What Would Make My Imam Happy?

When someone we love is far away, we really miss them. We think about them all the time and try and keep in touch by calling, writing to them and getting excited about the day when they'll be back! This is how our love for Imam should be. Imam loves us to talk to him. He prays to Allah for us and all of creation and is always there when you call him. Whenever we need help or are in trouble, we must ask Allah through Imam. We can even write him a special letter!

Activity: 
Help children build a special relationship with Imam Mahdi by writing in a journal every Friday a good deed they have done in the week that would make Imam happy. They could also write any other thoughts in conversation to him.

See also: Letters to my Imam Journal by Buzz Ideazz

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Blessings Are Multiplied!

Learning Objective:
Illustrate the generosity of Allah. 

Activity:
Put a few drops of liquid soap into a small container and fill with water.
Place the container onto a tray to contain the over spill.
Have the child blow one large puff using a straw submerged under the liquid and see how many bubbles it makes!
For every blow, the bubbles continue to multiply many times over.

We can not count Allah's blessings. 
Allah tells us in the Qur'an that the more we thank Him from what He has given us, the more Allah will continue to give us!

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Gratitude Stone

Learning Objective:
To help prompt and instil a daily habit of gratitude

A special object to hold before bed, to remind children to think about the day and what they can be grateful for.

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Sweet Blessings

Activity: The pebble and the sweet
Give each child a small pebble to put into their sock/shoe and a sweet to suck on. 
Have them walk around the room and then gather them together to share their experience of the walk.
Most will dwell on the discomfort of the pebble and say little about the good taste of the sweet.

Just like the pebble, when we focus on the small things in our day which we don't like or find difficult, when we're too busy moaning and complaining, we forget the good things that Allah has given us. When we have an attitude of gratitude, we always look for the 'sweet' blessings.

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My Thumb Is A Blessing

Learning Objective: To help think deeper to appreciate the specific blessings Allah has given us.

Use a timer to see how long it takes for a child to pick some coins off a flat surface, one at a time.

Tape back the thumb using masking tape and repeat the same experiment, noticing the difference.

Other activities to demonstrate the importance of this digit, can also include writing their names. 

Allah tells us in the Qur'an, ushkurulillah, thank Allah, and the first step that we can take in becoming grateful, is to actually spend time to think about and appreciate all the amazing blessings Allah has given us.

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Qur'an Stop Signs

Signs adapted from: QFatima Bookmark 

A simple traffic light bookmark to show the meaning of a few of the stop signs when reciting Qur'an. 

Fold a piece of A4 card in half and cut the required width.

To help keep the page secure, stick magnetic tape on the insides as the card folds together.

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