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Homeschool

Copywork

August 6, 2009 by Imaan 2 Comments

A Child should Execute Perfectly. No work should be given to a child that he cannot execute perfectly, and then perfection should be required from him as a matter of course… Set him six strokes to copy; let him, not bring a slateful, but six perfect strokes, at regular distances and at regular slopes. If he produces a faulty pair, get him to point out the fault, and persevere until he has produced his task; if he does not do it to-day, let him go on to-morrow and the next day, and when the six perfect strokes appear, let it be an occasion of triumph. So with the little tasks of painting, drawing, or construction he sets himself–let everything he does be well done… Closely connected with this habit of ‘perfect work’ is that of finishing whatever is taken in hand. The child should rarely be allowed to set his hand to a new undertaking until the last is finished.
~ Charlotte Mason

I have done precious little of copywork with Ms M for someone who is supposed to follow the Charlotte Mason approach in homeschooling. I have been striving to remedy that since relocating to Pakistan and alhamdulillah, Ms M is now enjoying writing. She has a journal in which she scribbles her stories and thoughts. Her copywork book is used not only for penmanship but also reading and narrating.

So just what does copywork entail? In it, a child is expected to copy a selection of meaningful and well-written work in his best penmanship. However, it is more than just perfecting handwriting – it is about instilling and perfecting proper grammar, spelling and phrasing through copying great literature.

The child learns to spell well by looking at the word, seeing it with his mind’s eye and then writing it from memory. A friend of mine who does a great deal of copywork points out that you must not allow a child to spell a word wrongly on paper because this will create an impression of the wrongly spelt word in his mind. In my elder daughter’s case, copywork is ideal – she is highly auditory and while she reads very well, is weak in visualising words for spelling.

Copywork helps to improve writing techniques because the child is exposed to a wide variety of quality literature and thus, diverse writing styles and techniques. It is a nice way of teaching punctuation and grammar – he gets to see it in action as opposed to learning the mere mechanics, which can be so dry.

These are a few things that might help make copywork a success:

  • Keep copywork sessions short. Since Ms M has yet to master neatness, trying to shape her letters nicely and meticulously tires her. I try to keep copywork sessions to no more than 15 minutes.
  • Use a variety of interesting sources. We use Qur’anic verses, ahadeeth, meaningful passages from books that my kids love, Aesop’s fables, poetry (sometimes funny ones help!) and quotes or idioms. Basically, copywork sessions are fun because Ms M knows that she gets to read something really interesting each time. I reproduce the full poem or short story because likes a good yarn and because she is a context kind of girl, but she only has to copy a small selection of it, which I have formatted in bold.
  • Make the book all the child’s own. We made our own copywork book. I kept in mind Ms M’s interests when I compiled the material. Her book’s cover has her name and vintage clip art which she loves.
  • Incorporate copywork with other subjects. Umm Tafari of River City Homeschoolers says that she alternates with science, history, and Islamic studies passages. I can see the wisdom in this – if the child is already journalling or notebooking, then we can compromise and ask him to write extracts of his studies in his best writing so he doesn’t have to do copywork as an exclusive subject.

Umm Tafari uses the Startwrite programme, which looks very handy ma shaa Allah, and Handwriting Without Tears. You can download lots of notebooking and copywork pages from sites like Notebooking Pages and Notebooking Nook.

I prefer using the writing exercise books available here in Islamabad and my own pages that I format using MS Word. I use 4 lines instead of 2 or 3. The letters sit on the third line – capitals and tall letters like (b, d, h, l etc.) go all the way up to the first/top line. The second line is the midway point and is shorter letters (like c, e, m, n, o, etc.). Hanging letters like (g, j, p, q, etc.) go down to the fourth line. I don’t know if this makes sense – I’ll upload a copy of our copywork book if anyone is interested :) (EDIT: OK, did some more research – I use top, middle, bottom & descender lines.)

