Ever wondered what Ivy League and top-tier (Top 50) universities and colleges really look for? Well, Antonio Buehler of Buehler Education introduced this amazing term  to my girls and I: “Intellectual Vitality”. So, what is it? How do some kids possess this, and others do not?

Intellectual Vitality defined by Stanford University

We want to see your commitment, dedication, and genuine interest in expanding your intellectual horizons; both in what you write about yourself and in what others write on your behalf. We want to see the kind of curiosity and enthusiasm that will allow you to spark a lively discussion in a freshman seminar and continue the conversation at a dinner table. We want to see the energy and depth of commitment you will bring to your endeavors, whether that means in a research lab, while being part of a community organization, during a performance, or on an athletic field. We want to see the initiative with which you seek out opportunities that expand your perspective and that will allow you to participate in creating new knowledge.

Stanford University’s Short Essay #1

1. Stanford students possess intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development.

Intellectual Curiosity

According to the IECA’s (Independent Educational Consultants Association) ’Top Ten Strengths and Experiences Colleges look for in High School Students,’ number nine is “Demonstrated intellectual curiosity through reading, school, leisure pursuits, and more.”

Tips From Ivy League & Top-Tier College Admissions Representatives

Stanford University looks for intellectual vitality with a love of learning and interaction with teachers and fellow students.  They are looking for the most compelling students, not the most competitive. 75% of the students who apply are qualified. They must look elsewhere for more information. The essay and teacher letters of recommendation are very important. Respect for others is also important.

Yale is looking for a unique student. Explain your passion and engage in your classes in high school.

Brown is looking for self-motivated, active thinkers and learners.  You need to have a passion about something. Do you have intellectual curiosity?

Harvard is looking for well-cultivated interests, specialists and focused students who are involved.

Princeton is looking for students who challenge themselves and bring a unique viewpoint to campus. The essay needs to fit with you and show your true voice.

Dartmouth wants to know what you will bring to the college. Peer recommendations are important.

University of Chicago is interested in who you are as a thinker.

Homeschoolers Have an Edge!

Back in 2000 Stanford University demonstrated that homeschoolers are “In a Class by Themselves”.

Admission officers sum it up in two words: intellectual vitality.

It’s hard to define, but they swear they know it when they see it. It’s the spark, the passion, that sets the truly exceptional student–the one driven to pursue independent research and explore difficult concepts from a very early age–apart from your typical bright kid. Stanford wants students who have it.

Looking very closely at homeschoolers is one way to get more of those special minds, the admission office has discovered. As Reider explains it: “Homeschooled students may have a potential advantage over others in this, since they have consciously chosen and pursued an independent course of study.”

Indeed, when he and his colleagues read applications last year, they gave the University’s highest internal ranking for intellectual vitality to two of the nine homeschoolers admitted. And an astounding four homeschoolers earned the highest rating for math–something reserved for the top 1 to 2 percent of the applicant pool.

“The distinguishing factor is intellectual vitality,” says Reider. “These kids have it, and everything they do is responding to it.”

Tips for College-Bound Homeschoolers

All details with amazing anecdotes are shared in this article

1. “Get at least two of their three recommendations from non-family members – such as, “tutors, mentors, community college professors, or civic leaders they volunteered with–although a parent’s letter will be considered.”
2. Don’t worry if you don’t have grades. Missing transcripts is really not a big deal. The article even jokes how homeschoolers are capable of being straight-A valedictorians of their own class of 1. Isn’t he right?
3. A detailed curriculum should be supplemented with students writing about themselves and their education. “We would like to hear about how the family chose homeschooling, how the learning was organized and what benefits (and costs, if any) they have derived,” Reider wrote.
4. Study for SATs, ACTS, SAT IIs, etc. and aim for perfect scores. “Standardized test scores also carry extra weight, although tests aren’t decisive by themselves. In addition to the mandated sat and act tests, the University urges homeschoolers to take some sat ii subject exams (formerly called achievement tests), even though these aren’t required.”
5. Don’t feel pressures to change your homeschooling curriculum to a “traditional” high school curriculum. We have an advantage with our self-teaching students and parents providing supervision, motivation, direction and the means to seek the best mentors and appropriate books.
6. Take several college courses and get As. College courses ” help with evaluation and to give students a taste of classroom learning before they arrive on the Farm.”
7. Know that our kids are more socially prepared and ready for top-tier universities. Be proud (as you should be, inshaAllah) that research suggests (even though we-homeschoolers-always knew, God bless) that homeschoolers are actually socially and emotionally healthier then the “socialized” school children–therefore are preferred by top-tier universities!

…1999 survey organized by Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute. Ray found that the typical homeschooler takes part in at least five social activities outside the home every week–from dance classes and sports teams to scout troops and community theater. He also collected previous findings by educators and psychologists suggesting that children taught at home are actually socially and emotionally healthier than those in schools. They are more comfortable interacting with adults and less likely to pin their self-esteem to the fads and whims of teenagers, Ray says.

Striving for the Best Education is an Obligation in Islam

It’s NOT the prestige and the immense amount of opportunities afforded only to Ivy league and top-tier university students that has my girls and I excited and eager to apply to them, inshaAllah…but, it’s my husband and my firm belief that if we don’t aim for the highest and best; we’ll never reach our highest and best potential. So, reaching high is the only way to go in when we educate our girls as home.

“Are those who know equal to those who know not?” It is only men of understanding who will remember.” Qur’an 39:9

It is incumbent of all Muslim children to be knowledgeable in their deen, which includes and does NOT separate all superior, in depth understanding of ALL subjects: Math, Science, Language Arts, etc. There’ should not be any differentiation between “core” and “elective” subjects in Islam, as our Islamic history never divided the two. This is why I continue to believe Homeschooling is the Ideal Educational System for devout Muslims.

Public and private schools do not have the religious piece, and Islamic schools have not proven themselves collectively in mastering core subjects. Recent academic case studies presently being published (Ponn’s personal conversation with a Cornell-Yale researcher on this topic) suggest that the few “success stories” (children) in Islamic schools would have succeeded academically in non-Islamic schools regardless. So referring to 1-2-3…success students is not a success of that particular school or system, but merely the natural statistical effect of having an excellent student–period.

Also, in a recent college admissions book the author (who got her 2 sons both into 4 Ivies with no rejections) shared in her opening chapter, that Every Parent is a Homeschooler. More and more of the entry into Ivies are not because they are “good/excellent students” in school–it’s everything they do to supplement their education outside of the school walls. So, I’d like to add to her statement, “Therefore they should homeschool full-time”, rather than waste 8-10 hours a day at school (including before & after-school prep time, classes, extra curriculars and homework).

As my family doctor shares her favorite quote, which my girls and I have been reminding ourselves often

“If you don’t strive for perfection, you have no hope for excellence.”

Our end-point may not include Ivy League admission, but working towards and striving for them, will only grant them their greatest opportunities, individually and collectively. Alhumdulilah, this journey thus far has been absolutely invigorating…there’s SO much energy, life and amazingly-deep-profound conversations filling our home.

While I loved teaching while they were babies, and enjoyed the stumbles and achievements of teaching them to talk…alhumdulilah, this FAR exceeds any joy I ever imagined, mashaAllah. The amount of intellectual stimulation in our home on in ALL Multiple Intelligences (ie Art, Logic, Language, People, Self Skills etc.) is like having scholars to relate to on a deep level yet playful and effortless. The depth of their knowledge is motivating to one another, they encourage one another’s passions, applaud their efforts, marvel in ways to figure out how to correct a “mistake” so they strive to discover the answers together. The feed off one another, and so do I!

My role is to provide them with what they need to succeed. They’ve mastered topics FAR beyond my own comprehension, and the humility of having my girls teach me something new every single day is delightful, to say the least. However, they expect and turn to me to direct, lead, advise and “teach” them many new things each and every day.

So, yes–if anything, I am simply sleeping less…mostly because I’m preparing to at least be a 1 if not 2-steps ahead of them for the following day. However, I’m trying not to “prepare” too much, because whatever I “prepare” usually only lasts a mere minutes of lessons and we gain more by learning side-by-side, researching and building together…building our minds and alhumdulilah the memories of keeping their energy, life (vitality) of their possession of highly defined intellect (a state of being intellectual) alive and strong! I like LOVE the new role I serve in my girls’ homeschool journery…however, as they read over my shoulder, they share, “But, Mama…That (the new role) is NOT new to you!” “Awww…MashaAllah.” I am ever-so-blessed.

MashaAllah, I tweeted last night to Antonio and my dear pal: @MegFromCT (a college admissions consultant for 16 years in Greenwich, CT who successfully gets her clients into Ivies & first-tier universities as well).

MashaAllah, we have a track-record, many small successes and tons of encouragement from top-tier university employees, alum, consultants, etc. who are all encouraging our girls to reach high, mashaAllah. We’d like to share any of our tips and lessons on the way, and pray that you will too. There’s definitely a revolution going in the U.S. educational system, and it’s called “Homeschooling!”

Please share your tips, lessons and most of all Your reflections of this post below.

Subhanallah, I didn’t realized, this post is basically bringing my Creating the Most Ideal Islamic Educational System series which began back in 2008, alhumdulilah to full-circle, as home education’s end-goal is adulthood, and inshaAllah for us includes competitive, respectable universities, and graduate schools, inshaAllah.

Creating the Most Ideal Islamic Educational System

1. Failures of Modern Schooling – Islamic Perspective
2. Education of Muslim Children – Challenges and Opportunities (Problems with Islamic Schools)
3. We don’t need School Reform we need an Overhaul
4. What are Personalized Learning Centers?
5. Washington Post – Muslim homeschooling population growing
6. Homeschooling with Multiple Intelligences
7. Defining Intellectual Vitality and Intellectual Curiosity

Defining Intellectual Vitality and Intellectual Curiosity is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

So you’re expecting!

The alarm rings and you roll over, hit snooze, and pray that hint of nausea goes away with every second on the clock that ticks until the next ring.

Mornings just arent the same anymore. Remember that extra energy you had? Where you could do arts and crafts all day, mop the floors, and take a load of clothes to the laundromat? Well for some proud preggo moms, its just not the case. It may be this way for some through out almost the whole pregnancy. Don’t feel like homeschooling is just out of the question for the next 9 months, because your body is going through many changes.

Theres good news for mothers looking for a way to homeschool and endure the joys of pregnancy!

There are some steps you can take to make homeschooling easy while your stomach may be feeling queasy! I was chatting on facebook with a dear friend of mine and she gave some excellent advice on homeschooling when you have those sick moments, I will share what I have learned from others and through experience with you all in hopes that you can benefit.

1.) Take it to the bed.

Yes, I know that the bed is for sleeping but some preggo moms spend a lot of time in bed due to the extreme sickness they may feel and some pain, back pain and pelvic pain can keep you down but not out. Remember the love and innocence children have and their nature to nurture. The perks of homeschooling is that we can make our days and plan for later if need be. So, curl up in bed and practice some reading, and open a discussion from your bedside. Review previous lessons or do spelling words, simple lessons for an easy going day. Use this time to get extra up close and personal with your children. Even explain pregnancy and what you are going through, our children understand and will love some family discussion time.

2.) Smells good, feel good!

My mother in law told me recently, as I was in bed with the morning sickness– also known for me as all day sickness– blues. To light my favorite candle or incense smells which promote positive energy and a since of good feelings and well being. Also, let the fresh air in, especially in the early morning, something about the air is just so right… maybe less pollution! Take the children for a nature walk and let the fresh air do you some good. I know for me personally its something about fresh air that feels great and makes me ready to enjoy my day. Besides during pregnancy some of us recieve the blessed super power of sensitive smell and have to learn how to handle it.

3.) PMA all day!

Positive Mental Attitude. If you tell yourself “I’m going to have a bad day..” “I can’t do it..” then chances are you can’t and won’t have a good day. You will live up to your story. Wake up with PMA (not like you have PMS , and tell yourself “I can, by the permission of Allah” “I will strive to do my best today inshaAllah” and you will feel a difference, because your thinking is different.

4.) Team work.

As moms, we do a lot, but some days we cannot do it all. With every pregnancy I have had I am reminded of how thankful I am to have a supportive husband. I don’t mind the fact that in the morning, if I am real sick he makes breakfast and he has the children ready for the day. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, grandma can come homeschool or if youre part of a homeschooling co op, that extra support will be a life saver! Friends, family, and that phone call can be that motivation for the next 9 months.

5.) Take the day off

From one mother to another! Recharge those batteries and get a fresh start the next day.

Mother’s orders!

A Natural Process: Homeschooling While Pregnant is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Google has been the most innovative and intelligent presence on the internet for many years now. With some of the smartest and most creative brains in the industry, the mega master has created search tools, applications, and websites that have revolutionized the way in which we use the internet and the way in which we process information. The world of academics is one area of our lives that Google’s genius has greatly influenced and expanded. With mass amounts of information at our fingertips, the internet has guided us to new and innovative ways to educate our youth and expand their experience.

These five Google tools provide inventive and exciting ways to explore the world of education from the comfort of our own homes. This list provides links to the five different Google services with creative, educational, and fun techniques for using them within our homeschool curriculum.

Top Five Google Tools Perfect for Homeschool

1. Google News: Current events are one of the most important topics young students can tackle in their early education. Google News provides a great way to take a comprehensive look at current world, national, and local news topics. Deciding what material is age appropriate for the specific age of student that you are educating may be one of the more difficult challenges when using Google News in your homeschooling curriculum. For high school aged students studying world history, use Google News to compare current events to events that have occurred in the past. This can open up a discussion on the nature of history in general. The news feature provides a tool that filters material based on various specified criteria. You can choose to see news results based on location or field of interest. In this way, you can use Google News to do a project on health and have your student/s find an article or piece within the health search filter or as a way to discuss pop culture and consumer interests using the “entertainment” filter. In this way, Google News can be used in virtually any sector of the classroom as a way to examine public opinion and interest on science, technology, politics, health, world news, business, sports, and much more.
2. Google Earth: Use Google Earth as a way to have students explore the study of geography in a more three dimensional and engaging way. Google Earth allows users to explore the world from a three dimensional view anywhere in the world. Students can use this as a way to take a virtual field trip and learn about natural landforms for in a science curriculum or as a special topic within a general studies curriculum. Students can use the Historical Imagery feature to explore the evolution of urban planning throughout history. This topic is particularly enlightening for older students in the upper high school grades. Use the Historical Imagery tool to have students examine changes in urban planning and the industrial revolution. This opens up an important discussion about changing social values throughout modern history. Google Earth can be used with a younger age group as a way to learn about cities in general, the way they are structured and how they are organized. Young students can explore different communities around the world from the safety of their home classroom.
3. Panoramio: This web device can be a fun and innovative way to explore history, world geography, art, and much more within a homeschooling curriculum. Panoramio is a web forum that allows individuals to collect photos of amazing sites, landforms, and art forms around the world. Use this tool as a way to take virtual field trips to amazing sites throughout the world. For example, students can take a trip to Rome using Panoramio and study ancient architecture at the Coliseum, discuss the structure of the Roman Republic, and explore the influence ancient Rome had on today’s society across the world and in the United States. By using pictures and maps to explore these topics, students are able to see feel the real presence of these topics. While reading history books alone can feel removed and distant from the topic at hand, accompanying that study with Google’s Panoramio helps students relate and interact with real images and current discussion of the topics at hand.
4. Google Art Project: This web tool powered by Google allows students and individuals to explore museums around the world through their computer screens from the comfort of their homes. View hundreds of world famous artworks at different angles and views and create your own collection of masterpieces. Google Art Project is another tool that may be most useful for students at a higher grade level. Use Art Project to explore a 360 degree view of the Palace of Versailles. Students can use this tool as an art history project, studying classical artwork and discovering different aesthetic influences at different points throughout history. Younger students can use this tool as a way to explore different cultures around the world and different governments. For example, younger students could use Google Art Project to learn about kings and queens by virtually excavating ancient palaces. With practically every major art museum and major art piece at your fingertips the possibilities are endless for at home and online education.
5. What do you love?: This Google feature is relatively new to the Google resume. The what do you love? search tool allows you to search the web for any topic and then gathers information on that topic in a useful and organized manner. This tool could be the launching point for major term or class projects. For example, for your Language and Literature curriculum you could have students use what do you love? (WDYL) to begin research on African American Literature. Here, Google’s WDYL provides platforms for beginning a blog on African American Literature or start a web forum group discussing African American Literature. This search tool could be a great way to incorporate modern technology and multimedia into the classroom. This tool can be used at any grade level and for any subject. Search “Butterflies” for a science project, “The Civil War” for a history project, or “folk music” for a social studies project.

These are just a few of the innovative and useful tools Google has developed. Try out the many other search capabilities they have to offer and share with us which ones you have found most useful in your classroom pursuits.

While I (Ponn) was aware of 2 of these google tools (Google News & Google Earth), Barbara introduced some fascinating  new ways to utilize them in our homeschool. The other 3 tools are just amazing, and my girls and I look forward to exploring them all in more depth. What do you think? Did you hear or know of any of these tools? Which ones? How to use them? Are you eager to explore newly introduced tools now too? Please comment below.

Author’s Bio:

Barbara Jolie writes for online classes.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: barbara.jolie876<at>gmail.com.

Top Five Useful Google Tools Most People Don’t Know About is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Determined to get to work on today’s homeschool project, I told my daughter to call Baba. “Baba, what’s a Gamma Camera? or a nuclear camera?” While on the road, and unable to hear, he kept yelling “What? What?” So, she continue to ask, “What are they? How are they different?” “What are What!?”

It was a funny conversation held on speakerphone for the whole family’s eager ears to listen in. “Why do you want to know?” he quickly asked, but before he could take a next breathe you can hear his pride lightening up in the conversation but in a rush while driving he searched “there’s no difference between a gamma camera and nuclear camera, they’re the same…they’re used to scan patients…to look inside, like the heart, and find bad things…but, just google them both and research more about them…you’ll find a lot, and then when I come home we’ll talk more…okay?” “Okay, Baba, thanks!”

Hubby takes pride whenever the girls express interest in learning more about anything he does…and he makes them love things (in a loving way of course) that he loves regardless, because “you need to know this” is always insists! As a biomedical engineer, the girls get graduate-level lessons in biology whenever he studies the latest equipment, finds new procedures for different ailments, etc.

Like they say “teach a fisherman to fish to feed them a lifetime, rather than giving them fish”. This is how we’ve trained the girls to conduct their own research, get into the depth of their studies, then we have an educated discussion as a family.

As expected (by all of us), they quickly found youtube videos and slideshows describing what they are, why they are used and different styles and types.

Just like the girls follow in my footsteps in writing, blogging, etc. in reality their biggest strengths are in STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering & Math, due to their parents being in science.

While, our goal isn’t necessary EVER to have them follow in our footsteps, by integrating our professions into their homeschool studies, gives them individualized, personalized and very personal education experiences that none of their peers can ever have, simply because every childs’ parents have different professions.

Dare to teach your kids your professions. Interest them to research more of your chosen field of study. Allow them the room to grow with you and have them study WITH you for your professional exams, certifications, etc. These are just a few of the ways we homeschool our daughters.

Now, we’re curious of your homeschool ways too. Please comment below!

Disclosure: This post is part of a blogger campaign organized by Bucks2Blog. Check out our review here, and Join Today to get paid to blog! If you get a gig, please let them know Ponn Sabra/American Muslim Mom referred you, thanks! We were not influenced in anyway to share only positive remarks. After all, lying is haram (prohibited). You’re welcome to read American Muslim Mom’s disclosure policy and contest disclosure.

Do You Know What a Gamma Camera Is? A Lesson from a Homeschool Parent’s Profession is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Fortunately as homeschoolers, the Back to School season is faced with only the best feelings and experiences for. There’s no fear, anxiety, depression, regret, (aka “school phobia“) etc. that many of our school family and friends express to us. The bitter sweet joys both from the kids and parents are all foreign emotions in our household. We actually start rejoicing more, because regular weekend hours at the public libraries open, the discount/free days to local museums become available again, and the quiet streets, stores & basically any public building becomes vacated during school hours, ready for our exploration and freedom. Add onto the financial burdens of clothes, school supplies, etc.(average $603.63 in 2011, with nationwide total of total of $22.8 billion.) forces moms to think creatively to find the best deals possible. With no stress to buy school supplies or seasonal clothes, we also have the freedom and luxury to buy only sale items that we actually want and need, and not be forced to overpriced non-sale “school” items to burden last minute shoppers.

So, how do we prepare for the Fall’s Not-Back to School Season, you ask? Here are some tips:

Top 7 Tips for Homeschoolers to Cash-In on the Back-to-School Season

• Don’t be fooled by Back to School Sales for clothes & shoes - We found that the 5am morning shopping sales, “Back to School” sales are nothing but unnecessary consumer-driven tactics to get you to shop! Those brand name shoes and sneakers will return to regular price, but we found they actually become extremely discounted late in September or early October for the They’re-Already-Back-IN-School-We-Have-Overstock-Sale-SALES.

• Stock up on bulk school supplies when no one else can. 2 Major Discount Chains shared with us, that due to the limited budget of buying supplies for multiple kids at one-time, NO matter HOW cheap the sale items are such as 1-cent sales, 10-cent sales, rarely ever sell out! So, ask for crates or stockroom boxes. I learned this when I shocked to find out that the 10-cent 1-subject notebooks were not selling out. So, I bought 2 unopened crates-filled that a helpful employee willfully brought to me, lending me a hand and this tip. She continued to share that this item while extremely discounted, didn’t have the fine-print that said “Limit: X number”, so no one even jumped in to buy this necessary school item. We’ve been working from these crates of notebooks for now 3rd year!

• Read Limitation Exceptions Carefully and Buy Accordingly. Some stores (particularly 1 big pharmacy chain) says 1 or 2 per household, while using their store card to check you. However, many say “Limit 1/2/3″, which means per person, or even better–per receipt. Once I clarify which limitation it is, I either organize my separate sales for the cashier, or I give the girls separate cash and we always get at least 4 sales to that limitation right there. I’ve found if you kindly explain to the cashier what you hope to achieve, they genuinely enjoy cashing out multiple sales during a nice calm conversation. I always say “take your time” and when people come to line up behind us I explain politely “you may want to go to the other line, because we’re going to be here for a while”. Then, in our chats the cashier always seems to divulge that they’re enjoying their “break” with us, rather than the pushy, frazzled, or irate parents shopping “this time of the year” who can never “handle their own children in the store”. While they’re being so kind and honest, don’t forget to ask “how often can we come back to get this sale, and when does this sale expire?” While I won’t make separate trips to save pennies, if I’m in the neighborhood again a few days later, I will stop and stock up again.

