The crispy, crunchy leaves of all different shapes, colours and sizes floating in the air and lying on the ground are such a beauty to watch and delightful to walk through. More so, they are a reminder of Allah's beauty, his power and his majesty. How al-Khaaliq, created such beauty out of nothing.
How he, Al-Mussawir; the shaper and fashioner, shaped each and every leaf with it's own unique, shape and size and colour.
How he created the perfect system of photosynthesis by which he nourishes the plants and the trees, giving them vitality and life. How before our very eyes he causes them to wither away and die in the winter only to be brought back to life again in the spring. It is important for us to ponder and reflect upon these signs and understand them and their significance for our lives. Allah gives us life and Allah takes it away. Allah created us from nothing and Allah will bring us to life again once again after we have turned to just bones and dust.
Subhanallah - it blows the mind away!!!!
Autumn and in fact all the seasons are perfect opportunities to get out there, engage the senses, reflect and be in awe of Allah, our creator.
This is what unfolded when we did exactly that.....
Do you not see that Allah sends down rain from the sky and makes it flow as springs [and rivers] in the earth; then he produces thereby crops of varying colours; then they dry and you see them turned yellow; then he makes them [scattered] debris. Indeed in that is a reminder for those of understanding.
I always find that here in the West, we tend to make more effort for Eid ul Fitr, probably because of the fasting. When it comes to Eid ul adha however, we do not make such a big fuss.
When it comes to children though and teaching them Islam and what the festivals mean and their significance then really we can't afford to take our eye off the ball. We need to make that extra effort in ensuring that an atmosphere of festivity, fun and above all remembrance of Allah swt and his Prophets (as) is created.
I hadn't officially planned anything on this topic but when the time came I managed to pull a few things together to really involve the girls with what was happening and alhamdulillah I'm so glad I did.
The girls had so much fun and learnt so much.
We had various discussions about Hajj, Eid, Sacrifice and the story of Ibrahim (as).
One afternoon I spontaneously decided to dress all the toys into ihram. The girls were delighted and couldn't wait to take their toys on hajj with them. They created their own role plays of entering the airport, aeroplane and then enacted the hajj rituals. We made some stones from foil and they couldn't wait to find the 'shaytaan' to throw them at.
I managed to pick up a few materials to make our own model of the kaaba and it turned out quite well. Ideally I would've liked to have also made a maqaam Ibrahim, safa and marwa, tents in Mina and arafat, the jamarat pillars and the Propeht (Saw)'s mosque but this was too ambitious for this year.
Masha'allah Rahmah has been praying for almost a year and the others also occasionally pray with us. I make a point of mentioning at the beginning of each prayer we do together that we are praying facing the kaabah and we are praying only for Allah's sake. The kaabah is therefore very much known to them. Besides, I think Rahmah may still have some vague memories of our Umrah trip almost 4 years ago and certainly from when their dad visited Makkah last year.
Making the kaabah model and having it there in our kitchen to look at and admire throughout the day just made it more visual. Fifi fell in love with the kaabah, and every time she would see it she would say 'there's the kaaba' and 'I love the kaaba'. She can now properly identify it in pictures and will even point to the finer details of the black stone, masha'allah. Just this in itself has shown me how important it is to inculcate a love of the house of Allah within our children at a young age and how quickly the children absorb and understand the deen.
We watched some hajj documentaries and Nur was so amazed to discover that 'lasagne and doner meat' actually comes from sheep. It was one great realisation for her and took a few moments to sink in!! She kept asking 'Mum, do we really eat sheep?'. It was hilarious, especially when moments later she questioned me 'Mum, where do chips comes from?' and 'which animal do chips come from?'
I found this excellent site where I managed to download lots of hajj related printable activities for the girls to do during the days of Eid when we were at home.
Insha'allah, I've made a mental note to myself to actively plan for Hajj and Eid into our timetables for future years. I also pray that Allah (swt) gives us the honour of visiting his house together as a family and completing the hajj.
It's almost the end of Shawwal and here I am posting about Ramadhan!! I really need to get into the swing of posting on here regularly, before I forget things.
Saying that, this Ramadhan was one I hope we will never forget insha'allah. We are still singing the Ramadhan nasheed and Fifi is still saying 'Ramadhan moon' from the book we bought. It felt like a proper family Ramadhan as it was the first time Rahmah fasted the whole month!
Yes, my baby Rahmah, aged only 6 years old decided she wanted to go for it this year and Alhamdulillah she managed to do it despite the long summer days and the intense heat we had.
What's more Nur decided she wanted to give it a go aswell and managed to keep 2 whole fasts too.
So what else did we get up to during Ramadhan?
Well, my Ramadhan preparations started with thinking of how Rahmah would get through it and what I could do to support her. So I sought advice from sisters and stocked up on things like Mamoul, Frozen fruits, Vitamins, Nuts, juices and her dad also bought some Glucose tablets!
Alhumdulillah we were invited to 2 pre- Ramadhan parties where we discussed the importance of Ramadhan, sang nasheeds, decorated cakes and made decorations. The girls just couldn't wait for Ramadhan to begin and kept asking me 'How many more days to Ramadhan?' almost every day during the last week before Ramadhan began.
Then there was the Ramadhan calender which turned out to be quite an ambitious project. I decided to make one out of Fabric this year so that it could be used for years to come and remain within the family heirloom. Alhamdulillah, mum was able to stitch the pockets on for me, and I then worked on stitching on the mosque, the numbers and letters and sequins. The last few days before Ramadhan began was a race to get this calender ready in time and Mother in law also helped stitch some of the numbers on.
The girls loved it and were very excited about it. I placed within each pocket some sweets or small toys like bubbles and also a question. By the end of the month I found I had to top up the last few pockets as Fifi and also Nur used to help themselves to some of the sweets during the day as Fifi could reach the lower pockets. Maybe I will have to make another one next Ramadhan after all!!
We were fortunate enough to go out for moon-sighting and although we knew we wouldn't actually see the moon, it was such a pleasant evening. I wished we lived in Muslim lands, in fact in the Khilafah state, where Ramadhan is welcomed in collectively, as a community, as a nation and the excitement and atmosphere can be experienced by all. Living in the West we have to work hard to create that atmosphere and build within our children a love for everything Islamic.
This Ramadhan was one of milkshakes and fruit smoothies. A sister had advised me it was a good thing to feed Rahmah as I could cram in the healthy fruits and dairy and it takes little effort to drink. Alhamdulillah they were a hit and we all enjoyed them.
It was hard to get Rahmah to sleep during the day, but we were careful not to drag her out shopping too much as it got too tiring for her in the heat. Also, she wasn't able to handle late night iftaars as she found it hard to get up for suhoor if she'd gone to bed late after iftaar. Sometimes, she was literally just falling asleep whilst trying to eat suhoor!
We stayed up during the odd nights and it was great having her as a partner as it encouraged me to stay up aswell and we also attended an iftaar/qiyaam and suhoor at a friend's house which she enjoyed.
2 Ramadhan's ago I'd started a scrapbook with Rahmah. all about Ramadhan but didn't complete it. This year alhamdulillah we brought it out again and we finally completed it. Rahmah got to do some revision about Ramadhan and had lots of writing practice. I also used lots of resources from this site which the girls cut out and stuck in the book.
Then there was the Ramadhan video. We went to the library and took out some books about Ramadhan and found that there was an emphasis being placed on the food, iftaar parties and presents and so we decided to do a video presentation to explain a bit more about Ramadhan. This was a spontaneous thing as really we'd planned on taking it easy during Ramadhan but the need arose and Rahmah wanted to do it so we got to work straight away.
It was a great learning activity, as we sat down and discussed why we were doing the video? who we were making it for? what information or ideas people held about Ramadhan? and what was the message we wanted to give them? Then there was the recording aspect of it and all the language, communication and presentation skills that went into it. Masha'allah it turned out well and was shared on you tube and facebook and she received many positive comments and many children and parents were inspired by her.
Eid was also a lovely day masha'allah as we were blessed to have prayed Eid salah in the park. I have been wanting to do this for ages but never had the opportunity but this year alhamdulillah we managed it and the kids were able to experience it too. They said around 18,000 were present and I also met some of my friends there which was a bonus.
Fifi turned 2 on eid day as that was her Hijri birthday, and a few days ago was her Gregorian birthday. Subhan Allah how the 2 years have flown by. She has grown at a super speed and is already talking in sentences and coming out with things which amaze us. Nur would've been starting reception class next week and Rahmah would be in year 2, if we were not homeschooling.
Subhan Allah my girls are growing up!!!
May Allah swt accept our efforts and enable to witness many more Ramadhans, together as a family insha'allah.
Making Ramadhan moon catchers has been a Ramadhan tradition since Rahmah was around 3, this year however we actually got to take the girls out into the Hills to use their telescopes (rather than just walk around the house with them) and masha'allah they loved it, in fact we all had a lovely evening.
Today was a practical lesson in Ramdhan fiqh we did not sight the moon and we did not receive any confirmation of anyone sighting it therefore Ramadhan begins on Wednesday insha'allah. The children, although young will take from it at their own level. For Rahmah and Nur it was revision of things we'd discussed in the past and just added to the excitement of the coming month.
Fifi (almost 2) has been walking around all week saying 'Ramadhan Moon' - a love and a basis is being built insha'allah. Later she will come to understand that the Islamic calendar is based on Lunar months, how the beginning of Ramadhan is marked by moon sighting and how it is the Khaleef that unifies the ummah.
Somehow we've discovered a creative streak within us!!
The girls love doing art and craft activities and I find that it helps in many ways.
Not only does it help to re-enforce and consolidate concepts in a creative way but art is also a good way to have a break! It helps to get away from something that may be a struggle and then return to it with a relaxed and refreshed mind.
We have been into mosaics for a while. Rahmah did a beautiful set of bird mosaics with felt squares some time ago. Recently we've been observing mosaics and geometry in our surroundings, and the kids always pointed stuff out to me whilst we were on holiday in Tunisia. I was delighted to have the opportunity to take them to an art workshop where they got the opportunity to work with real tiles and create their own mosaics.
