Ramadan Craft # 8: Mini Majlis (Sitting Area)

Assalamu Alaikum,

Insha'Allah you've been having an excellent Ramadan so far and insha'Allah, your children have been enjoying this blessed month as well.

We hadn't planned to do much posting during this blessed month but this craft is sooo cute that we couldn't help but share it with you insha'Allah. Masha'Allah, sister Umm Abdul Basir and her family have really outdone themselves this time!

You would have to do much of the work on this project, however, your little one can chip in and glue, place the furniture, etc. or whatever else you feel he/she is capable of insha'Allah. In the end, we think that your child will certainly enjoy playing with this mini majlis insha'Allah.

But on to this great craft project insha'allah. Umm Abdul Basir and her girls have made a mini majlis (sitting area) and it's just gorgeous masha'Allah! Have a look:

And books too masha'Allah!

Here's what they used:

- a cardboard box
- felt
- Popsicle sticks
- Cereal boxes
- cotton
- beads
- white paint
- hot glue gun (an alternative can be fabric glue)

See how to make it (and more great pictures) by stopping by her blog and enjoy insha'Allah!

**All pictures copyright 2009 Umm Abdul Basir**

Ramadan Mubarak from "A Muslim Child is Born"

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

May you and your family have a blessed Ramadan.

Ramadan Activity # 6: Ramadan Fridge Magnet Play Set

Assalamu alaikum,

This will probably be the last Ramadan craft activity that is posted due to the fact that insha'Allah, Ramadan is upon us walhamdulillah. We will see insha'Allah.

The purpose of this activity is to give your child a beneficial, Islamically educational activity to do while you are preparing iftar insha'Allah. This Ramadan activity is also one that you and your child can do together insha'Allah. Your child can colour the picture of the inside of the masjid and the different positions of the salat that are found in the Ramadan Travel Activity Book that was posted earlier this week alhamdulillah (view it here insha'Allah) or if you'd like your pictures to be larger (and this is recommended for younger infants), you can use the pictures from the "What is He Doing?" activity insha'Allah. The making of the magnets may be the part that you will need to do insha'Allah.

Around 12 months (depending on your child's developmental growth, it may be earlier or later), children enjoy magnets. They can sit for long periods of time playing with the magnet and they become absorbed with removing and re-sticking the magnet on the refrigerator. This activity, which can be used outside of Ramadan as well insha'Allah, allows them to further explore their natural scientific curiosity insha'Allah, and at the same time it connects them to the religion by depicting the masjid and the various positions of the salat as the focal point of their fun and exploration. This activity also fosters imaginative play and can be extended by inviting your child to make up stories to verbally illustrate their scene on the fridge insha'Allah.

Here's what it will look like when you're done insha'Allah:

Here's what you'll need insha'Allah to make it insha'Allah:

masjid picture
crayons/colour pencils
positions of the salat pictures
scissors
non-toxic glue or glue gun
Modge Podge
cardboard or card stock
magnets and magnet strips
sponge or paint brush
clear contact paper (optional)

Here's how you make it insha'Allah:

Print and colour the inside of the masjid picture and the positions of the salat.

Cut out the positions of the salat pictures and glue them to a piece of cardboard or card stock. Let dry.

Cover the picture of the inside of the masjid with clear contact paper or laminate (optional). Apply magnet strips to the back of the picture insha'Allah.

When the pictures of the salat positions are dry, using a sponge or paint brush, apply a thin coating of Modge Podge (it's non-toxic alhamdulillah). Let dry.

When the salat positions pictures dry (the glue and the Modge Podge), cut them out into squares. Be sure that you do not cut them too small where the magnet will be larger in width than the picture.

Glue the magnet to the back of the salat positions (or if they are self-adhesive, stick them on insha'Allah).

Put the masjid picture on the fridge using magnets and put the salat positions on the fridge and invite your toddler to put the men praying in different parts of the masjid insha'Allah.

