WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT

RAMADAN POETRY COMPETITION 

by Umamah learning Academy

Alhumdolillah we got quite a few Registrants, but Qadrallah some were not able to meet the deadline. Well, there's always the next time :) A Big thumbs up to all Participants!!!!!!

 All 3 are WINNERS will get. 

The addresses of the winners have been sent to http://leworld.co.uk/ . Inshallah they will be mailing the prizes out soon :)

So here are the 3 Winning Poems...... (not is any order of position)

A  JOURNEY THROUGH RAMADAN

By Bint Muhammad  9

Ramadan is coming soon,

Once we sight the new moon.

Oh Allah, to you belongs all praise,

For Ramadan there is just a few more days.

Going for taraweeh with my family,

Filled with happiness, joy and glee.

Waking up for suhoor,

Smelling the fragrance of bukhoor.

We begin this month with the

Recitation of Quran,

As the Quran was revealed to our

Prophet in Ramadan.

Fasting long hours to seek your

Pleasure oh Allah,

Pondering and contemplating

upon your great signs.

Having iftar -milk and date,

Just like the Prophet ate.

Going for the prayer that is late.

Laylatul Qadr is yet to come,

It is worth more than thousand months.

The end of Ramadan has come,

How soon have you come and gone!

 EID Has risen upon us,

It is time to celebrate.

Hurry up and do not be late

Ramadan it’s a one year chance

so let’s do Ibadah to Allah

AND MAKE DUA TO HIM

 TAQABBALA ALLAH!

Welcome Ramadan!

By: Hafsa Mohamed, 8

Marhab Marhab Oh Ramadan;

We were waiting for you Oh Ramadan.

We need to become fit and healthy;

And feel like people which aren’t wealthy.

Do not say bad words and don’t do bad deeds;

But feed the poor and satisfy their needs.

Read Quran and pray Salah;

And don’t forget to praise Allah.

Remember Allah and make dua a lot;

Because the angels are there and shaytan is not.

Ramadan,The Good Deeds Hunt

by: Maryam Khan  9

Knock Knock! It's Ramadan, I am looking for the moon.

aren't you doing too? I hope we all see it soon.

It is time to test our patience, and face the challenge, remember when you are eating Suhoor or Iftaar to just keep your balance.

Isn't Ramadan for earning good deeds? the prophet (saws) help others all the time, so loving, so caring he was the most generous of all mankind.

Help others in Ramadan, help in one or the other way. Don't just wait for big opportunities , help can be in the form of words that you say.

let's race for more good deeds, as the reward will be more than double. Specially, keep in mind the last 10 odd nights, they are called Laylatul Qadar.

Finally the day!, the day of Eid will arrive, no inappropriate stuff after the good deeds hunt.

the whole purpose of Ramadan, was to prepare you for rest 11 months.

Well, after this blessed month, don't let the Masajid cry. go to the Masjid regularly, do not just pass by.

Such beautiful thoughts and such wonderful sense of poetry...... Don't stop writing young writers. Another competition maybe right around teh corner.. Allahu Alum!

Ramadan Prep With Kids On Demand

All Praises are for Allah and Him Alone.

There have been several requests for Ramadan Prep with Kids Webinar.  Alhumdolillah

 This Webinar will be done again Inshallah on:

Watch Trailer

What previous Attendees said:

• "Jazaakillah khayr for your efforts and time, this was really helpful. I think you covered everything and provided so many resources for what you mentioned."
• "Ma sha Allah so many great ideas, I have a lot to think about now, this really helped a lot jazaki Allahu khair."

Registration is NOW CLOSED

The recording of the Webinar will be available for a 1 time view for $11.99 with Free ebook

You can request it  through:

 email: uamamahlearningacademy@gmail.com

Facebook: Umamah Learning Academy

Ramadan Poetry Competition

CALLING OUT TO OUR LIL POETS

ATTENTION ALL 6-9 Year olds!!!

Assalamo alaikum warahamatullahi wabarakatuhu,

 Thought of adding a new challenge on the blog and making your children participate in it...So here I am calling out to all those Lil rhymers and poetry writers, to send in a Ramadan themed poetry by Friday 27th May.

June 1st 2016

And Guess what Lil Explorers magazine will be sending their special Ramadan edition Issue: 18 to the 3 selected poems! SubhanAllah! How cool is that ?

Jazakallaho Khairun Little Explorers!!!!!! You can check out their webite here.

