Surah Fatiha

Here is another activity we did from the ad-duha curriculum. We talked about and paraphrased surah Fatiha (the first chaper of the Quran) and drew hearts and decorated it with sparkles. Yusuf isnt very into art so this was simple but he really enjoyed putting the sparkles on. I have put this up on his bullatin board and inshaAllah will go over it a few more times with him inshaAllah.

Maple Syrup Festival

We went on a homeschoolers field trip to the Maple Syrup Festival. Alhamdulillah the weather was great (just very windy) and we really enjoyed ourselves. What made it really enjoyable was that we went with a group of friends, and car pooled which was great since it was an hour drive! Im so happy the nice weather is finally here so we can do more outings inshaAllah!

Fire Station

Today we had a homeschooler's field trip to the local fire station. It was a lot of fun and very informative for both parents and kids. I would recommend the website www.sparky.org. Yusuf has been going on it for a while now and has actually learned alot alhamdulillah.

May Allah keep us and our families safe and protects us from any fires, Ameen.

The Straight Path

As part of the ad-duha curicullum we have been studying the first chapter of the Quran, Surah Fatiha. Here is the translation:

In the name of Allah, The Beneficient, The Merciful
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds
The Beneficent, The Merciful
Owner of the Day of Judgment
Only You do we worship
And only You do we ask for help
Guide us to the straight path
The path of those whom you have favored
Not the Path of those whom have earned your anger
Nor the path of those whom have gone astray

So we discussed the meaning and importance of it. When we used to go to an Islamic class for kids one of the moms did this really good activity. To help the kids understand the meaning of 'the straight path' she made a line across the room. All the kids lined up on it. If she said a good deed, the kids got to take a step forward but if she said a bad deed they would fall off. And she told them to pretend the end of the line was Jannah. So we did this at home and Yusuf really enjoyed it... so did Ibby! Hes at an age where hes copying everything so its really cute mashaAllah. Baba also had a turn walking on the line while Yusuf said different deeds.

May Allah keep us, and our loved ones on the straight path which leads to Jannah, Ameen.

Diorama

Today we did our first lesson from the book called "Muhammad and Maryam" which is part of the ad-duha curriculum set I recently purchased. Alhamdulillah so far were loving it. Today's lesson was an introduction to Muhammad and Maryam who are twins around the age of four. The entire book is based on their life and questions / experiences they go through. Today's topic was the Oneness of Allah. After the lesson there are some discussion questions. And in the teachers manual there was an art activity to make a diorama of Muhammad and Maryam's room. I thought it was a great idea because it will give us more of a connection to the characters in the book inshaAllah. Yusuf isn't a big fan of art activities but we really enjoyed doing this together. He gave me a lot of his own ideas and input. InshaAllah I will continue to update the blog about the progress we make with the ad-duha books!

Yusuf wanted there to be a mesjid outside the house and drew stairs

Maryam's side of the room

Muhammad's side of the room. Note the soccer balls, trophies on the shelf, and movable prayer mats on the ground.

The lid / roof for the room. Ibby decorated it with stickers. He loves stickers and had a blast putting them on.

When were older...

Today Yusuf and I had a discussion about when we (my huband and I) will be older. Im not sure how it began but mashaallah it went well. Yusufs friend has a great grandfather who lives with him because he is pretty old. So we talked about him as an example. I explained to him how when people get old, they need more help and kids need to take care of their parents just like parents take care of kids when they're babies. We talked about different ways to take care of your parents when they get old, like: eating with them, checking on them, talking to them, driving them places, and buying things for them.

I would like to teach our kids to live a healthy balance between the eastern and western cultures. I find in Eastern cultures (ie. indo pak) that generally there is the extreme of parents ALWAYS being with their kids. Even if the parents are healthy and independant, its a huge deal to move out of your parents house. On the other hand, generally, in western cultures, people go to the other extent of rarely seeing their parents. 'Old Age Homes' is considered a norm here, where overseas it is a very foreign concept!

I find it incredibly heart breaking when families 'dump' their elder, sick parents in an old age home so others can take care of them. I understand it is not easy when a parent reaches the age where they need to be taken care of, fed, bathed, reminded to take their medicine, taken for walks, checked up on, and even diapers changed.... but was it easy for our parents when they were raising us? Did they not put their all into their careers to create a stable income to pay for your soccer leagues / summer camps / new clothes / food in your stomach? Did they not stay awake all night taking care of you when you were sick / teething/ having nightmares? Did they not put their all in raising you? Is it too much to ask to take care of them for a few years as their lives reach an end?

Yes, I understand that in some cases it is very difficult to take a parent into your home so they can be taken care of... and at times, it is more practical for everyone if that person goes into an old age home because of family situations / extreme sickness etc. But I think its just been made too easy and convenient that each city/town has multiple homes.

Jannah doesn't come easy. Taking care of elder parents is not easy. Its all about what youre wiling to sacrifice.

InshaAllah when my kids get married and have their own families, I want them to be happy and chose where they would like to live (Id actually prefer they not live with us when they first get married, unless there is a need on their part). However, if it happens that my husband or I pass away leaving the other one alone, or if one or both of us are sick, I expect my children to be the ones taking care of me, just like were taking care of them now!

For me, this is a huge thing. Not only is it an Islamic concept, but out of basic human compassion, it only makes sense you take care of your parents as they once took care of you when you were helpless and fully dependent on them.

I know Yusuf is only four, and to some its too early to talk about this, but for me, its very important... so Im laying the foundation now.

May Allah swt help us to take care of our parents.. for taking care of them is a means of Jannah for us. And may He put compassion and mercy in our children's hearts for us when we become old... just as we have so much mercy and compassion towards them now. Ameen.

Blog Feature

We were featured on my friends blog :)
Heres the link for the Mama part : click here
And here the link for kiddos part : click here

Be sure to bookmark her blog .. its really awesome mashaallah!