As-Salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatahu!

As-Salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatahu!

In an effort to revive a traditional form of communication, "snail mail", we've decided to create A Penpal Club for Little Muslims.




Yes, we're keeping it old school! Having a penpal was a staple part of my childhood, and I remember clearly just how I excited I was to seal an envelope, stamp it up and send it off. And I was even more excited when I received a letter from across the world!

Having a penpal has a multitude of benefits including but not limited to:
- encouraging creativity (with crayons, paint, stickers, stamps, etc.!)
- communicate effectively
- improve writing skills
- learning about other people, cultures and lives
- less screen-time!
- giving gifts (it doesn't have to expensive! - I used to get stationery like a cute notepad or pencil. I know some people exchange monetary bills, teabags, or a souvenir)
- and so much more, that I can't think of right now! - Yes, I'm that excited! Possibly, more excited than my little one! Hehe!

In sha Allah, we'll be hosting the Club on two platforms: WhatsApp Group and Facebook Group.





Of course, you'll need my number! Send me a message via email (ummddesigns@gmail.com) to request an invite, in sha Allah. For everyone's protection and safety, we may have to screen those that we don't know personally in sha Allah.

Penpals are segregated! Boys will write to boys, and girls will write to girls.

How does it work?

1. After you've been invited to the group, introduce yourself and your child/ren: Tell us your child's name, age, sex, where you are in the world and his/her interests.
2. Interested in getting in touch? Send the parent a private message, and exchange mailing addresses and any other relevant information.

Here's the link for our Facebook group or search for us: A Penpal Club for Little Muslims. Please note that only members can see what's posted. For everyone's protection and safety, we may have to screen those that we don't know personally in sha Allah.


How does it work?

1. After you've been invited to the group, turn your notifications on to keep updated.
2. Introduce yourself and your child/ren: Tell us your child's name, age, sex, where you are in the world and his/her interests.
3. Interested in getting in touch? Send the parent a private message, and exchange mailing addresses and any other relevant information.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Don't feel sad if you don't get a response right away! In sha Allah, as our little community grows your child will find a penpal - or maybe more!
• Be patient. Letters take time to reach their destination depending on where it's coming from. Usually it won't take more than a few days though in sha Allah.
• Age requirement: - 4 - 17 years old
• Only parents should to post to the groups.
• There are no restrictions with respect to age, however we do encourage you to reach out to parents whose kids are close (not same!) in age or grade level or have similar interests. Parents, feel free to help the younger kids with their writing in sha Allah.
• Do not share your mailing address or contact information or that of any member publicly. Do read the letters before they are sent out to ensure your kid is not sharing personal information or that of their family in sha Allah.
• Do not use these groups to spam or post ads or anything other than what is necessary for seeking out a penpal - especially without consent of the Admin(s).

Please feel free to send an email if you have any questions at all: ummddesigns@gmail.com.

Looking forward to connecting with you all soon!

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Salaam!

Welcome back! I do hope all is well with you and yours! Ameen!

I'm just gonna jump straight into it….

In this post, I just wanted to briefly show you a closer, more detailed look as to how I plan for homeschool using a notebook and incorporating the bullet journaling system.

Before we go any further, you may want to check out my first post in the series where I discussed bullet journaling and then you can check out my second post on how to get started with your homeschool bullet planner. Of course, I'll be right here when you get back…

Awesome!

Yearly Plan

I have never planned a year of work in advance because I'm not quite sure how things will work at as yet after I and settle down and also because I'm pretty new to homeschooling and I'm still finding my way, alhamdulillah.



However, I do use the calendar to give myself an overview of what periods or weeks we'll be having school, when we'll be having vacation or breaks, major (Islamic) holidays, etc. I don't divide my year into three terms and semesters, but blocks which is shorter than a term and lasts on average 4 weeks. I'll discuss my teaching year and days in another post soon in sha Allah.

Monthly Plan

My monthly is not necessarily per month, but per block, which as I mentioned lasts 4 weeks on average, but can also be 3 or even 5. So for one block, I will create a 2-page spread and list all the subjects and topics I intend to cover during the each week.



This plan makes my weekly planning much easier because I can just refer to it and expound on the topics I plan to teach and jot down the objectives for each topic.

Just for emphasis: I do not include any details and objectives in this plan. The topic alone is sufficient for now.

Weekly Plan

Finally, the weekly plan - where all the magic happens!



I also use a 2-page spread for this plan. On one page, I draw up a table with the days and the number of periods taught each day. And in each box, I write the subject and then list the topic and objectives/activities. Because the topic is pretty much the same for the duration of the week, I don't always put it and just list the objectives.

Now, there is only one way to get all your content to fit - get a fine point pen, of course!



I use my Staedtler in 0.05 and it gets the job done.

Notice, that I use a little dot (bullet) next to each objective or activity? When it's completed, I simply put an an x on it or if it's not complete for whatever reasons, I use a  >  to migrate it to another day.

Besides the subjects, I also make a note of what she'll be doing for any extra subjects and homework.

[Please excuse the scrappy writing and the ink blots from an pen that exploded!]

The other page, I reserve for notes. This could be anything from details on an activity to why we weren't able to cover a certain topic. Sometimes, I will write down what I want to do next week or what areas my daughter still needs more help with, tips and ideas from my pal, Pinterest...

And yes, I only teach 4 days a week (will speak more about that soon), so if you need more space you will may have to stretch your table to cover both pages or draw it up landscape. Or you can think of something else - just be sure to share it with me! Thanks!

Having such a detailed weekly planner means that I don't have to do a daily lesson planner because ain't nobody got time for that! I'm kidding! But serious though, I don't have the time to do daily planning for each subject. But if daily planning for each subject keeps you focused, organised and efficient, then you do what works for you.

Everyone is different, every child is different, every family is different, every momma (or daddy!) is different and of course their planning style can also be different. That's what makes this journey so beautiful! Tailor made education for our unique children and circumstances. Alhamdulillah.

I do have some more homeschool content coming your way soon in sha Allah. But in the meantime, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to send me an email.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Salaam!

Glad you came back! Last time, we spoke about bullet journaling - very briefly. If you missed that one read it here first and then come back. I'll be here....

Okay great! Let's continue...



Now I want to show you how I use the bullet journal planner for my homeschool planning.

I am a stationery geek and I love pen and paper. I love being able to write down everything just as much as I love using digital programs and apps. I also love being able to cross things off as I go along. Somehow it makes me feel more…. accomplished.

Now, I love binders but I personally find they are too bulky and hassle when I just need a quick overview of what I need to do. Planning in a regular notebook means I have all the information I need in one light-weight notebook, right where I need it making it super easy and quick for me to refer to during the day when I have to.



Don't get me wrong! I love the ease of printables and as soon as find what works best for me. I will most likely create a digital version of this, but for now this is an expensive way for me to figure out what works without wasting money or paper. How? Because I'm not stuck with a planner or a bunch of inserts that aren't really working for me.

Generally when it comes to planning it's all about trial and error and finding what works for you. I've tried digital recording and using a printed planner and it just wasn't doing it for me (as yet). So as a fairly new bullet journaler, I thought, "Why not apply the bullet journal method to my homeschool planner?" And so I did…

Getting Started

Starting up is very easy. All you need is a notebook, a pen, a pencil and a ruler - that's it.



If you'd like to take it up a notch, you can also get coloured pens to colour code and some page markers.



The first thing you'd notice about my homeschool bujo is that it's just a regular notebook. Nothing fancy. You don't have to invest in a super-pricey, cutsie notebook... unless you want to.

The next thing you'd need to do is leave the first few pages blank - at least 2 pages. These pages are for your index - where it all comes together. Hereyou will reference the contents of your notebook as well as the page numbers.



Yes, you will be numbering each page. You don't have to number the entire notebook at once in case you make a mistake somewhere along the lines or have to remove a page for any reason. I usually just number as a go along.

What To Include?

Basically, anything you wanna!

Just get out your notepad or grab a scrap piece of paper and jot down some of the things you want to include in your journal. Here are some ideas of some of things you may want to include:

• Yearly Calendar
• Monthly Calendar
• Important Dates, Appointments, Events and Vacation
• Subjects with Curriculum and Text Books
• Attendance record
• Timetable or Schedule
• Weekly/Daily Lesson Planner




Once you have everything you want in mind, you simply start to enter it into your notebook.

Tip: If you aren't ready to fill in these pages, just pencil in the page header and come back to it later in sha Allah. Remember to update your index regularly! This makes it super easy to find information.

Be Creative… or Not.

The objective here is to have an inexpensive, simple and easy planning system that doesn't take up a lot of time. If using stickers and embellishments and making your page festive is what you need to be productive, then by all means… Just figure out what works for you.

To be absolutely clear, I'm not telling you to leave your planning system if it already works for you. I'm simply giving you an alternative…..just in case it isn't.

If you'd like to see more, look out for my next post. I'll be showing you exactly how I put it all together and plan on a yearly, monthly and weekly basis.

Hopefully it will make more sense in sha Allah.

See you in the next one!