Weekly Report - 31st January 2010

I wanted to get this update in before I head off to bed, otherwise it'll probably never get done! We had a fairly good week alhamdulillaah, this is a brief summary of what we did,

Maths - we worked on Number bonds (can't wait till they learn them insha Allaah), we used the number bonds machine that I mentioned in a previous post, I try to have them do at least 5 minutes of it a day.

Dd(6) did some adding/takeaway in her book and volume and capacity on Smart Kiddies.

They both practiced their times tables, and wrote them up in their book.

Played on Timez Attack - again, practicing their times tables.

Dd(9) worked on some fractions, alhamdulillaah it went well. She went on Smart kiddies first, then did some work in her book.

Also covered some division and multiplication.

Grammar - Dd(9) did lesson 43 and 44 of 'first language lessons for the well trained mind' which were 'poem-months' and 'nouns-ideas'.

Dd(6) read some Dr Seus books, she's really into them right now, so am I !

We have put writing with ease on hold for now, as we wait for the workbook to arrive.

History - Re-started SOTW, ancient history - The first nomads become farmers, I read aloud, and Dd(9) wrote down in her own words the parts she remembered.

We watched some videos on crocodiles/alligators and Cheetah's, these were the animals of the week before that they studied. We found out where the animals mainly live, and looked the countries up on the map and globe, Dd(9) wrote up a fact sheet about Cheetah's.

Geography - Local area and Continents in workbook. And did a nice set of worksheets from the Teacher file box on Globes and Continents. The girls drew up a map of the garden, using symbols for the things that are in there, like swings, plant pots etc..

Dd(9) is really trying hard now to get the hang of knitting Masha'Allaah, she's getting there, I've ordered this DVD to help her progress a bit more insha Allaah



I'm also intending to use it ;) I'd love to learn this skill again insha Allaah.

She's also started back learning to touch type alhamdulillaah.

We're intending to start doing some salt dough crafts, maybe this week insha Allaah, we've got the flour ready, and the acrylic paints and brushes, just waiting for the gloss to arrive. Here's the basic recipe for those who don't know ,

You need:

- 1 cup of salt
- 2 cups of flour
3/4 to 1 cup of lukewarm water

you can add in some glitter to the dough or some paint if you want to give it some colour.

Mix the salt and flour together in a bowl, using a wooden spoon. Then add the water until a large ball has formed. Knead at length on a lightly floured work surface (somewhere smooth and easy to clean). The quality of dough you finish with will depend on the time spent on kneading.

It's probably a good idea to make your model on a sheet of baking paper so it's easy to pop it straight in the oven when your finished.

Bake for approx 2 hours using a low temperature setting
50-70C for the first half hour then increase temperature
slowly to 90-100C and cook until the piece is uniform
in colour.

You must gloss or varnish the finished product to preserve it insha Allaah.

We will upload some photos of ours when we've done them, can you believe the usb cable I thought I had ordered for my camera phone, was actually still sitting in the basket at the amazon website, lol, looks like I didn't put it through the checkout after all!, so still waiting for that to arrive, plus have ordered a new camera, which I'm hoping I'll have no problems with insha Allaah, I'm missing my photography :(

Bit more on our trip to Thinktank

Following on from my post a few days ago, the trip to Thinktank was great, we definitely want to go again soon insha Allaah, there was a floor each for past/present/future/collections (I think!). There was a lovely part called kids city, and it was split into sections like, a dentist's, garage, health centre, cafe, street and they had a water area where the children could play with the toy boats and watch them go over the bridges, Ds(2) really enjoyed that part. I felt quite bad that I couldn't let him out of the pram much more than I did, I had to watch the other kids and he just wanted to explore, maybe next time insha Allaah I will let him have more time, maybe a day when it's a bit quieter, we went on a Saturday, so as you can imagine, it was rather busy.

It was interesting walking through the museum, and looking at all the antiques, there were some red cups which were made quite a while back, I can't recall the date now, but they were gorgeous! Masha'Allaah, would look really nice up on a unit.

