The Seminar

Update: I have registered for this course. Anyone else going? Cant wait! :)



Kakak Speaks #3

Kakak loves the zoo. One night, we were having our normal conversation about zoo.

Abi :          Nanti Abi bawa kakak pergi zoo ye..

Kakak :     Em, tak nak pergi zoo.

Abi :          Eh, kenapa? Kan kakak suka pergi zoo?

This is a surprise.

Kakak :    Kakak takut pergi zoo..

Abi :         Kenapa kakak takut?

Kakak :    Dekat zoo ada buaya..

Abi :         Kenapa kakak takut buaya?

Kakak :    Buaya kan suka kacau kakak.
               Nanti dia kata kakak comel, kakak cantiik, ha macamtu laa.

Abi :         Erk?

Now who has been teaching her about 'buaya darat'? Takkan coincidence kot! LOL!

Babies and Gadgets

Something to share with parents out there, and a reminder for me too! Not using these gadgets means we have to be more rajin in thinking of activities to do with our children...  >.<

Source : http://cepatmembaca.blogspot.com/
Thank you Pn  Nik Eliani Nik Nawi for sharing!


"I am so concerned with the trend ibu bapa suka pasang DVDs to babies and toddlers. Busy mummies & daddies out there, your babies need 'face time' not 'screen time'. They prefer your face (mum's face the best, then daddy's) over any monkey face or cat face or dog face according to Dr John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist and reasearch consultant and the author of New York Times bestseller Brain Rules. Talk to your baby because it has proven talking increases IQ. Jumlah dan kepelbagaian perkataan juga mempengaruhi IQ. So look into the face of your baby more. Berceritalah dengan baby anda menggunakan pelbagai intonasi suara. Use a variety of words to talk to your baby. Telah terbukti kanak-kanak yang ibubapa mereka banyak berinteraksi dengan mereka sewaktu kecil, perform better in reading, spelling and writing abilities. So what are you waiting for? Go talk to your babies now!!"

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"The American Academy of Pediatrics says that, "cute as they are, babies and toddlers should spend as little time as possible with 'screens".
According to a study by Yale Family Television Research, teachers characterized children who watched excessive television as less cooperative, less imaginative, less enthusiastic about learning, and less happy than those who watched little or no TV.

I know it is so difficult for parents not to let their kids sit in front of the screen. This include not letting them play with iPads & smart phone apps. 

Apa yang saya lakukan:
1. Educate diri saya. Saya akan membaca research mengenai kebaikan/keburukan tv & media seumpamanya terhadap bayi dan kanak-kanak. Apabila kita tahu media sebegini lebih banyak membawa mudarat daripada kebaikan maka lebih mudah untuk kita jauhkan daripada anak-anak kita.

2. Sediakan pelbagai aktiviti menarik untuk kita lakukan bersama anak-anak kita. Saya suka idea Busy Bags. 

Apa itu Busy Bags? Beg atau tupperware yang diisi dengan aktiviti hands on yang mudah dan bersesuaian dengan umur anak kita. Here are some ideas yang mudah dan murah.

Saya guna bekas plastik yang ditebuk lubang, papar clips, beg ziplock. This simple activity will help enhance your child's hand-eye co-ordination. You can also encourage him/ her to count. Don't forget to teach colours too! Peringatan: aktiviti ini perlu pengawasan orang dewasa kerana paper clips tu kecik. Apa yang penting di sini anak dapat peluang memegang pelbagai benda. Kalau tengok tv, tengok aje. Kalau iPad, boleh sentuh screen, tapi tak berpeluang sentuh real objects. So have fun with your kids!

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KES1: Saya mempunyai anak berusia 2 tahun yang sudah mengenali ABC dengan lancar sejak berusia setahun lebih. Tetapi saya tidak tahu bagaimana langkah untuk mengajar anak saya membaca. untuk pengetahuan anak saya belajar melalui youtube jadi dia kurang berminat belajar melalui buku. apakah cara untuk mengajar anak saya membaca sedangkan beliau tidak berminat belajar dengan kaedah buku.

