Our DIY Project Based Learing Room

As I have mentioned in previous posts I have been completely changing the way I see homeschooling. We recently had some family visiting for a while so I took the opportunity to take a nice long break from our normal schedule of lessons and activities to let the kids just enjoy the time with their cousin. During this time I was able to take a step back and think about the different things I hoped to accomplish in the New Year.

The Project Based Learning Room was a very important goal I had that I wanted to complete by the end of January. And so here it is in all its glory. For one thing I knew I did not want to spend any money on it. I wanted to make use of what I already had at home to make it cost efficient and easy to complete. As per the location there were two rooms I had in mind. The first is the room on the first floor being used as an office, and the second was the kids playroom in the second floor that was completely unused. The office is a darker space but has access to the main living area. Their playroom as you can see has lots of natural light, has built in closets and was virtually empty. It also has access to their bathroom just outside the room. Although it is upstairs and away from the main living area I opted to use this room. My husband removed the 3 long wooden doors off the closets so that the storage would be open and easily accessible to the kids and I used the long doors as tables to create an L-Shape working surface. I have 4 small folding tables holding the closet doors in place.

An unused leather storage bench provided ample seating, and old recycled empty class jars, containers and tins are used to hold markers, colored pencils, crayons, glue, scissors, beads, tape and other arts and craft items. In the closet I hung an unused shoe holder and placed some wicker baskets and an old table to create some organization within the space. I also placed a wicker basket full of some art, craft and science books that could provide some inspiration, information or motivation to begin various projects  In the closet holds all types of paper, coloring, sticker and workbooks, various paints, and knitting and sewing items, along with their loomband case.   

On the wall to the right of the closet I stuck a piece of sticky chalkboard paper. And have some additional shelving and toy bin which eventually I would like to find another home for as it doesn't really belong in this room now. In the end I spent zero dollars on this project and created a great space for the kids to work in. The best part is that this room does not always need to be clean. Things can stay out and the room can get messy and will be out of sight. That being said any space can be a great project space as long as you make it open and accessible to your kids.

How Children Fail

I just finished the book How Children Fail by John Holt and I cant begin to describe the vast amount of wisdom that is held within its 176 pages. Holt wrote this book based on the observations he made of students in a journal in how they were learning or failing to learn. He believes that school is a prison in which children are coerced to learn things that is unimportant to them and does not make sense to them. Therefore they do not retain any of the information they are given. As a teacher he believes that the education system thrives on a system of right answers and that right answers are the only ones that matter. Teachers give tests, and give reviews to tests telling children exactly what they should know on the test so that when test time comes children will only appear to have learned what they were taught.

What I would like to do here is to share some of his quotes that I felt were really meaningful and made me think very deeply about what it means to educate children.

"Our learning is not real, not complete, not accurate, above all not useful, unless we take these word strings and somehow convert them in our minds into a likeness of the world, a working mental model of the universe as we know it. Only when we have such a model, and when there is at least a rough correspondence between that model and reality, can it be said of us that we have learned something."

I have seen with own eyes, as a teacher in the classroom and as a parent,  how disconnected learning can be from the real world. Like when I am trying to teach Ameera a math concept such as multiplication but I don't provide an example in a real world setting it goes completely unabsorbed. Had we come to a situation in which the concept arose naturally she would then, out of curiousty ask me about it and then we would learn it together to get the answer, thereby really learing and absorbing the material.

"Children--get into the habit of waiting for teachers to show them how to do everything, so that they may continue a process of blind imitation--. They do not expect to figure out from mere words what it is that one wants them to do. Nor can they distinguish between goal and the route needed  to get there, the job to be done, and the method needed to do it. If someone gives them a problem, they either know or don't know how to do it, the problem itself is meaningless to them. And this is the great danger of asking children to manipulate symbols whose concrete meaning they do not understand. After a while they come to feel--that all symbols are meaningless. Our teaching is too full of words , and they come to soon."

"With enough time, it might be possible to go back to the beginning and rebuild [a] child's intelligence. But this could not be done unless the outside world left her alone while she was learning to make sense of things, and did not try to make her appear to know and di not try to make her feel foolish  or ashamed  for knowing so little"

"When children are doing concrete operations --doing things that they feel are sensible, getting ansers by themselves , answers they can be sure are right, there is much to be said for letting them use a cumbersome method until they feel thoroughly secure in it, before suggesting the possibility that there may be an easier way"

"We ask children to do for most of the day what few adults are able to do for even an hour. How many of us attending say a lecture that doesn't interest us, can keep our minds from wandering? Yet children have far less awareness of their control of their attention than we do. [...] A child is most intelligent when the reality before him arouses in him a high degree  of attention, interest, concentration, involvement-in short, when he cares most about what he is doing."

Children have a natural tendency to want to seek out answers to things they don't know or understand.  The message being relayed here is that we just have to put trust in our children to let them learn they way they know how. The only way I see being able to do that is to relinquish control and become more of an observer and advisor or a guide.

