tHe HoMeScHooLin UmMi

Reading is Motivation!~

2011-05-18T13:26:00.003+02:00

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

As Salaamu alaykunna

Reading is a major important subject for our children, we know that with reading it enables the child with the ability to expand his/her mind and creativity, to be able to communicate better. I believe that in todays world that what children lack the most is originality due to lack imagination. With out imagination you are less likely to be able to express your self and be a confidant reader and thinker. Reading opens many doors to a child's confidants, which allows them to be more engaged in other positive activities. Building their own stories, visual reading, critical thinking and writing. All of these may not seem important to some, but they are very important for children. To help build a much better world today we need more originality along with thinking out of the box style along with more moralized individuals. Its a must.

Here is a site called Story Time for Me! (Free) that offers a wonderful library of online books along with down able actives for children to work on. These books I really love because they remind me of books we read when we where younger. More innocent and teaching good behavior verse most or all of todays books which I have to read first to make sure nothing in it is inappropriate for my children to read. And to me a girl having a boy as a friend is inappropriate reading for children so these books have thumbs up for me.

I am always happy when I see my children engaging into more reading activities, they love it and are thrilled when I put on stores for them to listen to or them to read themselves. Not only do I look forward to it but they do as well because I try my best to make reading fun for them, so that with out them realizing it they are gaining what they need to build better confidence in reading and writing and most importantly communication skills... And it also helps build their vocabulary.

These books gives you just that, as they're dialog is right on point when it comes to teaching children how to properly communicate with each other and a morally respectable way. I say its a MUST HAVE in our only library of books. Enjoy your reading!

Umm Samyrah~

Well Heck, I am SELFISH TOO! and LOVING IT!♥

2011-04-20T02:20:00.003+02:00

As Salaamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh

Many of us choose to homeschool, mainly for Islamic reason but there are other reasons why we strive so hard to homeschool our children as well and one reason often over looked. A homeschool mom has taken the words right out of my mouth as to why I choose to homeschool with a few more added on my list as well. Take a look at what she said here. Spoken like a loving homeschool mother.

Umm Samyrah

Part2: I homeschool because I am selfish – Homeschooling Five

Written on November 17, 2010 by Kimberly in Children, General, Homeschooling Five, Kids, Parenting

30 Comments - Leave a comment!

To read Part One go here. Again, a disclaimer:

The question I get asked most often in my every day to day life on and off the internet is this one. I am going to answer it honestly. Some of my readers are not going to like it. Some of you will want to defend why you send your children to school. Some of you are going to try to explain to me why you do not want to or can’t homeschool your children. Here is the thing, this is my opinion. This is me being honest instead of funny and coy about why we homeschool and I am not trying to tell you how you should raise your children or that you are a bad parent for not making the same choices as I do.

********************************

On November 5th I ended my post on “Why do you homeschool?” with the statement that another reason for homeschooling my children was “I want my kids to be kids and I want to enjoy them being kids.” One of the reasons I chose to be a stay at home parent was because I wanted to watch my kids grow up. I didn’t want to miss out on things my children did or participated in. I didn’t want to come home after work and have to jump into a night routine of meals, bath time, and bed time with moments of homework, studying, and crammed in “quality time”. I wanted to spend time with them when they were at their best, their happiest, their funniest, and not when they were tired, stressed, and grumpy after a long day.

I had five children because I am selfish. I stay at home with my children because I am selfish. I homeschool my children because I am SELFISH.

Even on my hardest days when a glass of Crown and Coke sounds good before noon, kids are fighting, toddlers are coloring on walls, and I can’t even take a piss by myself, much less hammer out some writing on the computer, I would rather have my kids here, at home, with me than anywhere else. I don’t want to miss out on those special moments. Moments I missed with some of my children because they were in traditional schools, like that gleam in their eye and smile that crosses their face when they realize they can read or understand simple math or realize the earth rotates around the sun. I’m sure you remember those other firsts, like their first smile, steps, and first foods, then imagine how magical and wonderful it is to watch them learning all about the world around them and how to read! And it isn’t just about watching them learn, it is about watching them play. It is about seeing my kids be creative and using their imagination. I don’t just get to see the finished works of art my children make, I get to witness it being made and it is priceless.

I do not want to give those moments to someone else. I do not want to give a teacher, a practical stranger, those moments. Moments – special, wonderful, delightful moments to someone who will not treasure them nor appreciate them the way I will. Most kids are just another student in a different year passing through their classroom. Rarely does a teacher form a long term relationship with a student. Even if a teacher is very interested in a student and cares about their outcome, there is no way a teacher feels equally about each one of their students each and every year. The bottom line is this – no teacher is ever going to care more deeply, more passionately about my children’s education and well being than I am.

Childhood is such a small part of our lives and I want my children to enjoy it. I want them to get plenty of sleep without being forced out of bed early in the morning to ride the bus or go through a carpool line. I want my kids to be able to stay up late to spend time with their dad when he comes home late. I want to take my kids on vacations whenever I want too or go visit friends whenever the mood strikes us. I want my children to have healthy meals not the garbage served in school cafeterias or the processed foods that end up in most sack lunches. I want my kids to have recess, be able to chew gum, go to the bathroom, wear clothes they picked out and not uniforms, and drink water whenever they need too. I want to have long conversations with my teen about her latest work of fiction or the new vocabulary words she has learned that she is going to use in her own stories. I want my five year old to care more about playing with dolls and digging in the dirt than learning how to read. (gasp!) I want my kids to run around the yard with wooden swords fighting to the death, or using sticks as wands to act out a scene from Harry Potter – and I want to witness it. I want my kids to dress up stuffed monkeys and read them books and pretend to teach them geography or even better, pretend to take them off to some far off land while I take pictures when they aren’t looking. I’ll admit it, I’m greedy. I don’t want to share these moments with just anyone.

I’m selfish and if that was my only reason for homeschooling, it would be a damn good one.

Having a party?~

2011-01-11T16:17:00.002+02:00

Bismillah

Salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah

My goals for the kids is to give them a since of happiness along with teaching them the religion as teaching them the religion will be a guide to teaching them happiness.

First thing i have noticed about us Muslims who regard our self upon the adherence to the salafi dawah is that we strip away a lot of social fun from our children. This bothers me and it may be that i can pinpoint it so due to the fact that I did not grow up this way so it sorta stands out.. Ok granted we do not celebrate birthdays or many other celebrations at that, but, who said its wrong to reward them?

It is not wrong to make a cake and give them a nice little non holiday day or a rewarding day so in the since of rewarding them, I will make cakes and decorate the home and show them we have a fun side in life too so that they will not go chasing others lifestyle.

I have seen this with my own eyes, Families work so hard to give there children an Islamic lifestyle yet they forget that their children are watching others and some are whom whether they are Muslims or not are just plain people who they should not want them watching or following, But cud you blame them at all for that. I have seen so many people lose there children to the dunya to this reason alone and its all because we lack social communitiship (yeah i just made that world up a little but if you pay attention you will see what I am trying to say)...

I was a born Muslim child and I am a witness to it. When you do not give to your children they will go find it somewhere else. You do not want them looking where they should not be looking at. Although, some kids are just plain curious! :)

One Somili sister (a dear friend) said to me, " How can you expect Samyrah to do a good job with learning how to cook and clean when she has no peers to compete with". When she said this I admit i had a strange look on my face but what she was saying started to stick as she kept on talking. She than went on to say, "Girls are competitive, when we are in our village the girls all compete with each other and the one who can make her mom smile the most is the one who wins". Subhannallah, She bought back some many memories of my childhood just by stating this.

When we where younger, we had cooking contest and sewing contest and all. We had people in our lives to teach us different skills that we just thought was fun things to do at that age. And when I see how we are today and how we lack this it makes me SOOO sad for my children as they are missing this. But thru Allah azza wa jal's help

I do not know how to sew very well but I can teach how to do the basics why not just start there, I do know how to crochet. Teaching any skill is a test and can make you want to run away but when you think about the very person who took the time out of (now i know ) busy life to teach us why not return it back to someone else.

Teaching period is a task and its a due favor to be returned back to the community! We can do it its our children's god giving right mashallah. May Allah bless us in it ameen!

moving right along, back to parties LOL ha ha ha!

Samyrah just passed her assessment test on math and she did VERY good Alhamdulillah she got a 90%, I am not really shocked mashallah the girl is very excellent/and smart when it comes to math. Mashallah I will plan a nice lil girl party for her with cake decoration and small affordable gifts :) cant wait. I am just as excited as she will be once she fines out.

May Allah bless us all upon Birr wa Taqwa! Ameen Allahuma Ameen!

Until next time inshaallah!

Where going on a Nature "Walk"!

2010-12-27T13:10:00.003+02:00

Bismillah~

Where going on a Nature "Walk"!

Today, our expedition was to venture out on a Nature walk. Should be fun since we are in a different world (Egypt) I am wondering how this will go.... Hmmmmmm will be back with an update lol he he he he....

Here is what well do inshallah.
For a Nature walk you want to be prepare for both the walk and the children. So I have prepared a small list of what I will bring along our trip.

