First attempt at making firni based on a family recipe... But scaled down a lot as my dad usually makes 8 pints of milk at a time! 😂 And he doesn't add any extras e.g. fruit or nuts.
Ingredients
1 cup rice
2 pints whole milk
200ml double cream
300g granulated sugar
Handful sultanas
2-3 cardamom pods
Handful flaked almonds
Method
1) Put everything except the almonds in a non-stick saucepan (cardamom and sultanas are optional).
2) Bring to the boil on a high heat while stirring continuously.
3) Reduce heat slightly to a simmer and keep stirring for at least half an hour until the firni has thickened to the desired consistency.
4) Take off heat and leave to cool.
5) Serve slightly warm or chilled from the fridge. Sprinkle flaked almonds on top.
Wednesday, 17 July 2019
Wednesday, 1 May 2019
Simple Spring/Summer Plant Projects
As I mentioned in my earlier post, we're taking a break from formal academic studies over Ramadaan so we can concentrate on our Arabic and Quran. But I don't mean we're going to stop learning altogether - that's impossible anyway! Just that we'll discuss things as they come up rather than do planned lessons (they'll still cover plenty of Literacy/Numeracy targets naturally through reading/everyday experiences/etc.), but I thought it made sense to keep a loose Science focus by getting all the books (both fiction and non) out for their book box for the month, since it's the season for growing things anyway!
So we've got a few projects on the go at the moment...
1) Tulips from Amsterdam
The ones my parents gifted us a few months ago have begun to bloom - some seem to have died! The second pot weren't buried deep enough, as when it rained the soil was compacted and so exposed them again, so I asked my husband to help the twins replant them while I was out one day... Still no success compared to the others, so I had a look myself and realised they'd been planted upside down! Replanted (so for the 3rd time lol) in an attempt to save them but it looks like it was unsuccessful... But still a good teaching point into why they didn't grow so nothing lost there!
The ones which have blossomed look beautiful though. 👍
2) Chinese beans
My sister brought some beans back from China (wish I'd remembered to take a photo of them before planting as they had Chinese characters written on them!) though she's not sure what species they are exactly. 😂 So we decorated some old glass honey jars with the girls' names and planted the beans in there. I'm hoping the glass means we'll be able to get a peek at some of the roots! These are on our kitchen windowsill so it's easy to remember to water them and easy to keep an eye on the different stages of growth. 😁
3) Sunflower investigation
A few years ago we grew some sunflowers in the back garden which grew to an impressive height, taller than the fence! When we grew them, I decided where to plant them based on where I thought would get the most sunlight... So this year, I suggested an investigation to see if the amount of sunlight really makes that much of a difference to how plants grow. So we planted a few on the side of the garden the original sunflowers went and a few on the opposite side of the garden, in the shade of the fence. No mention of soil quality at this age - we're making sure to water them both the same amount and assuming that the only factor being changed is amount of sunlight!
Unfortunately, our poor sunflower seedlings have had a rough start... One week, my husband forgot they were there and we lost a few to the lawnmower. 😑 But rather than give up, we replanted the ones which seemed mostly intact and Alhamdulillah a few survived! But then the next weekend it was incredibly windy (Storm Hannah I think it was called?) and from our survivors, there were a couple more casualties blown over or away completely! So now we have two strongish looking ones on each side, and maybe a couple of late sprouters which may end up growing to flower... Who knows! But again, some more interesting learning opportunities so no great loss. 😊
So for these, the girls need to remember to water them (usually when I'm putting out/taking in the laundry!) and also weed them when they look like they need it (why do they need weeding? So the other plants don't take their water and nutrients from the soil, so the sunflowers can grow bigger!). Maybe next year we can do another investigation where we only weed some sunflowers and leave the others to get overrun. 😀
4) Nature walks
The HE friend we went on the Clent Hills walk with is organising regular meet ups at similar locations for more long walks. We went to Clent Hills again on Sunday with my husband, to see how far Z could manage since some of the routes aren't pushchair accessible, and mashaAllah we were out for just over 2 hours (with stops!) and she was able to walk to the top and take the steeper route down again. The walks which are planned with our friend should be around 45min max, so inshaAllah we plan on joining them as they come up over the next few months.
