Journaling Through Islamic Studies

Hi guys! We are finishing up week 2 of the 2016-2017 homeschool year. We're going strong and I hope it stays this way. As part of our morning basket (which I'll share more about) the boys and I journal for Islamic Studies. I read them a story and they either do a craft, color or draw and do a bit of reflecting. I purchased some sketch books from Michael's for them.

It's important that they boys can connect with these stories and draw life lessons for themselves. For that reason I do not correct their reflections, I try to guide them to think deeper. I also share some of my own reflections, we write them down on our white board and they can either pick from there or write down what they want.

Our first story was the story of Creation. One of my boys wrote "Allah is powerful, he does not need raw material to create. He only says to it BE and it is." 

Our second story was the story of Adam (AS). We focused on repentance. We talked about the importance of seeking forgiveness immediately after sinning. We were able to look at how Adam (AS) sought forgiveness and did not have pride in comparison to the Shataan. We talked about what the word repent means (to make a U-Turn). So they drew a road and a u-turn sign. 

Story of Habeel and Qabeel. We talked about piety in your actions, we also focused on why one brothers offering was accepted and the other wasn't. Some of the points the boys came up with was: 1. One feared Allah and the other didn't 2. He gave sincerely for the sake of Allah that which he loved. We also talked about the dangers of jealousy and connected the story of Adam (AS) and shaytaan.

The story of Nuh (AS) was in two parts, the great flood and the building of the Ark. The boys were familiar with both stories so we were able to go deeper and find other connections. We talked about the message of Nuh (AS), the importance of giving dawah in a variety of different ways. Not giving up and having patience. What happens to those who do not heed the warning of Allah. The characters of Allah's messengers. How we can be like Nuh (AS). 

We talked about faith in Allah even when we don't understand. Allah protects the believers. We also learned the du'a of Nuh (AS). 

We used this video to help us memorize the du'a.

The Story of Ibraheem (AS). My kids love this story and there are lots of connections that can be made. We talked about the character of Ibraheem (AS) from a young age and how he is a a good example and someone to emulate. We also talked about how one can be the best friend of Allah. In Surah Yunus Allah mentions the characteristics of his friend's Imaan+Taqwaa= Best friend of Allah. My eldest screamed "hey I am already the best friend of Allah." That just melted my heart! We talked about what is Imaan and what is Taqwaa. In their journals they wrote down "Allah is the only one that can save you."

Books:

 Here are some of the books I'll be using for our journaling. 

To help me keep on top of our Islamic studies I planned 6 weeks at a time. This way I don't forget or get to lazy to keep up with this.

We are currently reading through this book. The stories are short and not very detailed. I fill in the gaps and help with reflections, vocabulary words, and insert lectures where possible. 

I hope that wasn't to lengthy and it gave you some idea of what part of our morning looks like. This does not take long at all, 20 minutes tops. My kids love it and benefit from it. Along with this my eldest goes to Quran memorization 3 days a week and my youngest is currently learning to read. They also take Arabic classes twice a week.