Newsflash: Active Saturday’s Night Out By our correspondent Qasim Pirani (age 12)

20 of August 2011 , Role Model Institute:

Abbi, Abdullah, Isa, Muadh and I to the Active Saturday’s Night Out. First we prayed  4 rakah taraweeh. Abdullah led 2 rakahs. Then we had pizza for dinner. After that we had a video/lecture  about Salaat by Asim Ismail, for one hour and then one hour ‘chill time’.  Next we were given time to prepare and present our role plays. 

There were three groups; the kids in the first group were given the topic ‘Showing Off’, the second was given the topic “Brotherhood” and the third group’s topic was “Overeating".  I was in the second group with Muadh. Abdullah and Isa were in the third group.

The first  group’s play was only a minute long and all the members of the group did not get a chance to perform.The second group’s play (ours) was longer and every member got a chance to participate equally.

The third group’s drama was also long and funny.

At first the judges were going to call it a tie between group one and two,  but they were informed that the rules did not allow that. So group two was declared the winner because even the younger members played a large role in it.  The prize was gift vouchers to Snack Attack for each participant.Later we had time to play and rest, followed by 4 rakahs taraweeh and witr.  A talk was given by Faraz Chacha about Emaan.

 

Sehri was keema, eggs, paratha and leftover pizza. After cleaning up Fajr was prayed at Rohail Kand Masjid.

For GIRLS only!

Alhumdulillah HBAP finally had the opportunity to host her very own "party for only girls!".  All the Pirani boys were sent out for the day day......except for SBAP (3 yrs old) and  ZBAP (1 1/2)....

The guest list as compiled by HBAP consisted of those young ladies and their mothers that HBAP knew personally and enjoyed the company of, the guests themselves were excited about attending a girls only party too, Masha'Allah. Activities prepared for the girls consisted of :

Bracelet Making:
Shinny beads were placed in bowls and trays for the girls to make their own bracelets, the cord provided was old, unused dental floss.

Mehindi:
Cones from Saeed Ghani and lots of tissue was ready for the girls to have their hands decorated. Umm Uzair generously brought books with various mehindi designs and applied it for the girls while her baby Asma rested. Once Baby Asma felt her patience wear thin, other moms took turns to decorate the little girls hands. Alhumdulillah, the mehindi dried fast and the girls washed it off quickly to play.


Grab the Bag:
Bag filled with a treat suspended above a door frame, the girls had to bring it down on their own. After puzzling over it a bit, the girls took turns climbing the door frame and reaching up for it, Masha'Allah, it was down soon and the girls distributed the sweet boxes equally amongst themselves.

Put the Apple in the Tree:
This version of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" was provided by Umm Uzair. The girls soon organized themselves and played the game, enjoying and watching each other's efforts, as the mothers relaxed and enjoyed each other's company Masha'Allah..

 

Bursting Balloons:

The balloons for the party were blown by little Maria, who also suggested we have a game of balloon bursting, as she put all the effort into blowing them up Masha'Allah how could we refuse?

 DIY Lunch:
After the success of the Do-It-Yourself meal with the boys, we put it together for the girls, other than the burgers which the girls made themselves Masha'Allah, the menu offered macaroni salad, juice and a chocolate fudge cake. Umm Sofia also brought two tea cakes to compliment the menu. All present found it yummy meal and a fun to do activity.

  

Unfortunately, the hostess had to leave the party early to attend her Quran/Arabic class, but before she left, HBAP distributed gifts to her guests:

 

Aprons with little clips to wear hidden in the pocket for the girls and for the babies; sets of pink coloured measuring spoons (a fav. ZBAP rattle) in keeping with or unspoken of kitchen theme. Hafsa and Umm Uzair also brought a gift for the guests; packages consisting of sweets and cake with a doll.

Alhumdulillah, all had fun.

"I liked it. The fun part was having sweets and playing with balloons. I liked the burgers. Umm Sofia put mehendi on my hand. I gave everybody aprons, there was a gift in it. Hafsa - Hiba's friend, also gave us gifts. "- Hibatullah

(The older boys were out all day, ABAP at his class, QBAP, IBAP and MBAP were first at Arabic class and then stayed at Abbi's office where they spent time with Uzair (also hanging there while his mom and sisters attended the party) and had lunch there, till it was time to leave for Quran/Arabic class with HBAP.)

DIY Lunch for the Boys' and Buddies

As ABAP had this week off as his summer vacation, it was decided to call over a few of his friends for lunch. Eight of his friends and the rest of our crew made a large party - that's 12 boys not including little SBAP and ZBAP.

The boys spent most of their time outdoors playing football and cricket and some time indoors for eating lunch as they watched a movie (Karate Kid).
 Trying to cater lunch for boys who are anxious to be on the move has to be quick and uncomplicated, and hence our "Do-It-Yourself lunch". All the things for the meal were prepared and set on the counter as the boys played. Once all was ready the boys were asked to come and put their burgers together as they liked it.

D.I.Y Lunch

Juice، Veggies and Condiments

Buns

Fried potatoes، Chicken Burger Patties and Hunter Beef Slices



Sample Hunter Beef Burger by ABAP

The guests arrived at around 10 am، but Osama had spent the previous night with us because he needed to dropped home when part of our crew went to Quran Class. Thought the boys (between ages 7 to 15) were much older to three year old SBAP، he was very much a part of the party، laughing with them، running after the ball as they played، sitting between them whenever they sat down، and even ZBAP (1yr) sat outdoors with to watch them play.

Book Worms' Map Hunt

Sometimes, the Piranis enjoy the opportuity to host the Book Worm Book Club, the following is about one of those opportunities:

This week the BookWorm Club gathered at The Piranis’ home, Alhumudlillah. The club members
all sat in a circle in the balcony so they could enjoy the wind and sunlight outdoors. IBAP read the book “Pizza In His Pocket’ to his friends; which was a story about a little boy who loved to
eat food from different places around the world, but never thanked Allah (SWT) for the food. Then one day he met a girl who hadn’t eaten anything in a long time and was holding her tummy in pain. The boy felt ashamed about his own greediness and bought some food for the girl and her family and they all thanked Allah (SWT) for it. The book advises us to eat all the food our parents give us, including vegetables, without a fuss and share our food too and reminds us that, “Being thankful is what’s really great, eat the veggies on your plate and don’t be like the boy, who ate and ate and ATE!”

After the story,
the club members had a short discussion on eating etiquettes in Islam: to start
with Bismillah, use your right hand when eating and which Dua to say once done.

Then we moved on
to the activity. The members divided themselves into three groups, each group
was given an Atlas and a mother sat with them to help them use it. A large
Globe Trotter Twister mat was laid out.
Ummibaps called out the name of the countries and cities the boy in the
book visited, and the groups raced each other to locate it in their atlas. The
group who found the country/city would then send one of their members to stick
the place’s name card in the correct place on the Globe Trotters mat.

Once all the places were located, the second part of the activity began. The Ummibaps and
Qasim then called out the names of the different dishes the boy in the book had
enjoyed. The members had to remember which country/city the boy had received
the meal from and then take turns to stick the picture of the meal onto the
correct place’s namecard.

Alhumdulillah, it was fun, and we discovered places we had never heard of on the map and we also realized that not all atlas have the same cities marked on their “political world map” pages Subhan’Allah!

Three 'Chairs' for the Piranis! Hip,Hip, Hooray!

Alhumdulillah, a fellow Home ed. friend invited QBAP, IBAP and MBAP to accompany her son for a session of carpentry at her place. The boys were estatic, and enjoyed a day off from beating around their books to beating around a hammer, Alhumdulillah. The hired carpenter was a very friendly and patient man, he brought all the equipment needed for the above project and instructed the kids through it. The boys were happy to be able to measure, saw and hammer without adult interference and they seemed to throughly enjoy the pleasure and satisfaction of making something on their own, Alhumdulillah.

Rabul Sani 1432

Home ed-ers Hit The Beach

Last week end, our Home ed community held its "Annual Beach Trip" Alhumdulilah, thanks to the efforts of a generous couple Abu Muaz and Umm Muaz. The weather was warm and the sea a calm, delicious cool, the snacks were plentiful and the lunch was relished (spicy mutton biryani and a plainer chicken pulao for kids with delicate palates). All the families brought something to help out- the snacks, water and a sister bought a bag full of beach spades esp. for the occasion, Masha'Allah.

The BAPs played cricket with their friends and bulit sand castles and sand cities, and got drenched in the sea. QBAP enjoyed a swim near the shore and even IBAP and MBAP waded in till there necks. Whereas most children observed shells and sea slugs, the BAPs chose to observe a dead dog- its appearance, its exposed skull and obvious cause of death (its feet were tied)-not a pretty sight but as ABAP insisted a "home schooling moment".


This was ZBAP's (a year old now) first beach trip (well actually, his second, the first time he sat out the entire time in his baby chair and people's 'godi' without actually geting the benifit of being at the beach), and so we put him down onto the sand. After a few tentiative prods at the sand he soon went "sand crazy"; grabbing hand fulls of it and tossing it up and into Ummi's lap and into his mouth quickly, smirking at everyone's attempts to stop him. He went home this time bringing the beach with him (as his siblings normally do) in his hair, pockets and even in his daiper (smile).

Interestingly, this was SBAP's (now 3 years old) third trip to the beach and Masha'Allah, he seem to enjoy it and was as independent as always. He would make mounds of sand with a spade and when he found a small watering can he made several trips taking it to a pool of water to fill (unattended!), then walk back to pour it onto his mound of sand. He did this a few times, holding up his shorts with his free hand and pausing on his way back from the pool to observe a sitting camel. Later he genereously filled an aunt's hands with pebbles, insisting they were seeds.

When the camel first arrived at the scene, SBAP ran behind it calling out, "Somebuddy! Camel come!" and much to his pleasure and fear, he was rewarded with a camel ride, sitting between ABAP and Ummi (he kept muttering "I will fall" every few seconds throughout the ride).

Alhumdulillah, we all had a lovely time and managed to get home and wash up before Asr Masha'Allah.

Images courtesy of Umm Muaz and Ummibaps
22nd Safar 1432

Dining Out On a School Night- Benefits of Home Education

Prior to educating at home, dining out on a school night was almost unheard of - homework to be done, dinner rushed through and a mad dash to get the kids in bed, squeezing in some time to talk to Abbi as well, the though of going out was OUT. Now there's still the urgency to get to bed but we can have friends over for dinner on a school night and still wrap up for a new day of learning, or even dine out with friends on a week day.....so we did! Call it a field trip, or a socialization class or plain relaxation; its all three and as always the learning never stops.

The younger Piranis were particularly excited about going out that night, because the two home educating families joining us had young children too, and the meal was at our now favourite fast food bar "Snack Attack". The waiters here are very friendly and willing to entertain the children's queries, and as the kitchen is divided from the rest the dining area with a bar counter, the kids can watch their food being prepared. The best part is their brick oven, where the children could see their pizzas being baked. A flat screen television entertained the elder children with a cricket match - before the food arrived, because once served no one was really concentrating on much else.

Pictures are courtesy of IBAP, Masha'Allah.

3rd Safar 1432

Introducing: "Homeworks: where learning is living!'

The 6th Annual Bookfair at our local expo was also the venue introducing our 1st local home education magazine -HomeWorks. This magazine was made to give people a glimpse of the lives of families who have chosen to educate their own, as well as offer information on what, why and how to educate at home. It proudly displays the work of the home-educated children too, Masha'Allah.

Furthermore, East Publishers offered a part of their stall to home educating families to use as a platform to introduce the public in general to educating without school. Quiet a few parents and children helped mann the stall including the eldest two BAPS Masha'Allah.

Other than the magazine, the stall offered handouts about home education and displayed work of children who learn at home - according to the BAPs the display attracted quiet a lot of attention and drew parents to the stall.

Interestingly, QBAP met a lady who was his opponent at the Scrabble competition and a gentleman was impressed by ABAP's "confidence" he then came to the stall to learn more about ABAP's education. The kids enjoyed moving around and addressing people about a task they were given (EAST asked them to invite children to take a short Urdu and English proficiency test so parents could assess how well their school educates). They felt most adults do not take children seriously (this was discouraging for BAPs) and many children felt it wasn't worth attempting the test unless they would receive a prize of some sort in return.

Some feedback given by home educating parents at the stall were:

"Special mention must also be made of Bhai's two sons (ABAP and QBAP) who were on duty at that time and were inviting kids to take the EAST competency test and also guiding them through it. They did and EXCELLENT job MashAllah. Very confident and assured. In fact, one man actually came back to buy the magazine because we had told him they were homeschooled and he had been so impressed by their behaviour."

“I met quite a number of people looking for alternative systems of education who came without any reference or invitation. They had issues with schools and seemed enthusiastic about learning more about how HS works. Masha'Allah the posters our HS children created were major crowd pullers; people were fascinated by the materials used and realized that scientific knowledge can be acquired and reproduced very creatively. (lungs and hearts posters).

Two reporters from (a local news channel) were so awestruck by this "new concept" and seemed to grasp it so well, they wanted to cover home schoolers in their news report. Alhamdulilah we had a good bunch of homeschooled kids starting from 6 Rayeds and 2 smart young Piranis and above all Mr Rayed to talk to. “

Alhumdulillah, we feel glad the Piranis could have been a part of this venture, Masha'Allah. For those who would like to read the magazine, it can be viewed and downloaded from: http://www.scribd.com/doc/46306785/HomeWorks

1st Safar 1432

Scrabblers Society

As-salaam Alaikum Blogger
 World, we're back and we've been busy, reading, learning... Alhumdulillah, we've been "living".

The elder two participated in a Scrabble competition a few months ago and entered in the "Recreational" category (the other two categories we're "School" and "college", and they needed a school id to register for that). At the venue the organizers were taken aback to see two kids entering in the recreation cat. and wondered if they were pros (all other participants were adults), the kids were taken about to find that some of their opponents were new to the game. Alhumdulillah they we're able to play competitively even though it was their first time competing, and even won a game.
QBAP found himself teaching the game to a mother of two toddlers and one of his opponents gave him a visiting card and invited him to drop in whenever he needed to buy a laptop or would like to join him for a cup of tea. They were often asked about their choice of category, which led to the "What's homeschooling?' and "why?" ABAP says, "homeschooling has taught me how to speak to adults, because they always keep asking me, what is homeschooling?"
Overall they both seemed to enjoy the experience and look forward to competing again.