We saw the oldest working steam engine, which was used to pump water to the canal between Birmingham And Wolverhampton, which was quite amazing to watch. We saw so much there, that it's hard to remember it all, we missed the human body section, which is a shame because we've just started to cover it, next time insha Allaah.

As I mentioned I did take some photos, not as many as I would have liked, but I was relying on my camera phone, which had limited memory. I'm still waiting for the usb cable to come, I don't know why it takes so long for some things to arrive, I ordered it at the end of last week, but as soon as I get it will upload some insha Allaah.

On a different note, I had my first visit from the LEA (local educational authority) yesterday, I was very nervous, I didn't really know what to expect, but alhamdulillaah the meeting didn't last long, and it went quite smooth, the lady who came said that she was happy to refer me on to the assessor, so I just hope the meeting with him goes just as well insha Allaah.

Yesterday after they had gone, Dd(9) asked me ''Do the LEA have babies?'' Lol, I said of course they do, they're human like us! You just wonder what goes on inside their heads sometimes :D

practice with number bonds link

Number bonds machine

Weekly Report - 23rd January 2010

Our week went pretty well, we did the usual subjects :

Maths: Worked on times tables, Division. We've taken a small break from Singapore Maths so the girls can learn more of their number bonds, recommended in the book before moving on to further units. So mainly doing their work in their Schofield and Sims Workbooks.

Grammar : First language lessons, Dd(9) did lesson 36, which contained the story of 'The hen and the golden egg' and involved written narration work. Alhamdulillaah we are starting to do a bit more narration now, the more they do insha Allaah the better their mind will become at remembering the passage/information read to them, insha Allaah.


Dd(6) worked on lesson 3 - common and proper nouns, and lesson 4 - proper nouns - first names, in which she was required to write down names from our family, with the capital letters being emphasized to her.


Reading Reflex : Dd(6) is working on the 'oe' sound, and was required to sort all the ways that sound could be spelt, she did do well, Masha'Allaah, but I think she's going to need alot more practice before moving on to the next sound, it would be great to have some books containing that sound so she could practice more, she has been reading some Dr Seus books which is helping her to progress a bit faster with her reading alhamdulillaah, and is helping her gain more confidence, Allaahumma baarak feehaa (may Allaah bless her in it ameen)


Handwriting - Dd(6) did some more pages in her workbook.


Science - I read to Dd(6) about crocodiles and alligators from the 'First encyclopedia for animals' and she narrated back the main points she remembered, and I wrote it down, she wasn't too bad alhamdulillaah, it's a start anyway.


Dd(9) - Her animal was the cheetah, same method, I read, she narrated and wrote down on paper to be filed in her folder. I feel I have to explain something, I am kind of starting from about year 1 with her for Science and even Maths, she was in school for a while before we moved to Birmingham, but when we moved here and I started to home educate her, I didn't know what she'd covered and what she hadn't, for one she didn't really have a clue how to do a sum, not even by using her fingers, I had to show her that, she didnt know her times tables etc.. and with Science she could recall working on certain topics, but not much. She was a bit behind when she went in there, and I was told she would get extra help to catch up, but I'm not sure if she did get the help she needed, Allaahu a'lam.

I feel in a bit of a mess with it all really, I feel I shouldn't have to be going back this far, but I feel I have to, because I don't want to be leaving anything out, and I feel it's very important to set the foundation, to fully master the basics, because if not she probably will struggle with higher work. She does go to school also in the afternoon, and alhamdulillaah, there she is doing work more to her age group, and doing quite well alhamdulillaah.

As mentioned previously in my other posts we're using the methods set out in the WTM, for first grade, the child would first of all study about 20 animals, supposed to be 1 each week, then after that would be the human body, then plants, what I'm trying to do right now is work on each throughout the week, so for example this week we did the animal kingdom, and also started on the human body, which roughly takes about 10 weeks I think to complete, if done once a week. I think I will leave plants until spring insha Allaah as recommended.

