Busy Baby Mama blogs

The blessed Messenger, peace be upon him, has always emphasized the importance of exercise for children and adults. He encouraged parents to teach their children sports, especially archery, swimming, and horseback riding. The Prophet himself was engaged in sporting events such as racing and wrestling.

The summer is a perfect time to have our children get involved in physical activities and still “score” some blessings. One of the most wonderful summer camp opportunities for Muslim boys and girls is in Monticello, New York. The director, Jasmina Zekic, has spearheaded this project to give the youth in New York an opportunity to experience Allah’s infinite beauty of nature, enjoy the sport activities freely, and foster Muslim brotherhood and sisterhood.

Although the camp is located in the reserve country side of Monticello, New York near Catskill Mountain, the parents have access to hassle free transportation where in they drop the children off at the Brooklyn site, and then the friendly staff will take care of the rest.

The camp opened in the first weekend of June. And if you are interested, you can sign up for either the weekend camp or the 5 Days Camp. The programs have dates that are designated for boys and for girls.  The Program is a great opportunity for parents that are concerned to place their children in a safe Islamic environment. This camp will give Muslim children everything a parent wishes for their child to have during the summer. The schedule is packed with a lot of learning activities, science experiments, arts and crafts and best of all they spend time learning the Quran and studying Islam too. Fun activities at the camp swimming lessons, rafting on the famous Delaware River Rapids, sleeping in the tents, taking boat rides on the lake, and hiking in the beautiful Catskill Mountains. Sports activities will include basketball, soccer, volley archery, tennis, biking, and horseback riding.

At the camp, kids will be active from the early morning starting with Fajr prayer all the way till Ishaa prayer. In between prayers they will have hands-on activities as well as sports activities that the kids will not become weary of the Islamic obligation. Quran and Islamic Studies will be conducted by Shaikh Mohamed who was born and raised in Egypt. He is a graduate of Al-Ahzar University in Tafsir of the Quran and is also a hafidh of the Quran. He currently serves the Muslim community of Monticello, in the newly made beautiful Bosnian Masjid that is within walking distance of the camp site. During their time at the camp, the kids will perform their five daily prayers together and they will learn to inculcate Islamic behavior.

This program of learning and fun can absolutely change the way Muslim children see the world and their place in it. Kids will learn the importance of personal responsibility, the value of goal-setting, the spirit of teamwork, and the thrill of accomplishment.  Go here for more information.

Sr Alif blogs

Sometimes we get so caught up in the consumer world that we forget the simplest things in life can make children love learning. As educators, we are bombarded by different educational companies to buy ready made games and puzzles for our classroom learning centers. I sometimes wish that the walls of the classroom could come off, and the children are able to play  in the natural world of Allah’ Creation. The teachable moments are priceless yet the cost is FREE.

One beautiful, sunny morning, I decided to take my daughter to the park. We packed our basket with little goodies to snack on (and for the birds too), and we walked to the park. As we strolled down the park, we stopped and collected leaves and flowers, and put them in a plastic bag. We fed the geese, and sat down for a rest in front of a tree that almost looked as if it was prostrating. we watched and marveled how Allah(SWT) created all this living things so perfectly. We collected pebbles and threw them in the pond, and to my child’s delight, it would make rings in the water. Our next stop was my girl’s favorite place- Play ground with sand. She played with the sand with her bucket and shovel, as well as used her sifter to find any pebble treasures. She flew on the swing like an airplane, and slid on the slide like she was in an amusement park. Finally, we spread the maidah on the grass, washed our hands, and feasted on our peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some juicy grapes.

What did this child learn from her day at the park? Built new vocabulary, made AB patterns with pebbles, and wrote her name on the sand.

Allah’s Learning Center: sand, pebbles, plants, and birds are the important tools of learning just as much as classroom centers filled with blocks and puzzles.

Share with us what you do with your child outside the traditional classroom!

Sr Alif blogs

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Team sport

Things needed:

Big tub of water for the center

4 smaller tubs or bins to fill with water

4 sponges

Whistle

Ruler

Warm weather

Firstly divide the children in to 4 teams and explain the rules of the game.  A whistle sounds and one child from each team takes the sponge to the central bucket and dips it into the water.    They have to carry the wet sponge back to their team where they squeeze it into the smaller bucket, then pass the damp sponge back to the next person in their team.  The team keeps going back to the central bucket till each child has had a turn…. or if there are a few children (less than 16) you may let them take 2 turns each.  In fact you may have to try a dry run of this to get the numbers to work for you because we have almost 40 kids when we play!

At first we let them just play to enjoy the game and get a feel for it. Then we blow the whistle and  have a heart to heart.  Someone describes to them how the central tub is like ‘ilm’ and for our ummah to win in this life, we need to find the right kind of ilm and come back and share it with our ummah. You can allow the kids to give you examples of ‘ilm’ and encourage them to read and understand the Quran so that they can share it with their ummah. Then we let the kids play again after they have had a chance to reflect over the meaning of their actions.  They really look forward to the ‘re-match’.  We usually finish by teaching them a small dua that they can say to help them gain the right kind of ‘ilm’.

Just some tips that might come in handy:

We assign one parent volunteer or teacher per group to make sure the sponge is passed fairly and to settle “who dropped it disputes”

Explain to the kids how to run with the sponge or else the younger kids might get wet.

This activity worked well for us with kids ranging from 4 upwards.

The essence of the game is in getting the kids to understand the rules so you need to be loud and clear on that part

The point of the game really is team work.  How to wait your turn, how to encourage friends, being a good sport and being patient.  You could watch the kids carefully while they play and affirm good players or point out how you noticed kids helping each other and cheering each other.

It really helps to sit all the volunteers down before hand and go through the whole game before you get the kids to play it.  Just so that you are all on the same page.  On days when it was hard to coordinate everyone I’d just ring them up and go through it.

In the end we all feel good. Share your summer games with us at jannahsteps@gmail.com