**Safety precautions insha'Allah: I strongly suggest laminating or covering the masjid picture with clear contact paper if your infant/toddler is in the stage of putting what is in the hand into the mouth. Additionally, do not allow your child to do this activity unsupervised. Attach the magnets to the pictures securely to avoid a possible choking hazard. Use non-toxic glue only. Lastly, when the magnets are not being used, put them out of the reach of your child or even better, put them in a drawer where the child cannot get to them insha'Allah.**

Enjoy insha'Allah!

*The masjid picture used in this activity is copyright 2009 by Umm Danyal*

Ramadan Activity # 5: Ramadan Travel Activity Book

Assalamu alaikum, Aren't you excited?! Only 4 days left until Ramadan insha'Allah. Well, depending on the sighting of the moon of course. But it's so close insha'Allah. Alhamdulillah. We thought we'd get a few last activities and/or craft ideas in before Ramadan starts insha'Allah, because we're not sure how much time we'll be spending online during this blessed month. We've got 'ibadah, Quran, and tawbah on our minds! Not to mention the other good deeds that can be done during this month insha'Allah. (smile) Preparations have begun all over the world; people are making plans to visit family, friends, the poor, etc. and the kids will be packed into the car and off you go insha'Allah. This is a small and very simple Ramadan Travel Activity Book for toddlers. It is a few pages long and has basic activities that toddlers love to do: colouring, cut and paste, and drawing pictures that illustrate a sentence they've written. Small, simple and easy to put together insha'Allah. It's a last minute treat to pack in the car to help your toddler survive the trip insha'Allah. And, we'd also like to say jazakum Allahu khayr to Maqsud Karloy who runs the site Muslim Living for granting us permission to use the pictures of the salat positions that appear in the Ramadan Travel Activity Book. Enjoy insha'Allah!

Ramadan Craft # 7: Ramadan Mailbox Sorting Activity

Assalamu alaikum,

Here's a craft that brings back childhood memories. I don't know if you did this but we used to address letters to imaginary people and then "mail" our letters as part of our imaginary play. We used to be given old stationary supplies with which to produce our postal fun. I was reading a craft book and they had a similar craft that reminded me of our fun from childhood so I thought, why not share the same fun during Ramdan insha'Allah.

This craft is an adaptation of that with a slight modification or two. First, your child(ren) will be making Ramadan post cards to address and "mail" to family and friends and second, they will be sorting the postcards according to colour/shape or whatever idea you choose.

After you help your child make the mailboxes out of cereal boxes or shoe boxes insha'Allah, you will help your child cut out "postcards" of different colours or you can have some pre-cut and lined and that way your little one only needs to worry about addressing the postcards insha'Allah. Afterward, your little one can design his/her own Ramadan stamps and glue them to the postcards insha'Allah. When he/she is all done, have your child put the post cards in the correct "mailbox" according to colour or shape insha'Allah.

Here's what you'll need to make it insha'Allah and the directions follow insha'Allah:

(some items not shown)

1. 2-3 cereal boxes/shoe boxes
2. construction paper in different colours
3. ruler
4. marker/crayons/colour pencils
5. scissors
6. craft glue and a glue stick for your child insha'Allah
7. a half sheet of blank white computer paper

Here's how you make it insha'Allah:

Cover the boxes with construction paper. Each box should be one solid colour only (i.e. one box can be green, one blue, and one yellow).

When the glue has dried, use scissors or a box cutter to cut a rectangular hole in the front of each box. (I forgot to mention: cut a square hole in the back of the box to allow your infant/toddler to retrieve his/her mail in case they want to mail their postcards again insha'Allah! (smile))

Decorate your mailboxes with a nice Islamic design insha'Allah.

If you have pre-cut and pre-lined postcards (and even if your toddler makes his/her own), have your toddler decorate the front of the postcard with a nice Ramadan picture/greeting insha'Allah. Then help him/her address his/her postcards to family and friends insha'Allah.

