There’s No Better Deal then Free Family Day-Trips
There’s No Better Deal than Free Family-Fun Day Trips to the Museum, Park, Farm, Factory. Click on the image below for our latest tips how you can find free day trips for you and your little ones. I shared the below tweet for a NoBetterDeal.com contest that you can join to for your chance to win a FREE 32-inch TV!
Just by tweeting your hot deals and bargains with the hashtag #nobetterdeal, you’re entered for a chance at a new TV. Now, that’s a great deal that I couldn’t hold back from sharing. The details was just posted this morning, so click here to learn more.
And, just like the infomercials; “But, wait! There’s more!” NoBetterDeal.com along with the Global Influence Network asks you to
JOIN US ON MARCH 12TH AT 9PM EST AS WE HOST ANOTHER #NOBETTERDEAL TWITTER PARTY! Show off your wit to the #NoBetterDeal online community AND be entered for even more prizes!
My girls and I have loving these twitter parties. We’re meeting many new deal-seeking, like-minded mommy bloggers, learning (yes, they’re very educational) and winning tons of prizes along the way. [A post with more details to follow, inshaAllah 
]
As for hosting real-time social media parties, American Muslim Mom is surveying our readers to find out the best time you’d like to participate in a Facebook Fan Party of our own. So, if you haven’t shared your opinions to this quick 3-question 30-second survey, please do so by clicking here.
And, if you share your “No Better Deal” on your blog, please comment below so we can cash in on your great online deals too
Disclosure: This contest was brought to my attention by the Global Influence Network. By writing this post, I am entered to win a Nintendo Wii or amazon e-gift card.
Kid’s Book Review – Attack fo the Turtle by Drew Carlson
Book Review for Muslim Kids by Muslim Kids
Title: Attack of the Turtle
Author: Drew Carlson
Illustrator: David A. Johnson
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5338-7
Number of Page: 149
Genre: Historical fiction
Kid Reviewer: The Sabra Girls
Reviewer’s Age: 6.5, 8.5, 9.5 years old
Date submitted: 2/2/2010
Reading Time: 1-4 days
Intended Audience:
Kid Reviewer: The Sabra Family
Age: 6 – 12 years old
Gender: Both
Rating: 5 of 5. Excellent.
Review:
6.5 year old girl:I liked this story because it is a historical fiction book and we live in Connecticut. When we coming home from Boston, MA we passed by all the towns in this book, like Old Saybrook and New London. Also, I’ve been to all the places in NY City too.
8.5 year old girl: By reading this book, it’s a fun way to learn history.
9.5 year old girl: I really liked this book because I usually don’t like history, but this book changed me. It discussed inventors, what happened during the Revolutionary War, and I liked the explanation between what was fact and what was fiction in the book.
Mama: Overall, this was an incredible book. Please read this book as a family, and enjoy opening a unit study in the Revolutionary War, inventors and inventions, and/or New England geography.
Interesting facts:
The Epilogue, American Turtle diagram and its description, Author’s notes and Bibliography are all must-read sections of this book. They were so funny and interesting that we look forward to going to the Submarine Museum in Groton to see the life-sized model of the American Turtle ourselves in the Spring, inshaAllah. We read the “Bushnell’s Submarine – The Best Kept Secret of the American Revolution” by Arthur S. Leftowitz the Uncorrected Proof to verify the historical and scientific information shared in “Attack of the Turtle”. 
* We read this book as part of the 2010 Intermediate Nutmeg Nominee Book Club at the Hamden Public Library. Previously reviewed books in this category included:
- Drita, My Homegirl
We’d love for you to share your kid’s book reviews on AmericanMuslimMom.com Click here to complete a review form.
“My Masjid” Kids Drawing Contest on Family Reads
Honored to find that we’re listed on their Helpful Links page on Family Reads, we’re excited to announce this drawing and writing contest for children ages 4 – 16 years old. In addition to drawing a masjid, kids are asked to a short description of why they think their masjid is unique or special. Of course, each of our girls are participating, and we encourage you to have your kids join us too!
From the page:
“My Masjid” Art contest.