Diary of a New Runner

I recently started running, and by recently I mean I just completed my 6th run today, which completes my second week of running 3 times per week. This is a pretty big deal for me for 3 reasons. The first being I hate running, second, when you are homeschooling 3 kids there is little time to enjoy a leisure run 3 times a week, and lastly running is physically exhausting (for me). That being said, another of my goals for this year was to lead a healthier and more active lifestyle, and specifically to work out no less than 3 times a week. Over the past 6 years I have worked out on and off but never committed to routine for longer than 2 months. That was the point I would usually get back into decent shape and say, "ok, I look pretty good, I'll stop now! OOhhh, I think I will treat myself to some strawberry cheesecake Hagen Daz ice cream to celebrate my success!" Yeah Ummmm looking good doesn't really last with that thought process. Consistency is the key obviously but oh so hard. Let's be realistic we moms are sooooooo tired! My relative who was staying with us, who is also an endurance athlete, would tell me to "MAN UP!" So that's what I am trying to do. To be completely honest I have no idea if this new routine will stick, or how long it will last, but for some reason there is something that has kept me going until now. I cant quite put my finger on it. Perhaps this will be just another attempt at a hobby that I cannot maintain. (I hear the baby crying.....her nap lasted all of 10mins.....be right back.) Ok, I'm back. So what I want to do now is just discuss overall how I have felt the last two weeks running.

The first week I started by running 1 mile 3 times. 1 mile was the goal but I ended up running more like 1.4 miles each time mainly because I hadn't mapped any routes I would just record my run using an IPhone App and then check in to see how far I had gone. The first run was pretty hard because I was panting and out of breath. I consciously tried to control my breathing and run at a pace that I was comfortable with. I remembered one of my drill sergeants in the army saying that it was good for a runner to chew gum to control breathing, so I would just pretend like I was chewing gum. Oh yeah this is usually the point where people say, "WHAT YOU WERE IN THE ARMY?!" And I answer, "Yes, I enlisted in the army when I was 17, an impulsive move.....long story."  Perhaps I will share the story another time. Another piece of breathing advice my female drill sergeant would give us is to breathe twice through your nose and once out the mouth. Its funny I never ever used those techniques while I was in boot camp( I was terrible at running then), but I am conjuring up all these old memories now.  Whoooooa, baby just had a poop explosion in her Bumbo, excuse me be back in a jiff....knock at the door, family is home. Ok, now I'm back to writing, where was I? Ah yes, so my second run was better, I was still feeling a bit sore from my first run and still panting, but it was better.

After the first week I decided I was ready for a longer run and decided to run the 2.6 mile loop that my brother-in-law had discovered on his runs around my compound. On my first try I did it at night and with no problems, I definitely felt tired by the second mile but just had to slow down my pace a bit, but was able to continue without stopping. It was a HUGE accomplishment for me and I felt pretty great about it, I had become better at controlling my breathing and my pace and was able to keep it consistent throughout. My second time doing that loop was harder, I did it in the morning without eating and had a sinus cold. I was parched and tired but still managed to push through without stopping. Today was my final run of week 2 and I was able to run 2.7 miles pushing my 5month old in the jogging stroller. It was another morning run, but this time I had a half cup of coffee and a piece of wheat toast with cream cheese (fuel).  I'm not fond of running with kids because it adds extra exertion and makes me go a bit slower (excuses, excuses), but as homeschooler, my kids are the reality of daily life. As you can see that's me writing with little Aleena next to me in her Bumbo. They will always be with me. And if this is something I am serious about continuing, then I have to at least try to include them. I definitely wouldn't be the first to do this. The tricky part will be when I attempt a run with all three kids.  I will save that experience for another post.

Accomplishments

After almost 2.5 years of worrying about Ameera's progress with reading, at almost age 7 now I can say she is finally picking up books on her own and reading from cover to cover. I had started teaching her to read at 4 years old. We had some success in the early stages but as we continued she became bored and very anxious and unsettled and I frustrated. I decided then instead of being a momster to shelve our reading lessons till a later time when she seemed more ready and willing. Over the course of 2 years I would bring out the reading book again and get through some lessons here and there but it wasn't until she turned 6 that we began to make it more routine or daily. Everyday I would sit with her and spend about 10 minutes or so on a lesson and she would be done and she did it without objection, a sign that she was ready for learning to read. After just a few short months we got through the remaining lessons in her 100 lesson book! It was a big day for us when she finished the book. And we both felt a big sense of accomplishment. I had watched her grow and learn something that I had taught her. It was a great feeling. And she felt proud as well, now she feels joy at going to the library and picking books that interest her, its a whole new world in a sense for her and for me to be able to observe and learn about what fancies her to read, when for 6 years I had been choosing her books mainly. She is reading at night during story time, in the car, and almost everywhere and its a joy to watch. She hasn't yet turned 7, but will in January. What I learned from this experience again is that when a child is ready to reach a milestone, they will do so on their own good time and do it willingly without struggle and force. This has definitely been a learning experience for both of us as we continue to shift and change our dynamics of teaching and learning.