I don't want to cram her brain with too much info, but I'm anxious for her to move on, one of my fears is that when she reaches high school age, she'll still be on primary work, I pray that Allaah will make it easy for me to help bring her more up to standard insha Allaah.

Ok, well back to what we did this week, like I said Dd(9) started on the human body, topic - bones, we did a narration page. I also had a set of worksheets that I'd printed off from 'The teacher file box' and in there was a skeleton she could make, so she cut all the pieces out, pasted on things such as the rib cage and the heart, and fastened it together with paper fastners, which enables the legs and arms to move, she really enjoyed doing that, so did I!

Both girls also finished their 'Animal classification' lapbooks, at long last ! although it wasn't that long ago they started on it, but just haven't been fully consistent with working on it, they look really good masha'Allaah, but unfortunately Dd(6) lost some parts to hers, which I'm sure will turn up soon insha Allaah, will also try posting some pics of these in the week insha Allaah.

I was in the mood for spending yesterday, and so I came across a website called Bright Minds, who by the way have a sale going on, with up to 80% off, so I ordered a world globe and a chemistry set , oooh I get soo excited waiting for parcels, can't wait to try out the chemistry set insha Allaah, you'd think I was the student ! :D
While on my spending spree, I also ordered the workbook to go with our writing programme 'Writing with ease' By Susan Wise Bauer, it basically will save me time gathering together bits from different books for copywork and narration.

Today we also went to Thinktank Science Museum in Birmingham, it was excellent Masha'Allaah, kids had a great day alhamdulillaah. Insha Allaah I will write more about our trip there tomorrow hopefully and put up some photos, but I'm just waiting for my usb cable to come for my phone, so hopefully the beginning of the week pics will be posted.

If you've read this far, well done!! Thankyou :)

Parts 3 and 4 of 'The big handbook of nature study'

Parts 3 & 4 of 'The Big Handbook Of Nature Study' is now available on Homeschool Freebie, and can be downloaded until the end of the week.

Part 3

Part 4

Homeschool Freebie - Nature study book

I just popped over to Homeschool Freebie, and found they've got an excellent giveaway for today, it's The Big Handbook Of Nature Study, a complete multi-year nature study curriculum, apparently the book is 940 pages long so they've split it into six e-books.
But you'll have to hurry up, because it won't be there for long!

Weekly report January 17th 2010 (bit late this week!)

We haven't really had a great week, Ds(7) was off school due to the snow, and so mummy ended up crawling back into bed after fajr most mornings, shattered from going to bed at not a very decent time :( .......................... so our mornings started late, and the workbooks were brought out, I don't fully rely on them, the girls do a page or so a day normally, but I was happy they were doing something at least.

The girls carried on practicing their number bonds, I really want them to memorise them insha Allaah, we're currently working through Singapore Maths and it does mention how important it is for the child to know them before moving on to further units. I put together two small booklets for them, with the number bonds up to ten, progress is somewhat slow, but I think because we're not spending enough time practicing them.

They both reviewed the time we've been working on, like 'o' clock, half past the hour, quarter past and quarter to, Masha'Allaah in the last couple of days, Dd(6) has been telling me the time alot more from her watch her Nan bought her recently, so it's nice to see that it is going in, insha Allaah.

Dd(6) has started 'First language lessons' she will be going on to lesson 3 this week insha Allaah, Dd(9) will be going on to lesson 35, I just can't wait for her to get on to the second part of the book now insha Allaah, we try to fit in a lesson a day if things are going well.

English and Maths was done in their workbooks.

We also had a bit of fun with the snow last week, it's not often we really do anything creative, so I was determined this week that I would fit something in for them, so Masha'Allaah they made pictures on the snow and sculpted igloos and teddybears (Dd(9)'s idea :)

We also did a very simple experiment which I found online, which was to see exactly how clean the snow is, I put some snow in a pan, heated it until it melted, then I poured it into a dish which I had covered with a few sheets of kitchen towel paper and taped it around the edges, there were a few small specks of dirt, but not alot.

