Card Purses

Assalam alykom:

My grandmother sent my children some money a while back. She wanted them each to buy something that they really liked. I wanted them to send my grandmother a nice thankyou card. I found this purse card on the internet and my three girls made one each. Here are their creations. See what you think!

We used card stock paper to make the purse. The girls used markers, beads and glitter to decorate the purse. The handle was a gold string of beads that was already together. We just cut it to the size of handle that we wanted. Let me know how your purses come out!

The Color of Hunger

Assalm alykom:

I teach 6th and 7th grade Lanuage Arts at an Islamic school. I have created many writing prompts this year, and I thought I would post them on my blog. All of these prompts are mostly for Middle School aged students.

The Color of Hunger was a prompt that I did during the month of Ramadan. I told the students to think of hunger as if it were a color and not a feeling. If hunger were a color, what color would it be? I made them write me a paragraph describing what color they thought hunger would represent, and why did they pick that particular color.

Many of the responses from the students were black because they felt dark when they were hungry. Some of them said white because it made them feel empty. Try this out with your kids and see what they think. I think this writing prompt works best when the student is fasting. You might try it in Ramadan with your students.

Create Your Own Cereal

Assalm alykom:
My daughter is in 3rd grade. The teachers in the lower grades held "The Great Cereal Box Contest" All of the students did a great job creating their own cereal. This is what my daughter did. This makes a wonderful art project for homeschooling. It could be appropriate for a wide variety of ages too.

Mutual Mercy

Assalam alykom:

Imagining yourself standing before Allah and He says to you, "I was sick but you did not visit Me."

Is that possible? What would you say?

To find out, listen to this about mutual mercy.

Mutual Mercy

This Khutbah was taken from www.loveallah.net. I hope it is as uplifting to you as it was for me.

Matchbook Notebooks

Assalm alykom:

I found these on another blog awhile back. I just had to try them with my kids. Here is the directions for them. My kids put them in the goody bags for Eid that they made for their cousins. I made the book for them and they decorated them. It was soooo easy. Have fun making them!

My Projects with Sculpey Erasers

Assalm alykom:

My children got a small sculpy eraser kit as a gift. I really liked it. It works just like the sculpy polymer clay. You just make your shape and bake it. The end project is an eraser. Here is the website for sculpey and some project ideas for the clay. It was very easy that even my two year old could make one.

The pencil erasers we made by just forming the clay right on the pencil. We baked the clay right on the pencil. I hope you enjoy doing these as much as we did!

An Acronym for a Parent's Job

Acronyms are a lot of fun. You can pick a word and have your kids try one. Here is one that I did for a parent's job.

People whose job is to work hard raising their children.

Artist: for school projects continuously brought home.

Referee: for a game of soccer in the backyard

Entertainer: for a baby who is awake at two in the morning.

Negotiator: for two children fighting over a toy.

Teacher: for teaching life lessons.

Storyteller: for stories told just before bed.

A Catch-all for Toys

Assalam alykom:

I have three girls and one boy. The toys for my girls can get too much sometimes. I am always looking for ways to open more space up and keep toys off of the floor. This idea came to me from those cheapy toy nets you get at the dollar store.

Here is how I made mine: I took a really nice piece of flannel material. I tied the ends with rubber hair ties from my girls. I tucked the raw edges under the tie so that it looks finished. I place to nails in the wall and wrapped the hair ties around it to hang. I was really surprised how many toys I could fit in the material once I hung it up. Try it for yourself and see how many you will be able to fit.

Recycled Art

Assalm alykom

In school, my son had a science project that was to create a sculpture from recycling items. He decided that he wanted to make a car. Here is what we used:

4 Computer CD's from the mail

1 Juice bottle

Popcicle sticks

1 soda pop can and the tabs from the top

Cardboard pieces from a cereal box.

Kilz Primer

Acrylic paint

Silicone Glue

Glitter

Tissue paper

We primed all of the pieces with Kilz primer. Then, we painted each piece. Finally, we glued all the pieces together and added some detail with glitter. I always say that I love trash to treasure projects. This was a truly great craft in the trash to treasure catagory! I think I had as much fun doing this project as he did.

Another Song

Assalm alykom:

Here is another song that I sing to my kids. It is the remake of the original "If Your Happy and You Know It".

If your happy and you know it praise Allah

Subhannallah!

If your happy and you know it praise Allah

Subhannallah!

If your happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.

If your happy and you know it praise Allah

Subhannallah!

If your happy and you know it, say God is Great.

Allahoakbar!

If your happy and you know it, say God is Great.

Allahoakbar!

If your happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.

If your happy and you know it, say God is Great.

Allhaoakbar!

If your happy and you know it, thank Allah

Alhamdolilah!

If your happy and you know it, thank Allah

Alhamdolilah!

If your happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.

If your happy and you know it ,thank Allah

Alhamdolilah!

If your happy and you know it, do all three

Subhannallah, Allahoakbar, Alhamdolilah!

