Asalaam ‘Alaikum:

After my last post – when I was talking about my daughter being a Visual-Spatial learner, I was asked how I use this knowledge to teach my daughter Arabic.  First of all, I just found out recently about her learning style.  When I was starting to teach her Arabic, I was clueless and kept trying to find something that worked for her.  Alhumdulilah, teaching her Arabic has gone well.  Nowadays, her Dad is in charge of teaching her – yes, her skills have gone beyond my abilities, masha’Allah.  She now mostly uses books that we have purchased or that we have found online.  I’m now have to start working with her sister to sharpen her skills, insha’Allah.  Anyway . . . instead of writing a very long message in the comment section of the blog – I decided to instead answer here in order to help any other parents that might be struggling with this.

All of the things I tried to use with my daughter can be found on Yemenlinks and advice is also given on this blog – please check out the old posts. Truly, these are the things I have done and nothing else.  Mainly – I have found that if you find ways to make English learning fun – they can also be applied to learning Arabic.  The language may be different and some of the rules might be different – but teaching them can be similar (at least in terms of fun methods).  I think if you find any methods that work for your child in English – and your child is struggling with Arabic – you should try in Arabic.

If your child has problems with recognizing the Arabic Alphabet – make learning the letters more tactile and visual.  Put shaving cream, flour, sand (or something similar) on a baking sheet and have him trace the letters with his finger while looking at a written example.  You can also make Sandpaper letters and have your child trace them with their finger.  You can learn more about it here. If you need the printables, you need to go to Yemenlinks, click on Arabic Learning Materials, and click on Printable Arabic Materials.  Scroll down the list and you should find them, insha’Allah.

I believe there are printables that I created which you can use with a drawing toy.  I printed these off and had my daughter put the paper over the drawing pad.  She then traced the letters and when she lifted up the page she was happily surprised that her letters looked as nice as they should.  She liked that!  I also made a fishing game where you put letters with attached paperclips into a box – using a stick with a magnet attached on a string, fish for letters.  When they pick one out of the box, have them say its name.  Now, there’s nothing that says learning can’t be fun – and there are definitely many ways to make it fun.

You can print off or make your own cards for the alphabet.  Play a matching game with your child.  Have him say the letters each time he picks up two cards and this will definitely give him practice.  Also, I have used my bingo game for the same reason – practice.  Pick a letter card out of the bag and have your child name it.  If he is wrong, tell him the correct name and then put it back.  Pick another . . . and so forth.  If it seems to frustrate him – first have a game of name that letter.  See how many he can name correctly.  Put them in a pile in front of him and only put back those he needs to learn.  Let him be excited about how many he knows.  After a while – the pile will be full, insha’Allah.  We have some boards that have snap-on squares with arabic letters on them.  With my middle child, she has trouble learning the letters too.  So, I took out one square for each letter and put them in a box.  I then have her pick a letter and tell me what it is.  If she says it correctly, she gets to add it to her board.  If not, I tell her what it is and she has to add it back to her box.  Another game we play with this is I will specifically ask her for a letter – and she has to look through the box to see where it is.  If she doesn’t recognize it – I take it out and draw her attention to that square.  We then put it back and I ask for another letter.  The thing is – practice – practice – practice.  However, at least with my oldest – practice is a bad word. She hates it.  So, I have had to find ways like these to get her to practice (and think it is fun) in order to improve her skills.

One last thing I wanted to mention.  Right now my husband is helping me revamp the Yemenlinks site.  It might take a while (he is a techie, you know) but I think the wait will be worth it, insha’Allah.  Anyway, until he is done, the old website will be there.  However, at some point in the near future it will be better, insha’Allah and my newer materials will be added there.  We will also be updating the links section as well, insha’Allah.  Just wanted you to know that work on more Arabic Learning Materials hasn’t completely died . . . just slowed down. 

For more helpful hints on teaching your child Arabic, feel free to stop by the following links:

Yemenlinks Find all my Arabic Learning Materials posted here.  There’s also a list of Arabic Resources in the links section.  They will be updated soon, insha’Allah.

Arabic Learning Materials YahooGroup Join the group and ask any questions you might have – members are very helpful, masha’Allah.  Also, look through the archives and find lots of useful information that was posted previously, insha’Allah.

Here are some previous blog posts that you might have missed:

Arabic Sandpaper Letters

Arabic Movable Aphabet

Arabic Letter Magnets

Arabic Alphabet Bingo Game

Arabic Movable Alphabet II

Learning Numbers

Making Arabic Materials Colorful & Interesting

Some of my favorite Arabic Learning Links If you have any to add, please let me know!

To get to any of the materials on the Yemenlinks site, you must first go to Arabic Learning Materials and scroll down the list of materials till you find what you are looking for.

Asalaam ‘Alaikum,
Sumayyah Umm SAA

Asalaam ‘Alaikum:

Spelling time is not always a favorite at my house.  Alhumdulilah, I was one of those kids who were born to spell.  My favorite toy – I’m not kidding – was the Speak and Spell – when I was growing up!  While I was growing up, my dad would actually call me from work to ask me how to spell words.  Yes, this shows that I was actually around before the invention of the Spell Checker – and SHOCK – I was also around before anyone had home computers!  (As a side note – one day we were talking about dinosaurs in our house.  My oldest turns to me and says “Mommy, were there dinosaurs around when you grew up?”  I guess my kids think I am ancient.  No, I’m not that old!)  Now I have kids that are starting Spelling and it sometimes surprises me that no, not everyone was born able to spell!  So, I have tried to find ways to make practicing Spelling fun for the kids and it hasn’t always been easy.

One of our favorite sites is  .

My daughter likes this site a lot.  Each week I input her new Spelling list and throughout the week she practices.  They have several ways of practicing your word list.  The first day, my daughter will use TEACH – which reads the word for her and spells it out on screen.  While she is listening, she practices writing the words several times in her spelling notebook.  The next time, she will log on and play a few of the games they have available on their website.  I definitely recommend this site to others!

Now, one thing to keep in mind is that THERE IS NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL for anything in life.  The same is for learning.  While some program may work with others, it may not work for you.  Don’t be disheartened though – you just have to keep trying and keep searching for what works for your child.  Why do I say this?  Well, because even though we used this site, my daughter still wasn’t doing great on her tests.  Now, this site is GREAT.  We like it a lot – but my daughter just wasn’t visualizing how to properly spell the words on her list.

One thing I greatly recommend is to go over any rules for the list of words you have put together – show the child how these rules work with the words you have given them.  So, if you are teaching the different spellings of the long e, then help your child focus on the different ways the long e is spelled and have them place the words in groups based on how it is spelled.  Hope that makes sense.  Anyway, for some kids it is just harder to make that connection – they don’t completely get “why” you wanted them to study the list – so this makes it easier for them to understand why they are studying a particular word list and helps them to put those spellings in context.

I have also found other ways to manipulate our Spelling lessons to better fit with my child’s learning style.  Now, I know that might be a bit too much to bite into – and is definitely another topic I will talk about at some time – but I have recently figured out that the reason my daughter is struggling in some of her school work is because she is a Visual-Spatial Learner. I definitely recommend to any parent that is struggling with their child with coursework – if their child is struggling and you just don’t know what to do to help them – read about learning styles.  I struggled with my oldest for a while – trying every trick I could think of to get her to understand – nothing worked.  Then I finally sat down and read some books on learning styles.  I borrowed a book from the library entitled “Visual Spatial Learners” by Alexandra Shires Golon.  Everything clicked – finally I figured it out, Alhumdulilah!  Anyway the book talks about the reason why my daughter (who is this type of learner) doesn’t learn the way she is being taught.  It gave excellent examples that made me able to determine (1) that she is this type of learner and (2) what I can do to help her learn in the different topics we have in school.  It is an excellent book, masha’Allah.

I will try to give you a quick idea of what a Visual-Spatial Learner looks like.  Hopefully this way you won’t be confused.  According to Alexandra Shires Golon, the author of “Visual-Spatial Learners”

Visual-spatial learners are students who show advanced abilities with computers, maps, construction toys, and puzzles. These students think outside the box and demonstrate tremendous empathy and compassion.  Too often, traditional classroom teaching strategies do not meet the needs of these students.

Anyway, I decided to see how things would change if I employed some of the ideas in this book and the results were amazing, masha’Allah.  My daughter used to study her word list – even playing games and everything – and on Friday she would fail her spelling test.  This happened often.  I tried getting her to write the words more, but it just didn’t sink in.  Now, I have more tricks up my sleeve and they are working.  The first week we worked with these new tricks and my daughter took her spelling test and earned 100%.  The next week she worked on the words herself with the tricks I had taught her and she again had 100%.  This week – the same thing.  When I asked her why she is doing better she said “oh, the word lists are just easier.”  However, the word lists are the same difficulty as before.  I think she has finally learned to look at the words in a way that she can finally understand them.  So, as I said – if you have a struggling learner – don’t give up.  The answer is just waiting to be found, insha’Allah.

So, what have we done differently?   Now, when we are learning a new word list – for example if she is learning the long u sound spellings – and the word is nephew.  I have her write the words in her notebook, but using either a different color pen/pencil or actually writing the spelling larger.  So, for nephew, she would write nephEW.  Also, sometimes if she has a problem with a word, for example nephew again.  I might have her emphasize the EW in one color and upper case and also use another different colored pen to emphasize the strange spelling of another sound in the word – in this case ph.  So, the word would be written in black – ne – the ph would be written in pink and then the EW (what she is learning now) would be in blue but also written in upper case to emphasize it.  So, her word would look like this:

nephEW

If you keep the colors the same each time your child works on a spelling list – it will (over time) be much easier for them to recognize the different parts (the difficult spelling and the sound that she is currently learning to spell).  Instead of just having her write the words 10 times each (which never ever helped her remember or improve her spelling unfortunately) – she writes the words 5 or 10 times but with each part emphasized.  It makes it more visual for her.  According to the book, this method would not just help a visual-spatial learner, but would be helpful to other learners as well.  So, if you want to change up the way you do spelling – give this a try.

Now, recently there was some discussion on spelling on one of the Homeschooling groups.  I compiled a list of different websites we use for spelling  I will share those with you as well, insha’Allah.  For the first set of links, you provide your own spelling list to make games or printables to help your child with spelling.  Here they are:

MY FAVORITES:

For this website, click on the tab “create your own” to create your own crossword based on your spelling words.

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/crossword/

Make your own word search based on spelling words.

http://www.softschools.com/language_arts/worksheets/word_search.jsp

Make your own word scramble based on spelling words.

http://www.softschools.com/language_arts/worksheets/word_scramble.jsp

Online games for spelling words.  My kids don’t like it as much as Spelling City, but they do use it sometimes.

http://www.kidsspell.com/

OTHER SITES – have limited word input

Another site to make your own word search.

http://superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/search/

Another site to make your own scrambled words (limited amount of words).

http://superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/scramble/

Another site to make a word search or word scramble (limit is 10 words).

http://teacher.scholastic.com/tools/spelling.htm

There are many other websites that use already generated word lists.  They might also be useful – especially if you are not following a particular curriculum.  Here are some of the websites I like:

Something Neat:

Wordle – Create your own neat word art with spelling words

Lesson Plans:

Carls Corner – Spelling

Carls Corner – Dolch Words

SpellBright Level 1 (K)

SpellBright Level 2 (Primary)

McGraw-Hill (All Levels)

Themed Spelling Lists

Spelling Books Online:

McGuffey’s Eclectic Spelling Book

Archived Books

Treasures

Spelling Worksheets:

TLS Books

Spelling Connections

Online Learning:

FreeWorldU – online flashcards (click grade and then Language Arts)

Brain Flips – create your own online flashcards

Online Spelling Games

Knowledge Adventure Spelling Games

Spelling Patterns Word Search

Spelling Match

Crossword Puzzles – Choose a grade and list

Word Search – Choose a grade and list

Word Builder

Word Sort

Word Find

Word Builder 2 – Choose a grade and list

Insha’Allah these links will be of some help to you.  If you have anything to add – please leave a comment.  I’d love to hear from you!

Asalaam ‘Alaikum,

Sumayyah Umm SAA

Asalaam ‘Alaikum,

Alhumdulilah – I am so fortunate to be given the opportunity to home school.  Aren’t you?  I know many people would think I am crazy for saying this – although none of them home school themselves.  However, I’m sure that most of you that home school feel the same way.  Now, if you are new to the game of home schooling, I am sure you are also scratching your head.  I remember when I first started – I didn’t doubt it was what I should be doing but there wasn’t a week where I wasn’t stressed at least once (if not more) and searching my way through it all.  I didn’t know if I could ever be at peace with homeschooling – but everything fell into place soon enough.  Alhumdulilah – there is hope – things do get much easier once you get through that first year.  You learn a lot (and so do the kids too, Masha’Allah) and you grow a lot as a person – as a parent – as a Muslim – and as a family.  I truly believe there are a great many of life lessons to be learned through home schooling.  This is true not only for the children – but also for the parent, Masha’Allah.

One thing I am truly grateful for – as a result of home schooling – is the amount of time we get to spend together as a family.  Masha’Allah – we are very close.  Now, don’t think things are perfect in a home schooling family (that would be a disservice).  Sometimes the dishes are not done immediately – sometimes we are sitting in front of the computer doing school while in our pajamas and morning hair, and – the kids don’t always get along.  However, we are close – really, Masha’Allah.  The kids have had to learn to get along with one another – as they spend all day together.  It not only teaches them to try to work together, but they are also learning how to deal with conflicts as well.  Now, most kids learn this – even if they are not home schooled (at least I think they do).  However, when I see many kids today – there aren’t as many tight-knit families as there once were.  It seems that once kids get sent off to school they fall into their own cliques and they find their own self-importance gets in the way of meaningful relationships within the family.  Mind you, I don’t think this is true of all children – but I have seen my share of kids who just live at home – but that’s not where their heart is.  They are yearning only for the support and acceptance of their peers – above (and despite) their own value as a person.  They don’t necessarily do things because they want to – but they do it because “everyone is doing it.”  They chase whatever it is to be “cool” and don’t really think about who they are or what they can achieve.  They try to be something they are not – in order to receive acceptance – and don’t always feel as comfortable in their own skin.

I remember when I was growing up, my parents did everything with us as a family (for the most part).  We went out to dinner together – watched movies in the theater together – played baseball together in the back yard, etc., etc.  Now it is difficult for many parents to get their kids to do anything willingly with them (it’s just not cool) – times really have changed.  Now, my kids do not always get along – trust me – but it is “not always” – not “most” of the time.  Alhumdulilah, my kids are best friends to one another.  We are very fortunate, alhumdulilah.  They do have other friends – but they really have grown close over the years and enjoy each other’s company.  Personally, I feel like a different person whenever I go somewhere without them – they are such an important part of my life, masha’Allah.

