Kindergarten/Year 1

How to “Homeschool” Young Children | Beyond the Academics

how to homeschool young children

Homeschooling young children in the early years is so much more than reading, writing and maths!

When you consider the education of children under six years-old, there are many worthwhile areas to focus on, not just academics.

I am frequently asked the question ,“What should I be doing with my 3/4/5 years old child?”, and this blog-post I will do my best to answer that question for you.

homeschoo young children

This blog post has been written in collaboration with WordUnited who kindly gifted my family their products and compensated me for my time. Please see Disclaimer for more information.

For an introduction from me on this very important topic,

WATCH THIS VIDEO!

Before the age of 7, many experts agree that the child’s mind and spirit is not ready for formal education. However, that does not mean we do nothing at all!

The mind, the heart and the soul of the child are still within our stewardship as parents.

In the Islamic tradition, Ali ibn Abi Talib (R.A.) advises us,

“Play with them for the first seven years (of their life); then teach them for the next seven years; then advise them for the next seven years (and after that).”

Through play, and gentle teaching, young children can be taught many important lessons; lessons that will benefit both their intellect and their spiritual essence.

Although academic subjects have their place in a child’s education, the focus with young children should be on the preservation of their faith, and establishing the foundations necessary for them to grow into righteous and highly moral human beings.

Nurture good morals and spiritual growth

Young children are the the greatest of mimics and they will copy your example. Many people talk about how becoming a parent has been the catalyst for a change within themselves; how they became more practicing in their religion because their children are now watching EVERYTHING they do!

Allow your children to witness you praying, reading Quran, attending classes and let them take part. Try to surround your children with good role-models whenever possible; both young and old.

Another powerful method of encouraging good morals in our children is by using stories; particularly about great and noble people from the past. These stories permeate into the child’s consciousness in a more powerful way than at any other time in their live’s, and will become part o their moral compass in the future.  Not only can this include the Stories the Prophets (R.A.), but  good children’s fiction has a lot to offer too.

children reaidng

Follow their interests

When children are young they seem to be interested in everything! They can become fascinated by the shells at the beach, the bugs in the garden, the vehicles they see on the road, the list goes on and on!

Whatever their interest is, grasp hold of it and pursue it! Read more about it together, create activities around that interest and organize field trips. Not only will your children relish the opportunity to learn more about something they love, but it’s a great way to show them that their passions matter to you and boost their self-confidence.

Establish good habits and routines

Establishing good habits and routines within the home is vital to save you much frustration and heart-ache as they grow older.

Whilst they are young, teach your children good manners and establish routines within the house that will benefit you all in later years.

Examples include good personal hygiene, cleaning up after themselves, no whining or bickering; anything that could lead you to frustration in the future is best dealt with whilst they are young, through loving an gentle means.

“A child must not be left to his human nature.” Vol. 1 p. 102 – Charlotte Mason

” …the child who is not being constantly raised to a higher and higher platform will sink to a lower and lower.” Vol. 1 p. 103 – Charlotte Mason

Spend time outdoors

Try to allow your children to spend some time everyday outdoors in natural environments. Allow them to explore and play freely for as long as you can spare.

Not only is being outside good for their physical health, but also for their spiritual and mental well-being. A child who spends his time collecting rocks, building dens, identifying birds, and such like, will have a mind full of wholesome interests; so full that there will be little room for less desirable interests, such as TV and video games.

“…a love of Nature, implanted so early that it will seem to them hereafter to have been born in them, will enrich their lives with pure interests, absorbing pursuits, health, and good humour.” – Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1 p.71

nature study

Make the most of their memory

In these early years, young children have the most incredible capacity to memorize almost anything with seemingly little effort. Use this time to encourage your children to memorize the Quran. There is no need to have any structured lessons, unless they seem to enjoy it. Instead, just allow them to listen to the Quran in the home whilst they are playing or eating their breakfast, whilst travelling in the car or as they fall asleep. This is such a simple and effective way for young children to learn the Quran, and will set them up well for more formal study in years to come.

The early years are also the best time to learn a foreign language. If you would like to learn more about how to do that, CLICK HERE to read how to do it!

Prepare for formal schooling

The age you begin to prepare them for more structured school-work is up to you. In our home it has been different for each child depending on their development.

Before they start formal schooling you may want to teach them the letters of the alphabet, numbers, and how to write and read simple words.