If your happy and you know it, do all three.

Subhannahallah, Allahoakbar, Alhamdolilah!

If your happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.

If your happy and you know it, do all three.

Subhannallah, Allahoakbar, Alhamdolilah!

Recycled Soap Dispenser

Assalm alykom:

Items needed:

1. 1. Empty clear pump bottle. I get a body wash from Wal-mart. The bottle is very big and clear. It just has a sticker, and I just remove it.

2. Assortment of things to decorate it. I use beads, cheap silk flowers, marbles ect.

3. Clear soap

Directions: When your bottle is empty, just fill it with an assortment of things. Then, you fill it with clear or tinted soap. I keep one in my bathroom and my kitchen. I put things in them that match with the colors in each of these rooms. This also makes a nice attractive gift for someone.

Classic Songs Islamic Style

Assalam alykom

My middle daughter who is four loves to sing songs. With growing up in America, I know many songs and rhymes that are part of my American culture. As an adult, these songs still remain imprinted in my memory, and I can recall them quickly. Eventhough, I have not heard most of these songs in over 30 years, I am still able to remember all the words. Many of these songs are quite catchy, and this could be one reason they remain with me. One of my favorites is Old Mcdonald Had A Farm. While singing this to my four year old daughter, I was inspired to change it around a little and make it more Islamic. This way in fits better with our life style as Muslims. Here is my version of this famous song:

Old Abdullah had a farm
Al hamdolilah, Al hamdolilah, Al hamdolilah,
And on that farm he had a sheep
Al hamdolilah, Al hamdolilah, Al hamdolilah
With a baaa here and a baaa there.
Here a baaa there a baaa everywhere a baa baa.
Old Abdullaha had a farm
Al hamdolilah, Al hamdolilah, Al hamdolilah

Old Abdullah had a farm
Subhannallah, Subhannallah, Subhannallah
And on that farm he had a duck
Subhannahallah, Subhannallah, Subhannallah
With a quack here and a quack there.
Here a quack there a quack everywhere a quack quack.
Old Abdullah had a farm
Subhannallah, Subhannallah, Subhannallah.

Old Abdullah had a farm
Allaho Akbar, Allaho Akbar, Allaho Akbar
And on that farm he had a cat.
Allaho Akbar, Allaho Akbar, Allaho Akbar.
With a meow here and a meow there.
Here a meow there a meow everywhere a meow meow.
Old Abdullah had a farm
Allaho Akbar, Allho Akbar, Allho Akbar

I hope you enjoy this song as much as my daughter and I have liked it. I have a few more, I have rewrote. I will save them for future posts, Inshallah.

The Story of My Cat

Assalm alykom:

I recently wrote a story about our family cat. I sent my story to www.islamonline to see if they were interested. I have never written anything before, therefore I was very surprised that they liked the story. They published it to the website in Ramadan. They did an excellent job putting the story together and illustrating it. The story is for children and was inspired by our family cat who is pictured here. Our cat had runaway from home. It is a true story about this misfortune. The only untrue part is the ending. Our real life story did not end as happily as the one I wrote. For the link below, go to the stories called The Power of Duaa': Yusseff's Wish and The Power of Duaa': Bootsie's Return. I hope you enjoy the story as much as my family liked it.

You will find the story here

A Name Change: Loving Allah and Raising My Kids

Assalm alykom:

I have recently had an opportunity to teach in an Islamic school. With this new career, I was also able to enroll my children in school for the first time. I am no longer considered an official homschooling mother. I am now a middle school Language Arts and History teacher. For the first time in their lives, my children are experiencing school.

The whole life style change has had many ups and downs. I think one of the positive things is the excitement that my children have to get up and go somewhere. There are many afterschool activities for them to involve themselves. Another positive note is the praise for the K12 cirriculum I was using. It is very advanced and has equipped my children above the normal level. My son was even able to skip a grade. One downside was the fact that my children never had to be responsible for organizing themselves. They had to learn to write down assignment in their planners. They had to learn to keep track of homework, they had to know when to bring what book for a test. It was hard for them at first, but now they are catching on to it all.
I hope to share my ideas that I have from my experience as a teacher. Keep checking back. I have many writing ideas to post in the future, Inshallah.

Bubble Painting

Assalm alykom:

Here is a quick and easy project for all ages. Be prepared to do it in a safe area because it is very messy. Here is how we did it:

Materials needed:

• Paper(I used colored construction paper and white paper)
• Dish soap
• Bowls
• Straws
• Food coloring or tempra paints

Directions: Put water and dish soap in a bowl. You then add either tempra paints or food coloring. If you have little ones, I would use food coloring because it is more safe. Then you put your straw in the mixture and blow bubbles. Make sure you are in an area that you do not want to spill the mixture. Also, make sure your children are wearing a smock. When they start blowing the bubbles, the colors splash everywhere. When the bubbles are filling up in the bowl, gently place your paper over them. It makes a nice print on the paper.

