muslim homeschool

7 Delightful Children’s Books about Eid

Eid Books for Children

Eid is a time for celebration! Muslims across the world come together with friends and family to pray, share food, give gifts and be thankful for the Blessings in their lives. Reading children beautiful stories about Ramadan and Eid is one way we can encourage our children to be excited about Eid, as well as teaching them that Eid is about more than just presents!

Eid Books for Children

However, let’s be honest, celebrating Eid in non-Muslim countries can sometimes be a bit of a let down!

Although Muslims may be celebrating, the majority of the country is not! Children still have to go to school and parents head off to work! Depending where you live, there are no festivities in the streets, no fireworks, and no community meals. If you do have these things where you live, you are fortunate. The truth is, many families experience Eid in isolation.

We want out children to experience the excitement of Eid morning and to feel the anticipation leading up to the day.

Many of these books touch on the idea of giving; giving to friends, neighbours and those less fortunate.

One of the most significant ideas that runs throughout these books is the concept of Muslim identity. By emphasising the importance of Eid, particularly over other national holidays, you are reinforcing the child’s sense of Muslim identity. We want our children to be confident and proud of their Muslim identity, and I believe that reading Muslim children’s literature is one way of achieving this.

This is my list of 7 delightful Children’s Books about Eid! Some of them are about Eid al-Adha, some abot Eid Al-Fitr but most could be used for either holiday.

Take a look through my list. Perhaps you will find something your family will enjoy!

Children's Eid Books

Sweet dates to Eat

This delightful picture book by Jonny Zucker is a simple introduction to Ramadan and Eid for young children. As you follow this family through each day, you see how they fast, visit the masjid and celebrate Eid.
The sweet hand-drawn illustrations add to this book’s heart-warming nature.

Children's books about Eid: sweet dates
Sweet Dates to Eat is suitable for children aged 2+

 

Hassan and Aneesa Celebrate Eid

The Hassan and Aneesa series by Kube Publishing follows the life a young Muslim family in the West. In this particular book, the family prepare the night before for the Eid festivities, get ready for and attend the Eid prayer, and celebrate with their family at home. The scenes in this book as so familiar to many of us, that children will instantly relate to what is happening in the story.

This book is the perfect way to get younger children ready for Eid, and prepare them for what will happen on the day.

Hassan and Aneesa Celebrate Eid is suitable for children aged 2+.

 

Eid by Maria Migo

This book is set to become a classic for every Muslim household! Eid is the story of two siblings, as the watch with anticipation for the moon of Eid.

It follows their story through an exciting Eid day. The illustrations in this book are utterly charming and I’m sure your younger children will love it!

Children's Books for Eid

Eid by Maria Migo is suitable for children aged 2+

 

An Eid for Everyone

This is my daughter’s favourite Eid book! She adores the vibrant colour illustrations and seems particularly fond of the character Yasmin!

An Eid for Everyone is the story of a group of children and their different experiences of Eid. Whilst some help their mother’s in the kitchen, others are wrapping presents, and others getting ready in pretty clothes! The group of children meet at the mosque and later go to distribute gifts to the poorer families in their community.

Muslim childrens books about Eid: An Eid for Everyone

An Eid for Everyone is suitable for children aged 2+.

 

Rashad’s Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr

Rashad’s Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr is a 4 chapter picture book that follows Rashad and his experiences in Ramadan. What is really special about this book is that it emphasises some of the deeper meaning of Ramadan, with chapter entitled “Thinking about Allah” and “Thinking about People”.

This charming book is available in paperback, on Kindle and even as an Audiobook through Audible.

If you haven’t tried Audible, you can sign up for a FREE 30-Day Trial HERE, and listen to Rashan’s Ramadan for FREE!

 

The Best Eid Ever

This is the story of  Aneesa, a young girl who is staying with her Grandmother while her parents perform the Hajj. On Eid day she meet two refugee girls in the mosque and learns more about their war-torn country. Aneesa can’t stop thinking about them and want to make it their Eid the best Eid ever!