• Rather than Shop, Plan out Your Private Free/Cheap Field Trips. As I explained above, we love when school is in season, because we get to relish in the silence of libraries, roads, and just about every public building (stores, museums, etc.). We also get to the mid-week specials, since evenings and weekends are the high-traffic times for school families. So, we always shop around for our discounted rates along with the more pleasant quiet atmosphere for conducive to a fully-engaging educational experience. Click here for all our Tips How To Find Free Admission to Museums, Parks & Field Trips.

• Stock up with Summer Book Sales from all the Summer Reading Programs your kids participated in & public libraries. It happens every year. We’re cashing-in for their prizes; and we get to find out the 50% sales and much more. Surprisingly, we found out that they don’t sell nearly as much, except for college (some high school) and adult books, because families are busy buying school stuff. We’ve left with crates, boxes and overflowing shopping bags from Friends of the Library sales!
  

• Don’t be subject to fads & time-limiting supplies or wasteful accessories. As you know, kids change things all the time, we prefer to buy high-quality plain generic supplies. Nothing with dates on it, to last longer.

• Enjoy New Cool Back to School Items too! There’s always really cool things that come out this time of year to make your life simpler, easier, or more convenient. For example, the UGLee Pen, or these awesome Allergy and Emergency Cards! Since my girls each have their own wallets, purses, and backpacks, these little cards are a must-have for us…and I would’ve only found it by participating in a Back to School project.

So, what cool Frugal and Fun Tips do you have for other Homeschoolers as school-families frantically prepare to get Back to School? Please share openly below!

Disclosure: We were compensated with free products by the Global Influence Network for participation in the Tiny Prints campaign. We were not influenced in anyway to share only positive remarks. After all, lying is haram (prohibited). You’re welcome to read American Muslim Mom’s disclosure policy and contest disclosure.

Cashing-In on the Back-to-School Season – Tips for Homeschoolers is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Time truly is flying by, SubhanAllah- Glory be to God. I feel like just last week was my college freshman orientation, when in reality, it was over a year ago. I remember my first semester in September 2010, it was still Ramadan. In fact, it was the final third of the month, the fully-blessed last ten nights, and the days of Eid followed, all in the very first two weeks of my college experience.

It’s difficult to balance schoolwork and dedicated worship. I was lucky enough that during my first semester last September, I was taking a minimal amount of credits and the last nights of Ramadan fell within the beginning weeks of school, before the stressful and time-consuming assignments kicked in. Eid fell on a Friday for my community, a day on which I had no classes, Alhamdulillah. However, I know some Muslim students who were unable to take the day off, even though the absence should have been excused as a religious holiday.

In the years prior, I was truly blessed to attend an Islamic school with all Muslim friends and teachers who were fasting just as I was. Lunch period was always skipped, and in many, if not all of our classes, we discussed Ramadan– what we enjoyed for Iftar/Suhoor, our plans for Eid, family traditions, etc. In our religious courses like Qur’anic and Islamic Studies, we discussed specific hadith, sunnahs of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and ayas from the Holy Qur’an regarding Ramadan, as well as rulings–what was permissible while fasting and what was not. I was in that school seventh grade through twelfth, and really enjoyed the months of Ramadan.

For the younger kids, homework would be reduced and Ramadan crafts would be done during the usual lunchtime. What was really wonderful was the Eid vacation we got from school. Each year (prior to the year after my graduation, since Ramadan had moved completely into the summer), my school would give students and staff the last ten days of Ramadan off for increased focus in worship, as well as the days of Eid. The school held an i’tekaf night for students in the masjid during the break to help them in their worships.

While an Islamic school catered towards helping children focus on Ramadan through various means, a college, public school, or even work environment may not always provide the same luxury. I’ve put together some tips to help focus on our spirituality this month, and especially the last ten nights, as well as Eid. InshaAllah, you will find them useful.

Tips to Balance School/Work and Ramadan/Eid

1. Manage your time. This is key! Have a schedule for work/homework and be sure to finish it before Iftar. This should be easier during the long fast– that is, if the schooldays have even started!
2. Go to Taraweeh prayer if you have a nearby congregation, or pray at home. After completing the rakaas, set your alarm for Tahajjud, and sleep.
3. Finish rollover homework after Fajr, not ‘Isha. If you still have schoolwork that wasn’t completed from Tip #1, stay up in the morning to finish your assignments. Get some good rest the night before, and reap the barakah in the morning hours. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish when you focus on your to-do list in the early morning.
4. Check your syllabus. If classes are in session during the days of Ramadan/Eid, find out what’s going to be covered. If you work, check your work schedule.
5. Request a day off. A day off from the dunya to be immersed fully in the Akhirah, InshAllah. If Eid looks like it will fall on a school/workday, notify your professor/boss in advance. Explain to him/her that it is a religious holiday that moves up in the calendar each year, due to the lunar cycle. People may surprise you with their level of understanding.
6. Take advantage of a Dawah opportunity! Use Tip #5 to give dawah to that professor/boss. People are usually genuinely interested in other cultures and practices. Fascinate them with the beautiful tradition of Islam.
7. Sacrifice sleep as a family. Reducing your hours of sleep in the last ten nights of Ramadan in order to worship seems like a difficult task when staying up alone. So, have your family stay up as well. Read Qur’an together, and perform silent dhikr in the same room. It will be easier to pull the all-nighter, and more rewarding.
8. Prepare a du’aa list! Make a list of specific things you want to thank Allah for, ask forgiveness for, and request. Start early, and keep the list in your pocket/purse to add to it every time you think of something. Keep it with you at Tahajjud time.
9. Maintain a positive attitude. While fasting in the summer days, don’t complain of hunger or heat. Don’t even let your mind think negatively within your own thoughts, because it will reflect on your outward appearance and how you compose yourself.
10. Be consistent. Consistency in the schedule you planned, keeping up with homework, Qur’an, prayers, etc. But don’t stay at the same spot; add more to your plate to continuously improve, InshaAllah.

If you have more tips, please share below! JazakAllahu Khayr, and have a blessed Ramadan.

photo credit: winnifredxoxo

Balancing School and Ramadan/Eid is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Developing good habits in Ramadan can help you throughout the year in activities that you may not have realized. You can apply the routine from Ramadan during the academic year for your children!

Qur’an Recitation

Muslims try to build an especially close relationship to the Qur’an in Ramadan, because it was the month in which the Holy Book was revealed. A goal for many people is to finish reciting the whole Qur’an at least one time in the twenty-nine or thirty days of fasting. To accomplish this, a Muslim would need to read about one Juz a day which is equivalent to about twenty to thirty pages in the standard Arabic text.

While reciting the Qur’an, one is not to be watching television, or engaging in any other activity except for reading and reflecting. The meaning of the Qur’an is deep and to reap the rewards, one must concentrate. Even proper recitation of the words requires sharp focus. After thirty days of this intense concentration on reading the Qur’an, a person can keep this habit up after the month of fasting is over.

A person should continue reading the Qur’an every day with concentration, yes. However, this acquired skill is not limited to just the spiritual being of a human. It can be applied to schoolwork or work in general. A child doing his homework can implement his Qur’an reading habits to his studying habits.

Keep Up Good Habits during the School Year

1. Do work at a desk, not while sitting on bed which can make one sleepy (this happened to me in tenth grade…I still remember falling asleep while studying for my world history exam!)
2. Turn off the television and computer. Avoid keeping the television on while doing homework. It distracts from Qur’an, and it will distract from working efficiently, grasping concepts, and memorizing facts. The computer too is a HUGE distraction. Surely, as a child gets older, he will need the computer and Internet for research and typing papers, but make sure he stays away from chatting and social media websites when trying to get work done.
3. Eat before or after doing homework, or take a snack break if studying for a long period of time. In Ramadan, eating was obviously not an issue, as one would be fasting. So, don’t let food be a distraction from completing work. Try not to sit near the kitchen (you wouldn’t sit in front of a steaming hot plate of food while fasting). It’s tempting, and makes you want to eat when you are not even hungry. Schedule times to break from the work. I find it helps to take a break for prayer, and eat a little bit, then come back to work until the next prayer time.
4. Work on one subject at a time. If working on math, have out a calculator, pencils and erasers, not the novel you need to read for English. Just like when reading the Qur’an, one reads a chapter at a time, not jumping from Chapter 2 to Chapter 14. It’s in a systematic order that’s to be followed.
5. Have a schedule. It helps to have some time-management. Schedule what time of day you want to spend doing your work. If school ends at 3:00, it’s probably not the best idea to schedule homework at 3:01. It takes time to arrive at home, settle in, and eat some after-school snacks. Give your child time to relax and schedule homework around 4, not too much of a delay that he gets lazy, but not too quick that work becomes overbearing. With Qur’an, it’s great to read after Fajr and maintaining that each day. It will naturally become the time that is dedicated for Qur’an reading, just as 4:00 will equal doing homework.

SubhanAllah, Glory be to God. We try to change our lives specifically for Ramadan, and it’s possible to implement these good habits in other aspects of our life as well!

Do you have tips to share? Please comment below!

Apply Ramadan Habits to Academic Life is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Amendment: For clarification purposes having just received this email “If you are a homeschooler, one does not need a backpack. You need plenty of drawers, cabinets, and/or closet space. Thank you anyway.” My reply, “Yes, as we detail often on our blog, we are world-traveling car-schooling homeschoolers. So, my girls have their backpacks during our daily travels. Additionally, I don’t know any homeschoolers who do not do the same–often it’s multiple bags, boxes, and trunk-fulls too. ” Also, I specifically assigned this article because hubby & I have bad backs, and I was aware of the poor back stats in kids. Therefore, we invest in backpacks, luggage, etc. to prevent early-onset problems for our girls. InshaAllah, God willing, you (our readers) will do the same for your kids.

SubhanAllah (Glory be to God), another summer is coming to a close, and another school year is about to begin.  And that means…back to school shopping!

It always bothered me when I noticed back-to-school sale signs in the middle of July at various department stores, because I would feel my summer had just begun. Now, however, the summer really is almost over and school shopping can be procrastinated no further.

Besides all the notebooks, pencils, and folders, one of the most important—if not the most important—item on the shopping list is the backpack. For without this nifty sack, all of a child or teen’s items would be all over the place, and the kid would be struggling to hold all those notebooks, pencils, folders, and whatever else found its way into a backpack in their bare hands. And imagine dealing with that in the rain or snow…not a pretty picture.

A Scary Back Statistic for Kids

Buying the right backpack is very important as it needs to be big enough for a child’s grade level, yet supportive enough to not hurt his or her back. According to an article by Robert Longley,

“Studies show that heavy backpacks can lead to both back pain and poor posture…[Back] in 2001, backpacks were the cause of 7,000 emergency room visits and countless complaints of muscle spasms, neck and shoulder pain.”

With a statistic that massive, one must not slack off in the responsibility of backpack purchasing. One possible solution is a rolling backpack, one with wheels that children can just pull along behind them like a suitcase. I’ve seen many kids in elementary and middle school using these, and the problem is they get caught up in a lot of stuff—chairs, desks, even people’s legs! I don’t think it’s the best option for a child that needs to walk through crowded hallways at school.

The good old backpack that can be carried on your back is a fine option, as long as you make sure to follow our tips below.

Backpack Tips for Buyers

1. Take into consideration your child’s grade level. A kindergarten student will not be carrying as much material home as a high school junior.
2. Have your child hold his/her lunchbox in hand instead of stuffing it into the backpack. This will reduce the weight put on the back.
3. Don’t be afraid to spend some money on a good quality backpack. Check reviews online before purchasing. If going into a specialty store, ask the sales clerk for advice. Buying an awesome backpack now can well-likely last for more than a couple of years. (I find myself still sporting the same backpack from sixth grade!)