Funny Girls Rock

One of my 2015 goals was to start blogging more consistently, so here I go I'm just gonna start blogging hoping some useful shit comes out of my mouth. Did I just say "shit?" Oops. Moving on. So I recently discovered that I love funny girls Why? Because funny girls are just cool that's why, they bring laughter into the world. I have some pretty awesome friends who no matter what comes out of their, its just freakin funny. I mean, they aren't even trying to be! And then another realization, "I'm totally freakin boring? Or at least that's how I make myself appear to be. I mean really, "Reflections of a Muslim American Educator!" You can't get much more boring than that title. I've been meaning to change it for months now but because I am so technologically crippled, I can't even do that... Sad I know. But I just keep asking myself, "Why do I project myself to be so serious all the time?"

I mean, I am a 32 year old homeschooling mom of 3, I should be anything but serious and boring. Another thing I can't understand is why I can never find anything to write about. I always feel like I just have nothing interesting to say. But my life is pretty darn cool, not to be pretentious or anything but I'm a homeschooler, a world traveler, I even started running. Yes, you heard right, I run...for fun! Ok actually it's just to get fit. 5 runs now, doesn't that qualify me as an athlete or something? No? Ok, well, moving on. I believe I am an overall pretty decent person. I should have loads of wisdom and knowledge to share with the world. Right? Yet, I struggle day in and out to find anything meaningful happening in my days. Actually, my days are very full and meaningful for my family and I, but I never think they will be meaningful for the rest of the world. So, in an effort to be less serious and less boring to my social media audience I plan to become a funny girl! Great. So.......... What do I do now? Is there like a class or something I can take?

Goal Planning and Unschooling

It's been about 8 months now since our homeschool journey began. And with the holiday break came a lot of time for reflections. I sat back and questioned myself numerous times as to whether or not my methods were actually benefiting the kids. More often than not our Quran and math sessions would begin or end in tears. I wondered, "What am I doing different than a teacher would be doing at school?" Wasn't homeschooling supposed to be about the kids loving to learn instead of being forced to learn? I decided to take a step back and give myself and the kids a break. I had some family visiting during the holiday and one member told me that I should sit down and think about what I had accomplished last year and list them, and then think about what I would like to accomplish next year and list them. I did just that. And wow! It did seem like I accomplished a lot the previous year, but the upcoming year looked worrisome. How would I accomplish all these goals? The next step, my brother-in-law told me, was to create a document with the families goals listed next to each other (including my children's goals) and try to find commonalities and themes, and then create synergies, or win, win, wins. You can check out an example of this here:
http://www.ahmadfahmy.com/blog/2014/12/26/tripplewins

This goal planning tactic was very useful in helping me to see not only what my own goals were, but what was important to my husband and daughter. By looking at Ameera's goal I clearly understood that my ideas and plans for her were not at all what she planned for herself. This led me to the conclusion that our homeschooling would become more Unschooly in nature as we shift to Project Based Learning. I went from structured learning to a much more laid back style approach over the course of 8 months. I find myself thinking a lot about deschooling myself, which basically means that because I went to school, I still very much have a predisposed way of thinking about education and learning. I want to free myself of this thinking and recondition myself to let my children lead me, but it is an incredibly hard and scary thing to do. Keeping goals and setting a plan has helped clear my mind and made me feel more confident in what I want and need to do. I am going to start with cutting way back on any structured type of setting and spending more time observing my kids and listening to them. I believe taking notes will be key in this unschooling process as will creating a special space for my kids to conduct their projects in. This is one of my main goals for this year.

Discoveries

I'm learning in homeschooling that I am making my kids do what I think they should be doing or what I think will benefit them in life. But I am not asking if this is what they want. Mainly bc I believe they don't know what they want or need because they are children. But why is that? My kids are very capable of knowing what they need and want to learn.

I noticed the other day Ameera and I were working on multiplication when I asked her to think about the answer to a problem we were working on and she started to cry. I was really shocked as she had given no hint beforehand to any struggles. When I asked her why she was crying she stated fearfully that "it's hard." I told her that it wasn't hard and that she had to think about it a little. Recently, she had taken to guessing a lot during our math lessons.

Her guessing game started to increase even when working on the simplest of problems. What was happening was that because she wasn't enjoying herself, she was no longer thinking about what she was doing, therefore she was no longer learning. She was just interested in getting the "right" answer so we could move on and be done with it. And if she couldn't produce the right answer then she knew I would eventually give it to her. The lessons became simply a drag. Something she had to do because I was telling her she had to do it.

What I hadn't stopped to consider was if she was ready for this next step in math and was it even necessary for a 7 year old to know how to multiply yet? The only reason I was doing it with her was because it was the next chapter in our math book. I was moving through the motions and checking off the boxes of "ok that's done, now what's next?" Perhaps if I had waited for the subject to be introduced more naturally, like in a real world situation, it might not have been such a painful experience, but one that sparked interest. 

I realized that the way we are learning was not her style of learning. She is simply not a text and workbook type learner. She is more of an auditory learner . By continuing to observe my kids I am able to make adjustments as needed in our learning practices at home which is essential if we are to continue on this path. 

As the parent I have to let go of my expectations of what learning should look like or be like. I have to deschool myself first in order to really let change set in the household. 