Little Explorers is one my favorite resources for authentic and beneficial material for kids. It is cute, colorful, informative and very nicely done. May Allah bless and reward the Little Explorer team. Ameen

All other participants will receive a special edownload from: 

How to enter the competition

Step 1 Sign up the Registration Form

Step 2 Read the Ramadan poetry competition rules

Step 3 Start writing Poetry

Step 4 Submit poetry by 

 email @ umamahlearningacademy@gmail.com 

Step 5 Wait for the result announcement on Monday June 2nd Inshallah

RAMADAN POETRY COMPETITION RULES  

Poetry Competitions Rules & Information:

1) Entrants can submit only 1 poem by email, once submitted, poems cannot be revised or re-submitted.

2) Entries must be in English with the Poem title, participant's name and age clearly stated

3) The contests are open to kids 6-9 all over the world

4) The decision of the judges is final and incontestable.

5) Entries have to be original. They must not have been previously published or submitted for publication or for other competitions or in a book, website.

6) Poem must have a title.

7) Entries MUST BE SUBMITTED BY Wed June 1st 2016. Any submissions will not be included in the competition

ALL ENTRIES WILL BE POSTED ON OUR BLOG. 

3 SELECT POEMS WILL ALSO BE FEATURED ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

Hoping to hear from many of you Inshallah!

Ramadan Countdown

HOW MANY DAYS LEFT FOR RAMADAN

Alhumdolillah.......We started off with our Ramadan countdown a few days ago with Lil Muallim # 3. Its will be a game of patience for him.... to count ONLY 1 square everyday.

But if needed we can print a new one for him... hehe

Download the 30 day Ramadan Countdown printable here.

Our's is in our Ramadan Corner, that we are setting up.

Here's what it looks like now. Our intention is to collect all our Ramadan related activities in here, to pull out as needed before and during Ramadan Inshallah.

Cork Board on top of the Chest of Drawers

Inside Drawer 1

Inside Drawer 2

This set up is right next to our Ramadan Readathon Challenge collection. You can read about it here.

Ramadan Reading Challenge 2016

RAMADAN READATHON

It's that time of the year again, when we start a mental countdown for Ramadan. It is a time when we start planning and hoping how we want this Ramadan to be better than our last one.

I would like to re-introduce our Ramadan Reading Challenge, in the hopes more of you join us and share the titles you and your children would like to read to improve your Ramadan.

Umamah Learning Academy welcomes you to join our

I would like to re-introduce our Ramadan Reading Challenge, in the hopes more of you join us and share the titles you and your children would like to read to improve your Ramadan.

You can see our Reading Shelf HERE.

If you have Islamic books in your book shelf that you have been wanting to read for the longest time ? Or you have books that you collected especially for this Ramadan for yourself and /or your chidlren? Then this post is for you.

If you have a blog, simply copy paste the image below on your blog, Facebook page and share what you are reading as a Umamah Learning Academy Ramadan Read-a-thon Challenge Participant. Whether you join our challenge as a reader or blogger, make sure to let us know of your participation in the comments sections below.

We hope to spend this Ramadan in increased ibadah as well as increase in Islamic knowledge Beidhnillah

Rabana Zidna Ilma: "O our Lord! increase us in knowledge"

I have to admit. Lately I have been feeling really guilty about our unread book collection. So I decided to turn it into an exciting challenge for myself and my kids.

We hope to keep a record of our readings in some creative way and would love to see your ideas too.

As we read along I hope to share more titles and some reviews and reflections Inshallah.

Hoping to hear from a lot of you.........

Dua for Sighting the Moon

COLOR AND LEARN

Despite our attempt, our pre Ramadan planning didn't fully materialize as far as activities are concerned Qadrallahu ma sha fa'al. We ended up just diving into Ramadan as LIFE continues to happen. We entered in a little sloppily but I want to catch up and make it up as much as I can.... Beidhnillah

Sharing an adorable coloring page for learning the Dua for Sighting the Moon be Iman's Homeschool. So adorable Mashallah! May Allah reward the sister for sharing.

A perfect review for Eid Moon too :)

Pre Ramadan Planning

MAKING A CONSCIOUS EFFORT

I've noticed a pattern in my blogging... It's usually most active during and around Ramadan. So without further ado, here's what we are trying to do this year.

