Arabic Alphabet: Letter Jeem 05

As salaamu alaykum 

This blog has been neglected but not forgotten ! 

Our countdown to Ramadaan brought us closer to winter, and with it came the annual bout of flu that accompanies the cold weather. Alhamdulillah, we were all fully recovered in time to make the most of the blessed month, but time passed by too quickly.  Ramadaan came and went without me posting a single entry, and I had planned to share some Ramadaan activities for you and your children to enjoy.  This year we made Ramadaan Lapbooks, a simplified version of one which we had made in the past with older children. I'll post the links and more detailed pictures at a later stage... hopefully in time for next Ramadaan inshallah :). 

This is just a quick post to get me going again, so I'll talk about lapbooks and how great they are another time.  In the mean time, please pop over to Islamic Lapbooking to see some fantastic examples of lapbooks. 

For now, I'll continue with the Arabic Alphabet series. 

'ج is for جبن' (Jeem is for Jubn, cheese)
For this you'll need:

• Worksheet 'ج is for جبن'.  You can download the intial, medial and final stage letter ج here
• Pipe cleaners - preferable yellow or orange (cheese colours!)
• Glue
• Pencil crayons etc for colouring in

This is a very simple activity.  Allow your child to bend the pipe cleaner so that it forms the letter 'ج', and then let them paste it within the outline of the letter 'ج' on the worksheet.  Cut a small piece of the pipe cleaner for them stick in the middle as the 'dot'.
Let your child trace the pipe cleaner with their fingers and repeat the letter 'ج', or 'ج is for جبن' whilst doing so.  
They can then colour in the picture of cheese printed on the side of the worksheet if they wish to do so, or let them paste images of cheese if you have any, perhaps from grocery stores' advertisements.


Another activity which you may wish to do with your child, especially if they enjoy eating cheese, is to cut some cheese into small blocks and let them arrange it into the shape of the letter 'jeem'. I thought of that too late, but I'm sure my kids would love that activity.

Do you have any other suggestions for activities with the letter 'ج'? I'd love to hear them! 

Until next time (inshallah a much shorter 'next time'!)

Fi Amaanillah

Arabic Alphabet Letter Taa 03 and Thaa 04

As Salaamu Alaykum


That special time of the year is fast approaching... Ramadan is around the corner. Have you begun sharing the greatness of this month with your children yet? Are you building their excitement and gearing them up for the holy month? Share the secrets to your Ramadaan preparation here!

 
Inshallah, I hope to be posting a few activities for our little ones to help them understand what Ramadaan is all about. They'll be aimed at kids who are too young to fast though, so I haven't made a  chart by which they can track how many days they have fasted, or anything similar. If you have slightly older children, and are looking for fasting tracker, then I suggest popping over to the Mini Mumin website. They have a whole Ramadan Kit available for free download!


In the mean time, here is another letter, Taa. The children enjoyed this activity. Unfortunately, some of the glitter had fallen off so my photos don't do justice.

Taa is for Taaj,( تاج) a crown.  For this activity, you'll need the worksheet, glue, glitter, sequins or anything sparkly that you have. You can download the initial, medial and final stages of letter Taa over here. 


Children are to decorate the letter 'ت'  on the worksheet as a crown. 

Allow your child to apply glue within the outline of the letter 'ت' starting from the right hand side. 
 
Then let your child pour glitter onto the base of the 'taa' and different sequins inside the 'dots' of the taa.



Your child may then colour in the crown or 'taaj' picture on the worksheet.
Draw similarities between the base of the crown and the jewels above it, to the curve of the 'taa' and the 'dots' above. The dots are the 'jewels'


Another activity which you can do with your child are making paper crowns. Children can make 'taa' crowns. Cut out a strip of paper and paste or staple the ends together so that the diameter fits the child's head, and decorate with the letter 'taa'


The activity for ث (thaa) is fairly simple so I thought I'd include here too. 

ث is for ثوب (Thaa is for Thawb), cloth.  


For this activity you'll need the worksheet, glue, and bits of fabric, cut into small pieces.
You can download the initial, medial and final stages of letter Thaa here. 
Like with the 'taa' activity, children are to apply glue within the outline of the letter ث printed on the worksheet, and then paste the bits of fabric, saying ث is for ثوب.  We found that regular glue stick, like Pritt or Bostik, worked well, alhamdulillah, and special fabric glue or a stronger glue was not necessary. 


Younger children may have difficulty pronouncing this letter. One way to help them with their pronounciation is by showing them with a hand held mirror how the letter is pronounced so they can see the position of the tongue and teeth. The tip of the tongue should be under the top front two teeth.  Please note, however, that certain letters a child may only be able to pronounce when they are a bit older, 3 or 4 years.


I hope your little ones enjoy these activities. We welcome all feedback!


fi Amaanillah

Arabic Alphabet Multi Sensory Learning Letter Baa 02

As Salaamu Alaykum


Apologies for the long wait between posts. Time alone with my laptop is a rare occasion these days, with small one no longer having an afternoon nap.


In case you haven't noticed,  I figured out to how to add a 'Follow by Email' button to my blog! So if you'd like to know when new posts are added, please enter your email address below.  I feel as though I'm fumbling in the dark at times with this blog, so please have patience with me if you notice something strange going on ... like posts being removed and then added on later... :)

This is the activity we did for the letter ب (baa) ب is for بطيخ  Baa is for Bitteekh, which  means watermelon

For this you'll just need the  worksheet (including the sheet with watermelon slices to colour in. Its part of the same file), glue, scissors, and some pencil crayons or whatever your child prefers to use to colour in.  You can download the file for intial, medial and final letters here.

Cut out the watermelon slices before hand. Because the images are rather small so as to fit inside the letter 'baa', I suggest you cut them rather than your child.

Children are to paste each little watermelon ('Bitteekh') into the 'baa', and as they stick each watermelon, they should say 'baa' (or 'baa' is for 'bitteekh'). Emphasise the 'baa' sound rather than the word 'bitteekh' itself.

You could perhaps draw similarities between the curve of the watermelon and the curve of the 'baa', and then all enjoy eating a slice of watermelon afterwards (if season permits!).


Although the children seemed to enjoy the pasting, not all children like colouring in, but it was all I could think of for that letter at the time.  However, sometime after we had done this activity, I came across this on Pinterest from No Time for Flashcards and I think it could easily be adapted for the letter 'baa'
 

You could simply cut out green paper in the shape of a baa, and then with pink coloured paper, cut out the same shape but slightly narrower.  Let your child paste the pink on top of the green, and using a black felt tip draw little black seeds.  Don't forget the 'dot' underneath the baa.

Which activity did you try? I'd love to know how it went! Inshallah I'll try to get the next letter up without too many days going by.




If you've done any activities, please don't forget to send me some pictures.  And if you have any ideas you'd like to share for multi sensory learning activities, especially in relation to the Arabic Alphabet, please email on prayplaylearn786@gmail.com. 


fi Amaanillah

Arabic Alphabet Multi Sensory Learning Aleef 01

As Salaamu Alaykum

Finally, the first worksheet!  But before that, some things to keep in mind when you're teaching the alphabet:

Keep it short!

Children tire quickly so watch for signs of their attention drifting. Make sure you vary the supporting activities (mentioned in the post Arabic Alphabet: Multi Sensory Learning) to avoid boredom setting in.

Make children aware of intial, medial and final forms of letters from the very beginning.

This has a made a huge difference in teaching the alphabet.  It will be easier for a child to understand the different forms of letters if they are aware of them from the start.  They do not have memorise them all at first, but by showing them that, for example, that all these letters ببب are the same letter, then later when you plan on teaching them those letters, they are able to recognise the different forms much easier than if they had no knowledge at all of their existence.

If you are teaching two children, and perhaps one is already able to recognise the alphabet but not the different forms, then it would be a good idea to teach the two children together, so that the one who has no knowledge of the alphabet yet can see the initial, medial and final forms of alphabet and is most likely to pick it up at the same time as learning the 'big' letters.

Please keep this in mind.  I can't emphasize how much easier it has been teaching this year following this method. 

Multi Sensory Learning Activity: Aleef

For this activity you'll need

Worksheet 'ا is for ابهام ' (Aleef is for Ibhaam)
(You can download the worksheet here and the one for medial and final stage aleef here)

Inkpad

Crayons

Each letter will have an Arabic word with which it begins. For  ا  (aleef) , it is 

 ابهام (ibhaam), which means 'thumb'.  The point of the lesson is not to learn the Arabic word, though that will, of course, be an added bonus, but to help children hear the pronunciation of the letter, and to give them something by which they can associate and picture the letter, helping their memorisation.

Use the inkpad to let the child make thumb prints inside the letter 'aleef' on the worksheet.

With each thumb print, let the child say 'ا is for ابهام '


 They can then colour in the image on the side of the page if they wish. 

All activities are designed to take just a few minutes, so it's suitable for  younger children too who can't concentrate for very long. Please remember to repeat the same letter using other multi sensory techniques. 

I hope your child enjoys this activity! Please let me know how it went and if you have any suggestions to improve this. 


Letter 'Baa' coming soon inshallah.  fi Amaanillah!

Arabic Alphabet Strip

A cheery classroom is infinitely more appealing than four bare walls, so brighten it up!

I saw Arabic alphabet wall strips on Islamic Bulletin Boards and I thought they were an excellent idea. However, I wanted one with both the Arabic and the English, and no animate objects. The one available on Islamic Bulletin Boards had pictures of animals but the facial features had been erased. It only has the Arabic words though without harakah (fatha, dhamma kasra), but it includes transliteration.

The children enjoy looking up to see which letters they have done and how many are still left to do, and it also teaches them a few Arabic words.

It's a lovely visual aid and I'd like to share our Arabic Alphabet Strip with you.  You can display it as a strip all around the classroom or use it as a poster - whatever your wall space allows! I've tried both ways and feel a poster is in fact easier for children to see so they aren't constantly craning their necks.

Please excuse the poor quality of the pictures. I'm not much of a photographer, nor, it seems, a photo editor.

Just a small note: much time and effort has gone into producing all these files. Please do not edit or change them in any way without our express permission. These files are not for resale. They maybe used in schools, madressahs, at home, but in no way may you take credit for them.


What do you do to make your workspace appealing to kids? Share your ideas here! All pictures welcome!


Until next time, fi amaanillah.

Multi Sensory Learning

This post is the first of a series on the Arabic alphabet, so whilst multi sensory learning can and should be used in teaching all different things, the examples in this post will focus on how it can be used to teach the Arabic alphabet. 

Our quest to teach the Arabic alphabet and basic principles of deen in a way that stimulates young minds begins here, with multi sensory learning.

The name pretty much says it all: learning that involves different senses. The more senses that you engage, the greater the chance of a child retaining the information.

You're probably familiar with the different types of learners, but if you aren't, or need to refresh your memory, there's three types: auditory, visual and kinestetic learners. 

We were taught the alphabet using a kitab and sometimes flashcards too. But teaching with flashcards and a kitab only uses two senses; sight and hearing.  Multi sensory learning, on the other hand, caters for all different types of learners.  

 

So how can we use multi sensory learning to teach the Arabic alphabet?

For each letter, I have produced a worksheet and an activity, which I will post and make available for download soon inshallah. But doing the worksheet with the activity alone is not enough. To make each letter unforgettable, here some things to try:

Flashcards 

This really appeals to visual learners and is an easy starting point. Print out alphabet flashcards on coloured card, and laminate to make Print each letter on a4 or a5 so that they are large enough to use as a templates for play dough alphabet shapes (see below)

Flashcards can be used in the traditional manner which appeals to visual learners. But you can add a bit of excitement to your lesson by giving each child a flashcard to hold and saying a letter out loud. The child who is holding the letter can run to a certain spot, or jump, sit, stand.. Whatever catches your fancy really, as long as there is some movement. 

You can download a4 size Arabic Alphabet Flashcards here (individual letters only), and you can also download a set of Arabic alphabet flashcards in their intial, medial and final forms over here.

Play dough 

Most children love play dough so have them make the letter out of play dough. An easier way would be to make the alphabet shape on top of a laminated alphabet card. 

I suggest using the home made or non toxic variety, especially for those children who enjoy involving the sense of taste in their learning :)

Sandpaper Letters

This is the Montessori approach. Cut out the Arabic alphabet in sandpaper, and let your child trace the letter with their fingers. Sandpaper can be a difficult to cut, so an easier way of doing this would be to simply put glue on an alphabet template, pour sand over that, and then allow your child to trace with their fingers. Another option would be to fill a shallow tray with sand and let them trace letters in the sand tray.


Goo/Slime Writing
Put colourful and squishy 'goo' in a ziplock bag and tape down onto the desk. Children use their finger to write the letter. Make 'goo' using flour, water and food colouring, or use hair gel. 


Memory Cards
This a good game to play once you've done a few letters.  Write two sets of each letter and place them upside down.  Children take turns trying to find a matching set.
Or you could play it as a game of 'snap!'.

I'll stop here before this post becomes too long! There's a whole host of ideas out there, these aren't even the tip of the iceberg! If you're looking for more ideas, then check pinterest. Speaking of which.. don't forget to follow PrayPlayLearn. 

I'll be posting more on multi sensory learning activities, but this time in relation to a specific letter. However, keep referring to ideas in this post because repition is key. 

Introducing... Pray, Play, Learn

As Salaamu Alaykum


Long, long ago, when I was a little girl, I used to go to preschool.  I loved preschool. It was so much fun; the painting, the playing the different activities... I looked forward to it everyday.  Then I started madressah, and whilst I enjoyed it and learnt a lot, it failed to excite and engage as preschool did.


I'm sure things have changed then - and if not, here's your chance to do so ;) - but in South Africa, one thing that has stayed more or less the same, is the long hours.  For a small child, two hours of madressah is a long time to endure, even if they are eager to learn.


This blog, inshallah, is aimed at parents, caregivers, teachers of young children, particularly ages 3 - 6 years, to support one another in teaching our beautiful deen and Arabic alphabet, in a way that will capture and hold a child's attention, leaving a greater impact on impressionable young minds. I hope this will be a help for those parents who want their children to learn but feel that they are too young to attend a madressah, and for those teachers who want to add a bit of creativity to their classroom.


So join on our journey as we pray, play and learn together.  Spill your innovative ideas as you travel with us on our quest of wild exploration, creating a concrete yet vibrant springboard and a solid foundation for our little Muslims.


May Almighty Allah accept our humble efforts. Ameen.