Just being in nature sparked up lots of casual conversations and learning, e.g. what are pine cones for? How do trees breathe if they don't have lungs? Identifying different species of plants (daisies, dandelions, bluebells, buttercups, nettles, blackberry bushes, etc.), comparing the shapes and textures of leaves and petals, etc. etc.
The walks have also been great for building confidence (e.g. keeping balance when going down steeper, gravelly sections of path - thinking they can't do it then proving themselves wrong!), problem solving (looking for the sensible places to climb hills, i.e. less steep, not as muddy, good footholds, etc.) pushing past their comfort zones (they wanted to try climbing a bigger tree on Sunday and, with a little encouragement, managed to get higher than they have before!) and of course, building stamina and endurance. 💪
So we've got a few projects on the go at the moment...
1) Tulips from Amsterdam
The ones my parents gifted us a few months ago have begun to bloom - some seem to have died! The second pot weren't buried deep enough, as when it rained the soil was compacted and so exposed them again, so I asked my husband to help the twins replant them while I was out one day... Still no success compared to the others, so I had a look myself and realised they'd been planted upside down! Replanted (so for the 3rd time lol) in an attempt to save them but it looks like it was unsuccessful... But still a good teaching point into why they didn't grow so nothing lost there!
The ones which have blossomed look beautiful though. 👍
2) Chinese beans
My sister brought some beans back from China (wish I'd remembered to take a photo of them before planting as they had Chinese characters written on them!) though she's not sure what species they are exactly. 😂 So we decorated some old glass honey jars with the girls' names and planted the beans in there. I'm hoping the glass means we'll be able to get a peek at some of the roots! These are on our kitchen windowsill so it's easy to remember to water them and easy to keep an eye on the different stages of growth. 😁
3) Sunflower investigation
A few years ago we grew some sunflowers in the back garden which grew to an impressive height, taller than the fence! When we grew them, I decided where to plant them based on where I thought would get the most sunlight... So this year, I suggested an investigation to see if the amount of sunlight really makes that much of a difference to how plants grow. So we planted a few on the side of the garden the original sunflowers went and a few on the opposite side of the garden, in the shade of the fence. No mention of soil quality at this age - we're making sure to water them both the same amount and assuming that the only factor being changed is amount of sunlight!
Unfortunately, our poor sunflower seedlings have had a rough start... One week, my husband forgot they were there and we lost a few to the lawnmower. 😑 But rather than give up, we replanted the ones which seemed mostly intact and Alhamdulillah a few survived! But then the next weekend it was incredibly windy (Storm Hannah I think it was called?) and from our survivors, there were a couple more casualties blown over or away completely! So now we have two strongish looking ones on each side, and maybe a couple of late sprouters which may end up growing to flower... Who knows! But again, some more interesting learning opportunities so no great loss. 😊
So for these, the girls need to remember to water them (usually when I'm putting out/taking in the laundry!) and also weed them when they look like they need it (why do they need weeding? So the other plants don't take their water and nutrients from the soil, so the sunflowers can grow bigger!). Maybe next year we can do another investigation where we only weed some sunflowers and leave the others to get overrun. 😀
4) Nature walks
The HE friend we went on the Clent Hills walk with is organising regular meet ups at similar locations for more long walks. We went to Clent Hills again on Sunday with my husband, to see how far Z could manage since some of the routes aren't pushchair accessible, and mashaAllah we were out for just over 2 hours (with stops!) and she was able to walk to the top and take the steeper route down again. The walks which are planned with our friend should be around 45min max, so inshaAllah we plan on joining them as they come up over the next few months.
Just being in nature sparked up lots of casual conversations and learning, e.g. what are pine cones for? How do trees breathe if they don't have lungs? Identifying different species of plants (daisies, dandelions, bluebells, buttercups, nettles, blackberry bushes, etc.), comparing the shapes and textures of leaves and petals, etc. etc.
The walks have also been great for building confidence (e.g. keeping balance when going down steeper, gravelly sections of path - thinking they can't do it then proving themselves wrong!), problem solving (looking for the sensible places to climb hills, i.e. less steep, not as muddy, good footholds, etc.) pushing past their comfort zones (they wanted to try climbing a bigger tree on Sunday and, with a little encouragement, managed to get higher than they have before!) and of course, building stamina and endurance. 💪
Monday, 22 April 2019
Spring Rainbows
So after the extended writing task we did previously, I decided to take inspiration from the Big Write initiative and continue giving the girls the opportunity to write a longer uninterrupted piece every fortnight.
