Over the years, I've put together several math main lesson blocks and a number of geometry blocks. What sets these blocks apart from other math blocks is the level of engagement the teacher and student experience with each lesson. There are no dry lessons. The upside is obvious: full engagement means maximum learning and high possibility of retention.

While having a Ramadan table is new for us in the past few years, the concept of having Ramadan themed decorations and activities has been a tradition in our family for over a decade. When the children were young, I made most of our projects by designing them on the computer, printing them out and then cutting and assembling them.

Erasing the chalk drawing is never easy. It's hard for two reasons, one because I usually really like it and want to keep it up forever, and the other reason is the daunting pressure to create something new. The blank black chalkboard is not inspiring for me at all. It's rather stressful actually. I know the finished artwork contradicts my non-artistic abilities, but I think when you see the several attempts I go through, you'll have a better understanding of how challenging artwork actually is for me. So since it's challenging for me, I'd like to offer a few tips.

This chalk drawing for Ramadan 2025 turned out cozy and inspiring, but not quite what I was hoping for. I'm working on a 4'x6' slate chalkboard that I painted with chalkboard paint several years after I got it. It helped for a while, but it is in need of some care before I'm having a hard time getting the chalk to adhere well to the chalkboard.

The study of the moon and its phases is not restricted to the month of Ramadan, but it seems that every year, that's when we focus our attention on this subject area. Each year we seem to add one more project or activity to help in our understanding of this subject. In the past we've done phases of the moon with cookies, cut out a paper mobile of the phases of the moon, assembled a kit of the moon by Nature-Watch, painted peg dolls in the phases of the moon, and probably more that slip my mind.

Making a Ramadan Calendar for you and your kids is a great way to track this blessed month. There are so many different ways to do it, and this is just one color, crafty method. As the video cut out before the project was completed, I don't show how the calendar was hung. I purchased a 1/8" or 1/4" dowel from Michaels and cut it down to about 19 inches. I sewed a casing for it and fitting the dowel through it. I strung twine from the ends of the dowels and hung it on the wall using a Command hook.

It's that time of year where Ramadan is fast approaching and plans have to be set before it's too late. Struggling to find ideas for your Ramadan calendar? Looking for fun educational and candy-free ideas? Look no further! I've compiled 20 ideas that are educational, artistic, Islamic and calorie free!! Fill your calendar with inspirational and creative ideas and watch your children jump with delight each day. You can get even more creative and mix and match these ideas!

These are probably the cutest peg dolls I've ever made! I actually made a complete lunar phase set to last an entire month! Granted it did get a little tedious and some crescents and moons look awfully similar to one another, but we got a complete set! Now we can track the lunar cycle with these adorable moon phase peg dolls. Of course my 7-year-old will be playing with them, too.

Making a Ramadan Paper Chain is a wonderful family activity that works for many ages. We've had our paper chains for years, and it's become a staple in our Ramadan decorations. You can get your Ramadan paper chain printouts as well as several more Ramadan activities in the Ramadan bundle!

Do you need simple ideas to bring some festivity to your Ramadan? If you have children younger than about 12 years old, these cards may be just the ideas you need to bring art, food and acts of service to your Ramadan. I found that when my children were young, they loved making sugar cookies, graham cracker masjid, and date cookies. They loved watercoloring sunset scenes with crescent moons or the Cave of Hira. They loved assembling and disassembling the countdown Ramadan paper chain with trivia questions on each chain.

Snap graham crackers in half. If you want to decorate the sides of the masjid, do it before assembling it. Add icing to five graham cracker halves. Add sprinkles or chocolate chunks. Or leave it simple with icing and powdered sugar.

These were surprisingly easy to make and you can make these cookies and icing with no special tools or ingredients. I rummaged through the fridge and cabinets sourcing ingredients I could use to color the icing which was simply a mixture of 1/2 cup of powdered sugar with 1/2-3/4 teaspoons of water. I settled on pomegranate juice for the deep pink/maroon, raspberry puree (from a single smushed fresh raspberry), turmeric and saffron for the yellows and chlorophyll from my supplements for the green.

Upcycling projects are my favorite kind. Here's one that makes use of my kids' left over watercolor projects and old empty jars with plastic lids. You'll need a printer for this project or you can hand write a quote or hadith. Supplies for this project can be found at local crafts stores: watercolor paper or smooth cardstock, watercolors or Color Shine Spray, small cans or jars, lids (optional), measuring tape and permanent double stick adhesive.

The book selections I am sharing with you are suitable for all faiths and ages. While they are primarily children's books, I find them to be both enjoyable to read and educational for children and adults. In fact, I think children's picture books are an overlooked genre.

When my children were young, there were a small selection of Islamic picture books for children and a few innovative books and journals for young adults. I'm exceedingly pleased that the variety has grown tremendously in the last couple decades. I'm sharing some books that have been in our home library for years as well as brand new additions. While we used to read the Seerah (Life of the Prophet, peace be upon him) yearly, reading passages daily during homeschool, we now read it during Ramadan.

I share my top 5 books on hijab in addition to another five books that I feel relate in one way or another. While there are books I love, there are a few I'm sharing that I don't love and don't plan to read again. I wanted to share them as my top 5 because those are the books I have and even recently purchased to add to our small collection. In truth, I haven't found many picture books on hijab as compared to other topic areas. I feel there is so much that can be shared from people's experience that looking forward to seeing how the books in this subject area grow.

I love incorporating biographies into our Waldorf-inspired history lessons because they make historical figures come alive. Most of these books are elementary to junior high level, though they could be used for read-alouds with any age. We’re currently studying the Islamic Empire, Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, Ancient China, and the Silk Road, so these biographies fit perfectly into our larger historical unit.

Are you curious what was going on in the rest of world while Europe was deep in the Dark Ages? While it's considered the Middle Ages or Medieval Times in Europe, other parts of the world had been civilized and had been flourishing for centuries, even millinias. Let's explore other parts of the world together.

The Qur'an Notebook includes the Qur'an in Arabic, the English translation and blank pages to keep your notes! It's an all-in-one option that makes working through the Qur'an enjoyable and practical and you may keep your notes all in one place. And now, you can get surah tabs! Add the tabs on the side of the pages for quick access to the surah you're working on. Grab those pens, highlighters and a few extra sheets of paper and dive into your Qur'an journey with Ayatz new line up.

This Moroccan soup became an instant favorite for my family and friends. I highly recommend you give it a try. It's an easy recipe that's harty, filling, nutritious, and delicious. You can serve it as an appetizer or as the main meal; we've done both. While it does take some time to prep and cook, you can easily make a big pot of this for company, or have plenty for leftovers to eat for a few days.

Here's a unique Ramadan project you can alter to suit any holiday or occasion (like a wedding or baby shower). There are a few variations on this project I didn't explain in the video that can simplify it so that if you don't have a wood burning tool or a Silhouette Cameo, you can get the same results.

Should you homeschool during Ramadan? There are certain benefits and challenges to homeschooling during Ramadan. I'm sharing my tips for homeschooling successfully during the month Ramadan.

With a few craft supplies, you can make some breathtakingly beautiful cards. I admit these Eid Mubarak cards turned out better than I thought. This tutorial will show you a step by step process on how to achieve the ombre effect as well as you give a couple alternatives for titling this card.

Ever wonder how to teach children how to look for Layla-tul Qadr? I know my young children get confused when I say it's one of the odd nights in the last ten days of Ramadan. "What's odd about it?" they say. If your child has yet to learn the difference between even and odd numbers, or you simply want a charming visual calendar to help them identify odd nights, this project is for you.

These mini prayer carpets are the perfect way to teach kids how many rakat are for each of the fard and sunnah prayers. I've included taraweeh and Eid prayer as well. I've also made these for janaza prayers. You can add Salatul Duha and Istikhra.

This was one fun project to do and this time, I did it all by myself! Usually the kids either help or do one along side me, but this time I got to play with a soft palette of Distress Ink colors, Heidi Swapp resist banners and glitter glue! All supplies can be found at Michaels.

I'm all for easy projects for kids, but they have to look nice and be something I can use again. This Ramadan lantern fits the bill! I already love watercoloring with the kids. We use a variety of mediums: Tim Holtz Distress Inks, Gellatos, Heidi Swapp sprays, Stockmar watercolors and our latest favorite Lyra Opaque water colors.

This is a super easy project to do with kids during Ramadan or anytime of year. You can use anything as a template and the templates are reusable! Just place contact paper sticky side up over you template and secure both with tape so they don't slide around. Next just fill in the space with transparent paper pieces (we tore ours up into 1 inch pieces or smaller).

I'm not a baker. What I lack in baking skills, I make up for in crafting skills. So I hope you take this recipe and these ideas and make something wonderful!

Paper chains are easy to make and festive. I have my own take on this classic design. I've included questions, information and hadith on the inside chains. Now, you can remove a chain each night of Ramadan and read the inside. The paper chains are numbered so that information pertaining to the first ten days of Ramadan is included in the first chains to be opened. It's a countdown paper chain, so you'll begin by opening chain '30'.

This is a great Ramadan project. You can review the story of revelation and Angel Jibreel prior to this project. You can also memorize the first six ayat of Surah Alaq with your kids or read the translation. You can also make this a night sky with stars. One year, we watercolored several 'sunsets' for a Ramadan workshop at our home. At the workshop the kids assembled the mountains and title on the watercolored paper. It was easy, pretty and not messy!

How to Get Hijab Ready is an informative book on hijab which appeals to girls ages 5-13. Both Muslim and non-Muslims will enjoy this book as it not only provides real-life advice from a young Muslim girl (co-author, Aisha Elwan), but also explains the concept of hijab in a delightful and easy-to-understand way with beautiful illustrations.

This set of 20 paperback books, The Biography of the Noble Prophet by Lina Al-Keilany, is well written and easy to understand. It's written at a 4th grade level. The books are workbook size and quality and are about 15 pages each. While each book can be purchased on its own for about $6, you can get the whole set including a sturdy box to hold the 20 books for about $100. This is definitely a pricey option for seerah books.

It's that time of year again! Honestly, I don't look forward to the actually decorating as much as the enjoying! But I remind myself every year when I pack away the decorations a few days after Eid, to make sure I put things back in a way that will make it easier for me to pull out the following year. This time, I made sure I had an ample supple of 3M foam adhesive for the plastic clips I use on the walls.

I printed these cards six to a page on medium weight cardstock (maybe 70lb. weight). Simply cut around all the edges (and along the flaps), and score the interior lines (optional). Fold the box together and adhere together using glue and tape.

Want to make your own Prayer Chart for your kids? Here's a way to make one. I use 100% wool felt pieces from A Child's Dream. and sewed five pockets on a vertical piece of felt. I left enough space at the top to sew in a casing to slip in a dowel to provide sturdiness and a place to hang it.

Handmade toys are my favorite, and handmade toys for little Muslims to learn about Islam is even better. Today, I'm showing you how easy it is to make peg dolls to celebrate Hajj. You can use these toys to teach several aspects about Hajj or use them to teach about 'Umrah, Makkah or prayer in general.

It's not everyday you cook and host for a large crowd, but today I'll do my best to show you how we get it done. From cooking for more than 50 people to preparing an outdoor eating space, this vlog takes you through the 5 hours it took to cook for this party, not to mention the house cleaning, grocery shopping and food prep from the previous day.

Welcome! Is the first day of Ramadan and I have begun my Quran journal series for surah Kahf. Check out the playlist for this series.