SOME GREAT ISLAMIC STORY BOOKS AND ACTIVITY BOOKS TO STOCK UP BEFORE RAMADAN!!!

 As you all know that Ramadan is a blessed month for Muslims around the world and its almost here.Many of you must have started to prepare for Ramadan grocery ,clothes or even meal preps.We even have to look after cooking ,cleaning as well as kids during fasting which can sometimes become exhausting .Its better if we plan ahead and take out some time to gather up a good collection of Islamic stories for kids so that they can either keep themselves busy while we are preparing iftar rathing than watching youtube videos or maybe when we are free we can read some stories to them or give them some Ramadan related  activity sheets.

SOME GREAT AND INTERESTING ISLAMIC BOOKS.

When my kids used to go to Australian school, there were hardly any Muslims there and there wasnt Islamic teaching in their school.At that time I came across some good Islamic stories which one of my friend told me about and I also got to know about some when I visited few bookshops when visiting Pakistan.At that time we tried our best to read few stories to them before bedtime so that can get to know about our religion,Allah,Prophet stories,pillars of Islam and alot more and they began developing interest in them.So here I would like to share few of them with you.

• Goodnight Stories From The Life Of Prophet Muhammad by Saniyasnain Khan.

This is an amazing one to know basic stories of the life of Prophet Muhammad from rebuilding of kaabah,The night journey,the time when prophet left Makkah and also the daughters of prophet etc.....

• Goodnight Stories From The Quran by Saniyasnain Khan:

This is also an interesting book comprising of 33 stories such as The story of Prophet Nuh,The Ark ,The Valley Of Ants,Building Of Kabah and many more interesting stories that little ones can understand easily.

• Goodnight Stories From The Lives Of Sahabah by Saniyasnain Khan:

This is again a wonderful collection of stories that have colourful illustrations to capture kids interest .It has 18 magnificent tales which provide great knowledge of Islam to kids.

• Princess Aziza And The Purple Orchid :

These days girls are really inspired by princesses stories so why not introduce them to the islamic princesses stories which are creative and engaging.The stories in this series are based on Asma ul husna and in this way kids also learn what Allahs unique names mean as well as enjoy the story!!

• Quran Stories For Little Hearts:

This is a set of  simple stories which are hardly 20-25 pages long by Goodword books.Ilike this set as the stories are simple and easy to read for a 5 year old too with lovely illustrations.The gift box consists of 20 lovely books such as The Army Of  Elephants,The Sleepers Of The Cave ,Luqmans Advice To His Son etc.....

• Allah And Me By Vinni Rahman:

This book is based on Islamic virtues that one should practice everyday in life .And after every story there are some questions which makes the child ponder about their own behaviour and there is a hadith related to each story as well .The every day Islamic virtues are mentioned in the form of interesting stories such as Eating Together, Charity Is Duty, Being Patient etc....

• I Love Islam:

I Love Islam is a series of textbooks which are highly recommended by me.My kids used to have this as their Islamic Studies coursebook and it made Islamic stories interesting for them.They come with workbook as well and covers many aspects of Islam such as Hadeeth,Quran,Fiqh,Seerah etc...

Awesome Quran Facts:

This is a very colourful book based on hundreds of quran facts along with references.Its great for curious kids with facts about  the places mentioned in quran,fruits anf vegetables,animals and birds,goof and bad deeds,miracles and the people mentioned in the quran .Its a must read for kids ages 7 and up.

COLLECTION FOR OLDER KIDS:

There is a wide variety of Islamic books for older kids as well.Some of them which we have read and are in the process of reading are mentioned below.

Tell Me About:

These are detailed stories of different prophets that are mentioned in an interesting way along with prophets family tree.It helps to learn about prophets life,follow his footsteps and know prophets mission!

Bedtime Stories By DarUlHuda:

These stories also come in parts in which introduction of Sahabah is told on an interesting way and is one of the best guide books for children.

Tarbiyat Series By Bait Ul Ilm:

These are also interesting series by Bait Ul Ilm Trust for older ones and based on stories related to tarbiah.Every story has a lesson or a hadith mentioned at the end.

