Let's learn , Mama!

Homeschool Chat with Shoohada Khanom

Today’s home school chat brings you Shoohada Khanom. Born and raised In London, writer and children’s author Shoohada Khanom has published four picture books to date (Kamillah the Butterfly, Imagine , Little Blue Skater Boy and Who Could I be ? ). For those residing in the UK, her books can be bought from Amazon –https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=shoohada+khanom+books&ref=nb_sb_noss . For anyone , residing in the USA, the books can be purchased from https://www.djarabikitabs.com/bookstore

Today ,a mother of 6 , Shoohada lives a busy life, splitting her days between home educating her children and her motherly responsibilities. She shares her home in Bolton with her family and anytime she has a moment to herself , she reads and writes.

1)Tell us a bit about your family and your child/ children

We are a family of 8- Mum, Dad, one girl and five boys. We are on our second year of home educating. Only the boys this year, as my daughter decided to go to secondary school.

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2)What was your main reason for choosing to home educate your children?

We moved out of London a couple of years ago and my children had no school placements where we moved. We made the decision to home educate temporarily, until placements were found. We ended up enjoying it so much, that we decided to continue and made it a permanent thing. We love spending quality time
together, choosing what to do and what to learn together. Most importantly, doing what the kids want to do. There’s something wonderful about everyone doing their own thing, working at their own pace and on their own interests. There’s lots of bonding going
on too, that’s special!

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3)What does a “typical” home school day look like for your family ?

I’m normally the first one up, followed by my daughter who gets ready for school. The boys are normally up by the time I’ve sent her on her way – thanks to the school bus service. Everyone pretty much gets ready by themselves and comes down for breakfast when they’re ready. The first thing I do when I come down, is put my Qur’an lamp on. It’s something I find soothing and adds to the peace and quiet of the morning, while we have our breakfast. We start work around 9 am and finish around 10.30 am. This was a little longer in the beginning of the year, they had a little more to work to cover. In the afternoon we do an hour, 2 pm – 3 pm. Around those times, kids do what they want. They enjoy doing lots of different things. Play fighting and making paper planes would probably be the top of their lists. They’ve recently discovered an animation App and have been making short videos using k’nex models. They enjoy playing with LEGO’s, board games, doing puzzles, playing on their PS4 (screen time is timed). We’ve had nice weather for the last couple of weeks, most of our time has been spent outdoors, some days we’ve taken work outside! We enjoy spending time with nature. Lots of space and lots of green! Green has grown on me so much, since moving up
north it’s become my favourite colour.

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4)What type of a home educator are you ( structured , semi structured , unschooling , Steiner , Montessori etc )

I haven’t really looked into the different types of schooling, it’s not something I felt I needed to do. I’m also not good at sticking to one type of anything, so it wouldn’t probably work for me. However, I did unschool my kids for a few months before starting on our journey. I remember reading somewhere, it’s recommended to do so. If I had to give myself a label, I’d say I’m a ‘go with the flow’ educator. I have a structure, it’s very flexible and it’s been working for us.

5) What do you love the most about home schooling ?

There’s so much to love but first and foremost I’d say the freedom and slowing down. What a blessing! Alhamdulilah. I was running around like a headless chicken in London, everything was fast paced. There was no stopping once I was up! Now everything has slowed down and simplified. I feel more collected and content. Moving from one thing to another, pausing when I need to. It’s allowed me to get time back and spending it with my kids. I honestly love having them around. We wake together, eat meals together, do work together, we cook and bake together. We draw and learn together. We pray and make time to read together! Most importantly, we worship Allah together and that in itself is enough to keep going. Alhamdulilah for this blessing.

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6) What is your favourite subject to teach and what is your least one ?

Islamic Studies are my favourite by far! I started practising shortly before having my first child, so my Islamic knowledge has always been very basic. I learned to read Arabic with my baby literally on my lap – she was a couple months old. It was a struggle, the teacher was very patient with me and I got there in the end. It wasn’t the best experience, learning with a baby, and I’ve since been reluctant to sign up to anything for myself while my kids are so young. So it’s nice to learn more basic stuff with them.
My least would have to be this year Maths, let’s just say it’s not my strongest.

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7)What do you find challenging when it comes to home schooling your children?

Getting out and about. I’m a complete introvert and I’ve got a lot worse since moving out of London. I do push myself for the kids, this year I said I’ll do a tad bit more but not quite got there.

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8) How do you deal with unsupportive family , relatives and friends ?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s people will always talk. If it’s not this, it’s that! I’ve always been a headstrong person, if I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it regardless. I have to say though, I’ve learnt to grow a thick skin and that’s allowed me to separate who’s worth listening to, who’s worth my time and who’s worth my space. I also tend to stay away from people who bring any kind of negative energy my way.

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9) Where do you see your home schooling journey in 5 years time ?

I think I’ll still be educating the younger boys through their primary years. I’ll give the older boys the option to go secondary when the time comes. If they choose to continue with home education, I’m sure we’ll find a way that suits them.

10) What advice would you give to anyone who wants to start home educating ?

Take your time and do your research. It’s not something that should be rushed and done on impulse. Weigh out your pros and cons, see how it all looks like. If you’re in the UK, phone your council and have a chat with you home Education officer. See if there’s an expectation on you. Add that on top of what you want to teach and see how that looks.I knew I wanted to cover the national curriculum, so I opted for online learning until I found a comprehensive curriculum we could use. Shortly after we started using Galore Park textbooks and have been using them since. We use a couple of online programs, reading eggs and Matheletics to help us along. We read LOADS, lots of books. Our home library is forever growing. We also use Studio Arabia for Qur’an and Safar Academy books for Islamic studies. That’s pretty much us!
Jazakallahu Khairan for having
me!

