At The Arrival Terminal!

Masha Allaah we had an opportunity to visit the Air Port - Arrival Terminal few days ago as we (Maimoonah and I ) went to the Airport to pick her father (he was away for about two weeks). This is the first time Maimoonah has been away from her father from the time she turned one and also this is her first time to the Airport after understanding what the Airport is all about. Till the flight arrived we just went around the place.

We saw a prayer room, cafe some exchange places, bank branches, information desk, passengers with bag and baggage and toilets etc etc. She was busy reading big boards there and enjoyed the small tour.

She was so thrilled to see her Abi after some time and hugged and kissed him, masha Allaah!

She was so thankful to her Abi for the little gifts he brought for her, Alhamdulillaah! She got some nice art and craft stuff, a kitchen set, few stuffed toys, and some dresses and tiny bags!

She got the hang of playing with these tops, masha Allaah!

We were so glad to have him back masha Allaah and spent few days out of home ed : ) She was busy talking to him and playing with her new toys, masha Allaah!

Summary - Week 21 - Weather

Weather

Masha Allaah most of the activities we did this week was from the Weather Unit Study which was generously gifted to us by sis Umm Tafari. Masha Allaah she made it very easy for me this week! May Allaah reward you sister Umm Tafari. Also the minibook is on the way Insha Allaah, we will use it when it is ready.

We watched few power point presentations about Weather and Weather definitions.

Then we learnt about the Qur'aan aayahs that were mentioned in the Unit Study and discussed that weather is controlled my Allaah alone. Then we discussed about different seasons and how the weather changes accordingly.

We discussed and learnt about how the messenger of Allaah asked for rain and asked for clear skies. We learnt the Dua pertaining to thunder, and rain.

Also we discussed how fearful and upset the Messenger of Allaah sallaahu alaihiwasallam used to be when he saw dark clouds. And here she knew and told me "like Aad and Thamud Ummi". And we discussed about the punishment that were sent to them by wind, blast and rain, and storm and thunder.

We started a weather journal and recorded the weather for the whole week. Since the weather here was only sunny and hot the whole week so it was easy for her to just draw the sun everyday : )

She also did this bar graph activity from the unit study. Masah Allaah she was very interested in this and identified the correct answers for the questions based on the graph.

She also did the maths worksheets, word matching worksheets.

We did more worksheets on choosing the correct things to take to the beach, identifying what does not belong and matching the right type of clothes to be worn according to the weather.

We did this experiment to see the evaporation. She poured water into two glasses and we kept it in the sun light after marking the levels of water and few days and later checked the glasses out. She was like Ummi sun has taken a lot of water, it has evaporated!! She was observing everyday masha Allaah!

We spoke about the rain and how its so important for the plants to grow. Sis Umm Tafari's Unit study had some nice easy food stuff to make with the kids, unfortunately I did not have all the ingredients so we just settled with dates and she ate some Ajwa dates while I was relating the hadeeth to her.

We studied the Arabic weather words using our weather wheel!

She also did this weather words matching activity. She was able to read and match Independently.

Then we did this finger paints and sprinkling water art. Actually we were supposed to do it with paper plates and we did not have. So we used a thick paper and it did not come out that well, still she had fun.

Finally we made this paper fan and she loved it so much even goes to sleep with it these days.

Qur'aan Memorization

We have started memorizing Soorah Al A'laa, masha Allaah.

Asmaaul Husna

We learnt, Al Haleem and Al Hakeem

Aqeedah

We learnt about the definition of Ibaadah, worship. But we will continue on it next week too till she memorizes the definition Insha Allaah! And will do a bit more explanation on that.

Language, Reading and Writing

We read a few emergent reader books and she loved all of them. This is indeed a great way to motivate children to read. Since its small and nice she liked it very much and read all of them interdependently.

