Ramadan Craft Idea # 3: Counting the Days of Ramadan

Assalamu alaikum,

Our third Ramadan Craft activity is a 'Days of Ramadan Counter' (I just made the name up - perhaps you will think of a better name insha'Allah *smile*). This craft activity is suitable for infants and toddlers ages 4 months and older insha'Allah. For infants under 18 months old, you will have to make the counter but after that your little one can interact with it via the view from your arms insha'Allah.

So alhamdulillah, not all craft project examples can come out decently (see the pictures below insha'Allah) but this Ramadan craft activity has an added benefit to it besides hanging nicely in your child's room or wherever you choose to hang it insha'Allah. This craft introduces/reinforces several aspects related to the passage of time and number sense. How you ask?

First: When you take a few moments each day to show your child that the clip on the counter is moving downward to show that the days are passing, this introduces your child to an abstract concept (the passage of time) in a concrete fashion (they see that the crescent moon on the clip is getting lower and lower insha'Allah).

Second: When you tell your child, "Today is the 9th day of Ramadan alhamdulillah. Yesterday was the 8th day of Ramadan. Tomorrow will be the 10th day of Ramadan insha'Allah, you are again introducing words associated with the passage of time. These 'time' words (i.e. today, yesterday, tomorrow) are words that children begin learning as early as preschool and in Montessori classrooms (and probably others insha'Allah) even earlier.

Third: When you say words like 1st of Ramadan, 2nd of Ramadan, etc. you're introducing ordinal numbers. Another concept learned in preschools and kindergartens. You're giving your little one a foundation upon which he/she will later build math skills insha'Allah.

Fourth: When your child hears the numbers (in Arabic or in English) this teaches the numbers to them or reinforces what they have already learned. Depending on the age of your child, you can tap into his/her prior knowledge and have them tell you what number comes before the number you just said, or after the number you just said insha'Allah. Math practice that's fun insha'Allah. ;)

So on to the craft activity insha'Allah. What does it look like? And how do you or your child make it insha'Allah? Read on insha'Allah (smile).

What you'll need (sorry no picture):

• About a metre and a half of wide ribbon (make sure it's not the satin type - the marker will run and it is difficult to write on. I learned the hard way. It also makes it harder to glue it onto the pencil). This picture shows how I held the ribbon in place while the glue was drying, using a clip.

• 1 unsharpened pencil
• 1 piece of string (about 20 centimeters long)
• Craft Foam
• 1 Wooden clothes pin
• 1 fine point permanent marker
• Non-toxic Glue
• Scissors
• Non-Toxic paint

How do I make it insha'Allah? This part you may not like but I don't think I can tell you specifically step by step because it might be a copyright violation but I adapted the idea from the book 'Craft Adventures'. I found it at our local library alhamdulillah. They've got other nice ideas that can easily be adopted for Islamic purposes insha'Allah.

But, here's the finished counter. I think what I would do differently would be to actually paint the pencil too insha'Allah. What do you think? I also attempted to make a new moon again but alas, I still haven't mastered that yet.

Now all that's left to do is....hang it up and enjoy it insha'Allah!