In addition to the above three steps, Longley’s article is a beneficial read. Many of the tips I was brainstorming prior to writing this post have already been eloquently published online here. Some I find to be extra significant are:

1. Wear both straps over shoulders. Every so often while I am driving or typing on the computer/laptop, I catch myself slouching greatly (probably due to carrying my book-filled backpack on one shoulder, despite my mother’s requests).
2. Get packs with padded straps. This will allow for more comfort, and is a great selling point for a backpack. I remember seeing an infomercial long ago for a pack, and this was its unique feature. Now, many more are available.
3. Adjustable straps are key to having your child’s backpack lasting many school years. As your child grows taller, having adjustable straps will allow for keeping a bag in good condition functional for many years to come.

Longley also addresses critical issues, such as:

1. Children’s posture and health
2. Uses of a backpack beyond schoolbooks

I wish I knew of these tips when I was younger because unfortunately, now, my posture is terrible. Don’t let this happen to your little ones! Buy them a supportive backpack before the next school year rolls in! If you have added backpack buying tips to share, please comment below.

photo credit: lori05871

Backpack Buying Tips is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Take a Pix Board Book Album stands up like a picture frame...cool!

We shared our excitement about working with Board Book Albums a couple of weeks ago, and we’re happy to share with you our Homeschool Themed Take Your Pix Board Book Album Design. Surprisingly, this was a 9.5 hour weekend project that started at 8pm Saturday night. We had NO idea how much fun we were going to have creating this project, after all my daughters shared all the reasons why they’re trying to get me to start digital scrapbooking just yesterday! It was quite addictive–with only 22 pages to add single pictures, we average ~30 minutes per page. And, I’m telling you–this was a rush job!

Creating the “We Love 2 Homeschool” Board Book Album

My girls were so invested emotionally, artistically, and entrepreneurial-ly (is that a word??). When they knew creating this Board Book was an opportunity to be one of three selected to make the Board Book Albums Design Team, the girls were hooked! Honestly, there is a market, so they definitely are right on the money-literally!

Undoubtedly, whenever we go scrapbook shopping, we’ve always seen the “School Themes” with school buses, and lunchboxes, “A+ Student”, “Teacher’s Pet” and other popular “School” images and phrases…but, NEVER anything Homeschool Related.

So, this was our opportunity to Creatively Design a Homeschool “Scrapbook” Board Book Photo Storyline.

Our Homeschool Design Team in Action 

The Organized Chaos of Scrapbooking

• I was the main designer, mastermind, creator.
• JuJu, our 10 yo was the steady, patient hands to punch out letters from the sheets, cuts on stickers, rub-on’s etc.
• GiGi, our 9 yo was our organizer, cleaner-upper, calm, extra third and forth hand to hold this thingy this way, this doo-dad that way, this page ever-so up or down, depending on which direction we were moving the book around.
• JoJo, our 8 yo, was the constant ooo-er, ahh-er, cheering us on, the OhMi’s!, and awwweee-some’s to keep us grounded. She was mainly in charge of color coordination, organizing the stickers, keeping our messy pile (yes, that picture of our table in action) very organized. That mess had its areas and designations, so she organized our chaos and basically knew where anything was that we needed to. So, she proudly was our tools and props passer-over-er.

Our Homeschool Design Team’s Surprise Ending

The night before; the first few pages really impressed hubby, and he appreciated that we were finally piecing together our many abandoned pictures. However…

We found out at 3:30pm that he had to leave for a business trip within hours!

We were frantically preparing him to leave, yet we secretly made it a goal to finish and sneak this awesome personalized homeschooling project-turned-story-album-book into his suitcase as a great stand-up colorful picture frame for his time alone.

It also was grounding us all; because well–can you imagine our mess…the clutter alone was an eye-soar and definitely in the way and not conducive to moving easily around in a hustle. We got a few comments of our mess and in our humble defense, we kind of said very little admitting it would be worth it…so you be the judge!

“We <3 2 Homeschool” Themed Board Book Album Design

InshaAllah, God willing, this inspires you to be create and design something special, because well, it took us over 9.5 hours to make and over 4 hours to produce this video since we never expose our faces online. Since, we were in a rush to get this book into hubby’s suitcase, so GiGi took these pictures (okay for a 10yo), my 11 yo did all the work with formatting the PowerPoint presentation, we had to upload it 3 times because of typos and wanted to decrease the content so you can read it all during the 7-seconds on each slide. Please let us know what you think!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL4Vgmy76Es
*It’s best to watch this in Full-Screen, so you can see the details.

As you can tell, this whole post is a homeschool project! Needless to say I blurt “Never Again!” The girls eagerly asked “Board Book or the Slideshow?…we need 2 more, for each daughter and to advance through the years.”

Now it’s Your Turn!

Board Book Albums Design Team Search

• Contest is open for entries until Monday, July 11th.
• To enter purchase a Board Book Album at a 10% discount using code: Blogger10
• When you get your album create, create, create, and design away!
• Email pictures of your finished product to laura@boardbookalbums.com by Monday, July 11th at Midnight MST
• Board Book Albums has the right to use any or all of the design photos that are submitted for consideration on their website for marketing purposes, etc.
• Top 3 winning designers will be chosen to be on the Design Team and have an opportunity to create a lucrative design business!

Please share your creations with us. We’d love to cheer all the entries on.

Disclosure: This post is part of a blog series by Board Book Albums, organized by Broadcast Bloggers–Join Today to get paid to blog! Learn more about Broadcast Bloggers here. We were not influenced in anyway to share only positive remarks. After all, lying is haram (prohibited). You’re welcome to read American Muslim Mom’s disclosure policy and contest disclosure.

Board Book Albums Design Team Search! Our “We Love To Homeschool” Design is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

What it all comes down to, is do you think getting a MBA (Masters in Business Administration) is necessary for your career advancement? I truly believe it depends if you’re an employee or an entrepreneur. And, because our blog was grown dramatically over the past year, we’re getting many more employees where it was more predominantly small business owners/entrepreneurs or those primarily interested in starting and running their own businesses, offline and most specifically online.

Is a MBA the only reputable Graduate Business Degree?

Well, since I got my Masters in Public Health, with my concentration Health Care Administration and Management, and hubby has his Masters in Science in Health Care Management, I strongly disagree. However, we had extremely specialized focus and plans. I was on the fast-track in the government public health line, and hubby was in the private sector of Biomedical Engineering.

Interestingly, as we grew rapidly in our fields, mashaAllah, God has willed, we both contemplated and appreciated the possibilities of getting a MBA or at least some specific courses to supplement our studies. However, as time passed and the opportunities weren’t seen as greater for two Masters, our doctorate degrees were of interest.

Do you need a MBA as an online entrepreneur?

First, in the online world, I’d say “no”, it’s not a necessity to succeed as many successful 6-7 figure income colleagues don’t have a masters degree, and some without a degree. However, if you have a Masters degree and previous business skills, experience, talents you should apply them to your online business venture as well…it sounds like common sense, but is often forgotten.

For example,

I just had a passionate conversation with a colleague of mine, and we were discussing my recent show and desire to encourage more Muslim Moms in America to share their voices on blogs and social media.

We were adamantly discussing how there are frequent Muslim Women voices heard on mass media who admittedly speak on Muslim and Middle East issues, although she admittedly hasn’t stepped for in the Middle East in years and knows her Islamic views are not mainstream!

Interestingly, it was my colleague arguing how “what are her credentials anyways!?” “So, she’s a blogger”…”her stats aren’t even good”.

She shared that she was discussing with her sister, “hey sister Ponn is a best-selling author! sister Ponn has a Masters degree. sister Ponn has a blog…and has many more professional credentials…she’s even lived in the MiddleEast!!” MashaAllah, God has willed.

Shocked at the direction that this conversation was going, it reassured me that my past is what made me who I am.

And, we both know that mainstream media likes the controversy that this now household-name (at least for all Muslims in America, mostly because we disagree with her–I have yet to meet anyone who defends her and I know 1000s of Muslims in America).

But, it also reminded me that it’s time, not out of arrogance, but out of necessity to start highlighting some of my past business experience. For example, how hubby and I started and ran 3 multi-million dollar businesses before, mashaAllah. Also, that I knew since Day 1, that I came online as a business, not a hobby.

Do you need a MBA as an Entrepreneur?

I wholeheartedly believe in higher education–period. If given the opportunity to take courses in financial management, human resources, publicity and marketing, and branding that allows you to get a MBA–I say “Go for it! You have nothing to lose!”

There are MBAs nowadays specificially for Entrepreneurs and Small Business, and Marketing degrees in Social Media (I’m not sure for MBA).

What’s incredible is how accomodating MBA programs are these days for the busy business professional. For example, a Colorado Business School has multiple programs based on your schedule, for the days, evenings, weekends, or one or two-year programs.

A Desire for Higher Education Comes from Parent Encouragement

As I was determined (by the very encouragement and goals of my parents) to get a masters degree, a degree higher than theirs. After all, they afforded me more opportunities than they had; so it’d be a waste if I don’t take advantage of my opportunities.

Alhumdulilah, Praise be to God, hubby’s family was equally as encouraging. So, we’re raising our girls in which they are determined to get their masters and doctorate degrees. But, they mashaAllah, are determined to get their doctorate degrees while I get mine, alongside them. “We don’t want to have more than you…we’re going to do this together, inshaAllah (God willing).”

Since they’re all a year or 2 apart, we always envision when ‘ll all be going to college, and graduate school together. And, since we anticipate, inshaAllah, that that will be their first formal education, beyond homeschooling, they insists that we’ll be doing it together. However, they know, I no longer want my doctorate, I either, inshaAllah, want my law degree and/or my degree in Islamic Studies.

MashaAllah, I feel so blessed that while I’m working hard to set an example for my girls, encouraging them to reach higher than my own present status, I’m blessed with appreciative girls who not only want to reach our high goals we’ve set for them–but, want me to reach these goals together, so I’m not left behind.

What do you think about Higher Education? MBAs? Business degrees in general? Graduate degrees? Please share below.

Disclosure: This post is part of a blogger campaign organized by Bucks2Blog. Check out my review here, and Join Today to get paid to blog! If you get a gig, please let them know I referred you, thanks! We were not influenced in anyway to share only positive remarks. After all, lying is haram (prohibited). You’re welcome to read American Muslim Mom’s disclosure policy and contest disclosure.

photo credit: winkyintheuk

Is a MBA necessary for an Online Business Owner? Blogger? Social Media Expert? is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Since we’re all settled now, Alhamdulilah we had some time to kind  of explore our new city. It’s a pretty big city so we more just explored our county. The libraries are great! Well, we at least the the two we’ve been to (our local branch and the Main downtown library). While at our library branch we discovered Playaway. Playaways are like a mp3 filled with a collection of smaller books, for example Amelia Bedelia, or  single even  bigger books like A Whole Nother Story and Another Whole Nother Story by Dr Cuthbert Soup. My sisters and I love how we can listen to them while we are doing chores, playing outside or even…on long car rides–yeah! Oh, I didn’t bring mine with me yesterday when we went out for our long drive…inshaAllah, next time. I also really enjoy that Playaways are just the right size to fit into my purse or jack pocket. They are very easy to use for everyone because there are only five buttons that control everything, plus your screen. I think that you should borrow it from a library to try them out.

Have you ever used a Playaway before? Do you own one? What do you think about them? Or, what stories have you read?