After getting through the first year’s worries and struggles – I truly have found inner peace that I have not known before.  I don’t know if everyone feels that way or if it’s just me.  However, I am glad I have gotten to this point in my life, Alhumdulilah.  This is one of those important lessons I did learn through homeschooling – believe it or not.  I have learned to slow down in life.  I have learned that having a completely neat and tidy house is not always the way to peace and tranquility – sometimes we do need a little messiness in our lives.  [Mind you, my husband doesn't always agree with me on this one ]  I am learning how to stop and smell the flowers – how to enjoy the feel of warm sunshine on my face – how to enjoy the silly giggles of the girls and sometimes to overlook their annoying habits to see the beauty in it all.  My kids – especially one of them – loves to make noises (trying all the different kinds of vocal sounds she can think of) – another loves to sing all the time (“Oooooh, I’m taking a shower – I’m taking a shower – I’m taking a shower and then I’ll be all clean”)  she sings about everything – it’s like a musical around the house.  The youngest just loves to get into trouble – make messes (lots of messes) and whine.  I kinda draw the line at whining – however I have found that usually she just needs guidance on what to say and how to say it.  Trust me when I say it takes a lot of patience on that one – but it is so rewarding when you finally see her speaking her mind, masha’Allah.  I remember the first time she was mad at her sister – she raised her voice and rattled off a bunch of words – none of which we could comprehend.  However, she felt great release by finally having something to say.  Her words are coming in much clearer now, Alhumdulilah.  Anyway – the homeschooling life is not without its challenges – however I have truly started looking at these challenges in a different light.  I try not to always demand quiet – I realize the need to express oneself.  The other day I asked my Mom what annoying habits I had as a child (thinking perhaps I was also a noise maker).  She quickly said: “you never shut up.”  My parents encouraged me to talk early – they always spoke to me and encouraged questions.  After that – I went crazy – talking – talking – talking.  I used to talk to strangers on the bus and subway – inviting to our home for tea.  “Don’t worry, my Mom doesn’t mind!”  My parents used to say (and sometimes still do) that if they could change one thing, they wouldn’t have taught me to talk so early   Things have not changed much.  Subhan’Allah.

I guess what I am saying is that I am truly learning more about the meaning of life – instead of being bogged down by all the details and distractions.  Does that make sense?  Every day I try very hard to make sure that I sometime slow myself down a bit and enjoy the moment.  I find myself watching my children and enjoying how they are growing.  Truly, they amaze me – masha’Allah.  When my child is reading a story for school, I sit with her and listen.  Sometimes it really amazes me that a few years ago she didn’t even know the sounds for letters – masha’Allah – and I have been there every step of the way, while she struggled through it.  My other child has practically skipped all that phonics stuff and jumped right into reading.  No, actually her older sister loves to teach her everything she knows, masha’Allah and this has benefited her younger sister so much.  On the sly they do phonics work together – no kidding!  When my oldest was learning multiplication she started teaching her sister who is in 1st grade.  As a result, the 1st grader is great at multiplication – without any influence from me, masha’Allah.  I guess her sister is a great teacher (perhaps better than me!)  When I was in college I finally found my way through math – I guess I finally stumbled upon a great teacher, masha’Allah.  As a result, students in the class started begging me to tutor them. It was then that I learned that if you really want to strengthen some skill – teach others – there’s no better way.  So, I am finding that when she teaches her sister, she also strengthens her own skills.  This doesn’t mean I can sit back now and have her teach her sister everything – but when she takes the opportunity to share with her sister, I encourage her and they both benefit.

My kids also love to imagine – they can spend hours at a time just working out some storyline together – acting it out and then imagining more.  You can tell there is growth there.  When I first became a Mom all that hype of superkids was prevalent (I’m sure it still is, but I just don’t listen to that garbage anymore).  If you read to your child in the womb – if you start school when your child is younger – etc., etc., etc.  All that stuff is nonsense as far as I am concerned – and forces children to lose their childhood way before it is necessary.  Children learn through play – they learn a lot.  When they are children the possibilities are endless – they find amusement by searching through blades of grass for ants and examining their behaviors – they are in tune with everything.  Nowadays, parents don’t have time for their children to be children anymore.  They are always trying to speed everything up to keep pace with their own busy and often meaningless lives.  Yes, that comment was harsh – but I guess everyone is entitled to their opinions, right?  Kids are now scheduled for this class and that activity.  Parents are endlessly shuttling their kids from one event to another.  Whatever happened to spontaneous learning – learning just from living?  When I first became a parent, I fell for it.  I bought the toys that were going to make my kids smarter and successful.  What a waste.  Even then my kids knew what was better – they played with the empty boxes.  They build forts and imagined a whole world full of people who lived there and interacted.  Those “genius” toys gathered dust until I woke up and realized that they were just another way to get parents to waste money needlessly.  I don’t know about everyone else’s kids, but my kids need stuff to spark their imagination (they thrive on it).  They love playing with blocks – legos – dress-up clothes – and sometimes just their own imaginations.  Subhan’Allah – when my kids were little (my youngest has just started this) they used to pretend their hands and feet were people.  They’d play act using these “people” and entertain themselves for quite a long time.  They’d allow their imagination take them places – learning about the relationships between these characters – resolve conflicts – expressing themselves and having just plain fun.  Why does everyone think that complicated means better?

I just recently set up a writing blog for my two oldest.  You cannot even imagine what that has done to their creativity!  I set up the blogs so that no one can access them – they are just for us to see.  It is mostly a portfolio of their current work – creative writing and artwork.  The first day I spent a lot of time writing up their stories in their individual blogs.  They have had writing journals for a year or so now and they hadn’t been used much.  However, as I was typing up their stories, I finally noticed that no one was in the room.  When I went to find them, they were laying across their beds writing in their journals.  Since then – whenever I can’t find the girls – they are writing, masha’Allah.  The oldest told her sister to “act out” a story she had in mind.  While she is acting it out, the oldest writes the storyline in her journal.  I think she now as about 6 pages written in her journal.

I have found one of the most wonderful parts of homeschooling is when you can find some way to encourage the kiddos to love learning – whether it is writing, drawing, or mathematics.  I have always been told something like “teaching is preparing a wonderful meal and encouraging your children to eat.”  Well, it’s something like that – my mind is drawing a blank to the exact quote.  When I was a young child, I was fortunate to have a grandmother who was a Home-Economics Teacher.  Not only did she encourage learning living skills and crafts – she also encouraged us to learn more about the things we loved.  We used to spend each summer at her home.  When we were there, she learned what we enjoyed – then she would encourage us to learn more and to develop our skills.  I loved writing and she encouraged me.  My brother loved drawing and she encouraged his art.  She would pull out pieces of paper and scissors and ask us to create something – anything.  Use your imagination.  Those days and the many lessons she taught us will be with us forever – my brothers and I are extremely grateful for the experience.  As homeschoolers, we also have the opportunity to do this for our children.  It is not only to teach the basics – Reading – Writing and Arithmetic – but to share with them the love for learning and growth as a person.  If we can do that – and help them to find a beauty within themselves – to help them reach for their dreams and to believe that they can make a difference – then we truly have done a good job to prepare our children, insha’Allah.

A child’s eyes, those clear wells of undefiled thought—

what on earth can be more beautiful?

Full of hope, love and curiosity, they meet your own.

In prayer, how earnest; in joy, how sparkling; in sympathy, how tender!

The man who never tried the companionship of a little child

has carelessly passed by one of the great pleasures of life,

as one passes a rare flower without plucking it or knowing its value.

~ Mrs. Norton ~

Asalaam ‘Alaikum,

Sumayyah Umm SAA

Asalaam ‘Alaikum:

I wasn’t going to post any more this week.  However, sometimes enlightenment hits you – even if it’s not an earth shaking idea.  I’ll take what I can get!  Well, I just borrowed a DVD from the library called “Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger”.  Yes, I’m on a quest to eat healthier foods – but I don’t want to compromise on taste.  For those of you who are already bored – don’t worry, somewhere in this post you will find something relevant to homeschooling.  Somewhere.  Just bear with me!

Anyway . . . I was making Vanilla Spice Oatmeal this morning for breakfast – at the kiddos urgent request (they really love oatmeal, masha’Allah).  I don’t know how many of you out there actually take the time to make your own oatmeal (no those packets that you just pour water over is not considered “making your own”).  Sorry.  I was standing there preparing the oatmeal and I was thinking about how I used to prepare those little packets for the girls (up until this year).  After reading that book “Eat This, Not That” I re-examined our use of those sugar laden packets of cereal and realized that even in its “healthy disguise” (we should all eat more oatmeal – right?) oatmeal eaten this way is just not good for you.

Then, I was wondering – why in the heck have I always just resigned myself to making this junk food disguised as healthy food anyway?  This is where the enlightenment part comes in – so stand back!  In this day and age – the amazing age of fast food and readily prepared food – where we are always too busy running from one place to another – no one has bothered to pass down the great gifts of self reliance anymore because we have lost the way.  What – you say?  How do you get that from a tiny packet of oatmeal?  Well, this thought started there – but it took me down other paths, you see.  Don’t look so surprised – I mean, you have read some of my other posts, haven’t you?!?

I made those tiny sugar-laden packets of oatmeal because that is the way my mother made oatmeal for us as children.  My mother never made her own oatmeal – and I doubt that she knew how.  Mind you, she wasn’t the best cook anyway – but I am sure that even “good cooks” out there may not make everything themselves these days.  Think back to the days of Laura Ingalls – Subhan’Allah – I always admiringly look upon those days, wishing for its beautiful simplicity.  I know – life must have been hard back then – lots of work too.  However, imagine how wonderful it must be to build your own house (can you imagine!) – to sew your own clothes – to make your own cheese, ice cream and yogurt – to milk your own cow.  I’m sure some out there still live this way (but not many) – I’m sure though, that many would stare at a cow and wonder where the milk comes from (if they even know milk comes from cows and not the dairy section of their local supermarket).  I wonder though, what it must have been like to be a Muslim back then, though.  Perhaps I don’t want to know.  Anyway, I don’t know about how these things affect other societies or other cultures – although I have even seen changes in Yemen as well (believe it or not).   The point is – we have definitely lost our way- we are so out of touch with the world around us – our food – the earth – our history and culture.

We no longer raise the animals we eat – and most people only buy a slab of meat at the market not even knowing where it came from.  Yes dear, it just amazingly appeared already packaged in styrofoam – right?  Most people have no idea of how the animals they eat are raised – how they are treated, what they eat or how they are slaughtered.  And, as a Muslim (might I remind you) this is extremely important.  Unless I don’t understand it properly – it doesn’t just make an animal halal to just say “Bismillah” and slaughter it.  Mind you, I am no scholar – but in my limited understanding there are ways that things must be done – and most of us are terribly ignorant of that fact (myself included).  Most “halal” meat providers slaughter “Islamically” yet they have no idea what that animal was eating prior to slaughter or how it was treated and raised – because they often just bought it at auction.  Don’t believe me?  Ask.  You’ll be shocked at the answer.  I have also gone to a slaughterhouse with my husband and seen inhumane treatment of the animals as well (Once an animal had a chain wrapped around its ankle and was raised up high to be slaughtered – dangling by its leg – upside down.  Another time the person brought another animal into the same pen where one animal was being already slaughtered) – all against the Islamic rules of slaughter – but you knew that, didn’t you?  The problem is, how many of us actually know what is going on?  Even while visiting Yemen once I witnessed a man bring his sheep to a garbage bin.  The night before, the place next to us had a huge wedding party and their scraps where all in the bin.  The man pulled down the sheets of paper filled with leftovers and fed his sheep.  Do you think he bothered to take out the meat that was on the paper?  No.  Wait, I  know – perhaps he knew the wedding party was filled with vegetarians.  My mistake.  Anyway – the main point is that we truly need to wake up and smell the grande low-fat iced vanilla double-shot gingerbread cappuccino!  We have to make ourselves more aware.

It’s not just the meat we eat – what about the other stuff we put into our mouths.  The drinks – the vegetables – the grains – the fruits.  Most of these items are not the same as when we were growing up (Subhan’Allah – just look at the book “Eat This, Not That” and it will tell you we consume way more calories by drinks than ever before).  I mean, look at good-for-nothing corn syrup – it’s in almost every packaged food item on the shelves of your local supermarket.  We recently ate out (a rare event) and the side-item for the kids was applesauce.  The girls usually eat regular unsweetened applesauce (I mean, do you really need to add sugar to everything?!?)  The second ingredient – after apples – was corn syrup!  That’s just not normal – and it isn’t good for you.

When I was growing up, we were fortunate enough to have a huge backyard garden.  I also grew a garden as a girl scout and knew where my food came from.  I loved it.  Now, we live in a house with a small sloped backyard and I wouldn’t want to grow anything there anyway – our neighbors (and dh) use way too much fertilizer to take care of their beautiful green grass.  Instead of growing wonderful food in your backyard – you grow useless grass!  I mean, my neighbor cuts his grass a few times a week – making sure to make those pretty horizontal and vertical lines just like commercial grass cutters.  How sweet, right?  Well, I remember when my mother-in-law came to visit us.  We’d show her the landscape – the mountains – the trees.  She wasn’t impressed.  She simply said “in our country, the trees grow fruit.”  Enough said.  I mean, when I was growing up my grandmother had trees in her yard.  She had a lemon tree, an apple tree and a pear tree.  We loved to pick the fruit!  Living here – with little tree cover and little shade – I still do love trees – don’t get me wrong.  However, I can’t help but truly miss those that bore fruit.  I mean, when was the last time you just went into your backyard and picked fruit fresh from the tree and ate?  We don’t know what we are missing out on!  These trees not only provide shade, but they provide sustenance as well.  So, (lucky me) instead we have a treeless yard and grass – lots of grass.  I shouldn’t leave out that other wonderful trick – lots of rocks to go around the grass so you don’t have to spend all day cutting grass (for those lazier folks out there – you know who you are :0)  So, you not only have mounds of useless grass – you also have a wonderful rock garden.  This isn’t coming across as complaining or anything, is it?

Well, I’m only in control of what I do and what I can do – I can’t always reason with everyone else.  So, some things I just have to miss – and that’s that.  Anyway, I can’t stress enough how I miss feeling the soil between my fingers – and the joy of eating what you grew yourself.  I remember that a friend of mine – while growing up – her grandparents had a huge garden and they would eat from it all year long.  They spent time canning and preparing vegetables and fruits for freezing together as a family.  Now, we go to the grocery store and find fruits and vegetables that we aren’t even sure of their origins.  Where are they grown?  Are they covered with harmful pesticides or other chemicals?  Are they genetically modified?  Are they safe to eat?  How will their consumption affect myself and my family?

