Halfway through January already, SubhanAllah–Glory be to God. The four numbers that make up the year 2012 have not registered in my mind just yet because I have been on my winter break. It was almost thirty days of relaxing at home most of the time sprinkled with seeing family and friends, reading, and working the rest of the time. None of those days consisted of writing the date on the upper left-hand corner of my notebook.

Back to School, Again

That changes tomorrow because I will face, yet again, another first day of school, InshaAllah. It used to be nice–getting the jitters and butterflies of the first day just once a year, but now in college, it’s twice a year. Twice a year I need to engage in awkward small talk in hopes of igniting new friendships. Twice a year that I need to adapt to new professors’ teaching and grading methods. Twice a year I need to spend money on buying used textbooks. Twice a year I end up procrastinating writing term papers. Twice a year I stress studying for midterms and final exams. Twice a year I need to search around campus to find new places to pray and new places to study. So it’s officially 2012. It has been for 16 days. It’s a new year, which means it’s about time for a new semester.

Past Experiences with Change

I’m the type of person who isn’t very fond of Change. Not that Change has been particularly mean to me at all–in fact, I’ve had quite the opposite experience with Change. At the end of sixth grade, Change made me find myself in a new academic environment. Not the kind with long hallways, and crowds of students bumping into each other when the bell rang; rather, a quieter abode– a private Islamic school at the site of a masjid, inhabited by the people I now consider my best friends and role models. Change pushed its way into my life once again, when it came time for me to leave my comforting tight-knit-community of a school and move on to bigger things–college. That, and this is no lie, scared me beyond all reason. The transition from a small class of 14 students to a class of thousands of freshman was scary, but more frightening than that was the concept of adulthood. After college, I won’t formally be labeled a student anymore, though having been one most of my life. The first day of the unknown world of what lies ahead after these two and a half years I have remaining as a student is what is truly scary.

I acknowledge I am getting a bit ahead of myself. So perhaps I should share these three important tips that I have found successful in my numerous past first-day anxieties whether it was for school, work, any experience really.

My First-Day Tips

1. Breathe. Take a minute to grab your head and put it back on straight. Step outside or open a window and take a deep breath of fresh air.
2. Prepare yourself. If you’re walking into your first interview, have the proper materials–resume, cover letter, proper attire. First day of class? A pencil/pen, paper, books won’t do you harm. When you’re prepared, materially and mentally, you have less to be worried about.
3. Make du’a. When you have done whatever you can to make your first day go smoothly, leave the rest up to God, and be satisfied with the results.

How do you deal with your first-day anxiety? We would love to hear your tips!

It’s a New Year is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

As you may know, we’re definitely an unconventional homeschool family that ”schools” our girls our way, from car-schooling to airplane-schooling. One may suspect that we’d run some “school” ‘case studies’ as well, right? For example, overseas private classes, Egyptian overcrowded schoolrooms, an Islamic private academy, and yes–public school!

I was the only non-sixth grade parent acknowledged in the school’s graduation, mashaAllah (besides the multi-year-PTA president, of course). Since 5th graders were invited, my daughter was sitting in the first row. It was a touching moment for my daughter. All three 5th grade classes were honored by my daughter’s accomplishment and many teachers, parents, and students gave her the nod of approval, smiles of joy, and knew it would touch her much more than it could ever touch me…mostly because many all knew how difficult it was for her to be the oldest sister of 3 trying to be strong and supportive of a decision she’d rather not have dealt with–going to school. She loved her homeschooling lifestyle. She also knew her mama would be experiencing great physical pain in her absence, and would rather be a supportive daughter by my bedside, than in an unchallengeable environment with peers.

Hubby and I faced 3-4 months of multiple surgeries and such an intense therapy schedule that we’d rather not expose our girls full-time to the anticipated physical, mental and emotional pain and stress. So, we decided that we might as well try an educational setting as an alternative to baby sitting–after all, we do pay taxes. So, we chose to send our girls to public school. It was terribly painful for me, as I vowed never to allow them to enter public school doors..besides a little government “tour.”

As I write, tears are filling up just recalling the emotions that occurred during that phase in our life. I know my heart is also crying because it was by far one of the single best experiences of my entire family’s life…my girls learned empathy in a different sense.

While having traveled the world my girls experienced “real” poor, desperate situations; never had they experienced it day in and out and established relationships with those who “have” and “have-not”.

For example, classmates with money and luxuries, and those who didn’t have money for lunch. The academically-strong students with supportive parents, while others suffered academically because they worry about going to bed hungry with no dinner, or faced real fears who heard “shooting from his bedroom all the time.”

