… very, very CRAFTY!

(the needle and thread kind… not the sly and cunning sort :P)

Surrendering the computer to the kids so stay tuned!

I discovered this link through my friend Raihanah’s Facebook and it is a lovely gem!

Ten-Minute Tafsir by Quranica.Com is a series aimed at making the Qur’an more accessible in the current day, using the popular short-video format to present a simplified explanation of a few verses at a time. More of an introduction than a commentary, it is based loosely on A Thematic Commentary on the Qur’an by the late Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali, a great Azhari scholar.

I love little nuggets like these that help to recharge one’s spiritual batteries… There are 11 videos to date and you can access them at Ten-Minute Tafseer’s Facebook page or at their Youtube Channel. Other resources are shared at Quranica.Com.

… is hard to get.

Ramadan TV

We’ve been up to all sorts of things… alhamdulillah, our days have been productive. We’ve kept things simple this year – no crazy crafts, no mega menus… just lots of family time, reading, studies and prayer. For the first time in a long time, I think we are feeling a great deal of hope and serenity, alhamdulillah.

I’ve let the kids watch a bit of Ramadan TV and they love it. Uncle Jawad hosts a Little Explorers show for kids and his energetic antics had them in stitches (but learning a lot!). They also liked the more serious lectures by speakers like Sheikh Yawar Beg, Ustadh Yahya Ibrahim, Dr Tawfique Chowdhury, Sheikh Isam Rajab, Sheikh Bilal Ismail and others.

3 EASY ways to watch:

(1) Watch LIVE stream at Ramadan TV (WORLDWIDE)
(2) Watch LIVE stream at Facebook
(3) Watch on SKY Channel 843 (in some countries only)

My kids and I have been blessed with really wonderful homeschooling resources, alhamdulillah. My husband has always been supportive and hardly ever questions my purchases. *grin* A fellow homeschooler in Singapore also ran an online store and ordered all sorts of books and curricula which helped me save on what would have been exorbitant shipping charges. Best of all, I live close to a library in Singapore and in Pakistan, am able to find loads of books going for a song at the second-hand bookstores.

I’ve often wondered what would happen if I weren’t able to afford books and curriculum packages. It’s made me a bit of a hoarder, I admit! Everytime I find study materials or curricula for free, I download and save… just in case! I still prefer to have my books on hand – it is so much more convenient than having to research, save, print and bind material myself, but it is good to know that it IS possible to homeschool for free if one is strapped for cash.

So here’s my list of free resources:

FULL CURRICULUM SITES

• Preschool by Stormie
• Umm Maimoonah’s Islamic Preschool Curriculum
• Lesson Pathways, Grades K-5
• CK-12 Foundation’s Flexbooks – free digital textbooks for Grades K-12
• Head of the Class – Grades K-5

ENGLISH

• Progressive Phonics
• Word Mastery
• Starfall
• Reading A to Z – OK, this is not exactly for free but when they had an open house and made their materials free, I downloaded them all so I got a good reading programme for my younger daughter for free! (NEVER underestimate a cheapskate mom LOL!)
• Houghton-Mifflin Spelling and Vocabulary, Grades 1 to 6
• Home Spelling Practice and Spelling Worksheets (Grades K-8)
• Grammarland with worksheets from Jessica Cain
• Daily Grammar

MATH

• First Lessons in Arithmetic
• CIMT’s Mathematics Enhancement Programme (Reception to Secondary level)
• Comprehensive School Mathematics Program Preservation Project (K to 6)
• Dad’s Worksheets
• Khan Academy

SCIENCE

• Life Science Curriculum by The Lab of Mr Q – free textbook and teacher’s manual for 36-week programme
• Islamic Earth Science Curriculum by River City Homeschoolers
• Six-Week Summer Session Nature Study by River City Homeschoolers
• MSNucleus – K-12
• FOSSWeb – K-Middle School
• JASON
• Pearson – Prentice Hall Science Explorer: Life, Earth, and Physical Science
• Chem4Kids
• Biology4Kids
• Cosmos4Kids
• Physics4Kids
• Khan Academy

ARABIC

• Arabic Studies Course by Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud University
• Palestinian School Textbooks
• Madinah Arabic Programme
• Arabic Study Circle
• Teaching Arabic for non-Arabic Speakers
• Arabic Comes First
• Digital Hamza – learn to read Arabic
• Printable Arabic Learning Materials by Umm Sadiqah wa Asma

GEOGRAPHY

• Home Geography by CC Long
• Elementary Geography by Charlotte Mason
• RADER’S Geography 4 Kids

HISTORY

• School History