A Counting Book Kids May Love

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarten children may enjoy this delightful book, The Big Storm , as they learn how to count from 1 to 10. 

In the forest, a big storm is on the way. The animals seek shelter in a hill hollow and as they do so children learn how to count from one to ten (they also learn how to count backward from ten to one). The illustrations are excellent because they help young children see how adding one more to a number increases the number by one, and the arrangement of the animals on each page allows children to easily see and grasp the concept of addition. Another wonderful feature of this book is the opportunity to increase young children's vocabulary; the book is full of words that will likely be new to young listeners. You can also use this book when teaching weather, seasons, animals, and habitats!

This is a book you may wish to purchase for your clsasroom or home library in shaa' Allaah. Of course, the next time you visit your local library, check the shelf and if you find The Big Storm, check it out! 

Enjoy & Benefit In shaa' Allaah! 

Two Books for Back To School (PreK - Kindergarten)

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Have you begun preparing your class/home school classroom library for back to school? If so, (or when you do), consider adding these two books:




Both are lift the flap books and both offer young children the opportunity to reinforce skills and concepts learned during the school year. As you have probably deduced, Animal 123 is a counting book while Animal Spots and Stripes is a book that helps children identify and differentiate between spots and stripes (i.e. patterns).

About the books, Amazon.com says, "With a bold palette, striking graphics, and a bouncing menagerie of animals, this pair of uniquely formatted lift-the-flap books introduces young readers to the basic concepts of counting and patterns. Each is a boisterous, vivid trek of discovery, providing irresistible clues which encourage lifting the flap—a hands-on, educator-approved strategy of uncovering and learning concepts. Whether it's finding out just who's next in Animal 123, or exploring differently patterned creatures hiding in the habitats of Animal Spots and Stripes, these ultra-sturdy books provide not just an intriguing way to communicate essential building blocks of learning, but also offer an energetic playground of sheer delight.

On your next trip to the library, take a peek inside  Animal 123 and Animal Spots and Stripes. You might like what you see.

Three Ramadan Games

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Alhamdulillaah, here are three Ramadan games for children 4-6 years old. 

Each of these games is entitled "I Have, You Have, Together We Have", and while each game has a different focus and target skill level, all of the games help children learn and/or practice reading and spelling the sight words had, have, I, you, and we. The games are ideal for use in play groups or in the masjid during taraweeh, if your masjid offers babysitting in a separate room, and of course, the games can be played at home. 

The first game is I have, You Have, Together We Have 5.

This game is intended for children learning how to make 5. Easily assembled and played, in'shaa Allaah, children will have fun working together to make 5. 

How to play:

• Print and cut out the game cards. Do not cut the cards down the middle, simply fold the cards down the middle so you have the front of the card and the back of the card (showing the dates), in one easy step. 
• Give each child a card and explain to the children that they have a card that helps them make 5 but they will need to search the room for the student who has the card that can help them complete 5. Demonstrate: take a card (let's say the card with 3 dates, as in the picture above). Have another student or adult take the card with two dates on it, and have a second student or adult take the card that has some dates on it that will not help you make 5 (i.e. when you add the dates on your card with the dates on the other person's card the total will not be 5). Share your thinking: Walk around the room and share your thinking out loud so the students hear and see how you solve the problem. For example, you might say something like, "Tayyib. I have three dates on my card and I need to find someone who has enough dates on their card to equal 5 dates in all. I see Suliaiman over there. I will go and ask him if he has enough dates to help me in'shaa Allaah. (Walk up to the student). Say, "Assalamu aliakum. Suliaman, I have three dates, and you have (prompt Sulaiman to tell you how many dates are on his card) 4 dates. Demonstrate counting the total number of dates, either using your fingers or by pointing to the dates on your card and then the student's card, and count out loud until you have counted all of the dates. Then say, "Subhana'Allaah, I have 3 dates and you have 4 dates. That equals 7 dates! Together, we have 7 dates! That is too many. Jazakallaahu khayr, Sulaiman. I will keep searching in'shaa Allaah." Do the same thing with one or two other students and then find the student who has 2 dates and repeat the process with that student and say, "Alhamdulillaah, I have 3 dates and you have 2 dates. Together, we have 5 dates!"
• When the students have found the person who has the card that can help them make 5, ask the students to sit along the wall or at a table in pairs and complete the Record Book thus allowing the other students, who are still searching, time to find the matching card they need. 
• When all students have found their matching card, give the students new cards and repeat the game in'shaa Allaah. 
• Be ready to assist students who may struggle to add the dates correctly. 

