Let me start this post by telling you that preschoolers honestly do not need dedicated maths lessons or activities at all. Genuinely! Social media these days is pressuring mothers from all sides and part of the reason I started this blog is to remind mothers that our children were created by Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ to learn in a natural manner إن شاء الله
Having said that, I wanted to dedicate a post to very young children just to show you what learning naturally looks like in day to day modern life. I want Muslim mamas to see the opportunities to teach their children skills without spending any money or having to dedicate huge amounts of time to preparing “activities” instead of spending that time on beneficial work إن شاء الله
The first thing that many mothers think of when they think of teaching their children maths is usually counting! While there is nothing wrong with teaching your children maths to count, it’s important to know the difference between them memorising a sequence of words and them actually understand that a number represents a quantity in real life. The best way to achieve this is to focus on counting real objects. Count the socks to you are putting away in they drawer together, count the number of eggs you are cracking into a bowl for a cake you’re baking together, count the leaves you collect on an autumn walk together… count real things in real life and make it a natural part of your day!
A special mention should be made about the number zero. It’s important to teach the child that zero means nothing! Once all the quantities from zero to ten have been practised many times over and you feel your child fully understands the concept, you can move on to showing them the numbers and teaching them how to trace them in sand or on a chalkboard. Avoid the urge to go straight for pencils with young children because they will inevitably make mistakes and having something that can easily be erased will be more pleasing to them إن شاء الله
Another useful concept to develop is the concept of patterns. This can be done by arranging sticks in order from shortest to longest when sitting outside. It can be done by arranging rocks from biggest to smallest, sorting leaves by colour, fruits by weight, paint swatches from darkest to lightest… patterns are all around us in daily life.
Finally, try to always keep whatever you are doing with your child lighthearted and fun. When they make mistakes, don’t make them feel like they have. Simply tell them the right answer. Don’t say ‘No this is not 6 apples’ but instead say ‘Can I have a turn? [count slowly while pointing at each apple] Oh this is 5 apples!’. Make learning a natural and fun part of daily life with your young children إن شاء الله ♥️
So you had a great routine going, you were feeling confident, your children were making good progress… that is until some sort of life event came along to make it all fall appart. It could be pregnancy, illness, a new baby, a family member that needs support… whatever it was, it slowly but surely ground your entire routine to a halt! So what to do now? Give up? Absolutely not! This blog will show you that home education can fit around your life, no matter what إن شاء الله
Full disclosure, my home education routine has ground to a halt many times over the years, and I have often felt like giving up entirely. I am currently suffering from terrible sleep deprivation as my fifth child is struggling to sleep at night. Sleep deprivation can often lead to low mood and low mood can make a home educating mother doubt her ability and will to continue doing ”school at home”. By Allah’s will, I have overcome these struggles and feelings several times by now, which gives me perspective and allows me to see this current struggle as only a small part of our journey as a family. Things will get better إن شاء الله
When I find myself struggling to stick to our usual rythm, I start by just re-evaluating which parts of our rythm are non-negotiable. This will very likely be different for each family but, for us, those things are:
Prayer: without a connection to my Lord, how am I meant to navigate these turbulent times?! Plus, while I pray, my children watch and learn إن شاء الله
Quran: if you aren’t able to read the Quran from the mushaf, start daily lessons even if they are just five minutes a day. Once you can read with tajweed, work on memorising some small surahs. By the time you achieve all that, your child will have watched you and picked up so much that you can start teaching them! Quran memorisation is the favourite part of my day now but, 9 years ago, I had a newborn and couldn’t even read!
Meals: in our family, if the meals aren’t cooked, the mood is going to struggle! I use the portion of my day during which I have the most energy to focus on my most important chores. In the morning, I get minimal cleaning done and cook *one* meal to last us for the rest of the day.
Read alouds: this has been my secret weapon for the past almost 9 years now! Reading good books is a source or great education in language, science, religion…there are even fun Usborne lift the flap books to teach your children maths! The more they enjoy you reading to them, the more they will be motivated to learn to read too.
That last point leads me to my next: focus on connection. Give your children as much of your time as you can. Read to them, let them sleep with you, cuddle in bed, play board games, watch beneficial content together and discuss it, pick up a craft and practice it together. Whatever helps you connect. Notice that a lot of the examples I am giving you can literally be achieved even if you are stuck on the couch or unable to leave the house!
When your children feel that they are getting lots of love and attention from you, they are also more likely to be able to play independently. Just make sure you have some open ended toys, books and crafts available. What you choose to make available to them will depend on their age but make sure they can take it out and clean it up on their own. One of the mottos that really stuck with me from learning about the Montessori approach to education is
Play is the work of the child
I feel that this really helps parents to observe their children playing and to see how much learning is taking place! Role play can teach them all about various social interactions, pretending to buy and sell can be a great source of maths, fine motor skills are refined with play doh, lego and crafts… and all this gives the parent time to deal with their current struggle or just with the daily chores! If you would like to learn more about the value of play, I recommend the book Playful Parenting by Lawrence J. Cohen.
Another way to get more time to yourself is to encourage independence in our children. Gently teach them to get dressed, go to the bathroom, make a snack and eventually cook and do their laundry. This is something that, again, really stayed with me from when I studied Montessori education. I trained in the Montessori method through Rumi Montessori to learn all about why Montessori can be a very good approach for Muslim parents and how it can be used to teach your children all their school subjects. It was a life changing experience and very affordable when done online, but if this sounds like too much for you I would highly recommend the books by Simone Davies to get you started.
Finally, I would like to end this post by reminding you of the bigger picture. Many children around the world do not even attend school until they are 6 or even 7 years old. If you look up statistics on those countries, you will see that the children there are in no way behind on their education compared to the rest of the world. In fact, they are happier and often receive a more well rounded education! If you have young children, know that there is no rush, don’t let social media convince you that your two year old is going to fail at life if they don’t know their letters yet!
Ultimately, as Muslim parents, our goal for home education should be that our child achieves success in this world only as a means to achieve ultimate success in their next life. This life is but the blink of an eye! Jannah is forever and being an astronaut or a surgeon isn’t necessarily a way to get there! Focus on their connection with Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ and the rest will all fall into place إن شاء الله ♥️
Straight Path Home Education 