So here are our masterpieces:
This one is Nur's
and this one is evidently Rahmah's.
I am collecting materials to make a few more over Ramadhan insha'allah.
No project is complete without a cooking activity and so as part of our Sea-life project we made fish shaped shortbread cookies, F shaped Pizzas and also a fish dinner.
The cookies were an easy recipe we often use from here.
We just shaped then into fish shapes and used a cut up piece of raisin for the eye. Even Fifi joined in with the baking, by climbing onto the table and rolling the dough.
The Pizza shapes were made with some pizza dough from Aldi, tomato puree and cheese - as simple as that.
The girls then invited their cousin over for tea and managed to eat all the cookies before their dad got home from work. Nur wanted to save some for her daddy but they were just too yummy!!
I had initially hoped to take the girls fishing, to experience handling real fish but then I decided it would not be as easy to organise and so i just picked up some whole sea bass from the supermarket and let them explore!
Even shopping for the fish was an experience as it was the first time we'd actually looked closely at the fish counter and we even saw real octopus for sale!!
I printed off and laminated some fish nomenclature cards from here as I wanted the girls to familiarise themselves with the different body parts of a fish. We then used the real fish to locate all the body parts.
The girls were not squeamish at all and were particularly fascinated by the eye!!
I thought they would have issues with eating the finished product but they surprised me by really enjoying the meal, despite having to fiddle around to remove the bones.
Rahmah even said it was better than fish and chips from the shop!!
A Project is never complete without a visit and so I arranged for the girls to go to the sea life centre with some other home-schooling families we know.
The girls were so excited and they had so much fun. They participated in the quiz which they had to find answers to as they went along really eagerly and they knew a lot of the answers.
They loved the rock pool and getting up and close to the sea creatures and being able to handle them. They touched a starfish and saw how squidgy it was, stroked a crab's shell and also dipped their hands in to feel an anemone.
They were amazed at all the creatures they were surrounded by, all different colours, shapes and sizes and how beautiful they were. All created by Allah (swt).
We were particularly fascinated by the Turtles. If turtle eggs are kept above 29C they hatch as female and if below this they hatch as male. Subhanallah, how amazing is the creation of Allah (swt) and the order he gives it.
It was really busy as we went around in the morning as there were also around 3 school groups visiting on the day. Lunch-time was also hectic in the eating and play area but things calmed down after lunch and so we went around to look at everything a second time just before we left.
If I was to go again it would be better to arrive at around 11am, play in the ball pool area, have lunch and then look around as most of the school groups leave after lunch.
The girls couldn't wait to tell their Dad all about it and they can't wait to go again!!
Although we no longer have TV, Octonauts is one programme the girls still continue to watch on You tube and it is pretty safe for them in terms of content. They have all been mad about it for ages now and I always hear them reeling off new facts about sea creatures I've never heard of.
I was getting a little concerned as they were hooked on it, but then I decided to get more involved!
Up until now, Nur had not been interested in sitting down to do any formal kind of learning and everytime we've tried she's never managed to concentrate for more than 10mins. I thought this project would be right up her street, enable me to bond with her and share her interest and also show her that learning can be great fun!
We decided we'd make another poster (we're hooked on making posters).
We started by sitting down and making a list of all the sea creature they wanted to focus on. Then we got out the Arts and Crafts materials and made the different creatures using a variety of techniques and materials. We decided to keep with the Octonauts theme and use similar colours to the creatures on the programme.
We made a Sea-horse using pasta and cous cous
We made an Octopus using a paper plate and bubble wrap
The Puffer fish was made using a paper plate and some paper spikes
We made a Parrot fish using some coloured sand and glitter
The Slime Eel (Hagfish) was made by twisting the outer ring of a paper plate
My favourite was the Jelly fish which we made with another paper plate and some wool for its tentacles
The cookie cutter shark was also made from coloured sand
We also added some Quranic ayahs to our display as we had talked a lot about Allah's mercy and blessed we are that Allah (swt) has made the sea and all the creatures within it for us to use and how we should be grateful to Allah (swt) and obey his commands.
It would have a bit deep if I had gone into a full blown study of the layers of ocean but we briefly talked about the different types of sea water. The lowest level of the ocean is full of darkness (The Midnight Zone) as no light gets to it, so we discussed how this is like having no belief in Allah and how blessed we are to have the light of Iman and be Muslims. Alhumdulillah!
The girls told me everything they already knew about each creature and we found out more info through the interenet and videos. Rahmah took on the role of Professor Inkling and Shellington and compiled the creature reports for each sea creature.
The sea water was 2 blue plastic bags and the coral was made out of some tissue paper and coloured pom poms. We scattered some shiny stars onto our display as well as some of the shells we collected in Tunisa.
The completed display was then hung in our hallway for us to learn from and share with our guests.
Nur was absolutely delighted when she saw the octonauts worksheets I had printed for her. She loved matching up the names of the Octonauts to their pictures and reading the 'I like Octonauts' book I printed and made for her.
We completed some other activities about oceans and sea life from here. I noticed how Nur was really beginning to look at the letters and words in the books carefully.
Then we planned for our big trip to the Sea life centre with some of our home-schooling friends!
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