I’ve recently purchased Penny Gardner’s Italics, Beautiful Handwriting for Children because my daughter wants to try cursive. I think this was a little premature though :)

We need to do more Arabic copywork… this Ramadan in shaa Allah. Any ideas?

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Reading time: 4 min
Homeschool

Geography Resources

by Imaan No Comments

If you are a book and curriculum junkie like me, you might like these :)

I found these vintage Geography books – they are so charming. It has a conversational approach so I think children will like them. They are now public domain and available for download:

  • Home Geography by C.C. Long
  • Elementary Geography by Charlotte Mason

I also discovered two other free textbooks – one for Geology and one for Geography – at Kids Geo. I have not gone through all of it but it looks promising. You can read them here:

  • Kids Geology Online
  • Kids Geography Online

We follow a living books approach to our studies so we like using literature. Penny Gardner has a list of such books and Simply Charlotte Mason has a good bookfinder.

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Reading time: 1 min
Homeschool

Around The World In 80 Days

by Imaan No Comments
Around The World In 80 Days

I have so much to say about this book but Bear is begging for a game of “Bus Stop”, so watch this space. :)

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Reading time: 1 min
Homeschool

Qur’an Resources

August 5, 2009 by Imaan 5 Comments

What is worse than a migraine? Napping and waking up an hour later bathed in perspiration because the power is cut off in the most humid of Pakistani summers with the said migraine doubled in intensity.

Yesterday was THAT kind of day but alhamdulillah `alaa kulli haal… You know, I have become used to the load shedding. I have. It happens three times a day, each lasting an hour. We know exactly when it is going to happen and for how long so when the electricity is cut, we invade my mum-in-law’s territory (it is cooler downstairs) or just try to keep ourselves occupied till it is turned back on.

Still, the city’s development council decided to mess with my mind just so I don’t get too sure of myself. They cut the power at a different time AND for a much longer period! I was about to bust a gut stressing over whether I could iron my kids’ karate gi in time for the class when not only was the power restored, but the rain came down! The neighbours’ kids came over and they all had a grand old time in the rain. I was quite the contented one – I managed to get the kids’ uniforms all nice and spanky if only so they could get them all filthy dirty within 5 minutes of the class :)

Anyway, just so this doesn’t turn into a completely vacuous post, I thought I would talk about a few gems which have helped us with our Qur’an lessons:

Colour-coded Tajweed Mushaf – When Ms M was in Singapore, her teachers at the masjid used a set of readers that thoroughly frustrated her. The book was poorly designed and the verses were printed extremely closely together so much so that Ms M would feel overwhelmed just LOOKING at the pages. (I admit, the readers intimidated me too! *S*) Ms M would return home looking very down each day, saying that she had to repeat her assignments. I was a little taken aback because she was already reading the Qur’an at home and doing it rather well ma shaa Allah. It was only when I saw the books that I realised why her progress was poor. We bought her her own mushaf which looks like this one and once she moved on from the readers, there was no holding her back alhamdulillah. The font – Uthmanic script – suits her well and the layout is also easy on the eye. The tajweed rules are colour-coded to help her recite and pronounce properly – I know some purists who disagree on relying on these masaahif and insist that one should memorise the tajweed rules instead. In shaa Allah I hope that my kids and I will do so, but until then, these are extremely helpful.

Touched By An Angel - Tafseer of Juz `Amma Touched by An Angel – Tafseer of Juz Amma by Muhammad Alshareef – This is a 16-CD set (audio) of a seminar given by AlMaghrib Institute solely dedicated to the explanation of Part 30 of the Qur’an. I like that the speaker warns listeners that a large number of people never actually listen or complete the CDs they purchase. This helps put us into serious learning mode. Muhammad Alshareef has a very engaging style and a talent for examples that strike a chord so lessons are nothing short of inspiring.

You can download a free Study Guide & Personal Notebook Exam. The Study Guide is about 200 pages long and contains useful notes, translations and explanations of the verses as well as quizzes. It is well-designed with space for students to write down gems they glean from the lectures.