Every year I found myself planning and working with the kids right before Ramadan or during it. But I really want to spend my Ramadan with less planning and organizing and more achieving in the sense of Ibadah and organized learning and Ramadan themed activities with kids. I've been wanting to start early and vowed not to let time pass away this time. This is exactly what I told my kids.

I also told them that Inshallah we will all try and work together to raise our level of Eiman BEFORE Ramadan so we can enjoy the best RAMADAN we've ever had in terms of perfection of Ibadah and in making conscious efforts in gaining extra Hasanat.

So here's what we did. May Allah bless our efforts Ameen.

I sat down with the kids with calendar pages from March to June  printed from worksheetworks.com and asked them to mark Ramadan and Eid. Then we counted how many days we have left for Ramadan starting from March 2nd.

You can get these from our PDF link here

 So we've got approximately 108 days........ Now what can we do make the most of these days to increase our levels of Eimaan. What areas do you think we need to work in.... let's Brain storm.

Here's what we came up with between Lil Muallim 1, 2 and Lil Muallimah.....

1. Improving Salah
2. Regularity in Quran Reading
3. Understanding Quran
4. Improving Duas
5. Improving Dhikr habit
6. Charity: monetary and through doing EXTRA good deeds
7. Learning Hadith and Sunnah

Alhumdolillah the brainstorming was fruitful and by the Mercy and Grace of Allah the kids came up with all the aspects I was hoping for.

Next up we brainstormed on what we had to do to achieve what we want in each area. You can also download a sample of our table or an empty template to work on your own

Finally we marked what we wanted to start out with first. I told the kids we will ease into those slowly making sure our progress is constant cause if we get into it full  force ahead we might loose our steam and then not be able to achieve what we are hoping for. 

We would like to move slowly but surely gaining momentum and Istiqamah Inshallah 

Will try and post our progress as we move along with our plan..... First off kids are attending a Halaqah every week where they work Basic Islamic Concepts, Surah Translations, Duas and more through mini lapbooks and other wonderful resources graciously shared by Muslim Homeschool Moms.

Ya Ar Rasheed....The Guide the Righteous teacher....please help us achieve our goal this year and let it not be just a plan....

Rewards in Jannah

WHAT WILL WE HAVE IN JANNAH ?

In league with our lesson yesterday on Bab ur Rayyan... Lil Muallimah was aksing me questions about Jannah. I told her some of the things Allah will grant His blessed people in Jannah, like palaces and fruits and rivers of sweet drink. The most amazing thing my kids always find is the fact that hot will not feel hot and cold will not feel cold made them exclaim with the biggest smile and eyes popping out..."So we'll be able to play with snow without mittens and without snow jackets and snow pants!"  Also, not only will the people of Jannah have rivers of water, milk, honey and non intoxicating wine but will even be able to tell their river to go wherever they want. They be able to grab whatever fruit they want to eat from apples o strawberries all growing on the same tree, without having to climb the tree Subhanallah !

I also found these amazing printables on rewards in Jannah  at Tasheel Tadrees . There also have many other creatively made resources there Mashallah!

A few days back Lil Muallimah had 
made a picture of things she would like to have in Dunya (home) and in Jannah :) May she be able to strive hard in Allah's way to get much more than she can imagine Ameen

I also did an activity with my older Mullims. We all made a list of things we would like to have in Dunya and the things we would like to have in Akhirah. The point of the activity was to see which of the things that we wanted in Dunya would lead us to the things we want in Akhirah the eternal abode.

We got the printable for this Ramadan Planner

Along with all this the middle ones continued another of our family tradition which I will post about in another post. 

Ramadan Prep Part 3

Look deep inside 

your Heart

Ramadan is the BEST time to change ourselves for the better. It is a time to reflect.

Are we what we show ourselves to be ? Are we true to ourselves ? In our hearts of heart we know our own faults. What it is a sin or can turn into one if we do not keep it in check. Do we try to get rid of them ? How do we brush them off ? How do we bring improvement in our selves ? How do we rectify it ? \

Step 1 : Quit the excuses ! Realize it and ACCEPT that it is a mistake (big or small) and it need to be rectified

Step 2 : Quarantine it....isolate it...single it out, so it stands out as a sore so you can consciously avoid it. Sins are not something to be spoken of lightly.

Step 3 : Hold yourself accountable. Find a mukhlis (one who is sincere to you-no better choice than your own parents) who can help you out and keep you in check

Step 4 : Rectify it with Allah.....Make Dua.....Surah Araf Ayah 23

Step 5 : Switch it around. Replace the habit.

