My Ramadan Planner!
Ramadan is fast approaching and I ask Allah to let us all live to see it through in His obedience and to allow us benefit. Aameen.
Many of us are preparing ourselves physically, spiritually and mentally for this blessed month of Ramadan.
As homeschoolers we have the opportunity to put some of the other subjects on hold in order to focus on this blessed month. My plan is to focus our homeschool learning about Ramadan, Quran, manners and how to better ourselves to get the most out of this blessed month. Therefore, we will be putting some of the other subjects on hold! In shaa Allah.
I will share with you all some of the activities I planned for my children for this Ramadan. I hope it brings benefit to you and your family. In shaa Allah.
1 - Teach Me About Ramadan
I made this this book last year Ramadan for my children and the rest of the Ummah's children to teach them about what Ramadan is about. It is based on the famous book by our noble Shaykh Salih al-Uthaymeen Rahimullah 'Majaalis Ramadan' 'Sittings in Ramadan'.
I will be using this book as my main Ramadan guide for my children this year again in the hope that they will have some more understanding about this beautiful blessed month.
Please feel free to download Teach Me About Ramadan
2 - Ramadan crafts
My children are at that stage where they enjoy art and craft more than anything else! Ramadan craft would be smart way to get them excited about this blessed month in shaa Allah. Some of the crafts we will be making this year are;
PRE-RAMADAN
Lanterns - Making lanterns will be fun way to welcome Ramadan. Click HERE to see the lanterns we chose to make.
WEEK 1
Phases of The Moon - Learning about the phases of the moon allows children understand how the Islamic months work and how we begin our fasting. I will be using these two websites for the phases of the moon;
Binoculars - Sighting the moon will be an exciting way to get kids involved in the moon sighting with their very own pretend binoculars. You can use these binoculars twice – once to spot the crescent moon for Ramadan and then again at the end of Ramadan to spot the crescent moon of Eid Al-Fitr.
The 5 Pillars - Learning about the 5 pillars of Islam will help them acknowledge the importance of this month.
Click HERE to see the craft we chose to make for our 5 pillars.
WEEK 2
Islamic Felt Book Marks - They could use these bookmarks for their Ramadan books and the Mushaf so it will come in handy! In shaa Allah.
Click HERE to see the felt book marks we chose to make
WEEK 3
Dua hands - At the end of the second week my children will learn and memorise the most important dua we should all utter in the last 10 nights specially.
Aisha reported: I asked: “O Messenger of Allah! If I realize Lailat-ul-Qadr (Night of Decree), what should I supplicate in it?” He replied, “You should supplicate:
Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun, tuhibbul-‘afwa, fa’fu ‘anni
(O Allah, You are The One who Pardons Greatly, and You love to Pardon; so Pardon me).” [At-Tirmidhi].
To make this Dua hands fold the paper in half and trace your child’s hand on the folded side. Cut it out. In the middle write the dua اَللَّهُمَّ اِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ ، تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي
WEEK 4
Eid cards - The last week of Ramadan for art and craft we will make Eid cards and wrap gifts for friends and family. In shaa Allah.
3 - Ramadan Books
Ramadan is the perfect time to read more beneficial books with your children. So why not gather together the books you plan to read this Ramadan into one lovely basket. Make sure you pick books your children will most likely enjoy. Our Ramadan books for this month;
4 - Ramadan Good Deeds Jar
During this month we should all increase in doing acts of worship and righteous deeds, and giving up bad deeds. In shaa Allah. So why not get your children decorate their good deeds jar and fill in the jar with their good deeds notes.
Click HERE to see the good deeds notes we chose to make.
5 - Helping to make Iftar.
Allowing children to be more involved with simple tasks like to prepare dates or make smoothies can be great fun even for very small children. Remind them of the rewards for feeding a person breaking their fast, so they feel proud of what they are doing.
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whoever gives iftaar to one who is fasting will have a reward like his, without that detracting from the reward of the fasting person in the slightest.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 807; Ibn Maajah, 1746. Classed as saheeh by Ibn Hibaan, 8/216 and by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami, 6415.
My girls loooveeee baking so we will bake healthy crescent moon cookies some time within the month. In shaa Allah.
You can purchase simple cookie cutters from Amazon - Wilton Six-Piece Metal Basic Cookie Cutter Set
6 - Sadaqah (Charity) Jar
As Ramadan is approaching it is vital to learn about the importance of giving sadaqah.
“Giving sadaqah can erase sins just like water ceases fire.”
(Narrated by Tirmidhi, classed sahih by Al Albani in Shahih At Tirmidzi, in hadith no. 614)
Make sadaqah jar with your children and make it more exciting by allowing your children help you decorate it! encourage them to put some money in everyday in this blessed month! At end of the month they could donate to poor children. How cute and rewarding . . . Maa shaa Allah!
Click HERE to see the sadaqah jar we chose to make
7 - Increase Quran Time
Ramadan is the month the Qur'aan was revealed hence the Qur'aan has even more of an important significance in this month.
The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong)
[Quran al-Baqarah 2:185]
I plan to spend little extra time on the Quran with my children on this blessed month by listening to the Qur’an, speaking about the meaning without going overboard, just enough to capture their attention and interest. I also plan to share stories from the Quran, this will help them visualise the Qur’an a bit more and increase their understanding. Bi ithnillah.
Be sure to take it easy on your children and don’t try to force them to do too much at once. Don’t make the Qur’an a chore. Be consistent, but few minutes at a time is all you need to grab their attention.
Verbally encourage your children whenever they listen/recite the Qur’an. Let them know how good you think they are doing, and how proud you are of them.
8 - The Good Manners Box
These are brilliantly illustrated educating Islamic manners cards. Learning manners each day will leave a positive impression on children's social behaviour in this blessed month. In shaa Allah.
“Indeed, Allah the Exalted is the Giver, He love generosity and noble manners, He detest bad manners.”
(Narrated by Al Baihaqi, classed sahih by Al Albani in ‘Shahihul Jami’, 1744)
9 - Ramadan Discussions
A good way to learn about this blessed month is to discuss with your children what this month is about. Ask yourself few questions. What is it about this month that makes it soooooo special? What words would you use to describe this blessed month? Try to open up discussions with your children about some of the regular topics associated with Ramadan such as; fasting, reading the Qur’an, making dua’a, prayer, sadaqah (charity), seeking the night of Qadr in the last 10 nights and so on. I plan to have a Ramadan discussion board where we can stick our discussion notes on (using sticker notes). In shaa Allah.
10 - Play-Doh Fun!
Every child loves playdoh! So why not entertain them with some play-doh fun whilst you do ibadah yourself. I will be using this play-doh set from Amazon along with play-doh tools;
11 - Ramadan Ahadith
We will read these 30 ahadith within this month. These are simple little cards; one for each day of the month. Each card shares a hadith relating to Ramadan that can be read as a family. In shaa Allah.
These cards are created by A Muslim Homeschool! May Allah reward her - 30 days of Ramadan ahadith
Ramadan Basket
To make everything organised and exciting you could put everything in a pretty basket and surprise them with it on the first day of Ramadan.
In conclusion we're aware that younger children may not be able to physically fast during Ramadan, but they can still do so much to feel the beauty that comes with this month and learn about it’s importance. The main key here is to plan and prepare ideas, crafts, activities as well as the needed supplies to create lasting memories this Ramadan.
P.s. Remember that getting younger children involved in Ramadan needs to be FUN and engaging for them. This will allow you to help build a strong foundation from an early age. Bi ithnillah.
Anything good I've shared is from Allah and all praise is due to Him Alone, and any errors made, are from myself.
Have A Blessed Ramadan!