On top of all that, we all experienced that regardless of socioeconomic status and parental support, the majority of kids came from broken families. Even their closest friends of single-parents, we’re experiencing much emotional hardship, and questionable sadness dealing with the divorce, separation, etc. that many kids (even those not in our girls’ classes) found great refuge in my motherly attention. They even found safety, security and fun in our home and backyard, which quickly became the “neighborhood safety field.” I became a confidante for many children and their parents (often mediating for them); and my girls appreciated that their friends had a trusted resource to gain much needed insight and support, mashaAllah. [Note: These were our experiences at this moment in time; I am not generalizing children of single-parents.]

It is a sad reality of our American society that could only be faced by attending public school. It brought our family closer during our own hardships, and made us much more grateful for our many blessings, most notably: Faith & Family.

[Note: Out of 9 elementary public schools in our city, we were fortunate to attend one of the largest schools with with approximately 1/3 affluent, 1/3 middle-class, 1/3 school-lunch kids. It was the most ethnically-diverse and academically-distributed school in the district. There were 2-3 inner-city schools with the majority of school-lunch kids, and 3-4 affluent schools with some of the highest-ranked academic scores in the state!]

79 Creative Ways to Help Support Your Kid’s Public School

These are all the activities my husband and I volunteered for on a near daily basis during our 4-month experience with a public school. Of course, I wasn’t there when I was hospitalized, but hubby or Daddy/Papa was.

Please keep in mind that this list is not exclusive, and I purposefully left out typical ways parents volunteer in school. Hubby and I choose to get the most involved that would assure the highest level of professionalism in their academic environment and social atmosphere which will allow our girls excel in I also wanted to assure that my girls would not be victims to bigotry in any shape or form, for their gift and talents (as they were all promoted full years upon acceptance), or for being Muslim. Also, I am NOT recommending any parent to do all the things listed below. These are all ideas to get your creative juices flowing. The goal is not to become overwhelmed or burdened, but to be happy and energized by making necessary contributions to your school YOUR way! I was never tired by my involvement. I was honored to contribute in a meaningful way.

Subhanallah, the 4^th and final day of their assessments, one-day before their first-day of school, an African American boy yelled in line to my daughter as we sat outside the principal’s office for our class placement results, “Terrorist!” He was suspended from school the next day. The very daughter he yelled it to was supposed to be his classmate, and based on that episode the 3rd and 4^th-grade teachers and principal decided to put our daughter in another class. After much discussion, Hubby and I wanted her to remain in that class; but we agreed to the principal’s change of assignment. Alhumdulilah, my daughter eased (with newfound confidence and strength) to her first day of school, and the boy never returned to the school.

#1 – 5. Meet each with and without your kids; ideally with a scheduled appointment. By scheduling an appointment, you’re respecting their time; and if you do this often enough, you will soon be on their short-list of memorized phone numbers and welcomed for free-time just to talk.

1. Meet the principal before the school year and periodically throughout. Details throughout the tips below.

2. Meet every single teacher before the school year and weekly, if not daily.

3. Meet the gym teacher. They had a male teacher, so we had to express our gender rules, dress code, etc. As expected our youngest loved his class, so the teachers worked out that she had double-gym classes each week when her class was in music class.
 

4. Meet the art teacher, explain limitations of our faith. Volunteer often. We found kids typically couldn’t focus on the “lesson” of this “fun” class prolonging lesson plans through weeks, instead of days. With an extra helper, the art teacher was able to stay on task more easily.

5. Meet the music teacher, Explain why we don’t listen to music, yet we must learn music education. Have the kids and teacher have an understanding of please allow her to sit in, they know what’s acceptable and what’s not. If they choose to stay, please welcome them. If not, we agree to politely and quietly dismiss ourselves. Acceptable: learning about the history of music as a lesson taught.

#6-17 Recommended informal meetings made while you’re volunteering.

6. Meet the librarian. Learn what resources the library has, and offer ways to best utilize all they have. By knowing exactly what they have and where the resources are stored, my girls were often the library leaders in their classes when they had a class project. They were able to explore all their group projects in more depth compared to their classmates, so their group-mates and teacher’s appreciated their educational initiative and direction. I volunteered often for the research of my girls’ group projects, and their groupmates loved exploring the library compared to their other classmates who were resorting only to the Internet. I started to get a reputation, that all 3 homeroom teachers often assigned me group projects with other kids, so as many as possible learned how to explore the school library as a fun expedition rather than a get-out-of-class-social-hall.