Using the blank white computer paper, cut out small squares that are the size of a postage stamp insha'Allah. Cut enough so you have 1 stamp for each postcard insha'Allah.

Allow your child to design his/her own Ramdan postage stamp insha'Allah.

Using the glue stick, invite your child to affix the "stamp" to the postcard insha'Allah.

When all postcards are decorated, addressed and stamped, invite your child to put the postcards in the mailbox that matches the postcard (i.e. if your postcards are to be sorted by colour, invite your child to put all yellow postcards in the yellow mailbox insha'Allah, etc.).

My mailbox is dry now alhamdulillah (see the picture below) but for the Ramadan picture on the front of the postcard...well...I'm no artist as I think you've experienced in the past (smile) so I'll spare you that this time insha'Allah. But I'm sure your budding artists will produce mail worthy pictures that I could never manage.

We'd love to see (and post) pictures if you try this craft idea out at home insha'Allah.

Enjoy insha'Allah!

Ramadan Activity # 4: Ramadan Poems and Activity Suggestions

Assalamu alaikum,

Do you remember that we said we'd be posting Ramadan poems and providing some ideas about how to use those poems? Well, we didn't forget about them alhamdulillah, but it's been busy over here! (smile). Alhamdulillah, this post will be the beginning (and maybe the end because Ramadan is only 9 days away insha'Allah!) of Ramadan poetry ideas and activities insha'Allah.

Here are three poems that you can use along with the activity suggestions that you can download here insha'Allah (or just read them at the end of this post insha'Allah). You can download the print version of the poems here insha'Allah.

Here are some ideas of what you can do with these Ramadan poems (and others of course) insha'Allah.

Activities – What We Can Do With These Poems insha’Allah.

1. Make a Ramadan Gift Card for a family member or a friend; attach the card to your gift insha’Allah.
2. Make a Ramadan Poster showing all of the things you love about Ramadan.
3. Make a Ramadan poem book. Collect, write, and illustrate different poems about Ramadan and make a book to give as a gift or to keep insha’Allah.
4. Make a Ramadan Poem magnet and stick it on the refrigerator insha’Allah.

*All graphics in the poems are from Easel & Ink

Ramadan Craft # 6: Iftar Activity

Assalamu alaikum,

This Ramadan activity comes to us from Umm Kashifa, may Allah reward her. This activity is an Iftar craft for the little ones that will be delightful for them to do insha'Allah and can also be used to teach about nutrition as well insha'Allah. Have a look below insha'Allah and then hop over to sister Umm Kashifa's blog to see how to complete the craft insha'Allah.

Jazakillahu Khayr dear sister for sharing this delightful craft!

Ramadan Craft # 5: Easy Ramadan Stamps

Assalamu alaikum,

Oh this is so cute masha'Allah and so easy to make! This literally took me all of 10 minutes to make subhana'Allah. These are cute stamps your kids can make to put on Ramadan cards to send to family and friends insha'Allah. This idea was adapted from Bottle Cap Stamps.

Here's what you'll need insha'Allah:

• Jar Lids
• Craft Foam
• Scissors
• Stamp Pad
• Double Stick Tape
• Marker (Fine point)

Here's how you make them insha'Allah:

Tape a piece of craft foam onto the jar lid.

On another piece of craft foam, have your child draw the Ramadan shape he/she wants insha'Allah.
Cut the shape out.

Tape the shape onto the piece of craft foam that you taped to the jar lid (make sure it's really flat - meaning the shape the you tape onto the other piece of foam, don't let it stick up too much).
Press the stamp into a stamp pad and stamp away insha'Allah! So easy and so fun masha'Allah!

Enjoy insha'Allah!

Ramadan Extra: Keeping The Family Organized As You Prepare For Ramadan

Assalamu alaikum,

This article is from a guest-contributor, Umm Abdul Basir, who kindly shares her tips and methods for keeping a busy household running smoothly as they prepare for the Blessed month of Ramadan.