*Paper, crayon and pencil for rubbing arts and stories...

*plastic bag for collecting anything interesting to us...

*Nature walk scavenger hunt game...
I spy something soft
I spy something blue
I spy something hard and breakable. etc etc.

*a note book for a nature walk journal entry.

Will be back with this weeks results inshallah

until next time....

Umm Samyrah♥

Our mini Lesson on Eclipses

2010-12-27T09:24:00.004+02:00

Bismillah~

AsSalaamu alaykuuna,

Hey gurls, its the Home schooling momma just wanted to share with you all a mini lesson we are doing. I know I am like 7 days late, but its still worth it and hey! Its never to late to learn anything.

I selected this site called Science a-z.com (I am sure you all have heard about it) for a number of reasons, one was because its just darn awesome! Sorry, I am just saying! One reason why this or these types of sites are appealing to me is because when living overseas well we just do not have much resources at hand so the net always comes in pretty handy alhamdulillah for that. Well... It is a Science spin off of the well known Reading A-Z.com site which lol I also love as well. Anywayz...

Kids are learning about Eclipses so here is the lesson....

Lesson Objectives

Reading Strategy	Ask and answer questions
Comprehension	Main Idea and Details
Grammar and Mechanics	Commas
Word Work	Conjunctions

Book Summary

Eclipses are amazing events that have caused wonder, fear, and excitement throughout history. This informative text explains the two different types of eclipses and how they occur. The reader will also learn what ancient people thought eclipses meant, the famous scientists who studied them, and how they learned to predict when eclipses will happen. Engaging photographs and diagrams enhance the text, and the book concludes with instructions on how to view eclipses safely.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

Ask and answer questions

Objectives

Use the reading strategy of asking and answering questions to understand text
Identify main idea and details
Identify the various uses of commas
Identify and understand conjunctions

Vocabulary

Content words: accuracy, astronomers, coincidence, cosmic, light filters, obscured, omens, orbited, partial, predict, theory

http://www.readinga-z.com/book.php?id=1428

*If you go to this site here you can read the Eclipses news letter for different grade levels and make a mini lesson out of it along with this as well.

Ill post the links to the pdf for the News letters here mashallah

grade 2 :http://www.sciencea-z.com/content/widget/LunarEclipse_NewsArticle_2_L.pdf

grade 4: http://www.sciencea-z.com/content/widget/LunarEclipse_NewsArticle_4_L.pdf

grade 6: http://www.sciencea-z.com/content/widget/LunarEclipse_NewsArticle_6_L.pdf

Enjoy them all!~

until next time~

Umm Samyrah

Revisiting a dear much needed friend I once knew well!

2010-12-27T02:50:00.003+02:00

Bismillah

As Salaamu alaykunna ya akawaats,

So much has happened since my last post. For one I had my baby boy :) (Abdul Qaadir, October 29...6lbs 3oz♥) ((thats another story to tell inshallah soon)). I do not really know where to start but I know one thing, I am very happy to be back. :^)

I have been going thru my mind with loads of thoughts, wow, I just wish sometimes I can click a switch to turn off my thoughts just for a second. So much is on my mind that its piling up.

I want so much for my children and yet due to me worrying about what I want or need for them, I seem to feel like I am failing. I am witnessing it right in front of my eyes.

But, I am determined to do this and will fight what ever it is that is in my way of getting it.

I have decided that I need to revisit a very dear once well known friend of mine named Patients. Patients was once my right hand gal, and in fact I have to admit I miss her very very much!

Because when I was around her, my mind was at ease and I was able to think and make good sound decisions. Through all the many trails I have been faced with, she seem to have run away and before I knew it she was totally gone. But I am searching for her so if any one knows her where abouts please send her my way by way of much duaa, barakallahu feeki.

Dear Patients I miss you terribly.

I have restarted our school again, we are still not where I want us to be. Not just in our lessons but also in comfortability. I pray we get our school room and house in order fast. This helps me function much better when things are ok at home and I can run a much better homeschool environment. But I am not going to let that stop us or me, well I did for the last few months of pregnancy but not no more inshallah. So my dear friend plz come home as soon as you can because I truly need you by my side for this ride.

Until next time, in memory of my best friend Patients! love always...

Umm Samyrah♥!

omg i am going crazy!

2010-09-16T13:30:00.002+03:00

Salaamu alaykum

Soooo, I friend of mine has gotten me hooked on the i4c site. hmmmmmm! what is i4c anyway?

i4c stands for Internet 4 Class rooms. Why am I hooked you asked? Because this is right up my ally. Subhannallah I am so mad at my self and I am really kicking my butt as we speak lol. I am always looking for cheap inexpensive ways to homeschool without a standard curriculum because for me its expensive, and Mashallah she (Umm A) has gotten me soooo hooked. Of course as with most inexpensive curriculum you will or may need to supplement but this one is on the top and so far so good for FREE!

There is others one too, such as eTAP.. Which so far seems to be the best but it is not FREE. 4 free i4c is top dog and for cheap eTap, Time4learning, *edhelper (*this one my mom used for her girls ((yes homeschooling runs in the family, we all do it LOL)) mashallah) and others in this line are good.

In my opinion, if you have not heard me say it before, ill say it again. We really do not need to be spending so much money on homeschooling curriculum we have the Internet and printer. Alhamdulillah for it! Here is a good read on homeschooling the cheap way.

http://eho.org/homeschool_prep/article.asp?articleid=650&resourceid=65

Check them all out.

Inspired homeschooler thanks to my MOM (Yasmin Abdullah)

Online Libraries!

2010-09-16T07:03:00.005+03:00

Salaamu alaykum

Living overseas in a 3rd world country sometimes your resources are very limited. So what do you do when you are educating your children and need access to a library?

In 2005 our family made hijra to Cairo, Egypt and since being here I have learned that the Internet and printer are my now new found best friends since again most educational resources are either way to expensive or non- existent. This makes homeschooling in a foreign country most difficult when you feel like you have no where to turn. But thanks to todays technology you are able to do as you please all virtually and there is no excuses. The only draw back I have found is that doing it this way since in my mind going to a library is more "normal" our kids will see this as the norm in there mind or worlds. But its still the same thing and when ever we have the means to do so we take full advantage of visiting actual libraries.

There are many online libraries that you can use for your homeschooling needs and its not just catered to homeschoolers overseas. I have been home and had no transportation and needed to get access to a library for my children and this site http://en.childrenslibrary.org/ came in handy as always and I hope it does the same for you.

Here is a list of online libraries http://free-online-novels.com/libraries.html

Enjoy!

Getting it all back from a long break! Uhgggg!

2010-09-16T06:42:00.002+03:00

Salaamu alaykum/ Hi all...

We are slowly getting our classes started after a long break due to moving and living temp in a home and pregnancy. I am at the end of my pregnancy with #5 and its very hard to stay motivated since I am very tired and over whelmed with many other problems at the moment. But I pray to Allah that I can stay above water with all these problems I am facing along with not letting my children down.

Starting a schedule is very hard and on top of that I am behind on everything.

Staying focused is the key and God first before all things.

See ya soon!

Making Spelling Bees from Spelling City!

2009-12-19T08:21:00.005+02:00

Salaams

Ok so last month or two... I started this new thing with the kids (Samyrah and Muhammed) for spelling. Each week I introduce new spelling words 20 for Samyrah and 10 for Muhammed.

We go to spelling city and from there they are to practice the words for 3 days.

Their activity for this is to collect 10 crayons or items and make it into a game to help them remember the words by throwing one crayon at a time as they spell a word over up to 5 or 10 times until they memories most of the words. I also introduce more actives for them during the week

My aim is to help them retain as much as they can and to catch on to patterns in the spelling. So far soooo good.

I also would administer a quiz with words I know they do not know on Monday and then by Friday they have a spelling test.

I do it this way to help them see their accomplishments. It helps them feel better about learning new words. And they always have a smile on their faces because they look back and see how good they did mashallah

Mommy is sooooo proud of her babies mashallah.

Time 4 Learning update

2009-12-19T08:15:00.004+02:00

Salaams all

Ok complaining moment over here!

So I purchased the T4L about 3 months ago and yet to this date the kids have only done at least 2 months of assignments, I was hoping that they would be doing this every day but with every thing else we have to do its not working. And I am at my wits end with it. If only I could have one more pc that would help with time we already have 2 I just need one more to have both kids and my self on the PC working. With me in school and the children homeschooling wow time! Where does it go?

I really need to set down and rearrange my schedule and see where and how I can fit this all in. See ya until then

Web Site review: FaceBook.com

2009-12-19T08:10:00.002+02:00

As Salaamu alaykunna

Ok yeah its been awhile since i have posted and partly due to a new (old to many o you but new to me since this year or last) site called Face book.

All I can say is well if you are on it add me lol look for me at Juwariyah Abdullah located in de.

See you soon lol

Web Site review: Alice.com

2009-12-19T07:40:00.004+02:00

Ok Ladies! Do I have something good and fun for you! I was just introduced to Alice.com (if you have heard about it, then you already know why I am jumping for joy he he ).

