Meet ‘clickety clickety’ whose name is derived from the sound ‘it’ makes when jiggled up and down on a hard surface due to its button ‘shoes’…and now I expose a tiny fragment of my secret world away from this screen LOL! Making rather nonsensical ‘toys’ with an attached book for loved little ones, and sometimes for loved ‘not so little ones’ Usually I send them off the moment they have been created without recording any details, but this time I thought I would document the project.

This particular one is about to fly over to the UK…if Allah Ta’ala wills the volcanic ash to subside so flights can land. SubhanAllah! Allah Ta’ala’s Qudrat can strand thousands and disrupt what man thinks is a precise and intricate system of schedules that he is in control of. Such a powerful and humbling reminder for us all. Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar.

And here is the book:

ALLAHU ALLAHU ALLAHU

I have posted many previous rhymes that children can make into their own books with illustrations, cut outs, stickers, photos, fabrics, trimmings etc. A store of exciting recycled things along with markers, pencils, glue etc I feel is a must for all children to have access to.

Ideas…I have seen brilliant books made by little ones from most of the ‘poems’ linked here:

the whimsical WHY,

a box

Sunnah simplicity

the night

who who who

two ears to hear a sound

whacky woo and Mr dingle dangle

And here is the Islamic Lap Book Flickr group for extra ideas and inspiration, and where you can post your finished projects, Insha’Allah. Insha’Allah I will be creating a page of resources related to home schooling/unschooling SOON! Do share links you have found constructive and of benefit with your children.

Connected with the idea of this post, is the recent query by Sister Muslimah min Junoobi afreeqa: “Can u tell us where in Makkah/Madina can we find good Islamic bookstores that have fun/educational books,cd’s,DVD’s etc for children?”

The key concepts mentioned are fun/educational. Alhumdulillah the amount of material now available for children is certainly on the increase, but what we all may classify as fun/educational will vary from individual to individual. I have always been one to encourage the home environment to be creative, with children being the centre of activities based on the need that reflects where their interest is at a particular moment and or/subject. The degree of ‘fun/educational’ seems to have a correlation with how much input/research (for the slightly older ones) the children have to the topic, and the more they are involved the greater seems to be the ‘fun/educational’ elements.

‘Good Islamic bookstores’…uuummm, far and few between in my view here in the Kingdom compared to the UK, the US, Australia, Canada etc. Many may differ…but here are links to the main ones I am aware of.

Jarir has outlets in Madinah, Makkah and Jeddah for those who may be here for Umrah/Hajj. They have an extensive selection of children’s books and CD’s etc in both English and Arabic, covering a large age range and abilities, many including interactive activities, though not always directly Deeni related, but geared to popular cartoon type characters and traditional stories.

Obeikan is in Madinah also, but I did not get far in finding a relevant site. They also have many teaching aids in Arabic and English, it being a popular place for schools to frequent for supplies, but once again the Islamic content is not really present.

The Dawah Corner Bookshop used to be here in Madinah, but they told me it was not financially viable, but they are on Makkah. They have the widest range of material for children, including a large selection of the Goodword books and activities, which I think are available world wide. There is a bookstore and an adjacent audio/visual/video department on the second floor of the Makkah/Hilton towers. And while they have a great selection of titles, some of us would classify many of the publishers and/or authors as ‘controversial’. Unfortunately the policy in the Kingdom is very restrictive regarding what is allowed to be sold and what is not. So many excellent titles one can find online from other countries would never be found here, for example, the Storytelling Pages of Mehded Maryam Sinclair, illuminating Islamic History and the Oral Traditions for children and the young at heart.

Many of the bookstores immediately around the Haramain have a huge selection of CD’s and DVD’s for children. Some are cartoon type series based on the lives of Sahabah and Islamic concepts, others are nature based documentary style presentations.

My advice is that if you purchase any CD or DVD that you do so from a store that has the facility for you to play the product before you walk away with it, or worse, leave the country! Too often I have been attracted to the cover/information, but upon checking it have found that it is not what has been presented on the cover and has been totally unsuitable. I am not a huge fan of placing kids in front of any screen for great lengths of time, (read this about TV and kids, which also applies to screens) especially overdoses of cartoon presentations, but that is my personal ‘old fashioned’ bias A good messy painting, cutting pasting, papier mache session based on a story from our illustrious history has far more impact on a child. Maybe some of the children who have experienced such sessions can post a comment sharing what they have learnt

Some of the above poems I have linked back to were written for a very dear boy, who at the time of learning to read was having issues with all the ‘wh’ words…he is a product of an Islamic home school environment who has now grown into a lanky lad in his second year of an Alim course where his results continue to outshine his class mates who were educated in traditional school settings, and whose parents would frown upon this family for their home schooling methods. Masha’Allah.

Clickety clickety BOO!

Allahu Allahu

He made me and He made you!

Alhumdu, Alhumdu Alhumdu

LiLahi Rabbil Aalameen!

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.