S is for Siwak

Assalamu alaykum,

S came back home from madrassa asking about the miswak or siwak. He said from now on he wants to brush his teeth only with the toothbrush tree! So here I read some onfo about the toothbrush tree to him.

Siwak Dentibrush
The root from the Salavadora Persica tree has long been used and recognized as the best natural tooth brush as early as 7000 years ago by the the Babylonians and ancient Egyptians. It reinforces the teeth and gums, whitens the teeth and freshens the breath and it's all natural! The Salavadora root is known to prevent tooth decay, assist in eliminating toothaches and prevent further increase of decay which has already set in, boost the immune system, eliminate bad odors and improve the sense of taste, sharpen the memory, help cure or relieve headaches, and assist in digestion. This root naturally contains many ingredients that create an antimicrobacterial effect and are active against cariogenic bacteria frequently found in the human oral cavity. The chemical analysis of Salvadora persica has shown it contains trimethylamine, salvadorine, chlorides, fluoride in large amounts, silica, sulphur, vitamin C, and small quantities of tannins, saponins, flavenoids, and sterols.

Islamic etiquette: hypocrisy

“Most hateful it is with Allâh that you say that which you do not do” [al-Saff 61:3]

“Enjoin you Al-Birr (piety and righteousness and each and every act of obedience to Allaah) on the people and you forget (to practise it) yourselves, while you recite the Scripture! Have you then no sense?” [al-Baqarah 2:44]

Assalamu alaykum,
I really hate hypocrisy and I do try all best to teach my kids to stay well away from it. Insh'Allah they will.
Just a good reminder for us all. It's not good to go around saying things that we don't do ourselves.
Sometimes kids can get into the habit of telling off their peers and then ending up doing it themselves.
I always say to my kids to look at themselves and make sure that words and actions are the same.
May Allah protect us from hypocrisy.Amin

The day we went to the farm

Assalamu alaykum,

today we went to the farm. It was a nice breezy day, warmer than the other days. Hamdulillah.

So we put out our wellies and off we went.

Kids brought a book about the farm animals.

Here are some pics.

Conflict resolution: Few tips

Assalamu alaykum,
just few tips I have got from reading articles on the net.
Resolution #1 Talk to your child, and again and again and again and again...got the idea?
Resolution #2 Explain to your child what's right and what's wrong
Resolution #3 Try to point out why it is wrong and how it should be done
Resolution #4 Use the cooling down solution. Sit your child in a safe place and allowed him/her to think over their mistakes/Let him/her sit for a while. The ask them what they thought about their wrongdoing
Resolution #5 Have bags full of sabr (patience)!!!
Resolution #6 The most important one: make dua'as!

I am already trying to do all those things and really I have been doing those since my kids where born. So where am I going wrong? Is it because they are growing and changing in a dratsic way??
Well, I will have to work on this very issue as it is so fundametal for the family wellbeing.
Insh'Allah dua'as

Wa alaykum assalam

Conflict resolution

Assalamu alaykum, I need help here! I am having some problem with A.
In the last few weeks he has been in his little world and came out only to fight with his little brother.
A is a 7 years old boy, very active, full bags of energy, loves cars, engines, and anything to do with fighting, boxing, karate, boxing gloves and the list goes on and on...boys stuff!
S is a 4 and 1/2 years old, full of energy, very bossy but sweet and full of love for learning. He hates fighting and prefer a quite day pushing his toy car around the house or cuddling his favourite teddy, Adam the Muslim teddy bear.
The two cannot stay in the same room, specially in the last few weeks.
Any idea how to sort conflicts between kids? How do you get them to understand and listen to you?
And what's the Islamic rulings here?
I am going to search this topics insh'Allah.

Mix homeschooling methods

Assalamu alaykum,
You know you are going to homeschool. Now, which homeschooling method will you use: unschooling, traditional, or eclectic? Confused about methods?
I was asked what curriculum do I use with my kids. We don't really use a curriculum or maybe yes. Are we unschooling? Yes most of the time, or maybe not. Are we using Montessori, eclectic, Unit Studies, lap booking etc? Yes we are. In fact we are using all these methods all at once. Whatever my kids like to do, we then go ahead and do.
One thing for sure, we love books. We love to buy new resources and art&craft materials.
We love outings; it can be the library, the park, the farm, the zoo, the aquarium, the museum etc
But we like to mix homeschooling methods and that works for us, so far, hamdulillah.
When deciding which way to go, do not panic. There is no one right answer. Each method has strengths and weaknesses. In the end, what matters most are our children and our family. After all, that is why we chose to homeschool.

Make puzzles part of your game plan!

Assalamu alaykum,

we had a lazy day today! We have been making puzzles all day.

Boys like puzzles as it is a very manual thing to do.

Loads of Internet sites offer puzzles, riddles, word games, and other games to stimulate fun and learning.Puzzles and riddles have an inherent appeal to children, and through play, children can develop new concepts and reinforce skills in curriculum areas such as language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.

Here are some websites to get you started. Even thou I believe the real thing is far better!

http://www.islamicplayground.com/Scripts/default.asp

http://www.cyberkids.com/fg/index.html

http://www.kidcrosswords.com/

Jolly Phonics

Assalamu alaykum,

S. is learning the phonics. There are many fun ways to teach phonics but S. loves the Jolly Phonics book I bought for A. when he was 5.

Hamdulillah the book has been a great tool with A. We printed out the pages we needed so the book still new.