Wow, its been a month... time flies when you're having fun!!!
This month we jumped right into... everything!!! New songs, new themes, and new routines, all with our lovely new and returning students. They brighten up my day, and give me a wonderful reason to get up on tuesdays and thursdays!
On the first day of school we talked about circles. The observed Mr. Robot spinnning round and round to make circles on the floor, this really got them curious, and gave me a chance to start a conversation with them. We also had a few centers at the tables, testing things that roll, and playdough,. All in all, i hope i got a chance to touch base with all the parents, i had a lovely time meeting all your wonderful children!
In the weeks that followed we took it kinda easy, giving a chance to get settled into routine. They all very quickly fell in love with our "Shake your body down" song by Laurie Berkner. She is my favorite kids singer, and almost ALL the songs i use are from her. (you can look them up on youtube!) They also love all the flannel board stories and enjoy books in general. In circle we usually try to give some time to hear what the kids have to share (which would take the whole day if i let them ;) ), but i try to listen as much as i can. If i don't get to them in circle time, i try to sit with them during snack time so they can tell me their stories!
Activities:
Activities have included our circle of friends picture, which was a reminder of how we should act towards everyone in class, our family pictures, in which they cut out their own hearts (i try to give them as much cutting practice as possible!), Handprints collage (which was a group effort, i will use for our yearbook ia), animal habitats activity which took us into our pet theme. The kids all decided they wanted a pet fish. We will be getting our "mechanical" fish to take home starting next week ia. i just want to make a chart first so kids know when its their turn and be aware of the pet rules. We also had a visit from some very cute bunnies, tortoise, and donkey friends from "Once Upon a Pony". We practiced using our gentle hands, and quiet voices around animals. Lastly we learned about our home, and most importantly the bait Allah, the Kaba. The kids just adore the flannel board story of Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Ismaeel. They all listen so intently, wide eyed, mashaAllah, they are at such a beautiful age, where stories are so real for them!
Arabic:
In Arabic we learned the letter Alif for ab (father) and um (mother), they also learned the letter Baa for bayt (house). We have split the groups into two according to their skill level/age level. One group is learning from Surah Asr onwards, and the other group is learning from Fatiha, and Nas onwards. This way we get to do activities geared to the specific needs of the smaller groups. We have ordered the Arabic for Beginners books, and will be sending them home as soon as we get them. Please remember that this is supplemental material to do at home at the parents discretion. Many kids in our class are interested in writing their names and are encouraged to practice writing the letters as we go over them in class. If your child is not ready to sit down and write, please DO NOT FORCE THEM. We have a multi age group in the class, and do not want children to be pushed to write. Rather you are receiving this book so that you can plug it in, as you feel your children grow and show interest in it. Thank you for your cooperation on this matter! Please feel free to review surahs with your children at home, they are encouraged to listen as often as possible!
Volunteering Responsibilities:
By now i have contacted many of you regarding your parent participation job this year. As you are needed i am sending out emails to let you know details of your position. Please be patient as each of these are long emails, and i get very little emailing time. If i haven't already, I promise to email you soon as i get a chance!
As for in class duties, I wanted to thank all the parents who have come in so far. It will be hard the first time to find the flow, but ia, as you go through your first rounds, you will get an idea of how things work and where things are. Just as a friendly reminder:
*please try to clean up tables before and after snack, and activities
*snack plates need to be rinsed and dried and put back in orange bins (ia the children's plates will come in the mail soon!)
*please try to sit with the children during snack time
*join in on group time if you are not busy prepping or cleaning
*the more we clean up together, the less i have to stay longer to put things back, if you can help rinse out art supplies, trays, sweep, or anything, this will help me get out of there faster. (i teach another class and need to leave promptly at 1pm)
JazakAllah khair for all your hardwork and efforts! The classroom cannot function without your help!
Anything else?
Yes, a parent brought up the question about why we go to the pumpkin patch, and i thought the answer would be beneficial to all parents. During this season our children see an abundant amount of pumpkins everywhere. We like to take advantage of the fact that one of the Prophet (S) favorite foods, can be learned about so easily. I like to make things clear for the kids, right is right and wrong is wrong. Drawing and coloring on food is WRONG. We don't do that for any other food before we eat it, so we shouldn't for pumpkins either. Wasting food, (like leaving pumpkins out to rot on purpose), or throwing them etc. is WRONG. This is not what our Prophet (S) would have encouraged, especially as many people do not even have food to eat! I want the children to love this season for all the RIGHT reasons! Pumpkins are healthy, their seeds are healthy! They can be cooked in a variety of ways and are versatile food! This season brings us harvest, learning how seeds grow, we can appreciate the hard work put in by the farmers, and the joy of having yields of fruit for the winter. A blessing from Allah! Aaisha (Sabreen's Mom) is our class field trip coordinator. She has already talked to them about how we do not celebrate Halloween, and the guide will be talking about how the pumpkins grow from seed to fruit, and how they harvest them. We will be taking pumpkins home to do experiments with, like guessing how many seeds inside, feeling the mush and hallowing it out, finding similarities and differences between seeds, and the relationship of size of seed to fruit grown. We will also be making pumpkin soup! A wonderful treat as the weather becomes more and more chilly!
In general, i want our children to be exposed to whats happening around them so they can start to think critically in order to make good conscious decisions for themselves, InshaAllah! Ia they will get a chance to practice in taking the good from our communites, and leaving the bad!
That's all folks!
If i forgot anything, I'll add to the weekly newsletters!
If you got this far reading this... you're awesome!
Until next time...
Z
