Bit of a ramble

This view from above the plant makes it look more like a jolly fabric print.

Ia now has a suite of doll sofas, amongst other things she has made today.

I have started a new geography topic with the boys. It is a kind of history/geography crossover, but for the sake of my mental filing system needing everything in its place, I'm calling it geography. Basically, after my long winded, do-it-yourself look at farming I'm going for a ready made topic book this time. "Traders and Explorers in Wooden ships", by Susan Douglass is one of the Islamic School Book series. Inside there is a student text, teachers' notes with extension ideas and some instructions for practical projects. It really is a handy package.

I also have the "Muslim Cities" book from the series, which I would also recommend as it contains several study topics.

For the Traders and Explorers project I am using a ringbinder file format, so that I can make use of some of the colouring pages in the book and get it presented nicely, inshAllah. There are maps to trace and questions to answer (NEATLY). At the end of the book there is a section of worksheets to go with the chapters too.

For English we have moved on to a chapter on rainforests. I found several books on this from the library, and decided to include reading tasks as part of the English scheme of work. So, one day the English work was to read a (geography) library book. I will probably repeat this tomorrow, inshAllah, when they can read the one they did not read last time.

This is part of my wider reading approach. After all in higher education individual reading of many books is essential, so why not establish habits which may be useful in future. I do not have educational targets for my children in dunya terms, but exam and study skills are such a part of my mentality that I can't help myself. I loved exams by the way, I loved all those skills of pinpointing what the examiner wants to see. I also loved teaching public exams for the couple of years that I did so. I also found being an examiner fascinating. But I don't believe in testing young children, and exam training (in syllabus terms) from a young age. I believe that a wide, relaxed and interesting education will make studying for exams a breeze when the time comes. Exams should be fun, like the rest of learning. I would find being in that exam hall so exhilarating. Some of my best ideas would come out at that time, especially in English or history, I would come out on such a high. I think it is just having that three hour space to think and explore ideas with no other interruptions or distractions. I enjoyed the risk of just scribbling down things I had not thought about before. I look back on those times with fondness. Less so the dreary old revising of course.