Bismillah

Learning Objective:
To understand the meaning and importance of saying Bismillah 


Lesson introduction:
Would you say Bismillah before hitting your little brother or snatching his toys?!

We are taught to always say Bismillah at the beginning of absolutely everything. Imam Hassan Askari (as) has said that it is a sign of a Muslim.
Bismillah means that you begin ‘In the Name of Allah.’ Saying ‘Bismillah’ helps you remember Allah and how Great He is for giving us so many wonderful blessings!
When we eat and say ‘Bismillah’, we are reminding ourselves that Allah is Al-Khaliq, the One who created the plants and helped them grow, Allah is Ar-Razzaq, The One who has provided us with food. When we have medicine and say ‘Bismillah’, we are reminding ourselves that Allah is Ash-Shafi and He is the one who can make the medicine work to make us better.

By starting in the Name of Allah, we are also asking Allah to help us in whatever we are about to do. When Allah helps us to do something, we can do it correctly and easily!

If you cant say Bismillah before doing it, think, is this something Allah would be happy with?

We should always use the blessings Allah has given us to do good. 

Key Learning Point:

Always starting with Bismillah, ‘In the Name of Allah’, reminds us that it is Allah who has given us everything. We should always use our blessings to do what makes Him happy.

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Marshmallow Test for Patience!

Learning Objective:
- To give the children an opportunity to practice their patience!
- To help understand that patience is always rewarded :)

Re-enact the famous Stanford marshmallow test.

Give the child a marshamallow and explain that they have a choice. They can either;
(A) Eat the one marshmallow right now
OR
(B)  They can wait for you to come back and then have two marshmallows! (you could specify time/or just return 5-10mins later)

You could add the phrase:
-  'do you think you can be of the sabireen and wait until I come back? Remember, Allah loves the sabireen!' 
- do you think you can 'usbiroo' and be patient until I come back? Remember, Allah loves the sabireen!' 

It may slightly influence the results but it helps to instil more of the concept of doing it because that's what 'Allah loves' at the back of the mind, rather than just doing it for the extra marshmallow reward. Either way, patience is a good thing!

If the child succeeds, you can continue giving more than the one said extra marshmallow.  This is because Allah rewards patience 'bi ghayri hisaab' without counting! Patience is truly rewarded!

How To Give The Marshmallow Test

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Quranic Dua for Patience

To tie in with this week's theme, we have been learning the Quranic dua for patience alongside our activities. 
"Rabbana afrigh 'alayna sabran. Our Lord, pour down upon us patience..." Holy Quran 2:250

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How to calm down

Learning Objective: Learn how to calm down as per the advice given by the Ahlulbayt

Role play different scenarios showing impatience and then taking the correct action to calm down.

- Change position 
"If one of you finds himself angry, if he is standing, he should sit, and if he is sitting, he should lie down.

- Encourage the child to take a deep breath and breathe out hard. Count to ten slowly in the mind before saying anything
“If any of you becomes angry, let him keep silent.”

- Seek refuge in Allah: "A'udhu billahi minash shaitanir rajim."
"If a man gets angry and says, 'I seek refuge with Allah,' his anger will go away."
"And if an evil suggestion comes to you from Shaitan, then seek refuge in Allah..." (Holy Quran 7:200)

- Encourage the child to splash some water onto the face or if they can, then to make wudhu
“When one of you gets angry, let him make ablution with water as anger arises out of fire.”

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Allah loves the Sabireen

Learning Objective: Understand the importance of being patient in reference to the Quranic verse "Allah loves the Sabireen: those who are patient. Holy Quran 3:146

Patience has been mentioned 90 times in the Quran and after it, there is always mention of optimistic news. It is an essential virtue to instill from a young age.

We broke it down and defined patience as;
- waiting quietly and calmly without complaining;
- staying calm when someone or something is bothering you;
- and to keep going, even if things get hard;
Ensure the understanding that patience is always rewarded!

Activities to demonstrate the value of being patient and explain how everything in life takes a certain amount of time to happen.

- Baking or for an even quicker lesson, make and freeze a lolly 

- Planting some seeds
We read a story about a boy trying to make an apple tree grow. It took patience, time and care to finally enjoy the fruits.

- Fruit ripening
We bought a green banana, pointed out it wasn't ripe but tried it anyway. "I don't like it. It doesn't even taste like a banana!" We waited a few days and tried it again when yellow  Sometimes when we are impatient for things and demand them right away, the end result will not be as good as if we had waited.

- Board games
We played Snakes and Ladders which proved to be a brilliant lesson in patience! It took lots of being calm every time we went down those big snakes and my little one even wanted to just end the game as it was taking too long but we persevered!

- Role playing
We pretended waiting for the bus, queuing in the shops etc but every few sec, looking at watch, complaining why it was taking so long, getting annoyed etc. We were not waiting patiently! Emphasise that waiting with mannerisms like huffing and puffing, moaning and whining is not patience.

- The story of Prophet Ayub (as)
We read the story which demonstrated what true patience is. Allah tells us Prophet Ayub (as) was a good man full of patience. He continued to be thankful despite all his hardships and never complained.

- Keep going even if things seem hard
Following instructions of a Lego model took patience but the little one kept at it because he was so determined to do it by himself and reach the end product.

- Staying calm when something or someone is bothering you
When friends/younger siblings are not sharing or following rules of game etc, we talked through what we can do to not get angry and stay patient. 

How to Calm Down
Quranic Dua for Patience
Marshmallow Test for Patience

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Allah loves the Muttahhireen

Learning Objective: Understand the importance of keeping clean in reference to the Quranic verse "Allah loves the Muttahhireen: those who keep themselves clean" 9:108

- Sing to the tune of 'if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands'
Allahu Yuhhibul Muttahhireen x2
Allah loves you when you keep clean
Allahu Yuhhibul Muttahhireen

- Collage picture of things we do to keep clean. Emphasise the blessing and importance of water in helping to keep us clean and the necessity to avoid waste.

- Gushl and wudhu are special types of washing that Allah loves for us to do. Encourage the child to do wudhu before sleeping and upon waking. 

Activities to help explain the importance of keeping clean

1) fill a spray bottle with water and spray away! Use it to explain how a sneeze travels for more than the length of three elephants, spreading germs everywhere!
- Germs are tiny living things that can make you ill if they get inside you. Explain the importance of stopping germs from spreading by using a tissue when you sneeze or coughing into your arm

2) Spread some glitter on your hands and pretend sneeze into them. Explain the glitter as germs. Now shake hands with the child, touch objects around the room etc and watch the glitter/germs spread!
- Explain the importance of washing hands especially before eating and after going to the toilet to stop the germs from spreading. 

3) Demonstrate the correct way of hand washing and see how it takes more than a quick rinse to get rid of the glitter/germs!

- make a note of how short nails are less likely to get dirt stuck under them and it is recommended in Islam to cut them every Friday.

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