Do you like to draw? Art is a wonderful way to express ones creativity. If you like to draw, then this contest is just for you. Family Reads is hosting an art contest featuring local masajid around the world. Young artists, you are invited to participate in the contest by submitting hand-drawn or computer drawn illustrations of the local masjid you attend. Please include a 50-100 word description of your masjid, ie name, location, history, what makes your masjid unique or special. Winning art work will be featured on Family Reads. Please send submissions to familyreads@ymail.com and type “My Masjid art contest” in the subject line.
Contest Rules:
* One submission per person
* Submission should be your own drawings, computer or hand-drawn
* Submissions should be submitted no later than Feb 25th
* Submission should include: Name, Age and City/State
Contest Age Categories:
Ages 4-8 years
Ages 8-12 years
Ages 12-16 years
Contest Prizes
* Winning Art featured on Family Reads
* A collection of delightful books and/or coloring activity book
* A gift certificate to www.islamicbookstore.com or www.store.dar-us-salam.com
Loom Knitting for Kids by Kids – Patterns included
Sorry for the posting delay, but here was our first video log (vlog) or short video my girls and I posted on American Muslim Mom’s very own youtube channel. Much to our surprise, we’re getting so new traffic and found vlogging quite easy and fun. However,you’ll see we’re quite the amateurs. But, that’s the fun part! So, we hope you’ll stick around and watch our progress.
Loom Knitting for Kids by Kids
- We purchased this Kinifty Knitters round loom set. We got some extra blue circular looms. And, one red long looms.
Loom Knitting Easy Patterns for Kids to Start With
- Blue hat – Knifty Knitter’s pattern with the round loom kit with 12-ewrap (12 lines of stitches)-brim. Our 6 yo made this so, it’s easy!
- Tan hat – Same pattern without a brim
- Black hat – Same pattern with 8-ewrap-brim
- Brown hat – Same pattern with 10-ewrap-brim, I used super bulky yarn for hubby
- Brown scarf – Knifty Knitter’s pattern with the red long loom package, using all the pegs with super bulky yarn, also for hubby
- Black scarf – same pattern for me. I used all pegs, but it’s very thick, so I took it apart and now only using 1-line of pegs, since I used super bulky wool yarn
- The girls’ handbag & purse – My 9 yo daughter made up her pattern, which she’ll write-up for a future post. So, keep please stay posted.
- Sock pattern – We didn’t like the tip like a hat, so I took the 3 extra strings at the end and stitched a straight edge like this:
We love loom knitting, so if you have easy, fun patterns to share for kids or want to explore some projects together, please comment below. Again, this was our 1st month loom knitting and youtubing, so any helpful tips are greatly appreciated.
JumpStart Virtual World – How to Register
You might of heard of JumpStart’s Software collection
Well if you haven’t, you’re at the right place; because me and my sisters will share our tips, tricks, and reviews for one of our most favorite programs–JumpStart!
We have 11 JumpStart DVDs and have been fans for over 5 years. So, we are so excited they are online now!
Now, we will begin to “register” at JumpStart.com
How to Register in JumpStart Virtual World
- At the right top of JumpStart’s home-page it says “Welcome Guest”, under that it says “Login” and “Register”. Click on “Register”.
- Now you need one of your parents with you to help you sign-up and fill in:
* Parent’s First Name,
* Parent’s Last Name
* Parent’s E-mail,
* You need to confirm The E-mail,
* Password, and you need to confirm the Password
* Parent’s Birth Day, and
* Have them fill in the information for Child One-you can add more kids later.
- Then click “Finish and Play”.
- After you click “Finish and Play” a window will pop up and that is the one to make your Jumpeez a made-up name, and then you will create your Jumpeez (JumpStart’s character).
Labeled World Map of JumpStart
So you can find your way around more easily, below is the World Map of JumpStart labeled.
February Fun at JumpStart
If you register right now, we’re finding 35 hearts for this month’s scavenger hunt. Try to get as many as you can, before heading here for the answers:
Note to Parent
We recommend that your children go to Storyland (ages 3-5), Adventureland (ages 5-8), Marineland (ages 5-8), or Futureland (ages 8-10) for some learning first, and then let them explore JumpStart and have fun.
