Snow

Assalamo aleykum,
a couple of weeks ago we had quite a lot of snow here in Leicester.
Now, it must be said that the mere prospect of snow transform me from a 30-something year old that should be worrying about the disruption and inconveniences that "bad" weather might cause, to a young child, excited enough to keep giggling and clapping her hands to herself. And no, I don't care who sees.

Yusef and I were doing du3a' for snow because we were studying the seasons and everywhere winter is characterised by snow, and we really wanted to see that happen... in His great mercy, Allah granted us what we wanted. [This was a golden occasion to explain to him about Allah sending the rain/snow exactly where He wants, and giving this job to a particular angel...]

Here's Yusef's first, and quite distinctly Muslim, snowman (and also Abu Yusef's first = man of the desert, masha'Allah):

^^This was only the very first snow. We had much more alhamdulillah. So I looked for some snow themed crafts easy enough for a 4 year old. This is what I decided to try:

These really simple but fun lolly sticks and buttons snowflakes from Handmade Beginnings (here's our attempt):

 

 

Then we had a go at these Pipe cleaner snowflakes (by Martha Stewart). I must admit this were completely lost on Yusef, who only wanted to collect the pipe cleaners in his hand, feel them and comment on their colours and he only accepted to help me here and there. Fair enough.

 

That evening I sat on the living room on a carpet of colourful pipe cleaners - that my boys were picking up and collecting in bunches as though they were flowers - making snowflakes. Good times alhamdulillah.

 

Family tree (you HAVE to make this)

Assalamo aleykum,

 

today I was talking with a friend of mine about keeping good relations with our non-Muslim families, a very popular topic of conversation among us Muslim "converts". As both me and my friend home educate, I suggested her this activity that I, in turn, came across thanks to a sister on Facebook (sometimes it can have a use!). Here it is: The Family Tree.

 

You simply HAVE TO make it for 4 reasons:

 

1) It is very easy, as it comes with its own templates that you can download here. If you don't have foam, then use card on a cardboard base, as I did (actually the base was the 2 large sides of a cereal box stuck together).

 

2) It is very interactive: my son couldn't get enough sticking leaves! we made extra ones and he asked me to cut out so many we also made another tree just for him to stick leaves on it to his heart's content. He also loved helping to cut the grass (this was quite a while ago so his scissors skills were not what they are today masha'Allah).

 

3) It can be a lovely present for your child's grandparents, as it sends out a message that is usually very close to their heart, i.e. that they are also part of that child that they love so much, despite the differences. It conveys the feeling that we do not outright reject their legacy, on the contrary we treasure what of it does not oppose our beliefs and care to transmit it to our children. (It is a little craft that says a lot indeed!!!)

 

4) It is rather beautiful ma sha' Allah. Here's ours. We used only coloured card and a nice matching  ribbon as a frame.

 

 Here it is hanging on the wall in grandma's house :)

Easy felt flowers

Yusef and I made these for his grandmother, I had found some nice ideas online on how to make felt flowers, but this is a much more basic technique, that a young child will have no problem with in sha' Allah.

We started off with colorful flat buttons and my awesome bag of felt scraps that I bought off ebay (the listing is still here it is a cheap way to get a lot of different colours!)

 

I cut the felt in strips about 10 cm (3in) long and as thick as a finger to be the petals. You need 3 strips for each flower. Have the child put a drop of glue in the middle of one of the strips, and teach him how to glue a second one on it to make the shape of an "X"

 

 

Then have him glue the third to make the shape of a star:

 

At this point, if you want, you can cut out (or have your child do it if he can) either a circle or a small flower shape on a contrasting colour, and glue it in the center of the flower. It's not essential but adds colour and detail.

 

And finally choose a button for the middle (and trim the petals if needed)

 

 

Leave the glue to dry and...TA DA!!!!

 

 

 

We glued our flower on a piece of cardboard cut in the shape of a heart (remember to make holes for it to be hung before you start sticking). As added decoration, we inserted pieces of ribbon between the flowers and the base.

 

Yusef really enjoyed himself and grandma was well impressed :)