Innovative Investigations: Block and Tackle

DATE: 22 Zilhijjah 1433/8 Nov. 2012

Block and Tackle

AIM:
To build a simple block and tackle and a pulley with hangers and investigate how they work and which is easiest.

load; plasticine

MATERIALS:
- 3 coat hangers
-  plasticine
- tape
- scissors
- pencil
- paper cups


METHOD:

cup holding load

First we used the paper cup and yarn to make a bucket to hold our load.

Then we made the Block and Tackle with two hangers, some yarn and tape; we tied one end of the yarn to one hanger and taped it in place. Then we wound the yarn around both hangers and held on the the other end of the yarn to pull. The bucket was attached to the lower hanger.

The second pulley was made by attaching the bucket to one end of the  yarn and looping the other end over the curve of the hanger.


RESULTS:

Block and tackle in action

load up

simple system pulley using a hanger

OBSERVATIONS:
1.Which pulley system worked better?
The simple pulley.

2.Why?
It could be pulled more easily.

3. Did both pulleys need the same amount of force to work?
No, the block and tackle needed more force to move (it was difficult to use too).

 4. Which needed more force?
The Block and Tackle.

5.Why did it need more force to lift the load?
The yarn had to move over more distance to work and had to the lower hanger as well.


(Design of Block and Tackle taken from :Wheels, Pulleys and Levers"  pulished by Pustak Mahal, India)

Creative Characters (Bookworm Club Competition)

Our Bookworm Book Club is currently reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Once the first four lucky golden ticket winners were revealed in the book, our Book Worms were asked to write about a fictitious child who would fit in with the first four nasty winners and tells us how the child found the ticket. They were given a week to prepare for the competition.

HBAP (7yrs) was very excited, she brought out a white board and marker and asked Ummi to help write out her thoughts. She first considered writing about a child who played too much cricket and the following day changed her mind and thought out a story about a boy who didn't like to bathe. She then asked Ummi to write it out so that she could copy it on to paper. She then wrote it out twice to make it neat, still not satisfied with her own handwriting she asked Ummi to write it out.
This is HBAP's story in her own handwriting:

TED KHAN

It continues-One day his parents said they would give him money to buy chocolate if he had a bath. He washed his hands and face with soap, and they gave him the money. Then he went to the chocolate shop and he bought a chocolate. He went home and he opened it and he saw a golden ticket inside.



MBAP (9yrs) decided not to write anything because he felt he couldn't possibly win, but was quick to suggest stories for others to write, with some persuasion he finally put together a story just before the club session began.  His story:

JESSE MEANIE

Jesse was an only child who did not know how to share. When his neighbors play cricket and their ball flies into his house he takes it and hides it in his sleeves and tells them it did not come there .When he plays with them and gets out he stops playing and goes whit his ball so no one else can play. When Jesse heard about the golden ticket he bullied small children to give him their chocolate .once he found a ticket he left the little children alone.           

IBAP (11yrs) eagerly put his story together and wrote it out without a fuss Masha'Allah!

IBAP's Story:

PETER   POSTOPIA

Peter Postopia loves his PSP. He plays on it all day long. Even when he wakes up he plays on his PSP while his mother feeds him breakfast. At school when his teacher is checking other children’s work, he uses it under his desk. Peter plays with it till he falls asleep so it stays in his hand while he is asleep. When he heard about the golden tickets he started eating chocolate while playing on his PSP, till one day he found a ticket. Peter then stopped eating chocolate to concentrate on his games.

After all the club members had presented their stories a secret ballot was carried out to ascertain the competition winner; Masha'Allah HBAP won! She received a Hajj activity book as a prize.

To read more about the competition and read the other children's entries visit:
http://karachi-bookworms.blogspot.com/2012/10/charlie-and-chocolate-factory-4.html

Shadow Puppet Show

Umm Uzair conducted a workshop on shadow puppetry for Hibakidz magazine. She invited some of the Book worm club members to be her assistants. IBAP (10), MBAP (8) and HBAP (5) were amongst them.

The following is a brief account of the occasion:

IBAP;
We went to Hafsa Aunty's house to help Laila Aunty with her work shop. She was conducting a work shop on Shadow puppets.
 32 participants were at the workshop. They were told to sit in 4 lines. Laila Aunty read the story of  the Prophet Yunus (AS), then she asked if we could make pictures of the Prophets? The children said, 'no'. Laila aunty said we are not making the Prophet Yunus (AS) but the puppets are going to tell us about Prophet Yunus (AS). Then we prepared for the shadow puppet show. Laila Aunty told 2 lines to clap for rain and the other 2 lines to make WOO sounds for storms and a boy named Musab to hit a patila (steel cooking pot) for lightning. I played the part of the whale in the show.
  After the puppet show we helped the participants make their puppets. They also did a puppet show. We were given a snack to take home.
It was a good experience. It was hot that day but i still enjoyed the experience.       