7. Meet & help substitutes. Have open relationship with homeroom teacher, so they can share when substitutes will be coming in. I volunteered in class the majority of days any of my girls had a substitutes, which with 3 girls meant daily. If it’s a new substitute, they rarely had the respect to command the classroom, as I did; simply because I knew the kids names, desks, personalities, strengths, and temperaments. Oh, and I obviously knew who were the “bullies” and “class clowns.” I use quotation marks, because they never dared to exhibit these traits in front of me; so I had no need to discipline, but because they all knew I knew, I had a good handle how to talk to the kids wasting time with their unacceptable behavior or silliness.

8. Meet student teachers. One daughter had a student teacher, and I was such a loyal volunteer, that when it came time for her to make a portfolio for job applications, she was emailing me for copies of pictures.

9. Meet all classroom assistants. There was a full-time classroom assistant who was assigned different classes every day. By getting on a first-name basis, my girls and I learned much about the layout of the building, the history of teachers and staff, and who was strong with what skill. This was critical information that helped me prioritize who and what needed my volunteer hours the most. For example, one was good at English, so I helped in her science class projects. Another was good at science, so I helped in her reading class and “listened” to kids read, as well as helped edit their essays.

10. Meet social workers and school psychologist. MashaAllah, none of my girls needed the services of either, but by knowing each of them personally, they helped me understand the “culture” of each of my girls’ homerooms, figure out the school’s emotional atmosphere and environment, and have open discussions with my girls why the social workers’ and psychologist’s roles are necessary; especially because the girls’ classmates were taken in and out of classes to meet with them. Often, unsympathetic classmates, or “bullies” made fun of them in the process. My girls learned empathy and were appreciated for their concern and support, MashaAllah, one daughter was extremely outspoken for her classmates when anyone tried to bully anyone. She was well-liked/loved by even the hardest-meanest-bully; because she never backed down for the weaker classmate.

11.  Meet homeroom moms. Request where they most need help. Even though I met them, they and their teachers quickly found out that I was offering much more needed services that they never called me for help, as I was typically “on-site” already.

12.  Meet PTA officers. Offer to fill in the void. Since I couldn’t adhere to a “schedule,” I simply showed up and offered help by knowing officers on a first-name basis and just volunteering help. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for my girls’ teachers, I was already volunteering at the events to help the individual classes rather than big events.

13.  Meet the cafe staff. Since we have our own diet, I wanted the girls to also feel comfortable buying in the cafe like their friends so I downloaded money into their accounts. When I met staff, I learned how to track their accounts, so they’re never short of cash. I also inquired what things they have available and quickly found out that ice cream was a “luxury” since they don’t get them often and never have enough. Knowing that we don’t eat other snacks, my girls were excited about their daily cold treat. The café ladies told us how and when they call out these treats, and when I saw them they’d often inform me that we’d call your girls first (all 3 had different lunch times), and many times they wouldn’t come up. Aware of the special treatment, my girls told me they opt out of getting it every day.

14.  Eat lunch with your kids. When I sat in with each of them for lunch, I quickly learned from their classmates that X/Y/Z always gets ice cream, and the “luxury” really was having the $ to get this cold snack. By hearing the cheerful feedback of their classmates, my girls and I also discussed that there’s no need to get ice cream daily, and in unison they agreed, but were already doing this on their own. However, as the year was coming to a close, the staff were kind enough to tell me (knowing we wouldn’t return next year) that we had balances in their accounts, and how to withdraw it. I followed-up with their kindness with a donation.

15.  Meet the other volunteers. I liked how all volunteers had to wear name tags. We helped each other with photocopying (every machine was different…and I was never good with hardware). We quickly learned that photo copying wasn’t my forte, but was another volunteer’s. However, assisting the teacher was a less welcomed job for her. So, when we were both there at the same time, we coordinated duties based on our interests and strengths.

16.  Meet the custodial staff. This is helpful, because when a kid throws up, etc. calling out someone politely on a first-name basis is much more appealing than, “Hey, emergency clean up!” which I witnessed the sad hysteria that on the surface looks harmless–but doing this every day of your job is–well, frustrating at this necessary and often thankless job.