I did take some photos of the week, but unfortunately I'm having alot of problems right now, the one memory card I was using with my camera has all of a sudden become 'write protected' and so I'm unable to upload them to the computer, I've just bought a new one, thinking it would be fine, but I'm having exactly the same problem with that one too, I'm feeling soo frustrated as I don't know where the problem is, the cards/my camera/the card reader or the computer??? Insha Allaah I'll get to the bottom of it soon.

Owner of Sparklebox.co.uk found guilty of offences

I just recieved a comment on one of my posts from a lady advising me to remove any links and references to Sparklebox.co.uk , apparently the owner of the site Samuel Kinge, formerly Daniel Kinge is a convicted sex offender, May Allaah protect our children from this evil, ameen.

If you want to look further into this, then you can visit the below links:

http://community.tes.co.uk/forums/t/375566.aspx

http://www.foundation-stage.info/forums/index.php?showtopic=22828

I feel really sickened at this and personally don't want to support his site, I know people will have mixed feelings on this, and will see his resources as seperate to what he's done, but to me it's a reminder of who's behind the making of them. Insha Allaah you'll make your own decision.

Science for Dd(6)

I've just been planning out what I'm going to do for Science for Dd(6) insha Allaah. In the WTM, grade 1 would be concentrating on the Animal Kingdom,

'The purpose of the first-grade notebook is not to ''complete'' the study of life on earth somehow. It's to develop the child's curiosity, as well as her observation, reading, and writing skill, and her concentration span. Your goal is simple: when biology comes around again in fifth grade, you want to hear your child say, ''Oh, good. I love Biology!'' From the WTM

Even though I did have my reservations whether this would be enough for now, compared to what they cover in the schools, I'm trying to put that out of my head, we are not an institution, and therefore we do not have to do exactly what they are doing. I trust what they say in the WTM, and I have good hopes, and I do want to follow it through the best I can insha Allaah, So therefore we will be studying 20 animals which Dd(6) chose, these are:

• Albatross (done)
• Alligator and crocodile
• Snake
• Ants and termites
• Zebra
• Fish
• Duck
• Penguin
• Bat
• Bear
• Bee
• Bird
• Butterfly
• Camel
• Tiger
• Cat
• Lizard
• Cheetah
• Horse
• Komodo Dragon

We are using the Kingfisher First Encyclopedia Of Animals, the method is simple, I basically read some of the page out, and Dd(6) will narrate back a couple of things she remembers about that animal, and then it will be written down and filed in her folder. I do need to work more on narration with her, as it does take time to develop, but the effort apparently is well worth it insha Allaah.

We will also do any experiments suggested in the book, and the occasional lapbook on certain animals.

After working through the list above on the Animal Kingdom we will then start on the Human Body, which I'm looking forward to, and then the plant kingdom insha Allaah.

Free E-Book - Smooth and Easy days

Simply Charlotte Mason. Com is offering a free download of their new book ' Smooth and easy days' a handbook in helping your child lose the bad habits and replace them with good ones insha Allaah.

“The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days.”

-Charlotte Mason Quote.

Trip to the library and extremely cold weather !

We visited the library today and got quite a big selection of books, I'm suprised I managed to carry them all back, but that's when the pram comes in more handier than just transporting a toddler around :D

Some of the books we had were :

• Captain Cook - Usborne Famous Lives
• The adventures of Sinbad - Usborne
• Christopher Columbus - Usborne
• The great big book of reading, first steps
• The Sea-thing child - Russel Hoban
• Stories by Firelight - Shirley Hughes
• Beware of the storybook wolves - Lauren Child
• Strat and Chatto - Jan Mark
• Animals up close - Igor Siwanowicz
• Ocean Start express - Mark Haddon/Peter Sutton
• The Gruffalo's child - Julia Donaldson
• Usborne Children's picture atlas
• Nelly the monster sitter - Kes Gray
• Into the woods - Lyn Gardner
• Cheer up chicken - Bob Hartman
• Young Frederick Douglas - The Slave who learned to read - Linda Walvoord Girard
• Black Beauty - Usborne

I've just printed off a reading chart for Dd(9) to keep record of the books she's reading, we did start one last year but didn't record all the ones she'd read, which is a shame really, as it's nice to keep track.

