Sabr & Shukr

{Weekend Rahma #2} Pancake Party!

2013-04-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِيم

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

- I invite you to follow me on social network FaceBook HERE

Weekend Rahma:

Islam has emphasized the importance of the family unit, and has laid down its governing rules and regulations in great detail in the Qu’ran and in the Sunnah. The family unit is the foundation of societies and the mainframe of civility.

So in the theme of connecting the family ties, I introduce to you "Weekend Rahma" - little acts of mercy and charity to make life shine. Two times a month on Friday I will be sharing an idea or inspiration. A small act of love, service or hospitality to honor the people we love. It's the small gestures that channel our affection and gratitude more than our words ever could, isn't it?

When a flower blooms, its colour and scent first touch the garden near it, and then spread. In the same way, a Muslim ’s acts of human mercy, charity and kindness should first touch those nearest to him, his family and his neighbours.

This Friday I made a slightly special breakfast for my family, , namely my children! A Pancake Party!

Being inspired by the fabulous creations at Jim's pancakes I thought a special pancake breakfast would be nice for the kids!

I kept it really simple! It wasn't a feast! I didn't break the bank ... and I didn't slave over it for hours!

Here are some easy ways that you could do that:

Make a the pancake batter the night before. Here's how I make mine.
Use healthy whole grains.
Add in some pureed fruit or vegetables into the batter.
Try experimenting with new ingredients such as barely, millet, kamut, spelt, wheat germ, oat bran, wheatberries, flaxmeal, rye or grain-free pancakes. Or mix it up by adding dates, seasonal fruit, vegetables or herbs.
Use cookie cutters to form fun and famililar shapes.
Create a fun familiar child's figure such as Spiderman.
Add natural food coloring such a carrot, beet or orange juice into the batter.
Set up a pancake bar with various options for your children to decorate their pancakes with: fruits, chocolate chips, jams, honey, etc.
Make cute animals shapes.
Introduce some culture and botany to your kids by preparing "spring" themed pancakes.
Teach early literacy by spelling out your child's name with pancake letters.
Prepare a special coffee concoction for your spouse.
For more adult-friendly pancakes, try making savoury pancakes such as these.
You can use the opportunity to teach practical life skills like cooking but also fun pancake Math skills like measuring flour, counting eggs, making geometric shaped pancakes, graphing (how many pancakes did each family member eat?),
Make little labels for your containers. I personally love the idea of a blackboard which can say Pancake Bar or Welcome to the Pancake party.
You could also have a prize for the best pancake!

credit: Jim's pancakes

Here's some pancakes that I've made.

Beghrir choco - Algerian chocolate pancakes with 1000 holes
Strawberry - Flax pancakes
Beghrir Express - Algerian pancakes with 1000 holes
Whole wheat date pancakes with raw date pancake syrup

Remember, keep it simple! You don't have to be an artist or spend too much money. Kids' won't remember the amount of stuff you've bought them or money you've spent on them ... but they'll remember all these "special" moments!

I'd love it if you'd join me2x a month for Weekend Rahma in intentionally honoring our families with one small and simple gesture. Each "Weekend Rahma", there will be a different, but it will always be an accessible, inexpensive and a cinch to do!

With Love, We Share.

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Montessori Works ::: Peanut Shelling

2013-04-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِيم

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

- I invite you to follow me on social network FaceBook HERE

When small hands are restless, let your children go nuts! Young children can learn to snack on nuts and fiddle with little things! A fairly inexpensive practical skill activity for children that is popular from young children and even adults!

We decided to experiment with the simplest method first when we first did this "work"---> putting the peanuts in a kitchen towel and rolling over it with a rolling pin. This technique did a good job of cracking the shells (deleting the painful fingers problem). I figured the rolling pin method would be a good way to shell peanuts if you're eating as you shell and aren't trying to process enough for later. After the children got the hang of it, the children decided to crack the peanuts by hand. It worked out machallah wonderfully as a fine motor skill, preliminary movements and practical life skills in food preparation "work" !

practical life skill: Shelling peanuts

age: 3 ½ years and up.

materials: Bowl with peanuts, clean kitchen towel, small bowl for the waste, one small silicone cupcake mold or bowl for the shelled peanuts, small dust pan and brush, , and a tray. And optional a rolling pin or nutcracker.

presentation:

Bring tray with materials to table. Sit down. Take the bowl with nuts and place on left. Take two other bowls (or silicon cupcake mold as I did) and place on right. Place dust pan and brush near the work area.

Place the folded clean kitchen towel on the tray. Place a few peanuts on the towel and fold over. Roll the rolling pin gently over the towel. Uncover the nuts. And sort the nut from the waste.

Place the waste in the 'waste bowl' and the nut in the 'shelled peanut bowl'.

Repeat.

Sweep up remaining pieces from tray with small dust pan and brush. Empty into

Empty shell pieces bowls into a near by wastebasket.

Bring bowl back to table. Put materials back on tray

Taste the nut. Talk about the experience. Once finished tasting, return all the materials in their proper place on the tray.

Return the tray to the shelf.

