This is a very easy art activity that has the potential to keep toddlers focused for about 30 minutes insha'Allaah!
To make this:
Cut out hearts in various shapes and sizes from scrap construction paper.
Take different colours of scrap construction paper and invite children to crumple them into balls. Open the paper balls carefully and invite the child to ball the paper up again insha'Allaah.
Using a glue stick, glue these to a small piece of cardboard (this is the background).
Give each child a non-toxic glue stick and invite them to glue the hearts all over the piece of cardboard (that is now covered in construction paper).
When they are done, take a piece of construction paper and cut out a heart shape.
Glue the cardboard with the hearts on it, to the back of this piece of clean construction paper (that now has a heart shape cut out of it). See photo below insha'Allaah.
Then glue a piece of clean construction paper (of the same colour as the one you glued the heart covered cardboard to), onto the back of the paper (does that make sense?).
This will be the end result insha'Allaah:
You can write the word Hub (Arabic for Love) on this to remind children that Hub begins with the letter Haa.
Here is a quick, cute craft to use when studying the letter Daal.
A Book for Bear
(Dub Dub)
The ears and tummy are soft terry cloth.
Great mutli-sensory experience for infants and young tots.
For the paper on the inside, you can use regular white paper or any colour paper you'd like. Cut out as many bears as you'd like for your book to have. Staple them together with your front and back pages.
To make this little bear (which takes about 15 minutes to make), all you need are three (3) bear cut outs and an old terry cloth towel that is destined for the bin. Take one of the contruction paper bears and cut three holes - 1 for the tummy and 2 for the ears. Glue sections of terry cloth onto the second bear cut out (without the holes). Glue the bear with the holes onto the bear with terry cloth on it. Use the last bear cut out for the back cover. You can use construction paper for the front and back covers or if you'd like to allow an infant or young toddler to handle it, glue your bear covers to cardboard insha'Allaah.
Once you've stapled the paper inside, write a personalized story for your little one or allow your child (if old enough) to dictate the story to you and then invite them to illustrate their story insha'Allaah. Perhaps, they'd even like to read their story aloud to the family that evening insha'Allaah.
A butterfly made with a Popsicle stick, four circles cut from construction paper and decorated with markers.
(In the book there are two touch and feel butterflies).
Yesterday, we found that this same company also has a beautiful touch and feel board book about fruits
And this is the activity that we did after reading this book alhamdulillah:
A Sorting Activity:
Using construction paper, I made some fruit cards that showed alike and different...
then we sorted the cards according to their attributes
(i.e. alike or different)
I had to make another set for younger toddlers (around 23-24 months old) so I took index cards, cut them in half and put only one fruit on each card. I "laminated" the cards with clear packing tape and after demonstrating how to sort the cards, I put the cards in a basket with the book on the shelf so they can be played with whenever the interest arises insha'Allah.
Insha'Allah, I'll make more of these with different fruits.
This was also a language activity in that we discussed Who Provides fruits for mankind, how fruits are a blessing to us, and why the cards showed alike or different.
You can read the following ayaat along with the activity:
{Who has made the earth a resting place for you, and the sky as a canopy, and sent down water (rain) from the sky and brought forth therewith fruits as a provision for you. Then do not set up rivals unto Allah (in worship) while you know (that He Alone has the right to be worshipped).} Al-Baqarah, 22
{And it is He Who spread out the earth, and placed therein firm mountains and rivers and of every kind of fruits He made Zawjain Ithnain (two in pairs - may mean two kinds or it may mean: of two varieties, e.g. black and white, sweet and sour, small and big). He brings the night as a cover over the day. Verily, in these things, there are Ayat (proofs, evidence, lessons, signs, etc.) for people who reflect.} Ar-Rad, 3
And of course there are many more ayaat that can be read with this activity alhamdulillah.These books are illustrated using collages and the result is beautiful. Enjoy insha'Allah!
I've mentioned the book Over in the Meadow before. I decided to do a lesson plan using this book as it has many teachable concepts throughout alhamdulillah. This lesson plan also proved to be a springboard to a lesson plan on the Prophet Sulaiman alhamdulillah (I'll hopefully be posting that soon on The Well Read Muslim insha'Allah). The lesson plan below includes ayat from the Quran, ahadith, Islamic Studies, Math, and colouring activities for the book Over in the Meadow.
