DIY- Literacy Fun: Popout Book

We made the boys a count and find pop out book. It was fun and easy to make. We called this book “We Like Animals”  it is the story of three different animals and they are looking for something in the story. 

 

The first is a dinosaur he is looking for his orange ball

The second is a bear and he is looking for three trees

The last is a butterfly and he is looking for a big flower.  This DIY book had the boys find the items and count, also name colors and the animals they were looking at.

You can make this by doing the follow: 

 

Get a construction paper and fold it in half..cut two slits about an inch apart and then push the square inbetween the slits inside the fold. It should look like a box inside when you open it, and then you glue whatever object you want on it and around it

Put lines on the paper and write a story afterwards we taped them all together and then put one final layer of construction paper on top. Ta da!!

 

 

Green Eggs And Halal Ham

“Would you eat them with your mother? Would you eat them with your brother?” was the question today after we read the book Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.

The boys were in for a nice surprise as we secretly made green eggs and halal (halal- food that is killed according to Islamic dietary laws–kind of similar to kosher. In short food that is blessed) turkey ham for a real life re-enactment.

The boys love the story and we read it with such excitement, they really get into it every time.

After we finished reading the story we asked them would they eat green eggs and ham? They all replied that they would. So we put them to the test LOL

“Eat them eat them, here they are” and we presented them with a bowl of green eggs and turkey ham.

They rushed off to get their spoons and each tried it, let’s just say two out of three enjoyed it, while all of them tried it, the youngest one ate the most of it

It’s fun to make the books come to life and the children remember each time we read a story if we did something outside of the book that is relate able.

Every time they read the book green eggs and ham they will never forget the time they tried to eat it.

 

We even drew scenes from the story after we finished

Cereal Box Workbook

We have been meaning to make this for a long time. We thought this would be a fun way for the children to learn using the cereal boxes. For homeschooling it’s a great way for us  to search for letters, ask about colors, learn new words, and learn numbers.

There is so much you can do with this idea and it is fun to take with you in the car, children can write on it and on some cereal boxes there are games the children can play. Especially if you laminate it, you can use it over and over again.

 

The materials you need are cereal boxes, hole puncher, thread yarn etc, and contact paper (optional) We did not have contact paper or a laminating machine but it’s okay we figure the boys can color and write all over it.

So you cut the front out and the back of the cereal box, not using the side panels.. though I thought they would make for interesting bookmarks or if laminated used for learning about nutrition facts for older children.

After you are done cutting out the front and back of the cereal boxes, you should measure them to make sure they are all even and make the holes now with the hole puncher.

 

We used regular glue and mixed the cereal boxes up the front and backs and glued them to different ones.

 

After that we tied it with a strong string and to make it extra fun we wrote on it, we put the boys’ names and labeled some of the pictures on the cereal boxes.

Inside the workbook:

 

Maybe next time we will add more cereal boxes for the children to enjoy

Noor Kids: A Lot Of Light In Our Homeschool

Alhamdulilah we used Noor Kids today for our homeschool lessons!

Started by two brothers Amin and Mohammed Aaser, it was made to inspire children to become leaders in their community and show others that Islam is a peaceful and compassionate religion alhamdulilah. Noor Kids is doing an excellent job in shedding light for little Muslims around the world. I am happy to say the Noor has entered our home.

 

Our children were very excited to read Noor Kids and discuss with us all the cool characters. My oldest son fell in love with the lovable Asad, the curious, smart, and kind lion. My second oldest son loves Amin, an athletic, witty and playful panda. Would I be bias if I said that I related to Amira, not only because we have the same name but she is creative, bubbly, and caring..like me mashaAllah!!

I found Noor Kids to be a very good tool in our homeschooling, from the coloring exercises, to the decoder message, your children with enjoy every page!

 

The educational benefit to me was the very important part! It’s educational, fun, and something we can enjoy over and over again.

Our two yr old enjoyed coloring the pictures and our four year old used the decoder section to practice his writing and reading.

We appreciate the increase in Islamic literature for children, it is important for children to be able to identify with what they are reading.

In our home it is important that the children grow up with good Islamic literature so they can learn more about helping others, Islam, and doing the right thing. Something that you will find in Noor Kids

 

 

 

My best hours growing up was indulged in a book and reading until it was time to turn the light out and go to sleep.

As a homeschooling mom of four children, it is important to pass on that love of reading to my own children. So they can experience the joys of reading and the benefits of it. We all know that we are living in a society of technological advancements and video games,  and there is less time being spent reading.

In our goal to raise children who love to read we are asking parents to join us for 5 a day, reading 5 books daily with our children, to our children, or having them read a loud to us. For us we will turn the book into lessons and hands on fun.

Today one of reading materials came from Noor Kids and you can find more about them:

official website:  http://www.noorkids.com/home/ and twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/NoorKids

 

 

 

Like them on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NoorKids

>Busy Toes!

> We love when we can make or books come to life for the children.

Someone came over and gave us the book called “Busy Toes” we thoght it would be a neat idea to let the children paint with their toes!

They had a blast as we put paint on the serving tray and let them jump from tray to paper and rubbing their toes in the paint

It was something that they enjoyed. We really strive to make the books exciting and do activites that makes them think of the book. I think this has increased their love of reading and learning. Its one of our secrets to successful homeschooling that children do really realize they are learning so much from their hands on experience.

When we hung their feet art work on the wall they engaged in much conversation about how they painted with their toes and would run to get the book and talk about it.

We also made a game out of it telling them they could not use their hands at all lol they loved the challenge and my youngest was tempted to touch but he did not, though he really loved jumping from paint to paper like a frog.

Oh the memories…..