I picked up a couple more Schofield and Sims workbooks today from one of the local Islamic shops, Masha'Allaah when I first visited the shop before I was so amazed at the extensive range of study books they actually had, plus educational posters for the wall. I went there yesterday also and got some Maths and English workbooks and a world map poster for the classroom.

I was soooooo happy to finally get home today, after being out for a quite a while, the kids were moaning, Dd(6) had been jumping around in the slush and kicking the ice, even though I warned her that her feet would probably get soaked (she wore her shoes today instead of her wellies which I didn't even think of at the time) so she was complaining about her feet, and even though I felt very sorry for her, I hoped that she would learn her lesson for next time insha Allaah. My feet were yet again frozen, even more than on Thursday, they were so cold they were painful :(

Now alhamdulillah we're nice and warm, and I reminded the kids of how grateful we should be to Allaah that he has given us a warm shelter, food, warm water and clothes, these are enormous blessings, and to think, subhanAllaah, there are actually people living out on the streets in this weather! may Allaah help them, and never put us in a situation like that, ameen.

Weekly report January 9, 2010

Just a bit of what we've been working on this week :

Maths :

Number bonds practice and memorisation

Telling the time to the hour/half hour/quarter to/quarter past - Alhamdulillaah this is going well Masha'Allaah, just need to keep practising, I picked up a clock yesterday from the chemist which was half price, it teaches the time and has two interchangeable faces, the girls loved it :)

Addition/subraction in workbooks.

Times tables.

Handwriting : Started back with the Zaner Bloser books, we missed them! so they completed a few pages from there, eldest daughter is mainly on copywork now, youngest is also copywork, but I have noticed she's gone back to not correctly forming some of her letters, so will give her more practice on them. Continuing with learning cursive writing also insha Allaah.

Language skills :

Reading Reflex, mainly with Dd(6) working through the advanced code. Still using the Ruth Miskin synthetic phonics books, which I think are great Masha'Allaah, but we've got to the last book now, I think there are further ones, but they don't have them in the library which is a shame.

Sight words

Rhyming words

Grammar:

Using first language lessons, Dd(6) started her first lesson of the book this week, Nouns.

Dd(9) is on lesson 33, she should be further really, but we've haven't been fully consistent with the book, insha Allaah we'll finish it soon, and then go on to the next one.

Irregular plural nouns

Science :

Natural/man-made materials

living/non living things (plants)

Geography :

Map work, using resources from The Teacher File Box, which is an excellent site, though a little costly each month, but most definitely worth it insha Allaah for what it has to offer.

History :

Story of the world - Susan Wise Bauer - Ancient times - Nomads - Narration work.

I was so excited about the Sequential spelling programme I purchased online, but as yet, have still not started it, need to sit and read it properly insha Allaah, so I completely understand the method it teaches.

So that's about it for our week, I did want to do alot more, but alhamdulillaah I was quite pleased that we got to fit in a few extra things. I've been waking the girls up around the same time DS(7) goes to school so we're getting a slightly earlier start, alhamdulillaah.

I recently contacted the LEA and informed them that I home educate, I'm still waiting for a call back from them, I'm just hoping that I've done the right thing, you hear so many stories, some good some bad, just don't know what to expect,but at the end of the day all I can do is try my best with my girls, I want a good education for them insha Allaah, and I hope that the LEA will see that and accept my efforts. I put my trust in Allaah and ask him for goodness and that he be pleased with us in every thing we do, ameen.