The Best Eid Ever is suitable for children aged 5-8 years old.

Ilyas and Duck and the Fantastic Festival of Eid al-Fitr

You can always rely on Ilyas and Duck to bring action and laughs in every book! This action packed adventure follows Ilyas and his crazy, but lovable, duck on Eid day. They learn about the importance of the day, and why Muslims celebrate it.

Books about Eid for children Ilyas and duck

Ilyas and Duck and the Fantastic Festival is sure to have your children giggling, and is suitable for children aged 4+.

Eid Childrens Books

Eid books for kids

 

Those were our 7 delightful children’s books about Eid!

All these were many in this list, there are many more! Perhaps you have some other books about Eid on your shelves at home!

What is your family’s favourite children’s book about Eid?
Please let us know in the comments below!

Peace and Love,

Dr Gemma Elizabeth

10 Points of Homeschooling Advice from Veteran Homeschool Mom

Homeschooling advice from veteran homeschool mom

How often do we look back on something and think, “If wish I could have done that differently.”?

Not often are we given the gift of parenting, or homeschooling, with hindsight. But with almost an 11 year gap between my two oldest kids, alhamdulilah, I’m given at least a peek into how my homeschooling decisions have played out over time.

Homeschooling advice from veteran homeschool mom

Advice to noew homeschoolers from veteran homeschool mom

I hope my hindsight can be of use to you as well, as I reflect back over the last 8 years of homeschooling, now that my oldest is, mashaAllah, graduating high school.

Academic rigor is secondary

So often we spend hours upon hours trying to find the perfect book. It’ll have all the right information, with all the best activities, and thorough tests and quizzes to make sure they don’t miss a thing.

But what about the atmosphere in our home? What about nurturing that love of learning that comes naturally to children? How long do we spend thinking about that?

I wish I would have given my daughter more time to be a kid. More time to explore and learn at her leisure, and not during some scheduled hour-long exploratory time. You can’t schedule curiosity.

Don’t let others dictate your homeschool

If you’re just starting with homeschooling and you don’t have much support around you, it’s tempting to fill up your curriculum list with impressive books and resources to try to sway them that you’re not ruining your child.

Let me tell you something – a book list is not going to change many people’s minds.

Pick the resources you feel are best, for your child. How many school teachers do you think are making curriculum decisions based on what their parents or neighbors think? They choose books they think will be the most effective. Period.

Get acquainted with various homeschooling methods

Most of us have gone through the public school system. It’s all we know. Then when we start homeschooling, we dream of bulletin boards, and an in box for assignments.

Sometimes we have to jump into homeschooling because traditional school isn’t working, so we might not have a lot of time to read up on the various methodologies. Even if that’s the case, start reading the core book on each topic and see what speaks to you.

Think of yourself as an educator or mentor, not only an administrator

An administrator simply makes education more accessible. They order books, organize lesson plans, and grade work. An educator or mentor understands how students learn, how their environment affects their learning, and has some basic understanding of psychology.

Be the educator. Treat homeschooling as your career, not a task. That means reading and studying about your chosen career.

Homeschooling advice from veteran homeschool mom

Less semester-long classes

The semester long classes were great, and I love that she made some friends in those arenas, but I think we did too many, which made it hard to take part in anything else. We barely went on field trips that related to her lessons because our schedule was so jam packed with classes.

As I’m faced with the temptation of signing up for all the interesting classes again with my younger kids, I remind myself that childhood is not the only time to learn. We can, and should, learn as adults as well. If they miss out on a class about sewing, or woodworking, or reptiles, there will be opportunities for them to learn about that as an adult as well, if they so choose.

Ask help from the community

In the six years we were exclusively homeschooling my oldest (she spent the last two years at a local college finishing her high school diploma), I had three more children and we moved twice. To say I was a bit distracted would be an understatement.