Clever Girl And Clever Boy:

These books are based on simple,easy and interesting short stories suitable for ages 6+.

There are many others which I would like to add to my kids Islamic book collection such as :

• Aminahs Prayer Beads by Saffiya Shaheen.
• MOON'S Ramadan by Natasha Khan Qazi.
• Ramadan Mood by Naima Robert.
• So Remember Me And I Shall Remember You by Madiha Basheer and Umamah Syed.
• The Clear Quran Tafseer For Kids by Mustafa Khattab.
• Drummer Girl by Hiba Masood.
• Hanas Hundreds Of Hijabs by Razeena Omer Gutta
• Allah And Me Learning To Live Allahs Way by Vinni Rahman
• Timeless Quran Stories Allah Created The Universe by Goodword books

There are a couple of books which you can start as early as 2 years to your toddlers such as the ones below:

• Allah Is So Kind To Me .
• Allah Knows All About Me.
• 10 Things I Love About Ramadan by Firhana Imam.
• abc Of Allahs World by Rahila Abdul Aziz.
• Alif To Ya:Baby Soft Book.
• Animals In The Quran by Athira Zainal.
• Bugs And Bird In The Quran byAthira Zainal.
• The Way To Jannah by Yasmin Mussa.

ACTIVITY BOOKS THAT CAN BE INTERESTING AS WELL AS LEARNING FOR KIDS :

Some activity books that kids can enjoy during Ramadan besides online printables that you can print for them are below.These are colouring books that have colouring pages as well as one sunnah,Akhlaq or even Ahadith on each page in English as well as urdu and kids can get some knowledge besides their colouring activity .

• Learn Islam Colouring Book
• Learn Manners Colouring Book
• Learn Sunnat's Colouring Book

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  There is another activity book which is based on the life of Prophet Mohammad and published by Radiant Tarbiyah .It is full of activities and stories  including word search,quizes,prophets family tree,story of Cave Hira,settlement in Medina,Al Asr Al Maraj etc....Im sure your kids will enjoy this one!
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I would like to see your Ramadan Book collection.Send me your list of books in the comments below!!😊

10 Everyday household items to use with playdough

 BEST PLAYDOUGH TOOLS THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE IN YOUR HOME

Playdough is fun but can get bit messy .Its the most loved toy that every child would love to play with and is great for buying as presents and goody bags too.Once your child learns how to mould it from an early age then there are endless benefits of it .Playdough comes in wide variety of colours and scents attracting the kids.The best play dough is the one you can easily make at home without worrying about chemicals .I have a simple playdough recipe which I cant remember where I got it from but is easy to make.

PLAYDOUGH RECIPE

INGREDIENTS: 

• 4 cups plain flour
• 2cups salt
• 4 tbsp cream of tartar
• 4tbsp oil
• 4 cups boiling water
• glitter and food colouring.

METHOD:

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl besides water and now add water gradually until you reach the desired consistency .Sprinkle in some colour or glitter .Mix well and knead.Your playdough is ready to play!(store it in an airtight container after playing with it).

Here is another recipe to try if you want to make playdough in less quantity

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tbsp cream of tartar
• 1 tbsp water
• food colouring

METHOD:

Mix all the above ingredients and store in an airtight container.You can also add some cocoa powder for giving chocolate scent or maybe lavender oil with purple food colouring or simply add few drops of vanilla eesence to white playdough.

BENEFITS OF PLAYING WITH PLAYDOUGH

Playdough activity is fun and engaging and can keep the kids busy for hours.I used to make home made playdough for my kids when they were small and didnt have to worry much if they would eat it (but luckily none of them bothered to even taste it 😉)

1. Playdough is excellent for childs fine motor skills.
2. It boosts their creativity and imagination.
3. Playdough is good to build up their concentration.
4. Good for teaching letters and numbers through moulding.
5. Playdough activity reduces stress and relaxes kids especially an anxious child.
6. It build up eye hand coordination.
7. Playdough moulding,pinching,squeezing and cutting is good for hand muscles and prepares the child to hold the pencil and good for their writing journey.
8. Its good for their sensory development.They can feel the soft texture by their hand and smell the different playdough scents,They also feel different playdough textures when u add some elements to your playdough such a rice,pulses,pasta etc....
9. Playdough activity builds social skills in children by sharing the playdough and also their ideas.
10. They experience making 2 dimentional and 3 dimentional objects.