Homeschool Chat with Sushmita Chatterjee

Today’s Tuesday Chat brings you the lovely Sushmita – an expat mother, raising multicultural children by the seaside. She is found juggling between homeschooling, photography and writing all whilst solo parenting most times as her husband travels a fair bit. Sushmita was raised in a busy metropolitan in India, Mumbai where both nature and time was sparse. Now in the UK, she is trying to raise children to become nature loving citizens and enjoying the slower pace of life. ”

Tell us a bit about your family and your child/ children

We are a family of five. My eldest two are my stepchildren, aged 12 (Reuben) and 10 (Irene). Having said that, I have been their mother since they were 4 and 2, so we go a long way back. Our littlest one, Roshan is three years old. My husband works in London and travels a fair bit. I freelance as a photographer, dog walker and a writer. Hence, I am home a lot. So, it is usually me solo-parenting during the week. I also have two dogs,who are our biggest motivators when it comes to getting out and about in the rain and wind, when it is easy to just not bother.

2. What was your main reason for choosing to home educate your children ?

I am assuming you do not want me to point out the things that’s wrong with our education system. We are all aware of those in this community….

My main reason is TIME. I missed spending time with my children. The mornings before school was always spent rushing around, especially after Roshan was born. After school, we barely had 3 to 4 hours window and we had to fit in homework, snack time, bath time, play time, dinner time etc. It always felt like a pressure cooker and for me bedtime couldn’t come earlier. But that feeling was wrong especially given, I had not spent any time with them all day. The pressure was too much and kids were growing up too fast. I did not want to miss out on spending this time together.

3. What does a “typical” home school day look like for your family ?

It changes every few weeks and months depending on the season. We are inspired by the Waldorf’s rhythm system that helps us pace ourselves.

We are creatures of slow-living, so unless we have any prior commitments, we start our mornings slowly.

It is often Roshan and I, who wake up and come downstairs. We let the dogs out, water the plants in the yard and light an incense stick. After that we play or read books together. Then he gets busy playing on his own whilst I cook breakfast.

Then we wake up the other two children and have breakfast together. During breakfast we also read a chapter or two of a book. Then we tidy up and go for a walk. We are often not back until after lunchtime. In the afternoon, we may do some sort of schooling whether it is a project or math. Sometimes the syllabus is self-directed by the kids, sometimes suggested by me and some other times designated by their dad.

The rest of the day is spend doing whatever we fancy. It often involves a lot of reading, cooking or meeting friends.

We easily spend most of the day out especially in the summer because we live by the beach. Summer is our least productive time from the perspective of classical sit down study approach. In summer. I lean more towards unschooling I think.

4) What type of a home educator are you ?

I think it would be so hard to describe or categorise our approach. We have a bespoke approach, slightly instinctual and mutually respectful.

We spend a lot of time outdoors. For the older two, we also split up the month into two. We spend two weeks doing a topic or a project suggest by either me or their dad and we dedicate the other two weeks in topics suggested by the children. We try to incorporate math, history and other subjects alongside the projects.

We do not have agendas for the year or anything like that yet and when we do any work, we try to incorporate the aesthetics of Steiner because my husband is Steiner educated and so we are heavily influenced by the approach though being vegan, Kids and I do not feel comfortable going the whole hog with that approach. All in all I think we do a mix of unschooling and classical with a twist.

5.What do you love the most about home schooling ?

The freedom. I, personally, love the freedom to learn at our own pace, explore at our own time, travel whenever we want for however long we want. I also love to see my three children spend so much time together. Yes, they bicker, oh so much. But because it happens at the comfort of our homes, we all learn a lot from it. Everything is an oppurtunity to teach or learn, if that makes sense.

6. What is your favourite subject to teach and what is your least one ?

I think Nature study is probably the topic we all love to learn together. Nature study somehow encompasses so many subjects including maths, history, geography and more. My least favourite topic to teach are maths and science. I blame my schooling because I never saw joy in these topics. I am trying to not pass the dislike for these topics on to my children but the pressure is real. I struggle!!

7. What do you find challenging when it comes to home schooling your children?

My children went to a mainstream school from year 1 to year 4. That is a long time in any child’s life, right? And because of that there is a lot of unlearning or deschooling to be done. The problem is I don’t know how!! Ha ha

They see no joy in writing, they struggle to concentrate if they have to sit down to ‘study’ and whilst I wouldn’t mind unschooling, there isn’t a community around us to reap the benefits of unschooling. So to strike a balance between letting them be so they can feel joyous about learning and to make sure, they do know their times-tables can be challenging sometimes.

8. How do you deal with unsupportive family , relatives and friends ?

Fortunately, we only have curious spectators and I am always willing to talk. In terms of relatives, I have tried to involve them all in our homeschooling journey one way or the other. For instance, my mother in law is always slightly intrigued by my choices whether it is to go vegan or to home educate. So this year, I have asked her to plan an art unit for the children. So the plan is to go and spend a good long month with her, which she would love whilst letting her take the lead in our home education journey. Sometimes, this is the best way to keep the critics or spectics at bay.

9. Where do you see your home schooling journey in 5 years time ?

I seriously do not know. In 5 years Reuben would be ideally doing A-levels and Irene would be doing her GCSE’s but I have no expectations. I want them to follow their heart. I can tell you what I will be looking forward to though, that is starting our home-schooling journey all over again with the littlest one and this time I would be doing it from scratch. That will be so so exciting!

10. What advice would you give to anyone who wants to start home educating their children ?

Just do it and read to them. Read to them a LOT. You do not have to know everything. You can learn together. Most of all, you get to be together, nurture your relationship and see it grow. You will never look back and think that the time you had together was not worth it. It is so worth it!!

Home School Chat with Sarah from “A Bit of Pink”

Today’s Tuesday chat brings you Sarah from A bit of pink. Sarah is a 30 something British Muslim mama of 3 wild girls and they home educate in London, UK. She is passionate about respectful parenting, writing, community and nurturing creativity. Through her blog https://www.abitofpink.co.uk/blog, she invites you on a journey through motherhood. If you would like to follow their home school journey, Sarah can be found on Instagram @a_bitofpink.

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1 Tell us a bit about your family and child/children

Hello, My name is Sarah, I am a British Muslim mama originally from Manchester but for the last 16 years I have been living in London. I am married to Hamid, my hot blooded Algerian other half (if you know, you know!) and we have 3 beautiful girls aged 5.5, 4 and 14 months. My background (because I think its important to remember and honour who we were before our kids) was in the arts and alternative education. Ironically (as I have now taken the route of home ed) I used to mentor young people who were excluded from the mainstream and design bespoke packages of education that were better tailored to their specific needs. I used the arts as a tool to empower them and to support them in their emotional and social development.

2 What was your main reason for choosing to home educate your children ?

I never made a conscious decision to home educate, I just got less and less comfortable with the idea of sending my eldest to school. She seemed so young, so spirited, so free and I didn’t. Something in my gut said, the school system would crush her. As I looked into it more, I started reflecting on my passion for child led learning, the desire to have flexibility and a life that centred around family and togetherness rather than us structuring our days around an institution that I wasn’t convinced could offer more than we could offer in the nurturing environment of our own home. Now, I am more aware oF things like my children’s right for consent, the importance of play and extended time outdoors, delaying formal studies and focusing on character building and emotional intelligence. With all that children are exposed to in schools and in western society at large, I want my children to have a firm and solid foundation in their faith foremost, but also in their morals and values. I believe that in order to learn about the world they need to be in it rather than detached in a system that presents learning as something that happens during specific times of the day in a specific building.

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3 What does a “typical” home school day look like for your family ?

Until very recently I probably wouldn’t have been able to answer that question because our weeks were very spontaneous and things could change each day. But I realised that there was a little too much freedom and things were getting chaotic. I realised that my children needed more structure and predictability so now (on the days that my husband is at work) we follow a 3 hour work cycle in the morning 9 am till 12 and then we have lunch 12-1 and we head out for the afternoons. We currently have 2 routine sessions per week which are our weekly co-operative group and poetry inspired Muslim Ballet (yes that’s a thing!! check out @graceandpoiseacademy)

4 What type of a home educator are you ( structured , semi structured , unschooling , Steiner , Montessori etc )

I don’t particularly like to label us because I feel like there are things from all philosophies that resonate with me. I would say we are more Montessori inspired at the moment and I do think this approach is really beneficial for 0-6 yrs but I am really interested in Charlotte Mason and Waldorf and I am currently on a mission to learn more and see how we can adapt our current routine. Right now I would say that we are semi-structured, we have a rhythm but I am willing to be flexible and ultimately if the children aren’t in the zone, very little will be achieved! I love dropping everything to have a fun and spontaneous day, if the mood calls for it.

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5 What do you love the most about home schooling ?

Most of all, I love that I get to spend every day in the company of my children. It is an honour and a blessing to get to witness their development up close. I love that I learn with them and that through this whole experience they are challenging and stretching me as an individual. I know that their childhood will pass by in the blink of an eye, so I am grateful that we can share these moments together.

6 What is your favourite subject to teach and what is your least one ?

It’s funny because I really don’t see myself as a teacher, I really feel that we are exploring things together and I am guiding them and in a sense, curating materials and environment, I get really uncomfortable whenever I feel I am slipping into ‘teacher mode’ because it is not how I would like to be. That being said, I am much more comfortable with literacy and at school I detested maths, so I am really aware that I gravitate towards literacy and this is something I have to watch myself on. I also find it so hard to inspire anything to do with history although we went to an amazing exhibition this weekend on the Muslim fallen heroes of World War One and the narrative surrounding the brotherhood and relationships that developed out in the trenches. I was absolutely riveted. It goes to show that conventional curriculum is not always the thing that sparks curiosity to know more.

7 What do you find challenging when it comes to home schooling your children?

I would say that two of the most challenging things for me are 1) managing sibling rivalry which I think often gets fuelled because they have next to no time apart. 2) Dealing with my own sense of doubt and overcoming the frequent feeling I have that I am not doing enough and I should just give up. I really feel that you have to be extremely strong to tread the road less travelled and we are very conditioned by the traditional approach. It can be hard to break free and get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable.

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8 How do you deal with unsupportive family , relatives and friends ?

If I know that someone is going to have a negative attitude towards how we educate our children then I generally don’t speak to them about it. Interestingly some of my closest family members have never even acknowledged it and I am sure that it is either because it challenges them or they just think I am plain stupid. I tend to share my experiences very openly through my instagram (@a_bitofpink) and my blog and I make sure I put relevant messages there so that they can gain more understanding indirectly.

9 Where do you see your home schooling journey in 5 years time ?

I honestly don’t think I can answer this because I really feel we will take it one year at a time. I would love to see my kids right through to the end but whether that is what they will want or need is another matter. There may come a time that they really want to experience school and I don’t think it is fair for me to deny them that opportunity (although I would like to avoid this before age 7!) I think we have to weigh up the children’s development, our family circumstances and my mental health!!! It takes a huge toll on us and we have to be in the best place to offer them what they deserve. I think we will know when the time is right to make some changes.

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10 What advice would you give to anyone who wants to start home educating their children ?

I would say that knowledge is power. Read and read and educate yourself so that you feel confident in your decision and you have the strength to stand by it when things are tough. Write a mission statement at the start of your journey about why you want to do this, what you hope you will achieve, goals and aspirations etc and re-evaluate it annually. This will remind you why you started when you feel like giving up. The most important thing of all is to find a support network and USE them….. don’t be shy to reach out, you need to be surrounded by like minded people who ‘get it’ whether that’s on or offline. If you have a connection with someone and a shared vibe….make them your tribe. They will be your people, your life line when you need that additional support and they will also share in the joy, inspire you and most importantly, be part of your memory making.

Home School Chat with Our Homeschool Heaven

Today’s home school chat series , bring you Hena Butt from England. She is a homeschooling mama of three girls and her instagram account is full of inspirational art and craft ideas. If you would like to follow her family’s home ed journey, you can find her on instagram @ourhomeschoolheaven

1)Tell us a bit about your family and your child/ children

I have three daughters aged 6, 4 and 1, we live in Brighton, UK. We love to paint, bake, travel, explore outside, spend time together and make learning a part of our life.

2)What was your main reason for choosing to home educate your children ?

When my first daughter was born, I had the usual dreams for her future, including her first day at school! But when she was 2 years old we started doing lots of activities together at home and it was amazing to witness her achievements, from the first time she put the puzzle together herself to the first time she counted to 10! We were enjoying our time together and I asked myself if I wanted to miss out on these precious early years. Did I really want to hand over these memorable moments to a school and teacher? It was then, I started looking into homeschooling. Another part that swayed me was being able to incorporate Islamic studies and Quran into our homeschool.

3)What does a “typical” home school day look like for your family ?

No two days are the same for us! As we are quite child led, we have two different types of days:

1- the girls sit happily at the table ready to work and complete their work

2- the girls just want to play!

On days like the first, work starts after breakfast up until lunch time, with lots of little breaks to play. We use workbooks and worksheets from Twinkl. For the second type of day, I always let them play and give them the option to come back to work later. Unstructured free play is an important part of our homeschool day.

We are big on art in our homeschool so some days we could spend the whole morning painting or crafting! We usually go out after lunch or if we are still home they do nature study/topic work/painting/maths depending on what we’ve done in the morning. So it’s quite flexible. On Fridays we do Islamic studies and Prophets stories.

4)What type of a home educator are you ( structured , semi structured , unschooling , Steiner , Charlotte Mason, Montessori etc )

Based on our daily rhythm we are quite unstructured at the moment. However, I use the national curriculum to give me an overview of goals for my 6 year old for English and maths. So I use it as a reference point for her progress but of course we go at her pace. We use the Charlotte Mason approach as we do lots of nature study and nature journaling. I also love Montessori education and use what I can from it, particularly the practical life elements. I’m looking forward to implementing more early years Montessori for my 1 year old inshallah! We also take inspiration from Waldorf education as my daughters love learning through drawing and painting.

5)What do you love the most about home schooling ?

The flexibility! When my third daughter was born we took about 4 months off just enjoying the time with their newborn baby sister. Recently they were interested in Ancient Egypt so we spent many weeks learning about this topic. I also love the calmness it brings into our lives – no rushing in the mornings!

6)What is your favourite subject to teach and what is your least one ?

I always thought I wouldn’t enjoy teaching maths but that’s because I’ve never had as much fun with maths as I’m having now! I want to make maths enjoyable for my daughter so we use different manipulatives and make it hands on.

The least favourite would probably be certain science experiments, just because of the inevitable mess!

7)What do you find challenging when it comes to home schooling your children

What is challenging for me is to overcome my own fears and ideas of what education should look like and let them take the lead, and to trust them and trust the process.

8)How do you deal with unsupportive family , relatives and friends ?

I take it as a chance to talk about the merits of homeschooling! Alhumdulilah my family is supportive, and I’ve found other people who are negative just need some more info about homeschooling, as they often don’t know much about it.

9)Where do you see your home schooling journey in 5 years time ?

In 5 years my eldest will be 12 inshallah, so I’ll see if she wants to go to secondary school. I hope and pray I’ll still be blessed enough to be homeschooling my children.

10) What advice would you give to anyone who wants to start home educating their children ?

These early years go by in the blink of an eye – take the plunge and soak up these wonderful years with your children. Don’t overthink it to start with- you just need a few resources and the world at your feet- explore, live each day with your kids because living is learning. Lastly, it can be hard and it is a commitment, but as a parent don’t underestimate yourself – if you think you can’t do it- you definitely can!

Home School Chat with Endless Learning

“The home is the first and most effective place to learn the lessons of life :truth, honour , virtue, self control, the value of education, honest work and the purpose and the privilege of life. Nothing can take the place of home in rearing and teaching children , and no other success can compensate for failures in the home.” David Mckay

This Tuesday, we have @Endless learning , a homeschooling mama of one , for the Home School Chat series . She has also recently started her own blog, where she documents her home schooling journey. You can also find product reviews and free resources-https://endlesslearning.home.blog/

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1)Tell us a bit about your family and your child/ children

Asalamu Alaykum, I am a homeschooling mum of 1 ( a 7 year old daughter ) from Birmingham .We love exploring as a family and love the company of others.

2)What was your main reason for choosing to home educate your children ?

We had many reasons to why we chose homeschooling, I can minimise the long list to 3, 1) freedom 2) religious 3) comfort. Homeschooling provided freedom of learning,I could provide the ideal environment in which my child learns best in. An environment where she doesn’t feel pressure into following what everyone else in school is doing. We also had religious reasons too, we start our day with Quraan and Qaidah and this wouldn’t happen in the morning if she was going to school. We spend a lot of our time reading stories about the prophets and learning about the beautiful things out religion teaches us. And lastly comfort, having your kids around you and watching them grow is comforting and homeschooling provides that! Seeing your child write their first sentence or write a few words for the first time the feeling is just amazing, Allhamdulilah

3)What does a “typical” home school day look like for your family ?

We try to get our “sit down work” done in the morning, but that doesn’t always happen, we could be doing maths just before dinner sometimes! We start the day with Qaidah/Quraan/Memorisation. By starting the day with the remembrance of Allah our day goes much calmer, Alhamdulilah.

We follow a semi- structured timetable. I have what I would like to cover in terms of sit down work written down and we do what we can. I like to have as much freedom in the day to do whatever we like. I believe learning happens everywhere and anywhere you go. Usually after lunch it is free play or we go out to the library or park. If there was a certain activity or lesson that I wanted to do in the morning and we never got a chance to do it, then I try to do it later during the day or week. We also love doing art on a daily basis, whether that is art indoors or outside!

4)What type of a home educator are you ( structured , semi structured , unschooling , Steiner , Charlotte Mason, Montessori etc )

I was a very structured home educator at first, but this became quite difficult very fast. I started to stress when I never got a certain lesson plan done or never done the list of subjects I wanted to do. So I decided we should have a semi-structured approach as it was more realistic. This way we have routine and some structure to the day which I believe is very important. Balancing out the day is crucial.

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5)What do you love the most about home schooling ?

Oh there’s so much I love about homeschooling, very difficult to pinpoint one specific reason. I love the flexibility of it for sure. Learning happens everywhere. So if your child wasn’t feeling like doing a certain subject one day you can move on or do something else or incorporate the same idea into another activity.

6)What is your favourite subject to teach and what is your least one ?

My favourite subject to teach is maths and least is English. With maths it can only be one answer, where as for English there’s so much to cover and it can get mind boggling at times.

7)What do you find challenging when it comes to home schooling your children

What I find challenging at times is trying to make whatever the lesson we are going to do exciting enough to get my child engaged and ready to listen. Sometimes it’s a struggle and sometimes it’s not. Sometimes I will be in full home school mode and my child will have other plans and already decided she’s having the day off or maybe 2 days off, that’s a struggle for me, anyways.

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8)How do you deal with unsupportive family , relatives and friends ?

I just ignore it. At first relatives around me were against the idea and would say how will she be at the right level or who will she be friends with. But eventually they get tired of asking. Now they have seen the benefits Alhamdulilah. It just takes time for them to come around the idea.

9)Where do you see your home schooling journey in 5 years time ?

I would like to home school through secondary too Insha’Allah, the way the school are in my neighbourhood , I wouldn’t want that sort of influence on my child. Insha’Allah

10)What advice would you give to anyone who wants to start home educating their children?

Find out what type of learner your child is, this always makes things easier when you start your home schooling journey with them. Take it easy; don’t rush into it straight away especially if you have removed your child from the school system. Allow it to become a natural part of your life and remember home school is not school at home it’s far from it. And do what works for YOU, what works for one family may not always work for YOU and that’s okay. Every family has different needs and you do what fulfils the needs of your family. Don’t be afraid to ask for help too! And remember there is endless learning done anywhere and everywhere, enjoy it!

Home school Chat with Sarah Javed

This Tuesday , I am interviewing Sarah Javed , who is a 36 year old author and homeschooling mother of three, two boys 12 and 8 and a girl aged 10 . Her home school journey started over seven years ago and throughout those years there have been many highs and lows that encouraged her to offer some information and support to other homeschooling parents through her social platforms.

Her YouTube channel is full of inspirational and beneficial videos on home education, so do check them out- Sarah Javed

She is also the author of the children’s Islamic story book “I’m So Angry!”, which is an absolutely fantastic book and I thoroughly recommend it.

“Huthayfah is an eight year old boy who struggles to deal with his anger when he doesn’t get his way. What did the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) tell us to do when we get angry? Let Huthayfah share how he learns to control his anger. Suitable as a point of discussion for a variety of ages, however, aimed at ages 5-8 years. “The book can be bough from Amazon-I’m So Angry

Sarah is also active on Instagram and can be found @sarahijaved, where she documents their home school journey.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem.

1) Tell us a bit about your family and your child/children.

My husband and I have always taken the role of parenthood very seriously. We work incredibly hard to build a positive, close relationship with our children filling their lives with quality time, attention and experiences that will shape them into adulthood inshaAllah. Home education has been a natural extension of our parenting and despite being difficult beyond belief at times, the benefits and blessings from home education has enabled us to continue year in and year out Alhumdulillah al adheem.

My children are 12, 10 and 8. They are kind, bright, social, active and independent individuals that impair the myth of homeschoolers being unsociable, sheltered, controlled beings Alhumdulillah, Allahumma barik lahun. I have been home educating for over seven years and when I embarked on this journey it was a struggle to find other homeschoolers, however, during this time there has been a positive shift in attitudes and a lot more acceptance for home education. This has been a wonderful change and has offered much needed support to families.

2) What was your main reason for choosing to home educate your children?

My main reason for choosing to home educate was to maintain a level of control and autonomy in the learning, development and education of my children. My eldest struggled with separation anxiety when he was a toddler and so I wanted to nurture my children until they were more comfortable and secure as individuals to face a world that is ready to break them, inshaAllah.

3) What does a typical home school day look like for a family?

Our home school runs to a strict schedule in order to maintain organisation and reduce time wasting inshaAllah. A typical day will start early, with breakfast, morning routine, bed making etc out of the way and school beginning at 08. 30hrs. On most days, the majority, if not all, of formal school work is completed by lunchtime. This frees the afternoon for prayer, trips, chores, clubs and classes. We are actively involved in our local home school community and spend almost every afternoon partaking in a group activity. Moreover, my children are enthusiastic athletes that train and compete in competitions/games thus, our late afternoon and evenings are especially busy with lots of sports!

4)What type of a home educator are you ? ( structured, semi structured, Montessori, Steiner, classical, unschooling, Charlotte Mason etc)

I don’t personally like to fit into any label and would recommend trying lots of different styles of education to find what works for you and your family inshaAllah. However, I would consider my approach to be structured and eclectic.

5) What do you love the most about home education?

I love that home education offers me the opportunity to be with my children. To watch them learn, develop and grow and to be a real, active part of their learning journey. I also love that our lives are not dictated and controlled by the mainstream school timetable. We travel when we want, we explore when we want, the freedom is definitely a huge advantage to homeschooling Alhumdulillah.

6) What is your favourite subject to teach and what is your least one?

At primary level, I think I enjoyed teaching most subjects. I vividly remember my excitement and elation when each of my children could read or write or mastered basic maths. However, as I now embark on secondary level home education, I definitely enjoy teaching history and dislike teaching maths.

7) What do you find challenging when it comes to homeschooling your children?

The biggest homeschooling challenge for me is never having any time for myself. Every day is busy, is chaotic, is tireless and in the hierarchy of our family, I am last. It can be a big challenge having so much to do on a daily basis with very little or no respite.

8) How do you deal with unsupportive family and friends?

At the beginning of our journey, some family and friends did not understand why I would choose to home educate and they worried about my children becoming isolated, unsocialised beings. To be honest, everyone is entitled to their opinions and has the right to choose their own path in life, I never took it personally since these are my children, that I’m raising and this is our path. I have found that over the years, seeing my children, the things we do, our home school etc has opened their minds and everyone is so supportive of our journey now Alhumdulillah.

9) Where do you see your homeschooling journey in 5 years time?

In five years time, I’ll have a 17, 13 and 15 year old inshaAllah. I would hope to still be home educating inshaAllah. I’m praying that my children would have a couple of GCSEs each at this stage and they would be able to direct their own learning inshaAllah.

10) What advice would you give to anyone who wants to start home educating their children?

I think, it is important to appreciate that home education isn’t for everyone. It is downright time consuming, difficult, demanding, unglamorous and expensive! Unfortunately, many families also don’t have a choice because both parents have to work full time. Parenthood is tough and whatever your path is, ultimately we are all just doing the best we can at any given time.

My humble advice to anyone contemplating, starting or new to the homeschool journey would be, patience and being very clear on your objectives. Why do you want to homeschool? What are you hoping to achieve? What are the most important things/qualities to you? Being clear on your objectives will offer you direction and control, as well as offer you much comfort and clarity during those difficult days inshaAllah.

Home education is subjective and what works for some will not necessarily work for all, it is a working progress so be patient and allow yourself time to trial and error methods to find what works for you inshaAllah.

For some of us it is a big transition to have our child/children home with us all day, everyday, therefore, time and patience allows you to gain experience, which in turn increases your confidence as a home educating parent.

Additionally, know that making the decision to home school and starting the journey is the hardest and scariest decision to make, the complete responsibility for your children’s education is heavy! Nevertheless, once you have made the commitment, with each week, each term, each year, you will gain confidence in your abilities and your system and with that, the freedom to take the education of your children in whatever direction you please!

10 Simple Nature Activities to do with your pre schooler (2-5)

We often presume that in order to connect ourselves and our children to nature, we need to do something big or go somewhere remote. What we often fail to realise, is that nature truly can be found right on our doorstep, whether it is in your garden or a walk around the neighbourhood, or in your local park. For the 30 days wild challenge organised by the Wildlife Trust , I have chosen ten easy activities to do with your pre schooler. These activities are really good as well if you have a baby and still want to do something with your toddler or older child, without necessarily leaving the house or going too far.

Feel the grass between your toes– Can there be something more easier than this? All of my children love actually walking barefoot and interestingly there is a lot of research that suggests that walking barefoot is beneficial for your health.
Tree-hugging- my three year old absolutely loves doing this. It’s one of his favourite things to do when we are out, whether its for a walk in the neighbourhood or a play in the park. Interestingly research shows that “hugging a tree increases levels of hormone oxytocin. This hormone is responsible for feeling calm and there is also evidence that “trees provide health benefits for metal illnesses such as ADHD and depression. In addition , children function better cognitively and emotionally when they interact with plants.” I really recommend the book “Trees to spot ” by Usborne Mini- it will help you to identify 60 trees and also has a chart with stickers.
Bird watching– you have two options, you can either get some binoculars or just make some using good old toilet rolls and a string. Sit in a place where you can clearly see your garden and start bird watching. This is actually one of my favourite activities to do, because I can have a cup of tea in peace . I really recommend the Usborne Mini Book ” Birds to Spot”.
Make a nature table– next time you are in your garden or in your local park, collect some treasures- feathers, leaves , pine cones, sticks, petals, anything that catches your child’s attention. Once back, just display it on a tray or a basket . We often have different ones throughout the seasons. Its a brilliant way to teach children about seasons in a practical way too.
Have a picnic in your garden – prepare some fruits, vegetables, crackers and whatever else your child likes and just have a nice picnic outside. Grazing platters are fantastic for this .Make sure you involve your child in preparing the food too.
Look for mini-beasts- see what garden bugs and wildlife you can find in your garden. I really recommend again the Usborne Mini Book ” Bugs to spot”. Also the Woodland Trust Nature detectives have fantastic printables on their website too.
Make bird feeders- this is probably one of the messiest activities but it is so much fun. Collect a few pine cones, let your child, smother them with peanut butter and sprinkle some seeds- sunflower or pumpkin seeds, or you can buy the ready made available bird mix. This truly is a brilliant sensory activity to do- but be prepared for some mess.
Organise a mini litter pick- you can invite some of your child’s friends and you can all go for a walk around the neighbourhood or your local park and pick up litter. We often do this and leave the litter pickers in our car boot, so its very easy to do this and needless to say great for the environment too.
Feed the ducks /swans
Find a wildflower– next time you are out and about, see what flowers you can spot. The Usborne mini Book “Flowers to spot” is great for this and you will be able to identify over 60 different flowers . There is also a sticker chart at the end of the book.

I have written as well a blog post on some of our favourite and oft used nature books , so do check it out if you are looking for some new nature book recommendations –5 NATURE Book Series That Your Family Should Have

Home School Chat with Hafa Kilincci

Tell us a bit about your family and your child/ children

– Salaam, my name is Hafa and I’m a homeschooling mommy to five beautiful souls. I am originally from Bosnia, my husband is Turkish and we are a multilingual family. We are from Atlanta (USA) but God had other plans for us so we are currently in Turkey in a small town at the Aegean coast called Kusadasi. We lost our home to fire last year in February, and we decided to move to our house in Turkey until our house back home is fixed. Now we are here, learning all about Turkey, Turkish culture, food, music, history and everything else we can. I have a MS in Psychology.

My kids are ages 10, 8, 6,3 and 1. We are travelling a lot and we enjoy learning about everything we can.

My husband has a medical tourism business here in Turkey and USA and he helps out with lessons whenever he can!

2. What was your main reason for choosing to home educate your children?

– I wanted my kids to fall in love with learning. I wanted them to learn whatever they wanted, and also see the world as much as they can. I wanted them to experience freedom and love for education. When my oldest was born, I met a lady at the park with her kids and she mentioned the word ‘homeschooling’ to me. We met afterwards few more times and i learned and got motivated about homeschooling. After explaining all this to my husband, he said he trusts me and supports me whatever i decide for our kids. So here we are enjoying our life and homeschooling journey

3. What does a “typical” home school day look like for your family ?

– We try to wake up all early to pray and talk about God and our religion in the morning. Then we do our chores and have a breakfast to discuss our day. My lessons are usually planned out ahead of time and that helps a lot. With so many kids that means a lot of laundry is happening in our house, that’s being washed throughout the day. We start our school day with a read aloud story, and everyone gets a task while I study with my oldest, and then she moves from Writing and reading to maths while i do LA with my son, and then so on. We do school about 3 hrs mostly main lessons (Math, LA, social studies and art) then we do lunch, go for a walk or go swim at the beach (while here in Turkey in summer) … kids have to complete their audio books and write report and then science happens in the late afternoon. We do more of reading aloud, prepare dinner and play either games or they are free to use their electronics.