Then we read this book which goes along with the topic. It has more new words and it was a good opportunity to introduce new words. So we read this together and she is waiting for her father to be back to go to the beach and throw stones and "SPLASH", Insha Allaah. She learnt that through this book : )

Masha Allaah her writing skills have increased now. I found her writing sentences like "This is Abi", "My Abi is...." "This is Abi, Ummi and baby" I could not get any pics because she was writing on her white board and erasing them. But masha Allaah she wrote all of this without any spelling errors.

She traced this.

And she was fully occupied with these books by sis Umm An Nu'man. I could leave her with it and do my cooking.

Maths

We did few more chapters on MEP

Arabic

We learnt two more letters. Kaaf and Laam. I am unable to upload these two pics for some reason!

Montessori Activities

Making Patterns

This is a gift Maimoonah received from a dear sister from another part of the world, masha Allaah. It meant a lot for her dear sister and you really made her happy. Jazzakumullaah Khayr. She made this taking her time and she said she is trying to make the continents : )

Ya Akhawaat, compete for this!!!

A dearest little sister sent me this beautiful reminder, hope you all will love it too Insha Allaah!

Ibn al-Qayyim's beautiful description of Paradise from 'Haadi al-Arwaah'

from the amazing and beautiful book Haadi al-Arwaah ilaa Bilaad il-Afraah by Ibn al-Qayyim, pg. 193

Ibn al-Qayyim said, in regards to the description of the Paradise and the delights that it contains:

"And if you ask about its ground and its soil , then it is of musk and saffron.

And if you ask about its roof, then it is the Throne of the Most Merciful.

And if you ask about its rocks, then they are pearls and jewels.

And if you ask about its buildings, then they are made of bricks of gold and silver.

And if you ask about its trees, then it does not contain a single tree except that its trunk is made of gold and silver.

And if you ask about its fruits, then they are softer than butter and sweeter than honey.

And if you ask about its leaves, then they are softer than the softest cloth.

And if you ask about its rivers, then there are rivers of milk who's taste does not change, and rivers of wine that is delicious to those who drink it, and rivers of honey that is pure, and rivers of water that is fresh.

And if you ask about their food, then it is fruits from whatever they will choose, and the meat of whatever birds they desire.

And if you ask about their drink, then it is Tasneem, ginger, andKaafoor.

And if you ask about their drinking cups, then they are crystal-clear and made of gold and silver.

And if you ask about its shade, then a fast rider would ride in the shade of one of its trees for a hundred years and not escape it.

And if you ask about its vastness, then the lowest of its people would have within his kingdom and walls and palaces and gardens the distance that would be travelled in a thousand years.

And if you ask about its tents and encampments, then one tent is like a concealed pearl that is sixty miles long.

And if you ask about its towers, then they are rooms above rooms in buildings that have rivers running underneath them.

And if you ask about how far it reaches into the sky, then look at the shining star that is visible, as well as those that are far in the heavens that the eyesight cannot possibly reach.

And if you ask about the clothing of its inhabitants, then they are of silk and gold.

And if you ask about its beds, then its blankets are of the finest silk laid out in the highest of its levels.

And if you ask about the faces of its inhabitants and their beauty, then they are like the image of the Moon.

And if you ask about their age, then they are young ones of 33 years in the image of Adam, the father of humanity.

And if you ask about what they will be hearing, then it is the singing of their wives from among the Hoor al-'Ayn, and better than that are the voices of the Angels and the Prophets, and better than that is the Speech of the Lord of the Worlds.

And if you ask about their servants, then they are young boys of everlasting youth who resemble scattered pearls.

And if you ask about their brides and wives, then they are young and full-breasted and have had the liquid of youth flow through their limbs; the Sun runs along the beauty of her face if she shows it, light shines from between her teeth if she smiles; if you meet her love, then say whatever you want regarding the joining of two lights; he sees his face in the roundness of her cheek as if he is looking into a polished mirror, and he sees the brightness from behind her muscles and bones; if she were to be unleashed upon the World, she would fill what is between the Heavens and the Earth with a beautiful wind, and the mouths of the creation would glorifiy, praise, and exclaim greatness, and everything between the East and the West would be adorned for her, and every eye would be shut from everthing but her, and the light of the Sun would be outshone just as the light of the Sun outshines the light of the stars, and everyone on the face of the Earth would believe in the Ever-Living, the One who Sustains and Protects all the exists.