Anyhow, Who and what is Alice.com, well it is a web site for us Mommies who are too busy to leave the home to go shopping for re stock-able items we need in our homes, such as toothpaste, soaps, cleaning supplies, shampoos, so on even up to snacks and teas and many many more.

I kid you not! You! are gonna fall in love with this site and guess what? that's not even it... the best part is yet to be told .... Get this, yes Get this, There is FREE SHIPPING! Yes I said free shipping. Can you believe this? NOOOO! lol because neither can I, I just really hope that this is not a scam and that it stays this way. I am praying for Alice.com to stay

I have already made my first purchase which should arrive in 2-3 business days. I am so excited yeaaaaah! Ok Ill post and let you know when and how my shipment arrived lol

p.s this is only for those living in USA not sure if this is worldwide yet and yes we are hoping for that as well. Although other places like Misr has something much similar already so they may not need it Allahu alim!

I also forgot to mention that you can even purchase school supplies on their site here at Alice.com

Recipe of the week: Mihshi Waraq 3Aynab

2009-11-11T02:32:00.004+02:00

Bitar's Stuffed Grape Leaves
(Mihshi Waraq ^cAynab)

Ingredients:

2 dozen grape leaves, washed
1 cup rice
1/2 onion, finely diced
6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 and 1/4 cup lemon juice
1 generous pinch of salt
6 cups water

Rinse rice in water and drain, but do not cook it first. Mix wet rice, onion, parsley, 1/4 cup lemon juice and salt together, and allow to stand for half an hour. It is easiest to use preserved grape leaves which you can buy in jars from Middle Eastern or Greek food stores if you cannot find them at your supermarket. Take the leaves out of the jar and rinse them well. Lay each leaf flat and remove any stem. Put a tablespoon of the rice filling on the leaf and roll it up, folding the sides in so that the filling does not fall out.

When you have finished rolling the leaves, place them in a circular pattern on the bottom of a large (6-8 quart) pot. Leave enough room between them for them to expand a bit as the rice cooks. Layer them until they are all in the pot, then add 1 cup of lemon juice and 6 cups of water. Water should be even with the top of the leaves. Place a flat plate over the leaves to weigh them down and keep them in place. Bring the water to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes until they are tender and rice is cooked. Serve them hot or cold, with yogurt if you like.

Many people like to use additional ingredients in the filling, such as pine nuts, raisins, or ground beef or lamb. Try making several types and see which one you like best!

Also another trick I use is this: Broil and 6 cups water or more depending on size, a whole chicken until done. Use the chicken as extra ingredients for the stuffing and save the juice to add to the Mihshi. I makes it taste better or as the Egyptian say more delicious! lol

Bil-Hana wa Shifa! Bon Appetit!

Nice vid on how to roll stuffed grape leaves (Arabic:Mihshi)

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Roll-Up-Stuffed-Grape-Leaves-140313152

100 easy lessons update for week 1-7

2009-11-10T21:57:00.002+02:00

This week was rather heckted, in short we where busy with other things and did not get one lesson done with 100 easy lessons.

My goal is to get this done with out to many obstacles in the way. I thought up a few things that I wanted to add with this program to help my boys along the way as to retain as much as they could even on slow weeks or days.

So, I made a poster board that will hold all of the letters on index cards that we went over in a covered lesson.

I will post pics up later inshaAllah. if you have any other ideas let me know.

Come on over with me to see how my bud Samirah is doing on her lessons at Tj's

See ya all next week!

Time 4 Learning update! 1 of many lol

2009-11-02T08:13:00.009+02:00

As stated before, I was contemplating whether or not I should use the T4L and I just wanted to touch bases on it so far.

I purchased the T4L October 7th. 2009. So far I LOVE it! It is just what I needed as of now. And what makes it even better is that Our curriculum work books pretty much coincide with this program, which helps with reinforcing what the kids are learning.

You see when I first started homeschooling, Every thing was structured and laid out for us becasue we used k12.com and Connections academy. I didn't have to think about what to do next and so on or but any lesson plans together. (I do for other assignments but not for the major ones alhamdulillah).

...But, often times did i find my self in a slump wondering if what I was doing was right. But after looking over the connections academy and k12 (when i used them) I saw that we where pretty much on track as far as what I was doing with the kids.

But why is T4L good for me at the moment is due to my time. I do not really have time to put together lessons and so on. I needed a much more guided lesson plan that was already thought out and planned. And for that I am grateful for this program. We are also using The Complete Curriculum work books and slowly approaching the Learn at home program as well.

I have already purchased the k grade for Yasmin. So for, again LOVING IT! lol alhamdulillah mashallah. also another well thought out sturctured program all at my finger tips.

These programs are making homeschooling much more pleasant at the moment.

You can check out both books from Amazon.com or B&N...

Islamic Lectures

2009-11-02T06:24:00.000+02:00

Intro to Teach your Child to read in 100 easy lessons:

2009-11-02T05:44:00.005+02:00

Today we began our journey on 100 easy lessons....

I am doing this for both my sons; one is advanced and, due to premature birth, the other is a bit slower. ( more babyish)

So far we have whizzed thru the first few lessons and I LOVE them.

I love the approach they use in this book. It is well guided for someone like me, who has to have a step by step approach.

I will keep a progress chart to track our lessons, In sha Allah.

Also, I will post weekly on how things are going, In sha Allah.

If any of you are using this as your reading curriculum plz share your experience...

In the meantime my bud Umm Ibrahim is using 100 Easy Lessons too, check out her progress...here!

Until next time!

Asma al Husna اَلاسْمَاءُ الْحُسناى - The Most Beautiful Names of God

2009-08-21T04:37:00.006+02:00

As salaamu alaykum

Ok as promised here are the 99 names of Allah (as listed) that we used. Mashaallah may Allah ta alaa bless the sister who put this together ameen. I really like her format,Because it is not in the usually order that most may have seen it in but its in an order in which it was really easy for the kids to graphs and learn Allah's ta alaa names and we also did it in kinda like a melodicious tone as well. They had lots of fun with learning (although we are not done yet they have learn quite a bit of it mashallah lol). You can get a copy here inshallah.

Enjoy

Until next time

Salaamu alaykum

Is Time4Learning right for me?

2009-06-28T06:14:00.003+03:00

I have been thinking about purchasing the Time4Learning.com curriculum for the kids. I think this well be best for us and I am almost upset that I had not done so sooner. Since I have used K12 and Connections Academy even though I hate there system I LOVE THEIR STRUCTURE and I also love the being apart of a program because that makes me feel like I am offering my children something that is worth while. So, My mind is boggling around with millions of thoughts as usually with "what am I gonna do with my babies?" I am just going to test it out and see if it is just the right them or the wrong thing for us. Ill keep you all posted when I do so mind you that will not be until September but I am thinking ahead to prepare us sooner. Ok until next time and no I have not forgotten my last post we are still working on some things. So inshallah sabr wa khair Salaamu alaykum.

How To Plant Your Garden

2009-06-17T08:16:00.005+03:00

As salaamu alaykum

Before i continue with my post, I wanted to share something with you all that I thougt was very cute mashallah enjoy and use it if you like masalaams

How To Plant Your Garden

First, you Come to the garden alone,
while the dew is still on the roses....

FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING,
PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:

1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:

1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash grumbling
4. Squash selfishness

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:

1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love one another

NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:

1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for Islamic Lectures
3. Turnip to help one another

TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:

1. Thyme for each other
2.. Thyme for family
3. Thyme for friends
4. Thyme for God

WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE. THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.

My instructions were to send this to people that I wanted God to bless !

Our summer time program 1:2

2009-06-17T00:37:00.004+03:00

As Salaamu alaykuk

Note: When I post the 99 names from the lecture mashallah they will not be in order as we usually see Allah subhanna wa ta alaas names. The Shaykh did them in alphabetical order, So I will post them to you that way however i will number the orders after the names to show the order we are going in inshaAllah ta alaa.

Also, along with the names we will being doing lapbooks for each name as well inshallah.

Another activity we are doing is learning and going over the meaning of Tawheed. We will be using several books and links as well. I will post them as we go along.

The next subject is History of Phrophet Muhammad salalaahu alayhi wasalaam, "Knowing The Mercy to Mankind" by Dr Saleh As Saleh. This one mashallah I love. It goes into great details of many of the events that took place before and after Our Nabi Rasolullah salalaahu alayhi wasalaam.

And of course we will be doing much needed Marrajah with the quraan inshallah. And lots of arts and crafts inshallah.

Below are plants that my kids have grown. Mashallah they are so happy about there plants and they did a wonderful job on them (except for logging information lol ) need more work on that. ok inshallah more to come later ma salaams

Our summer time program 1:1

2009-06-17T00:11:00.005+03:00

As Salaamu alaykum

Here is a list of what we will be doing for the summer time lessons inshallah ta alaa.

Although we have already started I thought it would be great to share and if any of you like to add or make suggestions plz do so.

We all know how important it is for our children to learn The 99 names of Allah. There are as you know many benefits for us all to learn them and I feel that it is very important to start at a young age in learning them so that it will be a breeze for them when they are older and also for them to start using this now.

