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Marzipan Bear The Chai Files - Pakistan

Alhamdulillah

June 27, 2010 by Imaan 6 Comments
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Good times, alhamdulillah.

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Marzipan

Winning me over :)

June 22, 2010 by Imaan 3 Comments

Me: Well, if you want to make a strong case for something and you want me to seriously consider your point of view, then you know what you need to say, right?

Ms M: “O Captain! My Captain!”?

Me: Well, I was going to teach you about effective persuasion but THAT would work too!

:P

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Marzipan

Still more on handwriting…

June 10, 2010 by Imaan 4 Comments

Mars has been downright depressed about her handwriting. She and a friend were designing a publication and her work was erased because, she was told, it was simply “not good enough”.

I have not pushed her in this area simply because I don’t think the problem is that dire. It isn’t like she needs to be rushed into therapy – her handwriting, while a little erratic, is quite legible. I know though that her thoughts are exactly what her friend verbalised – “not good enough”. She has a perfectionist streak but her motor skills simply don’t match up and this has caused her a great deal of frustration. She often makes her writing extremely small even though I have told her that small doesn’t necessarily mean neat. Perhaps she thinks that large handwriting only make the flaws more prominent.

Anyway, I’ve been making more notebooking and copywork materials for her, Charlotte Mason homeschooler that I am :P In shaa Allah I will make them available for download soon. I just need a good PDF converter that won’t mess up my lovely designs :P If you know a good one (preferably free!), please let me know.

Edit: OK I feel silly now… there is a Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS Add-In that allows you to export and save to the PDF and XPS formats in eight 2007 Microsoft Office programs. I used to KNOW these things :P

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Homeschool Marzipan Bear The Chai Files - Pakistan

My Lethal Weapons :)

August 9, 2009 by Imaan 2 Comments

My children and I had been very active when we were in Singapore. Having lots of out-of-the-home activities and not having your own car does that to you. Ms M had been taking swimming lessons and Bear too enjoyed the trips to the pool. Moving to Pakistan did nothing to curb their active spirits – they kept busy playing outdoors and gardening. In a burst of inventiveness, they even built their own workshop on the terrace out of bricks, crates and an assortment of tools and cast-off materials.

Still, I longed for them to take up a sport. They missed swimming and I tried to look for lessons, but membership fees to pools/clubs are ridiculous! We paid between $0.80 and $1.50 for entry to pools in Singapore and no time limit was imposed, but here, you pay crazy money to swim for an hour each time you enter.

One day, while shopping for sandals, we spotted a little boy in a karate gi and immediately approached his mother to ask about lessons. She gave us directions and the very next day, we met with the teacher. After a trial, Ms M was enrolled in the Afridi Martial Arts Academy, with Bear to follow later.

The kids attend class 6 days a week. I had balked at the schedule at first but my fears were unfounded – it sounds more gruelling than it really is and at any rate, the pace is necessary. The skills in martial arts can only be mastered with fitness, discipline and consistency. The children learn that they must put in their all if they are to succeed and they learn that they can achieve if they really apply themselves to the task. Even though they feel tired at times – particularly when they have to prepare for exhibitions – there is no doubt that they feel a deep sense of satisfaction when they have learnt a new skill or are able to perfect a move.

It hasn’t been a bed of roses, though. Bear experienced her share of problems. In the week prior to last night’s exhibition, she felt apprehensive and often wept during training. She had not known what to expect and had mistakenly thought she had to perform difficult stunts! Alhamdulillah, she overcame her anxiety – she executed a move called “the bridge” admirably ma shaa Allah and had a whale of a time with her buddies. Today, she declared that she wished there were more exhibitions and that she wanted to attend more. :)

Bear, at the karate exhibition

Bear cheerfully waving a flag for the exhibition, nerves and distress banished!