Tips for Homeschooling with an Infant

Our third child was born on August 17th by the grace of God. Luckily, I had begun our homeschooling year in the summer to ensure that I would have organized a schedule and activities so that we could just continue after taking maternity break. This plan worked out extremely well. After I had the baby I was able to take ample time off from schooling and once I was able and ready we got right back into somewhat of a routine. Although we don't manage to get through all our daily lessons every time I have come up with several tips to make this transition a bit easier for all of us.

1. When you know you will be busy with the baby, pull out some independent work for your child to complete.
This has worked really well for us in getting things done. Ameera who is now 6.5 is able to complete math worksheets, handwriting, foreign language, phonics and reading lessons on her own. That is a huge chunk of work. She also does Quran everyday via Skype with a tutor.

2. Use nap times to complete work that needs your attention and assistance.
When my baby is napping I will also usually put my toddler down at the same time for a nap. This gives me a good 1.5 hours to sit with my daughter and complete our history, science and literature lessons which are all done through read a-louds. We can also work on projects during this time.

3. Use weekends to catch up with school work.
The great thing about homeschooling is that everyday can be a weekend. This way I can utilize the weekends when my husband is home and I have some help to catch up on any subjects that have been neglected. This brings me to my next tip.

4. When possible have your spouse help with schooling.
If your spouse is good at something that you are not particularly strong in, have him help out in that subject over the weekend. For example, I am not strong in teaching math concepts, but my husband is so I will usually give him the task of explaining and teaching concepts to her that I am unable to do or do well.

5. Realize that every moment can be a teachable moment.
I will usually let my daughter prepare lunch for herself and her younger brother. Then she can clean up after herself by putting dishes in the sink. She is also able to change a diaper and quiet the baby by keeping her company. She can fold laundry, and perform loads of other household chores. This helps in character and confidence building and teaches her responsibility in the house and toward her siblings. She is also responsible for watching over her brother when they play in the garden and park.

6. No matter what make sure bedtimes are always consistent. (Same goes for naps)
Consistent bed times means energetic and fresh, focused children who are capable of very full days. Less tantrums and crankiness also come from well rested children. This also gives me time I need to recharge and have some much needed alone time. I can also do any planning I need for the following days.

7. Keep your schedule relatively free.
With a baby it is not a good idea to pack in so many activities or field trips through out the weeks. Pick one or two activities that you can manage to do consistently every week. Infants in their first few months thrive on routine and prefer being home to being shuffled along from one activity to the next and are more likely to have crying fits. At the moment Ameeras schedule includes 2 weekly activities, 1 biweekly activity and 2 monthly activities that require me to leave the house. I also sign up for filed trips that I feel are really beneficial and will be pleasant and easy for baby. Remember that educational field trips and activities can take the place of a days lesson. For example, a trip to the museum can be the days history lesson.

10 Grammar Rules Every Homeschooled Kid Should Know

1.       Beginning and Ending Punctuation

2.       Paragraphing

3.       The Parts of Speech

4.       The Sentence and the Fragment

5.       Subject, Verb, and Object Forms

6.       Verb Tense

7.       Punctuating Dialogue

8.       Rules and Uses for Commas

9.       The Apostrophe & The Dash

10.   The Semicolon and the Colon

 

Suggested Reading and Resources:

·         Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynn Truss

·         The Power of Grammar by Mary Ehrenworth

·         The Elements of Style by E.B White and William Shrunk

·         Sentence Composing for Middle School by Don Killgallon

·         Discovering Voice by Nancy Dean

When it comes to writing kids need to care about what they are saying. They need to feel a sense of purpose that sharing their stories matters. Everyone has a story to tell, and everyone’s voice is important. The sooner they understand this, the sooner they will take pride in becoming writers. Grammar should be taught not as a list of rules, but as a means to make writing meaningful and powerful. Therefore, Grammar should be taught to children through Story-telling and Narrative. Explain to kids the “Why” of Grammar and then demonstrate its power in writing through examples.

Ex. Why is Harry Potter a World Favorite? How does the author use her writing? Explore the structure of writing in favorite novels.

You can have your child write a story and then teach grammar concepts through his own story, explaining how each rule enhances their work. Or make up a story of your own, thereby engaging the child in the plot, you can have teachable grammar moments.

Let the Journey Begin

Up until a few months ago, my daughter has been in a Steiner School. This year I decided to homeschool exclusively, which was a big decision being that I also just had a newborn baby girl. I decided to start the homeschooling year early, a few weeks after Ameeras school officially ended, so that I could get into a routine and test the waters before the arrival of baby # 3. This plan worked out well. I was able to plan for the year, purchase any materials I needed and organize a weekly schedule. We worked off this schedule smoothly until the baby arrived. And then I had to take a break, which was fine, since when you are homeschooling you are no longer on any one's schedule but your own!