BEST HOUSEHOLD TOOLS THAT YOU CAN USE TO ADD TO YOUR PLAYDOUGH KIT

My kids love playdough just like i do.We have heaps of playdough plus box full of its tools and accessories.we also like to use some house hold items with playdough to create unique stuff.I also create a play tray with different compartments to use with playdough and keep on changing the accessories kids need  everytime they want to play with it.Sometimes it can be nature related theme and we add pine cones,twigs,small pebbles or maybe flowers.It could also have some random craft supplies such as googly eyes,toothpicks,marbles,buttons and gems such as in the picture below .

10 BEST PLAYDOUGH TOOLS THAT WE ENJOY USING!

Playdough is the best toy that kids dont get bored with and even adults love to create things with it.Kids love to have open ended play with it and with our guidance they can create amazing masterpieces!

Here are some tools that we add to our playdough tray along with other accessoriess.

1:FOAM STAMPS:

I purchased foam stamps when my eldest was 1.5 year old and who is in grade 10 now.He used to love stamping by using paints and then my other kids also used it .Now we use those stamps with playdough and kid can create interesting scences with playdough .

2:EMPTY DRINK BOTTLES:

I like to sollect recyclable stuff and we use the base of the bottles to create flower or other shaped impressions by pressing the bottle on the flattened playdough.

3:GOOGLY EYES:

These are popular craft items and are also a hit with playdough as kids use them to make characters or even funny googly eye monsters.

4:CUTTERS:

Cutters are quick and easy to use and they are best for toddlers when they are learning to play with playdough for the first time .They can also cut out different shapes with shape cutters or even letters or numbers and can learn them in a fun way.

5:BOTTLE LIDS:

These are also interesting to create impressions with .Kids can make many impressions and create a unique picture out of it such as flowers or a house.

6:ROLLERS,SCISSORS AND ROLLING PIN:

Scissors are great tool to use with playdough and are best for kids to practice cutting skills by rolling a snake with playdough and then cutting it..Always make sure that you give them plastic scissors and not the sharp ones.Cutting playdough is much more easier for little one than cutting the paper and that is why you should give kids playdough at an early age along with scissors so that they can master those skills by the time they are 4 years old.

7:TOOTHPICKS:

Im sure every household has toothpicks and it can be a fantastic addition to kids playdough tray.They can use it to make hand and feet along with playdough body,or even add toothpicks for spikes of a dinosaur or hedgehog or,and maybe use those for hair of a person.They can simply roll small balls of playdough and add toothpicks to it to create 2 or 3 dimensional shapes which is a popular STEM  activity to get them involved.

8:SKEWERS:

This is another household item that is great when we press it on top of a playdough ball and kids do beading by threading wooden or plasic beads onto it.Its a great eye hand coordination activity for them and this activity helps them to develop pencil grip as they are using their thumb and fore finger to handle the wooden bead and thread it onto a skewer.You can also ask them to make a bead pattern on the skewer if they are little bit older such as one red one white bead to thread or some other pattern.You can also use this activity for teaching addition to them but asking them to thread some beads and adding some more to solve the sums.

9) LEGO:

I also give my younger one some spare Legos to create different impressions and toddlers can use Duplo pieces to create prints .If we give them straws also they can create any STEM challenge by using the Duplos to create prints and then inserting straws in the holes of Duplo to maybe make buildings

.

10) PLAYDOUGH MATS:

There are lots of printable playdough mats available on the internet if you google them. You can print them out and use them according to the child's age group .You can find printable mats for alphabets, numbers, shapes, colors and a lot more. I printed out a printable cupcake mat for my daughter and she enjoys decorating the cupcakes with her playdough and adds sequences to decorate it .When she was younger I gave her the face printable playdough mats such as brother, sister, mum and dad and she used to add playdough hair ,eyes ,nose and mouth to complete the picture and she enjoyed it a lot. You can also find some printables on google and enjoy with your child!!