MBAP
I volunteered to help at Laila Aunty's shadow puppet show workshop .There were lots of children. I monitored the children as they made their pupppets. After Laila Aunty read the story of Younus (AS) we played our puppet show about it.I was the puppeteer for a sailor and a boat. I had a lot of fun.

IBAP's Northern trip highlights

This March IBAP (10yrs) was invited to join the family of his friend Muhammed for a trip up north of Pakistan. Muhammed's father, Dr. Khalid is an eye surgeon and was making the trip to Islamabad  participate in an eye camp (at a village) where he would be preforming cataract operations. The family also planned to visit Muzaffarabad and the Kewrah Salt Mines.

IBAP had a lovely time stay at the Cadet College hostel and playing basket ball with Muhammed. He also got to see some snow, visit a boarding school at lunch time, take a trip to the Kewrah Mines and stay at the Pearl Continental in Muzaffarabad, but the most exciting thing was when Dr. Khalid had the two children stand by him as he preformed one of the eye surgeries at the camp, Subhan'Allah.

Jazakullah Khair to Dr. Kahlid, Umm Muhammed and Muhammed for hosting IBAP and providing him with this wonderful opportunity of learning and fun, Masha'Allah.

the two friends

Umm Muhammed put a small questionnaire for IBAP to answer about the trip, and here it is:

Q1.Write the names of at least 5 new places that you recited or passed by during your travel?
An1. We passed Rawalpindi,Islamabad And Islamabad's Highway.

Q2,What did you have for breakfast everyday?
An2. I had egg for breakfast everyday

Q3.Name at least 5 dishes that you had for dinner/lunch? Which was your favourite?
An3. I had biryani,rice and chicken tikka. I liked the chicken tikka the best.












Q4. how many Prayers did you miss during your travel?
An4. I did not miss any prayers.

Q5.What games did you play?Which one did you enjoy most?
An5. I played table tennis and basketball. I liked table tennis the most.

Q6.What things did you see at the Cadet college?
An6. I saw how the children ate their food,There was a well and we saw so many class rooms.We saw a river too.

Q7.What things did you see at the eye camp?
An7. We saw many patients waiting to get their eyes checked.I watched Dr.Khalid change a person's eye  lens.     


Q8.What did you see at PC Muzaffarbad. 
An8.I saw clocks which showed every country's time. I saw the game rooms too. 


Q9.What did you see at the Khewra salt mines

souvenir made of mined salt, bought from outside the Khewra mines 

An9.There were no signs so it was hard to find the place. There was a black out at the mine so we  couldn't go in. They should have a generator so the people could go in.   

Q10.What did you enjoy most in your trip?
An10.I had fun watching the eye operation and playing table tennis.  


Q11.What did you learn during your trip.
An11.I learnt how to do a eye operation.

slumber party!

Cadet College basketball court

chillin in the lawn

basket ball frenzy

at the hostel

football ground

a boarding schools's cafeteria

BAP Update

As-salaam alaikum Wa-Rahmaullahi WaBaarakatuhu

A lot has been going on with the Pirani boys over the last few weeks and here's a brief update:

Tae Kwondo Belt Test:


The elder four BAPs had their first Tae Kwondo Belt test at RMI. The judges were Tae Kwondo masters of 8dan caliber. The children were surprised long beards and heavy builds but were in awe of them when they demonstrated their skills ( kicking up high and powerfully at various targets).

The children themselves were asked to demonstrate various manovers based on which they were awarded points which would determine their promotion to the next tae Kwondo level (from white belt to either Yellow Belt jr, of Yellow Belt Senior).

Subhan 'Allah, all four BAPs (ages 14, 12, 10 and 8) were awarded Green Belts (Junior)! This is the level after the Yellow Belt.

Hifz Examination @ RMI

The following week ABAP (14yrs)  and  QBAP (12yrs) had an internal Hifz Examination conducted by the Hifz class Haed Qari Sahib. Alhumdulilah ABAP attained 2nd position in his group and QBAP attained 3rd position in his group. ABAP has completed 13 juz and QBAP has completed 2 juz Alhumdulillah.







2nd International Conference on Islamic Business 2012
This conference was held in Islamabad, where Abbi was a delegate, and accompanying him was MBAP. This opportunity gave MBAP a chance to observe grown ups at work, he listened to them talk, played with his toys when he was bored and Masha'Allah kept himself busy though he had no one to attend to him (he was the only child present too). He had the opportunity to watch people behind the camera as they taped interviews with some of the delegates, Masha'Allah as he moved around or sat at a back seat, none of the grown ups seemed to mind, but they did take note of him, one of the delegates announced that there was a child amongst the audience whose manners had impressed him and MBAP was called up on stage and given a delegate pack which all the adults had received earlier.
MBAP was also present at a gathering of parents who wanted info about homeschooling where Abbi had been invited to give a talk. He said he found it interesting but he didn't learn anything (new) !