Note from Mama: The kids have tons of fun in the learning lands too. So, free to recommend a certain amount of time in one of the learning lands before they play around JumpStart–that’s what I do.
Have fun as you play JumpStart and come back so we can share our experiences in the comments area below!
Disclosure: I was provided with a JumpStart membership at no cost by Knowledge Adventure in order to test the products’ abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.
Creations from the Hands and Minds of Children: An Art Gala
UPDATE:Art work is due this Friday, February 15, 2010! for the Creations from the Hands and Minds of Children: An Art Gala!
Where: Levi E. Coe Library at 414 Main Street in Middlefield, CT.
When: February 20, 2010 from 5:00 -8:00pm.
Homeschool Art Gala Mission
To provide homeschooled children the opportunity
- to present their art work to the community;
- to learn to critique their own work by determining the worth of their art work within the given parameters; and
- to give back to the community through the donation of art work to benefit a local non-profit organization.
Who may participate
- We are looking for interested young artists to donate their art work to be sold for a small fee or those who wish to display art can pay a small fee. Our youngest participant has been 18 months and our oldest has been 17. Art work has been of every description and medium imaginable. We only ask that the art work be appropriate for a family venue.
What to do
- Each artist prices their work for $1, $2, $3, $4 or $5. If they are donating it, the piece will be on display in the upper level of the library for the public to purchase for the donation price. If being pre-bought & only to be displayed for viewing pleasure then it will be placed downstairs in the Children’s Room & must be pre-bought by a parent. Some artists are reluctant to part with their artwork so parents have opted to pre-buy artwork for a dollar or two per piece. Pre-bought work is designed for budding artist to display their prized creations while having their parents/guardians support the cause monetarily.
The money raised allows the Levi Coe Library to purchase additional materials for The Children’s Room & Young Adult Department of the library.
- Each piece of artwork needs an artist information card which has the child’s name (first & last), age, Title of the artwork, price & if it is pre-bought or not. The cards are available at the Levi E. Coe Library (available at time of drop-off) or from Regenia Allen or Candy Hayden (Mueller).
- The artwork can be of any medium which you can conceive. If your child can imagine it and make it happen then we can find a place to display it. We have had sculptures, etchings, drawings, paintings, cards, sculpey creations, quilts & other fiber arts, recycled art and so many more submitted in years past. We do ask you group small items together, ie a set of 2 or 3 mini light bulbs.
- Drawings, paintings, etc. need to be framed or suitable for hanging. Some people buy frames from the Dollar store & others opt to back with poster board or foam board. Since the organizers try to hang as much of the artwork as is possible, it is important is be in hangable condition when we receive it.
How to make this a successful event
- We need at least 300 pieces of art work to make this a successful event. Each participant is asked to donate/show at least 4 pieces and can donate/show up to 15 pieces. We are beginning to collect art pieces now and will be accepting donations until February 15th. You can call Regenia Allan at (860)349-1577 or drop off donations at the Levi E. Coe library during their business hours M-Th 10am-7pm & Sat. 10am-1pm.
Parental obligations
- Pre-Gala Meeting: We will have a meeting on Feb 19, 2010 @ 3pm to go over the expectations for the the night of the Gala & to familiarize everyone with the library and where everything will be found and to answer any questions.
- Mandatory refreshments: On the night of the Gala, we ask families with participating artists to bring 2 clear drinks (water, 7up, white grape juice) and a plate of finger foods.
How to sign up
If you are interested in signing up your child(ren), you can do so when you drop off your artwork at Levi E. Coe or you can email me with their name(s), age(s), parents name, email address & phone number. If you attend GreenSchool, you can also find Regenia or Candy and sign up, get artist information card & drop off art work for the Gala.
Organizer’s Contact information:
Regenia Allan (860)349-1577
Candy Hayden (Mueller) at themueller<at> mac.com.
Newcomer Tips:
- Created some practical art pieces. Since I did not know what to expect the first year and was very nervous that no one would buy their art pieces–or worse, I’d be stuck buying all their pieces, while this art gala is my attempt to clean out my house filled with art pieces in the first place…I decided to direct them towards so practical, usable, creative pieces, such as motivational bookmarks, very creative pencil holders, and fancy decorative jewelry. A number of my girls’ work were purchased by people we didn’t know. So, the intrigue and excited that my girls felt, knowing that “someone else” “really interested” in purchasing their work did!
