Continuing with our notebooking adventure… here is the second set of notebooking papers in the Lives of the Prophets series :) This is for the story of Prophet Idris `alayhis salaam. His story is a little short, but I’ve included different papers that you can use depending on how you want to write out the lessons.

Mars liked the font that I used in the Prophet Adam papers and wanted her notebook to have a uniform look. I like trying out different fonts. So there are two versions for you to download.

Here’s Set A, which you can download here or at Scribd.

And here’s Set B that you can download here or at Scribd.

I hope you find them useful!

The kids are more keen about writing and researching these days, so I’ve been trying to churn out more noteboooking pages. I hope that this time, I will be more consistent about monitoring their penmanship.

Here are a few more pages for recording quick facts about the Prophets of Allah (`alayhimus salaam), and the Companions of Rasulullah sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam (radhiallahu `anhum). I hope you find them useful :)

You can download the pages at Scribd or here.

In shaa Allah I will upload a few templates in MS Word for those of you would like to give making your own notebooking papers a shot.

I’ve so many books I want to write about but I’ve been really pressed for time. Here are a few gems we’ve been poring over this past month.

February Reads - Chapter Books

Dear Whiskers by Ann Whitehead Nagda is an endearing story – Bear loved it and we finished it in one sitting! Jenny’s fourth-grade class is assigned a second-grade class to write to as part of their English lessons. Each student is to assume the identity of a mouse and their second grade pen-pals are to write back to their mice friends. While all her classmates receive interesting letters, Jenny’s mouse, Whiskers, receives a disappointing one-liner (her second-grader refuses to play along) and then no further replies. Jenny discovers that her pen-pal, Sameera, is from Saudi Arabia and doesn’t speak English well. She tries to help but Sameera seems reluctant and indifferent. Jenny pushes on though and learns more about her younger friend’s religion and culture.

We had a blast with Dominic, another book we got through in one sitting. My kids love William Steig’s mad flights of fancy! This book tells about a heroic dog who travels in search of adventure. He meets with various characters with whom he forges deep bonds of friendship. It’s hilarious though that some of the names don’t really match with who/what they are. Bartholomew Badger (a pig!) is old and sickly. Dominic cares for him in his final days and he inherits the pig’s vast wealth, only to find the Doomsday Gang (oh how my kids love that wicked name!) “who robbed, ravaged, cheated, attacked innocent creatures at large and travelers especially, and did all sorts of damaging mischief.” He helps characters like Matilda Fox (a goose!!), Barney Swain (a hog who was robbed before his wedding) and eventually rallies all the oppressed creatures to rise against the Doomsday Gang. Dominic is completely likeable – heroic, philosophical, kind and generous.

Blue Willow by Doris Gates is a sweet book set in the 1930s about Janey Larkin, a ten-year-old daughter of an itinerant farmer. She longs to put down roots somewhere – so she can have a friend and attend regular school instead of makeshift camp school. Most of all, she wants a home where she can hang her most treasured possession – a blue willow plate that her mother had given her before she died. Things go well for Janey in San Joaquin Valley, California initially but then her stepmother falls ill and her father cannot work. She is then faced with losing her beloved willow plate.

My husband, who also loves History, is fascinated with many things Japanese. When I told him about The Samura’s Tale by Erik C. Haugaard, he urged me to order it. When it arrived though, Mars beat him to it and she’s been absorbed with the book. Set in 16th century feudal Japan, the story is about Murakami, whose parents are murdered by Lord Takeda’s soldiers. Kidnapped, he is then called Taro and becomes a servant in Lord Akiyama’s household. A cook named Togan befriends him but he too is murdered. Taro then decides that he will become a samurai and regain his family’s honour.

Another book by William Steig that Mars enjoyed – Abel’s Island. Abel (Abelard Hassam di Chirico Flint) is a mouse who, in trying to rescue his wife Amanda’s scarf, gets blown away during a storm. He is stranded on an island. Stripped of the comforts and leisure that his inherited wealth afforded him, Abel has to rely on his ingenuity and resourcefulness to return to his beloved wife. It takes him a year but he does rise to the challenge :)

I found The Defender by Nicholas Kalashnikoff quite compelling. Simply written, it is about Turgen, an old Lamut man who lives close to the Yakut people in Siberia. The Lamut are mountain folk while the Yakut live in the valley with their domesticated animals. Turgen is a healer and has an affinity with the mountain rams which he protects. The shaman, jealous of Turgen, spreads rumours about him, saying he consults with the devil who takes the form of the ram. Turgen’s loneliness after his wife and child’s deaths is compounded when the villagers shun him. Only Marfa, a poor widow and her two children offer him friendship. Turgen’s life slowly changes – his kindness gains him a family, returns him the good will of the village and even a heartfelt apology from the village shaman.

I’ve got loads more books to review but… in shaa Allah, another day :)

We’ve just finished “The Watsons Go To Birmingham – 1963″ by multi-award winning author, Christopher Paul Curtis and we had a truly rip-roaring time with it. The story is about the “Weird Watsons”, a middle-class black family’s life in Flint, Michigan and their journey to the Deep South. Father Daniel loves “cutting up” and has an irrepressible sense of humour. Mother Wilona is loving but formidable enough to strike terror in her children’s hearts when laws are breached. Her Southern background is often fodder for her husband’s hillbilly jokes. Byron, the cocky (eldest) teenaged son, is on his way to being an “official delinquent”. Kenny, the narrator of the story, is an intelligent 10-year-old boy whose geekiness and lazy eye often cause him to be bullied. Joetta, the youngest, is a loyal girl who snitches on her siblings at times, but hates to see them punished.