Alhamdulilah, we made do, but it would have been easier if I reached out to community members to organize study groups while she was reading classic books since I did not have the time to read them along with her. If you find someone who is passionate about a subject, they are usually happy to help the young generation to explore that passion.

Grades and deadlines

We are pretty relaxed in the early years of homeschooling, but I do suggest to start grading and giving deadlines one year before you’ll be keeping specific records. In the US (though each state is different), you don’t have to keep records until the student is in high school.

It is a disservice to your child to first experience real deadlines and grades when it will be on their permanent record.

Less is more

Okay, we don’t want to take this to an extreme and ignore educating our kids, but hear me out, especially in regards to graded assignments.

The fewer number of graded assignments you give, the more weight each one has, which means they learn to give their best time and attention to each assignment. They can’t just slop something together and know that something that was easier for them, and therefore they got a good grade on, will even out the poor assignment they just turned in.

Less formal assignments, more time to sit and think about them independently.

Never, ever stop learning

Show your child what it means to be a lifelong learner. Sign up for classes, read books, watch documentaries. Even if they scoff at your boring choices for how you use your time, they will be noticing that you didn’t stop learning when you graduated. And neither should they.

Veteran homeschool mom advice to new homeschoolers

Make du’a

Last, but not least, don’t forget that striving to provide opportunities for a great education is in your hands, but the end result ultimately is not. Allah has a plan for all of us, and sometimes it may look like it’s not going your way. That’s okay, too. Patience is what we do have control over. In sha Allah be patient.

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 Mom Tag on YouTube!

Homeschol mom tag on Youtube

This blog post may contain affiliate links. Please see disclaimer for more information.

Do you want to know about where we buy homeschool supplies from, what homeschooling approach we take, and if I get help to teach the kids? Then you need to WATCH THIS VIDEO!

This tag has been going around the homeschooling YouTube community for the past few weeks. It was started by Rachel from day2dayjoys and I was tagged by The Precious Years and Sarah Javed to answer these questions:

Homeschol mom tag on Youtube

Homeschool Tag Questions

1. Were you homeschooled?
2. Did you know always know you’d homeschool your children?
3. What are your 3 favorite books in your homeschool library?
4. Are you the only “teacher”? Does your spouse help, outsource help, tutors, etc.
5. Where is your favorite place to buy homeschool curriculum?
6. Do you have a set budget for your homeschool?
7. What are 2 must have homeschool supplies?
8. What’s your favorite/least favorite subject to teach?
9. Are you involved in coops or homeschool groups? What has your experience been in these groups?
10. What is your approach? ( Charlotte mason, eclectic, classical, etc)

Watch this video to see how I answered all these great questions!

WATCH THIS VIDEO:

Here are links to the books I mentioned in this video:

My Favourite Homeschooling Books

For Mothers:

Teaching from Rest by Sarah McKenzie – Amazon UK – Amazon USA

For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer – Amazon UK – Amazon USA

The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer (New Edition) – Amazon UK – Amazon USA

For Kids:

Winnie-the-Pooh: The Complete Collection – Amazon UK – Amazon USA

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

Pinocchio by C. Collodi – Amazon UK – Amazon USA

 

If you would like to watch the playlist of all the other mothers taking part, CLICK HERE!

I am tagging anyone who would like to take part.

You can make a YouTube video, write a blog post

or just leave your answers in the comments below!

I’d love to hear how you do things in your family!

 

Peace and Love,

Dr Gemma Elizabeth

Meal Planning for Ramadan + FREE Printable

Ramadan Meal Planning

We all know that to make the most of Ramadan, we need to start planning ahead of time.

Being organized will help us to use our time more wisely during this Blessed month. This includes spiritual preparation, physical preparation and practical preparation.

As a busy homeschooling mum, cooking and preparing food takes up many hours of the day. This Ramadan I have decided to meal plan for Ramadan so that I can spend less time in the kitchen, and have more time doing other acts of worship insha’Allah.

Get Ready for Ramadan with this FREE Meal Planner! Meal Planning for Ramadan

For more about meal planning in Ramadan:

WATCH THIS VIDEO!

This blog post was written as part of a Meal Planning Collaboration with loads of other bloggers. You can find links to their articles or videos at the end of this blog post!

Ramadan-Meal-PlannerDownload

 

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Benefits of Meal Planning in Ramadan

  1. Grocery Shop before Ramadan

When you are fasting, shopping for groceries can not only be tiring but make fasting more difficult than it needs to be. By planning what you will be eating for the month, you can purchase many things ahead of time and minimize the hours spent trawling the supermarket shelves.

Ramadan Meal Planner

  1. Eat more Nutritious Food

After a few days of fasting, we often slip into the mistake of just making whatever is easy or satisfies our cravings! If you plan your menu ahead of time, you can consider what foods are more nutritious and beneficial for you to eat before or after you fast. Taking to the time to think about nutrition, and food that will give you long-lasting energy and hydration will help to make your fasts easier on your body insha’Allah.

  1. Less Time in the Kitchen

Meal planning allows you to be efficient with your time. You will know precisely what to cook and prepare, and so you can use your time most effectively. This may mean marinating something the night before, or preparing vegetables earlier in the day when you’re less tired. Whatever works for you! You may even be able to prepare some dishes ahead of time before Ramadan begins, and keep them in the freezer.

Ramadan-Meal-PlannerDownload

Also spend some time thinking about what you are going to give your children to eat. When you are fasting, it can be hard to keep up with the demands of hungry children. Try to plan some nutritious and easy to make lunches and snacks for your kids.

Less time in the kitchen means more time in ibadah! It will also give you time to rest in the afternoon, so you can pray taraweeh insha’Allah.

Praying in Ramadan

  1. Less Wastage

Wasting food is a sin. However, sometimes due to our disorganized lives, food does go to waste. In this blessed month, the last thing we want to do is to commit bad deeds. Meal planning will help you to minimize food wastage insha’Allah, because you will only buy what you need. Also, it allows you to plan your meals so nothing is wasted. For example, if your curry only requires half an onion, you can plan to use the other half in the vegetable side dish.

  1. Free your Mind

Knowing that the meals for Ramadan are planned, and the shopping has been done, will free your mind!

Instead of spending time wondering what you will cook that afternoon, you can use that time to reflect on more important things!

Ramadan Meal Planning

The Ramadan Meal Planner

My gift to you this Ramadan is this Ramadan Meal Planner. I hope that it will help you be prepared for Ramadan, and make the most of this Blessed month insha’Allah.

You may wish to plan out suhoor, iftaar, and kids meals; or you may only need to plan iftaar. Please use these FREE PRINTABLE sheets in whichever way suits your family.

Ramadan-Meal-PlannerDownload

You do not need to use all of the pages if you do not need them. Similarly, you can print out multiple copies of each page.

Ramadan Meal Planner

It is my gift to you, to use as you please!

To get your FREE Ramadan Meal Planner,

CLICK ON THE BUTTON!

Ramadan-Meal-PlannerDownload

 

Ramadan Meal Planner 

If you are already a member of our online homeschooling community, you can find the planner in the “Ramadan and Eid” section in the FREE Resources Library.

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How to Use the Meal Planner

  1. Think about WHAT you want to cook

This first step it to plan the meals that you and your family enjoy eating in Ramadan. Sometimes, your family’s preferences and the type of food you eat during Ramadan are different from other times in the year.

Personally, I know my family prefer to eat lighter foods, and foods with a lot of sauce! This is the stage where you can consider the nutritious value of the meal, and if it will sustain your family through the long fast or the long taraweeh prayer.

Use our Meal ideas sheets to plan out what you will be serving your family. I have included a page for suhoor, iftaar, and for kids’ lunch.