As for Ms M, during the first exhibition in June, she failed to break the tile on her first attempt. I remember another parent crying out, “Oh no!” – no doubt feeling anguish our behalf – and the tension that ensued. Alhamdulillah she squared her shoulders, rallied herself bravely and ma shaa Allah smashed the tile on her second attempt. We were all so proud of her – she had been in the class for about 10 days and had had no idea she was to perform. She was determined to redeem herself during the second exhibition held yesterday, even though we had told her she was already a champion. Alhamdulillah, she broke the tile on her first attempt and performed well in two other demonstrations as well. I was just happy that she was able to relax and have fun with her mates.

Maryam & Salar

Ms M and her karate mate Salar Khan with their new belts
– Salar is the little boy who introduced us to the karate school.
Both were promoted from white to yellow belt yesterday alhamdulillah.

In the past couple of months, my kids have learnt from their classes and the examples of the seniors that being a winner isn’t just about coming in first. It is about fortitude, resilience sheer determination and plain hard work. They have learnt to hang in there and push on when things get rough as they usually do during classes. They have also learnt that every setback teaches them something – while failures delay their goals a little, they are but steps away from success if they can muster up the enthusiasm to bounce back. Alhamdulillah.

May Allah guide our children, strengthen them in faith and give them courage in the face of adversity, ameen.

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Homeschool Marzipan

Protected: Ed Report 2008

December 15, 2008 by Imaan No Comments

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Yesterday, I had a sobering chat with my friend wh Yesterday, I had a sobering chat with my friend who is a member of a minority group here. (I am keeping things vague for her safety and mine.) She has a relative who is also a friend of mine. 

In both my early encounters with them, I’d always sensed an air of reserve and secrecy. I understood that we had different beliefs, but I could not understand what I perceived as fear. Not being a native here in Pakistan, I’d had my share of bewildering and unfathomable encounters, so I’d left things at that. Maybe I’d understand in time to come, I thought.

They had always been very kind to me and I tried to reciprocate as best I could. For all our (acknowledged) differences in opinion and belief, we found some common ground and focused on doing some good. My friend’s relative donated science kits as well as books for my homeschooling gang and I’ll always be grateful for that. 

I read news yesterday about how my friend and her people do in fact live in danger. She told me how she fears for her husband’s life every single time he leaves home. She jumps every single time her doorbell rings. She worries about sending her daughter to school for fear of bullying or worse… Target killings of her people are a reality.

It made me feel so ashamed because this is tragic and downright disgraceful for any country, but even more so for a Muslim one. 

It’s OK to disagree. It’s OK to debate. It is NOT OK to terrorize and it is NOT OK resort to violence. It is wrong and it is unjust and it is EVIL to do so. When dealing with people of different beliefs, can we not be civilised? Can we not be HUMAN? Can we not behave the way our deen taught us? 

We need to find a way to make things better. It is not right to allow people who know precious little about Islam to desecrate it. 

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#islam #minorityrights #knowyourreligion #pakistan
Journalists say this time it is different. Rushdi Journalists say this time it is different.

Rushdi as-Sarraj, Yasser Murtaja’s friend, told Al-Jazeera, “This task is difficult under normal circumstances, so you can imagine working under a fierce offensive that does not distinguish between a journalist, a civilian or a military leader.” Israel is working hard “to silence the image and voice, and to ban any news or information that exposes its crimes”.

He also says, “My family doesn’t stop calling me, fearing that I could be harmed. It is an endless circle of fear and exhaustion. But we must continue sharing our message.”

Praying for Muna El-Kurd @muna.kurd15 , her brother @mohammedelkurd and all the journalists putting out the truth. 