Now baby Aleena is 3 weeks old and we have started to slowly return to our schedule, doing short lessons and activities when time permits and attending the children's outdoor activities as well. This year we are predominately using the Charlotte Mason method and curriculums along with other resources from the Classical Method. However, my main goal is to work on family bonding with the addition of our new baby, and to teach the children about family transition when a new child enters the family and all the beauties and hardships that it comes with. Patience, compassion, and responsibility are 3 major characteristics that my children will take from this experience. They will be home to see first hand the demands of a newborn and the help needed to maintain the household and physical and emotional well-being of me (the mommmy) and the other kids. :)

So far we have had some meaningful trips and activities beginning with a trip to Kidzania (which is a a town created for children to work and earn money and then they can spend this money on activities and leisure's of  their choice just like in the grown-up world. We make weekly visits to the library for story-time and picking of new books. And we have begun our weekly Science-Coop with a small party and roundtable discussion on 3 topics the kids would like to learn more about this year. Ameera has chosen to further explore the Sun, the Earth, and babies. Homeschooling with a newborn has caused me to research more about unschooling which is a child-led learning method. This method seems to somewhat take the pressure off of following a specific curriculum or maintain a schedule, but Im not certain if it's any easier. It just makes me more aware of the questions Ameera and Noah ask me and I try to jot them down so we can further discuss their interests. For example, yesterday Ameera asked me about Sap because she was playing with sap from trees in our park outside. Then at dinner she asked me why money was important...(very good learning question, with lots to discuss there) and she asked me why numbers are infinite while she was playing with a calculator!!  Three very amazing questions that we could probably spend weeks on discussing and doing activities with.

I'm going to explore this method a bit and see what works out for us.

Trip to Abu Dhabi

A few weeks ago we took a day trip to Abu Dhabi. I have always believed that travel was an essential component to a child's education, but now I am slowly starting to see the difference it is making in my children. While at Abu Dhabi we visiting the Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque. This was actually the first time my kids and I have experienced a mosque of this magnitude, grandeur, and beauty. Until this point we have been traveling around Europe and have only been able to see beautiful Cathedrals and churches, but to actually come face to face with a holy place our your background and religion is an incredible feeling. One that makes you feel proud and thankful to be who you are and to know that you are not alone, when sometimes it easy to feel that way, even though it is a known fact that there over 1 billion Muslims world wide.



Since arriving in Dubai my kids have become obsessed with Masjid's (mosques). They never fail to point them out as we pass them, and if you have ever been to Dubai, then you know that you will pass a mosque every 2 minutes :). We were able to pray inside the Grand Mosque, explore, and take in the beauty, and the smells of the incense. Children reading Quran and praying besides their parents. Even the bathrooms were made of marble stone and had flowing fountains for making Wudu (the cleansing ritual before prayer). Its a shame that in the USA we weren't able to be in such amazing homes of worship.

But being here was important in solidifying our roots and beliefs as a family. It is something tangible to show my kids that our religion is beautiful, it is serene and peaceful, and clean and demands attention. And I didn't have to sit down and giver my kids a lesson on these facts or a lecture. All they had to do was observe, and use their 5 senses to gain an understanding of these important concepts and to gain a respect for their identities. Hopefully, our next stop will be Mecca and Medina inshaallah. Religion is something that is often very abstract for children. But as Muslims, we live our religion day in and day out. We praise and seek guidance in our creator in everything we do and every thought that we have. The daily obligations are easily seen and learned so that it becomes apart of the children as they grow up. It becomes a natural habit for example to pray 5 times a day. But there is a bigger picture to paint, and by seeking out these kinds of experiences and taking these sorts of trips aids in instilling this larger message in a child's mind.

A loss for words

Sometimes I feel like I should have so much to say and experiences and thoughts to share with the world, yet my mind is a blank slate. My thoughts are jumbled, my emotions unstable and these days I seem to feel mostly like I am drowning in a sea of confusion and indecisiveness. We have been in Dubai now for 4 months and more than ever I find myself constantly questioning my decisions. Knowing that I could somehow make better ones and do more.

It's a strange feeling to have no control over something. And while there are certain things that will forever remain out of our control, there are others we can control. For me, I feel like I have lost control over my daughters education. I have placed her education in the hands of others. And although I am happy with her school as is she, and while she is visibly learning so much everyday, I cant shake the fact that somehow I could provide her with more, with a better education, more experiences and learning opportunities and that  I am limiting her. There are only so many hours in a day and only so many days in a week, months in year, and so on. I am losing time with every day that passes. All I notice is how much she has grown as a person and physically of course. But is she growing into the person I want her to be? Are our priorities for her education being placed above everything else? Most of the time the answer I come up with is NO! And that causes me to feel like I must make immediate changes.

These changes will not come easy either. Making the decision to pull her out of her alternative school and homeschool her full-time would mean a major life transition and adjustment. Especially with a 3yr old and a baby on the way. But I have been unable to school her at home the way I used to when she was only in school until 12:30. Now the day has extended to 2pm as she has gotten bigger. Although I have managed to fit in a couple of extras such as swimming and Quran, I don't like to put too much into the week. I like the kids to have lots of free play time. Hopefully I will continue to make improvements in their education that I believe in and that these changes are the right decision.