I began by introducing the first 3 and +one new most familiar names (yes I will be going in order) but Allah's Ne'emah is that the most familiar ones are at the beginning alhamdulillah so that helps a great deal. So in total we are doing 4 names a week. This might seem small but we are not just learning the names we are doing tafseer, as well as arabic and english.

What I am using for the tasfeer is from Explaination of the 99 names of Allah taken from the lecture given by Abu Talha Dawood Burbank.

This list of 99 names was complied by the Noble Shaykh Saalih ibn Uthaymeen in his book- Qawaa'idul Muthlaa (Exemplary foundations concerning The Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah) The brif explanations of the names is taken from a long list of authentic sourses, from them: -Tafseer ibn Jarir (At-Tabari)
-Tafseer ibn Kathir
-Tafseer As-Sa'di
-Tafseer Al-Baghawi
- Majmu'Fataawa of Ibn Taymiyyah
- An-Nuniyyah of Ibnul Qayyim
- Ar-Rub Al Jahmiyyah of Imam Ahmed
and many more.... I will do each post as we go along inshallah ... I will post the first 8 that we havw already memorised inshallah today. Barakallahu feekuuna wa Salaams ya habibatun.
next post the rest of what we are doing this summer brb

Homeschooling Work shops

2009-05-20T19:41:00.003+03:00

As Salamu alaykum

I have been doing some Homeschooling workshops online mashallah and wanted to share what I am working on.

These workshops are very beneficial as they come along with teaching strategies to help you be a much better teacher.

I recommend this site due to the face that its very informal and has lots of videos and teaching techniques that you are able to implement in your class room.

From this I have decided that I would like to do an "online homeschooling conference" with the sisters from all over the world may be we can all get to gather and plan something.

"Sharon you on?" lol

Until next time Happy Homeschooling

ma salaams

been a lonnnnngggggg time!

2009-05-01T03:40:00.002+03:00

As Salaamu alaykum

Its been a very long time and I am sure there will be more long times but I truly hope this time I am a keeper lol. With so much that has been going on with me in my life its just never really a good time to keep up with things it seems. Well I am hear not sure if I have even posted that we no longer live in Pittsburge, since we moved to Wilmington De in Jan 16, 2009. after being here for just a month I was hospitalized for a whole week and found that I have been diognosed with diebites but alhamdulillah things have turned around hopfully for the best. I was on insulin for about amonth and alhamdulillah now am off of them and just on the pills for a month and seem to be also doing well with out them ither but that is still up in the air. Make duaa for me. Its been tough going thru this but very uplifting and really showing me that I really must take care of my self and stop worring about every one else and worry about my self. And its ok ;)

Well, I was using Connections Academy but since Jan 22 2009 my children was disenrolled from the school since we are no longer in the area where they offer the programs so since then i had to do so quick decisions and make some fast changes as far as what we will be using for out curriculum which was a sad things for me. OOOOOO How I so loved usuing the connections academy even though they are a trip. I couldnt stand the teachers I felt I got along better with the princepl better than the two teachers whom seemed very prejudce of muslims mashallah. There lose not mine.

Anyway, We are currently usuing The Complete Curriculum which are good for now along with My reading program with Hooked on Phonices curriculum set and also Click n Kids Phonics which is an online program that I so love as well. We are also using enchanted learnings and various other onlin and offline resources. Its going well compared to before and I think its only becasue I have been here before when I was in egypt but for some reason I feel more confident in what i am doing and that makes a big differences mashaAllah. So when we go back home to misr it will be good inshallah. I am making duaa for all of you homeschoolers plesae do the same for me ameen.

Until next time

Happy Home Schooling :)

Home made mini books wow and cool

2008-10-26T05:57:00.003+02:00

As Salaamu alayki

Today, we made mini books. well it was really Samyrah's assingment, but, off course I always include them all in on the fun lol.

From here on Samyrah will be DS. Anyway mini books was apart of DS art work today mashallah and I will post there pics of them later... but, I wanted to share with you all the link to the site where our school send us to for the lesson here it is below enjoy.

go to the video link and watch
http://www.makingbooks.com/booksaroundtheworld.shtml

she also has loads of other vids to watch too they are create mashallah

What we have been up to!

2008-10-26T04:38:00.003+02:00

The first few weeks back into school was a mess. I was starting to hate every waking moment of it. But I was determined not to give up mashalla alhamdulillah for Allah giving me some patients. ameen.

Samyrah's lessons are very long in the beginning but we have really come to a point where she is starting to catch on that this is really going to be a everyday thing and we are not gonna give up..

I can truly see how us being in Egypt had made us very lazy when it came to a strict routine. Because just as fast as I was wanting to give up so was she. And that is really want made me say "look Juwariyah! we need to really stick to this and not let it go".

Each day is a struggle with new rewards alhamdulillah. The boys lessons are pretty easy but that is honestly only because I already know how to do it. I am fining out about my self that I am not very tolerant to learning new things anymore with out patients. I have to make my self be patient for her. because since I do not know how to teach on this level ( I am learning as I go) it is sometimes like I am walking in a dark room looking for the light.

Allah is merciful because even though I was so sad at the fact that we where back in the USA, I am quick to be reminded that every thing happens for a reason and right now the reason I am being shown is my baby's eduamacation is the most important thing for us right now lol yes I did say eduamacation LOL had to throw that in there lol

Ok so we are starting to get the hang of this and inshallah I am happy because I totally see major improvements.

Samyrah is reading very well now when before we left Egypt that was one of my main concerns although during our last year of living there she was starting to pic up more but since being back this wonderful smart lil mama is reading chapter books mashallah and loving it too.

She is starting to develop a since of wow I can do this and with a beautiful happy smile. I have always tried to show her that she can do it but obviously I wasn't very good at really sitting down and working with her. With our new program (which has to be done every day) and also with her reading tutor she has come a very very long way and I am sooooo happy and have even cried about it. Allah does not put a burning on us at all because that one subhannaallah he eased for me really fast. Alhmdulillah

ok more later salaams

I am still here LOL

2008-10-26T04:33:00.001+02:00

I know, I know! most of the posting latly have not been about me and homescooling LOL and no I am not trynna avoid that either. Just had not had the time to really sit here and blog. But I am getting the feel of it. Lately homeschooling has been going creat for us. The kids as usual are always learning and having fun. I will try my best to keep a track record of all of our work that we are doing and what we are learning from. But for now, I would like to share with you a site that you can find lots of great help with math ideas for the kids i hope you like it.

http://www.beginningtoinquire.ecsd.net/ln%20Elmer%20in%20the%20Snow.htm

Think about this!

2008-10-24T04:59:00.002+02:00

As Salaamu alaykuuna

Ya Akawaats,

I am not sure if you all belong to a Yahoo's group named Muhaajr or not but once there was an article posted on there basically about the importants of wanting good for our kids in this life and the next. How we should make duaa for our youngs future and so on and so forth. Ok Reason why I am bring this up. Although we all have simular dreams for our children as far as wanting them to be hafiz wa hafiza of Kitabul Quraan.

We should also learn to pray that what ever our children learn from our religon that it benefit them in this life and in the next. We should learn to make duaa to our Rub that Allah facilitate us during our journeys in educating our children. And that He blesses our children to apply all that they learn that is benefical to there deen. To apply it to their life and live by it ameen.

Countless times I have heard sad stories that brought me to tears of how Parents simular in thinking like me, would spend thousands and more money to give there children and Islamic education and have these big big dreams of how there children where young hafiz ow hafiza's only to be disapointed by the fact that it did not benefit there children at an adult age.

These stories are of how

Children learnt the whole quran by age 7 and 8 or even younger but by time they where adults had to sit and relearn it all over again note most of these kids where not of arab desent.

stories of how

kids who are so confused doing things that are haraam and drugs and parting and all while they hold this dear presiousness in there soul.... The whole quraaan. these are arabs and american children. I witness this in Houston tx. kids with Hafiz of Quraan living the thug life and so on.

stories of how

Children once they became adults apostaed from Islam only becuase they where angry at there parents for not giving them the tools they needed to be successful in life.

so they can care for them selves and their new family as a person at whole not just as a Muslim.

Ya Akawaats these stories are so real and so true and they are sad sad stories that we would never want to witness for our children and they are a lesson for us to learned.

It is nothing wrong with learning the quraan like this but also try to remember how the sahabas wa sahabiyaats learned the quraan.

Remember that they learnt 3-5 ayaats and did not move on to the next until they memorised those ayaats and also applied it to themselves.

That is worth it and better for us.

But if you learnt it faster than that Alhamdulillah just make sure that it doesnt leave that childs life meaning keep them surronded by it forever inshallah.

One thing we do not remember is that mashallah even though we are all foreingers in Islamic countries when some of you go back to your homes that child is now out of that enviornment. So now you have to think of ways to keep the Quraan with them inshaallah and the Arabic and sometimes that can be hard.

I know that since I have been back from Egypt its hard I had gotten used to seeing Arabic all around me and it was much more easier for me and my kids to keep it with us. But since I haev been back its like a bank account I am tring to hold all of what we have and save it and not let it slip away. MashaAllah when I thought that my bint was starting to forget how to read arabic I started making her sit down every day she has to because we can easly forget this she and I we are not around all arabic anymore so it is harder sometimes.