Enjoying a Playaway is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

The Hooked on Phonics programs are continuously updated, and since my youngest will be 8 this month, inshaAllah, God willing, and she has been reading since 2 years and 10 months, it has been quite some time since we reviewed reading programs. Anyways, we only had one experience with Hooked on Phonics when my eldest was very young, but listening to cassette taps and reading one and blue text books were a bit too boring and not interactive enough to keep any of our attention, let alone interest. We gave it a good week or two of sporadic tries, even with my very animated help…but we happily gave it back to its owners and never looked back.

Little did I know that they underwent huge changes over the past years (nearly a decade later)! Besides Arabic and learning the rules of Tajweed for the Qur’an, my girls and I have never taken well to route memory or repetitive learning activities; so I’m extremely happy that Hooked on Phonics decided to make some much needed changes for the better.

They have colorful storybooks by award-winning authors, online access to interactive website, DVDs, CDs and accompanying workbooks–just to name a few of the resources to interest young ones to enjoy the reading process. It’s not surprising to find they received multiple awards, and their advancement of their reading programs throughout all elementary grades. And, they even expanded into Math and Science programs!

While some would think I worked really hard to have all my girls read at or before 3 years of age, I simply read, read, read. We played writing games, so they were all writing letters of the alphabet at 2 years of age, and we had so much fun that it was when my oldest was 5 years old reading chapter books that I cried to my homeschool girlfriend out of guilt for not being the one who taught her how to read. Then, as any supportive girlfriend would do, she adamantly reminded me of the countless hours I read and played, wrote and played, read and wrote…etc.

So, with this huge advancements in this more interactive, more natural multiple-senses kind of learning aides to teach kids to read, I recommend that you give Hooked on Phonics a try. Since they offer a 30-day risk-free trail period, free shipping, and bonus gifts to keep if you decide to return for any reason. So, you have nothing to lose–but, everything to gain: such as a life-long lover of reading!

Disclosure: We did not receive compensation for this review. Therefore, we were not influenced in anyway to share only positive remarks. After all, lying is haram (prohibited). You’re welcome to read American Muslim Mom’s disclosure policy and contest disclosure.

Hooked on Phonics Gets Interactive is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Greenbird Islamic Books and Art prints is hosting a unique Story Book Challenge in which your children’s art work would be featured in a charity-story book to be published and marketed in time for Eid 2011. Details are below, and available for download by clicking here for the Storybook Challenge. InshaAllah, God willing you can print and email to interested parties. Everything is made convenient to online users–using technology to make our world a smaller place! All you have to do is scan to take a picture of your children’s art work and email it to Greenbird Books located in the UK, and inshaAllah, once the book is ready, we’ll market it online too.

From the page,

What’s the plan?

Create an Islamic storybook which will teach a child about charity, ready for Eid 2011. This will be illustrated by children all around the world.  The proceeds of the sales are completely for charity and all profits will go to a chosen Islamic Charities nearer the time.

How?

I want parents to send me their children’s artwork either by post or scanned, with any relevance to charity and kindness for them.  This covers a massive remit of topics and areas so no one has an excuse! If your child’s artwork is used then there name/age/country will be published in the book.  There are no age limits for the artists and short poems can accompany the artwork but no stories please.

Why?

Why not? In today’s technology driven world so much can be accomplished if we all make small efforts. This is a great way for Muslims to connect globally; it teaches our children about the importance of charity and will make a great Eid Gift with a very important message Inshallah.

How to send

Please scan all art-work, remembering to write your child’s name, age and country in the body of the email. We cannot use artwork which isn’t named so please make sure you do this! Please send your pictures to the below email

info<at>greenbirdbooks.com Please carbon copy contact<at>americanmuslimmom.com So whatever does not get featured in the storybook, I’ll glad post here as a follow-up post, inshaAllah, God willing!

Deadline

In order to have this project complete by Ramadhan we have a deadline of July 10^th 2011. We hope to complete the book to go on sale by August 10^th and all proceeds from its sale go to charity Inshallah.

If you plan to participate please comment below and share your ideas of what you’re creating or submitting with us below. And, when you email your submissions, please let them know you found out about the challenge from us!

Greenbird Story Book Challenge 2011 – Your children’s art in a charity Eid book! is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

I am so happy to share with you this unique campaign I’ve been working extremely hard on this week. I gathered some unique perspectives regarding Online Colleges, Online Education and Distance Learning. Below, are 4 homeschool mom bloggers and 4 non-homeschool mom bloggers who share their thoughts, views and even experiences with us today. InshaAllah, God willing, you will learn a thing or 2…or actually 8…opps, I mean 9 when you include humble-ol-me; mashaAllah (God has willed). I highly-recommend that you read each of their unique posts as my snippets cannot fully give light to this subject!

Homeschoolers’ Perspective

As you know; my girls

• Have been using Time4Learning for some of our core course work (preK – Grade for years now,
  
• Blog for their writing, typing, high-tech, social media, software and hardware engineering lessons, and
• Were accepted to Stanford EPGY (Educational Program for Gifted Youth) which is all online, distance learning classes, with availability of Online High School and University courses.
  

Having been asked why we’re not letting them take classes, my answer is, “I’m TOO cheap & feel WE were unprepared”! My then 9 yo, was *only* accepted into online high school and AP classes, and this was BEFORE I even started teaching high school classes. So, we I decided that I’ll teach some high school courses first, and see when she’s accepted into straight AP and university courses then I’ll consider paying the big-bucks. Also, my two little ones are great on our own, without the potentially-added pressure of taking “real” classes (even if it’s online) because it’s sitting down at designated times, doing homework, and completing assignments with deadlines, which I don’t really do with any of them now. So, I decided to homeschool  them “my” way, and IF they are all THAT gifted without me really “teaching” them, then we’re praying that with a little bit more effort; our dream of them attending first-tier universities is truly within reach.

So, yes, we do recommend online college courses. Yet, we’d love for them to take “real” classes, and get involved in  collegiate activities, because we (the whole family) are extremely active volunteers in our community now, and hubby and I were extremely active in our college and graduate lives with extra curricular activities as well. Last, I agree with all the mommies below that my girls WILL have a critical decision as what they ultimately want when the time comes; God willing, not too soon…

Split End Sucks is presently taking online high school classes and “homeschools” (my designation and assessment) her 2 young girls. She’s a big supporter of giving her girls the option to determine what their ultimate education choices they prefer; whether it is to be homeschooled or to go to regular school, and if they’d like to attend online college or not. But, as for her she shares

The next step is naturally college, right? This goes for me and my kids. I will be personally looking for an online school to earn my degree. It will just be easier to be home with my kids while going to school. As for my girls? (Please read her full post here.)

Upstate Ramblings shares a wonderful perspective of her oldest presently in her senior year of homeschooling, and how she was recently accepted to all 11 universities she applied for (Congrats!) even having homeschooled her entire life, and need to make a creative application. They share their daughter’s journey of attending a “local” community college that was 1.5 hour drive every day as well–Talk about dedication (let alone gas) they’ve invested in their home education thus far. Interestingly, they share

My daughter tried an online class last summer.  Online education is a great option for saving money and time, since there is no commute and no gas to buy.  Unfortunately it was too hard for my daughter to stay motivated without seeing the teacher in person.  This kind of education is best for a dedicated, self-motivated student, which I’m sure is why it is so popular with older adults returning to college. (Greatest advice was to keep good records during high school homeschooling years, please read her full post here.)

Spoken like a true open-minded, online-class-taking, loves-to-learn, I’ll-support-my-kids-learning-styles, homeschool mom, Stanwood PlaySchool shares

I think distance learning is great for adults as well as children – especially those that have been homeschooled and are used to working on their own.  Online programs do require a great deal of self-motivation and determination but they are certainly a favorable alternative to sitting in class and taking notes for someone like me!…Because I am so fond of online learning – I will certainly encourage them to visit that as an option. I think it depends on the person.  Some people need to go to class and hear the lecture from the teacher and some can just read the material and be good to go.  The ultimate choice will be up to the boys as far as getting a college education but I feel like an online degree will be comparable to a degree earned on a college campus. (Please read her full post here.)

Mile High VA homeschools two younger sons ages 8 and 6 years old, but has older kids: one finished college, is attending college, is attending community college, and 2 opting not to attend college. Fortunately, each college student funded their own higher education, God bless them all! However, mom took half of her college courses with online education, and loved it! She shares

Depending on what they wanted to study, I would recommend an online college because I think you educate your own self better (that is why we home school in the first place) and I think from an expense point of view, it is cheaper. You get the same education without having to go in debt to student loans for the next 30 years. (Mom’s experience taking online classes are unique, so please read her full post here.)

Non-Homeschoolers’ Perspective

Colleen of Mommie Daze shares the scary facts of how much it will literally cost in the less expensive 4-year option of a public university education (estimated total of $120,00), even though she loved her small private college experience. Colleen and her husband are still paying back their student loans, and hubby is actually presently taking more classes. So, she shares that

a less costly option like online college could mean they can graduate without a lifetime of debt to pay off.It’s a long time before my boys go to college, but with rising costs I don’t think it’s too early to start planning and considering all the options. (Colleen has a great punch line at the end, so please read her full post here.)

Jen at My Crafty Life shares an interesting view of possibly keeping her eldest, now 13 years old home by attending an online college, her amazing realization that taking classes would be a possibility having not known how far the options have progressed, and how different personalities of her son and daughter may influence his and her success in completing a full online degree. Some thoughts include

So then I started thinking (in my full on mom denial kinda way) what about online college? Anything to keep my first born in my sights right?…I was actually looking at the courses for myself! I had never even thought about it. I totally was not aware of  just how far the online courses have come since I was in college 13 years ago…I actually looked into online education for her last year when she was struggling to keep up with a very demanding course schedule (for her) and seemingly unorganized teacher. (Please read her full post here.)

Jessi of Mama’s Got Flair takes you on an emotional ride along with her as she envisions the day of bringing her first-born to college, and then her realization that there will be one-year when she would have to figure out the costs of paying for all 3 boys (which is something I am sure to do with all 3 of my girls, ugh), so in her selfish (which is acceptable) mommy ways, as she shares

With an online school, I’d save cash, my boys would be able to work with flexible hours, have resources and classroom access 24 hours per day,  and (insert evil mom grin here) they’d be right here at home. What mom could resist that package?

If only the choice was all up to me. (Sigh.) (Please read her full post here.)

{Not quite} Susie Homemaker shares

So when Ponn asked how I felt about sending Shane to an online college, my initial response was that I would totally be on board, since that’s essentially what I’m doing now! But then I thought a little more about it. I’m taking online classes for a brick-and-mortar University. My college itself is not an “online college”, it’s a University that knows this is 2011 & offers online courses because of that. And my school has a lot to offer because of that; things I wouldn’t want Shane to miss out on. (Please read ho mom shares her views on social atmosphere of attending live and online classes, and how she’ll support her sons desires whatever he choices in her full post here.)

I would love for you to share your thoughts and feedback of this post below and encourage you to do the same with all my mommy blogger pals! Enjoy the journey.

Disclaimer: I organized this unique Homeschool Mom Blogger Online College Campaign and received compensation to facilitate this post. I was not influenced in anyway as the views and opinions are my own. After all, lying is haram (prohibited). You’re welcome to read American Muslim Mom’s disclosure policy and contest disclosure.

What are your thoughts about Online Colleges? Online Education? Distance Learning? is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Hip Homeschool Moms has a comprehensive list of Homeschool Conventions in all 50 states and Canada for 2011 here. My girls and love homeschool events, subhanallah, Glory be to God, there was a statewide convention the month we moved back to CT and met some of our dearest homeschool families, over 4 years later. And, inshaAllah, now that we’re moving to a new state sometime this month or 2, we’re excited that there’s a convention in county we’re moving too!