As Spring has just begun, I decided to use it as the next prompt - as it was easy to get some firsthand experience and so start some good discussions encouraging rich vocabulary before sitting down to do the writing task.
You can download the writing prompt here.
Before showing the girls the task, I took them to Martineau Gardens so they could actually do the colour hunting challenge mentioned in the prompt. We took photos of the things they found and when we got home I turned these into a collage:
You can download our picture collage here. (the bird pictures I took from Google, since I wasn't able to get a good photo of the robin and magpie we spotted!)
On a different day, before writing, we used their photos as inspiration for a spring time rainbow painting. First, they drew the outline of a rainbow onto white card. Then, they used their photos as reference for drawing pictures in the corresponding stripe of each colour of the rainbow. Finally, they coloured it in using both wax crayons and watercolours - which was their choice! Z did her own version too, mashaAllah. I was really impressed with her patience, which I think is better when she's together with her big sisters as she wants to copy them!
When it came to the actual writing, I think I picked a day when they weren't in the mood for it... We recapped their current target of writing in past tense (and staying in the same tense!) then set the timer for 30min, put a video on YouTube for background Spring sounds, wrote in silence - just as in last time with the desert prompt - but they weren't that motivated this time. Rather than force them to continue or force the issue, I sat with them individually afterwards so they could give themselves feedback: a mark out of 5 for how well they kept in past tense (they both thought they did well at this), a mark out of 5 for how good their descriptions were and a target for next time. M especially was disappointed with herself ("I didn't write enough though!") so insha'Allah they might be more focused next time? I think going to the gardens, which I thought was good for inspiration, might actually have made it more difficult since they were trying to write from memory rather than their imagination? Will try something completely different next time, insha'Allah!
As Spring has just begun, I decided to use it as the next prompt - as it was easy to get some firsthand experience and so start some good discussions encouraging rich vocabulary before sitting down to do the writing task.
You can download the writing prompt here.
Before showing the girls the task, I took them to Martineau Gardens so they could actually do the colour hunting challenge mentioned in the prompt. We took photos of the things they found and when we got home I turned these into a collage:
You can download our picture collage here. (the bird pictures I took from Google, since I wasn't able to get a good photo of the robin and magpie we spotted!)
On a different day, before writing, we used their photos as inspiration for a spring time rainbow painting. First, they drew the outline of a rainbow onto white card. Then, they used their photos as reference for drawing pictures in the corresponding stripe of each colour of the rainbow. Finally, they coloured it in using both wax crayons and watercolours - which was their choice! Z did her own version too, mashaAllah. I was really impressed with her patience, which I think is better when she's together with her big sisters as she wants to copy them!
When it came to the actual writing, I think I picked a day when they weren't in the mood for it... We recapped their current target of writing in past tense (and staying in the same tense!) then set the timer for 30min, put a video on YouTube for background Spring sounds, wrote in silence - just as in last time with the desert prompt - but they weren't that motivated this time. Rather than force them to continue or force the issue, I sat with them individually afterwards so they could give themselves feedback: a mark out of 5 for how well they kept in past tense (they both thought they did well at this), a mark out of 5 for how good their descriptions were and a target for next time. M especially was disappointed with herself ("I didn't write enough though!") so insha'Allah they might be more focused next time? I think going to the gardens, which I thought was good for inspiration, might actually have made it more difficult since they were trying to write from memory rather than their imagination? Will try something completely different next time, insha'Allah!
Wednesday, 17 April 2019
Good hygiene
To finish our topic on the body, following on from healthy eating and exercise, I decided to focus a little on the importance of good hygiene.
We found this amazing book at the local charity shop: I Know How We Fight Germs. It explains the processes in really simple language via a conversation between a little boy and his mum. I really like how it's done - especially as it differentiates between bacterial and viral infections by explaining the different mechanisms different white blood cells use, but without going into too much detail. I wish I'd read it during my Biochemistry degree actually! 😂 Can't recommend it enough if you have an interest in this area. 👍
We watched a couple of videos on YouTube of white blood cells eating bacteria and talked a bit about it...