Our New Home

A couple of months ago, we received the news that we would be leaving Luxembourg and moving to Dubai. It was a bittersweet news. Although I was ready to move on, I fell in love with Luxembourg and wasn't quite ready to leave. Then of course all the stress of finding a new home, new school and new friends settled in and weighed heavily upon me. But as an expat these are the realities of everyday life. You move a lot and you have to build a new life at the drop of a hat.

We decided it would be best to go to the USA for a month or so to spend time with family before the new transition, which I believe is really important for young kids if you travel, or move around a lot. Kids need security and need to feel grounded, and being with loved ones is an easy way to help kids build strength for big change. We have been in Dubai for almost a month now, and adjusting to a new country is always difficult, but it was easier than the first move. We were able to make a friend or two within the first few weeks which always makes one feel more settled. So far the kids have not expressed any moving woes which I am very grateful for, although Ameera does usually ask when her Luxembourg friends will visit and says how much she misses them.

The main issue I had so far here was choosing a school for Ameera. She had an amazing experience at the Waldorf school and I wanted to continue her Alternative education, so I opted to send her to another Alternative School that is Waldorf Inspired but uses the Oak Meadow Curriculum. The mainstream schools did not sit well with me when I went to visit them mainly because it seemed overwhelming and not what we as a family are used to. As Ameera becomes older the decision of her educational path becomes more difficult for me, but I feel confident that the path we are on is the right one inshallah.

Travels with kids

I recently returned from a 10 day trip from Italy with my family and thought I would reflect a bit on what I learned while it is still fresh in my  mind. Our itinerary included 3 cities: Venice, Florence, and Rome. The journey to Venice was exciting to say the least and spectacular upon arrival. We found our way around using maps and asking around easily enough, but what we were not prepared for was the weather, which was very rainy and cold. In the interest of packing light, I went against my instinct and didn't bring the kids rain gear which turned out to be a huge mistake. One by one my kids got sick and had fevers for the entire trip but it didn't hinder us from exploring and going out everyday but it was really hard on my 5 yr old who was often cranky and exhausted by the end of the day. Some tips for those who plan to travel with young children is to check the weather of your destination and do lots of research to prepare in advance what you wish to see and do and how to get from one place to the next. Also pack light, but smart with lots of layering, and weather appropriate clothes.

One item I could not have traveled without was my Ergo baby carrier, and cheap ultra light umbrella stroller. Cities are very difficult for children and having means to ease their tired feet is always a must. I wouldn't discourage families from traveling with young kids, in fact I encourage it, but you need to be prepared to go at a very slow pace. Every morning we would have breakfast and then go back to our hotel to wait for Noah's nap time, which was at 10am and then leave for the day when he woke up around 11-11:30am. For us this meant well rested, happy kids. And we would often return between 5-6 pm to allow the kids to unwind, bathe, have dinner in hotel room and go to sleep at their proper bedtimes. Even doing so we still managed to do a lot of sight seeing and museum and park visits.

Although at times it was stressful and kids did have occasional melt downs, the one piece of technology that saved us was my iPhone which I had loaded with games and cartoons. So when Ameera and Noah could take no more art or architecture or sight of busy cities in general, I would whip out my phone and they could play or watch at their leisure which bought us often hours of uninterrupted exploration time. This tactic worked like a charm every time.

Some thing's I would do differently for next trip are:

1. Look for private apt rentals instead of hotels.
- it would be more comfortable for little kids
- allows you to cook, and keep snacks and drinks handy

2. Make sure weather in my chosen destination is going to be suitable for outdoor activities and Lil one.
- although I did see chances of rain in the forecast, it rained more than predicted and was colder than predicted.
- upon researching weather in Italy I found that March is a very rainy month.

3. I bought a lot of prepaid tickets to places such as the Vatican and Colloseum to avoid hour long lines which were a BIG help. But some tickets I purchased were not necessary to buy in advance.

All in all, a memorable experience with family that I greatly enjoyed. I will add pictures soon.

Winter Blues

It's been quite a while since I posted, and I have to say that I fell into the rut of winter blues. Winter here in Luxembourg has been harsh, with constant grey clouds hanging in the sky, frigid air, and endless snow. As beautiful as it looked in the beginning, I longed for it to end. We did get a chance to do some fun things like attend the Christmas Market in Trier, Germany and build a Snowman in our backyard. But in the end I actually packed my and my kids suitcases and flew back to NJ for 1 month. It was so great to be with my family and friends again and spend the holidays with them and just reconnect. And it also gave me a great sense of emotional support, being that I had been away from home for about 6 months at the time. One important lesson I did learn from going back home is that I had to accept my new life in Europe and make a valid effort to make a life for myself here that doesn't only revolve around my kids. That aspect was always hard for me to swallow, but in the end I realized you will always need a friend wherever you may be. Getting to know people and letting them into your life is not as easy as it seems. But as soon as I returned from the USA, I made it a point to start building relationships with people, not only for me but for my children as well. Spring is now approaching, and after just a few short months I can actually say that I have met some really great moms and have formed new friendships. This experience so far really has been bittersweet, but after Winter always comes the Spring. 