I kind of rambled on about the food – didn’t know I was thinking all that stuff.  My goodness, what brain I have left is often chasing around the kids all day and I rarely get a chance to stop and actually think – especially out loud.  It sometimes shocks me where one idea takes me to another – and another – and another.  I am not kidding . . . in normal conversation with friends it usually goes like this “Oh, did I tell you about ….” and then a few minutes later “Oh, that reminds me about …” and then a few minutes later “oh, what was I originally talking about?”  I think I’ve signed myself up for early senility unknowingly – must have been while enjoying my morning coffee!

What I was really consciously thinking about this morning while fixing the oatmeal was also the way our lives had changed in other ways.  Thinking of the girls, I remember when my grandmother taught me how to embroider (she didn’t actually teach me how to sew – she died before having the chance).  She also taught me how to crochet – but she did not know how to knit.  What wonderful knowledge used to be passed on from generation to generation.  Now, you find few people who still do these things.  Women used to teach their girls how to sew, crochet, knit, cook, bake, etc., etc., etc.  Nowadays you find many women who can’t do these things and I know a few sisters who don’t even know how to cook – at all. Subhan’Allah – their husband’s have to forego dinners like frozen fish sticks with tartar sauce at least a couple of times a week.  We need to get back to the basics of life (at least as much as possible) and share these important crafts and life skills to our children.  My grandmother was a home-ec. Teacher and she loved this sort of thing.  I remember once she gave me a wonderful book – it taught you the basic skills of living – things like how to fold towels, how to set the table, how to sew, etc.  Masha’Allah – how wonderful it is to teach yourself and your children to be self-sufficient.  Anyway – I feel that it is high time that we start returning to some of the ways we used to do things – and some of the things we used to teach before we got so blinded by the “easy life.”  You know, if you need something – just go to Wal-Mart and get it, right?!?

If you were not fortunate enough to pick up these skills – try to find someone in your family or community that has them and have them teach your child.  Hey, while you’re at it – watch and learn yourself too!  There are places that teach sewing (I even took some classes, masha’Allah) – others that teach crochet and knitting.  I even have a friend who knows how to make her own clay beads to make necklaces.  I know that I have heard on the homeschooling groups posts about books available online for learning other life skills – if I get a chance, I will try to post the links here I just can’t find them right now.  Sorry.  Anyway, the opportunities for growth and learning are endless.

Also, way back when, boys were also often taught things like wood-working skills or mechanics (either things like fixing cars or fixing machines around the house).  My brother was really good at taking things apart – he just never could put them back together again.  Imagine my parents surprise when the tv was sitting there – all taken apart!  I still remember my dad puttering around either in the garage or in his basement workshop.  I just wish he had actually taught me something!  Unfortunately, I never gained these skills.  I really regret that – but I doubt I will ever have that chance now – and dh definitely has never been taught these skills.  I had to teach him how to use a hammer J I have to admit – whenever I see someone actually make something for themselves out of wood, like a deck or cabinetry, etc. – I still get that “I wish I could take a class for that” yearning . . .  However, I really doubt I will ever actually go through with it – so sad.  Anyway, if there is anyone in your family – anyone in your lives that do have these skills it would be a wonderful gift for your child to involve them.  Ask the person to let your child be an apprentice.  If worst comes to worst – at least let your child sign up for those neat kids’ classes they have at Home Depot or Lowes.  I’m sure your kiddos will be grateful.

Well, if you actually stuck around and read to the end of this post – congratulations!  To reward you for your patience with my rambling, I’ve decided to add that recipe for the Vanilla Spice Oatmeal I was making this morning.

Boil 3 ½ cups of water.  Add 2 cups oatmeal.  If you like plump raisins, add ½ cup raisins while boiling.  Otherwise, add them afterwards.  Boil for 5 minutes. When the 5 minutes are up, add ¼ tsp. vanilla, 1 pinch of nutmeg and 2 tbsp. brown sugar.  Sprinkle toasted walnuts on top.  If you like your oatmeal creamy, drizzle a bit of milk on the top of the oatmeal.  Eat and enjoy!

I bet you never knew making oatmeal could be so thought provoking!  Make some today and see what thoughts you come up with.. .

Asalaam ‘Alaikum,

Sumayyah Umm SAA

Asalaam ‘Alaikum:

I couldn’t help but add one last post for the day.  I just received a message on one of the homeschooling groups about a new blog that just started (or perhaps it has been around a while and I just didn’t know about it.)  Either way, I think it is a great idea and wanted to spread the word.

Want to check it out?  Here’s the link:  Islamic Bulletin Boards

Who knows, perhaps I will just have to add a link from time to time for a blog or website that I think is really neat – isn’t if fun to share?!

If you have any websites, blogs, etc. that you just can’t live without – do a favor for your other brothers and sisters in Islam – share it!  Let me know if you have anything we should add to our list – for Arabic learning, Islamic Studies, Islam, or anything else you think is beneficial.  Jazak Allah Khair in advance.  When you get a chance – check out the like above – you’ll be glad you did.

Asalaam ‘Alaikum,

Sumayyah Umm SAA

Asalaam ‘Alaikum:

What can I say, I love writing – it is a passion of mine (reading is up there too).  I have been trying to help my girls in their writing.  It can be difficult some times.  Often they feel they don’t have anything important to say.  I’m trying to show them all the possibilities.  I haven’t been just focusing on creative writing – although I definitely agree that it has an important place in our lessons.  I am also trying to help them write better in their school work and in their notes.  Sounds boring, no – actually my girls are starting to finally enjoy this part of school – but it took us a while to get there because I wasn’t being creative enough.

By the way – as a side note – I have had days when my kids just had a hard time getting some idea – they just couldn’t grasp it.  However, I have finally come to an important realization.  If your child fails to understand a concept – it is the fault of the teacher (in this case me) and not the child.  You just haven’t found a way to make it understandable for your child. I have seen this on so many occasions since homeschooling my kids.  At first I really struggled with this issue and couldn’t understand why they just didn’t “get it” the first time.  However, when I started trying to find more creative ways to reach them – we had some real successes.  So, if you ever are stuck in a moment where you child just doesn’t understand – try your best to find a way to reach them.  Try to find a creative way to teach them what they need to know.  Your child will feel successful from the experience – and I might add, so will you.

That being said, we will return to writing.  The other day I was working with my daughter on her writing lessons.  In the past we have already used the four-square method for writing and I really like it.  Strangely enough – being an older person now (ha ha) I don’t often remember how I was taught things, but things just come naturally for me (especially in those things I do well with like writing, alhumdulilah).  Anyway, I love this method simply because it allows you to organize your thoughts before wasting your time writing and finding that you have gone off the beaten track (perhaps I should use this method when I blog – then I wouldn’t ramble on – oh well, we can’t always be perfect!).

At some point or another I found a book (probably at a resale shop or the library book sale about 4-square writing.  The book is entitled “Four Square Writing Method for Grades 1-3” by the Teaching & Learning Co.  It is an excellent (at least in my opinion) book for introducing writing skills for your child.  There may be other wonderful writing books out there – or perhaps other great writing methods – but I found this book and I’m glad I did, Alhumdulilah.  Essentially, you start your writing by dividing a piece of paper into fourths and then writing your important points (1 for each square).  You build from there – adding more information under each section.  From there, you can write your paper based on your four square.  I definitely like this method and I wondered why in the world our homeschool program wasn’t using something more like this.

I was equally amazed when we had our last writing assignment – and truly saw the benefits of doing it our way instead of their way.  My daughter was supposed to write about any topic – through each lesson they guided her through choosing a topic, pre-writing, and amazingly enough – only after the child already writes do they finally decide it is time for making sure (1) that your paper doesn’t have any information not related to your topic and (2) to organize your thoughts.  Hello?!?  Am I missing something here?  This was lesson # 3!  I told my daughter not to worry about it because we thought out our writing before we had actually written anything – which is an important lesson.

While our curriculum (yes, we use K12) is heavy on the writing – it doesn’t necessarily teach good writing from the outset (at least, not yet).  I guess we are all supposed to either be born good writers or we just have to struggle in writing.  I remember our lessons in our first years for History (for example) when you were supposed to read the lesson and then draw one picture about the lesson or write what you had learned from the lesson – hopefully writing at least half of the time.  Well, you definitely learn and grow – since this is our third year with the program – I am finding better ways to work with the curriculum.  We are very happy for this change as it makes our lessons more interesting.

For each lesson we now take notes (the curriculum is still asking to write down the important parts of the lesson at the end of the lesson – but our method is working wonders for my girls’ understanding of the topics (not to mention their enjoyment).  We now use this system with History and Science lessons. Instead of writing word after word – just regurgitating what we have read in the lessons, we are finding more interesting ways of remembering what we have learned.  For example, today we are learning about Ecosystems in Science (in particular, Tundra).  Instead of writing word for word definitions of everything – we are making our notes easily readable and in my daughter’s definition: “cool”.

For example, there are no trees in the tundra.  In my daughter’s notes we drew a tree and put an X through it (near it we wrote simply “no trees”).  It is cold and windy there – so, we drew the artistic lines we learned about in Art class to represent wind and wrote beside it simply “cold + windy.”  Then we learned where on the map the Tundra is located – we printed off a small version of the map and cut it out and pasted it in her notebook and wrote beside the map “Where is Tundra?”  These are just a few examples from our Science lessons.

If you’ve ever done any lap booking – this is pretty much the same, in notebook style.  It’s not as fancy or time consuming as lap booking can be – but it is just an easier and more enjoyable way to write down and later recall what you have learned.

This has also been helpful with History lessons.  We started drawing pictures instead of text to represent important ideas or events.  We even draw our own time lines in the notebook.    I am also teaching the girls to use different fancy writing to let important ideas for the lesson stand out.  For example, we were learning recently about Venice during the Renaissance.  Venice was known as the Queen of the Adriatic Sea.  They had ships and it was an empire.  So, my daughter drew several ships in a row in her notebook and wrote above it “Queen of the Adriatic” to remember how Venice earned this title.  She also drew in large letters in her notebook the word “Empire” (all caps) to emphasize this point.  She also drew a picture of a canal and a gondola in order to remember the Grand Canal and how people moved form place to place there.  She said the lesson was fun (not something you hear every day).  Now, whenever we look over the notebook we can quickly get the main ideas from each lesson.

Anyway, all through school I was never really given the tools to take good notes.  I learned things here and there and only in College did we have a course for taking good notes – study skills and the like.  I guess I learned something from them – but even then they mostly taught us to regurgitate the information and just write a bunch of text to summarize what we had learned (which still was a lot of writing).  I am finding – since kids love to draw anyway – that teaching them to take notes that are more interesting to write and to read is helping their recall greatly.  Too bad we don’t learn important lessons like this in school.  You’re told to take notes, but not told how to.  Strange isn’t it?

I have greatly enjoyed reading a few different methods to teach creative writing.  One of my favorite books is 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for the Primary Grades by Ruth Culham.  She has this book plus another similar book for the upper grades.  I really love the ideas behind this methodology but haven’t had the time yet to implement it (my next pet project, perhaps?).    She has several books about writing and so far I have enjoyed them.  Another that I like is Using Picture Books To Teach Writing With The Traits by Ruth Culham.  I really think – if I had the time – we could really benefit from this.  The problem is that I haven’t been able to buy the books yet (yes – on a budget!).  Instead I have to borrow them from the library and before we get a chance to delve deep into things the books are on hold for someone else.  What makes it worse is that these books are not available at our own library – I can only get them through library loan which doesn’t allow you to renew them.  Insha’Allah I will be able to get them soon and start benefiting from them.  My daughters are eager to get into writing (I think they see Momma really enjoy her self and want to get in on the fun.)

Anyway, there is one last book I really enjoyed – and strangely enough, it was about Nonfiction books.  Now – one thing I need to get out there is that my oldest has definitely been a learning experience for me.  Just when I think things are going great she will throw me for a loop and I have to relearn all that I have learned.  I have benefitted so much by teaching her, masha’Allah.  She has hated reading from the start.  That was a shocker – especially when I love books and try to make sure we are always surround by good reading materials)!  To start, she hated phonics and she always said that reading gave her a headache.  No, her eyes are in great condition – in case you were wondering.  I took her to the library each week – taking so many books out from the library that I thought any kid her age would greatly enjoy (I finally found out recently that I am not weird – because my middle one loves the books that I thought were great – it’s all about difference in taste!)

We finally got books from the library that were mysteries.  She read a few and started to think that things weren’t too bad with reading.  Then, she decided she didn’t like them anymore – who knows?!?  Then, one day to practice reading I printed off a few magazine articles from kids science magazines.  She read it with zeal!  I was shocked.  I told her if she liked those kinds of stories we could get more from the library.  She was excited – and I have yet to pick my jaw up from the ground.  She said she loved to learn new things from books and didn’t like the fiction ones we have found.  Now she regularly gets non-fiction books from the library and we also enjoy books in a few different ways.

There were some books that I thought she would enjoy but she just wouldn’t give them the time of day.  One book in particular was actually one in a series.  So, I found the audio for a few of the books. After listing to the story, she was hooked.   Now, whenever we go to the library she quickly checks to see if these books are on the shelf.  See what I mean?!?  You have to be creative in your thinking sometimes.  Subhan’Allah!   I have also found that some books she just loves hearing – but not reading.  So, we usually grab some audio books and non-fiction books that she likes and any fiction stories that catch her eye.  Alhumdulilah, now she loves reading but is still particular in her tastes for books.

Well, where was I?  Oh yes, I was talking about non-fiction before I starting rambling on.  Yes, this is one of those moments when I should be using a four-square (in fact, my life should probably be put into a four square but that would take all the fun out of confusing everyone (including myself!)  Anyway, I found a book at the library that discussed teaching through non-fiction literature.  I loved it!  Again, we had to return the book to the library and haven’t had a chance to get it back – insha’Allah another “pet project”.  Anyway, I couldn’t help mentioning the book though because I thought it was great.  Here’s the title:

Asalaam ‘Alaikum,

While some may think this has nothing to do with homeschooling, the foods we eat and feed our children has been on my mind for quite some time.  It’s not only the foods we eat, but also the amount of healthy activities we have in our lives.  What I mean is, as Muslims we should take care of our bodies and teach our children to do the same.  It is rather difficult to do that without eating properly, eating the proper amounts, and knowing the importance of physical exercise.

A year or so ago I started to have a health problem and quickly realized my own mistakes – my parents where not what you would call the best example when it came to good health habits.  However, it is never too late to learn!  Alhumdulilah, just by changing my lifestyle I have been able to rid myself of any health problems.

Since that time I have made it my goal to find out as much as I can about the foods we eat and to find ways to improve our lifestyle choices.  Most of all, I am trying to be a good example to my children.  One thing is common with many homeschool parents – at least I would think so.  We are often so busy we may forget (or chose to) to make time for ourselves.  At least, this was true with me.  We were so busy trying to get through the school year and all the other responsibilities I have that I didn’t think I could find time to take care of my own needs.  It may sound great to be so selfless – however, in the long-run it will hurt you and your family.  You need to take care of YOU.

First of all, we have greatly increased the amount of exercise we do.  Fortunately, we do have a women’s gym locally and I try to break free of our schedule to go at least 3 times a week.  Also, when Dad is able, we try to go walking while the girls ride their bikes around the neighborhood (about 1 1/2 miles).  The kids really love to exercise and will often join me if I exercise at home.  When the weather gets warmer, I am going to try to take the kids more regularly to a park nearby as well – they really need to run around a bit each day.  When the weather is better – usually on weekends – we take the kids into the mountains and go hiking.  The kids absolutely love this – not only do we get in some exercise (we usually hike for about 4-6 hours) – but we also get to be around nature and all it’s beauty.  We usually pack snacks and find a nice place to rest on our trip to have a little picnic.  It truly is treasured family time.

Next, we also have been trying to focus on the amount of food we eat.  For dinners, we have been trying to have a light meal – soup and bread or just a salad.  Think of it – usually our meals are heaviest at dinner time.  However, you then go to bed.  What in the world does your body need all that food for – just to sleep?  We now try to have our “big meal” for lunch time.  It’s not only eating a heavy meal at dinner.  We also truly need to go back to following the Qur’an and sunnah with regard to food:

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):  “and eat and drink

but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allaah) likes not Al‑Musrifoon

(those who waste by extravagance)”  [al-A’raaf 7:31]

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to eat a few mouthfuls, to keep him going. If he must do that (fill his stomach), then let him fill one third with food, one third with drink and one third with air.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2380); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (2265).

Unfortunately, I think it is easy for many of us to overlook this important lesson.  After starting to have health problems, I consciously tried to do this and the results were amazing.  The way we live and our attitudes about food are deeply ingrained in us – depending on how we were taught as children.  For example it is so hard for us to think we can do very much with little food in our stomachs.  During Rammadan many people don’t do much physical activity because they can’t handle it with their stomachs empty.  One day while fasting last year my husband wanted to go hiking.  At first I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it – not because of an empty stomach, but because I couldn’t drink water.  However, it was one of the harder hikes we had gone on and I made it!  It was not difficult for me, masha’Allah.  After that, I realized that we greatly underestimate our abilities.  So, we should try to eat less – and we shouldn’t use that as an excuse to do less in our lives.  We just don’t need the amount of food that we fill our stomachs with.

One thing that I reflect on is that people used to eat communally.  This is one of the things I love about visiting Yemen – where they do that on a daily basis.  At home, my husband loves to eat hot sauce on everything and my daughters and I definitely can’t handle spicy food.  So, the girls and I eat together, but my husband does not.  I truly miss everyone eating together!  There is something wonderful about reaching for food on a plate together with family and friends.  Also, I think (but could be wrong) that you just don’t eat as much as when you pile food on a plate all for yourself.

One habit I hate for a parent to have (yes, I am sure we all have done this at one time or another) is to encourage our family members to finish all the food on their plates.  Now, I am not encouraging wasting your food – but why do you have to put so much on the plate to begin with?  I guess I have a different point of view for one reason which is still vivid in my mind.  Each holiday my grandmother would love to make sweet potato casserole (and, I might add – she was not a good cook).  I really – really – really – do not like sweet potatoes (perhaps for this reason).  Each year she would pile my plate high with her sweet potato casserole – fully knowing that I did not like it.  She would then tell me I had to eat everything on my plate before I could leave the table. [Yes, my grandmother was not very nice - long story!]  It took me forever, but I always ate it in the end – even if it took me all evening.  I had no choice.  For that reason, I have a hard time putting food on a plate for other people (which I realize it perhaps not very good etiquette when you think of how hospitable many Arabs are when they have guests) – but I really hate to force anything on anyone.  I prepare the food, lay it out and ask everyone to serve themselves.  This way, they don’t have to eat anything they don’t like and they don’t have to waste any food unnecessarily.

While this is now an ingrained habit when it comes to guests – it is a little less ingrained when it comes to the kids.  However, I have been reflecting on that lately.  My husband was telling the girls the other day to finish every last bite the other day and I finally wondered “why”.  What difference does it make if they eat every last bite.  Isn’t that what a fridge is for anyway – just put it in a container and have them eat it at another meal.  I don’t want them to grow up thinking they always have to “clean their plates” even when they are already satisfied with less food.  I mean, isn’t it a good time to teach them good eating habits now, while they are still learning and growing?  How can you expect them to follow the sunnah if you keep enforcing the “clean your plate” law?

Here are a few other quotes to reflect on this issue:

Al-Haakim narrated that Abu Juhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:  “The more people eat their fill in this world, the more hungry they will be on the Day of Resurrection.”

Sufyaan al-Thawri (may Allaah have mercy on his) said: If you want your body to be healthy and to sleep less, then eat less.

Eating too much also makes the heart heedless.

It was said to Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him): Does a man find any softness and humility in his heart when he is full? He said, I do not think so.

So, all of the above are a few changes we have made to our lifestyle – but there is one that we have been working on slowly but surely and I keep finding more information to adjust our lifestyle a little more.  Our recent endeavor into eating healthy was started by a few books that I loaned from the library (excellent books that I really recommend you take out of the library).  The books are several in a series entitled “Eat this, not that” by David Zinczenko. Talk about enlightening!  Subhan’Allah!  After reading these books – it is hard to see how people can be surprised that many Americans are obese.  If they only knew what they were putting into their mouths!  Alhumdulilah, we do not eat many many of those foods in the books – but there are things like condiments and other similar things we add to our foods during cooking that made me shocked.  As a result, I have been working on a few things:

1. I have tried my best to cut out most (if not all) of the refined foods in our diet.  I have been working on learning how to bake fresh whole-wheat breads and the family is enjoying my experiments.  Just wish it didn’t take so long – but it truly is worth it, masha’Allah.  When I finally get a recipe or two that are truly wonderful and meet my needs, I think I might set up one day a week to bake many loaves of bread and then freeze them for later use.  Not only do I use whole-wheat flour in bread, but I have also used them in baking other things like muffins and scones (for example).

2. Not only have I started using whole wheat for baking, but I have also tried to cut out most of the butter and fats that are unnecessary in baking.  I don’t mean unnecessary as in they are not needed – even in baking bread you need some.  However, I guess I mean unnecessary in the huge amounts that many recipes call for.  If a recipe calls for too much, I just won’t make it.  And, if I can adjust the recipe by using other ingredients (applesauce, for example) then I will.

3. We already NEVER have sweets, juices  or junk food in our house (if you want to know why – definitely look at the “Eat this, not that” books!  This has been a rule in our house forever, alhumdulilah.  If we have anything – it is usually every every once in a while and we only have enough for that one time and that’s it.  If it’s not there, you are less likely to be tempted by it.

4. If we do have sweets in the house (on those rare occasions) – I prefer to make them home made so I know what is put into them.  Also, I try to use all natural and healthy ingredients.

5. We always try to have fruit in the house.  In Yemen, one of the wonderful habits of my husband’s family is that they make everyone eat a piece of fruit after EVERY MEAL.  If there is desert, which is not that often, you have to eat fruit before you can have any.  They always have baskets of fresh oranges, tangerines, apples, pears, etc.  Alhumdulilah, I am fortunate because my kids love fruit!

6. We always have fresh vegetables in the house – in my opinion, organic is best.  If we don’t – we have to go out and get some.  Masha’Allah, in Yemen my husband’s father would go out each morning before work to buy the day’s vegetables.  I love to cook – alhumdulilah – and one thing I learned early on was to always include vegetables in your cooking.  My mom was not a good cook (sorry Mom).  When she would make vegetables, she would boil them – dump out the water and then pour melted butter over them.  That’s it – very bland.  I was fortunate to become good friends with a Turkish family when I first became Muslim and they are experts at cooking healthy, masha’Allah.  Their meals would be heavy on the vegetables and meat would be added for some flavor.  I have found other recipes from other cultures (including Yemen) and have incorporated them into our daily meals.  I feel guilty if we just eat meat and rice.

7. We rarely eat out.  If we do, it is usually to eat fish – and definitely not fried.  I guess that’s why my husband’s favorite place to visit is California.  I used to hate seafood.  I only ate it fried, if at all.  However, I have learned to actually love fish, but only if it is not too fishy as some can be.  At first, my kids hated seafood because they saw that I wouldn’t eat it.  Now my children love to eat it and my oldest even loves to go eat sushi with her Dad (I won’t go that far, sorry!)

8. We also have starting using things that the Prophet recommended for eating healthy.  So, each day we take black seeds, honey, etc. as part of our daily routine.

Alhumdilulah, these changes have been good ones, although not always easy.  The point I wanted to make is that we really need to think about the foods we put into our mouths and into the mouths of our children.  This isn’t only a time to feed their minds with good ideas – to sacrifice to homeschool them and teach them in a way that is good and upright.  We also need to teach them to have healthy living habits – because it not only affects their minds and bodies, but it also affects their iman and their strength to do what is right.  Allah knows best, but I think because I spend a lot of time with my children, it is easier for me to realize how important it is.  Perhaps, with this reminder, you will see it is important to.

I’m curious – who else has been trying to live a healthier lifestyle?  What changes have you made?  What books/resources have influenced you in these changes?  Are there any recipes, books or cookbooks you highly recommend?  I’d love to hear from you!

When I first started thinking about healthier eating, I read some of the following books that were extremely insightful:

Learning About the Foods You Eat:

Twinkie, deconstructed : my journey to discover how the ingredients found in processed foods are grown, mined (yes, mined), and manipulated into what America eats. by Steve Ettlinger.

The jungle effect : a doctor discovers the healthiest diets from around the world– why they work and how to bring them home.   ByDaphne Miller.

In Defense of Food: An Eaters Maifesto. by Michael Pollan

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of  Four Meals. By Michael Pollan.

Chew On This: Everything You Don’t Want to Know About Fast Food by Charles Wilson

I don’t necessarily agree with all the ideas mentioned in these books, however I find all of them enlightening to the condition of the foods we eat.  In order to be a responsible consumer and to adequately protect our health, we must be knowledgeable about the state of the foods available around us.  For those of you who are overseas and think this won’t happen to you – this way of producing food is spreading all over the world.  Doesn’t almost every country have some form of fast food now?  It influences how food is produced – it’s just a matter of time.  While I wish we could raise our own animals for food and have our own large garden in the backyard – at least for now it is not feasible.  So, I do what I can to eat healthier.  I hope someday, Insha’Allah, that we will be able to better control the foods that we grow and the foods that we eat – for the health of us all and the health of our planet.

A Few Cookbooks I recommend:

Classic vegetarian cooking from the Middle East and North Africa. by Habeeb Salloum.

Great natural breads made easy : simple ways to make healthful bread. by Bernice Hunt.  (Awesome Book!)

Kneadlessly simple : fabulous, fuss-free, no-knead breads. By Nancy Baggett.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking. By Jeff Hertzberg MD

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients by Jeff Hertzberg MD

Bread Alone: Bold Fresh Loaves from Your Own Hands. by Daniel Leader

The Art of Turkish Cooking (Hippocrene International Cookbook Classics) by Neset Eren

These are just a few of the books I found useful and I am sure many more can be added to the list.  Do you have any recommendations?

Asalaam ‘Alaikum,
Sumayyah Umm SAA

Asalaam ‘Alaikum Everyone:

New Beginnings . . .

I know it has been a long time – but sometimes instead of writing about living your life – you actually have to live it.  It has been a very busy while for us – we’ve been homeschooling using K12’s curriculum through a Virtual School.  This option really works well for us but it does keep us busy (any homeschoolers out there that aren’t busy?)  Anyway, we have been learning and growing a lot (me included, masha’Allah) and hope to share some of our travels and thoughts with you.

Stay tuned . . .  I will make another post in the near future, but just wanted to let you know that we are still here, alhumdulilah.  Hope your travels with homeschooling and teaching or learning Arabic have been as rewarding as ours have.

Asalaam’ Alaikum,

Sumayyah Umm SAA

Asalaam ‘Alaikum Everyone:

No – we’re not actually closed (wipe the sweat from your forehead!) – actually only the SORRY part applies!

I know that I promised that I would upload the latest Arabic Learning Materials a week or so after Eid. I also know that many of you have been checking and waiting to see when that would ever happen. Have you lost confidence in me? I hope not!

I know that I am way behind – and I don’t take making promises lightly. From the depths of my heart – I ask you to forgive me for not doing it yet. The week I was intending to upload them, the girls and I had a severe stomach virus. The baby didn’t recover until last weekend – she didn’t eat for seven days without being sick. For those of you who have children – I am sure you know what that is like, masha’Allah.

Because we were sick – we also have gotten a week behind in school (that’s approximately 4 or 5 hours of work each day). So, we have been struggling to get caught up all the while preparing for a trip overseas. We not only have doctor’s appointments and immunizations – buying gifts for family – buying clothes and things we need – we also have to plan what we will bring for daily use – and what we will bring for school. Since we are behind, we will have to do some schoolwork while we are there (yuck).

Also – I actually don’t know the password to our account to update the files. When I don’t upload often – I tend to forget when there are so many other things happening around me! My husband is preparing for his finals so I haven’t wanted to burden him with finding it for me (he also doesn’t remember – lol!) Yes, we are a mess!

Anyway – I have the best of intentions and do not promise anything without actually wanting to have it done. It bothers me when I make a promise and then can’t get it done. So, insha’Allah – I will try my best to get it done before our trip.

Please forgive me if I cannot do it – but I will do my best, insha’Allah.

Also, please make dua for me – I have been going through some difficult times lately – health wise and in general. Your duas are greatly appreciated – Jazak Allah Khair.

I love you all for the sake of Allah – may He reunite us all in Jannah, insha’Allah.

Asalaam ‘Alaikum,

Sumayyah Umm Sadiqah – Asma – Ayah

Asalaam ‘Alaikum:

No, I haven’t forgotten that everyone is waiting for the Arabic Materials that I mentioned before Eid. I will try to upload them by next week – if not, insha’Allah, then in the beginning of next week. Things have been quite hectic over here – homeschooling and all. However, I’ve been meaning to do it – but it has been so long since I updated Yemenlinks that I forgot my password! Will fix that soon, insha’Allah.

Anyway – just wanted you to know that I haven’t forgotten you. These days the time just passes so quickly and I’m still trying to catch up, masha’Allah. I hope, insha’Allah, that the materials will benefit you and your families – schools – friends. If you do benefit from them – please let others know so that they may benefit from them too, insha’Allah. I know it’s not the best – but for many of us – it’s all we have. Insha’Allah we can benefit one another through them.

Asalaam ‘Alaikum,
Sumayyah Umm Sadiqah – Asma – Ayah