As we've been trying to get our own families ready for the Blessed month of Ramadan, we were struck with a sense of awe and amazement at our dear sister Umm Abdul Basir. This sister has 6 children masha'Allah and keeps a wonderful blog that chronicles her homeschooling experience. She also shares many freebies on her blog as well...barak Allahu feeha.

As we (my co-blogger and I) talked about this, one question kept coming up, "How does she do it?!" So, we decided to ask her and here we'd like to share her response. Jazakillahu Khayr dear sister Umm Abdul Basir for sharing your insight and methods for keeping the busy household running and organized. Enjoy the article dear sisters.

Keeping it All Together

First it's by the will of Allah that I am able to do so much. Secondly it's the patience I must practice in order to get it all going smoothly, and thirdly it's alot of sacrifice to be able to teach ALL my children.I feel I am still young and have alot of spunk left in me, *smile*. Since I am fairly new to Islam still (5 yrs now,Alhamdulilah) I am so hungry for knowledge and teaching my children as I learn as well.

Having six children or one child is no different, as they all are different and take as little or as much time from your daily duties as they want. *smile* I come from a large family myself, so this is nothing new to me. I believe its all about order,and utilizing whatever help you have whether it be family,or your own children. Myself personally, I utilize the help of my eldest children ages fourteen and twelve. My husband works many late hours and has only one day off a week so we have all day to pull our house together as well as get out studies in.

How we keep it together in my household? A typical day is waking up for fajr of course, this is the start of our day. Preparing breakfast before the little ones awake,they can be quite demanding in the morning. *smile* We start our studies for the day before the little ones take over, if we don't do this at this time, we will have a hard time fitting it in later,insha Allah. 8 am comes and 3 little walking feet approach the kitchen. We do our morning clean up and clean little ones up for the day, insha Allah. My eldest get the little ones set up for their morning studies while I take care of the new baby. This is my time to check email as well,teehee. I have a set time for everything first off so we don't get thrown off. We all work together as a team in order to have some free time at the end of the day, insha Allah. We don't leave our house much that's why we are able to get so many crafts done, masha Allah.

The big girls have some of their studies online, so this is the time I take to work with the little ones and by 5pm we are off to dinner prep, if I feed them too early they will be begging me for more to eat at bedtime. Depending on the day, they may go to the park with Abi or they will be able to have their own free time, which they really don't do much of since they always want to learn, masha Allah. They keep me on my feet, that's for sure. I Thank Allah for allowing me the strength,patience, and ability to be able to do all I do.

Ramadan preparations have gotten our house crazy these days, but I stay up late hours anyway since the new baby likes the stay alert at these times. I take this time to have his abi watch him while I pull together ideas as well as recipes or work on the computer, daily lesson plans, whatever it is I need to do extra while the little ones all sleep. In Bed by 1 am and since I am up a few times a night with the baby, I am used to little sleep, insha Allah that will change in a few months. We plan on focusing on Islamic Studies during the Month of Ramadan insha Allah, printing activities as well as setting up lessons for the books we plan on reading during the month insha Allah.

And truly, alhamdulillah.

Jazakillahu Khayr dear sister Umm Abdul Basir!

Ramadan Activity # 3: Phases of the Moon

Assalamu alaikum,

It's been a busy few days here so this post will be short. Insha'Allah, over the weekend I'll have more time and then we'll begin again next week with posting crafts, activities and recipes for Ramadan insha'Allah. So stay tunned (what does that mean anyway?...lol).

Lately, I've been trying to think of ways we can teach our little ones about the Phases of the Moon and explain that this is how Allah has given us the knowledge to know when we begin our fasting insha'Allah. I was googling (is that a word?) and this is what I found:

This Phases of the moon Craft is for children 24 - 48 months old (i..e 2-4 years old) insha'Allah and they actually give ideas for children up to 8 years old. Along with the Phases of the Moon activity you can use this worksheet to help your child keep track of the phases of the moon during Ramadan insha'Allah. It's a handy print out that you can put on the fridge. You can cut out the templates that are found here and each night before your child goes to bed, invite him/her to paste which phase the moon is in on that particular night insha'Allah.

