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26 Jun 2015

Quran Word A Day: Najm/Star



Learning Objective:
To understand and appreciate the purpose of stars.

Qur'an Word: Najm, Star

Qur'an Verse: It is He Who has appointed the stars for you so you might be guided by them in the darkness of the land and sea. 6:97


Imagine if you had to meet a friend under a lamppost on the other side of a hill. As you walk towards your friend you would see the light appear over the hill, long before you could see your friend. You would know exactly what direction they were, even though you could not see them. In the same way, the stars in the sky act like lampposts. Allah tells us in the Qur’an that He has ‘made the stars for you, so that you may be guided by them in the darkness of the land and sea.’ Sailors and other travelers use the stars to help them find their way.

There is a star that is almost exactly in the north at all times, called the Polaris or the North Star. It is simple to find, if you know the shape of the Plough/Big Dipper, an easy to identify group of seven stars. Take the two stars at the end of the Big Dipper, and make an imaginary line upwards. Extend it five times the distance between the two stars. There you have it, Polaris. That way is always north. Allah has put a compass and map ready for us to use in the night sky! 
Activities: Find the North Star
On a clear night, find a space, ideally away from tall buildings and bright lights and star gaze! You can use a compass to help find the Big Dipper.

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23 Jun 2015

The Moon



Learning Objective:
- to understand the importance of the moon in determining the time of the month.
- to understand the correlation between the passing of time and the change in moon shape.
to understand what it means to look for the new moon, especially at the start of the month of Ramadhan.

Qur'an Word: Qamar - Moon
Qur'an Verse: And We have made set phases for the moon 36:39

Moon Facts:
- no light of own, reflects sun
- made of rocks
- doesn't have air
- is 4x smaller than Earth
- you can float on the moon!
- has lots of holes on it

The Lunar Calendar follows the Moon. A month is the time the moon takes to pass through a complete cycle of its phases, and is measured from one New Moon upto the next. The word month comes from the word Moon!

Allah tells us in the Quran there are 12 months in the lunar calendar, but since each month is around 29 days, the Islamic calendar is shorter than the Gregorian calendar, and that’s why the month of Ramadhan is earlier every year! This allows us to experience fasting in different seasons, sometimes when the days are long and others in winter when the days are short.

Activity: The Moon goes around The Earth Rhyme
Activity: Moon Phase Viewer
Activity: Moon Sighting Telescope
Activity: Dua upon Sighting the New Moon
Activity: Moon Phases Sequencing
Activity: Moon Phase Cards
Activity: Playdough Moon Phases
Activity: Paper Plate Rotating Moon
Activitiy: Islamic Rotating Calendar
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Quran Word A Day: Shams/Sun



Learning Objective:
To know that life on Earth would be impossible without the Sun
- To appreciate the perfection of Allah in placing the Sun and the Earth exactly in the right place.

Qur'an Word: Shams - Sun

Qur'an Verse: It is He who made the sun a shining light 10:5


The sun is a glowing ball of hot gas and the brightest object in our universe. It provides us with light, heat and energy. Without the sun, life on Earth would not exist.

If the Earth was closer to the sun, the temperature would rise and it would become too hot for us to survive. If the distance was greater and Earth was further away from the sun, it would be so cold that our planet would be frozen! Allah has made the distance just right. SubhanAllah, He makes everything perfect!
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Moon Phases Sequencing



Activity: Moon  Phase Sequencing
The moon changes shape as the days pass, starting as a thin crescent when the month begins, progressing to half-moon and then full moon. Practice sequencing and familiarize with the moon phases. Depending on the child, the activity can be extended to include both waxing and waning phases.

