My young friends, Haadiyah and Aymum Sajid, are two creative homeschoolers who are just brimming with ideas. They are always working on one creative project or another, ma shaa Allah.

Haadiyah is 10 and Aymun is 8 and, together, they have produced a lovely book of poetry for the young ones. Young Muslim Rhymes teaches Islamic concepts like the importance of Niyyah, love for our Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the Hereafter and the need for a united Ummah. Each poem calls for action by linking its message to real life.

Haadiyah and Aymun lovingly laboured over many aspects of the book — there are vibrant illustrations and best of all, their engaging recitation on the audio CD. They’ve had some wonderful support from friends who helped them with the recording and layout and now, I hope that you too can show them some love.

To learn more about this book, please visit the YMR page at HomeWorks.

I’m giving away 5 copies of this book in shaa Allah. Please leave a comment with your email — it won’t be published — and in shaa Allah, I’ll get in touch with you.

Charlotte Mason, Out-Of-Door Life For The Children

“All this is stale knowledge to older people, but one of the secrets of the educator is to present nothing as stale knowledge, but to put himself in the position of the child, and wonder and admire with him; for every common miracle which the child sees with his own eyes makes of him for the moment another Newton.”

A pretty bloom

“An Observant Child should be put in the way of Things worth Observing.”

Can you see the bee?

They must be let alone, left to themselves a great deal, to take in what they can of the beauty of earth and heavens.
~ Charlotte Mason, Out-Of-Door Life For The Children

Here comes the sun

Children should be made early intimate with the trees, too; should pick out half a dozen trees, oak, elm, ash, beech, in their winter nakedness, and take these to be their year-long friends.
~ Charlotte Mason, Out-Of-Door Life For The Children

Morning in Dadi’s Garden

I have amassed a mother lode of embroidery patterns and am missing the feel of needle, thread and calico between my fingers. Peep’s been quite the little rascal though, so I haven’t able to get back to stitching. The girls, on the other hand, have been quite productive, ma shaa Allah.

Marz went through a bit of a confidence crisis and was convinced that she would never amount to much in the crafty department. After much discussion, we agreed that creativity can be cultivated and that everyone has a bit of artistry in some form or another. We just need to be supremely patient and determined to hone the skills. With renewed enthusiasm, Marz has made a bigger effort to be more precise and exacting. Effort and creative process are just as important as the final product, so she is learning to find joy in the journey as well.

Marz made a quilted mug rug. She chose two of her favourite fabrics from our stash and hand-pieced them together before sandwiching the batting in between and hand-quilting the whole thing. She hopes to use the sewing machine the next time in shaa Allah for a neater finish, but I think this was a terrific effort ma shaa Allah. The mug rug has since been gifted to a a friend of hers — a mum new to homeschooling.

Bear made a little heart-shaped cushion for an aunt who is expecting a baby girl. This was her first major project. She was so thrilled when she completed it. “I can’t believe I finished it!” She is so in love with it that she is almost tempted to keep it for herself ;)

Peep wants to play even though he has the sniffles; Bear is pressing me to draw a heart-shape so she can make her own cushion (“It will be bigger, in shaa Allah!”) and Marz seems to be hinting that she wants me to cook bhunna ghosht … I guess embroidery will have to wait…