Here are a few ideas for Ramadan… and beyond :)

Learning Stuff

• Call to Prayer
• Five Pillars of Islam
• Muslim Connections
• Pillars of Islam
• Ramadan Bulletin Board
• Ramadan Lapbook by Raising Muslims – with free templates!
• Ramadan Thoughts – nice notebooking page
• Tunisian Traveller – art lesson based on the travels of Ibn Batuta

Calendar Ideas
Those marked ^* are Advent Calendar ideas – I thought they could be adapted for a Ramadan Calendar to count number of days fasted. They can also contain rewards for the little ones, supplications to memorise, acts of sunnah to be learnt and acts of kindness to be carried out.

• Ramadan Plates – filling plates with worship! LOVE THIS!
• Ramadan Surprise Box/Calendar
• Ramadan Surprise Box – Mosque Shaped
• Ramadan Surprise Calendar
• Boxes on the Wall^*
• Clipboard Countdown^* – can be “number of days fasted”
• Cookie Sheet Calendar & an example here & here – using scrapbooking materials^*
• Countdown Calendar^* – from tubes
• Envelopes and Matchboxes^*
• Felt Coins^*
• Felt Pocket Calendar^*
• Garland made from envelopes & another example here^*
• Magnetic Board^*
• Origami Calendars^*
• Paper Cone Calendar^*
• Pocket-size Calendar^* – from gum packs :)
• Pocket Wall Calendar^*
• Printed Muslim Bags^*
• Simple Calendar – blank for your own customisation^*
• Wall Calendar – house shaped using felt + another example^*

Decor & Art

• Fanoos – nice!
• Faux Stained Glass Greeting Cards
• High Ceiling Mosaic
• Islamic Pattern Colouring Page
• Magnificent Mosaic
• Mosaic Sun Catcher
• Mosque Craft Mobile
• Muslim KIds TV list of craft ideas – on youtube
• Our Seeds’ List of Ramadan craft ideas
• Prayer Rug Patterns
• Ramadan Joy – GREAT ideas ما شاء الله – many nice photos and very eyecatching designs
• Ready for Ramdan Colouring Page
• Spirals on Paper Plates
• Suzani from Bukhara
• Zilij Patterns

Gift/Charity Ideas

• Good Deeds Calendar
• Kindness Calendar Quilt – from Crayola… in keeping with our ideas on charity
• Ramadan Gift Box
• Ramadan Surprise Box

Dates!

• Dates – From Tree to Table
• Ramadan Date Chain

Moon Phases

• DLTK Lesson Plan on Moon Phases
• Moon Over Mecca

< cringe >

I’ve just realised that I must sound very patronising every time I talk about Pakistan. Either I go on and on about how much ‘luckier’ I am than everyone else – mawkish bleeding heart, eh? – or my ungovernable acid tongue goes into overdrive. In both cases, I make my new home sound like a dreadful dump that has its general populace wringing their hands in despair.

< /cringe >

So, I won’t promise to be sugar-and-spice-nice all the time :P – honestly, there are too many things to chuckle about (like our water woes). Anyway, as much as I poke fun at this country, it is always done with some measure of affection.

What I will promise is to be fair and showcase some of Pakistan’s charms… one of which is the Etwar Bazaar, where we got some of these here lovely baskets.

Another post for another day in shaa Allah…

I complain like anything about Pakistan :P

I attack:

• its dustiness – “I’ve only JUST mopped and my feet are gritty AGAIN!!!”
• the fact that I can’t go out much – why oh why doesn’t Islamabad have the MRT^*?
• the drivers – why are they always in a rush? I KNOW they know there’s nothing important they have to get to. My sister-in-law says, “Oh but Bhabhi, they HAVE to rush so they can get home and do nothing.” (She is Pakistani… she can say this, OK?)
• the lack of safety – you read the news… you figure this out…

But… and yes, I say this quite grudgingly… it isn’t so bad here. Yes, there is more poverty than your heart can possibly bear sometimes and there are so many conveniences which I’ve grown accustomed to that I’ve had to forego.

Still, I find that this place keeps me grounded. The people I have met are supremely kind, friendly and sincere, so much so I am often ashamed of my cynical ways and acerbic jibes.

Here, I am reminded of how fragile life is, how hard life can be for many people who live and die poor and without hope, how courageous some people are in the face of struggle and most of all, how very very fortunate I am.

The power went out earlier today (load shedding – the first of many). I was about to get very grumpy when I remembered that last winter, we always took out our sewing when the electricity was down. We’ve brought quite a stash from Singapore. (Ignore the fact that I am rubbish at photography OK?) Just seeing the colourful fabrics and threads made our day :) Alhamdulillah for little blessings.

So, I’ll try to keep busy and to remind myself that I really have it good. :)

* MRT – Mass Rapid Transit … the train/subway in Singapore

Emails are nice, but good old handwritten letters are nicer. And you know what is EVEN better?

Parcels :)

Today, I received a lovely gift from Umm Obaidah. I call it my almost-surprise because while it was not unexpected – we are both participating in a swap organised by Farhana – I was so thrilled when it arrived that it sure felt like a surprise :) Make sense?

Anyway, Umm Obaidah has given me a WONDERFUL book. It is entitled The Invocation of God by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya. He is one of my favourite authors, so I know that I will enjoy reading this.

Jazakillah khayran Umm Obaidah … may Allah increase us in `ilm and imaan ameen :)

Some resources we have found online…

Guides

• Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
• Handbook of Nature Study Blog
• Out-Of-Door Life For The Children Part 1 by Charlotte Mason from Charlotte Mason’s Original Homeschooling Series
• Out-Of-Door Life For The Children Part 2 by Charlotte Mason from Charlotte Mason’s Original Homeschooling Series

Nature Stories – free/public domain

Charles Kingsley (1819 – 1876)

• The Water Babies | Audio available here
• Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley

Arabella Buckley

• Fairyland of Science (1879) | Audio available here
• Birds of the Air (audio)
• Wild Life in Woods and Fields

Thornton W. Burgess (1874 – 1965)

• The Burgess Bird Book for Children | Audio here
• The Burgess Animal Book for Children (1920) | Audio here
• The Adventures of Peter Cottontail (1914)
• The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse (1915)
• The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk (1918)

Clara Dillingham Pierson

• Among the Forest People
• Among the Farmyard People
• Among the Meadow People
• Among the Night People
• Among the Pond People
• Dooryard Stories

Others

• Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thompson Seton
• Animal Nature Stories by William J. Long
• Parables from Nature by Mrs. Alfred Gatty