The timing worked out that this was shared on one of the HE Facebook groups just as we started this topic. 😀 So we signed up to it and went along... It was a great introduction to clinical trials and drug testing! And the girls each received a certificate for taking part:
While at Thinktank, we visited the area dedicated to medicine. A lot of it was too difficult for them, but this game was really good! They had to stop the bacteria or viruses from invading the body by choosing the appropriate defender (e.g. cytokine, T-cell, etc.)
They also had a little display on immunisations, which we've discussed every time before they've needed one (i.e. some germs can make us really seriously ill - remember last time you had a cold or a fever? They can make you feel even worse than that! 100x worse! - so we have injections to put a tiny tiny bit of that germ in our body. Just enough for our body to know it's there and fight it away. So if a real big one of those germs ever gets into our body in the future, our body will remember, "I've fought this germ before!" and will be able to kill the big germ really quickly, so we don't get really ill from it. If we don't have an injection and the big germ gets in, our body won't know what to do and won't be that good at fighting it, so we'd get seriously ill. That's why injections are important. Would you rather have a small injection and be safe or get very very ill? ...The girls always chose the injection. 😂) so we had a quick recap on that too.
When home, we read through the corresponding Science books on hygiene from the ones we have and linked this all to our earlier work on Al-Qudduus.
No worksheets this time round, just lots of practical activities, reading and discussions. 😄
We found this amazing book at the local charity shop: I Know How We Fight Germs. It explains the processes in really simple language via a conversation between a little boy and his mum. I really like how it's done - especially as it differentiates between bacterial and viral infections by explaining the different mechanisms different white blood cells use, but without going into too much detail. I wish I'd read it during my Biochemistry degree actually! 😂 Can't recommend it enough if you have an interest in this area. 👍
We watched a couple of videos on YouTube of white blood cells eating bacteria and talked a bit about it...
The timing worked out that this was shared on one of the HE Facebook groups just as we started this topic. 😀 So we signed up to it and went along... It was a great introduction to clinical trials and drug testing! And the girls each received a certificate for taking part:
While at Thinktank, we visited the area dedicated to medicine. A lot of it was too difficult for them, but this game was really good! They had to stop the bacteria or viruses from invading the body by choosing the appropriate defender (e.g. cytokine, T-cell, etc.)
They also had a little display on immunisations, which we've discussed every time before they've needed one (i.e. some germs can make us really seriously ill - remember last time you had a cold or a fever? They can make you feel even worse than that! 100x worse! - so we have injections to put a tiny tiny bit of that germ in our body. Just enough for our body to know it's there and fight it away. So if a real big one of those germs ever gets into our body in the future, our body will remember, "I've fought this germ before!" and will be able to kill the big germ really quickly, so we don't get really ill from it. If we don't have an injection and the big germ gets in, our body won't know what to do and won't be that good at fighting it, so we'd get seriously ill. That's why injections are important. Would you rather have a small injection and be safe or get very very ill? ...The girls always chose the injection. 😂) so we had a quick recap on that too.
When home, we read through the corresponding Science books on hygiene from the ones we have and linked this all to our earlier work on Al-Qudduus.
No worksheets this time round, just lots of practical activities, reading and discussions. 😄
Islamic School Librarian
https://islamicschoollibrarian.wordpress.com
An amazing website where the author has gone through the effort of reading and reviewing a vast number of books aimed at Muslim children - from preschool up to teenage years - and with pictures! So often I've not bought Islamic children's books because there are no previews of the inside pages online, so this is a really useful reference.
I also love her honesty, as the reviews I've seen are usually all positive. I appreciate the helpful criticisms. 👍
Anyway, just saving this link here so I can find it again easily. 😁
An amazing website where the author has gone through the effort of reading and reviewing a vast number of books aimed at Muslim children - from preschool up to teenage years - and with pictures! So often I've not bought Islamic children's books because there are no previews of the inside pages online, so this is a really useful reference.
I also love her honesty, as the reviews I've seen are usually all positive. I appreciate the helpful criticisms. 👍
Anyway, just saving this link here so I can find it again easily. 😁
Tuesday, 16 April 2019
99 Names of Allah - 09 - Al-'Azeez - The Mighty
[09] اَلْعَزِيزُ (Al-'Azeez): The Mighty
Sing 99 Names (5min)
Play PowerPoint of the first 33 names, 2-3 times. Sing together and do the actions so far plus:
Action for Al-Azeez: Fist pump the air with both hands and then pose with both arms bent to mime being a strong winner.
Today’s focus is on the name Al-'Azeez which means The Mighty.
Story relating to today's name (7min)
Read the following short story to the children (printable copy in the resources file):
Brown
Bear was the mightiest animal in the forest – and he was mighty happy about it,
too!
Discuss meaning, apply to children's lives (15min)
Mighty Brown
Bear & the Tug-of-War
In a
certain forest, a long time ago, there once lived a group of animals with a
strange rule between them. Every month, on the night of the full moon, all the
animals would gather together for a grand tug-of-war tournament. The winning
animal - the strongest animal - would earn the prize of becoming the next king
or queen of the forest. As the mightiest animal in the forest, they had the
difficult responsibility to make sure everything was in order and running
smoothly; but as ruler, they also had the luxury of eating any food in the
forest, whenever they wanted, and no one could refuse them.
The forest animals lived
happily this way, with kingship passing regularly between the strongest five:
Golden Eagle, Silver Stag, Black Badger, Copper Beaver and Red Fox. They took
turns to rule the forest with might and justice.
...All until one day.
The day Brown Bear came.
Brown Bear was large.
Brown Bear was strong. Brown Bear arrived in the forest on the night of the
full moon. He saw the animals' tournament. "Are you playing
tug-of-war?" he asked. "I want to join in, too!"
Yes, Brown Bear was very
strong indeed. So strong, that on the very first night he came to the forest,
he won their tournament with ease and went to sleep as their new king!
Brown Bear, however, was
not a very good king. He was a glutton, irresponsible, and he was forgetful...
So instead of helping sort out the animals' problems, and keeping the forest
running smoothly, he chose to spend his days eating instead. No matter how much
the animals complained, they could not win against him in a tug-of-war match,
and so each month he stayed as king and each month the other animals became
more and more upset. Brown Bear didn't mean to cause problems, he was just too
greedy and he was just too lazy!
Every month, at the
tug-of-war tournament, the same thing happened. Golden Eagle beat his wings
with all his might, but he could not win. Silver Stag heaved his giant antlers
with all his might, but he could not win. Black Badger dug her sharp claws firm
into the soil with all her might, but she could not win. Copper Beaver used his
great tail to beat the ground with all his might, but he could not win.
And Red Fox gnashed her teeth with all her might... But she could not win.
"If the strongest
five cannot beat Brown Bear," the forest animals despaired, "then
none of us can! He will stay our king and we will stay miserable forever!"
But one day, clever Red
Fox thought of a plan. She called Golden Eagle, Silver Stag, Black Badger and
Copper Beaver to a meeting - for over the many months of Brown Bear's reign,
the strongest five animals had become good friends.
The next night of the
full moon, Brown Bear was going to get a surprise...
It was time for the
tournament to begin. The moon shone high above the forest, bathing everything
below in its gentle, white light.
Brown Bear came out
yawning, holding one end of the rope. "Who's first?" he asked the
crowd. "Let's end this quickly so we can go to bed and I can wake up early
tomorrow as king again - the bees have been busy today and I can't wait to take
the honey from their hive!" He licked his lips dreamily.
"I'm first!"
called a voice, and Red Fox stepped forward to pick up the other end of the
rope.
"I'm first!"
shouted Copper Beaver, holding onto the rope behind Red Fox.
"I'm first!"
announced Black Badger, taking her place behind Copper Beaver.
"I'm first!"
bellowed Silver Stag, wrapping his antlers in the rope behind Black
Badger.
"I'm first!"
screeched Golden Eagle, clutching the end of the rope in his talons behind
Silver Stag.
"You can't all be
first!" blinked Brown Bear, not sure what to make of the five animals
before him. "I thought the winner became king and you can't all be king at
the same time!"
"Yes, we can!"
the five replied and they all started pulling: teeth, tail, claws, antlers and
wings against the mighty Brown Bear. And no matter how tough Brown Bear was, of
course he couldn't win against the five strongest animals at once!
