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Ramadan Arabic Alphabet Game

blogadmin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:16:56 +0000

Sr Alif blogs

“Verily we have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’ân in order that you may understand” Surah Yusuf: 2

I am getting a lot of requests to share Arabic activities for our littlest readers, so here is one we play in Ramadan….

Arabic Sahoor/Fasting Game: DOWNLOAD GAME HERE: Arabic Game

Shuffle cards and place them in any container that the cards can sit in.
The first player takes a card, saying the Arabic letter card they pull out. Also, they can pretend to eat it.
This player keeps taking cards until a ‘fasting time’ card appears (which really means, you miss your turn!) then the play moves to the next person. When all cards have been played, count your cards. The player with the most cards is the winner!

Fanoos Lanterns Are Always a Hit in My Home! Here’s How to Make Your Own!

blogadmin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:00:34 +0000

Artsy Ummi blogs

Fanoos Lamps that originated in Egypt around 969 AD have widely been incorporated into other parts of the world including the United States. The history of how the fanoose lamp originated is mixed with legendary tales of Fatimid Caliph Moezz el-din’s entrance to Egypt in the early part of Ramadan. The Egyptians recieved him with lamps and torches, and since then the Fanoos has been known as one of the icons of Ramadan. Another explanation for this lamp tradition is that during the 12th century in the reign of Mumlek, the women were mostly restricted to stay home after dark. However during Ramadan, they were permitted to go to break their fast with their relatives, as long as they had a child leading the way with a fanoose. This allowed the men to know that the women were coming, so they cleared the path for them out of respect.

If you go to Egypt in Ramadan, you can see the children continuing the lamp holding tradition, running in the streets after dark with their fanoos swinging from their hands, collecting sweets and money. You can hear the children singing about the Mesahaty who carries the Fanoos and wakes people up at night in order to eat before Fajr. The traditional fanoose is made of tin and glass, however this has become a craft tradition in America to both Muslims and Non-Muslims to celebrate the welcoming of Ramadan. Most of them made from paper materials, that use LED lights instead of candles!

Here are some crafty Muslim mom Fanoos Lamp List.

Here’s a great recycling idea! It might take you two days to make this although it is very easy!

http://www.americasmuslimfamily.com/hullabaloo/fanoos/fanoos.html

Very cute paper fanoos, It also looks like hmmmm…minature pinatas!

http://muslimlearninggarden.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/eid-lantern-fanoos/

Here’s a link to make your own LED lights with sheet protectors, so easy and beautiful! I also like the Ramadan Gift Bag idea on this same link. You can gift your home made lanterns in these gift bags.

http://growmama.com/tutorial/ramadan-crafts/

Ramadan Activity for Kids: My 5 Senses of Ramadan for Pre-K Students!

blogadmin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:21:07 +0000

Sr Alif blogs

Pre-K-teacher Sister Umayeshah Abdul-Jameel created some Pre-K Lessons for Ramadan. It’s called “Five Senses of Ramadan”

InshAllah, this lesson plan and children’s e-book will be available on our Jannahsteps “official” website next year….

Here is a sneak peak of the free worksheet downloads and flashcard activities, including the parent connection information packet.

DOWNLOAD PARENT CONNECTION HERE: Parent Connection

DOWNLOAD 5 SENSES RAMADAN JOURNAL HERE: 5 Senses Ramadan Journal

DOWNLOAD 5 SENSES RAMADAN FLASHCARDS HERE: 5 senses cards

Let’s Sing and Rejoice….it’s Ramadan!

blogadmin — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:55:09 +0000

Sr Alif blogs

Ramadan and Eid Songs or Nasheeds are always special. Here is one written by Sister Umfaheem Abdul-Jameel. A Jannahsteps original, not one…..but two!

DOWNLOAD HERE: New Moon Ramadan Song

If You See the New Moon!

(Sung to the tune of “If you’re happy and you know it”)

If you see the new moon, it’s Ramadan!

It’s the 9th month of the year

in Islamic Calendar!

If you see the new moon, it’s Ramadan!

This song can be used to teach other Islamic months as well! Just change the month and the number of the month.

If you see the new moon, it’s ____________!

It’s the ___th month of the year

in Islamic Calendar!

If you see the new moon, it’s ____________!