Two year olds love learning and using "big" words so you can extend the activity with them by teaching them what each phase of the moon is called. You can read about the names and descriptions of the phases of the moon here insha'Allah. And this site is really neat! It actually tells (and shows) which phase the moon is in each night. They also give lots of other interesting information about the moon that a 2 year old wouldn't be interested in but I personally found it terribly interesting (smile).

I think that I'll come back and post a craft activity to compliment this one insha'Allah. An idea is forming in my head...

Off to the craft table insha'Allah!

Ramadan Craft # 4: Ramadan & Eid Crib Toy

Assalamu alaikum,

This craft idea is for infants 6 months and older who have or are developing the ability to grasp objects. It's a.....what should I call it? Okay, it's a Ramadan crib toy. At first I thought it could be used as an exploration toy for infants 6 months and older because it is purposely filled with plastic beads so that it makes a rattling noise. But then I thought - choking hazard - and most infants in this age category have an interesting taste for.....paper, and this might go right into their mouths.

So I scratched the rattle/exploration toy idea. But if you hang this over the crib and suspend it with a bungee cord-like string about 10-12 inches from you're baby's line of vision, your infant can work on focusing on an object and work on his/her hand-eye coordination insha'Allah. The colour red was chosen on purpose because it is the first colour that human beings are able to perceive and this will make the focusing part of the activity easier insha'Allah. Your baby will make attempts (after focusing on the red and blue masaajids) to grab the toy insha'Allah. Soon, they will successfully get it in their grasp and this is a good thing! Because it's on a bungee cord, it will spring back out of their grasp and then they will begin again. Great hand-eye coordination practice for baby and it's got a Ramadan twist to it. The side with the red masjid says, 'Ramadan Mubarak' and the side with the blue masjid says, 'Eid Mubarak'.

Here's what it looks like and then we'll move on to what you need to make it insha'Allah.

The blue side (but you can't see the writing because of the glare..oops!)

And here is what you'll need to make it insha'Allah:

• Paper Plate
• Scissors
• Craft Foam
• Non-Toxic Glue
• Some thing to fill the inside (non-food item) that is too large to be a choking hazard.
• Bungee cord
• Hole puncher
• Fine tip permanent marker

How to make it insha'Allah:

* Cut two identical circles from the paper plate (you may need 2 paper plates depending on how large you want to make it). Write the words 'Ramadan Mubarak' on one circle and the words, 'Eid Mubarak' on the second circle with a fine tip permanent marker.
* Using the craft foam, cut two masaajids out, one blue, one red. Glue them to the circles. Allow to dry.

* When dry, take both circles and apply glue to the bottom half of each (the bottom crescent shape of each circle). Allow to dry.
* When the glue is dry, insert the beads or other item you choose insha'Allah, into the circle. Glue closed and allow to dry.
* Using a hole-puncher, punch a hole through the top of the circle and insert bungee cord.
* Hang above crib securely insha'Allah.

Note of Caution: If you have an older infant and you allow him/her to handle this toy, supervise the infant very closely insha'Allah. I actually would not recommend allowing the toy to serve as anything other than a crib toy that is safely and very securely attached 10-12 inches above the crib insha'Allah.

Islamic Note: Please do not use food items to fill the toy. Unfortunately, many crafts use food items and this is not recommended because it is a waste of food. Please remember that during this month of Ramadan when we are abstaining from food, insha'Allah, we remember that there are many around the world who, daily, want for food and many times, water, and not only for one month of the year. Please use non-food items in this and all craft activities insha'Allah. Jazakum Allahu Khayran.
Enjoy insha'Allah!

