=

Ia and a friend were out in the garden again today, spotting changes in the garden, such as new growth on bushes, the first tiny unfurlings of new leaves. They also took clipboards and drew some of what they saw. Then we used simple rulers to measure the heights of some of the bulb shoots. After that they came in and made pictures using coloured paper and tissue paper.
We also did some maths today. When the boys were about 5 I had a balance scale, which I used to help demonstrate equality of number. I don't have that now, so I had to resort to other tactics today. I drew an "="sign in the middle of a table top whiteboard. Then I placed five cubes on either side of the = sign, in various groupings, and kept asking the girls to check whether the number was the same on each side of the = sign.
Next I used dates on 3 plates. I put two plates on one side of the = sign and one plate on the other. Then I arranged dates, sometimes equally, sometimes not, asking the girls "If I give this number of dates to you,(on the left of the sign) and this to you,(on the right of the sign) is that fair/equal?" In this way they could understand that it was only fair, or equal, if the number of dates on each side of the = sign was the same. I continued in the same way, then getting them to draw numbers of sweets, and using the + sign to group sweets on the left of the = sign. I hope inshAllah that this could help them understand the meaning of = sign, as after all this is only a symbol. It only aquires meaning because we attribute that meaning to it. As adults we just take its meaning for granted as we are so used to it. I wonder what the little ones make of it when they encounter it at first?
According to John Holt, a lot of confusion in maths comes from not understanding the underlying concepts and meanings that we express in the codes of numbers and symbols. I've expressed my own understanding of what I read of his work there. Hope I understood right!

The Treasure Seekers

Today I began reading “The Treasure Seekers” by E Nesbit to the boys, after their morning read of stories of the sahabah. Although my boys do enjoy reading themselves, Alhamdulillah, sometimes the type of funny or adventure stories they prefer are quite simple in their vocabulary and style. This helps the boys whizz through the story, but I’m not sure how much good it does for their vocabulary or comprehension skills!
Some time ago I read the “Silver Sword” to them, so it’s about time they heard something else. They really enjoyed the first two chapters this morning. It really is a funny book. Also there is lots to read between the lines, so good practice at deducing meaning. For example when the next door neighbour finds a half crown coin in the hole the children dug seeking treasure, and then he amazingly finds another, we are expected to understand that the neighbour placed those coins there to be found, although this is not explicitly stated. As I’m reading it to them we can talk about these things as they come up. Otherwise it might pass them by!

Muffins and Maths

Lastest bake from R and J.

When the boys were about 5 I used workbooks from the Scottish Primary Maths scheme, Heinemann Mathematics. I really liked these books because they are really clear, they progess very gently and there is not too much to do on any one page. The boys really enjoyed these books too. We started with Heinemann Mathematics 1, continued with set 2, and used a little of set 3. At that time these books were already old, and only available through WH Smith. I was able to buy them in mixed packs, that is one of each of the workbooks 1 to 7 and the shape and measure books. These books are still in print, but I can only find them packaged in multiple packs, that is where you buy 7 or 8 of the same workbook. So, I decided to get the old copies out and start on them with the eraser! The paper is quite good quality, so its been ok. I started from book 4 of set 1, because the earlier books are on counting to 10, which Ia is confident in. Over the weekend Ia has completed all but one page of book 4. It seems these books are a hit with her too! I have also been using the Collins Primary Maths reception set with her, but for simplicity and clarity I still prefer the old Heinemanns. InshAllah I'll be erasing J's work from his book for U to use in years to come!

Today has been sunny and mild, maashAllah. A chance for some gardening, and whilst we were out walking today we saw crocus flowering too.

Surah An Nasr

Recently I posted about how the boys studied Surah Masad with another sister. I really liked the way she covered that with them, so I decided to copy the idea with other short surahs. Last week I read the tafsir of Surah An-Nasr to them, from Ibn Kathir. They also completed the exercises on the surah from the Iqra Short Surahs workbook. This week they wrote out the translation of the surah, with illustration. They drew a representation of crowds of people entering Islam and also teardrops. The teardrops represent the tears that Ibn Abbas is said to have shed on hearing this surah, because he recognised that it signified that the Prophet's (saw) mission was complete and that his life with them would soon end.

We have also made a focus of reciting this surah daily, as part of their regular recitation. InshAllah spending this much time on a surah, returning to it little and often, will help them to remember what they have learned. I hope, inshAllah, to continue this approach with more of the short surahs.

Park blossom and garden shapes and colours

Pink blossom in the park today.

Garlic shoots.

Sunny.

Naturalistic.

Dark green and spiky.

Curvy.

Keeps on flowering.

Tall, spiky, light and dark.

Quick link

Some days a lot gets produced on paper, and on other days we use the computer a lot. Thursday was a computer day. We watched some videos from the Harun Yahya site. Its a mixed bag, so you need to be very selective.
In science I started a new topic on solids and liquids with the boys and used several resources from Primary Resources.
The boys also baked another chocolate cake. It turned out well, alhamdulillah, but they need to be a bit more careful about reading the instructions in the right order and accurate measuring. A few more tries and they should really get the hang of it. If they sustain the interest that long!

Calmly organized

Allah (swt) is Al-Hameed, worthy of all praise, and I am grateful for a good day today. Ia is making good progress with her handwriting, as she could copy the French colour chart straight from R's work today, maashAllah. She also enjoyed the company of a friend today, and they did a couple of activities together. First was a maths activity. The girls made shopping pictures, drawing three items, then drawing round pennies to price each item. They also wrote the price, in numbers. Then we talked about how many pennies would be needed to buy different pairs of items from the pictures.
After that we spent some time looking at a book about the seasons, discussing the season of winter. Then we went into the garden to look at all the amazing shapes and colours to be found among the shoots sprouting there. The girls were excited to spot all the little clumps of shoots, including all those hidden under large shrubs or close to the fences. We also looked at the twisted shapes of the branches of the old apple tree, which adjoins our fence at the back. Later Ia drew the picture below, of the tree, the shoots and, of course, the winter aconite! The more closely you look the more amazing Allah's creation becomes.

Having got through all their work at a good pace today the boys made these cakes, with almost no help at all! And they taste good too!