"We win!" Red
Fox called out to the forest, "So we will share king and queenship between
us! Golden Eagle will look after the trees. Silver Stag is in charge of the
meadows. Black Badger will watch the underground, Copper Beaver the rivers, and
I will take the bushes and undergrowth. Does anyone have any problems?"
The forest animals
cheered with delight. Only Brown Bear looked sad.
Red Fox continued,
"Brown Bear, you may think it unfair of us to have worked together, but
you are simply too strong and we could not win against you otherwise. You are
still the mightiest animal in the forest. So what do you say, as your special privilege,
you can carry on helping yourself to any food from the forest - but the job of
keeping everything is in order is left to us?"
Of course, Brown Bear
agreed! All the food he could want without any pressures of work! And he was
very happy about it, too. In fact, all the animals were so happy with the new
arrangement that when the next full moon came round, they voted to stop the
tournaments altogether and to leave things how they were.
And so they all lived
happily ever after.
...Especially Brown
Bear, who could eat as much honey from the trees, grass from the meadows, fruit
from the bushes, roots from underground and salmon from the river as he wanted.
Discuss meaning, apply to children's lives (15min)
Al-'Azeez means The Mighty.
What do you think the word "mighty" means? Really, really strong and powerful - usually because of size... Just as Brown Bear was the mightiest animal in the forest.
Allah is the most powerful and the strongest - if Allah wants something then nothing can stop it. Allah can never be defeated.
Play tug-of-war game with the children, one at a time (or something else you know you're better at e.g. Snap). Win on purpose and ask who is mightier, you or them? But does that mean they could never win against you? No, as they get older and bigger or if they practise more or if you aren't paying attention (make a mistake and drop the rope!) then they could win! But if anyone or anything tries to go against Allah, it doesn't matter how much they struggle, Allah always wins. And of course, Allah would never make a mistake and lose (remember, He is As-Salaam, The Flawless!).
If there is more than one child, play tug-of-war again with them all against you - or just talk about it. If you add more people, like in the story where the five animals went against Brown Bear, what could happen? Could more people win by working together? But even if all the people in the world wanted to do something against Allah’s will, and all the people in the world worked together... Could they ever win? No!
Discuss: When you lost, did that make you not like me? Maybe a little bit? But this name of Allah doesn't just mean the most mighty and impossible to win against, it also means the most cherished. Do you know what cherish means? It means to love something and want to keep it close to you. So even though Allah is the most powerful, we never feel like we don't like it when what we want is different to what Allah wants, we still always love Him. Because remember, Allah plans things and knows things we don't know - things always happen for a reason even if we don't understand Allah’s reason. (Remind of 6 articles of faith and the qadr of Allah, if appropriate)
Allah is the most powerful and the strongest - if Allah wants something then nothing can stop it. Allah can never be defeated.
Play tug-of-war game with the children, one at a time (or something else you know you're better at e.g. Snap). Win on purpose and ask who is mightier, you or them? But does that mean they could never win against you? No, as they get older and bigger or if they practise more or if you aren't paying attention (make a mistake and drop the rope!) then they could win! But if anyone or anything tries to go against Allah, it doesn't matter how much they struggle, Allah always wins. And of course, Allah would never make a mistake and lose (remember, He is As-Salaam, The Flawless!).
If there is more than one child, play tug-of-war again with them all against you - or just talk about it. If you add more people, like in the story where the five animals went against Brown Bear, what could happen? Could more people win by working together? But even if all the people in the world wanted to do something against Allah’s will, and all the people in the world worked together... Could they ever win? No!
Discuss: When you lost, did that make you not like me? Maybe a little bit? But this name of Allah doesn't just mean the most mighty and impossible to win against, it also means the most cherished. Do you know what cherish means? It means to love something and want to keep it close to you. So even though Allah is the most powerful, we never feel like we don't like it when what we want is different to what Allah wants, we still always love Him. Because remember, Allah plans things and knows things we don't know - things always happen for a reason even if we don't understand Allah’s reason. (Remind of 6 articles of faith and the qadr of Allah, if appropriate)
Craft activity (20min)
Complete the page for the book.