Tree Swinging

We came across these trees the other day that had long, soft, but very strong swinging rope-like branches. It looked kind of like a lagoon tree, or weeping willow. We were grabbing and pulling on them and realized they were great for vine swinging, so we went at this for a little bit and it was loads of fun for me and the kids.

Beginner Nature Forts

Fall is a great time to introduce building beginner forts. Parks, streets, or forests are just full of natural debris that you can collect and use to build various things that suit a child's imagination. Lately, when the kids and I go to local parks nearby we have been examining the various debris on the ground such as fallen leaves, sticks, pine cones, branches, etc. One day we decided to gather all the things we could find to use for building and put them in a big pile near a large tree. We then began to use the items to try and build a small fort of some sort. It took some thought on Ameera's part at first trying to figure out how she was going to turn a pile of leaves and twigs into anything at all, but with some guidance from me she eventually got the hang of it, and began using the twigs and branches to form a small foundation.

Some of the branches were long and kind of resembled rope, so they were easy to twist, turn and mold into various shapes. With these she was able to form the shape of a hobbit sized door. The shorter, stronger branches she would use to hold the structure in place.

 She then used small twigs and branches to lay over the any holes, then used the dead leaves to cover the fort. Overall it was a small structure, but just the sheer thought process and energy that went into making something out of natural materials I feel is valuable in getting children to think outside of the box, and to build their creativity and imagination.

The following week we were at the park again and she asked if we could build something else. And this time, without much help from me collected materials on her own and began to make her own fort.

Bad Days

Let's face it, we all have them, and if you are a stay-at-home and/or a homeschooling mom you may have more of these days than most people. This morning was one of those mornings where I just did not want to get out of bed. I was so tired and I had decided the night before that I would keep my daughter home from school. But once morning came, my daughter was disappointed, being that she is in love with her school, and so I decided to take her...late...but felt it would be worth having one less cranky child in the house even if it is just for a few hours.

My son woke up in a cranky mood, which is unusual for him. He was clingy and needy and crying most of the morning and I could not figure out why, which frustrated me since I was having a mood of my own. Lately I have been feeling a bit confined and cramped, like I need to break free from something. I know this feeling well, and it usually comes when I have been lacking physical exercise. I have a love/hate relationship with exercise being that I love it, but have little motivation to do it and often make excuses for myself as to why I am not more physically active. The truth is as much as I need and want that time for myself, I feel I am not the priority...my kids are my priority and with a routine already in place, taking that much needed time for myself does not fit in, or would mean I would have to stray or cut something out. It's horrible that I put myself second when actually my well being and health is imperative to my children and household, because if I am not in a good mood, or sick, or unhealthy then how will I be able to provide a positive example for them and take care of them the way I need to? I forget this fact often, and as much as I am out and about with my kids it doesn't provide the physical exercise that every women needs.

With that being said, I was eager to ease my son and really wanted to take him out for a walk and kept making excuses...it's too cold, I'm too tired, it's almost his nap time, etc. But the crying didn't cease, so I sucked it up threw on my coat and his, bundled him and myself up nice and warm and ventured out into the cold morning to walk down to the park for the 30 mins or so we had before his nap time. Instantly, as I knew he would, he stopped crying. We strolled to the park, which is very woodsy in nature, and I set him loose. He ran through the grass and trees and straight for the swings, then the slides, then just ran up and down the small hills and big piles of leaves, laughing along the way as I chased him and sometimes he would just lay flat on the ground and stare up at the sky. In the end, he became tired and went back to climb into his stroller. I purposely took the long way back home so that I could get in some physical exercise for myself. Just being out doors was healing for the both of us, even if it was only for 30 or 40 mins. So the moral of my story is this: When in doubt, Get Out!

Where we are so far....

Today marked the end of our first unit of study using the Ad-Duha curriculum for Arabic and Quranic studies. During these past few months we have been developing a consistent routine of study and play, as well as incorporating other subjects of interest which added a nice little element of surprise. I decided to jot down some quick notes just to get an idea of what exactly we have covered and what we would like to continue with or omit from our routine. Upon stumbling onto some of our newer subjects I have doing a lot of research and blog reading to kind of wrap my mind around what road it is exactly that we are heading down; that is what method or philosophy of education we will be using.

I feel a bit as if I have been all over the place, but I am somewhat organized, just not as organized as I  would like to be. Blogging has definitely helped me sort through my thoughts and visions of homeschooling, and the blogs I follow have also been a tremendous help and great pool of resources.

I kind of did a quick categorization in my notes of our subjects and topics that I will share here:

Religion
Ad- Duha:

Who is Allah?

Tawheed

Shirk

Shahada- meaning & memory

Quran: Fatiha- Tafseer & memorization 

Math: Arabic numbers 1-10

Prophets:

Adam

Noah

Science
Nature Study/ Play:

Forest Walks

Seasonal scavenger hunts

Gardening

Mud Play

Nature Journal

wild flowers, bugs, trees, pine cones

Water and puddle play

Tree climbing & swinging

Fort building
Seasons Theme Pack (taken from a Muslim Child is Born)

Art & Music Appreciation:

Music: Sami Yusuf & I look I see 1 & 2( Nasheed)

Art: Collage Work, Painting, coloring, drawing.

Spelling Dictation: 3 letter words

Reading: Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons (Lessons 1-30 completed)
Read-Alouds done daily during story time hours

Listening: (Audio books)
Alice in Wonderland
Just So Stories-Rudyard Kipling

Language:
Arabic  (Ad-Duha curriculum & Sunday School)
French, German & Luxembourgish (Waldorf School)

Film: Subject and Topic related
Geography: based on our travels

Extra-
Waldorf School
Sunday School 

Looking at this now I see I still need to incorporate History and Math into our schedule. I think I feel pretty good with what we have accomplished so far. But I would like to adopt a method of education and I think for homeschooling we are going with the Charlotte Mason Method. I think it's smart because it coincides nicely with the Waldorf philosophy that she is getting at her school. I also am comfortable with our schedule and feel for the most part that things have been going smoothly. We have our good and bad days, and some days we accomplish a lot more than others, but it's not a race, I just go with Ameera's mood and let that dictate how far we go. Some days we don't feel like doing anything and I am fine with that, but for the most part we work 4-5 days a week consistently, and above all I like to keep things light and fun.

 

A Walk in the Woods

There is something about walking in the woods that is so alluring, and haunting at the same time. I believe it is that sense of mystery that the forest holds, and a fear of the unknown; of what could be lurking behind the trees far beyond sight, or what could be lying under that old fallen tree limb, or inside a rotted tree stump. Forests are usually eerily dark in Luxembourg, except for rays of light that shine down through holes in the trees. And then there is the silence, and the stillness of the woods, which is ironic because the woods are anything but still. Leaves rustle,  branches crack, winds whisper, insects hum, buzz, and scratch. Animals scurry, and the birds soar through the intricate maze of sky. Spotting a simple mushroom can lead to endless questions and hours of observation and wonder. The aroma of the forests are so thick and rich, I find myself inhaling and exhaling like I have never done before just to try and capture and identify every complex scent .  The woods are captivating and beautiful and provide a limitless selection of learning opportunities. It is here where one can feel most close to Allah (swt) our Creator.

Over the past few weeks I have begun to incorporate Forest Walks into our weekly activities. Luxembourg is rich with trails, forests, ponds, parks, and paths through woodsy areas of all sorts. People here are generally very outdoorsy and really love horseback riding, biking, and hiking, so it is not uncommon to walk through a forest on a Sunday afternoon and pass by people riding their horses leisurely through the woods. The first time I mentioned a forest walk, my daughter was terrified and said, "No Mama! I don't want to walk in the forest, it's scary!" She had never been through any kind of wood, her only knowledge of the forest consisted of late bedtime story versions of Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood, characters, all of whom, encounter danger and near death experiences in the Forest. But upon walking through a small passageway, just over a bridge in Esch sur Sure, we came upon a path leading into the woods. My daughters breath almost stopped for a moment as she tried to take it all in. After looking around in wonder and awe, she instantly began to run down the path exploring leaves, trees, bushes and insects traveling along through trodden path.

I remember being young and going on numerous camping trips with my mom and clearly recall how uncomfortable it was camping in the thick of the woods, sleeping on top of roots, rocks, pebbles and dirt, and being hot and sticky and getting bitten by bugs. Back then they did not have these well organized and modernly equipped camp sites with outlets to plug in your portable tv's and bathrooms buildings where you could wash up. If you had to go, you had to find a big tree to hide behind. When it was time to eat, there were no bbq grills standing by, we had to collect wood and build a fire to cook whatever food we brought. It was that very raw kind of camping that is still instilled in my mind till this day, but is something I have never done with my own children....at least not yet. And now 20 years later, I am surprised by the deep sense of calm and relaxation I feel in my heart and mind the second I step into the forest. It is as though time stands still; everything seems to move very slowly as we try to take it all in. We stop to examine old tree stumps, and burrows. Or we try to find the perfect walking stick or walk through the remains of dead trees, leaves and branches. My son stoops over looking at the ground, pointing with his small fingers at something I can not see. But upon closer look they are black forest beetles which cover the path we are walking on. He is not pointing, but touching them as they creep along.  

The longer we venture down our homeschooling journey, the more drawn we have become toward the study of nature and the wilderness. I feel as though it is a neglected field of study, and is not given much thought or importance. I cannot simply walk up to a tree and be able to identify it as a Pine or Oak, which is quite sad. I have never studied the seasons up close observing their temperatures and processes, the simple joys and pleasures of this world I have been taking for granted. I want my kids to be able to study birds, insects, and animals and be able to identify the wild flowers growing in our garden in a very real and personal way. These are the fundamental basics of nature study that I feel every child should learn or at least be exposed to, as well as myself. It would be a learning experience for the whole family if we perhaps kept nature journals as we do writing journals. For now however, I will begin this new journey with the simple explorations of the woods and see where it leads us.

There was a child went forth every day

And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became,

And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day,

or for many years or stretching cycles of years.

---Walt Whitman

"In the woods we return to reason and faith."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson