Ottawa Road Trip

Alhamdulilah we had a great weekend away with the kids.  We visited Ottawa for three days to attend AlKauthar class on the tafseer of Surah Taha.  Unfortunatly there wasn't much to do in Ottawa for the kids (the cool museums they have are closed every Monday), but travelling together, staying in a hotel and attending the class was all very enjoyable.  MashaAllah all three kids were amazing and Im so proud of them.

Walking to the kids playroom in the hotel

Class

Colouring and activity sheets

Lego

White board and dry erase markers

Aqua Doodle and a Craft Book someone gave them at Summaiya's Aqeeqah.  When the boys get alot of gifts I ihde some away n have a stash for occasions such as these

Kids room in the hotel.  All hotels should have this! We let the boys burn off some energy before getting back on the road.  Very helpful especially since it was so cold n couldn't really go out

I brought magnets and a baking sheet for him to stick them to but he preferred to line them up,

Car Bingo

The boys are both sitting in the very back (ibby usually sits in the middle with summaiya). This way yusuf can help him reach stuff in his back back. They're busy playing their car Bingo :)

Road Trip

We're having a family road trip this weekend to Ottawa. We are attending an alkauthar class on tafseer of surah Taha. We also plan on visiting some friends who we made in hajj. We did some research on what there is to do in Ottawa and even Montreal but everything is either too far or closed on Monday which is when we will have some free time.
Oh well, alhamdulilah the road trip, hotel, visiting friends and going away for a bit is exciting enough.
Mashallah so far the kids are being great (yes I'm bogging on the road) and i packed their backpacks with some fun and exciting activities. We do have our tablet with some kids games and movies but I'm determined to only use if we're desperate. It will be a long wknd for the kids with being on the road and attending the course, but I'm still determined to stay as screen free as possible, inshallah.
Will share any exciting experiences inshallah :)

Good Read

MashaAllah this is a good read and I totally agree with it.  I feel there is a difference between bribes and consequences and we try to work on using consequences more in our house.  But we always have room for improvement and this is a good reminder!
May Allah help us to do a good job raising our kids...ameen!
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Inspiring

Stunning!

My kids are at a class right now but when they come home I will have to show them this!
SubhanAllah!
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Exploring our new neighborhood

Bringing the garbage bins back into the garage

The three of us were all really excited to find a nice park within a ten minute walk.  We didnt know it was there since its not visable from the main road

The boys were overly excited to find a baseball diamond.  They were so excited that they both ran full speed  without realizing that it was all mud!  About 10 seconds after entering they looked down to see their feet covered in mud! 

No, were not walking in the middle of the street, we have a really nice bike path close by as well which will be great this summer when Yusuf inshaAllah learns how to ride a bike without training wheels.  And I like that its not too close to the road. :)

Hadith

Maybe we can memorize this one before the nuniyah :) mashallah is so beautiful.  Yusuf heard it playing right now and he was confused, he asked me if it was Quran.  He was unsure.  I think it is so amazing how the Quran has such a unique sound and feeling.  You can use the same style of language and try to make a poem and even try to recite it but it will not give the same feeling as Quran will.  MashaAllah hadith is beautiful as well but still doesn't come close to Quran.
Check out the recitation of the hadith of Umer RA here.

Beautiful Poem

Would really like for the boys to memorize this one day inshaAllah..
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Lego Sorting

Today one of Ibby's work box activity was to sort lego onto matching pieces of paper.  He ended up only sorting a few and then he went ahead and made a castle instead. which was fine with me.  As long as he is doing something which stimulates his brain.

Yusuf and Momma Journal

I enjoy writing journals and letters to people (fiction is not my thing).   I have scrapbooks for my kids where I randomly write them letters to read when they are adults.  They will have to wait until they are adults to understand and appreciate those letters.  Since mashaAllah Yusuf is really improving with his reading and writing, I decided to make a journal for him and I to keep together, but one that we can enjoy now.  And, as an extra bonus, this makes for an excellent work box activity :)  So today, I wrote him a letter telling him that we were going to start a special journal for him to practice reading and writing and to send messages.  In todays letter I told him that I miss when he was a baby because he was so cute and cuddly.  But how I am glad he is growing up because he is such a big help.  And that I think he is an amazing big brother to Ibraheem and Summaiya.  And that I like him alot.

InshaAllah I hope we are able to keep this up and that it will be something for us to cherish when he grows up <3

Work Boxes Day 2

Alhamdulillah were enjoying our work boxes.
Today's boxes include:
Yusuf-
Quran to Practice surahs
Hadith colouring sheet
Reading log
Allah's prophets game
Arabic letters file folder
Cheerios necklace

Ibraheem-
Hadith colouring sheet
Geometric puzzle
Dry erase marker work book
Reading log
Cheerios necklace

I love how prepping the boxes takes me such a short time but it allows the boys to be busy for at least an hour. Mashallah they're really excited n motivated and im praying it continues to benefit our family. The great thing is that every day if can be different :)

Work Boxes

I am super excited for something new that we have started! Work boxes!
My friend recently told me about this system and I have spent the last couple of days going through blogs and youtube videos about it.  I have to admit I think its a little too strict, and were not following it exactly, but  weve tweeked it to work for our family and Im sure well tweek it a few times along the way.
You can check out the original idea here.
InshaAllah I plan on updating what type of things well be doing with our workboxes.
Today was our first day and heres what they look like:

Yusufs box included:
Reading log (hes working on reading 100 books to an adult)
Puzzle of Canada
Math U See worksheet
Jummuah Journal
Stamps and ink pad

Ibraheems box included:
Reading log (he is working on reading 50 books with an adult)
Dry erase workbook
Trucks Puzzle
Geometry Puzzle
Stamps and ink pad

What I love about this system is that it only takes me about 10-15 minutes max every night to set it up.  I don't have to put that much effort into thinking what Ill fill the folders with.  Alhamdulillah we have tons of activities in our homeschooling room from puzzles to blocks to craft supplies etc which I can use.  [Its also a way I can use all those awesome ideas Ive collected on Pinterest!]
Also, I feel it will help us stay organized and motivated!  And, one of my favourite things is that I hope inshaAllah it will foster a sense of independent learning and self motivation from the boys.

Anyways, stay tuned!

Sensory Balloons

Ibby is very sensory based. He also has more, let's say, behavioral issues than his big brother. I've noticed that playing with playdoh really helps relieve his stress. I try to always have a mini playdoh in my purse to prevent any meltdowns. Today we made sensory Balloons. I filled two with kidney beams, two with dry oatmeal, two with popcorn kernels and two with baking soda. I told them they are for holding and matching (not sports)... So far they seem to be a success. Inshalalh it helps.... My husband has requested that he gets one too :)

Skating

Wax paper and elastics make for fun skates! :)