Feeling blessed, hamdulillah!

Assalamu alaykum my dear readers and sisters fi deen,

Hamdulillah I feel a sense of relief and contentment.
S.is soon to start school. This week I will buying his uniform, the first uniform he has ever bought or worn for school a part from the abaya he used to wear at madrassa.
A. will follow soon, insh'Allah.Maybe as soon as next two weeks. InshAllah. The waiting list for this particular school is very long as the school has high demand. My boys have been on the list since the 1 of September.
I looked into their new routine and I tell you, it will be a busy one.
After school they will attend the 'after school clubs' and they will be joining in activities such as cooking, reading club, literacy, science lab, football, netball and so much more! MashAllah. Three times a week they will come at home with homework inshAllah. I do intend to carry on homeschooling for a hour or so a day, making sure they get the best out of the school's environment.
Everyday they will have Qur'an and Arabic as usual. Also swimming and wrestling is still on once a week and madrassa on Saturday. Insh'Allah.
I feel for now, it's the best choice, I mean keeping them busy and active.
We went to visit the school and it is a great place. 90% of the pupils are Muslims and there is a great majority of sisters teaching there. Food is totally halal for all, Muslims and non.
I visited their website and it's great, updated daily with the progress of the kids as well as activities and after school clubs. Also they are always on the look out for school governors and guess what? I will apply to be a school governors or at least in the parents board. Making sure things run swiftly :)
I am happy that out of 3 schools we applied to, the first choice was the one!
Kids are over excited! They cannot wait and feel so happy to start. InshAllah.

...About me, I am building my own schedule. I want to go back on learning the deen and tajweed. Also tafseer and Arabic. Insh'Allah. I don't have any longer a car and made a conscious decision to use my legs :) and public transport when needed. But I am also thinking of buying a bike to enjoy some riding time with my kids at the park inshAllah.
Keeping myself busy with activities, I couldn't do when homeschooling, is my main goal. No more studying at night or early morning. Hamdulillah.
I feel blessed. My illness and other various problems have been a bless as well as hardship.

Allah is the best of Planners indeed.

I have always said that the day my kids will have to attend school is because of my health. Allahu Alim.

The day has come and I need to see the positive side and accept Allah's decree upon me. I need to bear patiently and increase myself in activities that will bring me closer to my Lord. I have always been so passion about homeschooling and I would have never dreamt of putting my kids to school, never! In fact I am still in shock thinking that my kids who have never attended school, public school, will go. Please do remember us in your duas.

For now

wa alaykum assalam

x

Homeschooling quote

How much people can learn at any moment depends on how they feel at that moment about the task and their ability to do the task. When we feel powerful and competent, we leap at difficult tasks. The difficulty does not discourage us; we think:Sooner or later, I'm going to get this. At other times we can only think: I'll never get this, it's too hard for me, I never was any good at this kind of thing, why do I have to do it, etc. Part of the art of teaching is being able to sense which of these moods learners are in. People can go from one mood to the other very quickly. - Holt

Home Education CAN carry on...

Assalamu alaykum
hamdulillah Rabbi 'Alamin! Certainly we are just strangers in this dunya and we should remain as such, all praises are due to Allah, Lord of the Alamin. We seek His help and aid. May He always guide us to the straight Path.Amin.

Last few months have been hard and testing for me and my family. I found relief and comfort by looking carefully at my very situation...bad things turned out to be the best, my very own health problems are now a real blessings and all the world around me is just dunya...I feel relieved and glad and althought my test is not over yet and Allah knows best, I feel blessed Allah is my Comforter, my Reliever, My Creator and the One who I seek help from! Allah Akbar!!

Everything happens for a reason...
Home Education can carry on. In fact we have never truly stopped, maybe in my mind, maybe in the perception of how I personally see home education. But our life carried on everyday, hamdulillah. kids have learnt even in those very days filled with hardships. Those days have taught me a lot and I feel purely blessed and thank Allah for the chance He gave me.Hamdulillah.

Kids are still not in school, but I have started a more formal approach to home education. Just small things and mainly Islamic studies, Arabic and Qur'an. Those very 'subjects' are on everyday, in fact have never stopped for a day! Mash'Allah.
Also I will be using again the mindsprinting website for both boys even when the kids are at school, as I believe knowledge are never enough!
I am happy about the realization, or maybe just I have suddenly 'remembered' that home education can carry on and it doesn't have to stop only because the kids will attend school.
I have to say jazakallahu kheiran to all those beautiful sisters out there that without even realizing have contributed to my 'relief' and realization of this simple fact.
Kids seems more relaxed and happy now that we are back to a more normal routine. They have gone back to their usual sports activities namely swimming, football and wrestling and they will, insh'Allah, be starting soon a new saturday madrassa. Hamdulillah. Things are looking up and I thank Allah for all the blessings He has bestow upon me and my family.

