Planning for 2010/2011 – Part 2

Okay, so here is part 2 of my planning for next year. In my last post, I talked about how I’ve organised myself in terms of resources and accessibility to those resources.

Here is the detailed plan for next year inshaAllah:

MONDAY

Quran

Handwriting

Spelling

Math

She reads to me

I read to her

Islamic Studies

Quran Curriculum

KICKBOXING

　

　

TUESDAY

MUSLIM PLAYGROUP

Quran

Handwriting

Grammar and Punctuation

Math

She reads to me

I read to her

Quran Curriculum

　

　

　

　

　

　

WEDNESDAY

Quran

Handwriting

Comprehension

Math

She reads to me

I read to her

Islamic Studies

Quran Curriclum

QURAN CLASS

　

　

THURSDAY

HOME ED GROUP

Quran

Sketch Tuesday

QURAN CLASS

　

　

FRIDAY

Quran

Handwriting

Creative Writing

Math

She reads to me

I read to her

Nature Detectives

Arabic

　

　

SATURDAY

Quran

Art/Baking/Science Experiment/Subscription

ARABIC CLASS

　

　

SUNDAY

Quran

1 hour Nature Study

Library

As for resources, here is what we will be doing inshaAllah:

QURAN – My aim is for her to memorise 2 juz this year inshaAllah. So, Quran time will be a mixture of revision of 5-10 pages of what she has already memorised by reading the surahs before hand from the mushaf (this should improve her Quran reading skills inshaAllah) and then being tested on them by memory. She will then work on an average of 5 new ayat to memorise every day inshaAllah.

ENGLISH

Handwriting – I have a mixture of resources for this. My aim is that she starts to write in cursive and that her handwriting becomes neater.

Spelling – For this, we will be using Test Phonic Spelling by Ladybird and a series of books called Word Perfect Spelling (these are very old books that my husband found at work – I think they were used in 70s or 80s) but I like them as they are quite thorough.

Grammar – First Language Lessons from The Well Trained Mind – we have finished grade 1, we will be working on grade 2 inshaAllah. We will also be using Jolly Grammar along side this. Every so often I will also give her a test from the Letts Literacy 10 minute test book.

Comprehension – CGP The Study Book for Key Stage 1 and CGP Advanced Practice Book

Creative Writing – Letts, CGP, Reasons for Writing Early Stages and Brain Waves Early Writing ( these last two books are old books from the 90s but again I prefer them as it seems that they are of a higher standard than current creative writing books).

Reading – She tends to read quite a lot independently mashaAllah. But I am going to ask her to read a chapter a day to me of a book which is slightly more difficult for her. I shall also be reading a chapter of a book which is above her level to improver her vocabulary etc.

MATH – We’ll be carrying on with Year 1 of the MEP.

ISLAMIC STUDIES – The ICO curriculum that I posted a review about a few months ago.

ARABIC – Madinah Arabic Books and Al Tilmeedh as well as a number of other resources in Arabic. My goal is for her to become as fluent as she is in reading in English, but this time in Arabic. Also, to improve in her handwriting in Arabic. Alhamdulillah, she understands the Arabic language but her reading and writing is not at the level I want it to be.

SKETCH TUESDAY – This is a weekly art submission to a blog run by a home educating mother.

NATURE DETECTIVES – We have been receiving their pack for the last two years. And there is great stuff in there as well as weekly challenges. When she completes a weekly challenge that I receive in my email inbox, she can put a sticker on to a poster that they send to you. I believe it costs £12 for the year.

ART/BAKING/SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS – This will alternate and it is her choice which of these we do on a Saturday inshaAllah. I have various materials, ideas, and books for this.

All of the above will include other hands on resources, games etc to emphasise what it is we are studying from the books. I DO NOT want this year to be workbooks only. This is why I made the index cards as mentioned in my previous post. We will follow the order of the textbooks/workbooks but I will slip in other resources to support what is being learnt inshaAllah.

And then we have classes, kickboxing, home ed groups etc.

SO, WHAT IS THIS QURAN CURRICULUM??

This is something that I am sooo excited about! As you can see, there isn’t really other subjects like History, Geography, Science  in our weekly schedule. This is because this year we are going to work on a Quran Curriculum that I and my dear sister Oum Loubabah have decided to start! We will be doing this separately with our children but Oum Loubabah and I will compare and share our ideas for each surah.

Basically, we are going to work our way through the Quran starting from the back at Surah Nas. The Quran Curriculum will involve going through the meaning and tafseer of each surah but also bringing in history, geography and science studies as part of the study of that surah. We decided to do this because we want the Quran to come alive for our children. We want them to live it, to really understand it and for it to be something they refer back to when learning about subjects such as science, history and geography. We did not want to teach these subjects exclusive of Islam. Rather, we wanted to teach these subjects based on the Quran. The National Curriclum for these subjects really is so dull and the child studies and understands these subjects as secular subjects. By teaching it this way, the child learns history, geography and science from an Islamic understanding which is always derived from the Quran.

So, here is what I did:

I took a pen and paper and listed all the surahs in Juz Amma. As she has memorised this juz already, I felt that this was the best place to start. Also, if I start here then I can use my planning for future children inshaAllah. I took my Quran and read the surah in English as well as reading the tafseer. I then made notes of what could be studied under the heading of that surah. So, as an example:

In surah Abasa:

Aside from the actual events that took place in the seerah which relate to this surah, we will be studying about the blind and their script, food and healthy eating, water, plants, trees and family.

Once my list for juz amma was complete, I then planned for each surah in detail. Here is an example:

SURAH NAS

-Recite the surah and read the translation in English or ask her father to go through the tafseer in Arabic with her. Discuss the meanings and lessons from the surah with her.

-Complete the Ad-Duha Mini Tafseer Book.

-History of Shaytaan using Learning Roots Book and talibiddeen junior website.

-Project on Mankind – I have a wonderful saved project on continents and map work which we will work on for this. She will also use an interactive geography website which will explore the different countries and continents aimed at children.

-The Heart – British Heart Foundation resources

When studying the different subjects, it will always be related back to the understanding of the surah being studied inshaAllah. So, in Surah Nas alone, we have Islamic Studies, History, Geography and Science.

Sorry, to reiterate this. But had I not made my index cards, when it came to planning this in detail, I would have been stuck in where to look for what resources.

I have not put a time limit on how long each surah will take. When Oum Loubabah and I were discussing this, we thought we would be able to complete the Juz Amma part of this Quran curriculum in 1 year. But subhanAllah, after going through our list, it will take a lot longer. But that is okay because we would just plan for higher levels in Science geography etc but still based on the surah.

I hope all of this has made sense. Thanks for reading if you have made it this far! lol

Look out for part 3, when I discuss my plans for Z.