Islamic New Year, 1439

With a renewed intention this Islamic New Year 1439 Hijri, I want to begin sharing some of our completed curriculum. Starting with Noor Janan's Islamic Months Copywork. May this new year be full of blessings. Enjoy ♥

My Place in the Universe- Michigan

Me on the Map by Joan Sweeny is a wonderful book that we have used to understand our place in the Universe. The activities that follow is still one of our favorite ways to visualize it. When we lived in Maryland we made and shared a circular form, however we went with a simple square display to learn our new Michigan address.

Eid Joy!

Baseball and Birthdays

We celebrated both Sajid & Azara's birthday this weekend in Grand Rapids, Michigan where Zahid was having a Baseball Tournament at Davenport University. It worked out well as Craig's Cruiser amusement center was nearby and our Beloveds had a great time.

Muhammad Ali's Jenazah

I wanted to go to Muhammad Ali's Jenazah when I heard that there would be a public one, but I didn't want to drive to Louisville during Ramadan by myself. So, I put it out of my mind because I knew there would be no way that I could attend. So Wednesday night, my family decided to drive into Detroit and go to Iftar at the Muslim Center. This was the first iftar we did not have at home and I was excited to get out and be around the Muslim, therefore I took this selfie and posted it on Instagram.

Reading the Quran

Reading the Quran in Arabic a Juz a day is recommended. Reading the Quran in your first language so that you clearly understand the meaning is wonderful. My favorite Quran with English translation is The Gracious Quran by Ahmed Zaki Hammad.

Ramadan Books

There are many classic Ramadan stories we love to read out loud every year. Eid Kareem Ameer Saab! is a classic tale of a man who learns to not be miserly similar to Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol.

Ramadan Decorations

Ramadan Mubarak!

We are excited about Ramadan this year as we are every year. Our move to Michigan will make Ramadan very different for us. Ramadan has always been a community event where we would eat iftar at the Masjid a good 80-90% of the time. This year we will have iftars at home 80-90% of the time. The long days will give us more time to reflect on the Quran and other Islamic topics, but we will also spend more time resting. With the new changes, we will learn to adapt to still try to gain the most benefit from this blessed month. ♥

Decorations
We kept our Decorations simple this year utilizing our shelves and wall space.

First Spring Outing

Saturday is family day. I don't like to schedule anything on Saturdays but prayer. So when we have a beautiful Spring day like it was today,  we can pack up the car with balls, food, and lawn blankets and drive to one of our favorite scenic places.

On Turning 40- Contentment

On the first day of March, I was born into this world 40 years ago in 1976. Do I feel any different after my birthday??? In the age of Forever 21, there is a push to stay young, dress young, act young, and do whatever it takes- even going under the knife to look young. It wasn't always this way, there used to be a time when turning 40 meant spiritual maturity and wisdom. And there used to be a time when the wise were valued and sought after, not put away in a home to be visited once a month.

Surrounded by Love, Cake decorated by my Beloved Asha & Azara,
while Zahid is lighting the candles.

Sick Days

I took a sick day yesterday. Although, many in our family had flu symptoms over the weekend, I am the only one still sick. What starts as a virus always turns into bronchitis for me, so I let my Beloveds play. And this is the result: a knight's armour made out of aluminum pans.

Flint Water Crisis

If there is any legacy that Noor Janan Homeschool wants to leave behind is that we were known for serving others. Not just in the curriculum that we offer for free and the homeschool support that we give. But also how we served our neighbors and people in our community. Flint is an hour drive from our home and it is important for us to go there because Children being poisoned by lead in the water is a serious matter. It will have long term affects on their brain and their ability to learn.  The least we can do is give clean water.

Memory Work Board

I love our new Memory Work Board! Masha'Allah. It's wonderful to have everything we want to memorize for the week in one place. We had a few bumps in the road in getting started with Classical Conversations. . . like moving to a new State and a broken labtop. However, all Praises is due to God- better late than never.

A Tribute to the Prophet ♥

We have only been in Michigan for a month and Alhumdulilah, we are already being put to work. We were blessed to help out with a wonderful program: A Tribute to the Prophet. I decided on doing three activities for the children's program. The first activity: Cookie Decorating was a big hit with all the children. My little helper, Azara and I spent two days baking over 100 cookies. Our wonderful cookie cutters are no longer available on Amazon, but they now have these.

New Home in Michigan ♥

With each new move the most important question to a homeschooler is always "Where will we homeschool?" Of course you can homeschool anywhere: on a beach, in a plane, on a boat. However, to stay organized which is imperative when you homeschool multiple children, you need a place to house your supplies at the very least. We have been homeschooling for over a decade and have collected many items along the way, therefore we need a modest space to keep all of our supplies. So please:

 Welcome! Marhaba! 

Come on in and see how we have organized our new Home to educate our Beloveds in Michigan.

Death of my Student

Just as no parent wants to bury his or her child, the child in the natural course of life will bury their parents. Nor does a teacher want to bury her student, a student in the natural course of life will outlive their teacher. Natural death of old age is not always in Allah's Plan and He Knows what we do not.



Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un

A Walk in the Woods

It's nice having a Monday at home with Humble Dad, something different than our normal routine. We decided to drive an hour to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia where three states meet up including Maryland and Virginia. I am not really a one destination type of gal, enjoying the ride along the way is just as important to me as the end point. We took a longer route that took us to South Mountain Creamery, a delicious place to get ice cream, cream top milk, yoghurt, cheese, and eggs. This farm uses many sustainable initiatives including solar, wind, geothermal, biodiesel, and turning manure into electricity. What's really neat about this place is they still deliver milk to your homes in glass bottles!

Eid al Fitr 2015

The Masjid, Makkah Learning Center (MLC) that we usually go to for everything: homeschool classes, gardening, Foundations in Islamic Studies, etc. has a wonderful Imam, mashaAllah who lead the prayer and did a beneficial talk. After the prayer, they served a Pakistani style breakfast with nana and beans. Many were dressed very beautiful in their very best. Then that is the end . . . no jumpers, bounce house, petting zoo, barbeque like we are used to in other communities.

MLC' s President, bless him, tried to do something for the children who were still at MLC after the prayer was done. He put all the children in his pick up truck and drove them around the property, they had fun which made me happy. Then he gave out, which seem an unlimited amount of candy.

Turkey in America

The grand and beautiful mosque that was recently built has brought a little bit of Turkey to America, well maybe a whole lot bit! The Mosque is exquisite, mashaAllah and for those of us who have never visited the Muslim world, this is the next best thing.

A Visit with Shaykh Tosun

This Ramadan we were able to spend a long July 4th weekend with the Turkish Shaykh: Tosun Bayrak al Jerrahi author of The Name and the Named. This book is the inspiration of my 99 Names of Allah cards {Free Download}, so I was super excited to meet Baba (Shaykh Tosun). Baba's beautiful community in New York is on a couple of acres with a Masjid in the center surrounded by houses that community members own. They had chickens and a beautiful garden with play area for the children to play in. Every night at Iftar the grounds became this beautiful lit magical oasis filled with Thikr (Remembrance of God) and delicious food.