Well, on a different subject, it's library day tomorrow insha Allaah, will hopefully meet up with Umm M and her girls and spend about an hour there, that's the highlight of our weekend :D

Our day off.....

Today we had a day off from our usual routine, we finally went to the MHES homeschooling group meeting, which was nice, got to meet Oum Anas at last from Bizzi home educate, and some other really nice sisters Masha'Allaah.

We had a chat and some tea and biscuits, and then the kids tried some knitting, Dd(9) done well Masha'Allaah, she has tried before, and I did try to help her out then, just about remembering what my Gran had taught me going back about 20yrs! I was proud of her Masha'Allaah for sticking with it, and not giving up, even though I think she found it a bit difficult to start with.

Dd(6) started to make a pom-pom, and then I was determined to finish it when she got tired of winding the wool around, but unfortunately time run out before we could complete it, so will try and get some wool soon insha Allaah, can't wait to see how it turns out :D

Myself and Umm M took a trip to a couple of charity shops afterwards, my feet were absolutely freezing!! I so need some warm boots right now! , we picked up a few books, namely:

Hairy Maclary's Bone

This is the bear

Directions 1- Reading skills

Hello? Is anybody there?

Questions kids ask, about animals

Simple stencilling

The books were all 10p each, a bargain!

I was glad to get home finally, and put on a dry pair of socks! I do love the snow, but it aint half cold right now, and slippery!

Umm M, my dear friend, May Allaah give you relief from your aches and pains, and make you well enough to come tomorrow, insha Allaah, ameen, we're planning to visit a few more charity shops outside the area, no we're not addicts, lol, we're after educational bargains!!! Let's hope we find some :D

Cambridge University offers place to 14-year-old

A 14-year-old maths prodigy is on the verge of breaking a 237-year-old record by becoming the youngest Cambridge University undergraduate since William Pitt the Younger.

Arran Fernandez, from Surrey, has been offered a conditional place at Fitzwilliam College after passing the university's entrance exams.

The teenager, who has sat his maths and further maths A-levels, now needs only to pass physics A-level. "Maths has been my favourite subject for as long as I can remember," said Arran, who was educated at home.

"I enjoy being home-schooled because I'm more involved. I can see the mark schemes and help my dad decide the curriculum."

He first made headlines in 2001 when, aged five, he gained the highest grade in the foundation maths paper. He went on to sit the intermediate GCSE paper and gained A* in the advanced level paper in 2003. Arran who has now decided he wants to be a research mathematician and says his ambition is to find a solution to the Riemann hypothesis – the unsolved theory about the patterns of prime numbers that has baffled mathematicians for 150 years.

Read More

Diana Johnson announces a new support package for home educating families

Schools Minister Diana Johnson has today announced better access to qualifications and more support for home educated children with special educational needs (SEN), signalling the start of a new relationship between local authorities and families who choose to educate at home. The commitment comes as Children's Secretary Ed Balls today sent the Government’s full response to Graham Badman’s Review of Elective Home Education to the Chair of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee. The response sets out a new support package for home educated children, which includes better access to GCSEs, vocational qualifications and further education. The proposed changes to monitoring arrangements will also make sure that the right checks and balances are in place so all children receive a suitable education, in a safe environment.Key features of the new support package include:

more flexible access to public examinations and exam centres for home educated children, so their parents no longer have to rely on ad hoc arrangements with schools or colleges that can be a long way from home

more tailored support for home educated children with special educational needs

better support for home educated young people who want to go to college
improved access to music lessons, school libraries, work experience, sports and other specialist facilities in schools and colleges

a commitment from the Government to look at arrangements for flexi-schooling, so that home educated children can have the option to attend school on a part-time basis.

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools Diana Johnson said:

"The vast majority of home educating parents offer their children a good education, and the support we have outlined today will help them and their children. It is right that home educated children should have access to things like school libraries, sports facilities and music lessons and also have more tailored support for special educational needs.

"We’ve always been clear that parents have the right to educate their children at home. There are no plans to change this, and we understand parents choose to home educate for a number of different reasons.

