Ramadan for Children

As long as women have been fasting in more industrialized areas, I am sure the question of what do with our little ones have existed. A healthy child should be full of boundless energy and a well fed healthy child should have that much more energy. While her fasting mother, will be even more tired than she normally is, at least this fasting mother was. As I mentioned in my blog post "Ramadan for Intelligent People", although the younger children are not expected to fast from food and water. They are to watch what comes out of their mouth and what comes into their ears and mind in general, just as adults should. We already have a rule of no movies and Wii on the weekdays, so it wasn't that hard for my children to give up Movies and Wii for the whole month of Ramadan. I say this, just to say I didn't have television as an option to babysit my children during Ramadan.



The one great thing about my Beloveds is they invent all kinds of games and can keep themselves busy for long lengths of time. However, there are sometimes, especially with the age, gender and maturity difference of Lil A and Z Man that Lil A is left without a companion and Humble Mom here needs to fill in the gaps. Plus, I enjoy doing activities with Lil A, she is so much fun with a great personality. She keeps me laughing and her wit keeps me on my toes!

Books
It seems that Ramadan Books are in abundance in my home, and we never are in need of reading material.


Baking 
Baking is always a great thing to do with Lil A, not only do we prepare a great iftar dessert, but it teaches her some valuable skills. If you haven't seen our Thursday Muffin baking day post, now would be a great time to look at them. Lil A also assisted in making gingerbread for our Gingerbread Masjids.

Stamping
Letter Stamping teaches word making and we can also create a beautiful art piece.

I also have this great stamp set that I use for our letterbox adventures among other things.

Playing Memory (and other quiet games)
I love Smart Ark, if I was in the UK and didn't have to worry about an outrageous shipping fee, I would buy everything in the store. Maybe it is because their du'a card could very well be me and humble dad. But I am sure it is because their stuff is so whimsical and child friendly. Eid al Fitr 2011, I used their cupcake holders here. This year, I printed two sets of their Ramadan cards, laminated them, and played memory with Lil A and Z Man.

Our Beloved Smart Ark cards that have Du'a cards that represent Humble Mom & Humble Dad

Humble Dad and Humble Mom in 1998

Noor Janan's Ramadan Packet 
This year, I created a Ramadan Packet specifically for Lil A. There are many packets and activities out there for older children, but not as many for the 3-6 year who does not speak Arabic. One very good Ramadan Packet that my older children did this Ramadan is a free download from Smart Ark. There are some things in that packet if you missed doing them for Ramadan, they are still good year round.

Noor Janan's Ramadan Packet and all Islamic Downloads are on the I ♥ Islam page

Decorate the House
Making decorations with Lil A and all my Beloveds is very fun. If you do the work outside or on a drop cloth, clean up can be easy. If  you keep a big Tupperware with art supplies, it also makes clean up a breeze.

More Ramadan 2012 posts:
* Preparation for Ramadan
* Ramadhan Interior Decoration
* Ramadan for Intelligent People
* Gingerbread Masjid
* I'm Fasting
* Ramadan for Children
* A Retreat with a View
* The Post of Eid Past (yes, this title was influenced by Charles Dickens)
* Eid al Fitr 2012