of detail, I anticipate that this book will be enjoyed for many years to come. If you are reading aloud, this book is suitable for children aged 5-11, or 8+ for independent readers.
I hope you enjoyed seeing what we’ve been enjoying in our homeschool this month.
Do you have any new discovers? What have you been loving in your home this month? What is your favourite online store for children’s toys? What is your favourite Seerah book for kids?
Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!
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.
This blog-post was written in partnership with Al Maurid Books. Although I was compensated for my time, and given a review copy of the book, all opinions expressed here are 100% my own.
Teaching the 99 Names of Allah to children can be challenging for any Muslim parent. In our Muslim homeschool, we use a variety of crafts and hands-on activities to help our children remember the 99 names of Allah.
I believe that learning the names of Allah does not need to be rushed. By taking our time, we allow the names of Allah to impact on their hearts, thereby helping to nurture a deeper and stronger connection to the Divine insha’Allah.
Each activity below is designed to help children understand the 99 names of Allah. The names themselves can seem complicated and somewhat abstract to young children. By associating the Divine name with an activity or craft, we show the children a more concrete representation of that name, creating a connection that will help with memorisation, as well as their understanding.
And besides….it’s so much more fun this way!!!
To watch a Youtube Video about all the activities we have been doing,
CLICK ON THE VIDEO BELOW!
Why should Children Learn the 99 Names of Allah?
Learning the names of Allah (swt) is a great way to help children to understand the nature of Allah and create a love for the divine in their hearts insha’Allah.It has been narrated Abu Huraira that the Prophet (SAW) said,
“Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e. one-hundred minus one, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise.”
Sahih Al-Bukhari – Book 50 Hadith 894
Allah
The first place we began is with the name “Allah.”Using a FREE TEMPLATE of the name, we filled in the letters with sequins and buttons to make a beautiful calligraphy to hang-up on our wall. For more information on this craft CLICK HERE
Alternatively, you could use glitter, tissue paper or even make a collage from old magazines or newspapers.
Al-Khaliq
Al-Khaliq can be translated as “The Creator”.
For this name, I felt the best way to teach the children about how Allah creates, is to witness His creation.
So we went outdoors; to the park, to the woods, and just around our own garden, and spent some time talking together about what Allah had created. We talked about how He created everything from nothing, with no help.
This concept is something that even the youngest of children can understand. Allah made the clouds, Allah made the sun, Allah made the birds etc. I asked the children to collect things from our nature walk. We came home with so many twigs, leaves and flowers!
Once we got home, we made a poster using a FREE Colouring Page of the name Al-Khaliq.
Around the name we stuck all the beautiful things that the chlidren had collected. It looked lovely up on the kitchen wall!
For more details about this craft, you can read my previous blogpost HERE.
Al-Malik
Al-Malik translates as “The King.”
As a visual representation of this name, the children made a crown! Whilst they were making it, we talked about how Allah doesn’t wear a crown, and how Allah does not look like any king that they can imagine. We spoke a little about the role of a king and I asked them,“Who is the King of the Kings? ….. Allah!”
If you would like to make this crown with your children, CLICK HERE.
Ar- Razzaq
Recently, we have been learning the name Ar-Razzaq which translates as “The Provider.”
To help the children understand this name better, we have been using the book “Aishah Learns to Bake” by Latifah Peerbux.
This is the story of a young girl called Aishah who wants to bake. Her mum agrees to teach her how, but she asks her to guess all the ingredients they need. What is wonderful is how her mum uses clues with an Islamic or Prophetic twist!!!
For example, as a clue for dates, her mum says,
“Allah even says we find this fruit up in heaven! It’s the same fruit we eat in Ramadan to break our fast!”
Aishah Learns to Bake by Latifah Peerbux
Aishah continues to guess all the ingredients for her cakes, learning more and more as she does so.
The book ends with her father explaining to her how Allah is Ar-Razzaq, the Provider.
It’s a sweet and heart-warming story that helps children to understand what a blessing it is to have food, as well as the Blessings that different foods contain; and ultimately to be more grateful to Allah for providing us with them.
As the hands-on activity, we made the Honey and Date cupcakes that Aishah and her mum baked. They were delicious! Alhumdulillah!
Al- Wadood
Al-Wadood can be translated as “The Most Loving.”
The idea that Allah loves us, even more than mummy and daddy, is something that even very young children will understand.
This art activity is a great one for small kids too! We drew the outline of a heart onto a piece of paper. The children then scrunched up lots of small piece of tissue paper and glued them all over the heart!
They looked so pretty, and were a wonderful visual reminder that Allah loves them!
Ar-Rahman
Most recently, we have been looking at the name Ar-Rahman, which can be translated as “The Most Compassionate.”I’m still thinking about what hands-on activity we can use to help the children to better understand this concept.
My initial idea was to ask the children to take care of our cats for a week. I hope that this will teach them that just as they are taking care of their cats, Allah is taking care of them, and their family, and all the people in the whole world, and all of creation!
What do you think? If you have a better idea I’d really appreciate it if you would share it with us all in the comments section below!!!
Have you been teaching the 99 Names of Allah to your children? How do YOU approach it?
If you have any useful resources, I’d love to hear about them.
Please let us all know by leaving a comment down below!
For an (almost) daily look into our homeschooling day follow me onInstagramor Facebook.
In need of your duaas.
Peace and Love
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Teaching our children to recite the Quran correctly is so
important as Muslim parents. Tajweed Rules, the rules of Quranic recitation, should
be done in young children, so that mistakes do not need to be corrected in
later years.
However, we all know that trying to teach Tajweed to young children
can be challenging. Young children do not want to sit in formal lessons for too
long. The rules can seem complicated and the terminology over-whelming.
So how
can we teach young Muslim children the rules of Quranic recitation? Through
Nursery Rhymes or Nasheeds!!!
How to Teach Tajweed Rules
We all recognise how quickly our children retain the songs
they hear. Whether it’s from school, or from the TV, songs have a way of
sticking in the memory of children. Even now, I can remember the words to songs
I sang as a child.
Tahera Akther, the founder of Olive Tree Study Support, has
created a collection of rhyming songs to help teach your children the rules of
tajweed.
They are so much fun! Honestly, your kids are going to love
them!
The tracks are named Mysterious Makharij, Stretchy Madd
Tabeei, Best friend meem & noon (my personal favourite!), Jumpy Qalqalah and
Friendly Meem Saakina!
Despite having no music, only drums with child vocals, the
songs are ridiculously catchy! They are so easy to repeat and easy for children
to memorise. In fact, they’re a little difficult to get out of your head!
I love the idea of using rhyme to help young kids remember
their Tajweed rules. They introduce your children to some of the basic rules of
Tajweed and, insha’Allah, spark a passion for the study of Quran in later
years.
We’ve been listening to these songs whenever there’s a quiet
moment in our homeschool day; whilst the kids are colouring or playing, or
whilst they’re having a snack.
It’s a great way for parents to teach their
children the rules of Quranic recitation, without them realising its happening!
They can listen and learn whilst….
Cooking,
Playing,
And eating lunch!
After listening to these songs, I would recommend them to children aged 4- 9.
To get the most from the CD, they should have had
some exposure to the rules of tajweed previously, so they can understand some
of the terminology used.
They were perfect for my 4 and 6 year-old boys, and my
little baby girl seemed to enjoy dancing around to them too! …We all did!
This collection of Tajweed Nursery Rhyme songs is available to buy as a CD or MP3download. If you’d like to listen to the songs, you can hear
a sampleof the nasheeds on their website. Click HEREto listen!
It is such an honour to share these Tajweed nursery rhymes with you. I genuinely love them! They’re fun, upbeat and so catchy! I often find myself singing them when the kids are asleep!
The Fun way to Learn Tajweed Rules
These great quality children’s songs are a fantastic way to
introduce Tajweed to, and inculcate a love of the Quran in, young Muslim
children.
I would recommend this CD to all madrasas, as well as any parent
eager to encourage their children to recite correctly from an early age.
It’s Ramadan! During this month almost everything changes in our homeschool. We stop our normal homeschool curriculum and turn our focus to learning more about Islam.
The great thing about home-education, is that we can catch up with all the things we’ve missed later in the summer. For now, I felt it was important for the children to partake in the month, and a major part of that is changing the focus of their school work.
Here are some of the products we have been using and enjoying in Ramadan. I’m so excited to share these with you all!
I’m also running another GIVEAWAY this month, so scroll down to the bottom of this blog post to enter 🙂
For an overview of all the products mentioned, please WATCH THIS video:
Ramadan Favourites
Ramadan Cookie Cutters
These cookie cutters are made by With A Spin . If you are in the U.K. like me, you can purchase them online from Silver Lining.
My kids and I have two sets:
– Islamic Shape Cookie Cutters: which includes a mosque, minaret, star and crescent moon.
– Interfaith Harmony Cookie Cutters: which includes a Christmas Tree, Hannukah Dreidel, Diwali Diya and Eid Lantern.
The idea behind this particular set is:
“We hope to bring people together across divides of religion, culture and nationality with Love, Unity and Respect; one cookie at a time.”
I love the concept!
The cookie cutters are really well made and come out cleanly from the dough, leaving a clear imprint of the shape.
We’ve used them to make some delicous Ramadan cookies,to cut out water-melon for iftar, as well as other art-and-craft activities.
Quran Memorization Cards
These cards are a fantastic way to encourage your children to memorise Quran!
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you’ll know that my son has just memorised the last ten Surahs of the Quran mashAllah! I believe that these Quran cards were a huge help to him whilst he was learning.
The cards contain the last ten surahs of the Quran; from Surah Al-Feel (105) to Surah An-Nas (114). Each cards contains the Arabic, a transliteration, a translation. The Tashkeel (vowel markings) are colour-coded to help with correct recitiation.
One feature that I really liked was that on the bottom of each card there is a hadith or brief explanation (tafseer) to encourage deeper understanding of that Surah.
These cards are laminated, making them incredibly sturdy, and are mounted on a steel ring. This was a great feature! It meant I didn’t worry about my son leaving them on the floor or mistreating them. He knew that after he read from them, they were to be hung up above his desk.
At the beginning of the set there is also a section on the virtues of memorising Quran and some of the etiquettes one should have when reciting.
They’ve been an invaluable asset to our homeschool, and I’m looking forward to my younger son using them too.
I Love Islam Curriculum
This has to be the BESTIslamic curriculum for children that I have come across.
We have been using it throughout the Academic year, but wanted to finish it off during Ramadan.
It approaches teaching in a fun and interactive way, that my children have really enjoyed. Book 1 introduces children aged 5-7, to the fundamental principles in Islam.
I loved how the book uses fun characters to teach Tawheed in simple language, drawing on the Quran and Hadith of the Prophet (s.a.w.). Seerah, the five pillars, Islamic manners and etiquette are covered, as well as the Holy mosques and Islam around the world.
At the end of every chapter then are questions that can be answered and fun activities for your child to do.
They specialise in modest, stylish and practical clothing for the mummies! The best thing part is that you can breast-feed in most of their clothing!
I love this piece called “The Drapes.” It’s lightweight, flattering, and has a concealed opening for nursing!
I also have an abaya from this shop which is suitable for breastfeeding too. I’ll be sharing the photo of this piece on Instagram in the next few weeks insha’Allah!
If you’re nursing mum looking for something comfortable and practical, that is still flattering and stylish, check out The Boutique Liverpool.
I’m already planning what else I want to buy from them!
GIVEAWAY
It’s Giveaway time!
This Ramadan I wanted to share two of my favorites with one of you!!!
I will be giving away:
– One copy of the I Love Islam Book 1 Curriculum with CD (RRP £23.99)
– Three books from the Ad-Duha Mini Tafseer series: Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq, and An-Naas (RRP £9.69)
The Ramadan 2016 Favourites Giveaway will run until Monday 3rd July 2016 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 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.
It is Ramadan! This month in Our Muslim Homeschool we have been enjoying a wide variety of Muslim children’s books, to teach the children about Ramadan and Eid.
Muslim children’s literature is an easy and fun way to introduce important concepts in Islam; such as fasting, tawheed, sincerity, amongst others, to children from a young age.
This blogpost contains affiliate links. See Disclaimer for more information.
I strongly believe that the stories we tell our children leave an imprint on their hearts and memories, impacting them in later years. What can be better than to read books to them with beautiful meanings and strong morals.
Here are some of the Ramadan children’s books that we have been reading aloud in our homeschool!
For a quick look at which books we have been reading in Ramadan,
This charming rhyming story teaches toddlers to count up to five using the Five Daily Prayers (Salaah). It’s short but very sweet! ” One, two, three, four, five prayers each day that we’re alive…” Suitable for ages 1-3
This is a touching story about a girl who loves to pray Fajr with her father, but is scared of the dark. Her dad teaches her some words (dhikr) that she can say to invite the Angels and their light (Noor) into her home.
The illustrations in this book are stunning. It is also worth noting that the depictions of people do not have facial features.
I would recommend this book for children ages 4-9.
This lyrical story introduces children to the excitment of Ramadan by focusing on the family rituals and events that take place. This book is suitable for children aged 3-5.
This book teaches children about months of the Islamic calendar, teaching the names and of their significance Islamically. Unfortunately this book is out of print, but you can find it second-hand if you’re willing to hunt around! I would recommend it for children aged 5+.
By far, this is the most well-known of all the books I have mentioned. It introduces Ramadan beautifully, in all its wonder and awe, to children. The story follows a family through Ramadan, from one moon to the next, capturing their excitement and feelings. The illustrations in this book are stunning. This book is suitable for children aged 4-9.
Night of the Moon is the story of a Pakistani-American girl who watches the moon’s phases, and talks about all her different experiences during Ramadan. The illustrations are spectacular and remind me of traditional Islamic art, with lots of geometric patterns and vibrant colours. I would recommend this book for children aged 3-9.
This short and simple story introduces young children to Ramadan and Eid. It shows the family in the mosque, eating iftar, and celebrating Eid. The illustrations are very cute and colourful! Suitable for children aged 2-4 years-old.
This is a story about several children from different families, and their experiences on Eid day. The book focuses on remembering the poor on that day, and shows the children giving out Eid gifts to poorer families in their community.
This book is suitable for children aged 3-5.
I hope you got some new ideas and inspiration from this blog post. Perhaps you found some new books for your children here.
What books do your children enjoy reading in Ramadan?
Do they have a favourite?
Please share with us in the comments below. I’d love to hear about other Ramadan books!
Make sure you don’t miss the next blog post bySubscribing to my mailing list.For a daily lookinto our homeschooling day follow me onInstagram, Twitteror Facebook.
Please remember us in your duaas.
Peace and Love,
Sign Up for Hundreds of FREE Homeschool Resources
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This DVD is a brilliant educational resource for Muslim children. We have been using it in our Muslim Homeschool as part of the kid’s Islamic Education…and they LOVE IT!
Ali and Sumaya: Let’s Read aims to teach Muslim children the basic foundations of Tajweed, Recitation of Quran.
Ali and Sumaya: Let’s Readis the second DVD produced by Imanination Studios. It uses the lastest technology to produce exceptional quality animation. The graphics are SO much better than anything else on the market! It’s very impressive!
The whole concept behind th e DVD is very clever. Sumaya is upset because she doesn’t know how to read the Quran; so her brother, Ali, offers to help. They visit a Tajweed teacher, who takes them on an adventure around his ‘Tajweed Factory.’ Each room features a special invention that teaches a different rule of recitation. It’s SO MUCH FUN!
There’s an ‘Echo Blaster’ to teacher Qalqalah, a ‘Stretching Zone’ to teach vowel elongation, the ‘Ghunna Lift’ and many more!
Watch this clip of the DVD:
There is NO MUSIC in this DVD. Imanination have gone to great lengths to ensure the authenticityof the material they produce. However, as with any Islamic educational product, I would always advise you to check the material with a religious teacher you trust.
