Den Building and the Shade of Allah

Today we ventured out for another forest school session where the activities surrounded around making dens in the woodlands.

It took us a while to get started as we have never really done anything like this before and to be honest I wished my hubby or brother or even my sis in law and her kids were there to help.  But Alhamdulillah the girls got to work and eventually got into the swing of things.

We first made a little frame to hang in our den and then went off to make the actual den.

Nur really enjoyed it in the woods, collecting all the branches and logs and bringing them back to me. 

 

Fifi was in charge of carrying the first aid box up to the woodlands and then didn't want to put it down at first.  I think she liked the thought of being doctor for the day and wanted to put plasters on everyone.  Later she too got into it and kept guard in our den and even played with some of the branches.

 

Later as I tucked the girls into bed I asked them " what are dens used for and why do people build them?  they answered with the expected answers "to have a picnic in", "to hide away", "to be safe", and "to get shelter from rain".

I then asked them "on what day would we need to have the most shelter" and they answered with things like "on a really snowy day", "a really rainy day"

Finally when I prompted them to think of a really important day Rahmah shouted "judgement day".

We then had the discussion about what judgement is, what will happen on that day and how on that day our dens and our shelter will need to be so strong to protect us from the hellfire.  We then talked about how we can make sure we have the protection and shade of Allah on that day.

I had been thinking of the hadith which talks about the shade of Allah all afternoon after returning home and I thought it would be really good to discuss this with the girls.

One thing I love about home educating is being able to share these experiences with my children, learning with them and then being able to link everything back to Allah swt and Islam.  Whilst the society we live in wants to take Allah out of the equation for everything us parents have that duty to constantly and creatively build our children's connection to Allah, love for him and love of that which will bring us closer to him and his jannah.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to continue this discussion and look at the other details of the hadith so we know how to secure the strongest protection and the best shade on the day when it matters most.

 

There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; a man whose heart is attached to the mosques;two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that; aman who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but he says: ‘I fear Allah’, a man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity; and a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears.

[Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]

 

Frog Marching!

 Today I took the girls on a march of a different kind - a frog march!!

It was organised by the rangers in one of the parks and basically involved a lovely, long (well very long) walk.  We walked through the vast woodlands in the park, moving from pond to pond looking out for frogspawn and frogs.

Masha'allah the girls did so well.  Fifi walked all the way and only asked to be picked up a few times.  The others in the group were ven impressed with her, especially when they found out she's just 2 years old.

Nur on the other hand did complain. 

She complained of the walking, of the mud and of the bushes in her way as she walked!! 

I'm hoping more outdoor activities like this will actually build her resilience to these things.  I'm sure deep down she does enjoy it, being out in the fresh air even if she does look forward to another episode of Peter Rabbit when she gets back.

In the next few days i'm going to be getting organised for these excursions which means buying another backpack and maybe some wellies, what do you think?

(By the way the odd colour socks are a happy compromise that was reached after fighting over which colour socks to wear whilst getting changed in the morning - I was impressed!!)

'Out and About' Forrest School

I have been trying to find a suitable forrest school for the girls for a while but nothing had quite materialised for me.  When I heard of a new forrest school starting up near us and it being FREE it was like duas being answered.

The lovely spring weather has just begun and insha'allah I am looking forward to spending time outdoors with the girls, enjoying the sunshine, fresh air and learning about Allah's creations.

This is what we got upto in our first session:

Hunting for shades of green:

An excellent activity just running around the garden, looking at the different plants and textures and different shades of the colour green.  The kids loved being able to pull off pieces of leaves and stick them on their cards.

Pond Dipping (or Fishing in the pond as my kids called it):

        

 

We caught a massive rams horn snail:

 and many other little beasties in here........

We also had a go at some willow weaving follwed by a picnic,play in the park and a snooze in the car on the way home!!!

Fifi keeps talking about how she went fishing in the pond but couldn't play on the slide because it was too big for her.

                                               Looking forward to the next session.