Methodical Interpretation of the Noble Qur'an Methodical Interpretation of the Noble Qur’an – This textbook provides an overview of every Surah. Lessons include translations of verses, lists of important vocabulary, tafseer and points that students can ponder over. There are questions that students can tackle as well. I found the tafseer section a little brief, but parents/teachers can easily supplement with other texts. It is well organised so if you are short on time, this book will help you through lessons. Easy on the eye layout and hardcover. I hope that Darussalam will publish more of such books for the other parts of the Qur’an.

Ad-Duha’s Tafseer books for young students – Ms M was very proud to get her own set of tafseer books. Ad-Duha’s books are very much on the Qur’an and Sunnah and they are informative yet easy for young readers. Each book comes with a summary of the surah, its commentary and questions for narration/comprehension. These help a great deal in promoting self-study and revision. Ad-Duha’s site is closed for maintenance at the moment, but will be open before Ramadan in shaa Allah. More good reads in store I hope!

Juz Amma Teacher 2 Juz Amma Teacher 1

Juz Amma Teacher with children’s repetition- Ms M’s favourite qari is Meshary Rashid Alafasy so last `Eid, we gave her this 2-CD set as a gift. The qari reads a verse and his students (adorable sounding children ma shaa Allah!) repeat after him. Sometimes the students make mistakes and Sh Afasy corrects them (in Arabic) and requests that they repeat the verse. My kids find this cute and feel heartened that they aren’t the only ones making mistakes. The clear recording, Sh Afasy’s melodious voice and the children’s distinct enunciation make it a pleasurable listen.

Juz Amma Teacher with ‘space’ – I don’t have this CD set but I understand that it follows the same format as the previous CD. The only difference is that there is a blank ‘space’ after the qari recites to allow the listener to attempt the same verse.

Ahl-ul Qur'an Gear CDAhl ul Qur’an Gear by Haroon Baqai – This 9-CD set was given to us by a dear sister in Singapore as a farewell gift when we moved to Pakistan :) It contains recitation (with a pause / blank ‘space’ for you to practise after the qari), exercises and review from Surah an-Naas to Surah al-‘Alaa. I think that it is nice for the young ones as the qari speaks to the listener in a gentle and encouraging way. (He speaks in English by the way.)

Qur’an Plugin for MS Word – – This is a very nice tool for Qur’an studies ma shaa Allah. With it, you can insert verses from the Qur’an and also the translation into your documents. The English translation is `Abdullah Yusuf `Ali’s. There are other translations available as well: French, German, Bosnian, Malay, Farsi, Russian, etc. I love it because I’ve been able to create my own tafseer booklets, copywork / notebooking material for the kids’ Qur’an studies.

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Reading time: 5 min
The Chai Files - Pakistan

Been OK really…

August 4, 2009 by Imaan No Comments

I haven’t given up on this blog. I had contemplated taking it all down considering I don’t update it as often as I could or should. When I do, my posts are hardly what you would call witty or earth-shaking. I think I will hold on to it for a bit more, though. I’ve had it for a while now and I suppose, it has some sentimental value.

I had not wanted to move to Pakistan this time – I had built a life in Singapore. We had our family and friends, favourite haunts, activities and a cosy place we felt was home. I fully understood the wisdom behind moving and even suggested it long before we were actually compelled to. Still, in my heart of hearts, I wished to remain in Singapore.

I had all sorts of reasons to detest life in Pakistan – the weather wreaks havoc on my health… there is no public transport … there is nowhere to go even if there were public transport… it is inefficient… it isn’t clean… people keep asking me why my kids don’t go to school and treat us as oddities… the kids don’t really have friends here… there ISN’T ANYTHING TO DO!