And the covering on her head is better than the World and all that is in it, and she does not increase with age except in beauty; free from an umbilical cord, childbirth and menses, and pure of mucous, saliva, urine and other filthy things; her youth never fades, her clothing is never worn out, no garment can be created that matches her beauty, and no one who is with her can ever become bored; her attention is restricted to her husband, so she desires none but him, just as his attention is restricted to her so she is the sole object of his desire, and he is with her in utmost safety and security, as none has touched her before of either humans or Jinn.

And if you ask about the Day of Increase (in reward) and the visit of the all-Mighty, all-Wise, and the sight of His Face - free from any resemblance or likeness to anything - as you see the Sun in the middle of the day and the full Moon on a cloudless night, then listen on the day that the caller will call: 'O People of Paradise! Your Lord - Blessed and Exalted - requests you to visit Him, so come to visit Him!' So they will say: 'We hear and obey!'

Until, when they finally reach the wide valley where they will all meet - and none of them will turn down the request of the caller - the Lord - Blessed and Exalted - will order His Chair to be brought there. Then, pulpits of light will emerge, as well as pulpits of pearls, gemstone, gold, and silver. The lowest of them in rank will sit on sheets of musk, and will not see what those who are on the chairs above them are given. When they are comfortable where they are sitting and are secure in their places, and the caller calls: 'O People of Paradise! You have an appointment with Allaah in which He wishes to reward you!' So they will say: 'And what is that reward? Has He not already made our faces bright, made our scales heavy, entered us into Paradise, and pushed us away from the Fire?'

And when they are like that, all of a sudden a light shines that encompasses all of Paradise. So, they raise their heads, and, behold: the Compeller - Exalted is He, and Holy are His Names - has come to them from above them and majestified them and said: 'O People of Paradise! Peace be upon you!' So, this greeting will not be responded to with anything better than: 'O Allaah! You are Peace, and from You is Peace! Blessed are You, O possessor of Majesty and Honor!' So the Lord - Blessed and Exalted - will laugh to them and say: 'O People of Paradise! Where are those who used to obey Me without having ever seen Me? This is the Day of Increase!'

So, they will all give the same response: 'We are pleased, so be pleased with us!' So, He will say: 'O People of Paradise! If I were not pleased with you, I would not have made you inhabitants of My Paradise! So, ask of Me!' So, they will all give the same response: 'Show us your Face so that we may look at it!' So, the Lord - Mighty and Majestic - will remove his covering and will majestify them and will cover them with His Light, which, if Allaah - the Exalted - had not Willed not to burn them, would have burned them.

And there will not remain a single person in this gathering except that his Lord - the Exalted - will speak to him and say: 'Do you remember the day that you did this and that?' and He will remind him of some of his bad deeds in the Worldy life, so he will say: 'O Lord! Will you not forgive me?' So, He will say: 'Of course! You have not reached this position of yours (in Paradise) except by my forgiveness.'

So, how sweet is this speech to the ears, and how cooled are the righteous eyes by the glance at His Noble Face in the Afterlife...

{Some faces that Day will be shining and radiant, looking at their Lord...} (al-Qiyaamah:22-3)


[From the amazing and beautiful book Haadi al-Arwaah ilaa Bilaad il-Afraah by Ibn al-Qayyim, pg. 193]

Alhamdulillaah, Sister Amatullaah has posted the guidelines for the Qur'aan Challenge. Please read and leave a comment on her post on her blog if you are interested Insha Allaah!

Here is the link http://homeschool-diary.blogspot.com/2011/06/hifz-programme-guidelinesopen-to.html

Homeschool Diary - Qura'aan Challenge?