17. Meet special ed teachers. As homeschoolers, my girls took 4-days of assessments to figure out their grade placement. They were assessed by the math & English school teachers. We learned after they placed, that there were the “special” teachers to help those behind…and a stigma was formed when kids are called for their time with them. So, each of my girls had a “stigma” coming in, within their first week their classmates realized that they were not placed low, but high and never gave my girls lip–however, they continued to do it for their “real” classmates. My girls were sensitive to these issues and often spoke up for those who didn’t have the confidence or will to stand up for themselves. My girls loved these 2 teachers and in turn, it opened many more opportunities, such as mashaAllah, all 3 girls were placed a full year ahead and 2 were in all gifted, highest classes.

18.  Know the entire building beyond your own children’s classrooms. Understand the floor plan inside and outdoor property. This was helpful on many occasions. Once for a field day, I was outside and one classmate needed to be run into the nurse’s office for his inhaler. Aware of this emergency, I offered to escort him via the quickest route. Many times there were new volunteer parents walking aimlessly, so I’d escort them to their destination.

19. Offer to teach a lesson plan.

20.  Field trip chaperone TIPS. An easy no-brainer. I went to every single field trip of all 3 girls, and Hubby went to one when I was in the hospital. Interestingly, 1 of the field trips was a “big deal.” Grant money was given so teachers and staff were the chaperones; not parents. But, due to my frequent volunteering, and they willfully accepted space for Hubby or I. Another field trip was the annual 5^th grade “big field trip” that they were saving money for all year. Extremely interested in not missing the only “field trip” my daughter would ever experience, I was offered a limited space.

21. (a) Field trip tricks. I got my group to make heart-shaped cookie cutters that were selling for $6-7 in the gift shop, but there, the demonstrator was making them. By asking probing interesting questions, he let our group each make their own to keep. The girls had the best story to share with the class.

22. (b) Strive to be a field trip chaperone winner. We hiked 3 miles up and down the Sleeping Giant Mountain. It was easy getting up, and we made it to the top as probably one of the Top 10 groups; but as one of the only all-girls-group, we were determined to make it down for lunch first. We huffed and puffed and motivated our way down the mountain. Since groups were assigned by teachers, this was a great motivator for 4 little girls who barely knew each other to work as a team and win!

23. (c) Make sure your spouse goes to field trips too. To this day, I’m not sure which one was a bigger eye-opener, Hubby for being on a 1-hr-one-way yellow-bus trip with 50+ 4th-graders, or my daughter and her classmate for having a cool dad around.

24.  Volunteer with grandparents too. Daddy/Papa was a huge face on campus too!

Some of the following are touched upon above, but have detailed separate tips for the attention they deserve below.

25.  Help during Reading circles. 4 circles for 16 kids during 1-hour for 1-teacher. An extra “listener” is very helpful.

26.  Help with field day. I know Daddy and I got just as much of a workout that day as the kids…not from doing the physical activities with them, but by escorting sick kids, hurt kids, tired kids, angry they-weren’t-playing-fair kids, in and out of the building and fields. I think the nurse was about to give Daddy and I much needed beds to rest by the end of the day.

27.  Help with Science Fair Projects & Science Fair Day.

28. (a) Teach the Scientific Method, Depth of the project & Have fun. During Morning Meeting, one of my daughters’ partners came in and said her highlight for her weekend was spending the day at our house making their Science Fair project. Everyone was surprised since no one ever talks about school-things; our daughter was proud and the whole class couldn’t wait to see their project later displayed during the week.

29.  (b) Invite all groupmates to your house first. Hubby and I don’t allow our girls to go to others’ homes without us. To prevent this, I jumped at inviting all groupmates to our house, which we found out that all of them weren’t planning to offer due to time, interest or skill. Hubby and I were well respected for the depth in the lessons, projects, and displays we made.

30. (C ) Organize duties & responsibilities. I learned to expect nothing. Each parent asked if I needed anything. I went through the supplies list and asked things I felt were fair and economical and worked out details.

31. (d) Make sure all groupmates parents are present for the Science Fair. If not, offer to be their “parent” to support their efforts. FYI, this was a non-judged event, which was great; since our kids learned so much.

32. Help with Social Studies Reenactments. Daddy and I did some many cool things here to help, such as

33. (a) Make costumes

34. (b) Help to creatively make props

35. (c) Organize lists of duties

36. (d) Organize roles

37. (e) Set up different displays

38. (f) Monitor the displays

39. (g) Help prepare and serve food

40. (h) Escort lost or confused spectators

41. (i) Educate confused spectators

42. (j) Help with the curriculum & research

43. (k) Take photos

44. (l) Help parent volunteers for the day by delegating the most necessary duties

45. Help with school plays. Challenging, yes, but the final production will be worth it, InshaAllah.

46. (a) Help kids learn their scripts

47. (b) Help director. Keep kids quiet, patient, while others are saying their lines and they are supposed to stay in their places on stage. This was the single hardest thing for the schools’ largest play directed by 3 homeroom teachers, whereas previous years they had a professional playwright (parent) volunteer to direct in previous years.

48. (c) Help dress the kids in costumes keep them clean, in place, etc.

49. (d) Be the off-stage director. Due to our biggest problem #40, and unaware what its like to act in front of a crowd, we had 2 performances to the school during the day and the big night show for parents. Last minute, we developed this role for me to keep the kids focused in the center of the auditorium for spacing and script issues. I had most of the lines memorized by then.

50. Take photos.

51.  Share your photos with staff.

52. Help with bulletin boards. In the classroom and in the hallways, especially for special projects worth acknowledging.

53. Help in the coat room. The younger classes want to be there, but aren’t organized, the older kids don’t want to be there, but like hanging around (not to socialize, but they’re not interested in walking into class), an extra pair of eyes and hands to direct kids with their jackets, bookbags, and getting their homework out to move along the crowds in the coat room was very much appreciated by teachers.

54. Learn each classroom’s Morning Meeting & help out. This is the informal time to get to know all the students and teachers on a different level, it was a critical bonding time that was either treasured or despised—but it was necessary to help the teacher make sure it was always treasured.

55. Be a respectful hall monitor. Not formally. I never shyed away from saying politely and firmly “Walk,” or, ”Slow down,” and sometimes, “Are you lost?” and even, “Want me to walk with you to…?” (for the little ones). Offer to help teachers as they pass the halls with large groups of kids trying hard to keep them in line literally and figuratively. Offer to help escort the middle or end of the line. I met many of the school’s teachers and students this way.

56. Help with essay editing. I’ll never forget one class’s “messiest one” according to the students, however I learned he had an attention deficient, hated his handwriting and despised writing. It took all class to build his confidence to write as freely and as fun as possible. While the teacher was trying to take care of the other 15, it was an emotional moment for both of us, but we ended the class with smiles, confidence, and my daughter and her girl-friends immediately saw the difference in his attitude for his most dreaded class.

57. Help with Social Studies projects. Bring in props for the country they’re studying, offer to help make study guides, lists of necessary websites for research.

58. Help with Passport/International day. Keep these “fun” days fun. I noticed that the “fun” events were not always fun for all students, simply because 1 teacher can’t cater to the whole’s classes’ interests and excitement. So, the shy and quiet ones get lost in the shuffle. Volunteer to be their “fun day helper.”

59.  (a) Bring in things that will make these days more special. Papa had an English tea set for the English tea party. We brought in many different Filipino things for Philippines (My mom was Filipino).

60.  (b) Make phone calls for donated snacks by local restaurants. We didn’t have anything special for Mexico, so we had to offer some kind of unique alternative.

61.  (c )  Make educational props the teachers need. I researched and made Spanish memory card games, for foods and animals, one card was a picture the other was a word.

62. Introduce new foods and teach a lesson about them.

63.  (a) Test & Tales. Papa became infamous for his gardening and Rhubarb stories, and I hosted the “Sour Patch Test” for each of our girls’ classes. We ended up having other teachers and staffs participate in our lessons.

64.  (b) Bring random healthy snacks during snack time. One teacher brought in, with her own money, nutritious snacks for her entire class time, because many kids didn’t bring them in (economic reasons). Always get the snacks approved and organize a designated time, so food is not wasted or spoiled.

65.  (c) Reward with incentive snacks. I offered Popsicles or watermelon if the students did something together “right,” either an assignment or special class activity. I worked this out with teachers, of course.

66.  (d) Cultural food. We brought in hummus, homemade pitas, zatar. Shared our 3-Tries-Then-You’re-Out Rule.

67.  (e) Natural homemade foods. We made different homemade breads every day, and we’d share the different tastes. All-natural, healthy, homemade food was a luxury that we found many children did not experience often enough.

68. (f) Religious foods. One reward was to have a BBQ for smores. I brought in halal marshmallows for my daughter and the 2 Muslim brothers who never had marshmallows because they didn’t know about halal ones. We became a “hit” because everyone was allowed a certain amount, with permission of the teacher, I was able to pass out a few more and they said “It tastes the same!” We gave the bag to the Muslim brothers, so their other 2 brothers can enjoy them too.

69. (g) Lunch. Making extras. Sharing allowance. MashaAllah, one of my daughter’s friends rarely had money for lunch and never had a bagged lunch, so I started “strategically” making extra sandwiches, bigger halves but still in one sandwich bag not to make it obvious. We found out what she liked and what she didn’t, and helped out. My daughter would often forgo the ice cream to share a snack she knew she’d eat with her.

70. End of year cleaning.

71.  Help organize the class library. Make a category listing system.

72.  Introduce your culture or religion openly with students. One teacher had my girls and I teach about Islam, and have a big eye-opening formal Q&A. The other teacher welcomed their kids to ask me questions whenever they came up while I was present. Nothing was a mystery about Islam to all my girls’ classmates, and this openness was welcomed and appreciated. The kids openly and innocently asked.

73. Assist during  Center Times. And, specifically do not help your kid’s group. Ask the teacher who needs the most work. The challenge of helping a 2-year demoted student, who they said they couldn’t hold back any longer, regardless if he’s able to write any better or not (since it was the last quarter of the year). Determined to make some head-way, I really enjoyed my time assisting his group help him gain interest in writing at least 2-sentences with correct grammar and spelling during one class period.

74. Sing During Center Times. I love teaching kids how to find rhyming words simply by singing the alphabet with the new word. It’s a funny, easy task that every kid (and parent) loves. Try it! Sing words to rhyme with “toe” with the alphabet song, Aoe, Boe, Coe, Dough!, Eoe, Foe, Go!, Ho, Io, Joe! …get it!? Now, sing it faster!

75. Support all PTA/PTO fundraisers within reason. All the fundraisers held during the 4-months we were students were all acceptable, such as the plants sale, and book sales.

76. Donate used books. They must be in good shape! Depending on the topic, I first ask the homeroom teachers if they’d like them; otherwise general all-purpose books I donated to the school library.

77. Donate odds & ends and arts & crafts supplies to the art room. The art teacher marveled at the 4 huge paper shopping bags filled with supplies. Since we weren’t doing the Art Gala that year, and it was Spring cleaning, we donated as much of our odds and ends as possible.

78. Donate new school supplies to various classrooms & departments.

79. Personalized homemade gifts from the family that will last and be shared with future classes and have a lasting impression on the school like they have for you. In addition to physical therapy and recovery process, I started art therapy. It was a creative and emotional outlet that half the process was “letting go”, and “acceptance”. So, I accepted all the good great with the not-so-bad, took my art pieces, and matched my personal feelings with my girls, as I painted quotes to match particular teachers’ philosophies and how the paintings would be a main-stay in their classrooms, offices or rooms. The greatest honor that ended with floods of tears was when I gave my 5-hour first most dramatic painting to the Art Teacher and she said, it’s too precious that she knew a perfect place she’ll hang it at home.

Muslim Parent School Tips

1. (a) Privately in writing and in-person with teachers & principals regarding Islamic issues. My formal letter to all homeroom teachers included the following:

1. Prayer time.
2. Sisters’ personal time. #1-2. They were so accommodating, that they let the girls meet together in the library for prayer at the most opportune times to each of their class schedules.
3. Pledge of allegiance.
4. Not to be alone with any adult, male or female. The girls are always in presence of 3rd person, not even 2 adults and my 1 child, their classroom buddy or I must always be a witness.
5. No birthdays and secular or religious holidays. We explained the difference between lessons taught versus celebrating the holidays.
6. No music, singing.
7. Limitations to images and pictures they draw.
8. Dress code. Their prayer pack and prayer clothes.
9. Not boy-girl partnerships or projects.
10. Gave the cell phone numbers for me and Hubby, to run at a moment’s notice. Call me for everything and anything–nothing is too small, especially disciplinary issues or concerns.
11. Personal writing journal they kept privately for me.
12. Daily notes and personal phones between teacher and I. One teacher even made a Mom-Teacher composition pad journal for our correspondences.
13. Volunteer for everything, specifically in your kids’ class but helping others:
    1. fun, creative, projects,
    2. teach a unit study,
    3. field trips,
    4. class work, photocopying,
    5. tutoring, leading reading circles,
       1. Interest in all field trips,
       2. Requesting all grading rubics for all classes, progress note schedule,
       3. I shared some of my strengths and time availabilities so they could best assign me appropriate volunteer jobs.

2. (b) Be the Muslim advocate for other Muslim students. Subhanallah, my 3 girls had 3 Muslim boys (all brothers) in each of their grades, 1 was in one of my daughter’s specific class. Whenever something came up, a questionable music event, movie, etc. the boys were allowed to hang out with me and the the girls to “educate” our differences often with humorous pride, which they greatly appreciated, mashaAllah. Or, to monitor them by taking them out of the event.

3. (c) Be a Muslim Ambassador to staff by being open, approachable, and active. I was always available to answer any question openly and on-the-spot when the staff had one. They often shared the top reasons for not asking other Muslim parents questions were because “they” don’t seem approachable, or “they” aren’t welcoming to “personal” questions, and “they” aren’t even around or active. When I explained that my faith is “personal to me,” but “learning about our faith is fact; therefore it’s not personal at all.”

Free Parent Volunteer Resources for You & $500 School Supplies Giveaway!

• The room mom survival guide, eBook:  or Sample back-to-school signup sheets.
• A HUGE $500 giveaway for school supplies on VolunteerSpot’s Facebook page.
• Since I’m the last-stop in this 6-week blog series, you can view all previous posts in the “I Support My School My Way” campaign here.
• They even just launched a brand-new Room Mom Resources:   Room Mom Ideas.

Here’s how VolunteerSpot can help you and your school or organization

I look forward to using this for my many fundraising activities across various organizations as well, inshaAllah.

Limited Time Only! Premium VolunteerSpot PTA Boost Special Discount Exclusive for American Muslim Mom

Here’s a thank you promo code for free 1-yr Premium upgrades for us all!  APPLE34.

VolunteerSpot’s FREE service is all most room moms, parents and teachers need to get organized.

However, their Premium version has helpful tools for power-users including volunteer hours tracking, extra registration fields (to collect teacher’s or child’s name, t-shirt size, etc.), and assistant organizers.

If Premium is for you,  please click here to get a free Back-to-School Upgrade. Hurry, offer expires soon! September 15, 2011.

I am SO majorly excited about this upgrade, because you may know that we volunteer and host fundraisers for local masajid, Islamic institutes, host virtual fundraisers for national Islamic organizations, host our Annual Qur’an-a-thon Sadaqah Drive, but we also help raise money for homeschool organizations, educational institutes, museums, horse rescue, friends of the public library, and international relief organizations, and much more! (Please forgive me for not linking to all the examples, but I’m short on time).

More importantly, based on this project, my girls and I devised a regular extremely fun way to volunteer at local elementary schools to promote: STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering & Math). Something we have been doing already, but we’re going to formalize things now…and this software will help us better organize our time and efforts. So, what are you going to use VolunteerSpot for?

I SUPPORT MY SCHOOL.. MY WAY! And I’m joining VolunteerSpot’s sponsored Back To School campaign to help raise visibility for parent involvement in schools.

Save time {and sanity} and get more parents involved at school with VolunteerSpot.com!

VolunteerSpot’s FREE online signup sheets make it easy to organize parents and signup to help for just about anything: classroom helpers, snack schedules, carnivals, library volunteers, parent-teacher conferences and more…. No more ‘Reply-All’ email chains or clipboard sign up sheets! Please share with your room mom, teachers and parent leaders…

Plus there’s a huge Sweepstakes on VolunteerSpot’s Facebook page!
Win $500 worth of school supplies for YOUR School! Enter here

79 Creatives Ways I Supported My Kids’ School My Way…and, Now YOU Can Too! 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

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

In many parts of the country, back to school shopping season has begun!  There are already ads being mailed, coupons being clipped and new clothes being tested out for the new year.  Many parents dread this time because it is associated with a financial strain.  School supplies, clothes, gym shoes, school fees you name it – totals add up quick. This should be a time of excitement for you and your kids not stressful! [Ponn: As homeschoolers, we actually see the Back to School Sales as a time to stock up on much needed supplies as well.]

Back to School Frugal Shopping Tips

• Know what your budget is. It is important for you to know how much you have to work with before getting started.

• Gather your kids supply lists from school. If you have not gotten the list directly from the school, many retailers carry local school supply lists or the lists are available on the schools’ website. If you home-school make a list of supplies for both you and the children that you know you’ll need during the year.

• Make a larger list of needs including; school supplies, clothing, outerwear, shoes, lunch items (food and containers).  School supplies will be at their cheapest before school starts so think about things you could use around the house too – extra pens, notepads, tape, construction paper etc.  Include everything you know you will need for at least ½ the school year.