"But we know there are a small number of cases where local authorities have concerns for the safety of home educated children. The Government has a responsibility to make sure that the safety - and rights - of vulnerable children are protected, which is why we are looking at how we can put in place better checks and balances, so we can be confident every child is safe and learning."

Chief Executive of National Children's Bureau Sir Paul Ennals said:
“Home educated children with special educational needs have long needed better support. I warmly welcome the measures announced today to improve the support available to these children".

Today’s response reiterates the Government’s support for statutory arrangements for the registration and monitoring of home education, so that all children are kept safe and receive a good education. The proposals are currently the subject of a public consultation, which closes on 19 October.

Graham Badman has today also written to the Select Committee setting out the results from a snapshot survey of local authorities, which received 74 responses.

Graham Badman said:

“I am pleased that the Secretary of State has accepted my review in full and will provide the resources needed to support home educators to do their job in the best possible way.

“The package as a whole will give home educated children far greater access to FE colleges, exam centres, school facilities and wider educational opportunities, while ensuring that they are prepared for life in the wider community as adults. Local authorities say that most home education is good, but they need stronger powers to deal with cases where it is poor and to step in if they have concerns for a child’s safety. I am glad that the Government is consulting on arrangements to make sure that all home educated children have access to a good and safe education.”

The response also outlines that more work will be done to clarify what is ‘suitable and effective’ home education to support new guidance to local authorities on supporting and monitoring home educators. This will emphasise how local authorities can work with home educating parents to make sure that the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs, can be met in the home environment where appropriate.

The guidance will take account of findings from the Lamb Inquiry, to be published later this year.

For more information and to access the documents, go to the Independent review of elective home education page and read the full DCSF press notice.

The Complete Writer, Susan Wise Bauer

I've just discovered another book written by the Co-Author of 'The Well Trained Mind', Susan Wise Bauer, it's called 'The Complete Writer: Writing with ease'. Here on Amazon you can take a sneak look at some of the book, as with the WTM and First Language Lessons, I am again impressed with what I have read, and have already placed my order, this will become our writing curriculum for 2010 and beyond insha Allaah.

Even blogs need pampering.......

Ok, so I think I'm finally done with making over the blog, alhamdulillaah. I've been back and fore correcting this and that with the html, but I'm really learning Masha'Allaah !, it's amazing the things you can find online.

I have to give credit to Kevin & Amanda, and Shabby Blogs, they have amazing sites and everything is free! Masha'Allaah.

Would love to hear some feedback on the final look :D

Making changes for 2010

I'm just trying to make some changes at the moment, so if the blog looks a bit plain it's because it's in the process of having a bit of a make-over.

Looking back at 2009

Alhamdulillaah 2010 has begun, insha Allaah it will be a good year for all, a clean slate, a time to start fresh, break bad habits and replace them with good ones, I hope 2010 will be a year wherein I can maintain consistency in so many areas in my life which it is now lacking.

Looking back at 2009, many things have happened, some good some not so good, but alhamdulillaah it has been a pretty good year, I can't really complain.

From the One-minute writer - 'In 20 words, recap 2009'

So here's mine :

Happy, Sad, Laughter, Photography, Creative, Tears, Friendship, Weakness, Hopeful, Lovely clean bedroom, Found real dad, Homeschooling, achievement, Independence, Stress, Babies.

And

'In 10 words, write about your hopes for 2010.'

Consistency, Happiness, Love, Content, Good Health, Success, High Eemaan, Striving.

Insha Allaaah (God Willing)

I would also like to add a personal note to some special friends of mine, who I love dearly, you know who you are :)..............Thankyou for being there, I love you all for the sake of Allaah, I am blessed to have such good friends in my life, whether I stay close or move far, you will always be in my heart, and will not be forgotten. Thankyou for the laughs you've given me, and the times you've listened to me moan, astaghfirullaah, I love you all very much, mwaaaaah !!!! (sob sob )