- Display the art pieces “for sale”. Our oldest daughter, then 7 yo, created quite the ‘talk’ that evening, when we arrived and Papa tried to purchase his favorite piece she painted. Only to find out that it was already sold and he was the fourth person to ‘try’ and buy it. While it was a beautiful piece, it was one of her quickest paintings, but with the help of the organizers, because we found a gorgeous dollar store frame that fit it perfectly, it looked very professional.
- Price the art work based on time spent, ability, and saleability. We priced our daughter’s painting based on time for $3, but we didn’t take into account that it was very professionally displayed and truly worthy of being hung on someone’s wall. Do not underestimate your child/ren’s ability. I learned the hard way..because…next tip:
- Have your kids look forward to being designated as an “Artist” for the night. Since our daughter had her name tag prominently pinned, one of the four people wanting to purchase her painting, “commissioned” her to paint one for her, and offered to pay her more than $3 as long as she used the colors she requested. All her friends were so proud and excited for our daughter. Since I lost her contact information, and we agreed to have her pay only when my daughter completed the painting, I let this great opportunity slip. Rest assured, my daughter is going to make it again, and create similar appealing pieces this year.
- Expect an enchanted, elegant, fun, educational evening for the entire extended family and friends. While people dressed from jeans to black-ties since some of our daughters’ girl-friends were even getting their hair done, my girls decked out in their formal Eid gowns. My parents joined my entire family, and we had such a great time, that it was SO hard to drag them away early–since me and one of our daughter’s was nursing the end of a flu. The ambiance, entertainment, organization and lay-out of this evening has caused this night to never be erased from our memories. Since grandma, may God have mercy with her, won’t be joining us, we’re working hard to have my sister come all the way from NJ this month.
- Designate a fair “allowance” for each child to spend & set some rules. The night is a great math and economics lesson too. Kids walk around and weigh her needs and desires along with new-found or old homeschool buddies. Our rule was, don’t spend so quickly–take your time, and they were not allowed to purchase their own or their sisters’ work
- If you’re not sure if you want to participate–at least attend! This is the one most unusual experience in my 10 years of homeschooling, that I’ve ever witnessed homeschool kids and families, babies to grandparents, sipping drinks elegantly, kids walking confidently and proudly eager to satisfy their friends and guests, lessons in all subjects like art, math, and networking among all ages with no havoc or chaos. It’s truly a night to remember a time to mark on your calendar to attend!
Muslim Kids Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Book Review by Muslim Kids for Muslim Kids
Book Review for Muslim Kids by Muslim Kids
Title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrator: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN: 0-375-91526-5
Pages: 155
Genre: Children’s Fantasy Novel
Kid Reviewer: DMS
Age: 7.5
Date: 6-22-09
Reading Time: 1-week
Intended Audience:
Gender: Boys & Girls
Age Group: 7-10 (because there are lessons are for kids)
Rating: 4 of 5 – Very Good
Review:
I would like other kids around my age to read this book because it will teach them lessons, such as not being brat, not to think you’re so smart, and to listen to your parents and adults. Just because you’re famous, doesn’t mean you can do anything you want.
My favorite part of the story was when Charlie the little boy wins the whole factory at the end. One thing that is so cool is that Charlie loves chocolate and he wins the most famous chocolate factory in the world.
My favorite characters were Charlie and Grandpa Joe, because they did the hardest work at the factory.
The book was okay.
Differences between the movie and the book:
In the book, when Grandpa Joe got up (from his bed) the soup went into Grandma Josephine’s face, which did not happen in the movie. Also, in the book, everyone (all the kids) went to the factory with two of the parents except Charlie who went only with Grandpa Joe. In the movie, everyone went with one parent.
Muslim Kids Video – I think my mum is amazing by Zain Bhikha
This nasheed is called “I think my mum is amazing” which is part of the “Allah Knows” CD by Zain Bhikha. It’s a beautiful video; but, very sad at the end 
You’ll just have to watch it to find out why for yourself.