Imagine trying to play tug-of-war with a mountain - wouldn't that be ridiculous! You could never pull a mountain hard enough to make the whole thing move. And Allah is even stronger than the strongest thing you can imagine. There's nothing in the whole universe which could go against what Allah wants to happen.
Imagine trying to play tug-of-war with a mountain - wouldn't that be ridiculous! You could never pull a mountain hard enough to make the whole thing move. And Allah is even stronger than the strongest thing you can imagine. There's nothing in the whole universe which could go against what Allah wants to happen.
Let the children colour and cut out the name, meaning and picture of a mountain. Tie a knot in a piece of string and stick it down as if it's been tied around the mountain - to remind the children of the tug-of-war analogy.
When to use this name (8min)
Allah is the source of all strength.
Can you think of a time you might need strength?
What about a time when you don't need physical strength, but emotional strength? e.g. standing up to someone being mean to you, having the strength not to give up on something difficult...
Al-Azeez is the All Mighty. Trust that He will always win and the way of Islam is correct. Always hold strong onto your faith.
Allah is the source of all strength.
Can you think of a time you might need strength?
What about a time when you don't need physical strength, but emotional strength? e.g. standing up to someone being mean to you, having the strength not to give up on something difficult...
Al-Azeez is the All Mighty. Trust that He will always win and the way of Islam is correct. Always hold strong onto your faith.
On the back of their page, help the children write a few thoughts about the name Al-Azeez and their feelings.
Sticker chart (5min)
Ask individually: Which of Allah’s names did we learn today? What does it mean? Give children a sticker each for their chart.
----------
Other activities:
- Create
a collage of things the children cherish, using pictures they draw themselves
or pictures from the internet/magazines/etc. to help remind them this name is linked to not
just the most mighty, but also the most beloved.
- Let
children design their own superhero with super strength – age, gender, costume,
etc. – and draw a picture of them. They can then use this character in a role
play or write a short story/scene where their hero saves the day with their
super strength.
- Play
tug-of-war with all their family members, one-on-one including parents! Work
out who the mightiest family member is, or for an extra challenge design a
tournament to find out the order of all the family members.
Please leave a comment if you have any other ideas to add!
Wednesday, 10 April 2019
Juz 28 / Qad Sami'a - Poster
Continuing with our Quran journey, another motivational poster to keep track of where we are:
The pictures this time correspond to the following translations:
Al-Mujaadilah: She that disputes - speech bubble
Al-Hashr: Exile - empty desert
Al-Mumtahinah: She that is to be examined - magnifying glass
As-Saf: The ranks - rows of people
Al-Jumu'ah: Friday - masjid to signify Friday prayer
Al-Munaafiqoon: The hypocrites - person saying one thing but thinking the opposite
At-Taghaabun: Mutual disillusion - set of scales
At-Talaaq: Divorce - man and woman walking away from each other with a broken heart between
At-Tahreem: Banning - stop sign
As usual, we read through all the surah names and meanings, looked at the pictures and the girls had a go at matching them up. Then they coloured (with glitter gel pens this time!), cut and stuck them down onto an A3 sheet along with random stickers of their choice for decoration. As we complete each surah, they can then choose a coloured pencil to colour the corresponding line in.
You can download our list and pictures here.
You can find our previous posters here: Juz 29, Juz 30.
The pictures this time correspond to the following translations:
Al-Mujaadilah: She that disputes - speech bubble
Al-Hashr: Exile - empty desert
Al-Mumtahinah: She that is to be examined - magnifying glass
As-Saf: The ranks - rows of people
Al-Jumu'ah: Friday - masjid to signify Friday prayer
Al-Munaafiqoon: The hypocrites - person saying one thing but thinking the opposite
At-Taghaabun: Mutual disillusion - set of scales
At-Talaaq: Divorce - man and woman walking away from each other with a broken heart between
At-Tahreem: Banning - stop sign
As usual, we read through all the surah names and meanings, looked at the pictures and the girls had a go at matching them up. Then they coloured (with glitter gel pens this time!), cut and stuck them down onto an A3 sheet along with random stickers of their choice for decoration. As we complete each surah, they can then choose a coloured pencil to colour the corresponding line in.
You can download our list and pictures here.
You can find our previous posters here: Juz 29, Juz 30.
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