Finding Homeschool Bloggers

Anyways, you’ve been seeing the Hip Homeschool Mom Blog Hop buttons on my “teaching kids about computers” on “Kids blogging for fun, free stuff & profit” posts (of course, there’s TON of home education going on in bloggin), because I’ve been participating every Tuesday to share my tutorials, lessons, tips, etc. but more importantly to learn from fellow homeschool mom bloggers. Here’s last week’s sample, and you just link up every Tuesday, and visit blogs all week-long.

Homeschool Online Network of nearly 15,000 parents!

The truth about my involvement at The Homeschool Lounge is completely as a lurker, watcher, reader, implementer. With over 100 groups ranging from homeschooling gifted children, to just girls, large families, frugal ones, groups in almost every single state, etc. one can definitely get lost in just reading posts, following links out to more resources, I never have a moment to comment back. InshaAllah, God willing, if I have some more time.

Homeschoolers on Twitter

I update this list over and while I have 65 homeschool moms and organizations that support homeschoolers, I know there are 100s of homeschoolers tweeting away. Please consider following my homeschool list and if you tweet, just let me know, I’d be happy to list you too! Hip Homeschool Moms & The Homeschool Lounge our conveniently listed on my list, so no worries!

If you tweet, please share your Twitter handle below. Or, tweet me @ponnsabra

Homeschoolers on Facebook

• The Homeschool Lounge
• Hip Homeschool Moms

If your have a homeschool facebook fan page, please comment below, or become a fan & post your page!

Are You A Homeschool Blogger? Please link up!

I really want to better connect with homeschool bloggers. My girls and I are trying to connect more with homeschoolers who blog, study online, take online classes, use technology to its fullest in their homeschooling journey, such as developing software programs, designing with software, etc.–and I’m finding that connection better with those who are already online as bloggers, rather than my live homeschool families.  Here’s a bit of our homeschool lifestyle.  So, if you do blog, if your kids blog (all the better), please use separate urls for each blog and just Share the ages of your kids in your name. [Any kid bloggers, we'll list you on my The Kid Bloggers Club blogroll. ]

Ready to share your Homeschool Never Stops on Saturday post? Grab our button, link back to this post, and comment below. Have online resources to share? Please share with us!

Homeschool Convention 2011 List and Homeschoolers Online is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

As an assignment to test our new intern’s ability to tie current news and to write a third-person article, while researching and learning more about the American Muslim Mom brand and a ton about my parenting/homeschooling methods, I’m proud to share Wafa Zahedi’s article that she wrote with little direction and great turn-over in time. [Of course, I personalize it with my notes in blue.] Enjoy and Please, share your thoughts below.

UPDATE, 2/28/2011: My cousin just reminded me why this topic is more “personal” for us, because We are first-generation born Asian-American girls…who well, I’ll only speak for myself. I think know my sister and brothers would agree that our late mother was not a “Tiger Mom” to us all…Only to Me! I never brought home a B in elementary school, high-school it loosened to only twice not making honor roll to 2 Cs, so it loosened which honestly I was less proud of myself then she was–so, maybe I could’ve handled some more growling.

There was no helicopter method to parenting since I had limited sleepovers. Looking back I think they were pointless, so there’s no need to extend it to my girls.

But, the high-expectations, demanding nothing less than my best–which she and Daddy always knew was nothing less than the top for me…I have to agree, I was pushed hard to reach their lost American dream; the stories, horrors, etc. Now, I can easily get my siblings on the phone right now and they will all agree that much of it was my own doing, I always was busy, I was high-strung, I took everything out of mom & dad’s mouths literally. I wanted to fulfill that dream for them–and during the childhood, adulthood and now my motherhood, I would NEVER ask for anything less!

My Personal Tiger Mom knew she could push me, and comparatively to my siblings–VERY hard. She always was (chocking up in tears now)…My Biggest Cheerleader. And, well–all my family knows that’s why I WAS and will forever be her/Daddy’s Baby Girl. I like my mom was/is a fighter in a good sense. Hubby and I say, “We want you to do Your Best…You Don’t Have to Be the Best”…but, there’s an underlying tone and definite belief that they can accomplish great things. This is the message both my parents gave all my siblings and I, but my parents always sat me down, and shared how important My Best CAN achieve The Best…but, they nor I were ever disappointed if I wasn’t #1 or #2…if I was #3, My Tiger Mom WAS questioning me AND the principal/teacher hard.

Realizing that I was rarely disappointed growing up, my mom reminded me that I was always involved in too many things to notice. So, she started allowing #3…4…5. But, again; my husband and I never rarely question authority when our girls don’t do well in competitions, contests, class placement, etc. because like My Tiger Mom, we always talk to our girls about the greatest purpose gained by this hard work and effort, learning it for their complete comprehension, complete appreciation and the betterment of them as educated beings dedicated to obeying Allah and pleasing only Him.

I can see 2 particular class teachers right now (if the off change they read this blog) saying…they’ve never seen a mother and father SO involved with extra work to help our girls AND we were the ONLY parents SO equally involved in volunteering ALL our extra time in the class, activities, etc. to help the entire program succeed–not just for our daughters’ learning developmental success, but for everyone involved. So, NO one EVER doubted My Tiger Mom’s love and devotion to me, our family, and community at large–just like me and hubby for our girls.

I knew My Tiger Mom knew, I knew that I always had her support’ so she was going to give every minute, penny, and disciplinary action to push me to be the best I could be. I admit she has said some harsh things to me; but she loosened up in and at the right time for us. And, this is how my girls survive love, thrive my harsh times too.

So, with that, here’s to My Tiger Mom who humbled herself to the Next-generation of humbled Tiger Mom–me…inshaAllah, God willing, I look forward to being a Grandmother to see what “type” of “Mom” they will be with their kids and daughters-moms-to-be.

Muslim Media Mom Applies Chinese Tiger & American Bulldozer Parenting in Multifaceted Approach

Whether we claim Amy Chua’s strict Tiger Mom title, prefer Darrell Hammond’s Bulldozer Mom approach, or subscribe to yet another metaphor, the reality is that we need some of each in our parenting styles, as Ponn Sabra, Muslim Media Mom of three, can attest.

At the age of 6, 8 and 9, all Sabra’s girls were accepted to Stanford University’s Education Program for Gifted Youth, testing into gifted classes and grade levels which far exceeded the standard for their age. By nine years old, Sabra’s oldest had skipped most of high-school, tested into AP Physics and  Honors Algebra 2, and was an award-winning inventor. However, unlike many Tiger Moms, she didn’t force her children into those classes just to have impressive material on their transcripts. [Since we're not a "testing" homeschool family, I just told them the assessments were more a "test" on my ability as a homeschool mom. So, we were all pretty psyched by the results assuring us that "I'm actually doing pretty well as a homeschool mom". ]

While it is true that Sabra agrees with the Tiger Mom notion of discipline as a necessity in cultivating young minds, she applies it to impart a sense of balanced control, not overbearing restraint, to her daughters. For example, this 5’2″ tall mom fully covered in a black dress and hijab (head covering), will let you know just as eagerly how her kids learned about geometry and architecture by working together to build a 6-foot tall igloo in child-led playtime, like an Unschooling Mom. [Enthusiasts of this blog and extended family and friends know, that when my girls and I work--we work hard wisely, and when we play, we play hard!]

On the same note, Sabra easily admits to hovering over as a Helicopter Mom by carrying wipes and hand sanitizers at all times and banning sleep-overs and unchaperoned visits to friends’ houses, but balances it by encouraging her daughters to “get into nature”, get messy and “grow something”, and play longer on the sand and in the water. Being a Hippie Mom through natural living, attachment parenting, and being eco-friendly is more than aiming for a social or environmental cause, it’s about sustainability and being responsible to our Creator. [Funny thing is, I lived "naturally" and was an "attached parenting mom" well before I knew these terms existed, one because it's well more instinctual: my Filipino side claims it's a "Filipino thing" and my Arab in-laws claim it's the only way to do it. I don't know my Thai side, so play it fair I say it's the "Ponn Sabra thang!" (all sides)]

Even though Sabra sets full parental controls online, accesses their computers through remote logins, and screens their emails (Internet Safety Mom), she actively supports her daughters in participating through social and written media (Social Media Mom). Tinkering since birth, email at three, blogging at seven, and Twitter at ten are milestones in their home. [Short & to the point--any questions!?]

Having already been published in magazines, featured on other blogs, and aiding in search engine optimization as they helped relaunch American Muslim Mom, through YouTube video production, blog publicity campaigns, and publishing content; the three Sabra Sisters launched their KidBloggerClub.com business, thanks to the Business Mom Ponn Sabra, and they made $47.07 just last month. [Please support their first sponsored review and giveaway! It's something our homeschool cannot live without: Knowledge Adventure products--and their newest release is MathBlaster! Enter to win 6-month membership for up to 6 members to play Math in outer space, what's there not to love!?]

The key to multifaceted parenting, Sabra explains, is remembering

“There’s a little flavor for every kind of Mom you have to be,  but the unique spices come from Faith, Family, and every other “F”, like Friends, Fun, and being Fabulous.”

You can find FREE information on balancing a multifaceted parenthood from her recently available eBook, “Balancing Life as a Muslim Mom”, available at http://AmericanMuslimMom.com, where she also publishes her advice on being an active social-media mom, maintain a green and financially smart lifestyle, and more. AmericanMuslimMom.com is a diverse online community which hosts, on average, as many Muslim moms as Non-Muslim moms in active daily discussions.

Ponn Sabra is a highly-prolific public health official-turned-best-selling author, internet marketer, and columnist who has been featured in the Associated Press, Washington Post, Fox, ABC News and other major media outlets.

[I'm sure there are many other titles that I relate to--as there's a little bit of good when everything is taken in moderation. So, what type or types of parenting do you subscribe to?]

Ooo…here’s another one:

The Free-Range Mom: Having traveled to almost two-dozen countries and over 30 states and provinces, one can find these girls confidently shopping the streets alone in non-English or non-Arabic (their second language) speaking countries.

Rather than subscribing to a metaphor, parents can subscribe to Sabra’s Muslim Mom enewsletter or Tweet her @ponnsabra to get the latest information and updates.

Ready to share your Homeschool Never Stops on Saturday post? Grab our button, link back to this post, and comment below. Just want to share your thoughts of multifaceted parenting? Please keep the dialogue open.

Muslim Media Mom Applies Chinese Tiger & American Bulldozer Parenting in Multifaceted Approach is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Math Blaster is a fun new educational virtual online world by Knowledge Adventure and it was  officially launched to the public yesterday! My girls have been reviewing it over the past month, sharing their feedback, asking critical questions, and we one of the very few bloggers that were allowed to announce it’s official launch with review and giveaway. Actually, in searching the blogosphere on Wednesday, I believe they were the only ones to post on the official date! So, you’ll get their insider sneak preview-review and an opportunity to learn about this incredible educational virtual world series (because JumpStart is included) that we’ve had in our homeschooling arsenal for over 7 years! We cannot homeschool without Knowledge Adventure products!

They showcase

• a video slideshow,
• detail review,
• comparison between MathBlaster and JumpStart,
• unique features and more!

Knowledge Adventure is offering a 6-Month FREE Membership for up to 6 kid members, with a value of $47.94. Please share your comment love, and enter their growing community of kid reviews and kid tips at Kid Bloggers Club for the week.

MathBlaster – New Virtual World Just Launched This Week- Win 6-mon membership is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Subhanallah, Glory be to God, as I explained on last Saturday, it just happened that I was finally sharing my Poetry Lesson Plan for my girls’ entries last year to the Northstar School “Praised One” Poetry Contest; and just this week I received the announcement that this year’s contest will start accepting entries from Monday, February 14, 2011 to the end of the month, February 28, 2011. Since I had a wonderful surprise, that took away, Alhumdulilah, Praise be to God, much of my physical pain from yesterday, I have only a few minutes to share the 2 important links:

1. Entry Rules. This year’s theme is “Allah’s Mercy to Mankind” for children ages 7 -12 years, and
2. Entry Form to be completed and submitted along with your entry poem.

If you have a post you’d like to share in the “HomeSchool Never Stops on Saturday” meme, please grab our button, link to this post and comment below so we can learn from you too!

The Praised One 2011 Poetry Contest – Allah’s Mercy on Mankind is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

To kick of our HomeSchool never Stops on Saturday meme, I knew if I just search my documents I’d have plenty of articles to pick from to post up quickly. Anyways, I found this entire lesson plan about Teaching Kids How to Write Poetry when we entered last year’s poetry contest, since this was dated February 2010!<=This is just one more example how I have more content that I have time to even post. So, I’m curious, it’s 4:28pm right now, if I copy & paste, what time will I hit “publish”? [5:11pm]

Kids Learning Poetry

Haiku

Japanese, un-rhymed, short 3-lined 17-syllables poem with line-pattern of 5-7-5, usually about nature (plants & animals)

1st = 5
2nd = 7
3rd = 5

Most of this Project was Guided by Grade 4 Time4Learning (A program we’ve been using for years (2008). They have a 14-day free trial. Of course, if you decide to use it please don’t forget to say “Ponn Sabra” referred you. Thanks!). But, I supplemented it of course.

Haiku project, fill in the blanks:

Wild raindrops ___ ___
Making muddy ___ ___ ___
Drying __ __ ___.

We came up with:
Wild raindrops falling
Making muddy puddles form
Drying in the sun.

For the “Praised One” Poem

Describing a typical day of the Prophet, by sirah of what we know, our 6 year old came up with her first haiku:

5-Olives, watermelon,
7-Meats, Dates, Honey, Milk and Bread
5-Foods the Prophet Loved.

Her submission, “Eating foods the Prophet Loves”

Jennah together
Eating foods the Prophet loves
Milk, Bread and Honey

- 6 year old Sabra

Tanka

Japanese, unrhymed, 5-lined 31-syllable poem with line-pattern of 5-7-5-7-7 about any topic

5- I went to Japan (done)
7- I had a lot of fun there
5- Seeing all the sites
7- It was hot and beautiful
7- Can’t wait to go again soon!

After discussing this year’s theme, of a “Day with the Prophet (sallahi wa layhi wa salam-)” we shared that

1. We can not go back in time,
2. The Prophet (s) will never return to Earth for us to spend the day with him
3. The only DAY we can possibly spend with the Prophet, inshaAllah, will only be in jennah.

So, on the spot our 9 year old came up with this tanka for the contest

“In Jennah with the Prophet – A Tanka Poem”

5- When I’m in jennah
7- Insha’Allah the Prophet
5- Will be there waiting
7- For me and my family
7- To see Allah together

- 9 year old Sabra

Acrostic poem

- Uses a person’s name with the first letter in each line.

I wrote this last year, as a sample when I was teaching our class for the previous year’s “Praised One” poetry contest:

MUHAMMAD salallahu alaihi wa salam

Muhammad, salallahu alaihi wa salam, is the most beloved, and our last and final Prophet,

Unique was His life, as He was the most perfect of all humans in His manners, words & leadership,

Humble in His actions as a Prophet, unlike any human before Him or any human to follow,

Admiration consumes me, and aspiration fills my being whenever I read, hear, learn or remember Him,

Many a night, I seek peace and blessings upon Muhammad, salallahu alaihi wa salam, and his family; as Allah, Subhana wa ta ala, gave to Prophet Ibrahim, alayhi waslam, and his family,

May I always strive to achieve a fraction of the Rasul’s good deeds for He taught me that actions should follow my intentions.

Acquiring the knowledge and acting according to the Qur’an and Sunnah (His Life) despite any hardship or obstacle I face should be easy; because I will never encounter what he has in His life — May Allah forgive me when I have doubts or complain; but I am…

Destined, only by Allah’s blessing, to live as You — a true believer.  So, it’s my duty to always seek Allah’s pleasure and forgiveness for I pray that my life allows me to reach Jenna (heaven) so I can meet You and Our Creator. ~ Ameen

- Mama Sabra

Ponn = Mama Sabra & the Girls Playing

Playing
On a swingset
Never stopping, soaring high
Night time has arrived…oh no, time to say ‘Bye-Bye’!

A special place poem

Having never seen this kind poem, they shared us this poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay called “Afternoon on a Hill.”

Tips to my girls: Just answer the questions, don’t think hard, let the visions flow and write what you feel. You, too, should be able to write quickly and effortlessly.

I quickly typed up ‘My Special Place’, while I had them answer the questions alongside me, silently on their own paper and netbooks.

By the creek under the tree
A weeping willow shades me
Wild flowers not too strong, the scent always pleasing
The water lightly ripples a peaceful tune
The soft grass below my legs warm me
I’m grateful for all Allah’s blessings, subhanallah, He’s perfect and majestic.
-Mama Sabra

Our 6 year old came up with this:

Outside in the snow
Igloos and snowballs
Fresh air smells like nothing [close your eyes, picture yourself outside, what do you smell?]
I hear birds even in the Winter
[What do you touch?] I make snowballs to throw at someone, but no one is here…
Now, I’m happy, because my sister arrived and I have someone to throw the snowball too! [I had to finish up her throughts myself]

Classic sidenote: Today, February 5, 2011 (not Feb. 2011), if you haven’t been keeping up, my girls and I are going on Phase 5 of our 6-foot tall igloo. Phase 1, our middle daughter fit in, Phase 2 our youngest joined in, Phase 3 our eldest fit in comfortably, Phase 4 I can sit straight up. Phase 5, 6…will be to get 5’5″ Papa/Daddy in and end with 6’2″ Hubby/Baba, inshaAllah (God willing).

Autobiographical poem

Give facts about the poet written by him/herself.

Autobiographical Poetry Prompts

1. Think of four adjectives to describe yourself.
2. Think of three adverbs that describe the way you act sometimes.
3. Think of three people, places, or things that you love. Remember that a person, place, or thing is a noun.

Brainstorming:

Together, my 6 year old and I came up with:

1. Happy, Funny, Good sense of humor & tiny
2. Silly, fearless, dress stylish, writes neatly
3. Baba & Mama I love, I love home, I love rabbits and horses

We couldn’t finish the autobiographical poem and moved on to Couplets & Limericks and combined to two to come up with:

Couplet

Fun, simple 2-line poem that rhymes and is often funny.

Fun examples were found here. And, once we read what a Limerick was, we decided to join forces…

Limerick

Funny little poem with 5 lines and rhyming pattern AABBA

- This was more difficult to do, we (my 9 & 6 yo and I) came up with it all together.

A- Horses and rabbits are some of my favorite things,

A- My baba is so funny and I love him–he’s my king,

B- I’m tiny like my mama,

B- And, fearless like Baba,

A- Nasheeds make me happy–they’re the only songs I sing.

We’re trying to write a limerick- to end with ‘ring’

When I’m silly, happy and making jokes, nasheeds I love to sing!…

Back to the Poetry Contest Theme…

Since we (and no single person) will never spend a day with the Prophet, inshaAllah, except in Jennah, we believed that envisioning a made-up past is useless, and not acceptable. So, we spent some good quality time as a family studying directly from the Qur’an & Sunnah.

Sonnet

- 14 line poem with 3 quatrains (4-rhyming lines) and ends with 1 couplet (2-rhyming lines). rhyming scheme/pattern:
ABAB
CDCD
EFEF
GG

Beautiful and a bit too hard to make up on the spot, we found more examples to help us here.

Simple Rhyming Poems

Rhythms and rhymes commonly and easily written by kids, that basically has the last rhyming syllable–a title we totally made up, because we know they exists.
Last, a simple rhyhming poem by our 8 year old,

“A Day in Jennah with the Prophet”

I would “As-salamu alaykum” to the Prophet.
He would reply “Wa-alaykum as-salam” and then, we’d knit.
We would read Qur’an together as we sit.
We’ll also enjoy playing with my Science kits.
Then, we’d eat a vanilla banana split.

The most adorable thing about ending this Poetry lesson was our 8 year old would totally do all these things, inshaAllah. Sitting in this living room right now, her knitting set is sitting right next to her, we haven’t used all our Science kits which are in the corner of this room, we are/were reading the Qu’ran sitting on the dining room floor, and well–what kid doesn’t love vanilla banana splits!?

So, there you have it, our Lesson Plan as we creatively had an Islamic and Literacy lesson to effortlessly, painlessly, and rather quickly teach Kids to Write Poems.

Have some Kids Poetry Lessons or Tips to share!? Please comment below! Better yet, post it on your blog–or anything related to Homeschooling, and grab our HomeSchool never Stops on Saturday button & link to this post!

photo credit: qwrrty

Teaching Kids How to Write Poetry – Fun Lesson Plan is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

If you like tests, then this is a Math program for you. Since we’re a very hands-on homeschool family,  we typically learn a new Math concept and practice until they mastered it–rather than “test” them. Therefore, unfortunately this is not a program my girls enjoyed. To be kind, my 10 year old said, “It’s kindof weird how they have so many tests”. Other positive aspects that my 7 year old shared included

• I like how you can take and re-take tests that you missed (since they give tests every day),
• How they have the calendar to see what you have done, and
• How you could see what tests or work other people  in our account (her sisters) completed.

According to their site The Factor Tree offer

A better way to learn math

Every student learns differently — shouldn’t your child be taught math in the way that works best for them? The team at The Factor Tree think so. Which is why their online supplementary math education platform adapts as your child learns, to ensure your pre-K to 6th-grader is always taught in the way that gets the best results.

What makes the Factor Tree so effective?

• Provides the practice and repetition needed for a child to truly master key math skills
• Use a skill-adaptive progression algorithm to pinpoint each child’s true skill level
• Provides parents with helpful reports, metrics and notifications to track their child’s progress
• Combines a state testing-compliant curriculum, world class educational theories and innovative technology to create a better learning tool

Subscribe for Your Free 2-Week Trial

At time of registration when it asks for the referral code, use “BzzAgent” to get a two-week trial at The Factor Tree.

Mama’s Side Notes

In brief, I believe this system is more set up for traditionally-schooled children, and did not allow my girls the opportunity to “test” up or challenge them into the math abilities they are presently working at. However, I truly believe in technology in the classroom, so this is a viable options for public and or private schools to further explore.

For example, of our girls’ Math and Science abilities, each of them were accepted to the Stanford University Education Gifted Program for Youths, and at 9 years old, our oldest tested into Gr. 11  Honors Algebra course and AP Physics Gr. 12. Our then 6 and 8 yo daughters also tested into extremely high Math and Science courses; so continue to be extremely happy with our present method of math lessons & studies.

Disclosure: As a BzzAgent, I receive free samples and products for review to share our honest opinions and experience, as well as offer you free samples such as today’s trial . We were not influenced in anyway to share only positive remarks. After all, lying is haram (prohibited). You’re welcome to read American Muslim Mom’s disclosure policy and contest disclosure.