Click here to download Over in the Meadow Lesson Plan insha'Allah
Here are some of the activities that accompany this lesson plan:
For Literacy:
This activity is called, 'Colour Seen ( س ) Green' . Children make this paper and foam turtle and colour the letter س green (all of them). They are then invited to colour the the remaining parts of the turtle shell any other colour after their work has been checked for comprehension insha'Allah.
To make the turtle, give children the template of the shell to cut out insha'Allah (in the file to download below). After they have cut the shell out, invite them to glue it onto a piece of cardboard and then cut the shell out again insha'Allah. Give each child a foam head and four foam feet for the turtle and assist them in gluing them in the right position on the turtle insha'Allah.
Draw a head and four feet on a piece of green foam and cut them out. Then turn the turtle over and help the child glue the body parts in the proper place insha'Allah.
The next activity is:
A letter س (Seen) windsock/kite
Each child is given a س construction paper cut out and they are invited to glue/tape crepe paper to the end and paint them. Afterward, children are invited to take them outside and watch the wind rush through them insha'Allah.
Next play:
Seen Charades
All of the cards are put into a paper bag. Children take turns taking one card out of the bag without looking insha'Allah. The child then describes the picture on the card without saying what the picture is (i.e. on my card I have something that is white, and comes in a bag, you buy it from the store, etc.). Others take turns guessing what the child is describing and the person who guesses correctly gets to go next insha'Allah.
With this age group, it is a good idea if you introduce these new words (and pictures) prior to playing this game so that children are familiar with each new picture/word insha'Allah. In your lesson show children how they might describe each picture. Allow children to practice prior to playing the game and encourage them to come up with new ways to accurately describe each picture insha'Allah.
For the activities above you will need the following materials:
- large letter seen made from construction paper or cardboard
- crepe paper or other lightweight paper
- non-toxic paint or markers
- green foam
- a sponge (for applying the paint)
- construction paper
- glue
- scissors
- green crayons
- clean brown paper bag
and if you'd like to use them insha'Allah, here are the files for the activities:
We made this masjid centre piece (that could actually be a mobile) craft over the weekend.
and here (below) is sister Oum Alya's that she and her children did masha'Allah. Isn't it gorgeous masha'Allah? Hop over to her blog and see more pics insha'Allah *smile*
All we used to make this was:
* three cut out shapes of a masjid
* crayons
* three popscile sticks
* gluestick
I cut out the masaajid and then we coloured them together. Afterward, I glued each of the masaajid to the popscile sticks so that the centre piece (that could actually be a mobile) was able to stand on its own on the table.
This is the inside of the masjid craft
A simple colouring activity for a rainy/overcast day alhamdulillah. Here are the masaajid pieces we used to make this. I'm actually thinking of another way to use this craft to go with the other activities I have planned for the July, Together We Read, book, "Who Made the Builders?" insha'Allah.
By the way, have you entered the giveaway for that book yet? If not, please enter before the 30th for a chance to win a free copy of the book insha'Allah.
This is an activity that I put together to help children learn (and apply) these ahadith (a simplified version):
Narrated 'Umar bin Abi Salama: I was a boy under the care of Allah's Apostle and my hand used to go around the dish while I was eating. So Allah's Apostle said to me, 'O boy! Mention the Name of Allah and eat with your right hand, and eat of the dish what is nearer to you." Since then I have applied those instructions when eating. {Bukhari}
Narrated by Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) liked to start with the right when putting on his shoes, dismounting (from his camel), when cleaning himself and in all things." (Agreed upon).
Alhamdulillah, as I wanted/intended (and modeled), the toddler intentionally tried to get the blue hands to fit inside of/match the outline of the hands on the poster board subhana'Allah! It was perfectly okay that the blue hands didn't make it (they had soo much fun!). The goal was to work on hand-eye coordination so I'll set this activity out again to allow for more practice insha'Allah.
Can you see in the bottom left corner where the toddler is holding the paint tray?..hehe...refueling!
To make this you will need:
- Small wooden hands from a craft store
(the hands I got can be turned over to be either left or right hands)
- Glue gun
- Sponge (preferably without the coarse part on
the back for scrubbing - it's not easy to cut off!..lol)
- Wooden knob
- White poster board
- Non-toxic paint and paint tray
- Newspaper (to avoid a mess on the floor)
- Fine tip marker
Here is what you do:
1). On the white poster board, trace the hands before you start assembling the hand sponge painter.
2). Take one of the right hands and trace it backward (i.e. as if it were a left hand) onto the sponge.
3). Cut out the sponge hand. Set aside.
4). Take both of the wooden hands and, using a glue gun, glue them together back to back. When they are dry, screw on the wooden knob.
5). Take the sponge hand outline and, using the glue gun, glue it to the back of the right hand (the two you glued together).
You're done and ready to paint insha'Allah! And this little hand is easy to clean. Just gently rub with warm water and soap until the paint comes out...it takes less than a minute alhamdulillah.
These two crafts are connected to the book we read for "Together We Read", so this post will be linked up to our first "Together We Read" post this Saturday insha'Allah. We made dragonfly magnets out of clothes pins but my favourite one, the green one with pink wings, got its wings torn off!....eek!...lol..beware of baby fingers.
and next we made a shed using popsicle sticks and construction paper:
Materials needed for both crafts:
- Non-Toxic paint
- Clothes pins (preferable with the rounded tops)
- Construction paper (for the wings)
- Glitter (optional)
- Paint brushes
- Glue (non-toxic)
- Popsicle Sticks
- Markers
This gives you a sneak peek ;) at what our book was about but come back this Saturday insha'Allah to see the book and all of the activities related to it insha'Allah.
Alhamdulillah for the many uses of foam, fabric, construction paper, clean, used foil, and a range of other crafting materials (even cereal boxes!). This activity is an example of one way foam can be used for a tactile learning experience with the Arabic alphabet insha'Allah. This is a fun (albeit potentially messy) art project that children three years and older may enjoy insha'Allah. Foam Arabic Letters:
Sister Umm Sara did this activity and added some wonderful variations masha'Allah. Have a look!:
Here, tissue paper is used in place of foam. Gorgeous masha'Allah! Stop by her blog, Islomiy Oila to see more insha'Allah. Jazakillahu Khayr dear sis Umm Sara for sharing!
The materials you will need vary based on what you may have available on hand so that makes the possibilities quite large alhamdlillah.
If you have:
- empty cereal boxes
- odd and end pieces of fabric
- scrap pieces of foam
- scrap pieces of construction paper
- even egg shells will work
you have what you need for your child to enjoy this project insha'Allah.
Take scrap pieces of whatever material you will use and cut them into medium or large geometric shaped pieces. If you use egg shells, supervise the activity closely so no pieces end up being eaten and present a choking hazard. Once you have all of the pieces cut up or broken (if using egg shells), put them in a paper bowl or plate. Provide the child with a piece of construction paper with an Arabic alphabet outline already drawn on it insha'Allah. Give the child some liquid glue (or glue stick if you are using construction paper), and invite the child to glue the pieces into the letter. If you are using egg shells, after the glue dries, invite the child to paint the letter using any colour paint available insha'Allah. If you use foil, you can also invite the child to paint the foil to get a unique effect. This craft can even be done with two piece of plain white paper. You can draw the letter outline on one piece of paper and cut the other piece of paper into different shapes. Invite the child to glue the pieces on and then either colour or paint the glue pieces of paper once they have dried insha'Allah. For added fun, you can add glitter to the activity as well insha'Allah.
If you've done a similar Arabic alphabet craft activity with your children and you'd like to share, please email me with pictures (no people in the pictures please) and insha'Allah, I may add them to this post. *Please include the link to your blog (if you have one insha'Allah) if you have the crafted posted there insha'Allah.*
Update: Sis Zaza over at Easel & Ink is up to it again masha'Allah! She's made Arabic Alphabet colouring pages (and there's a book cover too!)
Here is the letter Baa (just right for our letter Baa above *smile*):