Berkaitan dengan anak kecil menonton tv/YouTube/ipad/etc, banyak Pakar Kanak-Kanak melarang anak di bawah 2 thn menonton tv/YouTube/ipad sama sekali. Anak di bawah 2 thn perlukan interaksi dengan ibubapa serta orang-orang yang hampir dengannya. Iya, mereka akan lebih smart jika ibubapa banyak bercakap & berinteraksi dengan mereka. Kepelbagaian & jumlah perkataan yang digunakan akan mempengaruhi IQ kanak-kanak. So stop putting babies infront of TVs/computers. Between ages 3-5 you can expose them to tv/computers moderately. 

Research menyatakan anak yang terdedah kepada tv/komputer pada umur yang sangat muda akan mengalami masalah focus, attention span dan tidak berminat dengan buku. Jadi Ibubapa atau pengasuh taska perlu creative. Gunakan Bacalah Anakku apabila anak berumur 3 tahun atau apabila anak sudah bersedia untuk belajar membaca. Make your lesson fun. Play games. Anda boleh merujuk kepada buku Permainan Kreatif to keep your child interested to learn to read.

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Starting to Read #1

I found some really  good information about pre-school education.
Well, she actually writes about children, ranging from babies to primary school. The co-Writer of Bacalah Anakku and Read Easy herself. Full with tips, suggestions, and the importance of using phonics. Do you know we can start with phonics as early as 18 months? I found many good testimonials about this series too. Do spend some time browsing thru her web!

 

Science and Religion

Found this when I was preparing for my first class.


 God sits on the sky when a scientist appears and says to Him
“God we do not need you any more. Finally science has managed to create life from nothing. In other words we can do what you did in the Beginning”
“Really? Please tell me!” answers God
“Well, we take dirt and we shape it like You did, then we give life to it like You did and there we have a human”
“Very interesting, show me how…”
Then the scientist takes dirt and starts forming the shape of a human body
“No, no” answers God “take your own dirt!”


Subhanallah, bukti kebesaran Allah itu ada dimana-mana bagi yang mencariNya!

I usually do a bit of science and Islam, but this time I have to be contented with science and religion, pun bolehh, Alhamdulillah. Just to emphasize that any thinking human being will come to the conclusion of a Higher Power, and creations must have the creator. 
What's more us, with our gift of Al-Quran, Hadith and Sirah, Ulamas, all we have to do is open our eyes and look with our hearts.

"We (Allah) will show you (mankind) Our signs/patterns in the horizons/universe and in yourselves until you are convinced that the revelation is the truth."
 [Noble Quran 41:53]

May Allah ease my learning and teaching journey and make this the best semester!

Mendidik Gaya Rasulullah

I am sure you have seen the emergence of this sort of book in the market lately. Plentiful, and definitely  in my books-to-have list. *Waaa even my greed for books can't overcome my guilt*



Kalau khatam semua buku ni mesti best kan?
Anyhow, as introduction and some light reading, let me share with you Pn Ainon Mohd and her Tim Pengkaji Hadith Psikologi. I found some of their blogs where they share wonderful Tips for parents and also educators!

Maybe it'll help at times when you encounter episodes at home which leaves you feeling helpless.
I sure have those moments..

Teaching Children Quran


The responsibility of teaching young children the Quran is a heavy weight. It is not surprising that most Muslim parents feel this way.
Part of my problem is that many families are non-Arabic speaking. As parents you might be in the process of memorizing the Quran and making attempts to learn and understand the book of Allah (swt) in the best way possible. 
You should let your children know that Allah loves it when we recite the Quran and memorize it well and that the Angels of Dhikr (70,000 angels that come to enjoy the Remembrance of Allah) come and circle around them. It makes them feel very special.

Here are some things that can help you on your quest:

1. Keep it short and regular.

2. Keep the mood loving. Give your child lots of hugs and cuddles.

3. Let them know that something very special will follow quran time, like a good story or reward.

4. Play Quran softly in the home during playtime, morning routine, end-of-night routine. Turn off the TV.

5. Recite a quick surah with them before any new activity.

6. Recite short quran surahs in the car on the way to school.

7. Recite short quran surahs with them while you lay them down to bed.

8. Aim to do two short Quran sessions a day. This way if you miss one, you won’t feel badly.

9. Find a good quran/Arabic teacher for your kids.

10. Let them discover their favourite reciter and encourage them to recite the quran beautifully. 

11. Introduce Islamic Calligraphy into crafts you do.

I welcome you all mothers to share what works for you. I pray by the grace of Allah (swt) that we are all able to create memorable, loving, Quran moments with our children.

Her quirkiness #1

A funny update on my two and a half year old Kakak, developing her own personality every day.


Some are not good specifically on the new words she's starting to pick up but I won't dwell on it as she hardly understands what she's mimicking. Don't worry about it, for its our job as parents to let them know the rights and wrongs of their exploration. I read somewhere that 3 year olds do  not know how to lie too, they have not grasp the concept of telling the truth yet. Don't taunt them with "ha tak baik tipu". They don't even know the difference between a truth and an imagination, taunting them might actually introduce them to it.


1. Pants must be full length down to the ankle. She'll pull to make sure its there ending at her ankle and will cry when she sits down and see that it has become shorten. Penat pujuk that it'll be okay again when she gets up. She loves long sleeve shirts too, wanting to wear it even during the day time. when I say "nanti panas lah baju ni" she'd say "kalau panas kakak tutuplah muka dengan tangan. -__-
She refuse to wear most of her clothes except oversize ones, and this ends her skirt wearing era. Unless she wears pants underneath, itu pun after some persistent coaxing. Waa Ummi yang kena marah sebab nak paksa anak pakai. Funny thing is she'd  stare at my clothes (padahal Ummi pakai baju tidur je pun) and say "tak sama colour ngan Ummi" when she refuse to wear her normal fit clothing.

2. Check for halal status of everything. On food packages, even non edible ones. She'll ask loudly at any mall or shop, "yang ni ada halal tak?". We were queueing at Big Apple when she says "ada halal tak" and we try to pretend anak siapalah tu, but its kinda difficult coz I was carrying her. A good reminder for us too, huhu (btw, Big Apple Mid Valley ada halal jakim yay). But I'm now trying to explain her there is such thing as halal tipu and halal jakim, though I am not comfortable with the word 'tipu' because its confusing her.

3. Likes to say, "Kakak nak  buat untuk ummi ni", sometimes it sounds sweet kan, but thing is she already know to use it as an excuse. Once I ask her to clean up her blocks and she'll say, "kakak nak buat rumah untuk ummi nii" (so tak boleh kemas lagi).
Okayla, sometimes untuk Abi too. But when we pretend to fight over it and ask her, "kakak buat rumah untuk ummi ke abi ni?" she'd say nonchalantly "..buat untuk kakak"

4. Every time I clean her in the toilet (she's potty trained), she will always ask, when I am about to lift her from the toilet seat, "Ummi dah basuh tangan?" Everytime! Which I think is pretty funny. And will keep on asking from outside the toilet until I show I'm washing my hands to her.

5. One thing I have noticed about her is whenever I raise my voice scolding her, after she stop doing whatever she's scolded, she'll mimic my words, also with a loud voice. Adoiii. Marah balik sorang-sorang. Making me feel I have no one to blame but myself. So I guess its true, children who always gets shouted will like to shout.

I know this will not last. Children change so fast. Have to treasure every moment of it, and jot it down too, for it'd be the moments you will want to remember forever.




Children's Nasyid #2

This is another CD loved by our household. Not like we have much choice when it got stuck in our head after a constant repeat, hihi. But I must say it's fun!
I think its really good for introduction to islam as ad-deen. The song best loved by Airin is Bulan Islam where she quickly memorize the months (really kids brains are miraculous!). She love the song of course because of the 'Safar' word at the beginning of it and she always laugh at the mention of her sister's name.
Many of the songs use the common nursery ryhme tunes with a change in the lyrics. For example Happy Birthday song was changed to Barakallah Ya Jamil (another of her fav), and a zoo song which I swear was used in a KFC advertisement once (tapi orang lain tak ingat pun?) And many more catchy and touching tunes, but of course your kids will have her own favourite.

Anyway if you are looking for  nasyid for children I think its a good one! Something even us non-arabic speaking parents can learn from.

Sidenote : I found out that this group Dhuha, consisting of 7 siblings, formed and trained by their parents, are all actually homeschooled! They took all the big exams i.e. PMR, SPM by themselves, attending schools just to sit for the exam. I can picture the work to homeschool one child, but imagine 7?! Really admirable parents kan?

I'm also interested in these. Anybody has and recommend it? Since we need to introduce English as well I thought this can help. I know only one song so far, Upsy Daisy and I think its good. Is it easy for children to follow?

I look I see 1

I look I see 2

Tarbiyatul Aulad #4

I would like to share some good parenting tips I got from http://mysuperchild.blogspot.ca/

Every child born in a state of purify, or in Arabic called fitrah. As what had been said by our Prophet in his sabda "setiap bayi yg dilahirkan dalam keadaan fitrah (seperti kain putih), maka kedua ibu bapanyalah yang menjadikannya Yahudi, Nasrani atau Majusi" - HR Bukhari & Muslim.
How to teach our kids about Islam?  Is sending them to Islamic school enough?

One Arabic poem said that "a mom is a school" (al-ummu al-madrasah). Just want to share with those who did not take Arabic, erti madrasah asalnya dari perkataan darasa bermaksud ajar. kata terbitannya seperti mudarris=pengajar, mudarrasun = subjek yg di ajar, tadris = pengajaran, madrasah=tempat belajar/sekolah. Sending to Islamic school/kindergarten, etc. is only a small part (but still important) in Islamic education. To prove that a mom is a school, the BEST place of learning about Islam to these children is at home and the BEST teachers are the parents.

We don't need any resources or even any cent to teach them about Islam. Since Islam is the way of life, we should not pay big amount, it's just by:-

Role model
The reason why Allah sent prophets to us in form of human like us is to be role models. it is the most effective way of teaching, as in al-Quran, we are asked to practice what we preach, meaning that, by saying alone can never be an effective way of teaching and learning.

to teach them to pray, we pray first.
to teach them to recite Quran, we recite Quran first.
to teach them to fast, we fast first.
to teach them good manners, we practice good manners first.

Celebrate Islam big days
What are big days in Islam? Aidil Fitri & Aidil Adha? other than those 2 harirayas, there are many big days that most of us might not appreciate (other than it is a holiday) as we appreciate hari rayas. it must be fun if we can create something to celebrate other Islamic big days with our kids. e.g.
Friday = saidul yaum (penghulu hari)
Awal Muharam = maal Hijrah - this symbolises 2 main event, the journey of Rasulullah & umat Islam from Mekah to Madinah
Maulidurrasul = the birth of Nabi Muhammad SAW - it was a riwayat saying that, anybody who celebrates the birthday of Rasululullah will be given big reward. even Abu Jahal (Rasulullah's Uncle who opposed him) gets water to drink as big as the hole on this thumb in Jahannam, because he celebrated Rasulullah's birthday.
Israk Mikraj = when Rasulullah was Israk from Masjidilharam to Masjidil Aqsa & Mikraj from Masjidil Aqsa to Sidratul Muntaha.
Awal Ramadhan = a fest to celebrate Ramadhan, a month of fasting, which in not common in our country.

Get to know Islamic countries
Our children should be taught that Islam is syumul and universal. thus, all Muslims are brothers. taught them about other Islamic countries especially where our brothers are threatened, such as Palestin. and also get them know about Zionis, what is the difference between Zionis & Jew, etc.

Teach them the beauty about Allah's creation
We don't have to go somewhere far, it's just around us. Tell them about their bodies, why are the hands like this and legs like that, etc.
If we go out, take time to feel and touch about anything we see, and talk to them the wonder about all those...

Tell them stories about Allah, Prophets, Angles, etc.
I don't have dedicated time to tell them stories & i don't use book to read them bedtime story neither. while BFing to sleep, I tell them stories I remember.

Integrate Islam into life
Often, when we parents think about teaching children about Islam, is about the rituals; salat, fasting, etc. don't forget that Islam is a total way of life, and every aspect has an Islamic element that we need to talk about and demonstrate to them. one example is, when we go to work, usually we'll say "Papa & Mama have to work to earn money so that we can buy you new clothes, etc." but instead, try to say "Papa goes to work because Allah says a good father should do it, and Mama goes to work because Allah says a good wife should help her husband". sound nicer, doesn't it?

Make al-Quran fun
Reciting al-Quran shouldn't be always as 'formal' as every after solat, on the praying mat, to the qiblat, etc. make it fun by chanting it while playing/doing activities with them. Quran should be a part of our daily life and not only for special 'occasions'.

Sing Islamic kid's song
I still remember songs taught during my kindergarten. and nowadays lots of songs can be played such as 'I Am A Muslim','A New Kids', or famous songs by Yusof Islam. Hafiy loves those! oh it's not wrong singing twinkle2 little stars...this is only part of it.

Say doa in everything
Don't limit to doa makan, doa tidur, doa belajar, etc. say nice word, and encourage our children to say nice word, as words are doa, and make them aware about it.

Tell them stories about Islamic history
Tell them about Khulafa' ar-Rasyidin, Umaiyah Emperor, Abasiyah Emperor, Turki Uthmaniyah, Islamic scholars, etc. it must be fun knowing the glittering of early Islam.

Dont compartmentalize Islam!
Sometimes we just confuse what is Islam, what is not. Islam is COMMON SENSE, and it is always GOOD THINGS. Islam is not on ibadah or the 5 pillars alone. Islam is not a part of our everyday life, but it should be our life. Islam is very complete with everything; daily routines, learn, play, entertainment, rest, etc.

OK those are just few things from my 2cents on how to teach children about Islam, making it fun and not 'something i HAVE TO follow' but 'something i do and follow'. (other moms might want to share their tips those i believe should be BETTER!) i really adore the idea of sending kids to Islamic kindy or school. but to me, our own house should be the first home/school for their Islamic knowledges and practices.

May all of us be THE BEST mothers to mould our children into THE BEST khalifatullah. Amin.

Children's Nasyid #1

Kakak loves this song from the day she first heard it. We've been playing it everyday for a week now, and it's amazing how fast she can memorize the lyrics! At first she keep asking me what the words meant and I love the opportunity to explain it to her. 

After initially declaring that the song is about "nyang sakit.." (somehow it sounds like that to her the first time), she then started to ask.. "segala puji tu apa?" "semesta alam tu apa?" and so on, and she would stare with her round eyes as I explain. I'm not sure how much she can compute, but she always listens patiently. Isn't kids her age great? huhuhu.
You see, it's the lyrics to Al-Fatihah! 
Ahha, so now she remembers what Al-Fatihah means but she has yet to memorize the surah, Ummi..


Erti Al-Fatihah by Voices of Ummi.
Give it a try, I'm sure kids love it!

Note: I am seriously amazed at how fast she can remember the words. Mula-mula she can barely sing along due to the unfamiliar words, after a week she almost can sing along. No wonder Pn Lina Karim's children can memorize Juz Amma at the age of three. Our children can!

Games #1

I have never seen her so into a toy like this.
Her first blocks!

From the first time we open the box, there has been a very rapid improvement on her ability to build 'buildings'. Her hand coordination is better, and if nothing else, she can amuse herself for quite a long time while we enjoy dinner. Sometimes. 

I am sure you have heard of Psycho motor learning. Plus I googled, Blocks represent a microcosm of life : your child can use them to construct his own understanding about how things work, and even how life works (very lengthy and I'm sure you will want to skip) And the fact that she keeps doing it after it fall repeatedly teaches her that it is not wrong to try again and again.

Its made of wood, light weight, not noisy. A bucket full is just enough.
Toys R Us. RM 64.00 after discount.


I like it too!
She's starting to be more possessive of her toys though. Kadang-kadang tak nak bagi Ummi main. Pffftt. "Kakak nak buat rumah untuk Ummi ni", she'd say. 

Old-fashioned parenting?




Growing up, I've always thought my parents are old-fashioned. (as do many teens kan? sorry mama abah!) 
Little did I know I was carrying that gene all the while.

We don't own iPad or any kind of smart phone.
Kakak does not even know ABC yet compared to children her age who learns of that through smart gadgets. 
I have my reasons : I want her to grow up believing the importance of hijaiyah letters and quran, since the whole world is already showing her the importance of reading ABCs. Yet I know it's not a fair argument  Will do so as soon as she finish her hijaiyah!

I have never park kakak in front of the TV to watch cartoon yet, except for the selected shows we copied  and played thru the TV LCD. Very few plain nasyids (in need of more - anybody can suggest?)
Hence Kakak cannot speak English yet, as compared to her friends who watch Disney channel.
Don't copy me here, learning language is a sunnah, and we should start on english ASAP, I just have not looked far enough for a method yet.

At home, the noises that can be heard is only our conversations with her, of my stories of Fatimah and Aisyah (Fatimah now has a little sister), her make-believe idol. And other make-up stories.

As much as I hate to admit it when her dad first say it, parenting is about experimenting. I  refuse to think parenting is taking that much risk. But in the end, I have to agree. Parenting is experimenting, with loads and loads of do'a.

No one can assure me that this kind of parenting is the best. No one can assure me that my children would not be mad at me one day for not giving her what her friends enjoy. No one can assure me that she would go totally the opposite for the lack of it. I cannot even be sure I am sticking to this method forever. It's just, as of now, we are happy with the outcome.

Experimenting needs knowledge and it needs to be well planned. Just like in an experiment, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. No one can deny that the main part of parenting is programming, moulding, through actions and words.

Yet parenting is also about being flexible, for not every child is the same. Hence the importance of us really knowing our child habits, likes, tendencies and especially speciality. Embrace the differences as a speciality, praise and appreciate it, yet make them believe in being a better person everyday.

Easier said than done. So dear parents, some reminders for us.
Which ever method closest to your heart (and most convenient, more likely),

1. Never stop hunting for parenting knowledge.
Kids will still grow into a grown up even without her parents parenting knowledge, but of what kind?

2. Above all, menanam akidah anak must be our first and foremost priority.
As long as my child put being soleh as her first concern, I'll let her be whomever she wants to be. As Ustazah says, semakin besar anak semakin jauh mereka dari kita (kurang pergantungan). Tetapi, hati mereka dapat kita paut, analoginya seperti kita memaut layang-layang, seandainya anak kita solat. Bila menjauh, boleh ditarik semula kepada kita, selagi mana dia menghayati solat. This comes from faith, akidah.

Islam being a way of life, theoritically a muslim parent just need to be themselves. As we know the best teaching and learning method is by role-modelling. But us, being the still struggling mukmin and muslih parents we are, it needs effort. Lets make it a point to do ONE thing daily (atleast) that can contribute to it. Be it familiarizing him with Iqra or short surah, religiously practicing du'a, anything with a breath of islamic value in them. All efforts seeming impossible or too little at the end of a chaotic day, end it with a blow of du'a on their forehead (ubun) as we lie down to sleep.

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