All Quran and duaas are written very clearly in Arabic with translation and transliteration.The Arabic pronunciation is excellent, and the way the characters recite is SO BEAUTIFUL. It certainly captured my children’s attention!
I was pleased to see that it also taught some etiquettes of reading Quran and going to the Masjid.
I would recommend this DVD for children aged 6+ who have begun learning Quran. The DVD moves at a fast pace and will work well to reinforce the rules of Tajweed that your child has already learnt, as well as introducing them to new concepts.
Imanination have also produced an FREE APPto go along with the DVD:
Overall I feel that Ali and Sumaya: Let’s Read is a truly innovative product. It make learning tajweed fun and exciting, whilst maintaining the utmost respect for the Quran itself.
If you need more information or would like to buy this DVD, just CLICK HERE!
If anything is unclear, or you need more information, please leave a comment for me down below and I will do my best to answer your questions, or pass you onto someone from the company insha’Allah.
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Disclaimer: This review was NOT sponsored. Although Imanination Studio sent me a complimentary copy of this DVD and the posters, all opinions expressed are genuine! You might also like:
In our Muslim homeschool we use many different resources to create our Kindergarten Islamic studies curriculum.
In my humble opinion, Islam should not be taught to young children as an academic subject, with workbooks and heavy texts. Instead it should be learnt naturally and organically by children from watching their parents and peers throughout their daily lives.
Learning about Islam should lead to it becoming a natural part of your child’s being and a part of who they are. This cannot be achieved from books and academic exercises, but from good company and righteous parents who set a good example.
That being said, I have listed some materials we use to direct our learning and spark conversations.
This curriculum can be purchased from Noorart. We set aside time to read one chapter a week from this book. We are using Book 1 with our Kindergartner, which is aimed at children aged 5-6. There are five more books in this series covering ages 4-9.
This book is divided into five units introducing the Muslim child to:
– Basic beliefs (Aqeedah)
– The Life of Prophet Muhammad pbuh (Seerah)
– The Five Pillars of Islam
– The Muslim World
– Prophetic Manners
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Contents Pages:
This book also comes with a CD, with nasheeds and stories to go along with each chapter. There are also workbooks available at NoorArtthat can be used with this book, although we have not tried these ourselves.
A Look Inside:
I Love Islam also introduces children to the Ninety-Nine names of Allah. We have been supplementing these lessons with lots of Arts and Crafts:
– Al-Khaliq
– Al-Malik
As part of our morning routine, w read a story from My First Quran Story Book every day. This book is a collection of Quranic stories and is aimed at children aged 3-9 years-old.
3. Memorisation of Quran
As our boys are still young, we don’t teach memorisation of Quran yet, but rather focus our efforts on instilling a love for the Quran. However we do expose the children to Quran as much as we can through Audio CD
, listening to us recite, and Youtube videos:
There is also a fantastic series of books, The Mini Tafseer Series from Ad-Duha institute that introduce tafseer (explanation) of Juz ‘Amma to children. They are based on the teaching of Ibn Kathir and are really excellent. I have personally learnt a lot from them myself. They’re written for children to understand and enjoy.These can also be purchased fromNoorArt.
4. Homeschool Co-op
We are fortunate in my community to have a number of other Muslim families who home-educate their children. Our children all come together once or twice a week to learn about Islamic topics in a relaxed and fun environment.
So this is how we ‘teach’ Islamic studies in our Muslim homeschool for my Kindergartener.
If you have any resources that you use with your children, please let me know in the comments. It’s always interesting to see what other Muslim families are using to teach Islam in their homes. Also if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below and I will answer them as best I can insha’Allah.
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This DVD is a fantastic resource
for Muslim children, and a very useful tool for anyone involved in Islamic
education. I’m so grateful to be able to share my thoughts on it with you all…
Ali and Sumaya: Let’s Read is produced by Imanination Studios. They have created an exciting range of DVDs and apps that use the latest technology to produce INCREDIBLE quality animation. I mean …it’s AMAZING! There is nothing like it in the market today.
These days, Muslim children’s TV has to compete with the likes of Shrek and Frozen in order to meet our children’s expectations and keep them engaged. Ali and Sumaya are trying to meet this goal and honestly… the graphics are awesome!
This is the trailer for their DVD:
The whole feel of this DVD is really modern, cool, colourful and fun. It teaches the subject of prayer in a very gentle and loving way…which I think is best way!
In addition to the prayer, they also teach all the steps and duaas for wudu, the athaan, duaa Qunoot, other Prophetic duaas and seven surahs. There is also a quiz and a ridiculously catchy nasheed!!!
There is NO MUSIC in the DVD and the producers have gone to great lengths to ensure that all material presented in the DVD is based on the Quran and authentic Hadith. Allah knows best. I approached the company for more information on this and they kindly replied:
“We have illustrated the prayer in a way which we believe to be the most authentic manner based only on authentic aHadeeth.
We have relied on sources such as Bukhari, Muslim, Nisa’i Abu Dawood, Tirmidi and Ibn Majah. May Allah SWT be pleased with them all. Ameen
We have sought guidance from various Scholars and People of knowledge in Alexandria, Egypt and also The Islamic Shariah Council, UK.”
The characters themselves, Ali and Sumaya, are so sweet and their recitation of the Quran is so beautiful and clear. I just had to stop what I was doing and listen….so beautiful mashAllah!
Although there are a lot of details on ‘HOW’ to pray, the producers have also tried to put across the pleasure and joy one gets from the Salaah. I loved how they started the DVD with an explanation on ‘WHY’ we pray and why it’s important. The DVD begins with the story of the ‘Night of Ascension’ and my kids were riveted (you know…where their mouths drop open!!!)
Learning how to make Wudu!
Don’t forget the ears!!!
Each step for Salaah is very clear and easy to understand. They’ve added a fun element by having little icons pop up (like in a video game) that remind you when to recite aloud or tell you how many rakaats left. It’s just very cool without being gimmicky. It is entertaining and fun but still preserves the sanctity of the prayer.
Throughout the DVD, all Quran and duaas are written very clearly at the bottom of the screen, in Arabic with translation and transliteration.
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My only concern with this DVD is, as we all know, the prayer varies between Muslims depending on which path of Islam you follow. However, fundamentally we all pray the same, it’s just in ‘the finer details’ that we differ (I think…although I’m no expert!!!).
My two boys are only three and five, but I felt they benefited from watching it. After only watching it once, my five year-old was telling me how many rakaats are in each prayer, and when you need to pray that prayer!!! MashAllah…it worked!
For young children, do not try to make them watch the whole thing through, but rather take it in chapters. I plan to teach one aspect of the prayer (wudu, athaan, prayer times etc.) and then use this DVD to reiterate what we have been discussing.
I think children over the age of seven would benefit the most from this DVD because some important points are written on the screen and not narrated by the characters. So if your child does not read well they may miss out on these parts.
If you’re interested in purchasing this DVD, you can buy it on their website Ali and Sumaya.
At this time of writing this, it costs £14.99, or you can rent it from Vimeo for one year for $7.50. All details are on their website.
There is also a FREE app that goes along with the DVD, that features lots of interactive animations and games, to help teach the prayer and reinforce what they have seen in the DVD.
Here is the trailer for the app:
The company also makes these fabulous posters to go along with the DVD. They are big (A2), nice quality and very cleverly designed. They images are faceless if you wanted to hang them up. There is one for boys and one for girls. They are quite complicated, so I would not recommend them for children under 5.
We plan to look the relevant part of the poster after watching that part of the DVD. This is yet another teaching tool to visually prompt and reinforce learning. They are available to purchase on their website.
Overall I feel that Ali and Sumaya: Let’s Pray has filled a void in the market; a void that English-speaking Muslim children desperately needed filling!
If anything is unclear, or you need more information, please leave a comment for me down below and I will do my best to answer your questions, or pass you onto someone from the company insha’Allah.
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Disclaimer: This review was NOT sponsored. Although Imanination Studio sent me a complimentary copy of this DVD and the posters, all opinions expressed are genuine!
is the link for Amazon.com.