 

Kids can also use playdough to make pretend food and have tea parties 

Hope you like this post.please tell me in the comments how you use playdough to do activity with kids!!

EDUCATIONAL APPS FOR 0-5 YEAR OLDS

 KIDS EDUCATIONAL APPS

In these days technology is a necessity of our lives.Most of the school work and projects are done through online Apps and google.During Covid time kids as well as parents were getting hold of  new Apps for online learning or even submitting their assignments .

Ive always wanted my kids to use screen time but to a certain extent and had set some time limit for them when they were young.They knew that when the Timer would ring they have to stop whatever they are doing on screen .I also wanted them to spend time on screen to, watch something creative or learning and downloaded some learning Apps for them to boost their brain rather than just sitting and watching random you tube videos or playing violent games.

While searching for some good Alphabet Apps for my four year old who is now 6:)I came across some great Apps  which she enjoyed and which are listed below for you to try out with your little one!!

Reading Eggs:

This is an interesting App which makes reading fun and interesting for kids.It has personalised one on one lesson designed according to childs ability.It is suitable for 2+ years and it covers phonics,phonemic awareness,vocabulary,fluency as well as comprehension.My kids used this app in their primary years and did some extra reading at home with reading eggs book set .Kids move on to different levels and they recieve golden egg to collect which makes it exciting for them.you get a free 30 day trial and then if you like it you can pay for its subscription.This App is widely used in overseas school as a part of schools curriculum.

ABC MAGIC PHONICS:

This is a free App and easy to use .It also has a pronounciation option ,when you click on the letter it pronounces it.This App even has a fun matching game to match the picture with its begining sound and also some other pictures that begin with same sound which helps to improve childs vocabulary.

Spelling&Phonics :Kids Games:

This app is great for teaching CVC words and kids can easily memorize the spellings in a fun way.I introduced letters gradually to my daughter when she was 2.5 years old.Sometimes kids  aren't interested in books  and want to learn concepts in a form of a game.In this App they also get to choose stickers once they spell the words and have a collection of them at the end.

Homer Reading:

This is an interesting App that can personalize a plan for your child according to his/her age and interest as well as different reading stages.It includes lessons on phonics,sight words and ABC's.Homer has a 30day trial and then you can get a discounted subscription for limited time.The great advantage of this app is that you can track the progress of your child as well as download printable worksheets for your child.It focuses on reading,thinking skills,maths and creativity

Laugh and Learn by Fisher Price:

This one is an interactive app which features kids favourite laugh and learn puppy character .Its great for teaching Alphabets ,nubers,shapes and colours along with some fun animations and is suitable for 0-5 years.My daughter really enjoying using this when she was around 2.5 years old .

ABC kids games:

This one is all time favourite App loaded with fun activities such as upper and lower case letter tracing ,matching alphabets with pictures ,puzzles,upper and lowercase letters matching and much more. Its suitable for toddler to kindergarten age kids.

Khan Academy Kids:

This is a fun App which i have explored recenly while writing this post.Ive heard of this App alot but didnt get a chance to explore as we have other Apps installed.It is a perfectly designed App for those who are homeschooling as it covers thousands of lessons,activities,games,phonics,writing,yoga and alot more to explore!!!

What are your favourite educationals Apps???

SOME GREAT ROAD TRIP ACTIVITIES!

 Going on a road trip is very exciting and can get frustrating too if you are not well prepared for it especially if you have younger kids. Im always browsing for tips and ideas to keep my kids busy during long drives and would like to share them with you too.Whenever we  plan road trips, we prefer to pack well so that we are organised and can enjoy with kids.

       SOME FUN ACTIVITIES THAT WE ENJOY!

50 THINGS TO DO ON A CAR JOURNEY ACTIVITY CARDS:These are Usborne activity cards that we like to carry along with us on road trips and it keeps all of us engaged as there are activities for everyone to enjoy such as car bingo,five word story,king of the car,guess the noise etc...I bought these from Karachi book expo and im sure you can get these from good bookstores!!

• PUZZLES AND MAZE BOOKS: These are great to keep in the car for kids as they keep kids busy. Solving maze enhances their cognitive skills as well as it improves eye hand coordination.They are brain booster exercise for them as well as a  good time passing activity .

• COLOURING  BOOKS AND DRAWING PADS: This is again an interesting activity to improve focus and can keep them entertained for some time and also let them create a masterpiece.

• STORY BOOK:I want my kids to keep their favourite books in the car to read. Once they start reading they are engaged in it for a couple of hours and its easy for them to spend a productive time rather than watching screens.

• FIDGET TOYS:Fidget toys are great boredom busters for kids as well as adults.These are great when kids are feeling restless.These toys come in a variety of styles, like fidget spinners, stress balls , pop it,fidget cube,or even those pop tubes which kids can spin,stretch,pop, twist etc.

• MAGNETIC GAMES:Magnetic games are also ideal for road trips.They are easy to carry .Some of the ones that we have are Hangman,Fishing game,Tic Tac Toe which kids love and even enjoy them while waiting for food at a restaurant.Hangman is the most popular one and it enriches kids vocabulary while kids enjoy their time too.

• TANGRAMS:Tangrams are also good to entertain kids as well as promote brain development.As Tangrams is a set of 7 geometrical shapes,it teaches younger ones the names of shapes too.They come in wide variety such as  magnetic Tangrams,Wooden Tangrams,Plastic Tangrams etc....

SURPRISES: Kids love surprises!!why not get some cheap toys or surprise eggs for them and wrap them in a brightly coloured paper and use it as a reward during road trips or maybe when they are too exhausted during the trip and dont want to do any of the activities you have planned for them. These items can range between Rs50-Rs500 and can include a fancy pen,pack of colours,  sticker sheet, colouring book, doodling pad, toy car, bouncy ball ,unicorn, erasor set etc....

TRAVEL JOURNAL:

My kids enjoy writing about their road trips as well such as the place they are going to,what three things they enjoyed over there ,what they saw during the trip and at their destinatioN ,whom they met,and capture pictures to use later for their journelling which i guess is a great creative hobby!

What do your kids enjoy on  their trip??

MAGIC MAGNETIC CUBEAND RUBICS CUBE: This is a hit in our homes as well as rubics cube.My kids enjoying solving rubics cube and my 6 year old loves solving the cube and has mastered her skills by taking it along with her on road trips.The magnetic one is great for younger ones as well as adults to explore plus try the challenges which are given on the cards.

What activities do your kids enjoy on road trips???Comment below to share your favourites!

Best Places To Buy Books From

Best Places To Buy Books:

As a book lover Im always hunting for good books for my kids which are reasonable as well as worth reading for their age group and also some collection for myself. In this technology era most people love reading online or on kindle but I prefer to have a book in my hand and also encourage kids to do so rather than online reading and that is why we have different sorts of book collection for all age groups in our house .I've come across  some bookshops that try to arrange your requested titles which is great I guess .

Im sharing my list of shops or online pages from where you can get new as well as used books at good prices and make the most of it!!

Mr Old Books:

This is one of my favourite since my college days .I used to purchase books from them and also exchange my previous collection .Its located at Boat Basin as well as Khayaban e Shahbaz and now I take my kids there, to either get their course books or maybe their storybooks.you can also request the titles you are after and they can try to arrange it at a good price  for you which is great.

Address: 32-C Khayaban-e-Shahbaz, D.H.A Phase 6 Shahbaz Commercial Area Phase 6 Defence Housing Authority, Karachi, Karachi City, Sindh 75500

R2GG+762, Khayaban-e-Saadi, Boat Basin, Clifton, Karachi, Sindh, Clifton

Liberty Books:

Liberty Books is a popular bookstore with a wide variety of books.You can find new titles here .To be honest i find it bit expensive but when they have sales then you can find some good bargains.Recently i got to know about the Liberty books clearance outlet in phase 2 which has a good collection at discounted rates ,some of books are at more than 60 percent off these days but you have to hunt for them which means you should visit this place when you have ample time.