Ramadan Activity # 2: Travel Ramadan Puzzles and Matching Game

Assalamu alaikum,

Road trip! I remember as a child I used to love road trips. We used to take along snacks, toys and little mini-activity packs to keep ourselves entertained as we made our way to our destination. What I remember liking especially well was the mini-activities. There's something about small things that children like - perhaps because they are kid-sized. Allahu alim.

Thinking of that and talking with my co-blogger (the one who is too shy to post!...lol), I had an idea: why not make a mini-Ramadan travel activity for the kids to play with as they make their way from iftar to iftar during the month of Ramadan insha'Allah. Mind you, this idea hit me at about 1:00 a.m.! But alhamdulillah, I remembered it when I woke up and when the house was asleep I had a chance to have a go at it alhamdulillah. Here is what I came up with:

Ramadan Travel Puzzles - Little kid-sized puzzles for infants/toddlers 15 months and older insha'Allah, that have pictures related to activities that Muslims do during Ramadan. Cut them out, laminate them (or just put a coating of ModgePodge on them ) and pack them in a small box and when you hop into the car for a road trip (even to the market) and bring them along and allow your child to have fun in the back seat insha'Allah.

Ramadan Travel Puzzles

Ramadan Travel Matching Mats - These are three mats that have the same pictures that the puzzles have that show different activities that Muslims do during Ramadan. There are picture cards that allow your child to match them with the pictures on the mats insha'Allah. The mats get progressively more difficult to challenge your child as he/she acquires skill and proficiency insha'Allah. So, mat 1 has only one word under the pictures, mat 2 has two word sentences and mat 3 has three or 4 word sentences to help your child match the picture cards and also practice matching pictures with words and eventually reading short sentences insha'Allah. Again, great for the car. Print them out. Laminate the mats and picture cards (cut the individual picture cards out before you laminate them insha'Allah), and add them to your travel activity box insha'Allah.

Ramadan Travel Mats

(picture copyright Umm Abul Basir.wordpress.com)

**Remember: Check the Ramadan category to see all crafts, activities and recipes related to Ramadan insha'Allah. We're updating the blog almost daily with new ideas alhamdulillah!**

With that said, Enjoy the activities insha'Allah! Oh! and Pass it on insha'Allah - if you know other sisters who have young children send them the link to A Muslim Child is Born so they can enjoy too insha'Allah - Jazakum Allahu Khayran!

Ramadan Activity # 1 : Ramadan Memory Game

Assalamu alaikum,

Here's a wonderful idea for Ramadan learning: A Ramadan Memory Game. This game is suitable for for infants 18 to 24 months old insha'Allah, however, children older than 24 months usually enjoy a good game of memory.

In this version of memory, the children will learn activities and objects related to the Blessed Month of Ramadan insha'Allah. This game and its instructions can be found at ummabdulbasir.wordpress.com insha'Allah. Barak Allahu feki dear sister Umm Abdul Basir for sharing this excellent game!

Enjoy the game insha'Allah!

Ramadan & Eid Graphics for Ramadan & Eid Crafts

Assalamu Alaikum,

Now this is just cute, fabulous, dazzling and wonderful masha'Allah! Easel & Ink has these great Ramadan and Eid graphics for free (see below for some samples insha'Allah), and they are just the thing you need to decorate any Ramadan and/or Eid cards/crafts you and your little ones might be thinking of making insha'Allah. Have a look and see what I mean insha'Allah (and there's more over at Easel & Ink! but the Eid graphics here are just a sneak preview - the Eid Graphics forum will be open soon over at Easel & Ink and you can see all that they have insha'Allah):

Want more? Visit Easel & Ink insha'Allah. They're free! And free is a good thing insha'Allah. Just one thing: if you use these graphics on your site or blog please link back to Easel & Ink or mention where you got the graphics from insha'Allah. These talented sisters work so very hard to produce such beautiful work. Jazakum Allahu Khayran.

Enjoy insha'Allah!