Tips for Beginning Muslim Homeschoolers

Published by Eaman Elhadri; written by amazing Muslim homeschooling mothers from around the globe.

Anything, everything, can be learned if you can just get yourself in a little patch of real ground, real nature, real wood, real anything … and just sit still and watch. 

Lauren Hutton

New to homeschooling? Don’t fret! I’ve gathered the best homeschooling tips from seasoned homeschooling mamas around the globe!

What an immense blessing! Alhemdulilah. This is something that would have been nice when I first started homeschooling!

I am honored and unbelievably excited to present to you, in no particular order, the best tips from an incredible line-up of amazing mamas. May Allah Preserve them all. Allahuma Ameen.

via GIPHY

Drum Roll 🙂

Alde Rosario-Hamdani @alde3.4

Take it slow. See how your child learns and lead them accordingly- everyone learns differently.
Have no expectations, learning is a journey take it day by day: it’s not a race. Don’t compare yourself to others- we all have our paths. These are tips I am implementing in our homeschool inshallah. 

Umm Ubaidullah @radiance_of_delight

Give yourself some “Time out”. Leave your children where they are and lock yourself in a room for few minutes. Take some deep breaths, drink some water and sit down. Make some duas/prayers. Connect with your creator. If you want to cry out loud go for it.. you are all alone in your room and take out yourself.

Umm Ubaidullah blogs at Kamil Ahmad.

Mahreen @teachermabid

Be yourself and let your children be themselves. Grow and nurture your homeschool from where you are. Don’t look at someone else and try to copy them, it won’t work. Your originality is what will speak and work with your children.

Binge watch Sister Mahreen’s YouTube Channel!

Kathy Javier @javierkathy

The most important thing that I think would be a useful tip is that when homeschooling more than one child, I have learned that one child has a different learning style than the other. And you discover which is the best and easiest way for each child to learn as you go. My son is autistic and is very imaginative so he requires hands on, one on one teaching. My other son is the exact opposite. And that’s okay. It doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong. It has helped tremendously and has given me more confidence as a mom and teacher.

Umm Affan Hashmi @the_odd_muslimah

It’s very important to know your “why”. Make a mission statement out of it and write it on a paper so you can go back to it to refresh your intentions and remind you of the purpose you began in the first place. This is to help you get unstuck when you are stuck in a rut (which will happen a lot btw). Before you begin, get to know your child(ren). How they learn, what they like, etc. Not doing so end up in a lot of frustration on both sides. Trust yourself and your children. Enjoy the journey ♡

Umm Affan Hashmi blogs at The Odd Muslimah.

Layan Muhammad @naturallylayan

Build a homeschool community. In the beginning, homeschooling can be overwhelming and a laborious journey. Many homeschool families work tirelessly to find the right curriculum, implementing daily routines, and maintaining a balance between daily life and homeschool. Receiving support from other homeschool families can limit stress and potentially foster life long bonds.

Hana @pepperandpine

My top tip is that children learn by play. So, facilitate a rich play environment for optimal learning. This works great for children under puberty but especially for children under nine years of age.

Sister Hana is a blogger at Pepper and Pine. Be sure to binge watch her YouTube Channel as well!

Shazia Hussain @sunnah_hearts

Start every day with an intention that your time and effort being invested in your children is to gain the reward of Allah alone, that you are attempting to raise the next generation to the best of your ability. Sitting together to remember Allah through a short time of dhikr and Qur’an recitation starts the day off with tranquility.

Jaide @un_jour_a_la_foi

My top homeschooling tip is consistency! Smart choice + consistency = radical difference (from Darren Hardy)! And that action makes you get out of doubt! So, when I’m struggling, doubting, I have to pass to action. Make something that will make me get closer to my goal is that I get out of doubt.

Sister Jaide blogs at Journal Des Ummschooleuses.

Umm Yusuf @umm_yusuf07

Have a vision for homeschooling. What is the end goal? Each family will have something different in this regard.  Our vision is to raise children that will be servants of Allah SWT that will use their talents and gifts to give back to the community inshAllah.

Iroda Ahmed @raisingyoungscholars

My top tip is to focus on relationships. 

Sister Iroda blogs at Raising Young Scholars.

Ayan @teachermomplus3

My top homeschooling tip is organization. Find a system that works for you and implement it. Whether you like using a planner, jotting some notes down before school starts, or having a mental check list of how the day will run. Involve your older children and allow them to come up with their own schedules. Lastly, have a place for everything. You can have a kitchen cabinet, book shelf or an entire school room. You’ll be able to find what you need and it reduces the clutter and unnecessary purchasing and hoarding.

Go shopping at Sister Ayan’s Teachers Pay Teachers Shop!

Sarah Javed @sarahijaved

Dua. Pray for guidance and help. Be clear on your objectives. Find what suits and works for you, your children and your family. Be patient. Homeschooling is a lifestyle choice, it takes time to find a rhythm and routine. Be realistic. Do what you can and don’t overburden yourself.
Focus on quality not quantity. It is not about how much you do in your homeschool, it’s about what lasts and shapes your children.

Binge watch Sister Sarah’s YouTube Channel!

Umm Musa @ilmexplorers_homeschool

The 3 L’s of homeschooling: Love. Live. Learn. Love your child, love your life, and love your time together. This is our one and only time we have in this process, love every part of it, if you don’t, then learn how to and make the adjustments to love it. Live your life, the way you want. have your own space, time, diet, prayer and spiritual needs fulfilled. Live with your child, explore and enjoy your life and time together.Don’t be afraid to learn, learn together as a team. Use networks, experiences, resources and etc. to learn effectively and once you have the environment of love and life in place, learning will be a lot more fun. For you and your child.

Farah from @littlemuslimdolls

When I am asked about home schooling tips and advice, I think back to the beginning of our homeschooling journey. What stood out the most was that I enjoyed the material and methods as much as (or maybe even more?) than my children! Being a lover of geography and world history, our home school was centered around a gigantic world map. It was the best spring board for discussions and creative writing, social studies and science skills and we even used the distance scale for some math. I loved every lesson and was excited about the content, which made the new task of home educating my children seem much less daunting. And it’s true that excitement can be contagious, because my children loved every part of it! Of course, this doesn’t mean every home schooler will use the same techniques as me. But I strongly urge you to find what sparks your enthusiasm and take it from there!

Go shopping at Sister Farah’s Etsy Shop!

Adeeba Jafri @dessertinthedesert1

What works one day might not work the next day. Or the next month. The important thing is to keep trying. I homeschooled my son when he was in MS. He was enrolled in hifdh at the time so I was careful to strike a balance between academics and Quran. Whenever he or I felt an imbalance, we needed to communicate it to one another. I hope that moms out there understand that you aren’t just the primary caregiver. You’re the educator and we aren’t just teaching how to read and write. We are teaching them to learn.

Visit Sister Adeeba’s blog, Dessert in the Desert.

Umm Ayman @teaching_the_next_generation

My best tip for home-schooling would be to learn, strive and explore alongside your children. You are not the sole teacher who has to know everything. Life, the environment and others that we come across all have things to teach us.  An educator’s role is not to give all the answers but to facilitate learning in a way that stimulates the child. This can be done by working and researching alongside them, providing opportunities, encouraging curiosity and allowing for creativity and individuality.

Visit Umm Ayman’s blog called Not All Classrooms Have Four Walls.

Hira Saqib @worthwhilelearning

The first and foremost is learning about the learning styles of the children. Each child is different and learns differently. The beauty of homeschooling is to teach each child as a separate individual and incorporate his/her learning style in the lesson plans.

Visit S. Hira’s blog, The Beauty of Homeschooling Blog.

Our Sister at @islamfromthestart

You don’t always have to have a completed piece of meticulously planned work to show you’ve learnt something.

Visit our sister’s blog called Islam From the Start.

Eaman Elhadri @eaman.um.ibraheem

Even if homeschooling may be out of your comfort zone, give it a try anyway. The truth is, for many of us, it may just remain out of our comfort zone forever. We don’t always know what we are doing. Many nights we lay in bed thinking we are ruining our children. And you know what – that feeling may not ever go away until the day our children leave our home. There are now stories after beautiful stories of veteran homeschooling mothers who have graduated their children. Their statements remain the same: Nothing worthwhile doing is ever comfortable, but it is almost always life-changing. I hope you’ll take the leap, dear sister!

 Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.

John Dewey

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