Address: 17c South Park Avenue, D.H.A. Phase 2 Phase 2 Commercial Area Defence Housing Authority, Karachi, Karachi City, Sindh 75500

image credits: Liberty Books Face Book page

Book Ocean:

Book Ocean Is again one of our favourites and I have been visiting this place since i was in school and now kids love going here to get their books or stationary items.They have some collection of story books, kids activity books, educational books and school or college course books too.Once kids wanted some series of Australian author which they couldnt find anywhere in karachi and they arranged it for us and even at good price.They also have some collection of books at discounted price.

Address: E, SHOP#3,PLOT#79, 9th Commercial St, Phase IV Phase 4 Defence Housing Authority, Karachi, 

Frere Hall Sunday Book Fair:

Frere Hall is a popular tourist spot in Karachi and is a famous historical spot with great  architecture. Book bazaar started in 1997 at Frere Hall and is a must visit spot for all the book lovers. Whenever you plan to visit this place its best to go in the morning so you can easily browse the collection. There are hundreds of books from cooking ,gardening, poetry, fiction, non fiction ,urdu adab ,flash cards etc.....Children as well as Adults can find good treasure for themselves and can spend a great Sunday morning there .Its opened from 9am-11pm Sundays.

Address :Fatima Jinnah Road ,Civil Lines. Karachi.

Image Credits:Frere Hall Face Book page

Image Credits: Frere Hall Face Book page

Decent Stationary:

Decent Stationary is a popular bookshop which has stationary items ,course material ,gift items craft stuff etc.....They have good collection of flash cards as well as some story books both in Urdu as well as English.They also stock up imported activity as well as story books which i find interesting for my kids.

Address:31-C, Street No.1, Shahbaz Commercial, Phase VI, DHA, Karachi.

Readings:

Readings is the largest online bookstore and has a n

outlet in D.H.A ,Lahore.You can easily order you book collection online and recieve them within a week or maybe 2-3 days if you have prepaid .Whenever you get a chance to visit Lahore dont forget to visit Readings.Im sure you'll fall in love with this book store.They have kids section where parents can sit and read to younger ones or kids can browse their books or also a dedicated area for public where one can enjoy a cuppa and a good book! When we visited Lahore we spent around 2-3 hours there and wanted to stay more but we ended up buying so many books which we were unable to fit in our luggage and had to carry the bag in our hands on our flight back to Karachi.

https://www.readings.com.pk/

Image Credits:Google Images

Tadabbur Books:

I also came across Tadabbur Books which is located at Ittehad Commercial.It has a good collection of Islamic books As well as Arabic book for kids as well as adults.You can find Ramadan related books,Seerah Books,Prophet Stories ,Dua Book etc all under one roof! You can also have a look at https://tadabburbooks.com/

Address: Shop No 1, 26th Residence Building, Plot 26C, Ittehad Lane 6, Ittehad Commercial Phase 6, DHA, In Lane Of Jardin Restaurant, opposite Memon Medical Lab, Ittehad Commercial Area Phase 6 Defence Housing Authority, Karachi

Bookaan By Shereen Khan:

Bookan is also an online book store which has books by Pakistani Canadian author Shareen Khan.She has written informative books for beginner as well as emergent readers both in English as well as urdu. Shereen has also introduced english grammar books for younger ones that explains the terms to them in a simple words as well as early readers on culture which is great for younger ones and must have for school libraries. So what are tou waiting for? Head on to their website and browse the complete collection which is https://bookaan.com/

SOME FACEBOOK PAGES FOR GOOD BOOK DEALS

Here are a couple of Facebook pages which you can follow that have good deals on books 

1. shakeel books 
2. Bookaan by  Shereen Khan
3. Z-Square
4. Rainbow Collection.
5. ITS ALL ABOUT BOOKS
6. Pick a Book

Feel free to share pages that you like from where you buy your book collection!😊😊