I Have, You Have, Together We Have 10 is played in the same way but the students substitute the numbers when they say, "Alhamdulillaah, I have ____ dates and you have ___ dates. Together, we have ___ dates! "

The last game, I have, You Have, Together We Have... uses words instead of numbers. Students play the game in the same way they play I Have, You Have, Together We Have 5 and I Have, You Have, Together We Have 10 but they substitute the numbers for the words they spell together. In this game, children will try to find the student who has the card that will help them spell the following words:

• Moon
• Date
• Pray
• Fast
• Iftar
• Masjid
• Suhoor
• Iman
• Qiyam
• Good
• Deeds

Download the games for free above or below in'shaa Allaah. Please be aware of the Terms of Use for the materials on the blog in'shaa Allaah. Jazakillaahu khayr!

I Have, You Have, Together We Have 5

I Have, You Have, Together We Have 5 Record Book

 

I Have, You Have, Together We Have10

I Have, You Have, Together We Have 5 Record Book

 

I Have, You Have, Together We Have (Words)

I Have, You Have, Together We Have (Words) Record Book

All games are also available to download free in A Muslim Child is Born's Teacher Notebook store.

Enjoy and Benefit In'shaa Allaah!   

The Five Pillars of Islaam: A Kindergarten Workbook

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

May Allaah reward the sister who contacted me and asked about a resource for the Five Pillars of Islaam! This mini-workbook is a bit different from the others available here on the blog. This mini-workbook is designed to be a miniature notebook that can be bound or stapled at the top and children can flip it open and start their journey to learning about the Five Pillars of Islaam. The book is also easy to assemble: just print the book, cut along the dotted line in the middle of each page, and staple or bound at the top! Done!

Inside, children will find a brief introduction to each pillar but please be aware that it is not intended that these introductions can or should be read and understood by children independently. The introductions are there to initiate a discussion between child and educator in'shaa Allaah. 

Children will also have fun working with beginning sounds, learning about the number five, playing a memory/concentration game, solving a secret message, racing to do a good deed, and more!

Here is a quick peek at some of the activities:

Download your free Five Pillars of Islaam mini-notebook here or from A Muslim Child is Born's Teacher Notebook Shop. 

Benefit & Enjoy In'shaa Allaah!

Quick Post: Ten Frames Clipart Freebie

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Today's Quick Post is a quick share - *smile*. Students use ten frames very frequently in math and you can make your own worksheets that are geared toward meeting your students' unique learning needs. Having a set of ten frames clipart makes that quick and easy in'shaa allaah. 

This set of ten frames clipart comes with complete sets of ten frames in five different colours. There are ten frames in each colour for the numbers 1-10 and one ten frame for the number zero.

If you think this might help you in your classroom or homeschool classroom you can download them by clicking on the picture above or you can download them here in'shaa allaah.

Benefit & Enjoy in'shaa allaah!

Answering a Parent's Question About the Math Review Pack

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

In'shaa allaah this post will answer the question a parent had about the "Tell Me All About the Number" page in the Winter Break Review Pack: Math. The parent wished to have clarification about how students complete this page, specifically the "Fact Family" section. In'shaa allaah, this explanation is helpful. 

The explanation will follow the numbers on the image above in'shaa allaah. Students complete the page in the following manner:

1. The parent/teacher assigns a number (in this example the number is 11).
2. Students have already worked with finding a missing addend, so now they will transfer that knowledge and use a number line, as in the example, or math manipulatives to assist them (Students have already done this as well). The students see that they must find two numbers whose sum is equal to 11. The students choose a number that is less than 11 (you may wish to tell students that the number cannot be 0 or 1). The students then write the number they chose in the first box. In this example, the number is 5. The students then use the number line to see how many times they have to move on the number line to reach the number 11. In this case, the students had to move 6 times. Therefore, the students now know that the next number in the equation is 6, and they write the number 6 in the second box. The students then write the answer to the equation (in this case, 11). The students now have the three numbers they need to complete section 3: "Fact Family."
3. The students complete "Fact Family" using the three numbers from section 2. The students have had plenty of practice with fact families so this section should familiar, in'shaa allaah.
4. In section 4, the students simply tell if the number the teacher/parent has assigned is even or odd.
5. In section 5, the students use the assigned number to write a word problem that uses that number. For example, a student might write: Fahd had 5 pencils. Mahmud gave Fahd 6 more pencils after school. Fahd now has 11 pencils.  

In'shaa allaah this explanation helps. If there are any other questions about any of the review packs please do not be shy to ask.

Winter Break Review Pack: Math

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Most students love Winter Break (and many teachers too because we have some time to post something on our long neglected blog *smile*), but there is one thing that happens that many teachers do not love: some concepts, that were learned in the months leading up to Winter Break, get forgetten during the break. To help avoid that Winter Break relapse parents can encourage children to complete the activities found in this pack.

This version here on the blog is small due to the restrictions on some of the clipart used in the file (i.e. their terms of use indicate that products wherein their clipart is used may not be given away for free on blogs or websites). Respecting this restriction, this version does not contain the pages that feature clipart from these sites. If you would like the complete pack it is available in A Muslim Child is Born's Teacher Notebook Store. 

The free version includes:

• Math Fact Family page for Math Journals
• Even and Odd Numbers Activity
• Reproducible pages for daily math work (to be used in Math Journals)

**UPDATED** The review pack found in A Muslim Child is Born's Teacher Notebook Store includes the following activities:

• Skip Counting Activity Cards: 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s (up to 120)
• 2 Math Fact Family pages for Math Journals
• Even and Odd Numbers Activity
• Greater than, Less than, and Equal To Activity (for Math Journals)
• Reproducible pages for daily math work (to be used in Math Journals)
• Numbers: Expanded Form Activity and Math Journal Pages *NEW*
• What Comes Next? Math Journal Activity *NEW*
• Instructions for each activity are included and each activity has a title page *NEW* 

** The instructions for each page/activity are below (they are not found in the FREEBIE file).**

Math Fact Family Math Journal pages (mittens and snowmen):

1. Have your child cut out each mitten or snowman (depending on which version of the pack you have).
2. Apply glue to the back of the tab that says, "GLUE HERE," and glue the mitten or snowman to the journal page. Allow to dry completely.
3. The child lifts the mitten or snowman and writes the math facts for the three numbers found on the mitten or the snowman (i.e. if the numbers 2,3 and 5 are on the mitten the child would write the following math problems underneath the mitten directly on the blank page in the math journal: 2+3=5, 3+2=5, 5-2=3, and 5-3=2). 

Even and Odd Numbers Activity:

1. Cut out the two cookie trays and place them on a flat, hard surface.
2. Cut out all of the cookies found on the pages that follow the cookie sheet pages. There is also a page of blank cookies. You can cut these cookies out, laminate them and use a dry erase marker to write numbers of your choice on the cookies.
3. Objective: The child has to place the cookies on the appropriate cookies sheet (i.e. all cookies that have an even number on them get placed on the EVEN cookie sheet, and all cookies that have an odd number on them get placed on the ODD cookie sheet). To help the child self-correct (after completing this activity) you can write the letters E and O on the back of the appropriate cookies with a pencil. After the child completes the activity, he or she turns the cookies over to verify that they have correctly placed each cookie. NOTE: The cookies used for this activity are the same cookies you will use for the Greater than, Less than or Equal to activity.

Greater Than, Less Than or Equal To?

1. Cut out the cards that show the glasses of milk with the greater than, less than and equal signs on them.
2. Use the cookies from the Even and Odd activity.
3. Turn over the cards so that they are all face down. 
4. The child selects two number cards and turns them over. He or she must select the correct card with the glass of milk that shows the sign that completes the math sentence accurately in'shaa allaah, and place this card in between the two cookies.
5. The child can record his or her answers in a Math Journal.

Tell Me All About the Number Reproducible Math Journal Pages:

1. Print these pages (as many copies as you need).
2. Cut each page in half down the middle so you end up with two pages.
3. Have the child glue the pages into his or her math journal. 
4. Daily, give the child a number and have them tell/show you all they can about that number. They must list the math facts for the number, write a math sentence that shows which two numbers equal the number you gave them or the child can draw dots in each box to show the same thing (i.e. 2 dots in one box and 3 dots in the second box and then they must write the answer on the line provided. Children must also indicate if the number is even or odd and then they write a word problem using the number you assigned. 

Greater Than, Less Than or Equal To? Math Journal Pages (not found in Freebie Version of Math Pack)

1. Print the pages and cut them down the middle so you end up with a total of four half-pages.
2. Have the child glue each page into his or her math journal and complete the activities on each page.

Skip Counting Cards (not found in Freebie Version of Math Pack)

1.  Print the cards and cut them out (optional: laminate for durability).
2. Have the child line the cards up to correctly show 2s,3s, 5s, and 10s skip counted correctly. 
3. You can also line the cards up and intentionally omit some cards in the sequence and have the child use the remaining cards to complete the sequence correctly in'shaa allaah.  

Download the free version here in'shaa allaah

Download the full version from Teacher's Notebook here in'shaa allaah 

(or click on the Teacher's Notebook widget on the right hand side (top of the page).

Enjoy in'shaa allaah!

**A Side Note: Activities for grades 1 and up will be listed here on A Muslim Child is Born (at least temporarily) as it is easier right now to update one blog than two.**