The Factor Tree – Review & Free 2-Week Trial for All Followers is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Have you ever heard of Barefoot Books? Well, if you haven’t, here’s just a peak of what fabulous books they published and products they produce!

From a few tweets, to this review and giveaway–Hey, I even became an Ambassador in the process! Listed below are

Top Ten Reasons Why Barefoot Books Rock!

1. Cloth-covers. High-quality book crafting. Having started book collecting with my husband this past summer, with 100+ year old books, I have to say; I have not seen, touched or smelt new, high-quality book craftsmanship like this is years! Book publishers are SO darn cheap these days.
2. Gorgeous Illustrations. The art of each and every single page is fascinating. You can catch my girls and I spending long minutes just admiring the art.
3. Illustrations unique to the story. Ever see art in a picture book that has NO relevance whatsoever to the text on that particular page? Or, worse–not the whole book. Well, that is not the case with Barefoot Books. Every corner, inch of every page has meaning and significance. It’s mind-boggling at its perfection really!
4. Global Diversity & Cultural Appreciation. The wide range of topics from different cultures is so vast, from typical countries to explore like Mexico & Egypt–but, have you even heard of Galapagos before?
5. Books for All Ages. As you know my girls are 7, 9 & 10 years old, and Barefoot Books are geared to toddlers, young children 4 – 7 years. They just recently expanded to 8 – 11 years old. But, we are NOT bored at all. The illustrative art plus the magnificent craft of the words make these books collectibles in our home library to share with any of our family and friends! Oh, and these are perfect for newborns to toddlers too. Never underestimate our babies. Hey, all my girls read by 3 years old, mashaAllah (and that was before the hot “Baby can read” projects).
6. Picture Books Enriched with Rich History, Great Geography and Language Lessons. Every book we just read, yes–simple pictures; taken to the next level. Already we journey through the craft of writing; then you top it off with history, geography and language lessons.
7. Intimate, Interest-Building Incredible Learning Experience. Words are intertwined so ingeniously, that the learning process is natural rather than forced. The books beg you to stay intimate with the author throughout the story. And, my girls’ attention span is peaked during the story so much that they want the added appendixes with great desire, rather than boredom. The interest that is build through every flip of the page is absolutely incredible!
8. Hear Barefoot Books Live or 24/7 on their weekly Podcast. It’s as if you have a library of professional authors in your own home! Even better than the local librarian, and sometimes even me LOL (I’m a mighty book reader–ask my girls, mashaAllah, God has willed).
9. Family-Fun, Educational, Relaxing, Challenging Products too! I can not begin to tell you what a difference these Yoga Pretzels cards has done for our lives. Man, I haven’t done Yoga in so long, I had to search my own archives to find that free resource I used “regularly”. Anyways, my youngest daughter and I participated in a field day with ~20 7 year olds, and one 20-minute session was using these fabulous cards. We had a blast, relaxing, stretching, and quietly energizing ourselves for the rest of the day’s activities. Little did we know, last year–that they were Barefoot Books.
10. Read One Book and You Too Will Want to Live Barefoot!

Explore. Imagine. Create. Connect. Give Back. That’s what Barefoot Books is all about. It’s exploring other cultures, our planet, ourselves. It’s making time for make-believe and letting imaginations run wild and free. Most of all, it’s about using the power of stories to nourish the creative spark in everyone and strengthen connections with family, the global community, and the earth.

Bonus 11.

I guess, I’m in for slipping in one more of everything.

11. Barefoot Books Promotes Literary (obviously) and Charitable Causes, and Green Living. When given the chance to review their products, I immediately wanted to know more about the PBS Kids Global Gift Package.

PBS KIDS and Barefoot Books are committed to guiding kids on their own special journey of discovery and growth. So reach into your eco-bag and get ready for an adventure with your little explorer! In these paperback Barefoot Books, children learn to count in Swahili, learn to speak Spanish in Mexico and are introduced to the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. $5.00 from the sale of this product goes to support PBS. Your purchase helps PBS KIDS provide opportunities for all children – from every walk of life – to explore and grow.

Featuring paperback editions of Off We Go to Mexico, We All Went on Safari, and We’re Sailing Down the Nile.

To purchase Barefoot Books

Have a grand ‘ol time, searching for the right selection of starter books by checking out the main site here.

Oh, and they’re hosting their Winter Sale right now: 60% off until February 8, 2011!

Start a home-based business

• Earn commissions from 20-40% of retail value, plus loyalty points.
• Market Barefoot Books online
  Promote Barefoot through websites, blogs or social networks and earn 20-40%.
• Create fundraising opportunities
  Earn 50% and free shipping on all orders over $500.

Ponn…You started another side-job!? Well, no. As an affiliate marketer, I’m simply choosing to promote Barefoot Books online with these nifty affiliate buttons and links; which in turn helps me have some extra cash to buy Barefoot products at a discount. No inventory. No hassle. I do have an awesome home library collection started though! And, you can too.

Enter to Win one $25 Barefoot Books eGift Card!

Deadline date: Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Contest Rules

• You must adhere to all the rules as stated. Shall a winner be chosen who did not complete this one simple rule, he/she will not be eligible to win. It’s only fair.

You must visit Barefoot Books and tell us if what products you’d get if you won $25 e-gift card. TIP: You can get the PBS Global Kids Pack & a ‘lil something, or the Yoga Pretzels & a book. Your choice.

• For additional entries, you may chose to complete any one, or all of the below actions. You must write a separate comment for each additional entry you complete below. (A winner is chosen by the number of comments, not the number of actions taken.)

• Follow Barefoot Books on Twitter @LiveBarefoot
• Become a Barefoot Books Facebook Fan Page
• Subscribe to Barefoot Books Podcast.
• Follow  American Muslim Mom on Twitter (@ponnsabra).
• Become an American Muslim Mom Fan on Facebook.
• Join our RSS feed preferably through the email subscription having the same email address on the comment that you have in the RSS feed. To sign up with your RSS feed reader, click here; or click here to subscribe by email.

• Sign-up for the American Muslim Mom eNewsletter in the right sidebar where we offer “Free  Ebooks & Goodies!”. Enter your first and last names and email address. We share special gifts, news and offers to this select email list.
• Subscribe to the American Muslim Mom YouTube Channel.
• Follow American Muslim Mom on Google Connect.
• Follow American Muslim Mom on Linked In.
• You may write about our contest on your blog, inviting your readers to participate.
• Tweet about this contest with @ponnsabra or Retweet this post with the above RT button.  You may tweet up to once a day, but don’t forget to comment below with the new tweet link. Suggested tweet:

RT @ponnsabra GIVEAWAY! $25 eGift card for @liveBarefoot Books! http://bit.ly/gzvBUn Ends 2/3/11 Pls RT

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• Review and rate American Muslim Mom.
• We’d like to you stay a while. Please read and share a thoughtful comment to one or all of our latest articles. Then, comment below for each action taken.

• Wifehood Wednesday – Marriage, Homemaking & More
• Five Fabulous Bloggers I Can’t Blog Without
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• Reflecting in Tears that Allah Knows All!
• FunBrain – Educational Games

Determining a Winner

Each comment below designates an entry number. We will use And the Winner Is… plugin to pick a random winner from the total number of comments below. The winner will be contacted by email. If no response is received in 48 hours, another winner will be chosen. Confirmed winners will be announced on our Contest Winners Page, where you may refer to at anytime.

Disclosure: I receive products for review free of charge. I was not influenced in anyway to share only positive remarks. After all, lying is haram (prohibited). You’re welcome to read American Muslim Mom’s disclosure policy and contest disclosure.

Top Ten Reasons Why Barefoot Books Rocks! Review and Giveaway is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

Hi, I’m GiGi and I would like to tell you guys about a website called FunBrain. I like FunBrain because in the Playground you can play fun games, and pick any game you want (not all are learning games).

But, in the Arcade you are playing something like a board game. So, when you play a game; you have to win or you can’t go to the next game.

This is the same in the Math Arcade, except that all the games you play are Math.

Then, there is Reading. Reading has really fun Mad Libs games.

If you really like a game, you can go to “All Games” and pick a game from ALL the games including the games in the Arcade and Math Arcade. I think the best games to play are the learning games.

So go to FunBrain.com today!

Please share what you think of this site below!

FunBrain – Educational Games is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

The website FreeRice is good for learning and it is good for donating rice, that is why it is called FreeRice. The home page says, “For each answer you get right, we donate 10 grains of rice through the World Food Programme to help end hunger”.

On the home page you can answer vocabulary questions. If you don’t want vocabulary, you can go to “Change Subject” and click on any subject you want. Another really cool thing is if you are learning a language, if you see that language than you can have questions on that language.

And, if you want you can “sign in”, if you do it a lot you might become the “Top Player” because of how much rice you donated. Or, if you join a club you might become one of the “Top Clubs” because of how much rice your club got.

One thing that I like is that it is learning, and that you are donating to the poor.

Our homeschool friends told us about this site; and my sisters and I are on it a lot. Please share your favorite websites in the comments below!

Mama’s Little Note: This is our extremely bright Math-star (mashaAllah) who prefers not to write because she knows her sisters love it and do it well. But, with a little editing back and forth, she finally came up with this post. So, if you benefited from this post at all, please share a comment to encourage her not to stop. Thanks and Jazaka Allahu Khayrun!

FreeRice – Play Educational Games and Feed the Poor is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

TeenTribune.com and TweenTribune.com is running a unique 100-word essay contest about technology for children Grades 3 – 12. Six winners from every grade with a total of 60 kids will either win a grand prize of $500, or $100 for the 5 runner-ups. Teachers of winning students will receive “Learning Happens” t-shirt.

“The contest is inspired by Benjamin Franklin, who possessed both a passion for technology and a talent for expressing powerful ideas in remarkably few words. To motivate kids to embrace these two ideals, TeenTribune and TweenTribune will give away 100 “Benjamins” to students who can describe in 100 words or less how technology makes the world a better place.”

How to Enter:

In 100 words or less, children should write

“How does technology make the world a better place?”

• Step-by-step instructions
• Use these examples to discuss the art and craft of writing succinctly
• Click to see present entries

Essays will be judged on 100-categories in 3 different rounds: Teachers, Teachers & Students, and Judges. Such categories included originality and passion. This contest encourages creatively and the ability to define “words” and “technology” in non-English ways. Read all the details of this unique writing competition here.

Interestingly, the organizers also developed their way to prevent this contest from being a type of online “popularity contest”, and since you know I don’t take kindly to those types–the exercise of creating written language succinctly to promote technology and writing, I think this contest is definitely worth investing some of your time for your kids to enter.

Please let us know if you enter, so we can view your entries and hopefully vote. We’re going to try hard to participate, since the deadline is January 16, 2011 we may have time to get them in.

100-word Essay Can Win Your Child $100 or $500! is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

I was looking for more Arabic games, and one game had a picture of the masjid. I asked my dad “What masjid is this?” He saw the name of the masjid and he searched on google and found it. And, then I was thinking of searching for the most beautiful masajids (mosques) in the world. And, I found these three websites:

• 100 Beautiful Mosque Pictures Around the World
• 40 Most Beautiful Mosques Around the World
• Beautiful Mosques From Around The World

My favorite masjid is in Maldives from the first link. It’s my favorite because it doesn’t have any domes and I like blue and white. It’s a nice color together.

I didn’t know where Maldives was, so I searched on Google Images and found this map. Maldives is an island in Indian Ocean, next to India and Sri Lanka.

What’s your favorite masjid? Why? And, where is it located? Please let me know.

Most Beautiful Masajid (Mosques) in the World is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog