Friday 13 November 2009

Zombie Ants

For those of you that don't get the Science A-Z email updates there are some new mini news information sheets that you can download free of charge. They are really child friendly, informative and usually have an activity to do too, my kids love them....

The current one is about zombie ants; a kind of fungus infects a kind of ant and controls its behavior, subhanAllah, it's very interesting.....

You can download them at (check out the column on the left hand side):

Friday 6 November 2009

A monthly affair.....

that's what this blog is turning into a once a month update...... but my PC did crash and have to go off to the shop for repair so for once I have a real excuse!!!!

We have all had this really horrid flu and was germ free for about three days when we picked up this vomiting virus thang on our first excursion out of the house.... the car has also decided that it will only work when it wants to (for no obvious reason except that it might be having a strop 'cos my hubby crashed into a bollard); so when not tinkering with the car, coughing, head achy or vomiting we have been going steadily on with Mathletics and Mindsprinting for maths and english respectively.

We have also learned loads about World Wars I & II DS1 & 2 interviewed their nan about her experiences during the war so we have to type the interview up and she also sent us some poems that she wrote about life during the war - all exciting stuff alhamdulilla but this project is going VERY slowly.

We have also done hama beads, threading with beads (this was real fun and great to see all the different levels of understanding and ability; there was DD (4) who was just happy to get the beads on the string without them falling off the other end, then DS3 who was doing really simple patterns and realised you could tie one end to stop the beads falling off, DS2 (8) who was doing more complex patterns with several colours and DS1 (11) who made me a tesbih....mashaAllah).


We have talked loads about germs and keeping ourselves clean; which was reinforced when we went over the adab of sneezing, coughing etc and how these stop us from spreading germs; how perfect is our deen! We have played with playdough, painted and completed lots of drawing lessons online with Mark Kistler - bags of fun!!! We've just been taking it really easy, letting everyone get over this bug inshaAllah.

My husband has also been getting his 'shop' ready to trade and he has been doing all the work himself along with DS1 who was dying to get his hands on some 'real' tools... DS1 has learned how to hammer in nails properly, saw, mix and lay cement, wire a plug and so much more; he absolutely LOVED every minute of it and talks about it all the time - it has brought hubby and him so much more closer together mashaAllah.

The most important lesson over the last couple of weeks has been a chance meeting with a new sister. The sister was sitting on a wall near our house and my husband thought she looked a bit sad and invited her into the house to meet me. It turned out that this sister was desperately in need, she stayed with us all day and kept saying how she has been asking Allah for a friend. It's amazing how Allah ta'Ala brings people together and I am blessed to be a part of this wonderful deen where we are all sisters one and all regardless of colour, race or background. The kids have learned a lot about patience and sacrifice as we have given up a lot of time and energy for the sister and I know some of it has been hard for them. But I also know they have gained a lot and made some good friends, DS2 also learned a lot about painting and decorating too alhamdulillah (think I might have a building firm in the making lol). The sister is very giving and sweet mashaAllah and I pray that Allah grants her, and us all, ease inshaAllah.

The kids have been on a hike with the scouts and are overcoming a bullying incident with one of the boys who actually threatened DS1 with a penknife - subhanAllah what is our ummah coming to?!? This boy has been bullying them for a while and they don't take him too seriously but I am getting this addressed anyway..... I have to say it has been a little difficult to find out how to deal with this islamically and even harder to not to listen to my 'tough East London' alter ego who wanted to go and 'teach him a lesson'.... alhamdulillah lots of duas and assistance from a dear friends husband looks like we might have a solution in sight.