The funny thing is, relocating to Pakistan for the second time wasn’t all that difficult… rather like slipping into a pair of comfortable old shoes that have grown on me over time. I’ve always told my kids to make du`aa to Allah in good times and bad and alhamdulillah, Allah always gives us what we need when we need it. We asked for friends and alhamdulillah, we were blessed to meet two homeschooling families, a crafting wiz whom my kids delightedly call Knitting Aunty and a sweet sister from Karachi. We dreaded ennui and tedium and alhamdulillah, Allah saved us with an abundant supply of books as well as karate classes which the children love.

I’ve adjusted well enough to finally take my crafting stash out and work on a few projects:

Knee Patch

Mended – Ms M’s jeans

I finally patched Ms M’s raggedy jeans. A piece of fabric from my stash, fusible buckram and embroidery floss and we were good to go. Not bad considering I am completely rubbish at sewing!

Choti No. 2

Choti #2

Last year, I hand-sewed a rag doll for Bear whom we named Choti. She was a cheeky creature and the poor thing was awfully wonky, as most of my endeavours turn out. Still, the kids loved her and brought her just about everywhere they went. On one occasion, a little girl they met at the library took a fancy to Choti. She refused to leave, causing her mum much distress. The girls very kindly gave her Choti. Since then they have begged for a replacement so here is Choti No. 2 in progress.

I still miss Singapore and would probably always prefer it to Pakistan but I think I can concede that I now have two homes and I am more than grateful for both.

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Yesterday, I had a sobering chat with my friend wh Yesterday, I had a sobering chat with my friend who is a member of a minority group here. (I am keeping things vague for her safety and mine.) She has a relative who is also a friend of mine. 

In both my early encounters with them, I’d always sensed an air of reserve and secrecy. I understood that we had different beliefs, but I could not understand what I perceived as fear. Not being a native here in Pakistan, I’d had my share of bewildering and unfathomable encounters, so I’d left things at that. Maybe I’d understand in time to come, I thought.

They had always been very kind to me and I tried to reciprocate as best I could. For all our (acknowledged) differences in opinion and belief, we found some common ground and focused on doing some good. My friend’s relative donated science kits as well as books for my homeschooling gang and I’ll always be grateful for that. 

I read news yesterday about how my friend and her people do in fact live in danger. She told me how she fears for her husband’s life every single time he leaves home. She jumps every single time her doorbell rings. She worries about sending her daughter to school for fear of bullying or worse… Target killings of her people are a reality.

It made me feel so ashamed because this is tragic and downright disgraceful for any country, but even more so for a Muslim one. 

It’s OK to disagree. It’s OK to debate. It is NOT OK to terrorize and it is NOT OK resort to violence. It is wrong and it is unjust and it is EVIL to do so. When dealing with people of different beliefs, can we not be civilised? Can we not be HUMAN? Can we not behave the way our deen taught us? 

We need to find a way to make things better. It is not right to allow people who know precious little about Islam to desecrate it. 

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#islam #minorityrights #knowyourreligion #pakistan
Journalists say this time it is different. Rushdi Journalists say this time it is different.

Rushdi as-Sarraj, Yasser Murtaja’s friend, told Al-Jazeera, “This task is difficult under normal circumstances, so you can imagine working under a fierce offensive that does not distinguish between a journalist, a civilian or a military leader.” Israel is working hard “to silence the image and voice, and to ban any news or information that exposes its crimes”.

He also says, “My family doesn’t stop calling me, fearing that I could be harmed. It is an endless circle of fear and exhaustion. But we must continue sharing our message.”

Praying for Muna El-Kurd @muna.kurd15 , her brother @mohammedelkurd and all the journalists putting out the truth. 