For this we have enjoyed using the Write-and-Wipe flashcards from WordUnited. There are a variety of sets available including the alphabet, numbers, colours, shapes and actions!

flashcards wordunited flashcards wordunited

Each card shows the word or letter of the alphabet, along with a beautiful high quality photo on one side; whilst on the other side the word or letter is written out, followed by a tracing and hand-writing exercise. I really appreciate how well-made these cards are and I am sure they will last us for many years insha’Allah. All the flash-cards are kept in a magnetically closing box, along with two wipe-able board pens.

These beautiful flashcards introduce children to the alphabet, numbers and simple words, and also give your children the opportunity to learn to write and read in a relaxed and fun manner.

homeschooling young children homeschooling young children

In addition to English, The Word United flashcards are also available in Arabic, French, Spanish and German. To read about how we have used these cards to teach Foreign Language in our homeschool, CLICK HERE.

If you are interested in purchasing the Write-and-Wipe flashcards for your family, visit their website (www.wordunited.com), or visit the Word United Amazon Store .

You also find them on Twitter and Instagram.

how to homeschool young children

Educating young children is so much more than reading, writing and maths; it’s about nurturing their whole beings in alignment with their natural development.

If you have any questions, please leave them for me in the comments section below.

Peace and Love,

Dr Gemma Elizabeth our muslim homeschool

 

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Charlotte Mason Homeschool Curriculum for Muslims: 2nd Grade

Charlotte Mason curriculum 2nd grade Muslim Homeschool

It’s every homeschooler’s favourite time of the year; the time where we get to share our homeschool curriculum choices for the coming year!

In Our Muslim Homeschool, we are trying to fully embrace the educational teachings of Charlotte Mason this year and have chosen to follow the recommendations of Ambleside online for my seven year-old son. In the U.K. he would be entering Year 3 or 2nd Grade in the USA. From the Ambleside online curriculum, we have chosen to use their Year 2 book list but, as you will see, we have made some adjustments to the curriculum to suit our family’s needs.

Charlotte Mason curriculum 2nd grade Muslim Homeschool

Our Muslim Homeschool uses affiliate links in posts and sidebar ads. Please refer to my Disclaimer for more information.

Why Ambleside Online?

Ambleside online is a well-respected  Charlotte Mason homeschooling curriculum, and is renown as being both rigorous and true to the principles that Charlotte Mason set out. It is a FREE curriculum that consists of a book list and a recommended weekly schedule. However, in order to implement the curriculum into your home, it is vital that you familiarize yourself with the works of Charlotte Mason first.

I have already been receiving comments on Instagram and Facebook questioning my choice of curriculum. Although Ambleside online has been tailored to the American and Christian demographic, I have found it very easy adjust the Year 2 curriculum to my own faith.

For example, instead of Bible we will be reading from the Quran; instead of Pilgrims progress, we will be learning the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad (saw), and instead of hymns we will be singing nasheeds! For more information, WATCH THE VIDEOS BELOW!

 

Charlotte Mason curriculum 2nd grade Muslim Homeschool

Daily Work and Circle Time

This blog post has been divided up into what I refers to are “Daily Work” and “Circle-time“. Daily work is the work that my son will do everyday, and group work is what will be done less frequently with his siblings. All the books and online resources are listed below, so you can print them out and take it to the library if you want to! Alternatively, if you click on the links, they will take you directly to Amazon (UK or USA) or our Online Bookshop.

If you are interested in seeing which books and resources we plan to use this coming homeschool year, THESE VIDEOS!

DAILY WORK (Part 1)

CIRCLE TIME (Part 2)

Muslim Homeschool 2nd Grade Curriculum:

Books and Online Resources

 

Muslim Homeschool curriculum 2nd grade

The Curriculum that we are following is Ambleside Online Year 2 Curriculum

Daily Work (Part 1)

Below are the resources that we will be using for our Daily Work, and what were shown in the Part 1 Video.

Memorisation, Recitation & Quran

Safar Abridged Qa’idah

Safar Essential Duas and Surahs

Safar Juz Amma

Reading

Mr Poppers Penguins by Richard Atwater and Florence Atwater – Amazon UK  USA

The Enormous Egg by  Oliver Butterworth – Amazon UK USA

Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J Sobol – Amazon UK  USA

Birth of an Island by M. Selsam – Amazan UK  USA

More reading lists are available on the Ambleside online website.

Maths

Math Mammoth

CTC Math: 4 Week Free Trial  and 60% OFF for Homeschoolers

Copywork

Exercise books for handwriting – Amazon UK USA

Foreign Language

Arabic and French will be primarily taught to my son by external tutors. However I will still be required to support his learning at home. These are some of the resources we will be using:

Colours and Shapes in French – Write & Wipe Flashcards from Word United – Amazon UK USA

Comptines a Chanter: Comptines a Chanter 1 – Book + CD-Audio – Amazon UK USA

Usbourne Everyday Words Flashcards: Arabic – Amazon UK  USA

Gateway to Arabic: Level 2 – Amazon UK USA

Charlotte Mason curriculum 2nd grade Muslim Homeschool

Circle Time (Part 2)

Below are the resources that we will be using for our Circle time, and what were shown in the Part 2 Video.

History

Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall – Amazon UK USA

A Child’s History of the World by V. M. Hillyer – Amazon UK  USA

The Little Duke by Charlotte M. Yonge – Amazon UK USA

Joan of Arc by Diane Stanley – Amazon UK USA

Life of Prophet Muhammad by Leila Azzam – Amazon UK  USA

Book of the centuries

Book of the centuries front cover

The Usborne History of Britain – Amazon UK USA

Literature

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children by E. Nesbit – Amazon UK  USA

Parables from Nature by Mrs Alfred Gatty – Amazon UK USA

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle – Amazon UK  USA

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham – Amazon UK USA

Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher – Amazon UK USA

Natural History

The Burgess Animal Book for children by Thornton Burgess – Amazon UK  USA

The Tales of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter – Amazon UK USA

Poetry

Poetry is provided for free from Ambleside online. This year we will be studying the works of Walter de la Mere, Eugene Field and Christina Rossetti.

Nature Study

Nature Journal – Amazon UK , similar one from Amazon USA

Prang Watercolour paints – Amazon UK  USA

Stabilo Fine Liner pens – Amazon UK  USA  (will need black and grey pens)

Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock – Amazon UK  USA

Usborne Spotter Guides – Amazon UK  USA

The Little Book of Woodland Bird Song – Amazon UK  USA (similar)

Blackbird by Stephen Savage – Amazon UK USA

A Guide to British Birds and their songs (CD) – Amazon UK   USA

Art & Picture Study

This year we plan to study the works of Monet, Hokusai and O’Keefe. Here are some of the resources we will be using.

Artist’s workshop: Landscapes by Penny King– Amazon UK  USA

DK Monet book – Amazon UK USA

Hokusai Calendar – Amazon UK USA

Monet Calendar – Amazon UK  USA

Handicraft

Kids Cook the World by Ferran Adria – Amazon UK USA

Cool stuff to bake – Amazon UK  USA

Cooking skills by Stephanie Turnbull – Amazon UK  USA

Woodworking for Kids by Kevin McGuire – Amazon UK   USA

Nasheeds

This year we plan to learn 1-2 nasheeds every term. This term we are learning Talama Ashku Gharami

Chemistry

R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey: Chemistry 1 by Pandia Press

Free Reads

(Editions/publishers of these books may differ from those shown in the video.)

Five children and It by E. Nesbit – Amazon UK  USA

Heidi by J. Spyri – Amazon UK  USA

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers – Amazon UK   USA

The Railway Children by E. Nesbit – Amazon UK  USA

Tom’s Midnight Garden by Phillipa Pearce – Amazon UK USA

Islamic Studies

Safar Islamic Studies Year 3 Textbook and Workbook

Year 3 Safar Islamic Studies 2nd Grade

Character

The Lives of the Prophets by Leila Azzam – Amazon UK  USA

This year is the first time we are fully embracing the educational philosophy of Charlotte Mason, and I am excited and aprehensive! I will share with you our highs and lows, and how we find the ambleside online curriculum.

For (almost) daily insights into our homeschool, follow me on Instagram, Facebook and subscribe to my YouTube channel!

Our Muslim Homeschool curriculum

 

If you have any questions about the curriculum we are using or how we teach these subjects, please feel free to leave me a question in the comments below.

Peace and Love,

Dr Gemma Elizabeth

Handicraft Ideas for Young Children

Handcriaft ideas for young children

The following post is from Shannen at Middle Way Mom

Are you intimidated to get started with handicrafts? With small children, they have so much excitement to make something themselves, but we don’t want to present a project that frustrates them and kills that excitement.

 

 

Still, we don’t want to wait so long that our child no longer has an interest in crafts of any sort.