We’d like to showcase the best nasheed and Muslim Kids videos on the web every Sunday. So, please leave a comment below with your favorite link and check back each week to see when we post it!
Muslim Kids Review: Drita My Homegirl by Jenny Lomnbard
Book Review for Muslim Kids by Muslim Kids
Title: Drita, My Homegirl
Author: Jenny Lomnbard
Publisher: Puffin
ISBN: 978-0142409053
Pages: 144 pages
Kid Reviewer: Sabra Family
Age: 6, 8 & 9 yo
Intended Audience:
Gender: Girls.
Age Group: 6 – 8 years old. Grades 1 – 3. Early pre-chapter book readers. It was such easy reading that our 8 year old read it in less than 2 days.
It saddens our family greatly that the publisher and the reviewers say this book should be read by 3rd through 5th graders. We found the vocabulary to be very remedial. The content is not even equivalent to a newsstand newspaper which is geared towards a 3rd to 5th grade level reader, it is so elementary.
Rating:
Our 8 & 9 year old daughters and I each read this book and collectively give this book 2 out of 5 stars. Our 6 year old gave it a 3.
Recommendation:
We do not recommend this book. It’s not the worst book we’ve ever read, but it is not “okay”. Our 8 year old said “I just don’t really like this book”.
Review:
We are greatly disappointed that this was nominated for the Nutmeg awards. We discussed chapter by chapter for content, plot, setting, writing style, tone, vocabulary, and mode of each character.
Writing style & tone:
While we understand the author’s desire to use ebonics for Maxie since she’s an African American girl in Bronx, NY, it would have been a better reading experience if Jenny Lombard used proper English when Maxie was thinking and/or describing other parts of her chapters. However, we were impressed that Maxie was actually able to write a fourth grade level proper English speech for the last chapter. Since she was able to do this, we collectively believe that the author used ebonics too freely, as we believe Maxie was/is much more capable of always speaking poorly, especially since her father and grandmother did not approve and Maxie was able to correct herself.
Writing level:
- This book is definitely too elementary in its writing style and vocabulary for the 4th – 6th grade Intermediate Nutmeg Nominee category. Our 2nd grader easily read the first chapter, but given our review of this book; she too became uninterested in this book. It’s a very simple, easy “chapter” book, equivalent to picture chapter books for early (not intermediate) readers.
- It is definitely not for 9 -12 year olds, as Puffin describes.
Poor research:
- The author did not thoroughly research Muslims, for example the father put out his hand to shake with their case worker, a woman. As Muslims, we do not shake/touch the opposite sex except within immediate family members.
- Ramazan is the less popular way, and incorrect way to spell Ramadan. It’s ‘dal’ in Arabic = D in English; not ‘dhal’ = ‘zal’ in Arabic = Z in English.
- We don’t know if it was assumed to be a Kosovar’s, Muslim’s or foreigner’s explanation, but when Drita was thinking about her mother’s unusual behavior and although she was curious, she said she didn’t ask her grandmother (let alone her father) questions, because as a young girl she’s not supposed to ask or discuss those kinds of things!? A concerned, lovingly daughter interested in the well-being of her mother is perfect reason to mature with this experience, by asking questions and seeking answers. This was a great missed opportunity for Jenny Lombard to educate her readers.
Things we did not like in this book:
- Maxie’s description of Drita being as white as a scary “ghost” and being tall and thin is “awkward”. MashaAllah, God willed, the Albanians have beautiful, fair white skin, and tall, thin physiques. The reader is left to think that either Maxie is really cruel, or Albanians are scary and ugly. While we read at different paces, this one scene jumped out for all three of us.
- There were numerous typos and grammatical errors. If it was on purpose to show how poor Maxie’s English is through ebonics, this only creates a “dumber” reader through the “dumb” character; which we do not promote. We actually discussed throughout our reading experience, that “Maxie “sounds” stupid, but is not *that* stupid!” Often, we discussed that it looks like Jenny Lombard is obviously not African American, yet she’s trying to write as or for African Americans–she’s doing a very poor job of both. It’s obviously, in the scene when Maxie is defining “homey” and “homegirl”.
