What triggers the new homeschool year feeling for you? Fresh new notebooks and curriculum shopping never fail to get me excited for the coming homeschool year! It always feels like a fresh new beginning. If you want to get your homeschool year off to a strong start try to spend some time teaching and reviewing about what and why we are studying. Read on for new homeschool year activities that help generate enthusiasm bithnillah (which we know helps ALOT when teaching!)
The importance of knowledge
As Muslims, we have our own etiquette of studying and learning. Examples include sitting close to the teacher, asking relevant thoughtful questions and learning about the biography of the author before we begin studying a book.
An important convention is that a teacher explains the importance of a subject or topic before teaching it. If you read any Islamic book, you will notice that the preface or first chapter includes an explanation of why this information is important.
Children are wonderfully practical learners, they need to know why the topic is important to them otherwise they lose interest.
It is therefore incredibly worthwhile spending time at the beginning of the year explaining why knowledge and learning are important.
All about me activities
Documenting your child’s growth and likes and dislikes is a brilliant new homeschool year activity. It’s a snapshot of them, their passions and their personality. You can also beautifully see how they have changed over the years.
These activities are so easy to adapt for different ages too! You can record answers for younger kids but have older children fill out the information themselves. Questions for a range of ages include:
Favourite book
Favourite study snack
Favourite subject
Looking forward to learning about…
Surah you are currently memorising
Questions for younger kids:
Favourite toy
Favourite game
Role Model
Questions for older kids
Favourite quote
Hadith you are currently memorising
A hobby you’d like to try
You can download the FREE about me activities resource pack specially designed for Muslim kids by signing up to access the free resource library here.
Renewing our intentions
This new homeschool year activity applies to teachers and their students! We want to gain as much reward as possible from Allah and this requires that not only are our actions in line with the Qur’an and Sunnah but also that our intentions are purified.
Education is an emotive topic for parents. It can be a status symbol, some view it as a measure of their worth as a parent, and others wrongly think it is the key to their child’s rizq. Ultimately parents homeschool for a myriad of reasons but as Muslims, if we are homeschooling to please Allah, we need to continually renew our intention and ensure that we haven’t gone off track.
We can encourage kids to renew their intentions by reminding them of why we are studying together and that our ultimate goal is to please Allah.
Goals
Goal setting can sometimes be a 5-minute exercise that leads to a wildly optimistic list that is quickly forgotten. However, it can also be highly motivating and encouraging.
Sometimes, simpler is better. Try taking 10 minutes to ask your kids what they would like to learn this year and how they think they could do it. For example, a 6-year-old might like to write a letter to their grandparents and you could break it down into
- Learn how letters are set out
- Practice neat handwriting for 15 minutes a day using copywork sheets
- Learn 20 new words that make writing exciting to read
- Write one letter every 2 weeks for 3 months
Fun and special touches
The new homeschool year can be a great time to create some memories. They definitely don’t need to be expensive. A special breakfast like waffles or pancakes, a gift of fresh colouring pencils or a new book (from the library, borrowed from a friend or newly purchased).
One of the best things about homeschooling is how easy it is to personalise things. You can custom design their timetables, daily to-dos or ask them to design and decorate themselves. This helps to make their learning experiences individual and special.
Free resources to help you teach kids about Islam
I hope you have found these new homeschool year activities inspiring. If you would like to get a FREE ‘about me’ resource for Muslim kids join the mailing list here to download the fun activities and gain access to the free resource library.