• Go through the items you already have including clothing and;

• Cross off everything on your list that you do have. Set it aside somewhere that you will remember.  Plastic totes are a great tool for organizing especially if you have multiple children.  As you get more items from your list, put them in the tote until you need them.

Still have items you need? (If you’re like me you will.)  If you don’t already

• Follow deal sites like Groupon, LivingSocial, Moolala, Plum District for deals on things that you need, for example there was a recent Groupon that was $20 for a $40 gift certificate to www.shoefly.com and a $20 for $40 at 77kids.  Watch for local and nationwide deals as often times purchases with the gift certificates can be redeemed online.

• Follow a handful (or more) of coupon sites for deals.  This is easy to do in your Facebook feed or Reading tool such as Google Reader. It takes some of the work out of searching for deals and lets you reap the benefits.  There are bloggers who only find and write about deals, they are real professionals!  Some of my favorites are; Coupon Pro Blog, A Few Short Cuts, Coupon Divas, and Living Rich With Coupons.

• Look at resale stores like Big Lots for containers and lunch snacks and browse second-hand stores for clothing.  Many, many times I have found items at second-hand stores that still have tags on them and were never worn.

• Watch for sales. This might be fairly obvious but most stores do have very good deals on school supplies in the back to school season.  Couple that great deal with a coupon and you’ve got a score!  I try and keep a running tally year-round especially of clothes for my kids.  In the fall I stock up on clearance priced t-shirts and shorts for next spring and summer and vice versa.  Jackets, snowpants and boots are cheap in May and June.

Some additional tips from seasoned back-to-school moms on Twitter;

• @nerdmom: Watch the weekly deals for Office Max & Office Depot.  Stock up on 1 cent and 10 cent items..  Don’t do all of your shopping at once.
• @FabShoppingMom: Watch for your state, city, counties sales tax free shopping day(s) to save a little extra money!
• @AnalystQueen: Have a “pre-back to school potluck” with other parents tp swap tips, coupons, share deals and new teachers stories. (I really love this idea!)

Amanda shared some awesome tips and we’d love to know what some of your favorite tips are for saving money getting your kids ready for back-to-school–or not-back-to-school for us homeschoolers. Kindly share those tips below.

photo credit: stevendepolo

Back to School on a Shoestring Budget is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog

As for follow-up to yesterday’s interview, ” Fox61 Morning News – Mommy Blogger Shares Back to School Tips…Not Religion, we will share some fabulous brain boosters to help them get adjusted back to being in the classroom and make learning fun:

•You and your kids can dig into agricultural science: Visit the Ellsworth Hill Orchard & Berry Farm in Sharon, Connecticut Ellsworthfarm.com so kids can get a hands-on introduction to agricultural science! From great orchard tours to a corn maze, there are fun, educational activities for little ones of all ages.

Get your little ones excited about math, science, and a lot more: The Stepping Stones Museum for Children SteppingStonesMuseum.org is a great way to get your young ones just entering school excited about all the subjects they are about to learn.  The Museum has great exhibits and programming for young kids and it’s a great, hands-on introduction to academics!

We attended their monthly free admissions night, which is the last Thursday of every month between 5 – 8 pm. We had a blast!

• For the full list of 25 FREE Family-Fun Day-Trips in CT, click here.
• Learn how to find even more FREE admissions to Museums, Factories, Farms, etc.
• Are you over 62 years old? Get into State and National Parks for FREE.

•Get the grade schoolers into environmental conservation and learning about new cultures: Kids can travel the globe, learn more about environmental causes and new cultures by using their imagination and the click of the mouse.   HabitatHeroes.com, the first online social networking site for young eco-warriors includes games that teach children about endangered species, the environment, healthy eating, and cultures around the world. [Click here for our review.]

•Teach creative writing during the car ride to grandma’s house: Venerable publisher Rand McNally has recently developed a line of five games, which they call The Boredom Breakers, as a refreshing alternative to portable player and handheld video games many families use to pass time on long road trips or while shuffling around town.  One of the Boredom Breakers, “Story Starters,” is an interactive CD packed with 72 minutes of funny stories, mysteries and games. [Click here for our review.]  Story Starters combines the best of classic radio-style drama and audio effects to get families telling stories together.

Many thanks Beth of DKC and Beth of RoleMommy for their help and support. My girls and I are enjoying working with both of you very much and look forward to building our relationships.

Please share your experiences, tips and thoughts below.

Fox61 Mommy Minutes – Making the Adjustment to Back to School Fun for the Whole Family is a post from: American Muslim Mom Blog