We try to be more relaxed in summer but basically review the grade we have finished so they can refresh everything. I don’t have just assign their classes and force them to do those i want them to do. Upon waking up I can tell if they are up for some math or LA or just art … Based on their mood we decide how to start our day. The main idea is to get done with classes and learn, but in what order that is less important … Sometimes we just go for a walk or swim or hiking and do all our lessons in the afternoon.

We also do poetry, Quran ayahs discussion and memorization, health class where we learn about our health (anatomy), different projects, baking and cooking, nature study …. It all depends what day it is and what is assigned…

4. What type of a home educator are you ( structured , semi structured , unschooling , Steiner , Montessori etc )

– Well this is really hard to explain … We are using mainly Oakmeadow and Earthschooling (waldorf), I love to use Montessori for my little ones (preschoolers and Kindergarten), I also love to do child led (unschooling) from time to time …

5. What do you love the most about home schooling ?

– The freedom of studying at our own pace and our own place (it could be our home, airport, car, air plane, beach, pool) … The flexibility! This is what I love and enjoy mostly. To see them blossom and build their love for education because they are not forced to follow any rules but to follow their hearts and own development.

6. What is your favourite subject to teach and what is your least one ?

– I actually enjoy teaching them every subject. The reason is simple – I’m learning along with them. I’m learning things that I ‘supposedly’ learned in school but don’t remember any of it. It was mostly ‘memorising’ which is not what I do with my kids … We LEARN …

7. What do you find challenging when it comes to home schooling your children

– When one or all of them are having meltdowns at the same time and I have to deal with all of them to calm them down plus stay calm myself, and make sure at the end of the day we all had a very beautiful, peaceful and productive day. It gets hard but then at the end of the day, you wouldn’t believe, i get down on my knees and pray just to thank God for giving me an opportunity to teach my kids, spend time with them every day and letting me experience all these challenges in our homeschooling journey so i can grow to be stronger and braver…

8. How do you deal with unsupportive family , relatives and friends ?

– This was really hard at first. I used to cry a lot, doubt myself until my husband sat me down and clarified to me that i’m the mother and i decide for my kids not somebody else. And if HS is making our family (us and our kids) happy and satisfied i need to ignore others. He, may God always protect and bless him, taught me how to stand up for myself and my kids. Now, since i learned to ignore unsupportive family, and spend time less with them everyone seems to ‘accept’ us as a homeschooling family now… There are still those in our family who show no support but I just try to keep my distance for our own peace.

9. Where do you see your home schooling journey in 5 years time ?

– I hope, InShaAllah, to be sitting, enjoying my coffee and smiling with a full heart at all our Homeschooling accomplishments. I’ll hopefully have two in Highschool, one in Middle and two in Elementary school.

10. What advice would you give to anyone who wants to start home educating their children ?

– You can do it. Do not be scared. You are giving your kids a brighter future and teaching them what schools can never do. Take one day at the time and don’t get frustrated. And on days when you feel you failed them, trust me, you’re doing a fabulous job.

5 Nature Book Series That Your Family Should Have

For the third year in a row, we are taking part of the great 30 days wild nature challenge, organised by the Wildlife Trusts. This is a brilliant initiative to get people to connect with nature and do something wild for each day of June. If you would like to find more information on the nature challenge and how to receive your free pack, which is full of ideas on what to do, then click here-Wildlife Trusts . You can also download the 30Days Wild app for free .As a home school family, who spends quite a lot of time in the great outdoors , needless to say we have accumulated quite a few nature related books throughout the years. This blog post contains five of our favourite and most oft used nature book series.

1 Usborne Spotter’s Guides series – these are really brilliant series , especially for older children aged 5 and above. They are written by experts, accurately illustrated and easy to use.” They use the detailed descriptions to identify various species. The books also have a glossary at the end and a page with various internet links, where you can find further information. In addition, your child can record their sightings and add up their spotting successes on the scorecard.e We have the Ponds and Lakes, Woodland Life, Trees , Bugs and Insects, Wild Animals. There are 18 books in total in the series – Butterflies, The seashore,Dinosaurs, Rocks and Minerals and many more. The series can be bought from here–Usborne Spotter’s Guide Trees

2. The Handbooks by the Wildlife Trust, written by Miles Kelly- We have the British wildlife, The British wildflowers and the British birds. We actually bought them from Lidl, and they weren’t expensive at all. These books are quite heavy so they are great for doing project work at home. The books have fact files that provide identification of the various species. The illustrations are stunning too and very detailed. I really like that there is space for the child to add their own notes and pictures or photos. Thoroughly recommend them. Here is the link to the books, should you wish to buy them-British Wildlife Flower and Trees Handbook

3. My First book of… series by RSPB- these are great for pre -school children. We have the books for garden bugs, garden birds and the garden wildlife. All the books are written in a way that the reader gets some clues on one page as to what bird/bug /animal or insect etc is on the next page. This makes it really more fun and engaging and my three year old really likes guessing what animal it is. Each page contains description of the relevant bird/animal etc , including simple information like their habitat and the sound they make. The illustrations are beautiful and captivating. The books in these series are very educational , clearly laid out and very easy to follow and can be read by emerging readers too. The books are perfect for you to use with your child in your garden and find more about what wildlife it attracts. Here is the link for some of them-My First Book of Garden Birds

4 Usborne minis series- I recently found about these these series on Instagram and we absolutely love them. We have the birds, flowers and trees to spot and also intend to buy the bug book too. They are perfect size for your bag or your children’s rucksack .They are very thin, so don’t take a lot of space too, which is a bonus for sure and you can even fit them in your pocket. Instead of just using your phone when your child asks you for the tenth time “What’s this?”, you can both look it up in the booklets. I really love the fact that the various species of trees, flowers, and birds are divided in categories- garden, woodland town, water, farmland etc. In addition, the booklets have a spotter chart at the end with stickers , so your child can keep track of the species they have spotted. All in all, these books are fantastic, beautifully illustrated and very easy to use- a must have for your walks. You can purchase them on here.-Usborne minis

5) The Spot series by Miles Kelly, published by the Woodland Trust– These series are brilliant for older children, aged 6+ . They are very light so, you can easily carry them in your rucksack. The books can easily fit in your pocket when you are out for a walk, as they are not bulky. Divided into colour groups, each species , whether it is a tree, wildflower, bug , insect etc comes with a beautiful colour artwork and important identification tips. There is also key information and a detailed fact file, including vital stats such as family group, height and the time of year flowers can be seen. The illustrations are really captivating too.

Home School Chat Series -with Shazia Hussain

“An eternal question about children is, how should we educate them? Politicians and educators consider more school days in a year, more science and math, the use of computers and other technology in the classroom, more exams and tests, more certification for teachers, and less money for art. All of these responses come from the place where we want to make the child into the best adult possible, not in the ancient Greek sense of virtuous and wise, but in the sense of one who is an efficient part of the machinery of society. But on all these counts, soul is neglected.” Thomas Moore

Throughout the years I have met some of the most incredible home educators , who have all been a source of knowledge , help and inspiration . I hope you enjoy reading these interviews and that they will give you a glimpse of the many different approaches and systems of home education .

My first home-school mama to participate in these series , is the lovely Shazia Hussain, who is a mum of 3 and resides in the UK.

1 Tell us a bit about your family and your child/ children .

Assalaamu alaykum, my name is Shazia and alhamdulilah I am a mother of three wonderful children ranging in age from 12 years to 7 years. Alhamdulilah I have two daughters and a son. As a family we love to spend much time together whether it is in the outdoors (local parks, county parks, peak district nature reserves etc), at museums, heritage sites, Islamic events or just being at home snuggled up to watch a movie. We love to travel to Muslim countries and see the beautiful masjids and explore the different culture.

2 What was your main reason for choosing to home educate your children ?

I would have to say my husband initially who planted the seed of homeschooling when the children were just toddlers. However, at that time I remember saying no to him as I had never come across the concept. When my children started primary school I began to feel the void of them being away from me for so many hours. Most days it was just clock watching for 3pm to come. They would return home with little paintings and drawings and it made me sad to think I didn’t witness this masterpiece from the offset. The work at primary level was so basic that I started to look more into home education and realised I could just teach them at home and enjoy them during these most precious years.

3 What does a “typical” home school day look like for your family?

We wake up quite early which always helps as the ‘school day’ is over before the afternoon. After breakfast, everyone gets dressed and makes sure their beds are made and bedrooms are clean. We then always allocate a small amount of time for dhikr (remembrance of Allah). We sit in a small circle and make dhikr together. I have always found this starts our day off so much more calmly and puts us all at peace. The children then recite their Qur’an, qaida, and practice duas and surahs they are memorising. We then move on to Maths and English worksheets/workbooks/reading. This normally takes us up to lunch time. While I prepare the lunch they are told to put all their workbooks away and have some freeplay. If we have no group activities planned for the afternoon, we then move on to science, history, geography etc. This really depends on which topic we are exploring as I like to incorporate as many subject areas around a topic. I try to have a few days in the week as our ‘outing days’ and a few as our ‘home days’ as this helps me to get on with housework while the children work on projects or just play board games or pursue their own interests.

4 What type of a home educator are you ( structured , semi structured , unschooling , Steiner , Montessori etc ) ?

I probably started off very structured with timetables and lots of weekly lesson planning. A year or so into homeschooling I slowly abandoned this approach due to the time consuming nature of it. I then had a period of unschooling until the anxiety kicked in that they weren’t learning enough. I find I am more semi structured these days. If I have the time I will pick a topic and plan the subjects around this. If I don’t have the time we just seem to go with the flow and decide on the day what to look at.

5 What do you love the most about home schooling ?

Definitely the freedom and flexibility it brings. Being able to wake up and look outside and decide that Maths and English can wait as we have to make the most of the good weather. Being able to see the journey your child takes with your own eyes and not have to read about it through a school report. Learning so much together. Things I would never have had made time for if I was doing it for myself like hadith and seerah. When you set about to teach the children you gain so much from it yourself. The time we spend together is so valuable for us all.

6 What is your favourite subject to teach and what is your least one ?

I find maths easier to teach as there only can be one answer. English grammar is one subject I don’t really enjoy teaching, but I’m grateful for the abundance of resources available for it.

7 What do you find challenging when it comes to home schooling your children?

The differences in their learning styles and their behaviour. I have had to adapt my methods of teaching to appeal to my visual learners. I try to use many different styles like Montessori for maths. The homeschooling/housework balance can be difficult but I try to create a balance by getting the children to help with the chores and also keeping larger chores to the weekend when my husband is at home to occupy the children.

8 How do you deal with unsupportive family, relatives and friends ?

I don’t let it bother me as much now. The ones who matter to me support me and that keeps me going. Those who came across negative in the start have seen the positives of our choices for our children.

9 Where do you see your home schooling journey in 5 years time?

My eldest started secondary school this year and she is really enjoying it. My son has heard about the resources available with it being a STEM specialist school so he is very eager to start too and will be starting in the next academic year. So inshaAllah (God willing) that will leave me with one at home who has never been to school and hopefully won’t opt for it but only time will tell if in 5 years time I’m still homeschooling.

10 What advice would you give to anyone who wants to start home educating their children?

I would say just pluck up the courage and do it. Don’t let negativity from family and friends override your feelings. You know your children best and you are the only one who will ever want them to succeed in deen and duniya more than any other teacher. The primary years are the time children are moulded and build the greatest bonds so make that sacrifice (and normally it is financial but no price can be put on this journey together) and give them your time. You really will make some of the most amazing memories together in this time.