published by Eaman Elhadri; written by amazing Muslim homeschooling mothers from around the globe
How each of us arrives at homeschooling is a personal journey. Equally unique is the way in which each Muslim family homeschools their child. The tailored individualism of homeschooling is one of the greatest aspects of the experience. Alhemdulilahi Rabil alamin.
Many of us find that if we take each year as it comes, and make small steps towards this commitment, we are confident that we can meet our child where they are, but also gradually extend our learning beyond what we ever imagined possible! Alhemdulilah.
Without further ado, Muslim mothers from around the globe present to you, in no particular order, their favorite homeschooling resources.
No matter what curriculum, method, or schedule we use – We are in this together.
teaching_the_next_generation_
My favourite homeschooling resource is an academic planner diary. Each child has their own.
I use this to write in my weekly plans for each child, keep track of all activities and jot down any spontaneous learning or adventures that happen throughout the day. Older children can look what to do and work independently and it helps them to keep track of their own learning.
I use the back of the dairy to write down any websites, places, or resources we use or have been recommend to keep track of them. Its great to look back at the end of the year to see all you have done and achieved.
Read Umm Ayman’s Blog!
radiance_of_delight
I really like MyDeen magazine as its really helpful to teach kids through Islamic perspective.
Visit Umm Ubaidullah’s Blog!
threelittlelanguagelearners
My printer is my most prized homeschooling possession. It gives me access to a world of resources where I would otherwise be limited.
I started homeschooling a month after I arrived in Saudi Arabia. I came without a plan and was left with few options.
I purchased a pdf curriculum online (edzone) and was able to print out everything I needed. More importantly, my printer has allowed me access to so many Islamic and Arabic resources which you can’t easily find in the stores, even here in Saudi!
This Dhul Hijjah was made more special for my family with The Happy Hajj Guide by Muslim Homeschoolers Unite. I love “doing” but I don’t love “planning.”
So, if my fellow Muslims keep making these wonderful resources that make my life easier and benefit my family, you can bet that I’ll keep printing! In sha Allah.
Binge watch Three Little Learner’s YouTube Channel!
littlemuslimdolls
My favorite home school resource is the humble and often over looked Dollar Store! It’s true that you don’t need to spend big bucks to get the top of the line homeschooling products.
For years, the dollar store has been my go-to for products such as stickers books and stencils. But I would also encourage you to look for items beyond their intended purpose.
For example, you can find a pack of tiny erasers to use as math counters, or use a large picture frame as a dry erase board. One of my all-time dollar store favorites to use in our homeschooling is an inflatable beach ball.
We use a permanent marker to write anything from sight words, math facts, word families, etc. and create a game with it. Right now is the perfect season to find them in dollar stores now.
With a frugal mind a little bit of creativity, you’ll find plenty of homeschooling resources at the dollar store, without breaking the bank!
Shop beautifully crafted peg dolls at Little Muslim Dolls!
ourgrowingshajara
It’s pretty tough to pick just one resource that has made it on our top home school resource list, but I think for me, the clear winner has to be a laminator!
This was one of my first homeschooling investments and it’s been tremendously useful throughout the years. I’ve used it and continue using it for display posters, children’s art work, wipe clean handwriting resources, homemade flash cards, Montessori cards and preparing all sort of kid’s activity and work resources.
We’ve even laminated leaves and flowers! I have found this to be our ‘essential’ resource and is by far my favourite homeschool possession!
ilmy_kids
Although we don’t focus much on worksheets, I found Brain Quest curriculum workbook to be a very helpful resource. It’s a really big book covering common core subjects and filled with tons of fun activities.
I have the Pre-K and Kindergarten workbooks and some examples of activities are color by letter, matching, sorting, phonics. What I love about this resource is the amount of activities and fun exercises available that cover a variety of subjects.
So on the days my child wants to complete some worksheets I pull this book out and it usually gives me more ideas to build on future lessons.
Binge watch Ilmy Kids YouTube Channel!
sarahijaved
I have a few favourite homeschool resources, but if I had to pick just one, I would choose Spreeder simply because learning to speed read is a vital life skill. This reading programme will help children learn how to speed read efficiently and boost their number of words per minute.
Speed reading is a skill that challenges the brain, it makes reading more enjoyable, improves memory, helps with focus and certainly benefits in higher education. It is also a resource that is beneficial cross curricula and so whatever your homeschool approach, this is a resource that can fit into your relaxed, child-led or more structured homeschool style.
Binge watch S. Sarah’s YouTube Channel!
teachermabid
Our favorite Homeschool resource has to be the Library!!! My love of learning originated there!
When my kids were young we picked books based on topics of interest and read them. I love libraries personally and librarians are amazing resources!
Binge watch S. Mahreen’s YouTube Channel!
life.of.faryal
I use Saxon Math every year for almost all my kids. It’s so well put together and you won’t miss any concepts.
It’s spiral, so it brings back already taught topics. It’s very organized and logical which is perfect for my Type A personality.
You just have to make sure you make it work for you. See what your child needs.
Let them skip problems (do odd or even) if that’s what you think they need.
little_homeschool_on_prairie
By far our favourite resource is ‘The Meaning of the Holy Quran for School Children’. Not only does it provide some background information with each surah, but it also provides a translation of the Quran tailored to younger readers.
My kids gain a better understanding of the Quran using this excellent resource. Highly recommend.
We often photocopy verses from this resource and use in some of our unit studies.
Visit Sister Tasha’s Blog!
Frjivani
My favourite homeschool resource is The Good and the Beautiful Science! I have a 7 year old, but it can be used with multiple age groups simultaneously, with extension topics for older grades.
It is very comprehensive and has lessons broken down into digestible chunks. There are accompanying book lists and activity suggestions integrating art and craft, reducing the amount of time and effort required on our part to find supplementary resources.
Visit Sister Faiza’s blog!
zissa.inspires
One highly recommended resource that is used in our home and loved by both my little ones and myself is the website alefbata.com. It’s a fun & educational program that includes many Arabic activities for all levels.
It also offers a variety of printable worksheets. The kids favorite part is completing the treasure maps and collecting coins to use at the shop.
As the kids advance in their Arabic language, they begin to move up levels. The freedom it gives my little ones to move between various activities is key in our homeschool learning adventure.
Alefbata.com is an amazing resource that allows my children to learn Arabic in a fun and interactive manner. We subscribe to it yearly!
homeschooling_ideas13
I don’t like to purchase faith-based curriculums because in my opinion they are biased, making it more difficult to learn other cultures and beliefs. I usually get my curriculum from different websites.
I get my ELA curriculum from Hewitt homeschooling and math from Abeka.
hooyo_homeschool
We have many resources that we refer to daily and others that we rotate. The resource we have constantly been utilising in almost all of our lessons is the Simplify Media Writing Tablet.
We use it for our language studies, dictation, our maths lessons, nature study and for free drawing. Keeping writing fun for our children is essential and that’s where the writing tablet comes in handy.
The writing tablet is brilliant:
🌱It is environmental friendly as we are using less paper than ever before!
🌱No harmful screen
🌱Fun and playful!
It can be used for:
🔸Drawing
🔹Spelling practice
🔸Arabic practice
🔹Dictation
🔸Any other writing or drawing activity.
thetomacchronicles
It wasn’t until I met my husband that I truly understood my religion and I vowed to instill Islam into my kid’s hearts first. I actually had no idea how to go about it.
After a lot of research and some trial and error, I discovered Safar publications textbook 1. I loved how age appropriate the material was.
I loved how simple yet engaging the illustrations were. Safar publications presents the stories in a meaningful and simple way that allow a child to embrace the mercifulness of Islam.
The corresponding workbook helped me reinforce the morals we learned from the lesson through short hands on activities. It is such a blessing to have a resource like Safar publications to help me encompass a love for Islam in my children. 💚
Visit Sister Reem’s blog!
Soulfulcare
My favourite homeschooling resource for now is ixl.com
“It is personalized learning. With a comprehensive K-12 curriculum, individualized guidance, and real-time analytics, IXL meets the unique needs of each learner.”
Personally we use it for assessment purposes. I particularly love their analytics and diagnosis tools that help me know where my child is doing well already and where he might need further help.
nasima_ibrahim
Truthfully, I found picking one favourite resource was very hard as there are so many brilliant resources out there now that have been beneficial for me. I decided to go with a curriculum that we have been following since last year and my girls have been really enjoyed it.
It is the Blossom and Root curriculum. Blossom and Root follows the Charlotte Mason philosophy of learning.
It is nature based and oriented to making learning fun whilst encouraging creativity. It would be very suitable to those who are inclined to the unschooling way of life.
It explores many core subjects like Maths, Language art, Science, History, Geography and more. This resource plans your whole academic year depending on the age of your child.
I love it mainly for its short, focused lessons. It is very flexible and many times I just pick out many of the great ideas from the book/ planner, depending on my child’s interest that day or week.
Read Sister Nasima’s blog!
Plantingmytree
My favorite homeschooling resource is our virtual Quran + Arabic courses through Smart Minds Learning (http://www.smartmindslearning.com/). As a non native speaker married to an Arabic speaker who works a lot, this can’t really teach our kids.
I have been struggling to teach our children Arabic. Smart Minds is affordable and of amazing quality.
We also use their Quran lessons 3 days a week and we’ve seen a huge improvement in our daughter’s memorization. She memorized four surahs this summer with ease!
Visit S. Grace’s blog!
eaman.um.ibraheem
Like every other lovely mama above, I find it quite difficult when trying to pick a favorite homeschooling resource. There are many, however I’m going to focus on one that has been consistently beneficial to our family and that is All About Reading by All About Learning Press.
Providing a literature-rich environment and enjoying good books alongside our children is key to helping them love reading. Many children learn to read, just by being read to – however those weren’t my children.
All About Reading is very gentle, and completely scripted. This means that the ease of use will guarantee that I will use it!
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Homeschooling tips from mamas like you!
Now it’s your turn, mama! What is your favorite homeschooling resource? Comment below!