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Recent Posts
Try It – It’s Easy!
I used oil pastels from Dollarama and a sheet of computer paper.
Jon Gnagy Lesson: Mountain Lake
Just finished this… InshaALLAH I will post my finished product as soon as I scan it.
Wow, A Whole Week Has Passed
It has been so busy behind the scenes this week – my husband is working weird hours so by the time I think about it, blogging is on the back burner. Still, I’m just now realizing that it’s Thursday?!
The good news is that the boy can read now! He’s getting more confident each day, alhamduLILLAH. He read one books that we kept from our Calvert days, and then I read Goodnight Moon to him and he completed the workbook page for it.
Next, I opened the pack of Saxon Math 1 workbooks and started it with him. I like Singapore Math too but I still had this extra pack sitting around and didn’t want to waste it.He gets a kick out of coloring in the blocks anyway.
While he didn’t mind reading and he really likes the math, he absolutely detests writing. It’s the most stressful part of his day because he is still struggling to hold his pencil properly. He does much better with a fat pencil or a pencil that is super short.
Oh, and to his penpal: InshaALLAH this weekend he is getting his letter ready for you! He’s very excited.
My daughter is doing well and she’s moving right along with her studies. She finished her phonics book so I had to think about what to do. She reads all the time on her own – she’s finished her 28th chapter book so I owe her an ice cream this weekend, InshaALLAH.
I started reading Black Beauty to her last night and we’re using a unit study from Currclick. We’re also doing animal classification for science, specifically mammals, so horses fit in nicely with that. There is a curriculum called History of the Horse that I am thinking about using. It is a literature-based program and I think my daughter might like it. I don’t know, maybe; I have to think about it a bit.
She’s also practicing her Arabic by reading from this book:
Right now, we’re just combining short vowels and tanwin with each letter.
I’m trying to strengthen her math skills by doing extra work outside of the Singapore Math curriculum. Today, we focused on place value. I think it makes more of an impact on the mind to see the numbers, so she simply wrote the numbers in the table and we placed it in her math binder. She was surprised by all the zeros, but I think the exercise helped her mind to absorb it.
For spelling/geography, we focused on Canada. I gave her a stack of index cards with the names of the ten provinces and she looked them over for a few minutes.
Then, I tested her and she got six out of four right. 
Today, I had her spell them out loud and she got them all right, MashaALLAH.
The kids got out into the back yard again to see what wonders lay under the snow. They brought back a goody bag of leaves for us to dry, pressed between some cardboard squares.
And lastly, my daughter wanted to make a sandwich for me yesterday. Can you see the tuna? Neither could I, lol, but still a sweet gesture.
Week in Review
This past week was very productive, mashaALLAH. We finished The Story of Muhammad (Peace be upon him), in Makkah and have moved forward to Madinah. The children enjoyed hearing the story and I also asked them to narrate and had my daughter complete a few activities in her notebook.
She really liked the story of Prophet Muhammad’s (Peace be upon him) Night Journey, so she made a mini book and illustrated to my writing.
Originally, she attempted to write it herself but her handwriting was too large to fit inside and she became frustrated.
Although it was very cold, we managed, okay, they managed to get outside and explore the backyard. I just snapped a few shots from the door, lol.
My son had fun with his phonics lesson – he’s doing well now that I’ve figured out how he works. We are using an eclectic mix to help him learn to read, including Progressive Phonics, a free site (with registration), that has printable stories that we read together.
His Pathway Reader curriculum comes with a few cut and paste pages that we add when we have the time. On this page, he had to read the word to me and then I gave him the proper picture to glue over the word. It took a while but he eventually finished.
There were clock puzzles,
towers constructed,
crowds controlled,
sabotage,
and busy babies too!
It was a good, productive week, AlhamduLILLAH.
Allah Knows by Zain Bhikha
The kids are learning the words – this is their new favorite!
LORD OF THE WORLDS
This week and last week have been tough, SubhanALLAH. My kids are sick (again), which means that I am sick and this time it is just dragging on and on.
I didn’t get sick until last Thursday and it was just a minor cold at the time. It really kicked in on Friday night and the baby got sick too. The problem with being ill was the timing. My husband signed me up for Al Kauthar Institute‘s LORD OF THE WORLDS (Unity of ALLAH’s Worship) course and the lectures are 8 hours, Saturday and Sunday. My husband really wanted me to attend – last year I took the Al Maghrib course online but he’s persistent and wanted me to physically attend, so he watched the baby in the lobby until I could tend to her during the breaks. It was easy for him because she slept the whole time but it was hard for me because with each passing hour, I got a lot worse. I couldn’t attend the second day, I was in pretty bad shape until today, AlhamduLILLAH, so my husband attended the second half.
Anyway, AlhamduLILLAH for the time that I was able to attend, Sheikh Chowdhury spoke about creation vs evolution theories and how to respond to atheists, among other things. The issues were addressed in an organized and proficient manner and it was relevant to this month’s TMH topics.
Sheikh Chowdhury recommended reading Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution by Michael J. Behe. Behe writes that the theory of evolution is false based upon its inability to explain complex bio-molecular systems such as the human immune system, blood clotting and the building blocks of DNA.
Toronto Muslim Homeschoolers
This post is long overdue – I don’t know why I put it off for so long!
January 2, I attended the Toronto Muslim Homeschoolers (TMH) group meeting for the first time, AlhamduLILLAH and had such a great experience. The sisters were warm and welcoming and I was downright giddy when I left there.
This month’s main topic was science. It was beneficial to me to hear other sisters’ ideas and learn of new resources and ways of teaching.
I learned that the group hosted a very successful science fair last year and in March, InshaALLAH, they will be hosting their second.
The group meets the first Saturday of each month at 9 A.M., alternately in the east and west ends (West End sisters are hosting in Feb. InshaALLAH). The membership is $25 for the whole year – I think it is well worth it, as there are organized playgroups, workshops, field trips, an annual picnic, and So Much More!
By the way, the sisters hosting the group provided some yummy food- I never had haleem before, but it was so good!
If you cannot attend, at least get permission from the moderators to sign up for the yahoo group, InshaALLAH.
How to Teach Science
Teresa Bondora walks you through various topics (you can sign up for the newsletter) and you can grab the free download at the bottom of the page to give you ideas for science.