Charlotte Mason says:

The points to be borne in mind in children’s handicrafts are: (a) that they should not be employed in making futilities such as pea and stick work, paper mats, and the like; (b) that they should be taught slowly and carefully what they are to do; (c) that slipshod work should not allowed; (d) and that, therefore, the children’s work should be kept well within their compass.

~ Charlotte Mason, Home Education, Volume 1, pgs 315-316

Charlotte offers some suggestions for handicrafts for children under 9, but to be honest, many of them seem antiqued, or would be hard to source. So what handicraft ideas are useful for young children in our modern times?

We’ve tried a few handicraft ideas in our home with my 6 year old daughter: some very successful, and some not as much. Here I’ll share with you what I believe are some of the best projects to get started, in sha Allah.

Handicraft ideas for young children

 

What are handicrafts?

Handicrafts are more than arts and crafts. Handicrafts are useful items that serve a purpose, or decorate a useful item, like embroidery.

Learning some basic handicrafts helps children:

  • Learn the value of items, and the work that goes into them, also helping children see the issue with cheap labor to make clothing and household items
  • Practice fine motor skills
  • Find passions and hobbies to nuture both their creative and practical side
  • Teach them valuable skills they can use as they grow older

Knitting loom

How did we start with handicrafts in my home? My 4 year old, at the time, saw me knitting one day and begged me to teach her, but again I didn’t want to teach her something where she had little likelihood to be successful. Fortunately, I found a used knitting loom online and purchased that, plus I had some yarn left over from my own projects.

She took to it immediately and has been making hats and crowns (hats without tops) ever since.

At 4 years old she needed some guidance, but overall mashaAllah she did quite well independently, and she had a great sense of accomplishment

Weaving

Weaving can result in many different types of projects, the most common for kids being pot holders. We started with pot holders because it was really cheap to get the loom and the bands, but I can see it sparked something bigger in my 6 year old and she’d love if I got her a weaving loom for other projects like making scarves, placemats, or bracelets.

You can find many YouTube videos about making your own weaving loom to make a variety of projects to get you started, or find a high quality, affordable kit.

Simple sewing projects

Sewing School is a great book to get ideas for really simple projects. We started with a couple charm squares of fabric, a needle, thread, and some cotton stuffing, and with this my daughter made a pillow for her dolls. A variation of this project is only sewing three sides and not stuffing it to make a pocket, or attach a handle to make a doll bag.

The book offers many other projects kids can work on, but I loved how simple the pillow project was to get us started.

Girl sewing handicraft pillow

 

Knit or crochet

I hear many people mention how their grandmother or mother taught them how to knit or crochet when they were 5, 6, or 7 years old, but a common theme is that they didn’t stick with it. I have taught my child how to knit, because she insisted, but with the attention span of young children, it’s hard for them to even see a washcloth project through to completion.

If your child is interested in it, I wouldn’t say to hold back, but until they are about 8 years old, I wouldn’t expect a child to run with it like they would with weaving pot holders.

Yarn or fabric dyeing

Super easy, and super fun for kids! Even more fun? Dyeing their own yarn, then knitting with it themselves on the loom!

There are a lot of videos on YouTube to teach you how to dye yarn, but I personally prefer to pick up a kit from a well regarded source so I don’t waste time and money on a video that may or may not be well constructed. Knit Picks has some books, dyes, and bare yarn to purchase. Another great source is your local yarn shop, and it supports local small businesses.

Advice for starting with handicrafts

While Charlotte Mason suggests only giving a child work that they can perfect, that doesn’t mean that’s it’s perfect the first time around. Offer up some options and let your child choose something in their interest.

Also, in your day to day lives, point out items that the child could make themselves and offer up ideas.

And… the best way to encourage your child to take up handicrafts?

Do them yourself! Invite your child to help sew on a button. Knit while doing your homeschooling lessons. Quilt while watching a movie.

Not into fiber arts? Paint rocks together, garden, paint bird houses, and other useful crafts to spark an interest.

What are some handicraft ideas you’ve tried with your child?

Shannen is an American Muslim convert, homeschooling mother to 4 daughters and mediocre housewife. She enjoys blogging, knitting, quilting, and avoiding housework. Read more on her blog about their Islamic homeschool, green(ish) living, and the ups and downs of parenting. You can connect with Shannen on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Homeschool Curriculum Choices: Kindergarten & 1st Grade

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!