Assalaamu Alaikum warahmathullaah Ya Akhawaat

Our sister Amatullaah at Homeschool Diary has initiated a beneficial Project for all of sisters Insha Allaah. May Allaah reward her immensely for this initiation. Please read her post below and let us know what you think about it Insha Allaah! And we could all go forward from there Insha Allaah to please our Lord alone. Since Rmadhaan the Month of Qur'aan is just round the corner this would be a nice project to earn some extra reward if we all can participate and benefit from this Insha Allaah!

Asalamualaikum wa rahmatullah Sisters,

This post is not about my kids but myself and my personal endeavour to try and memorise Quran. I say try because even though I have had the intention to memorise the whole Quran for many many years, the amount I’ve actually memorised is very small. There are probably many reasons for this, sins, lack of effort, lack of consistency, motivation going up and down, not giving enough time to revise so having to constantly back-track and re-memorise stuff that I had already committed to memory. But still after all my failings I still have a burning desire to memorise the Quran. It’s constantly on my mind (even though unfortunately not manifest in my actions).

I’m not the best person to write a motivational piece on memorising Quran, but one of my main motivating factor now is that I have to be what I want my children to become.

So having renewed my intentions, which I ask Allah to make sincerely for His sake, I really want to step up my memorisation efforts and pray that Allah will facilitate it for me and anyone else who wishes to memorise.

An article which I found beneficial is how to organise ones time in memorising:

http://thuriayaa.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/how-to-memorize-the-quraan/

If other sisters are interested we can record progress on a monthly basis of all sisters wishing to take part…is there anyone who will take the challenge to be what we want our children to become, with the permission of Allah?

http://homeschool-diary.blogspot.com/2011/06/quran-challenge.html

Summary - Week 20 - Things and People in my Neighbourhood!

Things and People in My Neighbourhood

We learnt about who are neighbours and what is a neighbourhood. We did this topic before and we discussed again.

We learnt the rights of neighbours in Islaam. We discussed how we should be kind to our neighbours by not disturbing them, being nice and kind to them, cook a little more and share our food with them.

We did the beautiful minibook.

We learnt some hadeeth, did some pre writing and writing words, read some pages, pasted the missing words etc etc.

We discussed that we need to help each other when we are living, since we are not able to do all the work by ourselves and some people in our neighbourhood are skilled with certain work.

Then we watched some power point presentations from here regarding Neighbourhood and Community helpers.

Then we cut some pictures of the Community Helpers from here and pasted in our Environmental Studies book and discussed the work done by each helper.

Then I asked her questions like "If we are having a leak in the bathroom, who would we call to mend it?" Then she goes "The Plumber!" and we continued like this.

Then we chose to do a lapbook on Policeman mainly because these days she has been smiling too much with the policemen outside : )

These are the contents before assembling.

We used finger paints and did the fingerprintings. Then went through the Traffic signs and shapes. Spoke about each sign and where would see them. We made patterns. Spoke about the duties of a policeman.

This is the inside of the Lapbook .

And this is how the cover looks.

Then we did this pasting the stickers activity which also had the Arabic terms for tools used by community helpers. The English in it was not that great because there were some Grammar and spelling mistakes. We used this for the activity and Arabic.

We did this Direction worksheet. We learnt about North, South, East and West. She actually did well to find out where the girl is by following instructions.

She did this worksheet where she had to colour the places of work,play and living.

Then she made these Community Helpers Puzzles.

Aqeedah

We have been reading about Image making this week and the punishment for it in Aqeedah of Shaikh Yahya Al Hajoori Hafidhahullaah.

Asmaaul Husna

We learnt and pasted Al Malik - The King

Reading, Writing and Language

She Traced this

Also her writing has really improved now more than tracing masha Allaah!

She read this book which caught her eye. She really did well Allaahu baarik lahaa with trying to read some big words in this book. Since it was her interest in butterflies she continued reading with a little help.

Arabic

We read The Book of Jobs from Arabic First. Reviewed the Arabic Terms for each community helper.

Maths

We did only one chapter from MEP as we had some Family issues(coping with a death of a non muslim relative, subhanallaah) this week and it was indeed a great calamity. May Allaah protect all of us.

Montessori Activity

Closing and Opening the door (the importance being not making any noise while doing so)