#palestine #freepalestine #freemunakurd #freemunaelkurd #savesheikhjarrah #savesilwan #savelifta #savemohammedelkurd
«THROWBACK, Summer + Winter 2019» «We returned «THROWBACK, Summer + Winter 2019»

«We returned to the park after the lockdown earlier this year… sadly our tree for all seasons is no more 😢»

FOREIGN LANDS by Robert Louis Stevenson
Up into the cherry tree
Who should climb but little me?
I held the trunk with both my hands
And looked abroad on foreign lands.
I saw the next door garden lie,
Adorned with flowers, before my eye,
And many pleasant places more
That I had never seen before.
If I could find a higher tree
Farther and farther I should see,
To where the grown-up river slips
Into the sea among the ships.
To where the roads on either hand
Lead onward into fairy land,
Where all the children dine at five,
And all the playthings come alive.
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#throwback #pakistan #islamabad #lifeinpakistan #lifeinislamabad #homeschool #homeschooldays #homeschoolcoop #homeschoolinislamabad #homeschoolinpakistan #naturediary #naturejournal #science #charlottemason #charlottemasoninspired #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonnaturestudy #charlottemasonliving #charlottemasonhomeschool #cmnaturestudy #cmnaturejournal #naturewalk #natureramble #naturestudy #naturejournal #homeeducation #outandabout #ilookisee #islamabadhomeschoolers
A couple of you asked me to make a post of my stor A couple of you asked me to make a post of my story in response to LV’s despicable use of the keffiyeh design. Pictures in this post are from hirbawi.ps and @palestine.pixel … 

EDIT: yes, my second slide should have been edited and it is bugging me. I repeated 1930s… sorry! If you want a more polished version, DM me. You get my meaning anyway, right? 
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#palestine #freepalestine #keffiyeh #gaza #jerusalem #savesheikhjarrah
«YET ANOTHER THROWBACK, Jan. 2020» I was feelin «YET ANOTHER THROWBACK, Jan. 2020»

I was feeling a little out of sorts (again) – I’d left the house a mess (again) and the boy and I were in a rush to get to the Art Co-op. Habiba @ourlivinghomeschool was doing a session on Wassily Kandinsky that day. 

We were delayed by a massive traffic jam and our stress levels rocketed when an obnoxious motorist kept sounding his horn repeatedly as if to shoo other cars out of the way. What was everyone else to do but wait for the jam to ease? 

We made it just in time though…barely! As we ran towards the gathering, it was as if a huge weight was lifted away. This gorgeous view greeted the boy and me, alhamdulillah. When we got down to studying Kandinsky, we felt more than fine.

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#pakistan #islamabad #lifeinpakistan #lifeinislamabad #homeschool #homeschooldays #homeschoolcoop #homeschoolinislamabad #homeschoolinpakistan #naturediary #desidiaries #charlottemason #charlottemasoninspired #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonnaturestudy #charlottemasonliving #charlottemasonhomeschool #cmnaturestudy #cmnaturejournal #naturewalk #natureramble #naturestudy #naturejournal #homeeducation #outandabout #ilookisee #islamabadhomeschoolers #artcoop #artoutdoors
«THROWBACK, Mar. 2019» Once upon a time before «THROWBACK, Mar. 2019» 
Once upon a time before Covid.

The calm before…

We had our Monday meet up again at Fatima Jinnah Park. The air was cool and crisp and the skies sunny when the nature gang got together. Then, it was on to a jolly game of Simon Says – Katelynn’s @_k8erpotater clever way of teaching the kids about body parts and how they move.

The kids did their usual tree climbing and exploring. Then, the dark clouds started rolling in. We took a while to decide whether or not to leave – the park literally looked dark and ominous on one side and cheery and bright on the other. We only started rushing for home when lightning split the sky. The kids were not to be hurried, however. They felt little pellets hitting them and stopped to investigate… hailstones!

Our ramble was cut short and I got cold and wet, but I think it was a gorgeous day. We got to learn about nature in a very real way.
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#pakistan #islamabad #lifeinpakistan #lifeinislamabad #homeschool #homeschooldays #homeschoolcoop #homeschoolinislamabad #homeschoolinpakistan #naturediary #naturejournal #science #charlottemason #charlottemasoninspired #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonnaturestudy #charlottemasonliving #charlottemasonhomeschool #cmnaturestudy #cmnaturejournal #naturewalk #natureramble #naturestudy #naturejournal #homeeducation #outandabout #ilookisee #islamabadhomeschoolers
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