Introduction

Well-Trained Mind:
Home Learning Year by Year:
For the Children’s Sake:
Charlotte Mason Companion:
Pocketful of Pinecones:

KINDERGARTEN

MCP Phonics:
MCP Maths:

FIRST GRADE

MATHS

Saxon Math 3:
Rays Arithmetic:
Problem Solving:
Maths for the Gifted Student:
Kumon Multiplication:

LITERACY

Well-Trained Mind:
First Language Lessons:
Spelling Workout B:
Spelling Workout C:
Spelling Workout Table of Contents and Sample:
Read Me Out Loud:
A Child’s Garden of Verses:
Montmorency’s Book of Rhymes:
Winnie the Pooh:
Carol Vonderman Handwriting:
The Content of Character:
The Black Ships before Troy:
Bambi:
Charlotte’s Web:
A Bear Called Paddington:
Just So Stories:
Hardy Boys:
The Happy Prince:
The Wind in the Willows:
Jungle Book:
Raggedy Anne:
Winnie the Pooh:
Audible FREE TRIAL UK:

Audible FREE TRIAL USA:
http://amzn.to/2bO11Lq (USA)

Magic Treehouse:
Tutankhamun:
Time Warp Trio:
The Odyssey:
Stories from Ancient Egypt:
The Trojan Horse:
The Greek News:
Croco’Nile:
Magic School Bus:
MTH: Leonardo Da Vinci:
Usborne: Leonado Da Vinci:
Laurence Anholt Books:
The World of Peter Rabbit:
My First Story Writing Book:

HISTORY

The Story of the World:
The Story of the World Activity Book:
Usborne Ancient Egypt Sticker Book:
Egyptian Painting Kit:
Egyptian Mummy Kit:
Book of Centuries:
Book of Centuries Cover Page:

SCIENCE

What’s smaller than a pygmy shrew?:
Switch on, Switch off:
What makes a Magnet?:
What is the World Made of?:
Germs make me sick:
Usborne Science Encyclopaedia:
DK Science Encyclopaedia:
Berenstain Bears:
See inside your body:
Everybody has a Body:
Magnetic Science Kit:
Usborne Spotter’s Guide:
Usborne Beginner Series:
Looking at Nature:
Burgess Bird Book:
A Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady:
Handbook of Nature Study:
British Birds Handbook:
Food for Free:
First Book of the Seashore:
Little Book of Outside in all Weather:

ART

Famous Paintings Cards:
Children’s Book of Art:
Lives of the Great Artists:
Start Exploring Masterpieces:
Famous Artists:
Children’s Book of Art:
Heinmann First Library:
Easy Carpentry Projects:
Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found this blog post useful and got some ideas for your family.
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section 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.
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In need of your duaas.
Peace and Love xx
Living history curriculum islamic
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Awesome Volcano Experiment for Kids

Kaboom! Bang! Whooooooah!

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I was to do this experiment with my boys this week in our homeschool. Making a volcano is one of those science projects that I have always wanted to do with the kids and it was so much fun!

This volcano experiment is so simple and you with probably have everything you need already in your home. 

If you are interested in how we made our Erupting Volcano, please keep reading!

Homeschool Volcano Experiment

Since a young age, my boys have been obsessed with dinosaurs. So much so, that it had taken over my house. Dinosaur toys, stickers, books, bed sheets….it was driving me CRAZY

Thankfully, this interest has now evolved into an interest in fossils, geology and volcanoes.

As I try to encourage the kids to explore their interests, we decided to make this a part of our homeschool, doing an experiment/project on this topic, once a week.

We have been using the book Rock & Fossil Hunter for our experiments, It’s full of different activities that kids can do, using materials that you can easily find in the house. 

This blog post will look at the first two experiments: 

– The Erupting Volcano
– On the Lava Trail

Check out this VIDEO we made of our experiments:

As you can tell, they had so much fun doing these activities! I’m sure your kids will too!

Awesome Volcano Experiment

homeschool volcano experiment

Materials Needed:

Small plastic water bottle
Water
Measuring jug
Tray
Sand
Dessertspoon
Bicarbonate of soda
Red Food Colouring
Washing-up liquid
Vinegar

  1. Place the bottle in the middle of the tray, and pile up the sand around it, to look like a volcano. If the sand is not sticking, dampen it a bit to help it hold in place. The decorate the outside of the volcano however you like…obviously in my home that meant with dinosaurs!
    homeschool volcano experiment
  2. Pour enough warm water into the jug to fill the bottle 2/3 full. Then add 2 dessert spoons of bicarb, 1 dessert spoon of food colouring, 1 dessert spoon of washing-up liquid to the jug.
    homeschool volcano experiment
  3. Pour this mixture into the bottle.
  4. Then get ready for the eruption…..it will happen quickly!!!

       Pour 100ml of vinegar into the bottle and jump back!

Don’t worry, it’s not explosive….just very foamy! Perfectly safe for little kids!

Homeschool volcano experiment
homeschool volcano experiment

This could also work for a chemistry experiment if you have older kids. It’s a simple acid-base reaction.

Why are volcanoes different shapes?

This is the second experiment from the book Rock & Fossil Hunter.

It aims to illustrate how the temperature of lava affects its flow and the ultimate shape of the volcano

The cooler the lava, the slower it flows, resulting in conical volcanoes. 

The hotter the lava, the faster it flows, leading to flatter (shield) volcanoes.

Materials Needed:

2 tins of treacle
2 plates
Heat-proof pan
Boiling water

  1. Put once tin of treacle in the fridge overnight.
    Homeschool Lava Experiment
  2. Put the other tin into the heat-proof pan, and surround it in boiling water. Leave it to warm up the treacle for thirty minutes. 
  3. Open both tins, and pour onto separate plates. 
    Homeschool Lava Experiment
    Cold Lava

    Homeschool Lava Experiment
    Hot Lava
You should find the cold treacle piles up on the plate, like viscous cool lava would.
The hotter treacle will spread out to form a wider puddle, like runny lava.
Both of these experiments should be done under the supervision of an adult and are suitable for child aged 4+.

Are your children interested in volcanoes? 
What volcano activities have you done with them?
If you have any great resources on the subject, or if you have written a blog post on the topic, please share it in the comments below.

Thank you so much for stopping by, and reading this blog post.

To make sure you don’t miss the next one, just Subscribe to my mailing list and you’ll be sent an email to let you know it’s out!

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


In need of your duaas.
Peace and Love.

Nature Study in the City – March 2016

We all want our children to spend more time outdoors. However when you live in a city, connecting our children to nature can be difficult.

In this series of blog posts, I hope to inspire you with some ways you can teach your children about the natural world, and give you some creative activities to do indoors or in a city garden.

Nature Study in the City

Spending time outdoors in a natural environment has been proven scientifically to benefit children.

Since the release of the book Last Child in the Woods, which brought attention to the developmental effects of nature on our children, there have been multiple studies that prove likewise.

Some of the benefits of outdoor play include:

  • Supports development intellectually, emotionally, socially, spiritually and
    physically (Kellert, 2005).
  • Encourages creativity: Studies show that children engage
    in more creative forms of play in the green areas. (Bell and Dyment,
    2006).
  • Improves Concrentration: Exposure to natural settings increases
    children’s ability to focus and enhances cognitive
    abilities (Wells, 2000).
  • Improves Academic Performance: Children who partook in outdoor
    science programs had an improvement in their science results by 27% (American Institutes for Research, 2005).
  • Reduces ADD symptoms (Kuo and Taylor, 2004).
  • Improves eyesight (American
    Academy of Ophthalmology, 2011)
  • Encourages healthy eating  (Bell &
    Dyment, 2008) 
  • Reduces stress  (Wells and
    Evans, 2003)

Book Recommendation

Before we start, I want to let you know that we have been using this vintage nature book, Looking At Nature, by Elsie Proctor, as our primary text.

It is fantastic. Unlike most nature books, it is not just pages of facts, but it also poses lots of questions for the children to answer and gives great ideas for outdoor activities and experiments.

This is what we have been doing this March:

Observing Germination

We began this month with a trip to the supermarket to by some compost and plant seeds. I read in the book Looking at nature
, that Sunflowers
Nasturtiums
and Runner Beans
are easy to grow…we’ll soon see!

Nature Study in the City

I decided to begin with an activity I remember doing at school. We filled jars with kitchen roll, and then carefully pushed two Runner Bean
seeds in the gap between the glass and the tissue. Then we added enough water the to jars to make the tissue damp, and left them on a sunny window-sill. 
Within 5 days this is what we saw:

Nature Study in the City

The children drew what they saw for their Nature Notebooks, and we discussed all the parts of the plant and what plants need to grow. They learnt the words germination, shoot and tap root.

Nature Study in the City

Nature Study in the City

This is something you can do indoors, in a small space, and at very little expense!  

Began Planting Our Children’s Garden

This year I am giving a part of our small garden to the children. They will be responsible for growing the plants in that patch, weeding, watering etc.  If it works…it’s going to be a fantastic source of learning opportunities
The boys planted their Sunflower Seeds
, and left them in our cold-frame to grow.

Nature Study in the City

Nature Study in the City

Looking for catkins

Thankfully we have a number on trees on our road that have catkins. We collected what we could find, and brought them home to identify.
Nature Study in the City

Visited our City Parks

At this time of year, there is so much to see in the park. The daffodils are blooming, the birds are back and building nests, and everything is stirring back to life!
We spent several hours looking for the first signs of spring. The boys drew some daffodils for their nature notebooks, and I just allowed them to explore. The only rule we have in the park is ….You Are Not Allowed To Walk On The Path! 


Nature Study in the City
Drawing daffodils

Nature Study in the City
Playing hide-and-seek! He’s  counting…

Nature Study in the City
He’s hiding!


They found this muddy pond and were in there wading through the murky water…They loved it!

Nature Study in the City

I hope this will encourage you to get out into nature with your children, wherever you live. 
What activities have you done outdoors with your kids? Do any of you have any recommendations for other plants we can put in the children’s garden? Please let me know in the comments below 🙂

I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Make sure you don’t miss the next in this series!
I’m hoping to get it out the same time next month insha’Allah. 

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In need of your duaas.
Peace and Love.

Linked up to Homeschool Creations and The Hip Homeschool Hop

Vikings Homeschool Unit Study

What is it about Vikings?!?… Kids love them!
In this blog post, I will show you what Resources we used to teach our Kindergarten (Year1) and Preschool kids about Vikings, and hopefully give some ideas about how to teach this unit study in your homeschool.
Vikings Homeschool Unit Study
As my eldest is only 5-years-old, I do not include too much written work in our unit studies. Instead the focus is hands-on learning and literature. However, if your children are older, you could certainly add in notebooking, lapbooks or even creating a poster of what they have learnt.
This is how we taught my Year 1 (Kindergarten) student about the Vikings:

1. Library Books

As with all our unit studies, the first thing we did was head to our local library to see what they had on the subject. We found this great book of World History by Dorling Kindersley. 
Vikings Homeschool Unit Study
I  encouraged the boys to look through the relevant pages, and read aloud anything that intersted them. This is an old edition, but this History Book by the same publishers looks great too!

2. Day at the Museum

Another thing I always try to incorporate into our unit studies, are field trips to museums or historical sites. Our local museum was holding a ‘Viking Day.’ The boys got to try on a replica Viking helmet, look at maps and art work featuring the Vikings, and make these awesome Viking helmets: 
Vikings Homeschool Unit Study
Vikings Homeschool Unit Study

3. Map Work

My son has a ‘thing’ for maps! So I used this interest in maps and world geography to help him learn about the Viking conquests. This FREE printable we used can be found HERE

Vikings Homeschool Unit Study

4. Literature

We also try include some children’s literature to go along with our unit study:
Vikings Homeschool Unit Study

My eldest son read the easy reader Viking Adventure from the Oxford Reading tree. I love this series and would recommend it for any children who are learning to read, but are not ready to tackle chapter books yet.
Also, during this week, I read to the children from the book Viking It and Liking It (Time Warp Trio)
It’s incredible how much information children can absorb from stories and books. At this age, there is no real need to TEACH ….only to READ!

5. Online Resources

The BBC has compiled an excellent collection of video clips and resources that we looked through. The videos of the VIking ships really captured my boys imagination! You can check these out by clicking HERE

If you have any Viking Resources for children that you would like to share with us, please leave a comment below! 

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Teach ARABIC with PLAY DOUGH!

This post is sponsored by Desi Doll Company Ltd

Every child loves play dough! Make learning Arabic fun for
your kids by teaching through play….Teach Arabic with Play Dough!


Teach Arabic with play dough



Teaching Arabic to young children can be done in two ways:
through natural exposure to the language (conversations, story books, songs etc.) and
through play.

In my humble opinion, workbooks and written curriculum have limited
value in young children. Instead, for preschool and kindergarten children,
Arabic can be learnt through play.

Here are 5 ways to teach
Arabic with play dough
:

Letters

An obvious place to start is teaching your child the Arabic letters.
Teach Arabic with play dough
For these activities, it helps if you have a poster or book displaying Arabic letters nearby. We used a wooden puzzle to help the children visualise the letters.
The play dough can be moulded into the shapes of the letters:
Teach Arabic with play dough
Alternatively, you can now get play dough cutters in the shapes of the Arabic letters. This set by Desi Doll company was fantastic! 
The letters came out really clearly and my kids found them very easy to use. On top of that, the play dough smells like candy!
We began by doing a ‘Letter Hunt’ where all the cutters were placed in the middle, and I would call out a letter and the kids had to find it! 
“Find me the letter Raa!”
“Find me the letter Meem!”