Here are some more:

My kids made them into cards and sent them to their pen pals.

Tip #3 Multiple Children

Assalm alykom:

Here is a great helpful tip for those of you who have multiple children. If your children are between one and two years apart in age, you can combine some of your subjects. As many of you know, I teach from the K12 virtual school . The K12 school recommended that I teach some of the subjects at the same grade. They also said I should take the higher grade on these subjects. I started this in first grade. The subjects I decided to combine were History and Art. I could have combined Science too. However, I did not feel that my daughter was ready for the higher grade in that subject. At the time, there was a great deal of material involving measuring in the metric system. I did not think my daughter could skip a grade in that. Now, we are doing third and fourth grade. Teaching the History and Art at the fourth grade level saves me a good deal of time. I would recommend any of these subjects to combine with your children. Math and Language Arts would not be advised unless one child is more advanced and could just skip a grade. I find that any amount of time saved in homeschooling is a real valuable treasure. I hope that I have helped you achieve some of this value in your school.

Arabic Tile Magnets

Assalam alykom:

Here is yet another tile project. Here is how I did it:







Materials needed:

• Small ceramic tiles
• Glass paints that are oven curable
• Paint brushes
• Hot glue gun or strong adhesive
• Small thick round magnet

Directions: Paint your Arabic letters or numbers on to the tile. Follow the directions on the manufactures label for the paint. The one that I use, has a curing time in the oven for around a 1/2 an hour. After the tiles cool, you add your magnet with a hot glue gun or your choice of adhesive.

Jesus God the Son or Son of God or Son of Mary

Assalm alykom:

The Da Vinci Code brought Jesus to the minds of hundreds of millions of people. Jesus is a very controversial figure. The controversy about him includes speculations ranging from being a liar bastard to being Almighty God. As people disagree about the reality of Jesus, they agree on the importance of finding the truth about him. In your quest to find the truth about Jesus, you may turn to historical writings, New testament writings or to the movie theater. But, have you thought about the Quran as a source to find the truth about Jesus? Do not be surprised, you can find the truth about Jesus in the Quran of Muhammad. In the Quran, Allah communicates to us pivotal truths about Jesus, his birth, mission, message, ascension, and return. Loveallah has just produced a small booklet listing everything that Allah said about Jesus in the Quran. This booklet is very instrumental to the dawah efforts. Friends, family members, co-workers and neighbors are great candidates to receive this powerful booklet. You can send your email to abunour@loveallah.net and request a free copy of the book.

This entry was taken from the introduction of the booklet "Jesus God the Son or Son of God or Son of Mary Read the Quranic Testimony." All credit should be given to the website www.loveallah.net for its effort and support to the dawah.

WOW! Look what a little paint can do!

Assalm alykom:

This was my last big project of the summer. It was the biggest project by far. We live in a house that is well over 30 years old. I have the kitchen cabinets to prove it. They were in really poor shape. They were packed with dirt that I had tried many things hoping to remove it. I looked into having the cabinets refaced. This is the existing cabinets with a laminate put on the outside. Well, the price tag for this was $7000. This was way above my price range. I then proceeded to check Home Depot and they told me the price would be 30-40% higher than the refacing. Well my next idea was painting them. My husband told me no last year, and that it was to much work. He said the cabinets just needed replacing. This year, I decided to present him with more information to make it more convincing. I searched the internet for all the different ways to go about repainting them, and changing the hardware. I researched all the different kinds of paints, cleaners and hardware for the cabinets. I went to home depot and priced everything and then I presented my case. This year, that approach seemed to work, and he said yes. Here are some before and after pictures of how it all turned out:

The paint that I used is called Kilz Colors It was a real thick durable paint. We did not have to paint so many coats and we did not have to paint a primer before we painted them. Here are some more before and after shots.



The tiled counters were also in bad shape. I took a small grout saw and cut all the grout out . Then, I just regrouted the counter and the wall. I found a product that was called a grout sealer. This is suppose to prevent it from staining when food spills happen. I am still skeptical if it really works. Here is a before and after of this job.

This part of the counter was completely missing all of the tile. I did a little mosaic work on this part. This way I could fit the tiles without having to cut them. Here is the before and after on this.
I have a bar that divides the kitchen from the living room. The wood had started to peel off in sheets. Therefore, I could not paint it because the surface would not be even. I researched it at Home Depot and came up with a few options. One was a laminate that could be glued on to the bar. This was a little pricey and looked complicated. My husband thought we could use vinyl tiles that we use on the floor. So that is what we did. We also painted some molding the same color as the cabinets and placed it along the bottom and the sides. See what you think about the before and after on this one?
After the very expensive estimates I had got for new cabinets, how much do you think this little remodeling job cost me? Well it cost 2 weeks of my time, a little sweat and around $200. I am very pleased with the results and the price! Therefore, if you decide to replace your cabinets, try a little paint for a fraction of the price.