Invite child to repeat.

direct aim: Coordination, concentration, order, independence, developing positive self image.

indirect aim: Learning to use a nutcracker, learning parts of nut to ear or use.

control of error:

1. Not cracking the shell.
2. Not being able to remove nut from shell.
3. Not placing shells and nut in different bowls.
4. Not using dust pan and brush to clean up.
5. Materials not restored to original state.
points of interest:1. Using a rolling pin to crack the nuts. 2. Hearing shell crack. 3. Feeling of nuts in a bowl 4. Separating shell and meat. 5. Using small dust pan and brush. 6. Appearance of materials. 7. The taste of the peanuts.

vocabulary: Nut, (type of nut used) nut cracker, basket, dust pan brush, tray, meat, bowl, turn.
variations: 1. Instead of peanuts have your children crack walnuts or hazelnuts. 2. Using different nut cracking tools such as this one. 3. Use a nut pick to remove small pieces of meat. 4. Crack nuts from different countries ore regions of the world. 5. After the lesson, continue to a lesson of making homemade peanut butter with your children. 6. Trying varying the peanut by having roasted and unroasted peanuts.

notes: Remember very young children have difficulty chewing small pieces like nuts. Use these nuts for a group food activity, not to be passed or eaten individually.

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{Islamic Montessori series} Islam + Montessori?

2013-04-14T06:03:00.000-07:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِيم

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

- I invite you to follow me on social network FaceBook HERE

Welcome to my second post in a series of posting regarding educating the (Muslim) child using the Montessori method

What is Montessori Method and how can we relate it to Islam?

The founder of the Montessori method of education was Maria Montessori. In 1896 she qualified as Italy's first woman doctor. As a result of her pioneering work in the slums of San Lorenzo, she subsequently directed her energies towards education and opened her first school there in 1906. Her educational philosophy quickly became internationally acclaimed and is now known worldwide.

The Montessori “method” is an exceptional system which introduces unique ideas to children utilising materials, teaching them new concepts in an independent yet structured environment; establishing learning situations where peer interaction plays a crucial role in conveying and reinforcing the concepts being taught; and accomplishing all of this in a way that is, to the children, incredibly FUN!

The Montessori method nurtures the natural instincts of a child in cultivating the child’s own desire to learn, harmoniously blends with the Islamic view of a child’s fitrah. MachAllah!

Montessori makes no reference to any religious dominations so you can easily intregrate the Montessori methodology and Islamic values. The combination of the two will help the little ones to be good Muslims and kind Human beings.

Fostering the firta in education

Fitra is an Arabic term that means the innate and beautiful essence of the human being that seeks virtue and is in harmony with the natural and spiritual world. In the Islamic world view, each baby is born on the pure fitra. Further, Islamic teachings are meant to be compatible with the fitra and are designed to cultivate it to a character of excellence. To match human nature, Islam provides a “middle way”: both balanced and moderate. As educators attempting to foster the fitra, we believe that we should not impose an artificial order to the child's life, but unlock their innate virtue—since within them are already the seeds of integrity and intellect. A gardener does not attempt to force a seed to change into the shape of a tree, but rather provides a fertile environment and lets it grow. Similarly, the child needs to be provided with resources, inspiration, guidance and companionship to self-actualize. The Montessori Method has proven to produce great results by tapping this inner potential and emphasizes self-direction and creativity.

Montessori philosophy echoes Islam’s focus on learning through reality by leading the child to understand his or her place in the “cosmos”. It also resonates with Islam’s focus on developing the innate human inclination to virtue and intellect. Thus, reconciling them did not require force-fitting either one to the other as they are mutually compatible. Rather, it required thinking deeply about how Montessori principles and methods correlate with teachings in Islam and then weaving them together into one harmonious whole.

How to intregrate Montessori and Islamic Education?

Parents can customize the Montessori class plan with a blend of Islamic values, add an Arabic language class and a Quran recitation class to daily class time with a dedicated Arabic teacher.

Emphasis the Creator Allah and HIS creations, the five pillars of Islam, daily basic Masnoon dua’s. Five Pillars of Islam The story time activity of Montessori can be replaces with stories from the Quran and of the Prophets. Lessons and examples taught by the Prophets (peace be upon hiùm). Field trips to the zoo and or nature walks will be related to the creation of Allah Ta’ala. Emphasis can be given to the Islamic Holidays by explaining to the children the purpose of that holiday.For instance, planned activities during the month of Ramadan and mock Haj, explaining the significance and importance.Character development activities to inculcate fairness, morality and responsibility. Richly diverse student body and emphasis on mutual respect.

We as parents are held to a higher standard by the words of the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him):
:

” Verily, God decreed ihsan (excellence) on eveyrthing" (Sahih Muslim)

Verily, God loves when anyone of you takes on an endeavor that he perfects it” (Bayhaqi)

Thus, our endeavors to guide ourchildren in developing excellent characters should itself be excellent. and

A vision on the world

I believe that knowledge of the world and religion are compatible and intertwined, and therefore, we make no artificial distinction between secular and sacred knowledge. When we teach our children math, science, language, and other subjects, we are teaching students about Allah’s creation. Children grow not to see religion and God as a separate part of their lives, but as a way of looking at the world that permeates everything in the universe. Therefore, I'm *trying* to use Montessori method in combination with Islamic studies to teach my children. So stay tuned in for our adventures ....

If you've the first -- just click here!

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