Now is the time, before Ramadan starts, to get out your cookbooks. Look through Pinterest or Google now. Looking at all the yummy recipes out there is not easy when you’re fasting. Do it now! Try to choose recipes that are simple to make, or that you can prepare now and freeze ahead of time.

  1. Fill in the Weekly Chart

The next step is to fill in the weekly chart. Print out 4 copies of this chart and, using the Meal ideas pages, fill it in. You will probably be repeating some recipes throughout the month. That’s ok! My planning out the month, you can make sure those repeated meals are not too close together.

Ramadan Meal Planner Weekly spread

  1. Write your Shopping List

Use our shopping list to write out what you need to buy, and refer back to your weekly plan. You may want to print out several copies of this and use one for the butchers and one for the supermarket.

Also, print one out for this you can buy now ahead of time (like rice, lentils, canned tomatoes etc.). Then write a shopping list for each week of Ramadan. It will be so nice for you, when Ramadan begins, to have everything already written out!

Ramadan Meal Planner Shopping list

Grab your Free Meal Planner HERE!

Ramadan-Meal-PlannerDownload

Having your meals planned out before Ramadan begins is a wonderful way to free your mind and free up your time during Ramadan.

I hope you will try it and let me know how you are getting on!

More About Meal Planning

This blog post was written as part of a Meal Planning Collaboration with some other amazing bloggers including work at home mums, homeschoolers and even a certified nutritionist!

Please check out their take on meal planning too:

I sincerely hope that this planner helps you to make the most of Ramadan insha’Allah.

Please remember my family in your duaas.

Peace and Love,

Dr Gemma Elizabeth
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Welcome to our New Site!

welcome to our muslim homeschool

Welcome to our new website!

This website has been a labour of love. After many hours of dreaming and planning, it is so incredible to see it here!

After speaking to my followers on social media and readers of my blog, I came to realise that the most important thing for them…for you…was to feel supported and part of a community.

Secondly, there was a need for worthwhile, comprehensive curricula and resources, tailored to the Muslim homeschooling community. That is what this new website will endevour to provide you with.

welcome to our muslim homeschool

Join the Community!

Our Muslim Homeschooling Community is Launching on 15th April!

Join a community of like-minded Muslim homeschoolers and you will receive:

  • Access to our “1001 FREE Resources for Muslim Homeschoolers”

This comprehensive list details the best and most worthwhile resources available for Muslim homeschoolers. Whatever you’re looking for, take a look through our extensive collection of resources, all of which are tailored specifically to the Muslim community.

  • Access to a Private Forum

Our private community forum is a safe space where you can share resources, seek advice, and connect with other Muslim homeschoolers around the globe.

Whether you are looking for opinions on a curriculum, advice about time management, or trying to connect with other home educating families in your area, you will want to join our community forum!

  • Newsletters you’ll want to read!

This regular bulletin is jam-packed with the best and latest homeschool resources from all over the web. We spend hours every week, scouring the net, looking for the best websites, printables and eBooks to share with you. If you join our Homeschooling Community, you can be sure that you’ll never miss out!

The Our Muslim Homeschooling Community officially launches on Saturday 15th April….just a few days away!

If you sign up now, you will be in the first to have access to all the resources and the forum!

Joining Our Community is completely FREE. Just enter your email address below to join!

Join our Homeschooling Community!

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I look forward to seeing you in our community on 15th April!

Our Blog

There are great things lined up for the blog over the coming months.

We have several collaborations lined up with other Muslim mums and homeschoolers, so that you can learn from their insight and gain insight into other ways of homeschooling.

In addition to this, I will continue to be bringing you curriculum reviews, day-in-the-life videos and GIVEAWAYS insha’Allah!

If you are looking for useful, inspirational and insightful articles, take a look around our blog!

Our Shop

This is a really new venture for me and I’m very excited!