DOWNLOAD HERE: Eid Day

Eid Day!

(Sung to the tune of B.I.N.G.O)

Today is the day to celebrate

For it’s the day of Eid!

Take a bubble bath!

Put on your best clothes!

Pray at the masjid!

Then have fun all day!

Ramadan Activity for Kids: Moon Sighting Lessons

blogadmin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 15:50:38 +0000

Sr Alif blogs

Ramadan is a great time to introduce astronomy lessons into your child’s education and integrate these science concepts into the Holy Month. The Islamic concepts to focus on are:

All Muslims follow the Lunar Calendar as the Islamic Calendar.
There are 29 or 30 days for each Lunar Month.
Ramdan is the 9th Lunar Month.
Muslims must start fasting when the New moon is sighted for Ramadan.
Muslims must stop fasting when the new moon is sighted for Shawwal.

Here are a list of ways to study the lunar cycle in the month of Ramadan:

Buy a Telescope: You can buy a fairly good telescope for $30.00-$50.00 from any education stores such as Lakeshore Store or even toy stores such as Toys R Us. It’s a great educational tool to discuss the importance of moonsighting and to observe the Islamic calendar. You can have your older children be in charge of sighting the moon and sharing their observations with the little ones in the family.

Make a toy telescope: Have your child paint a paper towel roll, and decorate it with star stickers. Place a clear cellophane wrap on one side of the opening and place it tight with a rubberband. Punch 2 holes on opposite sides, and tie a pipe clear , string, or ribbon from one end to the other. Voila! An instant telescope craft for your little ones.

Record the Moon Sighting: Get your children to look through the telescope each evening or night and observe different lunar phases. Get them to draw what they see on a Moon Phase chart like the one below. Even young children can participate!

DOWNLOAD MOON PHASE CHART: Moon Phases Chart

Lunar Cycle Lesson: This lesson is so simple, that anyone can do it. In class and at home. All you need is some aluminum foil, glue or clear tape, soccer ball, and a flashlight.

http://www.kidsgen.com/school_projects/moon_phases.htm

You can even make a poster with the phases.

Visit your local Planetarium: Your child will never look at the sky the same way after seeing the simulated sky with narration of different constellations. Here is a list of all the planetariums in the United States.

http://www.touristinformationdirectory.com/Planetarium/Science_Center_Observatory_planetariums_US.htm

Make a Moon Model: Use clay or paper mache to make a complete model of the moon with its craters and colors.

Make Moon Phase Cookies: Even eating snacks can be a moon lesson with Oreos (and some milk).

http://tjramadan.talibiddeenjr.amanahwebs.com/05-recipes-ramadan-kids-ore-moon-phases.htm

1001 Inventions: Extending the Museum Trip Into Your Classroom! (Ages 4-7)

blogadmin — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:55:16 +0000

* COMING SOON*

Look out for 1001 Inventions classroom worksheets, activity ideas and downloads for ages 4-7 in this space. We will post them soon. We are currently awaiting the response of 1001 Inventions in regards to the materials we created and used in classrooms before we put them up here.

Thank you!

Celebrating the New Islamic Year 1432!

blogadmin — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 10:27:25 +0000

Sr Alif blogs

A conversation with Sr Maryam Khaliqi ( a Kindergarten teacher) and the PreK teachers jump started an idea to do something memorable at school for our Hijri Calendar. Her thoughts were that people go all out and celebrate New Years and it’s just sad that we don’t emphasize our own calendar dates for our kids to remember, experience and enjoy. Often kids won’t even be aware of when the start of the new Islamic month is. So it was the perfect solution to create some buzz and excitement in the corridors of the PreK classroom. We were going to have a fun Hijri party and get those little kids learning the Islamic calendar faster than you can say “1432 A.H.!”

We were off to a great start, in the morning the kids colored their 1432 AH Party hats in English and Arabic numbers (Download template below). The teacher took the children out for outdoor activities while her assistant set up the tables and decorated it with table cloth and decorations. When the kids returned, they got to wear their 1432 paper hats and sat down around Sr Zahra Biler’s homemade cake with delicious whipped cream and blueberries. The children decorated it with green M&M’s carefully making the numbers 1432 (Great for eye-hand coordination). Then they sang “It’s an Islamic New Year, It’s an Islamic New Year! !1432….After Hijra!!” This was a song they sang to the tune of Happy Birthday!

Finally, they all returned home happily with party blowers in their mouths and goody bags in their hands. The bags were decorated with 1432 A.H. tags. You can download party hats and gift tag templates that can be used for class or just a fun kids get together.

Download 1432 Party Hat Template here: Islamic New Year 1432 Templates

T’was the Night of Knowledge

blogadmin — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 07:19:24 +0000

Sr Alif blogs

During their theme on Outer Space, one Pre-K student was asked “What do you see in the sky after it gets dark?” The girl quickly responded with, “You see a sled with reindeer flying way up high”, “Yes, you go to sleep and someone brings you a surprise gift!” another chirped in. Now all the Muslim children excitedly started calling out, “Santa! Christmas!” Well, it was interesting to know what was on the children’s mind when they were learning about the solar system. The lesson began with the sun and ended up with Santa from outer space! As the teacher diplomatically changed the topic, you know her mind was racing with ideas, “OK, I need a quick lesson about the Islamic view on Christmas…”

But how do you teach that to a very young child bombarded with exposure to media (PBS, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network…..and the list goes on) with holidays that are not part of their religious tradition? You certainly don’t want the children to offend their Christian neighborhood friends by dropping the ultimate myth blower. I heard one Muslim girl tell a horrified Christmas loving friend on the school bus, “Don’t you know that there is no such thing as Santa!? Go to the North Pole and see for yourself!”

So how do you explain this day and respect it as a Christian Holiday, but at the same time understand that we do not celebrate it? Often I find that parents shun their kids away with a hard-hitting phrase that slips out of their mouth very easily and mindlessly, not explaining much or anything at all, “No, we don’t do that, it’s HARAM!” Or it is the opposite in some houses, “I’ll let my child celebrate and let him decorate his own Christmas tree, it’s the intention that counts after all. He just wants to have some fun. I’ll explain things when he gets older and when he is able to understand better.” Teaching Muslim kids about religions or ideas that do not belong in the fold of Islam can be a tricky thing. Teaching religious tolerance and at the same time appreciating and believing in what our teachings hold is a very fine balance. It needs to be tackled with love, care, and understanding. But most importantly, parents need to give clear answers and logical reasoning to their children starting at a very young age. Always remember that our children are born with an inborn Islamic fitrah or an inborn natural predisposition towards Allah and His deen. It is the influence of the environment and negative exposure that change the child’s fitrah. Help retain this fitrah by protecting the child’s understanding and giving explanations before the child’s mind is trained into thinking a certain way.

Here are simple steps to tackling this curiosity in the classroom Pre-K to 1st Grade. Teach a lesson on Christmas with the Islamic perspective. And if you have ideas, don’t forget to email them to jannahsteps@gmail.com. We would love to share them with the rest of the world so we all benefit. Inshallah.

Approach this at a “Circle Time”:

1. Discuss with the children what they have seen and heard these past few weeks on TV and around them. Of course, you will hear the jingles of “Christmas trees”, “reindeer”, “sleds” and “Santa”. Christmas Templates Download Here. Have these pictures available on these Christmas “characters” to help with the circle time discussion. Help them understand that these characters are not part of the original Christmas celebrations. They actually do not exist, characters much like Spiderman and Dora. However these fantasy creatures are used to tell a pretend story- one that includes Santa coming down a chimney and bearing gifts, encouraging you to be at your best behavior if you want to receive a special something! They frighten us with stories of Santa secretly watching over us to see if we are good or bad…help the kids understand that only Allah can know what we are up to and if we’ve been at our best behavior or not. You will be surprised at how much the kids comprehend this idea. They actually are more mature than we take them to be!

2. Tell them that in Islam we respect other people’s religion by not ever making fun of others beliefs, traditions or culture. But we do not participate in them either. For example: We do not get a Christmas tree and decorate our homes with lights during this time. We do not sit on Santa’s lap. We do not exchange presents. Remind them that we have our two Holidays: Eidul-Fitul and Eidul Adha. Have pictures of that as well such as Mosques, Iftar dinners, Eid Prayer. Ask them of their favorite Eid memory and include that in the discussion.

3. Introduce Prophet Isa (AS) or Jesus. Explain what Christians are celebrating on Christmas Day. Tell them about the one thing that we have in common with this Holiday – celebrating the great Prophet of God-Isa (AS). We believe that Jesus was a great prophet, but not the son of God. Help them understand this important difference. Islam teaches us that God does not give birth or have children. He is too special to have a life like us humans. He created us that way, but it does not mean that he shares the same lifestyle as us. Only Allah is to be given the right to be God as He is our Creator and also the Creator of Isa (AS).

3. You can also listen to Surah Ikhlas on this CD: Quran for Little Muslims 2 (Noorart). Your kids will be delighted to listen to a captivating Christmas story with an Islamic perspective. Written and recited by Noor Sadeh, an American Muslimah revert from New York.

4. Finally, teach students the core belief of the existence of One God. First introduce the meaning of Surah Ikhlas. Download here: surah ikhlas template . Print this file and fold it from the top to the bottom and right to the left to make a book. Discuss each ayah and what it means in detail so the children comprehend each point clearly. Allow them to color the pictures and understand the concept in each ayah clearly. They can even create a cover for this book and write Surah Ikhlas in arabic and english.

5. Help them understand the importance of the words from Surah Ikhlas and why Allah would want to tell us this again in the Quran. Remember that they are young children, so you want to emphasize basic points. 1.Allah is one. 2. He lives forever.3.He does not have a family. 4.He is nothing like us.

6. Review Surah Ikhlas and its meaning before the break. Have them review the points from each ayah. If they memorize the surah and its meaning in English they get a “gift” after their winter break.

Making Special Eid Cards for a Special Cause

blogadmin — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 18:49:43 +0000

Umm Professional blogs

My dear friend, Sister Sommieh as usual is up to the challenge. Recently remarried after many years of working as a dynamic principal in Michigan, she has a new life and a new cause. She started an Eid Card charity project for the impoverish children in Pakistan. Her personal encounter with these simple and dynamic children can be read in these excerpts of her downloadable journal:

“…I noticed these Pathan or Afghan children, as soon I began living here in Chatta, about two weeks after I arrived in Pakistan. They were on the highway, cutting dry grass, and in the bazaars helping parents who had stalls there. But I didn’t start really seeing these children until I

saw Lailmina.

Walking to and from the school where I help with English twice a week, I would see groups of five to seven children with large burlap and plastic rice bags on their backs, picking up trash. Then one day I saw a group of them clustered around something on the other side of the

high curb that separates the street from the muddy creek that the water buffalo wallow in. One of them called out happily and excitedly to her friends, Sayp, sayp! I went over to see what it was they were so delighted about. I looked down into a mess of rotten apples that had fallen from a tree…”

Although a little late notice, making these special eid cards will give a new meaning to your children and they will love how their craft turns to into charity.

Here are the step by step instructions:

1. You can simply download the photos of the children from http://picasaweb.google.com/sommieh/AFC?feat=directlink

2. Go to CVS, or any photo printer and print them out. About 19 cents per photo if you do it online.

3. Glue on Card stock on one half of the page, and fold in half

3. You can also print out her journal and read this to your children. Compare their lives to ours, and reflect on the bounties of our life.

4. You can decorate the front with scrapbook embellishments.

5. Write Eid Mubarak inside

6. Buy the card envelopes at Staples

7. Sell it for $2.00 to $3.00

If you are a busy mama like someone we know (chuckle), you can just download either of the 2 versions from here (one is black and white and the other is in color). Eid card project black and white. Your child can decorate it or/and sell it for $1.00-$3.00.

Donate this money. The checks can be written to Sajda Uddin(Sister Sommeih’s daughter) mail the checks to 5040 Heather Drive, Apt 109, Dearborn, MI 48126

For more information visit their website: www.SitaraSchool.org

Welcome New Year 1432: Making Islamic Months Fun2Learn!

blogadmin — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:15:51 +0000

Sr Alif blogs

Happy Islamic New Year! We are in the 1st month of our Hijri Calendar and the focus around the world in Islamic classrooms whether in schools or homes is about educating students the Islamic Months of the calendar!

Teaching children the names of the Islamic months is not as challenging as some may think. If you remember to teach in a fun and creative way, children can memorize it in no time! Remember the 3 Learning Styles using Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic senses. Always keep in mind what kind of learner your child is and introduce concepts in the way that will best appeal to his learning disposition. It may be that they have more than one or all three learning styles (as in the case of classrooms), so don’t hesitate to try more than one activity, and don’t forget to repeat the concept as children master with repetition. Inshallah.

1. For Auditory Learners- Make a Rhyme or Sing a Month Song. Auditory learners get the most out of listening; they will be able to respond better to spoken instructions versus written instructions. Involve your little auditory learner in a rhyme! Songs are just a fun way to engage multiple age groups, and you will find that kids grasp concepts and information faster with a rhyme!

My Recommendation: If you are not the creative kind to make up your own verse or two, then why not leave it to the experts- Yusuf Islam’s Islamic Month’s Song (link below) is an exceptionally catchy and educational song. Surprisingly, we all (yes, mom and dad included) learned the months and its order in the Hijjri Calendar this way. Play it on the way to school, or just listen to it at home during coloring time, and see how the months catch on!

Download This: Yusuf Islam’s Months in Islam Nasheed

2. For Visual Learners- Make Your Own Hijri Calendar. I am a visual learner and making illustrations or drawing pictures always helps me visualize the information I am learning about and helps me retain information more clearly. Get your little visual learner to make an illustrated calendar of his own.

My Recommendation: Print this Hijri Calendar Template (download PDF below) on heavy white cardstock. Get your child to color in the names of the month and illustrate the month with images they can associate for each month -perhaps an important day, child’s birthday, upcoming special event or trip, etc. Children tend to comprehend new ideas when they are connected to prior knowledge.

You can also decorate the calendar with gems and glitter or turn it into a scrapbook project and print small size photos to paste on each page. You can also paint their hands and feet and put their imprints on some of the pages. The project will be a fun way to make a special keepsake alongside learning the calendar months and one that the child will enjoy turning the pages to!

Download This: Islamic Calendar Template

3. For Kinesthetic or Tactile Learners- Play Games with Calendar Flashcards. Tactile learners often learn by carrying out a physical activity, and these activities that involve “doing” help tactile learners grasp concepts sooner. They may struggle to learn by reading or listening. Playing flashcard games or playing physical games about the months may be a better bet to teaching tactile learners about the Hijri months.

My Recommendation: Play some games with flashcards. If your child is able to hold, touch and feel the flash cards with the months on it, it will introduce the concept in a more appropriate manner than if he were to memorize the months by listening and repeating. Print these flashcard templates (download PDF below) on heavy white cardstock paper or laminate them for durability. Pick a game idea from my list depending on your child’s age group, or make your own!

Download This: Months Flashcards- Transliteration Template

Game Idea #1: Shuffle the flash cards and get the child to place them in order of the month starting with Muharram. You can play Yusuf Islam’s song in the background to help the child know the order of the months while he is sorting out the cards, or you can call out the order while the child finds the correct month and places it on the floor.

Game Idea #2: Play a memory game with the cards, take turns saying what you would do or want to do in each month (in the correct month order)….and when it is the turn of the next player, the player has to first say what was done in the previous month before he adds a new task for his month.

Player 1: In Muharram, we celebrated the New Year.

Player2: In Muharram, we celebrated the New Year. In Safar, it was so hot!

Player 3: In Muharram, we celebrated the New Year. In Safar, it was so hot! In Rabi ul Awal, we visited Spain…..and so on.

You need a minimum of two players for this game. Place the flashcards in order for reference in the front of the players. Once the months are mastered, then you can make this game challenging by mixing the cards and placing them in random order. The child whose turn it is will pick out the correct month from the cards before he proceeds to add a “story” to it. And as they play, they place the cards in correct month order.

Game Idea #3: You can make a variation of Game# 2 for the younger ones by just sticking to the months, use the flash cards for this game too, so the kids have something to manipulate while playing this game…..

First arrange all the cards in the month order in line.

Player 1 picks the first month card and says “Muharram” and passes his card to Player 2 who says what’s on the card and then picks the next month card from the arrangement and says…. “Muharram, Safar”

Player 2 then passes his cards to Player 3 who in turn has to repeat the previous cards in order and then pick a fresh card and he says… “Muharram, Safar, Rabi ul Awal”