I leave you with some pictures and pray you are all enjoying the benefits of homeschooling.
Wa alaykum assalam
x

A.truck

a building with a lift

S. built his own scoop

Baby S. in the local park. This is the aromatic garden.

Sitting in this area wakes up your senses...

S. enjoys his scooter

Baby S. pushing his pram

Autumn flowers, beautiful

Maghrib time at mine, the view is breathtaking!!!

Pizzeria, this one was excellent, mash'Allah

Can you spot the chef taking a pizza out the oven? So sweet!!

The pizzzeria, view from the street, people are crossing,

some waiting for the bus etc! So cute! Mash'Allah!

A bunch of roses...some very caring person bought for me

Autumn leaves

Collecting conkers. My boys and their friends made a big

pile and expected me to count them all!! What?!Lol

Little arms and hands, piling up the conkers

There is the time for this and the time for...

that!
Assalamu alaykum to all my readers,
we had the most beautiful past 3 days for a loooooong time!!!!
These past three days have brought so much joy, peace and I feel recharge and full of energy! Hamdulillah!
We have had a very busy year and I have been pondering over our progresses. What have we learnt? It all looked grey and gloomy until few days ago. It is now crystal clear and I am happy I had time to go out, see other sisters, reflecting over important decisions and gathering all my thoughts together!
I feel that the decision to put the kids to school for now it is indeed the right one. I see myself with too much on my plate and wanted to do too much it has always been a very bad habit of mine!
I am extremely organized mash'Allah but that in itself could be a good or a bad thing! Good when you have 3 very active boys and husband to look after! Bad when you have to stick to the schedule and leave no time to rest because you have it all timed! Hamdulillah!
My kitchen cupboards are organized, my wardrobes are organised and the kids' bookcase and files are but...I now feel the need to break the rules and get a back seat and just relax. I have a whole year to do that! I feel I need to 'schedule' my pleasure and free time, 'organize' my breaks and rest.
-I have my University to finish, not that a degree is something I desperately seek, just the pleasure of life! :) ;
-I desperately and I repeat DESPERATELY want to go back to study my deen inside out!!!;
-I want to learn some Tafseer and go back to tajweed;
-I want to go back to knitting and felting!!!
And so much more...
I see my kids had 6 years of great fun at home, tears and joy! They learnt a whole lot more that I could ever imagined them to! My eldest just turned 9 years on August and I see the changes in my little growing man!
He wants a bit of Independence, of course he is still too small for that...but where I was born and brought up we enjoyed the fresh air 365 days a year no matter what age! I was brought in a small village, we played with raw materials: stones and mud, leaves and flowers! I know ho to milk a sheep and a cow, I can ride a horse and collect the eggs from the chicken. Hamdulillah for those small pleasure in life! I see my kids stuck in 4 walls everyday. Homeschooling brought so much happiness in our home but at the same time I feel my kids need to see and relate with a different environment. So for this year, school will be! Insh'Allah! A big change that will open different doors...insh'Allah.

Back on our great past 3 days! We had a wonderful 'eid. Prayed at one of the biggest Mosque in London and enjoyed the company of a dear sister and her family mash'Allah. We had a meal out and the kids for the first time in years received no just sweets and books as usual, but toys! Mash'Allah! Uncles and aunties have been pretty generous, hamdulillah!
The day after we were invited over to a really nice party. Kids played all afternoon, jumping on and off the bouncy castle while mums were having the most delicious BBQ and cakes! Yummy! Of course kids ate too :)
Today, we were at another party and guess what? More bouncy castle, cakes, BBQ, and great company!Hamdulillah! Chatted with a really nice sister. I relate so much to what she was telling me about homeschooling and having no support, help or appreciation. She felt lonely and needed not just encouragement and support but financial help. Her husband was of the idea that school was the best and never thought of given her money to buy books and materials for her kids. After all homeschooling is expensive! She left homeschooling as she had too much stress and pressure. Now her kids are at state school and she feel happier as she knows her husband is the responsible in front of Allah for the education of the family.
I myself took a great responsibility for my kids; i tried to do my best for the past 6 years and hamdulillah I see the results in my kids but I am also too aware that if my health is no good for a while my kids are all alone! And Allah knows best.

This year 'eid have been a real time for me and family to spend some good quality time together, for the kids to celebrate with their friends, and for me specially to lighten up the heavy weight I had on top of myself for too long! And hamdulillah!
There is a time for everything, for me and for my family, for homeschooling and for school...a time for this and a time for that.

wa alaykum assalam
x

'Eid Mubarak to you all!!!

Assalamu alaykum

it seems like Ramadan has come and gone...too fast...

'Eid Mubarak to you all, may Allah accept our fasting and duas.Amin.

Kids and I had a really lovely day today, hamdulillah, but this is another post.

For now

wa alaykum assalam

x

Back online, summer is finishing and Ramadan is going fast...away :(

Assalamu alaykum,

only today i was able to go back online. It took so long to get connected in this part of the world! hamdulillah it's all over now and I can go back to my usual routine and of course studies.

I have lots to write but I will try to keep it short and sweet as I prefer to use my free time for acts of ibadah specially now in these very last few days of Ramadan.

Ramadan has come and almost gone...subhan'Allah! This year it has been extra special because of the new place and also because it so unusual, for me at least, to fast in summer. It's 10 years I am a Muslimah hamdulillah and never I fasted in the summer months. I must say it's easier than I thought and it is all going mash'Allah.

A. managed to complete 1 day of fasting and 2 days half way through (until about 6.30pm). He got very tired, very quickly. In itself the fact that he was tired and hungry taught him a lesson and a very important one too!

Both boys had a nice summer, very quite except for the move which took longer than we thought.

The boys will be starting school soon and this blog will be stay up and running but I won't be recording our homeschooling days any longer for obvious reasons. It will be fun to record our school days. So for this year is school and Allah knows best! We haven't actually received the confirmation letter from school yet, just waiting in their list.

The decision came about when I realized that my health was getting worse. And because of my health, my dh felt it was time to relieve me from all the duties I was accustomed since the boys were born. I just feel I could have wait one more year, then again it's not by my hands and Allah knows best my position. Hamdulillah for His Mercy towards us.

I am currently looking for a good evening madrassa. The boys will be still attending Qur'an lessons privately but I'd like for them to restart a madrassa. Just need to keep them busy for now as I know I need time to recover and go back in my usual self.

Please do make duas for me.

I am leaving you with some pics from the past month or so.

May Allah accept our fasting and duas, amin.

Fi amanillah

wa alaykum assalam

When you live in a small place...

Assalamu alaykum,
So we moved, we are in our new little, tiny place hamdulillah.
We are happy and glad everything went almost ok.
The actual move was a very stressful one; it's not easy to move from a big house with a garden to a small flat on the 11th floor!!
Hamdulillah! It was necessary for us to move and we are here now and want to make our little place into a 'castle'.

All the summer I planned for the kids lots of free activities and courses! Guess what??? Things planned are never my thing! Hamdulillah as Allah is the Best of Planner! A. attended a free course about ICT at the beginning of the summer holidays then it all went out the windows.
The second week he started his literacy and numeracy course but he could only attend 2 days out of 5. The third week he supposed to be doing Science but we were moving.
And now we are all sick and the boys cannot attend the Islamic course I registered them to and I paid for it! Ya Allah!
On the bright side we are making good use of the little space we have and be minimalistic is the rule!
I like to live in such a small, modest place. It's quick and easy to clean. No clutter. I can gather all the family quickly. Answer the phone quicker as well as the door and don't need to worry to keep clean and tidy the garden! Hamdulillah! :)
We are also enjoying our so local park. We live literally in front of it! This particular park is massive, it has a big playground with a paddling pool for the kids and the park in itself is very well looked after! MashAllah!
The kids like there even before we moved in the area. MashAllah. I used to drive them down here but now...we are just next door to it!

On another note, I am pondering over the next schooling year. At present I am pressurized on putting the kids to school. I was told around here schools are at the top of the league. Then again, I love homeschooling and I cannot even think to put my kids in school.
Need your help and duas. I know it's my own decision in the end...well sort of! I still have to talk throu with the 'boss', but I need to focus again in homeschooling and I need you to remind me the benefits of homeschooling.
I think I feel I am failing with my kids and I am not doing a good job. I think I was brought to consider school because I am not English and I cannot teach my kids in English as I should...so much is in my head now. I am getting so worry and September is fast approaching.

I have got lots to think throu...
For now
Wa alaykum assalam
X

I am packing away...

...literally!
Assalamu alaykum
we are moving! Few more days and we will be in our new flat, insh'Allah.We are leaving behind a very big, spacious house with garden for a small flat on a block, hamdulillah! But we are happy :)
I haven't forgotten to update the blog, it's just I have been busy with all that there is to be done.
So, ladies keep your eyes peeled because I will be posting pics from my new flat on the 11th floor and I tell you the view up there is absolutely astonishing!!! Mash'Allah tabark'Allah.
See you soon,
wa alaykum assalam
x