Lesson: How to apologize to Allah 

Ramadan Prep Part 2

Getting ready for Ramadan 

from our 

Heart and Soul

Broadening the understanding and vision to take it a step further. There is always room for improvement. Let's challenge ourselves !

Lesson 3: Purification of the Soul

Ramadan Prep Part 1

RAMADAN PREP

We all need reminders. So here are some reminders I want to share with my kids today. In all honesty they are extremely important reminders first and foremost for myself. May Allah help us to achieve the best out of this Ramadan. Ameen

I hope to share my kids thoughts and notes after watching each of these talks Beidhnilah

Lesson One: Why FAST ? 

Lesson 2: Ramadan-The Month of Quran

OVERVIEW:

The Ayahs 183 and 185 of Surah Baqarah discussed in these talks are not new, we read about them, hear about them every Ramadan. What I love about the miracle of Allah's words is that the lessons that can be derived from each ayah seem to be endless Subhanallah ! 

In short there are 2 extremely important points that I derived from these short videos.......

1. Allah has ordained for us to fast in the month of Ramadan so we will HOPEFULLY attain Taqwa in other words hopefully develop the urge to protect yourself. Meaning it is something to be acquired by conscious effort and not an automatic state that one falls in by fasting during Ramadan
2. This one is even more deeper in meaning and calls us to truly ponder on what Allah wants us to.....realize that it is the month of Quran, Not only the month it was revealed and completed in but also a clear sign for us to use Ramadan to derive our own strength and improvement of self. Gain knowledge from it  not only for ourselves but to share it with others. What a wonderful way to get the Ummah right back on track. Hence one cannot help but feel gratitude towards Allah for blessing us with Ramadan, for the knowledge of Quran that we can benefit from, to improve our dunya and akhirah

Preparing for Ramadan

RAMADAN IS COMING !

image source TJ Companion Blog

It's that of the year again. After a long absence I really felt the need to get back to blogging. It was in Ramadan only that I started this blog and planning for this Ramadan I felt I wanted to get back here and share once again.

Hopefully I will try and be more regular.

So what's the plan ? This year I really want try and start preparing for Ramadan waaaayyyyy ahead of time. I know it;s only a month away now. But that is still better than starting to think to plan the  night before Ramadan!!! I have been there before and I don't want to be there again.

Here are some of the strategies I want to use for my planning this year.

1. Make a list if what I want to achieve this Ramadan for myself, for each of the kids and collectively as a family
2. Go through our personal library and make a list of books I would like to read for myself and with my kids before and during Ramadan
3. Go through my own previous Ramadan plans and see what I would like to take from there, change or improvise
4. Sift through several Muslim mom blogs and get inspirations, ideas, printables etc etc etc that I can use Inshallah   
5. Watch or hear a Ramadan prep or related lecture with my kids
6. Review the 99 names of Allah as suggested in this blog. As we already had done quite a few earlier we hope to finish all in this month by reviewing 3 - 5 names everyday Inshallah
7. Organize my ramadan crafts and activities with supplies ahead of time
8. Prepare all printables and quizzes ahead of time
9. Last but not the least get the home organized and pre make and freeze some Ramadan food. 

INSHALLAH!

OH ALLAH PLEASE ALLOW US TO SEE AND SPEND THIS RAMADAN WITH COMPLETE SINCERITY AMEEN

What's our Excuse ?

SOMETIMES WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS 

WHAT ONE FEELS THIS VIDEO DOES THAT! 

I HOPE IT DOES THAT FOR YOU TOO

May Allah bless this child in this world and th3 Hereafter, May He protect and preserve this boy in this Dunya and the Hereafter, May he reach the highest levels of Jannah.......Ameen

May we strive hard to purify our hearts and not deviate from teh straight path  Ameen

Best Ramadan Ayah

HE IS WAITING TO RESPOND 

ARE WE CALLING ON TO HIM ?

The beauty of Allah's words Subhanallah !

Bonus Reward From Allah

 RAMADAN LESSON # 7

UNIMAGINABLE REWARDS FROM ALLAH

Subhanallah ...We can never praise and Exalt Allah enough, He not only promises rewards multiplied  by ten  or 70 times in Ramadan, but also tells us that .........