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Quran Word A Day: Shajarah/Tree



Trees are givers! SubhanAllah every part of the tree serves the creation of Allah, in lots of different ways. How many blessings from what Allah has given us, have we shared today?
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22 Jun 2015

Quran Word A Day: Naml/Ant

Learning Objective:
- To learn about the story of the ants and Prophet Sulayman (as)
- To appreciate the amazing creation of the ants
- To take away a lesson from their lives 

Qur'an Word: 
Naml - Ant

Qur'an Verse: 
Until when they came to the valley of the Naml, a Namlite said: O Naml! enter your houses, (that) Sulaiman and his hosts may not crush you while they do not know. 27:18

What we can learn from the ants:
Ants are incredibly hard workers and excellent at sharing! If they find some food, they immediately pass the message onto others by leaving behind a special smelly trail that the other ants can follow. Ants share everything they get. They never eat anything alone. They even have two separate stomachs; one for their own food, and one to store food for others! Now that's a level of sharing we can look up to and try to practice inshAllah.

Books: 
The Army Walks through the Valley
Amr and the Ants



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Quran Word A Day: Kitaab/Book



Learning Objective:
To understand and appreciate the majestic nature of the Holy Qur'an as no ordinary book!

Qur'an Word: 

Kitaab/Book

Qur'an Verse: 

This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who have taqwa 2:2
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17 Jun 2015

Month of the Qur'an

Ramadhan Wall


"When the Angels see a home where the Qur'an is recited, they see the house shining like a bright star from the Heavens."

Surah Baqarah 2:185




decorated with Mosques Around the World stickers by Smart Ark

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Islamic Values Quranic Calendar

A Quranic Calendar containing 30 short and memorable Qur'anic phrases exploring the morals and manners of a Muslim. 




Use the Quranic Calendar alongside our book Islamic Values. With over 100 creative crafts and hands on activities exploring each moral based Quran verse, the book aims to create a lasting impact, bringing alive the Holy Qur'an and helping children to be more mindful of their actions.


Purchase online at Sun Behind the Cloud Publications

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13 Jun 2015

The Best Invitation


Learning Objective:
- Understand the importance of the month of Ramadhan
- Know that we are guests of Allah 
- Open up a discussion of what is expected of us this month

Taken from here
Download and print The Best Invitaion

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30 Quran Facts Calendar Inserts

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12 Jun 2015

Year 2: Quran Verses Summary

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9 Jun 2015

Salaa Lapbook

Learning Objective:
- To compile an introduction to the Salaa and it's prerequisites

Qur'an Verse:
Akimis salaata li dhikri
Keep up Salaa for My remembrance 20:14







Contents:
Steps in Wudhu
How to Pray
There is no falah without Salaa!
Times of Salaa
Adhaan
Qibla
Taqibaat
Getting ready to pray


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Put God First

Lesson Objective:
- To understand that to be successful we must put God first and give importance to Salaa.

Allahu Akber! Allah is greater than anything and anyone! We must make Him the focus of our lives and give more importance to the things that He has asked us to do, than what we want to do. We must always put Allah first!

Activity: 
There are so many activities we do each day. Scoop some rice into a jar as you name each activity that fills the day. Continue to add the rice until the jar is full.

Show some golf balls and explain how they represent the things which Allah has asked us to do Salaa, Qur’an etc.  – how will we fit these in now? If we're busy doing only what we want to do and haven't planned our day to do what Allah loves, then we haven't filled our day with what's truly important. 

Empty the jar and fill back in reverse order with the balls first followed by the rice.
But if we put God first and do what He has asked us to, He will bless our day in a way that it can be filled with true success!



Watch the visual lesson: Put God First

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Salaa Chatterbox








Recap salaa learning in a fun way by making a chatterbox!
Mark up and write various salaa related questions under the flaps:

An example of a simple Salaa chatterbox with lots of movement!
1. Choose a number and count out
2. Which salaa has the chosen number of rakaats? 
3. Open flap to read question:

Show Juloos position
Show 4 parts you must wash in wudhu
Do press up the number of rakats in maghrib
Say the names of the salaa backwards
Show the actions for one rakaa
Do 5 star jumps and say the salaa names
Hop the number of rakaats in Dhuhr + Asr
Clap how many rakaats we pray each day

Download complete lesson plan: Salaa
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1 Jun 2015

Prayer Microphone


Quran Verse:
'Odoonee..' Call Me 40:60

Lesson Objective:
- To help instil a daily habit of talking to Allah

Use together with the Prayer hand or Prayer wheel to help recall who who to pray for.

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