Public Speaking Session
RMI conducts a bi-weekly Public Speaking session in the evenings. The topic of the forth coming session is announced at the end of each session. Students of the Hifz program are also chosen to participate. ABAP was chosen to participate in the last session. The topic given was "Adl aur Insaaf" (Justice and Fairness). Alhumdulillah ABAP prepared for the speech by firat looking up the meaning of the term Adl from an English copy of Maroof ul Quran, then went to one of the class Qaris for the relavant Ahadith and spent some time with one of the admin men at RMI for further consultation, then sat down to write his speech in URDU! (not an easy task for any of the BAPs).

ABAP admits that he was nervous when he was called upon to give the speech,  the judges lauded his efforts saying that though it seemed he was flailing at first he grew in confidence as he continued and ended well Masha'Allah.

Masha'Allah its been a busy month for the BAPs and they have had a lot of interesting experiences to share too.

Working Winter

When school winter vacation comes around, they is bustling with winter classes and workshops for all children to chose from, and as always, homeschooling famlies make the most of these opportunities. This winter the Piranis participated in the following workshops:

CREATIVE WRITING
Offered by Hibakidz at their office, this workshop was conducted by the enthusiastic and fun loving sister Umm Zakariyya. She is one of the sub editors of HibaKidz as well as Reading and Creative Writing coach at Fajr Academy. The workshop was available to children aged 8 to 12. The workshop walked the participants through the stages of writing to publishing and ended with the children putting together a short story as a book.

QBAP (12 yrs) was a at first reluctant participant, who returned home and admitted it was a lot of fun, the very first day Masha'Allah. He also realized that though he had studied these steps earlier at school this was the first time he had a teacher that made it fun and we found he now enjoyed writing rather than complaining about what a chore it was.


CALLIGRAPHY

Another workshop offered by Hibakidz. Sister Rubina Khilji who conducted the workshop has been teaching adults calligraphy for many years now and this was her first workshop for children. She is passionate about her work and hopes her students will continue practicing on their own and revive the glory of this form of Islamic penmanship Insha'Allah.

IBAP (10 yrs) and QBAP (12 yrs) both attended this workshop. They were given several sheets with boldfaced prints of the letters of the Arabic alphabet and then taught how to hold and move a thick marker to trace the letters. They were provided with a thick marker specially cut for the work as well as a thinner calligraphy marker (made in Japan). They were shown how a reed pen is made and explained about the importance of literacy in Islam. In the end they werre taught how to write their names and write a Dua asking Allah SWT to increase their knowledge, which was framed for the children courtesy of Hiba Magazine.

Both boys appreciated the art and are keen to practice and develop this skill, Insha'Allah.


ARABIC
Abbati also decided to make the most of the classes offered during this winter and attended a 10 day Arabic class conducted by Ibrahim Abidali. Brother Ibrahim teaches Arabic at Generations School and also conducts a twice a week session at the children's Quran class. Some of the children had attended his children's summer course last summer.

Abbi was accompanied by ABAP (14 yrs) and later QBAP as well. It was a starters course, but br Ibhrahim's informal and warm style had his students soon conversing in simple sentences by the end of the class and lloking oforward to the next class he plans to conduct after a months time Insha'Allah.

Malaysian Memories by IBAP (10 yrs)

Alhumdulillah IBAP had the opportunity to visit Malaysia with Abbi in October. It was a two day stay, and here are some of the sights IBAP would like to share with you:

Me with a parrot in the Zoo, their were some flies around it and they were bothering me

Abbi said that shark don't fight the fish that clean the shark's skin (at the Aquarium)

SMILE!

under belly of the shark

This shark was swimming above us when we were standing in the glass tunnel

Fish cleaning the skin of the shark by eating the things stuck on it

a fish, stingray and a shark one above the other

sting ray swimming above us

the fish and me

more fish, and me!

diffent types of bees who work in a hive; the queen bee is on top, then drone bees and worker bees at the the bottom

honeycomb on display

"CUTE FISH Massage" : little pools of water with fish which eat away dry skin, its tickles!

Porsche at Dubai Duty Free

about the car

Tae Kwondo by IBAP (10 yrs)

As-salaam u alikum, everybody. I used to do TAE KWONDO with sir Zakariyya and then he left. Three weeks ago we got a new instructor.ABAP, QBAP , MBAP and I go for Tae Kwondo at RMI. Today Tayyab  Bhai brought the punching bag and the targets.  The instructors stick the targets on their hands so that we can  punch and kick it.  We take turns to hit it.

  

Mats have been glued on to the floor of the room. We perform tae Kwondo on them.

Our instructor turns off the fans when he demonstrates the kicks  otherwise his legs may hit the fan. 

We perform exercises so that if someone hits our stomachs they  will hurt themselves and not us.

There is a competition coming up on the 29th of October, Insha’Allah. We are going to go to Reflections School where the competition is going to take place.