Byron, by far the most colourful character, is the reason for the family’s journey to Birmingham, Alabama. Daddy Cool’s misdeeds include getting his lips frozen on the car’s mirror (it was cold and he was kissing his oh-so-handsome reflection), cutting school, using his parents’ credit at the store without permission, getting a conk (straightening his hair), playing with fire and assault. His parents make a desperate bid to save him from his self-destructive tendencies – they hope that a stint with Grandma Sands in Birmingham, away from the temptations and negative peers in the city will straighten him out.

The family makes preparations for the trip like refurbishing the car, getting a record player (the Ultra Glide) installed (because they want to avoid country/hillbilly music) and charting their proposed route, rest stops and expenses, all carefully and precisely noted by Mom in her notebook entitled The Watson’s Go To Birmingham – 1963. Dad however has other plans and saves money by driving practically non-stop.

In Birmingham, the family are caught up in the turbulent events of the emerging Civil Rights Movement. What begins as an interesting change of environment turns tragic when a Black church is bombed. This mirrors a true event in US history when a racially instigated bombing of a church led to 4 teenaged girls perishing – the book is in fact dedicated to these girls.

Issues like sibling rivalry, adolescent rebellion, friendship and bullying and racial prejudice are deftly handled – with a light touch that in no way dilutes them. I do have a few reservations – there are some cuss words, Byron’s unnamed trouble with a girl and references to ‘adult’ books. Since I was reading this with the kids, I censored these bits. I also skipped the part about Grandma Sands’ friendship with a Mr Robert. All in all, a good living book on history. An enjoyable read – wickedly funny but also deeply moving.

Unflinching, disturbing and above all, powerful.

O Captain! My Captain!

O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up — for you the flag is flung — for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths–for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

~ Walt Whitman

If you and your kids like History, then check out Museum of London’s teacher resources.

The site has online and printable resources on Prehistoric London (500,000BC to 43AD), Roman London (43-410AD), Anglo-Saxon, Viking, Medieval and Tudor London (410AD-1558), Stuart, Commonwealth and Hanoverian London (1558-1837), Victorian and Edwardian London (1837-1913), First and Second World War (1914-1945), Postwar to the present (1946-) and London’s Black history.

Ah… freebies… gotta love ‘em. :)

My kids and I are huge fans of award-winning writer, Linda Sue Park. Her book, A Single Shard, is one of our favourites. It is a vividly told tale set in Ch’ul’po, a potter’s village, in 12th-century Korea. The protagonist is 10-year-old orphan, named for a mushroom that grows “without benefit of parent-seed”. He was raised by Crane-man (he has a shrivelled leg). These two outcasts make their home under the bridge and scavenge for food, refusing to beg or steal. When he accidentally breaks a pot belonging to Min, a master potter, he has to work off his debt and this sets off a series of change. I won’t say more except that if you like a story about loyalty, courage and love, then this is the book for you.

My friend at Tea and A Think is a fellow fan of the book :) She has compiled a wonderful list of facts on Korea and links to celadon pottery and Korean food. You can do a great unit study based on these links and her other book recommendations.

We’ve also enjoyed Linda Sue Park’s other books. I strongly believe in using living books and hers are wonderful for History and Geography. See Saw Girl tells of Jade, a girl of good social standing in 17th-century Korea who longs to see the world. Women then did not leave home (LITERALLY) till they married and then, did not ever step outside the walls of their marriage home. The Kite Fighters is about two brothers Kee-Sup and Young-Sup in 15th-century Korea. Young-Sup, the younger, often feels envious of his older brother, who seems to be favoured simply because he is the first-born. When the young king enlists their help for a kite competition, they learn to complement each other and understand each other better.

When My Name Was Keoko takes us to a more contemporary time – 1940 to the end of the second World War. Korea has been occupied by the Japanese since 1910 and their oppressive rulers are determined to erase the Korean identity and culture through propoganda and outright force. We see the struggle of the Korean people through Sun-hee (who is forced to take on the Japanese name Keoko) and her brother Tae-yul who narrate the story in turns. Each of the characters we meet show courage in their own unique way. We learn not just about role of Japan in WW2 but also what happens to Korea after it regains its independence. What makes this story even more meaningful is that the characters were inspired by true stories told by the author’s friends and family.

Korean paper doll – lots more paperdolls from all over the world available for download at Education.Com

The Children’s University of Manchester presents an excellent opportunity for The University of Manchester to share, with the wider community, and particularly primary schools, the excitement of the knowledge created through its pioneering research activities and teaching and learning practices.

Resources include online interactive learning materials for use on whiteboards or PCs; video clips which will bring the University to your desktop; downloadable resources and educational games. Content will be aligned with, and complement existing Key Stage 2 web-based learning resources.

My kids had a really fun time with this site! There are sections on the body and medicine, energy and the environment, ancient Egypt, Earth and beyond, teeth and eating, micro-organisms, the brain and senses, textiles and words.

Note: The site relies heavily on Macromedia Flash to provide interactive learning environments. Flash player 8 or above is necessary to play the interactives.

I was looking for Geography and History resources when I came across School History. I have not looked through it all because there is simply SO MUCH on the site but it looks quite AMAZING, ma shaa Allah. There are lessons for 4-year-olds (pre-K) to 18 year-olds (A Levels, I believe). The site also has games, puzzles, downloadable materials and reviewed internet links.

And yes… of course it’s FREE. Need you ask? :)