#palestine #freepalestine #freemunakurd #freemunaelkurd #savesheikhjarrah #savesilwan #savelifta #savemohammedelkurd
«THROWBACK, Summer + Winter 2019» «We returned «THROWBACK, Summer + Winter 2019»

«We returned to the park after the lockdown earlier this year… sadly our tree for all seasons is no more 😢»

FOREIGN LANDS by Robert Louis Stevenson
Up into the cherry tree
Who should climb but little me?
I held the trunk with both my hands
And looked abroad on foreign lands.
I saw the next door garden lie,
Adorned with flowers, before my eye,
And many pleasant places more
That I had never seen before.
If I could find a higher tree
Farther and farther I should see,
To where the grown-up river slips
Into the sea among the ships.
To where the roads on either hand
Lead onward into fairy land,
Where all the children dine at five,
And all the playthings come alive.
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#throwback #pakistan #islamabad #lifeinpakistan #lifeinislamabad #homeschool #homeschooldays #homeschoolcoop #homeschoolinislamabad #homeschoolinpakistan #naturediary #naturejournal #science #charlottemason #charlottemasoninspired #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonnaturestudy #charlottemasonliving #charlottemasonhomeschool #cmnaturestudy #cmnaturejournal #naturewalk #natureramble #naturestudy #naturejournal #homeeducation #outandabout #ilookisee #islamabadhomeschoolers
A couple of you asked me to make a post of my stor A couple of you asked me to make a post of my story in response to LV’s despicable use of the keffiyeh design. Pictures in this post are from hirbawi.ps and @palestine.pixel … 

EDIT: yes, my second slide should have been edited and it is bugging me. I repeated 1930s… sorry! If you want a more polished version, DM me. You get my meaning anyway, right? 
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#palestine #freepalestine #keffiyeh #gaza #jerusalem #savesheikhjarrah
«YET ANOTHER THROWBACK, Jan. 2020» I was feelin «YET ANOTHER THROWBACK, Jan. 2020»

I was feeling a little out of sorts (again) – I’d left the house a mess (again) and the boy and I were in a rush to get to the Art Co-op. Habiba @ourlivinghomeschool was doing a session on Wassily Kandinsky that day. 

We were delayed by a massive traffic jam and our stress levels rocketed when an obnoxious motorist kept sounding his horn repeatedly as if to shoo other cars out of the way. What was everyone else to do but wait for the jam to ease? 

We made it just in time though…barely! As we ran towards the gathering, it was as if a huge weight was lifted away. This gorgeous view greeted the boy and me, alhamdulillah. When we got down to studying Kandinsky, we felt more than fine.

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#pakistan #islamabad #lifeinpakistan #lifeinislamabad #homeschool #homeschooldays #homeschoolcoop #homeschoolinislamabad #homeschoolinpakistan #naturediary #desidiaries #charlottemason #charlottemasoninspired #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonnaturestudy #charlottemasonliving #charlottemasonhomeschool #cmnaturestudy #cmnaturejournal #naturewalk #natureramble #naturestudy #naturejournal #homeeducation #outandabout #ilookisee #islamabadhomeschoolers #artcoop #artoutdoors
«THROWBACK, Mar. 2019» Once upon a time before «THROWBACK, Mar. 2019» 
Once upon a time before Covid.

The calm before…

We had our Monday meet up again at Fatima Jinnah Park. The air was cool and crisp and the skies sunny when the nature gang got together. Then, it was on to a jolly game of Simon Says – Katelynn’s @_k8erpotater clever way of teaching the kids about body parts and how they move.

The kids did their usual tree climbing and exploring. Then, the dark clouds started rolling in. We took a while to decide whether or not to leave – the park literally looked dark and ominous on one side and cheery and bright on the other. We only started rushing for home when lightning split the sky. The kids were not to be hurried, however. They felt little pellets hitting them and stopped to investigate… hailstones!

Our ramble was cut short and I got cold and wet, but I think it was a gorgeous day. We got to learn about nature in a very real way.
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#pakistan #islamabad #lifeinpakistan #lifeinislamabad #homeschool #homeschooldays #homeschoolcoop #homeschoolinislamabad #homeschoolinpakistan #naturediary #naturejournal #science #charlottemason #charlottemasoninspired #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonnaturestudy #charlottemasonliving #charlottemasonhomeschool #cmnaturestudy #cmnaturejournal #naturewalk #natureramble #naturestudy #naturejournal #homeeducation #outandabout #ilookisee #islamabadhomeschoolers
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