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle Sallallaho alaihiwasallam  said, 

“Allah said, ‘All the deeds of Adam’s sons (people) are for them, except fasting which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it.’ Sahih Bukhari

ALLAHO AKBAR

Copywork: print or cursive

The magnitude of the rewards from Allah are simply unimaginable 
Subhanallah !

Allah loves the "Saim" (faster) so much that He has built a special gate in Jannah through which only those shall enter who were diligent and keen on fasting.

By that it means not only the fasting in Ramadan but also who fasted on days other than Ramadan.

What days are those ?

• 6 days of Shawwal
• Ayyam ul Beed 
• Mondays and Thursdays
• Day of Ashura
• Day of Arafat

Here's our Ramadan Lapbook Flap showing them.

We made this with this printable from TJ Ramadan

HADITH

There are two pleasures for the fasting person, one at the time of breaking his fast, and the other at the time when he will meet his Lord; then he will be pleased because of his fasting.”

Sahih Bukhari

Copywork: print or cursive

Narrated Sahl: The Prophet said, 

“There is a gate in Paradise called Ar-Raiyan, and those who observe fasts will enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and none except them will enter through it. It will be said, ‘Where are those who used to observe fasts?’ They will get up, and none except them will enter through it. After their entry the gate will be closed and nobody will enter through it.”

Copywork: print or cursive 

We illustrated this fact through the following activity.

All depiction is through our imagination. Only Allah knows what it's going to be like.

The shining golden Bab ur Rayyan and people standing outside hoping to enter. The lego people with yellow heads are Saim whose faces are glowing :)

The light glowing from inside, spreading as the doors open 

Only the Saim are allowed to enter with their faces glowing Subhanallah

Once all the Saim have entered, the doors close again

My Lil Muallims LOVED this activity Alhumdillah. The whole process of making the gate and the set up got them very excited Mashllah ! I hope this will be a long lasting memory for them, and it will serve the purpose of instilling the desire to strive to enter through Bab ur Rayyan INSHALLAH

Print your own Bab ur Rayyan 

A Fasting DaY

RAMADAN MINI LESSON

FOR THE LITTLEST ONES

FASTING DAY CYCLE WHEEL

This is a wonderful activity we got from Umm Abdul Basir's Blog Mashallah......It's so cute that it still generates interest in it's 3rd year of use in our home Mashallah. Infact it is now passing over  to the younger siblings Mashallah. May Allah reward the sister abundantly Ameen.

We printed it out in black and white and colored it in by hand..:)

Mashallah!...... And if that wasn`t cute enough she even made a memory sequencing card game tooo....!

Here`s Lil Maullim # 2 guiding Lil Muallimah after I showed her the Fasting Cycle Wheel. 

Cute isn't it ? 

Here's the link if you want to download it too Inshallah

Fasting Day Cycle wheel

Fasting Day Sequence Cards

Ramadan Action Plan

HAVE A PRODUCTIVE RAMADAN

An awesome poster from Productive Muslims

Mashallah !

Suggested Activity

Have the older kids redraw this poster or make one of their own...... customizing it to their own routines!

Hmmm...... sounds like a plan for tomorrow Inshallah :)

Levels of Fasting

RAMADAN LESSON # 6

LEVELS OF FASTING

What are the thoughts on my mind ?

Does the  time seem to go slow ?

Can I not stop thinking about food cause that's not what fasting is about ? 

Do I avoid arguments and fights ?

Am I mindful of Allah ?

Do make extra efforts to do more dhikr and tilawah ?

 May Allah help us to keep maqbool fasts Ameen.

We get many chances to discuss the do's and don'ts of fasting during the day. These reminders (as frustrating as the can get at times) are a blessing, as these are the building blocks of understanding the essence of fasting.

The meaning of Saum can be reviewed from Ramadan Lesson # 1

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, “Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)”

Sahih Bukhari:  Book# 31  Hadith# 127

Copywork (Use the blank space under the text to write reflections): print or cursive

RAMADAN HIGHWAY CODE



source: Islamic Posters

After discussing todays lesson in the lights of different ahadith and every day examples, Lil Muallims made their own Levels of Fasting posters, like the one below.

The levels of fasting poster was inspired by a small diagram in this amazing book

Click on the image to buy this book

Extended Activity

Make a list of things that come under each level. 

• Observe the difference
• make an goal for yourself 
• make an action plan for yourself

Download

Levels of Fasting Poster Colored
 Levels of Fasting Poster Blank 
Levels of Fasting Extended Activity
Levels of Fasting Goal Setting