A Counting Book Kids May Love

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarten children may enjoy this delightful book, The Big Storm, as they learn how to count from 1 to 10. 

In the forest, a big storm is on the way. The animals seek shelter in a hill hollow and as they do so children learn how to count from one to ten (they also learn how to count backward from ten to one). The illustrations are excellent because they help young children see how adding one more to a number increases the number by one, and the arrangement of the animals on each page allows children to easily see and grasp the concept of addition. Another wonderful feature of this book is the opportunity to increase young children's vocabulary; the book is full of words that will likely be new to young listeners. You can also use this book when teaching weather, seasons, animals, and habitats!

This is a book you may wish to purchase for your clsasroom or home library in shaa' Allaah. Of course, the next time you visit your local library, check the shelf and if you find The Big Storm, check it out! 

Enjoy & Benefit In shaa' Allaah! 

Two Books for Back To School (PreK - Kindergarten)

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Have you begun preparing your class/home school classroom library for back to school? If so, (or when you do), consider adding these two books:




Both are lift the flap books and both offer young children the opportunity to reinforce skills and concepts learned during the school year. As you have probably deduced, Animal 123 is a counting book while Animal Spots and Stripes is a book that helps children identify and differentiate between spots and stripes (i.e. patterns).

About the books, Amazon.com says, "With a bold palette, striking graphics, and a bouncing menagerie of animals, this pair of uniquely formatted lift-the-flap books introduces young readers to the basic concepts of counting and patterns. Each is a boisterous, vivid trek of discovery, providing irresistible clues which encourage lifting the flap—a hands-on, educator-approved strategy of uncovering and learning concepts. Whether it's finding out just who's next in Animal 123, or exploring differently patterned creatures hiding in the habitats of Animal Spots and Stripes, these ultra-sturdy books provide not just an intriguing way to communicate essential building blocks of learning, but also offer an energetic playground of sheer delight.

On your next trip to the library, take a peek inside  Animal 123 and Animal Spots and Stripes. You might like what you see.

Three Ramadan Games

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Alhamdulillaah, here are three Ramadan games for children 4-6 years old. 

Each of these games is entitled "I Have, You Have, Together We Have", and while each game has a different focus and target skill level, all of the games help children learn and/or practice reading and spelling the sight words had, have, I, you, and we. The games are ideal for use in play groups or in the masjid during taraweeh, if your masjid offers babysitting in a separate room, and of course, the games can be played at home. 

The first game is I have, You Have, Together We Have 5.

This game is intended for children learning how to make 5. Easily assembled and played, in'shaa Allaah, children will have fun working together to make 5. 

How to play:

• Print and cut out the game cards. Do not cut the cards down the middle, simply fold the cards down the middle so you have the front of the card and the back of the card (showing the dates), in one easy step. 
• Give each child a card and explain to the children that they have a card that helps them make 5 but they will need to search the room for the student who has the card that can help them complete 5. Demonstrate: take a card (let's say the card with 3 dates, as in the picture above). Have another student or adult take the card with two dates on it, and have a second student or adult take the card that has some dates on it that will not help you make 5 (i.e. when you add the dates on your card with the dates on the other person's card the total will not be 5). Share your thinking: Walk around the room and share your thinking out loud so the students hear and see how you solve the problem. For example, you might say something like, "Tayyib. I have three dates on my card and I need to find someone who has enough dates on their card to equal 5 dates in all. I see Suliaiman over there. I will go and ask him if he has enough dates to help me in'shaa Allaah. (Walk up to the student). Say, "Assalamu aliakum. Suliaman, I have three dates, and you have (prompt Sulaiman to tell you how many dates are on his card) 4 dates. Demonstrate counting the total number of dates, either using your fingers or by pointing to the dates on your card and then the student's card, and count out loud until you have counted all of the dates. Then say, "Subhana'Allaah, I have 3 dates and you have 4 dates. That equals 7 dates! Together, we have 7 dates! That is too many. Jazakallaahu khayr, Sulaiman. I will keep searching in'shaa Allaah." Do the same thing with one or two other students and then find the student who has 2 dates and repeat the process with that student and say, "Alhamdulillaah, I have 3 dates and you have 2 dates. Together, we have 5 dates!"
• When the students have found the person who has the card that can help them make 5, ask the students to sit along the wall or at a table in pairs and complete the Record Book thus allowing the other students, who are still searching, time to find the matching card they need. 
• When all students have found their matching card, give the students new cards and repeat the game in'shaa Allaah. 
• Be ready to assist students who may struggle to add the dates correctly. 

I Have, You Have, Together We Have 10 is played in the same way but the students substitute the numbers when they say, "Alhamdulillaah, I have ____ dates and you have ___ dates. Together, we have ___ dates! "

The last game, I have, You Have, Together We Have... uses words instead of numbers. Students play the game in the same way they play I Have, You Have, Together We Have 5 and I Have, You Have, Together We Have 10 but they substitute the numbers for the words they spell together. In this game, chldren will try to find the student who has the card that will help them spell the following words:

• Moon
• Date
• Pray
• Fast
• Iftar
• Masjid
• Suhoor
• Iman
• Qiyam
• Good
• Deeds

Download the games for free above or below in'shaa Allaah. Please be aware of the Terms of Use for the materials on the blog in'shaa Allaah. Jazakillaahu khayr!

I Have, You Have, Together We Have 5

I Have, You Have, Together We Have 5 Record Book

 

I Have, You Have, Together We Have10

I Have, You Have, Together We Have 5 Record Book

 

I Have, You Have, Together We Have (Words)

I Have, You Have, Together We Have (Words) Record Book

All games are also available to download free in A Muslim Child is Born's Teacher Notebook store.

Enjoy and Benefit In'shaa Allaah!