Missed opportunities for Jenny Lombard to educate her audience and create a more complete reading experience:
- The scene when Drita was bulleed and punched left the reader thinking “well, what happened to Drita?” Jenny Lombard missed the opportunity for her teacher, principal and parents to share some compassionate, empathic, emotional moments with Drita; so the reader can experience more than “oh, the bullies got punished, but the victim was still friend-less victim”. Drita and the other characters could have been more triumphant emotionally and socially in this scene. Drita’s conversation with her grandmother did not suffice for us. Also, two weeks of being “benched” rather than suspended was a very light punishment for a slap in the face and being punched in the stomach.
- Why did Jenny Lombard than leave her young readers still wondering what is medically, psychologically or emotionally wrong with Drita’s mom? Since she was admitted and released from the hospital without any explanation, we leave the story with a parent, guardian and/or teacher to assume or try to figure out and then describe to our readers that maybe she had post traumatic stress disorder, is severely depressed, experiencing hallucinations, and/or other issues. Rather then having the adult reader assume something that the author actually wrote into the storyline, why not define and describe it in an educational way for Drita, Maxie, and most of all her readers.
- We agreed that while Maxie matured into a more open-minded, kind, young girl willing to open herself up to her “secret” of her mother’s death with her new found close friend in Drita, the multiple reviews sharing that “this is a story of two girls from different worlds coming together as close friends” (paraphased) is not a unique theme to entice readers to read this story. It’s a redundant theme shared in many books for girls in this age group; and given all the reasons written in our review, we do not find anything unique enough to recommend this book.
- Even the notable reviews share that its theme connecting bullies with war and refugees as poignant; in our view, it is unfounded. We feel strongly that the author does not give justice to these idealistic reviews. We expected much greater things from these highly inflated reviews and was gravely disappointed. These reviews make my family wonder about the veracity of these reviews from notable news sources. The “idea” for this book was good, but the story did not fill its ideals.
Closing Remarks:
While we may be a bit defensive, since we’re reading other Nutmeg Nominees simultaneously; and have not faced any of these above problems in any other book thus far, we feel “Drita, My Homegirl” should not be categorized with these books at all.
Chelsea Piers Free Athletic Class Update
We’d like to thank everyone who showed interest in the free Pre-Olympic Athletic Lessons offered by Chelsea Piers this Friday, January 29, 2010.
Attendance Update:
- We reached our maximum class size of 21 kids aged 6 – 12 years old.
- All commentators will receive an email questionnaire stating your place in the class or if you were placed on the waiting list.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- This program is open to any homeschoolers aged 6 -12 years old in the Tri-State area willing to drive into New York City, and not limited to American Muslim homeschoolers.
- An age range was determined to allow maximum benefit for the attendees and the instructors teaching the classes. Not only do we want our children to “try” a new sport, but we’d like them to learn enough basic fundamentals so they can determine if these are different sports they would like to explore further in the future.
- No, this was not a publicly marketed program. American Muslim Mom through RoleMommy has been directly working with Chelsea Piers. We are exploring the utilization social media, bloggers, and email lists as a publicity method, while finding new ways to showcase their facilities and services to the local homeschool population.
- While we’d like to focus on local New York homeschoolers, since we were unable to gauge how much interest CT families would be willing to drive into the City, we set the rule that the first to comment on this blog will be the first served.
- We do not want to turn any interested child and their family, but we have a limited number of instructors to teach the classes.
However, if you’d like to participate in future programs with Chelsea Pier, and other homeschool and family events organized by American Muslim Mom, we highly recommend that you subscribe to our RSS feed and our email list on the top right-hand corner of this page to stay posted.
Some future possibilities include:
- Chelsea Piers Spring Bowling and Golf Lessons,
- Experimenting Physics at Quassy Amusement Park,
- Free admissions and programs at area museums,
- Private movie screenings, and much more.
Please fill out the questionnaire as thorough as possible:
- Reasons for some questions:
- We’d like to thank whichever party referred you to American Muslim Mom for this program, and/or see which method was the best in reaching local homeschool families.
- We’d like to see how we can better serve NY versus CT families for future programs.
- We’d like to serve as many interested families as well.
If you missed this opportunity, subscribe to our RSS feed today!