Teach Arabic with play dough

Then we used the cutters themselves to make the individual letters of the Arabic alphabet.

Teach Arabic with play dough

The children were eager to write their names in the play dough… as well as all their friends!

Colours

Whilst the children are playing with the play dough it is very easy to casually teach the colours as you go along. 
What colour is this?” 
“Shall we make it in Burtaqali (Orange) next time?” 
“Where is Azraq (Blue)?”
Teach Arabic with play dough


Numbers

Play dough makes a great manipulative, and it is easy to mould into counters.
We used simple ball shapes, but you could use any shape/animal that appeals to your child.
We used these counters to count to  ten in Arabic and then ask:

“How many balls are there altogether?”
“How many ball are Asfar (Yellow)?” etc.
Teach Arabic with play dough


Shapes

Using the shape cutters and knives in our play dough kit, we were able to make a variety of shapes to to help the kids learn their names in Arabic.
Teach Arabic with play dough

Teach Arabic with play dough


Spell out Vocabulary

This activity was by far the most successful of all! 
We used the letter cutters to spell out new vocabulary words; such as the parts of the face and body, food, animals etc. My five-year old really enjoyed spelling out the names of the Prophets (Peace be upon them).
  
Combining the sensory experience and manipulation of the play dough, with a purposeful spelling exercise, seemed to massively improve their memorisation of new words. This technique would be particularly effective for children who are tactile learners. 
Teach Arabic with play dough
On top of that, it was so much fun! The children get so excited when I bring this play dough set out!

Play dough is also a great way to increase hand strength in preschool children, and improve their fine motor and bilateral coordination skills; so they will be ready to learn to write in the coming school years. 
If you are interested in buying the play dough set we used, visit DESI DOLL COMPANY for more information.

Teach Arabic with play dough


How have you used play to teach the Arabic language?
What games or toys have you found useful?
Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below 🙂



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In need of your duaas.
Peace and Love.

Sewing For 5 year-olds

Bee and Ladybird Sewing Craft

This week in Our Muslim Homeschool the boys have been learning to sew.They sewed these cute bee and ladybird toys. It was really easy and so much fun. Keep reading to see how they did it!

Sewing for kids
Ever since my 5-year-old learnt that Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) used to repair his own clothes, my son has wanted to sew! 
I found these Sewing Craft Kits, made by Baker Ross, and the boys were so excited to get started!
Contents of sewing kit
Image from Amazon.co.uk
It included all the materials you needed to make both the ladybird and the bee including:
– Coloured felt 
– Wool
– Needle
– Felt stickers
– Toy stuffing
– Instructions
Contents of children's sewing kit

The manufacturers recommend this kit for ages 5+, but you know if you child is capable or not. Use your own judgement. My 3-year-old surprised everyone by doing the bee almost entirely by himself….he’s a natural! mashAllah.

Sewing together the felt circles
Sewing together the felt circles
Stuffing his toy ladybird
Stuffing!
Applying felt stickers
Adding the felt stickers

This kit was PERFECT for little ones. The pre-punched holes made it easy to thread the needle through, the large plastic needle was safe, and the final product was SO CUTE!

My natural!
Sewing for 5 year olds
Sewing for 5 year olds

If you wanted to, you could easily recreate this kit yourself, and purchase everything from your local craft shop. 

If you would like to purchase this Children Sewing Kit just click HERE


Have you taught your children to sew? What sewing projects did you do together? Please share with us all in the comments below. 

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Please remember us in your duaas.


Peace and Love.

Kindergarten Islamic Studies Curriculum

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.

Kindergarten Islamic Studies Curriculum

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.

1. I Love Islam by Noor Art

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.

Kindergarten Islamic Studies Curriculum

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: 

I Love Islam Contents Page
I Love Islam Contents Page
I Love Islam Contents Page

This book also comes with a CD, with nasheeds and stories to go along with each chapter. There are also workbooks available at NoorArt that can be used with this book, although we have not tried these ourselves.

A Look Inside:

A look inside I Love IslamA look inside I Love Islam
A look inside I Love Islam

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


2. My First Quran Story Book

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 from NoorArt.


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

Thank you so much for stopping by our blog!

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Peace and Love.

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