Lots of wonderful craft ideas out there to get the kiddos involved with the celebrations of Ramadan. Lanterns are commonly used to light up and decorate the streets at night - when everyone is out. But at home, this works just as well for us to decorate our table with.
We used a template from Smart Ark. The glue stick didn't work too well - so I eventually had to pull out the masking tape and add some to the tabs from the inside. You're suppose to cut out the squares on the inside so that when these are attached to a string of lights, they can show through. But we used ours to decorate our kitchen table... and of course, pretend they were telescopes for a bit...
I can't believe its already August! And Ramadan is here!! A time to slow down and be mindful of ourselves, spiritually and physically, and of those around us in our communities, family and friends.
Of course I think that should be a daily thing for us all - but life gets in the way sometimes. Like for me, my intense anticipation of Ava starting school has been bubbling up inside of me for the past month now- so I'm not completely myself these days. Everything feels so rushed, even maddening at times. We're even taking on some home renovations too... and well, there's finances to contend with... and the list goes on.
Yesterday was the first day of Ramadan... {exhaling}... and I'm looking forward to the next 29 days of practicing these better habits. Over the course of the month we'll be posting Ramadan related stories... and Eid celebration ideas, but for now, I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite resources about our holiday:
Curriculum and Teaching Ideas Lifetime Learning at Home - A wonderfully organized homeschool blog outlining projects and teachings for preschoolers.
Books
My First Ramadan by Karen Katz. I bought this book several years ago and its genuinely a great book to introduce children to Ramadan basics and cultural traditions practiced all over the world. Ava loved all of Katz' books as a toddler. Her lift-the-flap books mimic curiosity while others integrate lessons about sharing, being a big sister, and even controlling emotions - all are so graphically portrayed through color and exaggerated shapes. So to have this book as part of our collection by Katz, is a lot of fun.
Reading scripture from the Quran is essential - and a copy of My First Quran Storybook is a great foundation to start with. Written for the younger set in mind, this is a great book to read together as a family and explore the historical time line of how things came to "Be" as well as the moral messages and teachings. It also sparks great conversation - like the Story of Prophet Noah - and the kids want to know "why?" Growing up, I learned not to question the stories from our Holy Book. Seeing my own children ask in the same wonder, compels us to openly discuss and share what we each think. And of course, there will be open ended responses, that even they are content with. These are treasured conversations indeed.
There are terrific online resources too - from educational teachings ideas, photography from all over the world. Here are my favorite picks:
Ramadan Joy is a creative companion for families during the month of Ramadan, and includes wonderful arts and crafts ideas, fun recipes, sewing projects, and gift ideas. The "Ramadan Joy" and the "Barakah Life handmade" blogs are part of Barakah Life, a Creative Living company offering products, classes and workshops. Owner Khadija is also co-founder of Creativity and the Spiritual Path, a platform of creative conversations, with artist Peter Gould {also worth checking out! especially his artwork for kids!!}
I'm also in love with Handmade Beginnings - this Mom's entire blog is dedicated to nourishing and educating beginnings with her own children - from Islamic teachings, to Montessori lesson plans, as well as ideas for crafts, recipes, and so much more. Check out her blog for ideas and daily inspiration!
Crayola never disappoints - we've used their coloring pages last year - and plan to again this year. There are other ideas for older children to try their hand at geometric art and portraits.
Photography
Photography has a special place in my heart. And it sings when the kids get behind the lens too, or browse through pictures with a sincere appreciation and remembrance of the moment passed. Looking at Ramadan photos from around the world - makes us feel smaller, yet collective.. and of course, makes us crave traveling to see these these places for ourselves...
Happy Nowrouz! This past Sunday, we celebrated Nowrouz, which literally translates to "New Light" - and is a Persian holiday commemorating the first day of Spring/birth of new life/and New Year! I personally enjoy recognizing "New Year" on this day instead of the cold of January - because it really does feel like a new beginning today. I've started "spring cleaning" around the house {still a work in progress} which is also a customary thing to do in preparation - as well as giving each other gifts, buying new clothes, and visiting relatives and friends.
Traditionally, I remember from my childhood sitting up late at night and peeling dried fruits for the Haft Mēwa or "Seven Fruits" dish we would make with pistachios, almonds, walnuts, raisins, and so on. But since my nephew is allergic to nuts, we skipped this and instead jumped into more child/spring friendly activities associated with this time of year... yep, an egg hunt, coloring, and confetti bash...
For their gift baskets this year, I went with an earthy/Spring theme, and found some garden gloves, shovels, rakes, and books about earth day... Fancy Nancy Every Day is Earth Day for Ava and Noah got a younger version called I'm Not Too Little To Help The Earth, with moving tabs and sensory pages.
When we got home, we took advantage of what was left of the daylight, and started planting our new "garden." The kids picked out plants from the nursery {tomatoes, strawberries, lemons} and Aaron and I added green onion seeds {these grow great in this climate} and cilantro {a salad staple}.
As they sowed their seeds into the dirt, we talked about the delicate process and patience it takes to bring them to life. Just as the New Year - today - marks a new beginning, so too does the deepening understanding that no matter where we are in our lives, we should take great care with what we are given - be responsible and respectful of ourselves, our environments, and most graciously, of time...
Lucky for me, the kids slept in on Thursday. I wanted to do some of the activities I had suggested in my SavvySource article yesterday, so I spent some time searching for a scavenger hunt idea and came across this DIY St. Patty's Day treasure hunt post. Lucky for me (again) there were downloadable files pre-written with fun limerick clues. And well, one thing led to another - where I ended up in the art room, watching a how-to-video on YT on making four-leaf clovers, cutting and whip stitching "pot of gold" goody bags out of felt using the one-minute craft blog idea {which actually took closer to an hour} because you know me, I had to improvise... and well, I think the kids had fun...
First clue... in a shoe...
2nd clue... where you keep your hands warm...
3rd clue... under a plate...
Ava and Noah loved the treasure hunt - it's such a thrilling momentum for them. We'll be doing another one this weekend for our New Year holiday on Sunday {can't wait!} Noah ended up wearing his pot of gold around his neck {since he had to eat breakfast first}. After some clean up, we went into the backyard and what's this?
Could it really be shamrocks peeking through from the cracks? {Why is it that I never noticed these before today?} Needless to say, we're now hunting for four-leaf clovers...
It's been a fantastic week so far - Aaron started a new job this week, and I've trimmed the WAHM office hours.... freeing up more time to do - well, more of this...
Where the little leprechauns and I made rainbows of our own - in cupcakes! To help celebrate St. Patrick's Day tomorrow...
The process took about an hour, was messy, and felt like an experiment as they learned to mix colors to make new ones. I would highly recommend making these sweet rainbows for St. Patrick's Day - or any day - when you want to spread some rainbows...
After mixing the white cake-mix, we split the batter into 6 small bowls. {Approx a little less than 1 cp each}. Then using red dye, we added a few drops into the first bowl...
Noah skipped over to green...
We mixed until we got the right shade of each. Surprisingly, it took a lot of dye for each.
And there you have it... Ava knew how to make the orange and purple batter - and they all turned out... well, like the rainbow!
Here is the tricky {and messy} part - adding spoonfuls to the cupcake holders.
I did the first one {bottom right corner} and quickly realized I didn't have any room to add the purple. So less than a tablespoon each worked.
The kids agreed - because that meant a little bit of rainbow batter would be left for them...
25 minutes later, our rainbow cupcakes popped out of the oven.
And were topped with vanilla icing and colorful confetti - yum!
For more St. Paddy's day ideas - visit me at SavvySource!
In thinking about Valentine's and how this one holiday is really an everyday - I started to think about how we could make the 14th extra special for all of us. But as life unfolds itself - and we got busy with this and that, I couldn't come up with the "party" I had told Ava we would be having {after all, she bought a dress just for the occasion}. So we all went with the flow of everyday.... and as it turned out, everyday was extra special, with highs and lows and everything in between...
The first change came with the weather. Wrapped in the low 30s last week, the weekend brought us high 60s and clear sunny skies... And it is usually on the weekends when we slow down a bit and get together with Ron and Maggie. Last weekend was no exception - and we took some of the paper flowers Ava made to Papa.
Last week I contributed to the national parenting website, Savvy Source, on Celebrating Valentine's Day with Preschoolers. Check out the article here for simple ideas on how to celebrate and teach our children about the importance of friendship and caring.
While searching for more craft ideas, I came across some sites here, here and here.
I imagine we'll start crafting today since we're snowed in again (did I actually just type that about Texas?) Yep, the snow is quite romantic now that we have the fireplace on. Some scissors, construction paper and gold glitter may do us all some good today. Plus, it's always nice to think of "I love you's" and write cards to our loved ones.
So while I'm thinking and planning how this year's Valentine's will go, I wanted to share some lovely bits...
Finally! Christmas morning - and the kids didn't know what to expect. With their one gift exchange last night - and how much they cherished the thoughtfulness of handmade, I was afraid I'd spoil their appreciation this morning with more wrapped gifts of new toys... So we shared with them that because they were so generous in giving to everyone else, the presents they see under the tree are from Mommy and Daddy - for them to play with in the new year...
We didn't make plans for Christmas eve - except to bake cookies. Lots of it. I've never baked cookies before from scratch - and thought tonight would be a perfect night to get started, and start a new holiday tradition with the kids. So my family came over to help... and it turned out to be quite an extravagantly sweet evening...
More elving going on right before Christmas...including personalized tree ornaments filled with small buttons of candy, ice cream, princess crowns, stars, cars and trucks - all things the kids picked out from the craft store to reflect things they love this year.
Celebrating the holidays for us began with teaching our kids about our traditions - and one that I am very fond of, is giving to our loved ones - especially in the form of handmade. I still have the scarf I started knitting for Aaron 9 years ago {and yes, I plan to finish it one day...} - but to simplify and encourage the kids to make their gifts, we bought wooden projects ready for us to embellish with our own touches. Ava picked out a wooden train for Noah {his favorite toy}, and while he was napping, the 2 of us started elving in the art room...
Traditionally, I'm known to procrastinate about Christmas cards. So this year, we made a concerted effort to start early - Dec 2 to be exact - but still, I guess traditions exist for a reason - and this year, our cards will be late again! Between picking out a design (6 hours! There were just too many to choose from... you must check out this site if you haven't yet), selecting appropriate photos to match the design, writing the letter, and of course, then waiting for our order. Which took almost 2 weeks. But here they are...
As the wintry decorations go up around the house, Ava is busy in her art room snipping away, and gluing cotton balls on everything. I was outside in the backyard today and my eyes loomed over cut branches that have missed curb side pickup the last few months. Which was a good thing, because I thought they would be perfect for hanging up some of the xmas cards that have started to stroll in.
Of course, with all these little twigs darting out, it made me think of hands... and one thing led to another - and before we knew it, we had arms for a snowman craft! I pulled the rest of the supplies from drawers around the house, and improvised as we went along...
Now that we have the old white bearded man situation figured out - we're focusing on other ways to spend this month-long holiday of lights, music, and all things glittery...
This is also the only time of year when we have the urge to decorate gingerbread houses - Mom first did this with Ava last year when Ava spent the night and bonded with grandma - and she hasn't forgotten. Coincidentally, Grandma stopped by this week, and Ava had the sudden urge to do something "festive" with her - of course she picked...
After the xmas tree went up, Ava asked me very hesitantly, "is Santa real?"
My mind fluttered with speechless ideas on how this conversation could unravel. I truly believe telling our children the truth - upfront. It builds mutual respect and trust. Now, with that being said, whose to say that my belief about Santa has to be hers?
I understand the argument of instilling hope in our children, and to have faith in that if you're "good" - you will receive "gifts." This is - in summary, the public message of the holidays - it's a good one, and the economy has to thrive in this season too. But the problem with this is that the real message shouldn't be about tangibles. Children should be good right? We hold them accountable daily - From sharing, to not hitting when they get upset - to putting their clothes in the hamper without being asked... And life as it happens as a result - is the gift itself.
Thanksgiving this year was no different than the rest - good food and good company. Having both of our families so close, we juggled the timing and energy between having our own celebration and those with our families. It felt rushed and stuffed {as this is the only day of the year when I eat turkey - let alone twice for that matter!} And on top of that, my brother-in-law Sean baked me a pecan pie {my favorite!} Since the day was jam packed, I waddled a lot, forgetting to take photos... but here are some quick highlights -
{Ava took this one...}
Nana and cousin Adriah show Noah some of the Black Friday deals...Right before getting a bit delirious...
Then off to my parents' house, where another turkey fest was being prepared. I quickly made a batch of stuffing - using this foolproof recipe for the last 4 years.
Family-in-town joined us, including little Stella - who celebrated her first Thanksgiving with a turkey leg bone...
This year, we slept in on Black Friday {a good sign that there's nothing we "gotta have"} - and instead headed North to McKinney square, where the town hosted its 30th Dickens of a Christmas... each weekend this month, Main Street will host activities - plus this is where I absolutely love - to shop and eat - like at the swanky pizzeria called Sauce... where the cool dine...
Carousels never get old - and waiting in line for the "train" was a must - even though our noses got a bit frosty...
A real treat for the kids was the falling fake snow from the "sky"... Ava really wants it to snow again this year... so while we're waiting, we'll be dreaming and tasting the holidays...