Over the coming months our shop will be stocking reading lists for each year group. These reading lists have been approved by qualified teachers, and will hopefully provide you with some guidance of what you should be reading to your children, as well as the books they will enjoy reading themselves insha’Allah. Literature is one of my passions, and I am so excited to share these reading lists with you.

In addition to these reading lists, other homeschooling curriculum will also be available from Our Shop! We have so much great stuff lined up!

I have been working on the Our Muslim Homeschool Planner for months, and it is due for release in July 2017 insha’Allah. This will be a tool for homeschooling parents to, not only plan their homeschooling year, but also manage their home and personal ibadah. This will also be available from Our Shop. There are so many things to look forward. Alhumdulillah <3

Our Muslim Homeshool Planner

It truly is a blessing to be launching this new site. For years I have dreamt of it, and now it is really here!

I hope you will find the answers to your questions in Our blog or Our Community forum. If you do not, please feel free to contact me.

Join our community today!

You will get access to our private community forum and our extensive “1001 FREE Resources for Muslim Homeschoolers!” from the 15th April!

Join our Homeschooling Community!

* indicates required



Thank you for being here!

I would love for you to join our community. I look forward to seeing you there insha’Allah.

Peace and Love.

Our Muslim Homeschool

 

Homeschool Favourites | September 2016

I can’t believe it’s September already!

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.

 

Muslim Homeschool Favourites September

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!

 

Muslim homeschool favourites table easel

Thanks to its beautiful leather handle, he seems to be carrying it around everywhere!

 

Muslim Homeschool Table Art Ease
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!

 

Muslim Homeschool table art easel
Almost done!

 

Magnetic Science Kit

The boys have really enjoyed using this Magnetic Science Kit by Thames and Kosmos to supplement our science curriculum.

 

Muslim homeschool magnetic science kit

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.).

 

Migo and Ali Muslim Homeschool

The stories are short, well-written and each section end with a dialogue between Migo and Ali as 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.

I got my copy from IbraheemToyhouse.com

 

Gambian Mommy Arabic Worksheets

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.

 

Arabic alphabet worksheets Gambian mommy

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 store on 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.
AlifBaa App Muslim Homeschool
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.
For more information on this app CLICK HERE.

SheCasa Hijabs Prayer Dress

When you stand on your prayer mat, in the presence of your Lord, it is nice to present yourself in something clean, and beautiful…something special!
SheCasa Hijabs is a shop on Facebook and Instagram that specialises in handmade Prayer dresses and Tasbeehs.
The material they use is so soft and luxurious, and they look so beautiful!
shecasa hijabs prayer dress tasbeeh
I have had prayer dresses in the past from abroad, and they always fray at the seams and the material seems cheap.
However the prayer dresses from SheCasa Hijabs are a great quality and so well made mash’Allah. They are beautiful!

GIVEAWAY

It’s GIVEAWAY TIME!

Muslim Homeschool giveaway

 

 

This September I am so happy to share THREE of my favorites with one of you!!!
I will be giving away:
– 3 Worksheet Packs from the Gambian Mommy (RRP: $12.00)
– 1 AlifBaa app (RRP: $1.99) – iPad or iPhone only.
– 1 Prayer Dress and 1 Tasbeeh from SheCasa Hijabs
The September 2016 Favourites Giveaway will run until Friday 23rd September 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.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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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 by Subscribing to my mailing list.

For a daily look into our homeschooling day follow me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
See you next month insha’Allah!
In need of your duaas.
Peace and Love xx

You Might Also Like:

Muslim Homeschool Curriculum Kindergarten 1st grade
CLICK HERE

How to Teach the 99 Names of Allah to Children

99 names Allah children

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.

99 names of Allah children

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
Teach the 99 Names of Allah

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

teach 99 names Allah

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.

Teach 99 names Allah

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!

teach 99 names of Allah khalif

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.

Teach 99 names Allah Malik

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!!!

The 99 Names of Allah for Children

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!

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Peace and Love

99 names Allah children

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