Alhamdulillah I did think abou tthat before we left and I went and got loads of Arabic cartoons and stories for them but still its no where near the same at all. I recommend anyone who is trying to learn arabic to better there relationship with Allah by being able to read his nobal Quran must go to an arab country if they are able to do so.... it is worth it if you can get there.

Ok this is just a suggestion inshaallah i will post on ways to help with learning the Quraan soon salaams

I ask Allah to help aid us Muslimahs who are tring so dearly to teach our children and to aid them in the life of this world and the hearafter. I pray that Allah bless us all with the will and strenth to go on and not give up no matte what and that we all can come together as a whole and help one another ameen ameen ameen

Sad to see Ramadan end mashallah

2008-10-06T11:50:00.005+02:00

As Salaamu alaykunna

When Ramadan started it was a wonderful feeling, warm and comforting. And most memorable. and during the middle I became really sick so much so that i had to stop fasting. That made me very sad and I had a hard time dealing with it, even though I still fasted in other ways that was a VERY Hard pill to swallow. I started thinking we would not even be able to go to enjoy our eid (especially for the kids) due to our living arrangements and the distance we are from the whole Muslim community. I was very down and hurt and wow I cannot explain my feelings even more. And then my bint said to me (with out her even knowing that I was feeling like we would not make it to the eid feast) she said "Ummi, I would be very sad if we cannot go to the eid". I couldn't do it, I had to find away to get her to the eid mainly because she has fasted mostly all of the days and she mashallah as usually does a very good job at it. So i could not have said to her No we cannot go. I got on the phone and called my sister and we went over a few things although I was very worried that we still would not make it.

Alhamdulillah, alas eid was here and what do you know.... So were we. Alhamdulillah our eid turned out so wonderful mashallah. Just to be around my sister for the first time during our holly holiday it just made us feel so wonderful.

we actually starting enjoying Ramadan the last 10 nights of Ramadah and wow I have to say it was a beautiful feeling. I didn't want Ramadan to leave. It was as if I wanted it to stay for ever mashallah those where my feelings and then even though we had a joyous eid, Strong feelings of emotions ran down my face. I was happy and sad at the same time. Happy that my children did actually make it for the eid and sad that Ramadan was gone! I will miss you and until next time Ramadan we shall meet again ameen!

I hope you all had a wonderful blessed Ramadan and Eid Mubarak!!!!!!!!!!!

Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Laillah illah

Words of Wisdom

2008-09-21T19:09:00.001+02:00

"All humans are Dead except those who have Knowledge; and all of those who have knowledge are Asleep, except those who do Good Deeds; and those who do good deeds are Deceived except those who are Sincere; and those who are sincere are always in a State of Worry!" ~Imam al-Shafi'i

ADHD & Women: Juggling Family, Work, Short Attention Spans

2008-09-21T18:48:00.002+02:00

As Salaamu alaykuuna

Although this is off topic of Homeschooling I thought that this was a good read due to the fact I hear over and over again many Women not being able to juggle their life around and may be this would help us all understand why, It sure helped me check it out salaams

ADHD & Women: Juggling Family, Work, Short Attention Spans
Why ADHD is especially challenging for females.
By Maggie Koerth-Baker for MSN Health & Fitness

Brenda Daverin had a problem. Unable to focus on her job, she'd start spacing out, losing track of time, work tasks, and even conversations she was a part of. By 2006, when Daverin was 38, both she and her boss had had enough. "I received a formal verbal warning about my performance that led me to consult a psychiatrist," she says. Her diagnosis: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Daverin may not seem like a typical ADHD patient. But the truth is, ADHD can look a lot different than what you might expect. Instead of focusing on young, wildly uncontrollable boys, doctors and researchers are beginning to recognize that both genders and all ages can be affected by this disorder—and that women face special challenges that can make it difficult for them to be diagnosed and treated.

Girls gone mild

For a long time after ADHD was first identified in the 1970s, diagnoses and research focused on the little boy who bounces off walls, does poorly in school, and constantly disrupts the rest of his class.

"You had these boys who were aggressive and difficult to manage and those were the ones being brought into clinics initially. The research was done on clinic populations. And the diagnostic manuals were all based on that research," says Ellen Littman, Ph.D., co-author of the book

Understanding Girls with ADHD and one of the first psychologists to start focusing on gender differences with the disorder. "It wasn't even until 1980 that we started to accept that you could have ADHD without the hyperactive component."

And that's a big deal for women with ADHD, most of whom, according to experts like Littman, don't display that classic hyperactive behavior. Instead, Littman says, women and girls are most likely to be inattentive. The daydreamers. The space cadets. The little girls who making eye contact with the teacher, but whose minds are 1,000 miles away.

To make things more complicated, experts say young girls often have elaborate systems that allow them to compensate and still do well in school. "A girl with ADHD will stay up very late into the night, re-do homework, have parents help her. She turns in good work and looks bright. But what we don't see is the effort she puts in," says Patricia Quinn, M.D., director of the National

Center for Girls and Women with ADHD.

The result has been that girls often don't get the help they need; what's going on with them doesn't look like what their parents and teachers have come to expect from ADHD. Twenty-five years ago, Littman says, it wasn't unusual to see 10 boys diagnosed for every 1 girl. But the situation is improving. Today, now that doctors and researchers know that inattentiveness, and not hyperactivity, is the key characteristic of the disorder, those numbers are closer to equal, "which is what you'd expect for something that isn't a sex-linked disease," Quinn says.

ADHD & Women: Juggling Family, Work, Short Attention Spans
(continued)

A lifelong struggle

But for girls who aren't diagnosed in childhood, the struggle continues as they age. That, too, is a relatively new concept in ADHD diagnosis. "The theory used to be that ADD disappeared at puberty, and they said that because the most hyperactive symptoms disappeared around [then]," Littman says.

But, she says, as research has changed the medical community's perception of what ADHD is, more and more doctors and mental health professionals are recognizing that adults can be affected, too. And that's a big help for women like Tracey Hirt, whose ADHD interferes with the ability to manage the household chores women are often expected to manage.

Hirt describes times when she set out to do the dishes, but quickly became distracted by one unrelated chore after another until she ended up reading on the couch for an hour, finishing none of the tasks she meant to.

Quinn and Littman say it's very common for a woman with ADHD to feel overwhelmed, be chronically stressed and disorganized and be unable to prioritize the tasks expected of her, particularly in relationships and parenting. "It's more OK for men to be disorganized at home and hyper-focused on their work and nothing else. But women don't have a backup staff, they are the backup staff," Littman says.

She says that women tend to get diagnosed with ADHD in waves. A common time is just under the age of 30, as many women are getting married or having their first child. Those events can throw off routines and make it difficult to compensate for the symptoms. In their early 40s, many women who've struggled for years often realize they might have ADHD when they bring in one of their own children for testing. Finally, women in their late 40s are also frequently diagnosed. That's because the symptoms of ADHD appear to have strong connections to estrogen levels in the body. As those levels fall during menopause, women who've only had mild symptoms can suddenly lose their ability to juggle multiple responsibilities.

A hopeful diagnosis

ADHD and its treatments can be very differently for women and men. This is especially true when it comes to hormonal cycles, like menopause and periods. For example, as estrogen levels rise and fall over the course of a month, a woman's ability to manage her symptoms can also go up and down. For some women, starting a hormonal method of birth control can make monthly cycles smoother by keeping estrogen at a more constant level.
Women also have unique concerns related to pregnancy and breastfeeding. When Tracey Hirt became pregnant last year, she stopped taking Ritalin, causing a noticeable drop-off in her organizational and social skills. (As with other mental-health drugs, such as antidepressants, experts say it's vitally important that women consult a doctor about what's safe to use before they become pregnant.)

Another problem is that women, more than men, tend to have other mental health disorders, such as depression and chronic anxiety, often brought on or exacerbated by the ADHD. In fact,

Quinn and Littman say that women with ADHD are frequently misdiagnosed with depression. And while it's true that many of them are depressed, that's usually a related symptom of the

ADHD and the way it wreaks havoc in their life.

The good news: Once a woman does get an accurate ADHD diagnosis, things start looking up. "For women, this is a very hopeful diagnosis," Quinn says. "We have effective medication and behavioral therapies and I've seen so many changes. Once they're treated, women can go and be anything they want to be."
Read more information on ADHD in women and girls from the National Center for Girls and Women with ADHD.

Maggie Koerth-Baker’s work has appeared in AARP magazine, The Associated Press and Health magazine.

all that for nothing

2008-09-14T08:45:00.002+02:00

As Salaamu alaykuuna,

How are you all doing I pray that you alls Ramadhan is going well ameen. I am sad at this moment I had a months worth of offline blogging that I had saved and you know well thanks to computers I lost them all some how. O'well I had a lot of good stuff all I had to do was just add the pics and walaaah! Okayy well I am gonna go cry now and hope to may be inshaallah recover it some how. Salaams every one take care

homeschooling scary thoughts

2008-09-13T05:29:00.003+02:00

As Salaamu alaykuuna

Lately I have been having ill thoughts of homeschooling... And even though I know i would never put my kids in a public school system allah forbid... Shaytaan has been missing with me with the idea of it authobillah. Do not get me wrong homeschooling is going really good for a change but there are lots of other issusess that i am facing and its just got me really down.

My kids are doing well. I mean subhannaAllah they have improved so much its not funny, I knew they could do it they are very smart mashallah. I am trying my best to have a smile on my face with this. This has been my dream to homeschool my kids and finially I feel like its starting to all come thru so why should I feel like this. Its driving me bananas. may allah guide us all ameen...

Today we did a lot of catch up on the internet since we do not have full time access to it and whith there school there is alot of it. I hope to have net full time again soon inshallah. Pray for me you guys this is hurtting me LOL

Where makng it fun and its all working out I just need to get out of this rut i have been in for sometime

next The ABC's of Ramadhan

salaams

UmmSamyrah

Sugar cookies every one!

2008-08-03T04:10:00.003+03:00

As Salaamu alaykum wa ahlan wa sahlan!

While living in Cairo, Egypt My children and I did lots of cooking from scratch {which I have to admit was lots of fun!} above was a class I did with the the kids on making Sugar cookies from scratch and may be add a little of your on style to it. This is one my children did on there own with off course my help. (which is very easy)

and here below was the results enjoy!

and the final results

My kids tore the cookies up didn't save any for the next day lol so i put some dough aside for the next day since I knew they'd want more LOL what are ummis for after all!

Until next time

Umm Samyrah

As Salaamu alaykum

2008-08-03T02:59:00.000+03:00

Ok I am mentally trying to prepare my self for this years homeschooling and I am just mentally not there. Well here is the lowdown on us

Unfortunately we have returned to America... I am only happy due to my kids education other than that I am very sad and depressed about that. But I am also holding my head up as well. I try to remind myself that this is temporary and we will soon be in the land of the Muslims again. I will try to remain patient during this test.

I hope everyone is doing well for all my egypt peoples I MISS YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH and for all my AMERICAN PEEPS I HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL VERY SOON

salaams and take care

Returning Home!

2008-06-18T02:02:00.004+03:00

Our last days in Al Rehab Egypt

June 17,th

On June 12th 2008 we returned home from Egypt... Sad but true we are here back in america. And I must say even thought I will miss egypt and not sure if I will return there, I do truly feel a since of relife in some ways but My heart will always be for the land of the Muslims may Allah make it easy for us to return soon ameen!

My updates on the blog has been very scares since i had no internet the last few months of our stay there in egypt. So i must say I miss you guys and inshaAllah I will be back in effect soon inshaallah

Until then salaams

Summer fun! and Our Last days in egypt

2008-06-18T01:53:00.013+03:00

Here our some pics of the pool and all as you can see the party ended lol but you can get an idea of how much fun they all had mashallah "we shall miss you Egypt"

June 7th

Today my children had the most fun of there time here in Egypt. What did we do? Well,,, they went swimming. Alhamdulillah the sisters all had a swimming party about every month for the sisters and kids. And the kids had a blast, They are asking every day now to go swimming may allah bless there lil hearts they where so happy.

That's are summer update and inshaallah more to come..

Homeschoolers Block

2008-01-17T02:27:00.001+02:00

As Salaamu alaykum,

Lately i have had have what you may call Homeschoolers Block. Sorta like a writer's block if you will have.

I think that may be its due to me not having a set curriculum to go by and I only know this because I never went through this when I was with K12. Every thing with K12 was laid out for me I didn't have to think of what to do next. And well now I am trying my hardest to pull this all together by my self. With out having a clue as to what i am suppose to do. Yes, I do research a lot and apart of one of my many problems is my location ok so i am aware of that. But the sad thing is this is not the first time. it comes and goes and its very difficult to keep going this way so I must at once put a stop to this soon but until them here I go lol.

What can I or someone in my shoes do to help solve this problem in enough time with out missing on education with your children.

Here are a few list of things that I have come up with in order to keep things going for us to the best of my abilities. And I hope they would work for you as well if you are in my shoes.

1) Make Much Duaa Duaa Duaa Duaa.....I cannot stress that enough it is very much so needed.

2) no matter how slow the day/wk is going and you have no glue of what to do or offer next, never let your child(ren) know. Get a printer and print of extra work until you can fill it it.

3) Plan field trips ahead this is easy to do even if its a nature trip to the woods or zoo. You could never go wrong with learning about life and that will fill up a wholes days worth of work.

4) If planning trips is out of the Qts then rent some Video's or DVDs or get online and loads something up quick for the kids to lean about (Discovery Channel is a hit with homeschoolers) trust me I know.

5) This is a perfect time to practice writing skills. No matter how old the child is have them sit with you and write what ever is on there mind even if it is scribble scrabble lol really its all mental and they are getting something out of it even if you do not see it.

6) do more arts and crafts (offer to the kids)

7) do a science project (offer to the kids)

8) use the Internet ( The Internet is your best friend for homeschoolers and educators themselves as well) with out it wed be totally lost lol) so make sure every thing is on the up and up with it since that will be your back up plan for the days when you have nothing planned.

If you have anymore suggestions to add to this list just send them my way and ill add them this is a good beneficial help for those who are new to homeschooling inshaallah.

Ma Salaams

Science Fun You Can Eat -Parts of a Plant Salad

2008-01-17T01:27:00.000+02:00

As Salaamu alaykum

Wondering where weve been all week, Take a look and see what we did this week.. Try and have fun enjoy salaams

Science Fun You Can Eat -Parts of a Plant Salad

Plants are made up of several parts. They start at the bottom with the ROOTS. The roots hold the plant in the ground. Food also travels from the roots into the plant. The STEM is the next part. Food and water travel up the stem into the rest of the plant. Plants have LEAVES. Some plants have FLOWERS. Plants start out as SEEDS. They grow FRUIT to make more seeds.

Make a salad with all the parts of a flower.

Here’s what you do:

Put in some ROOTS – shredded carrots, chopped onions

Put in some LEAVES – lettuce, cabbage, spinach,

Put in some SEEDS –sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, peas, chick peas

Put in some FRUIT – tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers slices, orange segments

Put in some STEMS – celery, asparagus

Put in some FLOWERS – broccoli, cauliflower- you can also put in some PETALS - pansy petals are edible.

Mix your salad all together. Put on your favorite dressing and enjoy eating a plant!

TIPS FOR TEACHERS & PARENTS:

As you add the various items into the salad have the children explain which part of the plant it is from and what that part does.

Print out our science worksheet that goes with the lesson and label the parts of the plant as further reinforcement.

Parts of a Plant Worksheet

Great Plant Resources:Fairy Triad Dome Terrarium The Young Scientist Club: Set 10 - Seeds, Fruits and Other Plant PartsGrow Your Own Carnivorous Creations Terrarium

~Belinda Mooney
Belinda J. Mooney is a veteran homeschool mom of 7. She loves incorporating all types of learning from cooking to crafts into her children's learning. Her kids, ages 25 down to 7, can often be seen wearing togas (or other strange clothing) to dinner, doing school outside or leaping fences to get a picture of a strange bug. Her husband has threatened to eat the science projects

The Wheels on the Bus (PreK-K)

2008-01-06T17:45:00.000+02:00

As Salaamu alayki

Every day Ibraheem and Yasmin wants me to read to them a book called "The Wheels on the Bus" each day and night I would read this book to them. A few days ago since we use this book often I noticed one of the pages was missing.. This is a hard book so when we got to the page that is missing They both of them began to get upset and beg me to find the missing page. Today I decided that I was not going to go looking for the messing page in fact let us make up our own version of the book and mashallah it went something like this.

for those of you who are in Cairo Egypt or surrounding areas you should totally understand if not then inshallah ill explain later lol mashallah:

This is inspired by my lil man Ibraheem...

The Ahkee in the taxi goes

come along please, come along please.
come along please, come along please.

The Ahkee in the taxi goes
come along please, come along please.

All thru Cairo Egypt.

The Ummis says to the kids

Hurry up and get in, Hurry up and get in.
Hurry up and get in, Hurry up and get in.

The Ummis says to the kids the kids
Hurry up and get in, Hurry up and get in.

All thru Cairo Egypt.

The Taxi man says,
where would you like to go?, where would you like to go?
where would you like to go?, where would you like to go?

The Taxi man says,
where would you like to go?, where would you like to go?

All thru Cairo Egypt.

The Ummis in the back set says

To the harram, To the harram
To the harram, To the harram

The Ummis in the back set says
To the harramTo the harram

All thru Cairo Egypt.

Allllllll thru Cairo Egypt.

Ok so its a bit corney but I thought it was just the cutest thing really because I now know why this was his favorite store/song.. It reminded him of how we use the taxi to get around verse a bus lol and this was his way of telling his store of how he gets around. Mashallah he is so bright and when they the lil ones do that its so amazing to watch because it helps you understand them so well. Ok just wanted share that

until next time
salaams

"Portfolio's" Do we need them?

2008-01-04T23:06:00.000+02:00

Many of us do not think that it is necessary to have or make portfolios for our children. And really I can not stress to you how it really is important to start one as soon as you can.

Here are the main reason why it is so very important.

One I have started looking at a Portfolio as a means to help my children in the future. I cannot make there decisions in life but may be just maybe they want to go to college Or may need the information just to prove that they did in fact receive education.. Being homeschooled is not in the public eye so they can be denied lots of things with out proof of it. Having a portfolio proves to their employers or college professors that they did receive proper education. Below are a few steps you can take to start your portfolio for your homeschool..

Preparing a Homeschool Portfolio taken from: http://www.nhen.org/nhen/pov/teens/default.asp?id=7

A portfolio is a viable method to assess, both continually and annually, a student's academic progress.

This approach helps both parent and student compare work objectively during the school year. The following suggestions will help parents prepare the portfolio.
Start by using a journal to keep track of what your child does each school day. I find it works best to have one journal per student, so that you can easily separate each child's work at the end of the year.

There are many good journals on the market, but you can use a simple notebook. Put the child's name and school year on the cover, and on the inside of the cover, write the names of the main textbooks and their respective publishers.

Use the first page to record the name of the homeschool support group and the contact person's name and phone number, as well as any other important numbers you will need throughout the year. It is also a good place to write down those two or three goals you have for the school year.

For each school day, date the page and record specifics, such as "Math: pp 12-13, ex 1-15" and "Read and discussed Chapter 2 of To Kill a Mockingbird." Be diligent in filling in this journal regularly, if you are required to keep accurate records. It is also easier to write down while it is still fresh in your mind versus having to reconstruct at the end of the year. Be sure to add field trips as they occur, along with the reason for the trip.

The site, address, phone number, contact person, and fee should be included for future reference.

I also recommend that one photo album be kept each year. This should include photos and brochures from the field trips the family takes, as well as to show projects in the process of construction and the final presentations.

A picture showing the proud student beside her science project is a great reminder during the portfolio review time.

Keeping a good representative sample of papers from throughout the year can be an overwhelming task if a storage plan is not implemented early in the year. Two possibilities are a file box and a notebook. The first involves having one file box per child, hanging folders, and tabs for each subject. The student dates each paper as it is completed, thus relieving the parent of one task. Simply file each paper in the correct folder, always placing the most recent paper in the front. At the end of the year, either take the whole file box to the reviewer or choose samples from each folder to present.

The second option is to use a large three-ring binder and store samples of the student's work from the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. Be sure to use dividers that are labeled by academic area so that storage can be accomplished quickly.

At the end of the year, a summary for each child should be written that includes the student's full name, address, phone number, birth date and grade. Parents' names are also necessary. A list of academic courses, including what was covered and the main textbooks and their respective grade levels, and special projects should also be added. Write down areas of growth seen in your child as well.

Remember, an organized and complete portfolio presentation helps when you discuss the school year with the reviewer. As we say to our clients, "Relax and enjoy this time of reflection and joy. You have all worked hard this year. We want to enjoy discussing the year with you."

Shirley Minster, Director

Home Education & Family Services and Royal Academy, Inc.
http://www.homeeducator.com/HEFS/abouthefs.htm

(c) Shirley M. R. Minster 1999

More on portfolios here
Ask Pauline
http://home.comcast.net/~askpauline/hs/homeschoolportfolios.html

http://www.home-schooling-and-homeschool.info/Homeschool_Portfolio_Evaluation.html

http://members.aol.com/cmslhomeschool/portfolio.html

more on this topic later until next time and happy new year (kullu sana wa taibeen)

BUSY BUSY BUSY

2007-12-18T02:15:00.000+02:00

As Salaamu alaykum

I am so sorry this blog is suppose to be about me homeschooling and MY FREE TIME LOL well when i find that free time I will get it in action LOL...NO really I have made a deal with my self.. And that is as soon as i get done with a task come to the pc and blog about our homeschooling day... So inshaallah as soon as i get it in action you will all see lots more blogging from me. This is suppose to be my daily journal on how are day when anyway so I hope I can really get it down sad and silly thing is I do blog on paper about our day i just never seem to find the time to set at the pc to do it and when I do have the time to sit at the pc I TOTALLY FORGET ABOUT IT LOL so what can I do to remind my self about my homeschooling bloggin site LOL hmmmmm.. Ill get to that later first here is a lil update.

The HOP is working great the kids love it.... They are all improving alhamdulillah

I have ordered the Singapore math books for Samyrah for the money that I put in to it I hope that it will benefit us ameen. casue lord knows I am poow...lol

I tried the headsproots program (sorry not sure if spelled right) and I like it only thing is you have to pay monthly and well that's out for me so for those of you who are on a budget Click n Read works just as good and My kids love it

Click n Read is wonderful for parents on a budget for this reason. You pay $59.89 and if you sign up under me its only ABOUT $49. You can even make money using them by using there Tell A Friend Program. Read below.

Tell A Friend Give your friends $10.00 off the purchase price AND earn $5.00 for yourself at the same time! That's right! With our one-of-a-kind Tell A Friend program we will give your friends $10.00 off and send you a check for $5.00 for each and every household you refer to us that buys a Click N' READ Phonics subscription. There is NO limit to how much money you can make in referral fees!Simply use the Tell A Friend member page or just tell your friends to use your email address as the Promotion Code on our purchasing pages and our website will automatically give the discount and credit your account.

Inshaallah go here to save money and help me make money too, This will help us for our homeschooling needs thank you so much.

Please remember to use promotion code homeschoolinummi4@yahoo.com when you purchase. Simply go to www.clicknkids.com to try a free lesson with your child and to purchase the program.

Its a really great program for a really great price and its yours for life you can do as you please give it to a friend as a gift pass it along there are no restrictions once you are done that is it its yours for life so it is a great program worth investing in and it will help just like any other program check here for the reviews http://www.clicknkids.com/Public/Testimonials.asp

ok

This week since we are in the month of dhull hijra we will be working on learning history of this spacial month.. Inshaallah i will post all that i can on out learning's soon.

I pray that Allah ta alaa blesses all the Muslims during this spacial month and all months to proceed ameen...

Happy homeschooling to you all.
note: for those who may not know what HOP is Hooked on Phonics which is a reading program i purchased the complete reading program and mashaallah it really does work provided that you set with your kids on a constant bases mashallah.
Ma Salaam

Umm Samyrah

Here I am~

2007-11-21T16:49:00.001+02:00

As Salaamu alaykum

Well here I am, Its me. Yup! That good o'l blogger who blogs faithfully! RiGhT!

Ha ha, I prbably wounld't be here if it wanst for my dear friend (you know who you are) She said to me to poor it out on netpaper well here I am and that is what I am doing.

Homeschooling has been a mean struggle to me lately from the location that I am in so and so I am going on my roller costal days with homeschooling these days and really sometimes I just want to give it all up, But if it wanst for my darling children and looking at them and saying J just get up and do what you have to do and do it the best way you can. So Ill do that and then due to me not being able to have and get a hold of what I need for my children I go through the "do I really wanna today day thing'

I have so many plans and yet no where for me to really start and it has really got me down. I am not the type of person that will blog and pretend that i have it all and everything is peaches and cream. I just cannot do it. The reality is that it is HARD and Sometimes just sometimes I wish there was a easier way.

So my goal is to not give up. And fight as much as i can for me my self and my children to do this. and be successful at it.

Until Next time

ps all you successful Homeschoolers out there lets make duaa for each other really.

Umm Samyrah~

Tags: hard day at work, ups and downs of homeschooling, is it easy, its not easy, home, school, homeschooling overseas, homeschooling in egypt

The "I can" Attituded...

2007-10-07T06:05:00.001+02:00

As Salaamu alaykuuna,

I wanted to share with you all a GREAT read that I am sure you all will enjoy to read taken from an article titled: The "I can" Attituded..By Laurisa White Reyes
here is the artical and the link to the magazine (The Parent Teacher) is below enjoy salaams
Umm Samyrah

The "I can" Attituded..
By Laurisa White Reyes

I teach creative writing classes in my
home and on occasion I ask parents why
they pay me to teach their children rather
than teach them themselves. Inevitably, their
answers are pretty much the same: "I can't
write well, so how can I teach my son (or
daughter) to write?"

When pressed further, many parents
admit to me that their negative perceptions
came from a bad experience in school when
they were young. Receiving bad grades
on assignments, feeling humiliated when
mistakes were made public, or being forced
to complete a boring or difficult assignment
are just some of the reasons so many adults
lack confidence in themselves. The problem
is that their "I can't" attitudes get passed
down to the next generation.

Pessimism Is Learned
In his best selling book, Learned
Optimism: How To Change Your Mind and
Your Life, author Martin E. P. Seligman,
Ph. D. discusses the development of
self-talk in children, something he calls their
explanatory style. He states that a child's opinion
of himself and how he talks himself through
difficult situations (such as challenging school
assignments) has a great deal to do with how the
adults in his life respond to negative situations.
For example, if a mother responds with anger
at getting a small dent in her car blaming it on her
own or someone else's stupidity, the child will
learn to respond the same way. His perception
of the world and his role in it is largely shaped
by what his mother's words and behavior reveals
about her own self-perception.

"Children's antennae are constantly tuned to
the way their parents, particularly their mothers,
talk about causes of emotionally loaded events,"
observes Dr. Seligman. "It is no accident that
`Why?' is one of the first and most repeated
questions that young children ask…

Your children hang on every word of the
explanations you give, particularly when
something goes wrong."

In the area of academics, a mother's [or
teacher's] response to her child's imperfections
and mistakes has an enormous influence on his self-esteem,
as well as his overall attitude about life. When a child
earns a low score on a spelling test and his mother
scolds him for it or calls him stupid, he will develop a pessimistic
attitude.

He will learn that mistakes are absolute and that he cannot do any better. Dr. Seligman reminds us that, "children believe the criticisms they get, and use them to form their explanatory style."

In contrast, when mistakes are recognized for what they are – mistakes – independent of the child's value and capabilities as a person, the child learns to see the world from an optimistic, less rigid point of view.

This is not to say that parents ought never to criticize their children. When criticism is given, it should be focused on the error rather than the child. However, never offering constructive criticism can be just as detrimental to a child as having a parent who is overly critical.

In their book The 7 Worst Things Good Parents Do, authors John C. Friel and Linda D. Friel note that in trying to avoid hurting their children's feelings, some parents fail to give criticism even when it is necessary, robbing them of the very challenges that would eventually build character and self-esteem.

"Of course we need to praise our children when they do things well," say the Friels. "But we also need to let them struggle with problems by themselves and sometimes get their reward from the fact that they solved a problem on their own.
We need to teach our kids about life. It isn't enough to pump them up with empty praise
for a job poorly done. We need to guide, teach, gently correct and help our kids move toward competence. Self-esteem, after all, comes from competence, not from incompetence…Our job as parents is to help our children discover their
own gifts and then learn to do them well."

It is vital that parents understand how debilitating negativity and pessimism can be.
Studies have found that even the most talented children, if their attitude is negative, often do poorly in school. In adulthood, pessimism contributes to their general unhappiness and depression. On the other hand, optimism, not talent, appears to be the primary factor behind academic success and overall satisfaction with life.

The Friels tell us that, "talent is overrated." In their research they have found that pessimists consistently "drop below their `potential,' and optimists exceed it." The good news is, however, that "if children can learn [pessimism], they can unlearn it."

Fostering Optimism Through Ownership

One way to help a child develop optimism is to allow him ownership of his own accomplishments and mistakes.

This is not what generally occurs in many school settings. When a child completes an assignment in school, the teacher corrects the assignment. She marks up the page with a red pen and tells the child everything that he did wrong.

This system of correcting assignments may work for grading math tests, but it can backfire when used on more subjective tasks, such as written compositions.
Helping Kids Achieve! The "I Can" Attitude

First of all, writing is a creative process. In putting words on
paper to express thoughts and ideas, the student has in fact placed a
little piece of himself on that paper.

He takes pride in his creation, much as he would as if he had painted a picture.
Imagine if your six-year-old came to you with a crayon drawing
he made.

As parents we would never criticize him for coloring out
of the lines or for using the wrong colors. Instead we praise him.
We tell him what a good job he's done. We know that as he gets
older, his coordination will increase and his skills will improve.

As with art, children ought to experiment with words long
before we ever even think about correcting his work. When the
child grows older, we may think it is okay now to criticize and
point out flaws.

But the truth is that hearts are still sensitive and egos easily bruised. Adults are no different than children in this aspect.

How would you feel if you had spent time writing a letter
or drawing a picture and someone took a red pen and wrote all over
it telling you everything you did wrong?

Would you want to do it again?

It isn't that corrections should not be made. However, the one
making the corrections should be the student, not the teacher.

For example, my son struggled with writing in the fourth grade.
Among his difficulties was his tendency to forget to capitalize the
fi rst letter of his sentences. I could have easily grabbed a red pen
and circled all the mistakes in his assignments, and that's just what
I did at first.

I noticed that he became frustrated whenever he had to write an
assignment. He took every correction as a personal insult. It was as
though I were criticizing him rather than the work.

I decided to try something different. Instead of me pointing out
his mistakes, I reminded him, in a pleasant tone of voice, of the rule
of capitalization. Then I asked him to read his paper to see if there
were any words he needed to capitalize.

His discoveries resulted in a little embarrassed laughter and a
prompt correction.

The rule was reinforced and his pride was left in tact.
He now remembers more often than not to capitalize the fi rst
letters in his sentences, and the moaning and groaning over writing
assignments, while still present, is slowly disappearing.

Allowing students to take ownership of their own work
– including their mistakes – makes for more responsible and happy
children.

Learning to write well is a process, not a destination.

Once children understand that the goal is progress rather than
perfection, they soon learn that mistakes can be corrected and that
they are fully capable of completing whatever assignment comes
their way.

In time, pessimism and self-doubt are replaced with an
"I can" attitude.

The Parent Teacher - October 2007 - Page 5
Written by Laurisa Reyes

Laurisa White Reyes is the proud homeschooling mom of five children. She is also an editor with Mapletree Publishing and the author of "Teaching Kids To Write Well: Six Secrets Every Grown-Up Should Know." Ms. Reyes can be contacted through her website at

www.laurisawhitereyes.com.

Taken from:
http://www.theparentteacher.com/pt-oct07.pdf

Tags: you can homeschool, teaching at home, learning at home, homeschool, Homeschooling, home school, help with teaching

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Ramadan in Egypt

2007-10-07T05:41:00.001+02:00

This is my first year for Ramadan in egypt last year when we where here, My mind was so wild out. I just could not belive it was really so I was here in the land of the muslims and I just was so Happy that I was really here so it always seemed like a dream going through the motions of life exspecially during Ramadan. This year is more of a reality life still goes on and although you have these ups and downs the joy and feel of Ramdan is always a comfort.

During Ramadan in Egypt life is quite and streetless until around 10 to 11. Many of the people stay up all night long worshipping and praying to Our lord that it keeps them home until the late morning hours. May Allah bless them all for their wonderful efforts for rushing to worship Allah ameen!

It seems to me since this is my second year during Ramdan here that the egyptians are very routined when it comes to Fasting almost to the point it seems as though every eats the same thing during the days of Ramadan the mothers mashallah or women of the homes really have the order of operation down packed so much so that if you are offered a plate almost 9 out of 10 you will get the same dish lol. Its wonderful and a blessing.

i will show you a few of the foods that the egyptians eat below enjoy. Oh and I hope you are all having a wonderful Ramadan

This is Yameesh this is what the egyptians drink to break their fast with its made with Aprocot juice and soked aprots and dates and rasins and pruns and more. Its very tasting and even also has honey init.

Kunafah is a very sweet tastie treat the kids love it, I for one like it but after awhile i must stop eating it its very very sweet lol ok here is a pic of it below and following after that is the recipe for it.

more later on Ramadan in egypt may be next year lol well see salaams all and

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Ramadan Kareem رمضان كريم

2007-09-21T23:55:00.000+02:00

رمضان كريم

As Salaamu alaykum,

Today Ramadan started, The kids are very excited mashallah as for me plz make duaa for me although i am very excited that Ramadan is here its just I am going through alot so I sorta feel weird about how I am feeling now.

But anyway for the kids we will be doing some Ramadan crafts that well take from TJ Ramadan site
and also we well do some of our own. I will post pics of our progress either during or after Ramadan.

Ok here is a lil taste of what Ramadan is like here in Egypt just to share with you all a lil about our environment.

In Egypt Ramadan is more of a traditional holiday rather a religious holiday. The Egyptians have many of their own customs that one would think is was apart of the Islamic religion if they didn't know any better but mashallah me being a Muslim for all my life I see the pros in the cons of their practices in Islam period. Nevertheless, they are still Practicing Ramadan.

One of the many things that people believe is that The fanoos is only an Egyptian thing rather it is an Arab style of celebrating Ramadan. So what is a Fawanees? In English it means lanterns and here is what there lanterns look like below.

The types of food they eat are Ya meesh apricot made into juice with apricot and dates and tin and sometimes coconut in it as well. They also eat sbanic which is spinach to us Americans.
Mehshee is a all time favorite as well as more on this later

Back to School during Ramadan

2007-09-21T22:54:00.000+02:00

As Salaamu alaykum,

Mashaallah this years Ramadan came so fast I was not prepared at all! Really when it came I was so down I didnt know what to do. so please make duaa for me you all muslims out there. I have so many plans for the kids but with all of this mess of a life that i am in I really didnt know where to start so I am gonna just start here.

My goals for this Ramadan is:

Make it fun for my children
show them that we must increase our ibbadah during this time
prepare my self by making schedules for the day and
Increasing my ibaadah much.

I know that this is my first introducation into blogging, But i hope you all enjoy your Ramadans and May allah bless all the muslims during this month and for ever til we meet him again. Ameen Ameen Ameen.

UmmSamyrah~ Juwariyah
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/InternationalHomeSchoolinUmmis/