Mahera, this is for you and your girls :) I hope they feel better… Jazakillah khayran for being such good pals to us :)

A little belated but I have been having laptop and connection issues. I hope homeschooling is going well for everyone. We are wrapping the year up and in shaa Allah hoping to move one to bigger and better things come January. This has been a hectic and tumultuous year and while we know that the only constancy in life is change, we would welcome some stability so we can focus on our “book learnin'”. I hope you’ll all make du`aa for us :)

My girls and I thoroughly enjoyed a special series called “Road to Hajj”. Al Jazeera followed Muslims from China, Japan, Azerbaijan, Panama and India as they embarked on the Hajj pilgrimage. We also watched two additional videos – one about a lady from Gaza whose husband was killed before he could perform Hajj and one about a lady from Kenya who saved for 7 years to make her special trip. We found them very inspiring and shed a tear or two when we witnessed their struggle and sincerity.

• Gaza woman’s struggle to go on Hajj
• Pilgrim embarks on life-long dream
• Road to Hajj – China Part 1 | Part 2
• Road to Hajj – Azerbaijan Part 1 | Part 2
• Road to Hajj – Japan Part 1 | Part 2
• Road to Hajj – Panama Part 1 | Part 2 … make du`aa for Ray please!
• Road to Hajj – India Part 1 | Part 2

Two years ago, in Shawwal, my friend Raihanah organised a Ramadan Outing for the homeschoolers’ group in Singapore. She delivered a short talk on Islam and fasting to the non-Muslim homeschooling families. They then moved on to various stations set up by the Muslim homeschoolers where they sampled different types of dates, learnt how to make a paper fanoos (lantern), tried their hand at weaving paper ketupat (Malay rice cakes cooked in woven leaves) and experimented with mosaic art. Two dads conducted a tour of Sultan Mosque as well. The day ended off with lunch at a Middle Eastern restaurant.

My kids had lots of fun that day – they are always so excited to meet with other homeschoolers. They loved that they were able to talk about their deen. The day was all the more meaningful because their dad was able to join in – he travels a lot and isn’t always able to participate in any homeschool events.

We made a few printables that day and I thought I’d share one with you… It is a petal book in PDF format about “A Day In Ramadan”. Nothing too fancy – just a summary of what one does in a typical day in Ramadan. I hope you like it. *S*

DOWNLOAD “A DAY IN RAMADAN” PETAL BOOK

Here is a little something for fans of lapbooks, notebooks, mini-books and what not *S*

It is a fan book about “Why Ramadan Is Special”. There are blank fan templates provided for those who want to add in more information or who want to encourage their children to write their own reflections. It is in PDF format so if you don’t have Adobe Acrobat, GO GET IT! I’m not putting this up in MS WORD because you would lose the nifty fonts *S*

OK so without further ado, here is the file!

DOWNLOAD “WHY RAMADAN IS SPECIAL” FAN BOOK

* I said to print on coloured paper but only because lapbooks look more attractive that way. You can of course use white paper – the book itself has clipart which are in colour. If you do use coloured paper, use light pastels.

My elder daughter loves Science and Geography even though these subjects are not taught in Singapore schools for kids aged 7 to 8. Good thing we home-ed eh? *S*

We have been reading about rainforests and highly recommend Lynne Cherry’s The Great Kapok Tree. Lynne Cherry is a highly acclaimed author whose award-winning books promote love and respect for the earth. We love all her books and her signature illustrations with detailed borders.

Younger readers might like The Umbrella by Jan Brett. We’ve read also The Magic Tree House’s Afternoon on the Amazon – to be honest, I don’t really like The Magic Tree House series (they are twaddle-ish, no?) but I like the study guides. I am looking into getting The Vanishing Rainforest by Richard Platt – my children love his Diary books.

Here are a few free curriculum downloads/lesson plan ideas on rainforests:

• Homeschool Share’s The Great Kapok Tree Unit Study
• Homeschool Share’s The Umbrella Unit Study
• Jan Brett’s Colouring Pages – look under The Umbrella for colouring sheets of animals and pages for a rainforest mural
• Kathi Mitchell’s Page on Rainforests for Kids
• Kiddy House – All About Rainforests for kids and teachers
• Liza’s Reef – Hope for the Rainforests teacher resources
• Lynne Cherry’s page on The Great Kapok Tree and rainsforests
• Mayan Rainforest Curriculum
• Part of Something Big
• Rainforest Action Network – there is a teacher’s lounge from where you can download lesson ideas and a kit.
• Rainforest Alliance’s Learning Site
• Rainforest Challenge Curriculum
• Rainforest Foundation’s Teacher Resources
• The Prince’s Rainforests Project for Schools – check out the teachers’, parents’ and kids’ sections

Here are some other interesting links I found about environmental/global issues :

• For All Kids – free ant lesson plan
• Friends of the Earth
• Global Cool Foundation’s Project Genie – with free book!
• Global Dimension – guide to lots of lesson plans
• Globe Programme
• Heifer International
• Mr Greeny
• One World’s Kids’ Channel with Tiki the Penguin
• Oxfam’s list of lesson plans – includes bullying, world trade, poverty and climate change
• Phoenix Zoo
• Roots & Shoots: Project Blue – water resources
• Water Aid – more water resources
• We Are What We Do – school resources
• WWF’s School Resources

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a comprehensive resource for North American birds, bird watching, and bird conservation:

Other projects by them: