Click to download these times table number lines!
learn your times tables! Counting in groups number lines!
Click to download these times table number lines!
A little pampering is going on!
I know some things are misaligned and are out of place, please bare with me! Everything should still be functioning and available as normal during the process!
Our new fresh new look should be completed soon inshaAllah! x
Make your own Kitchen cleaner and kick those chemical nasties to the curb!
I'm not a total neat-freak (come on....my house is lived in 24 hours a day 7 days a week!), but I am a little obsessed by germs and making sure they are dead...you would always find a bottle of antibacterial spray dousing my kitchen worktops after every meal!
So despite wanting to make the switch to something more natural, it took me a little while to actually do it!
I knew these anti-bac sprays are no good for our long term health, and wanted to provide a healthier, safer environment for my family.....so when I found a recipe using vinegar and orange peel it looked so pretty in the picture I knew I had to give it a go!
- White Vinegar
- Water
- Orange peel
- lemon (optional)
- Essential oil (optional)
Add left over orange peel, a few drops of essential oil (I used orange) and let it soak for a couple of weeks!
I had a lemon that was turning past its best, so I squeezed out its juice and sliced to add a bit of extra zing and cleaning boost!
Strain all the peel and pour into an empty spray bottle and you a ready to go!
It has a strong unsweetened citrus scent...a huge improvement on the vinegar stenched work surfaces that are left when using just vinegar and water alone!
Not a bad product I have to say and costs literally pennies to make!
I defiantly feel more comfortable letting the kidos clean up after dinner.....if only they would just wipe the table the way I like it done! ......sigh!
What D.I.Y products have you made and tried? Drop a comment below.....I need more ideas!
Cute Weekly Menu Planner
Meal planning isn't only for the routine obsessed! Putting together a basic menu plan actually has a number of benefits; the two most important being both time and money saving!
Okay so you will need to sit for a minute or two to jot down your weeks dinners...but those couple of minutes can save you heaps of time you'll claim back, as you no longer need to stand in front of your cupboards in a frizzle, deciding what you can throw together!
Also, saving you time grocery shopping as you don't need to go up and down the aisles (or clicking back and forth between online departments!) trying to mentally menu plan as you shop!
Not to mention the financial gains as knowing what you will eat ahead means you only put in your basket what is needed....rather than any thing that grabs yours (or the kids!) attention as you get side tracked by those special offers....which really are not so special!
If you fancy giving it a try, you can download a free copy Here!
Home School Organiser 2014
.....Well, you have come to the right place!
Trying to re-charge my batteries, I've pulled out a couple of things from the previous homeschool planner to attempt to rejuvenate some spark and sense of direction to my lil home school!
I've said many times before, I can't do full-on organisation - mainly because I can never stick to a regimented schedule, however at the same time, taking each day as it comes and going with the flow means there really is "no flow" to our learning endeavours - I need a balance of something in the middle. Something that will give me a sense of direction, but yet is flexible enough to allow for daily moods and to-dos.
Introducing the Home School Planner with 2014 calendar......flip through the embedded pages below for a quick peak! (note: preview is not complete organiser)
There is nothing too rigid about this planner, just a simple homeschool mission statement to remind you why you chose to homeschool on those days when you need inspiration and a reminder of why you do!
Some very basic, simple lesson planning sheets - just to serve as a gentle guide to what direction lessons are going in, and even a nice personal planning page for Mum! ......all too often we are rallying around everyone else 24/7 we seldom remember to put in time for ourselves.....if Mum is happy and chilled.....everyone else is happy and chilled inshaAllah....so make some time and add in some personal planning too!
You can download your copy by clicking HERE
The pages have been designed to allow you to print as many of the planning sheets as you require for each of your children / subjects. You may want to work out how many you may need for the whole year and print off in one go to allow you to bind and give yourself a reall planner to work in - or your may prefer to print as you go, adding to a standard ring-binder. ......whatever works for you!
I have added further sheets to the file, including "Boredom Buster" activity lists and meal planning for time saving and budget keeping! The above link has been updated.
I'd love to know what you'd want from an organiser / planner? Perhaps I can incorporate suggestions into a new design in the future inshaAllah! Drop a comment below!
Weekly planner
I'm going through a period of home-school chaos....so to attempt to align back some sense of structure and routine (...without being too rigid) I've put together a quick weekly planner to jot down some basic scheduling and weekly objectives.
I've tried so many times to go "free" and take each home schooling day as it comes.....but I think I am figuring out that for me and my kids, we do need a little structure and basic routine to our week.
I can't do the super-mom boot-camp style organisation.....we all end up in tears, but nor can I keep up with the chilled out free-style mom either because we are just not getting much done!
We need something in-between.....or at least I feel we do right now anyway. So, this is my next attempt to straighten out our schooling endeavours inshaAllah!
The idea is to have a basic "road-map" of what the week ahead will look like; what objectives or goals we'd like to meet in different subject areas inshaAllah.
Its not meant to be a rigid plan of action that is set in stone, but rather something to help put a little basic organisation into the schooling week inshaAllah.
If our goals are not met, its no big deal, we can carry them onto next week inshaAllah. We just need something to help give us direction, instead of slowly plodding along stuck in a home-school rut, not knowing where to go next!
....oh the joys of home education! lol
Alhamdulillah!
I've tried so many times to go "free" and take each home schooling day as it comes.....but I think I am figuring out that for me and my kids, we do need a little structure and basic routine to our week.
I can't do the super-mom boot-camp style organisation.....we all end up in tears, but nor can I keep up with the chilled out free-style mom either because we are just not getting much done!
We need something in-between.....or at least I feel we do right now anyway. So, this is my next attempt to straighten out our schooling endeavours inshaAllah!
The idea is to have a basic "road-map" of what the week ahead will look like; what objectives or goals we'd like to meet in different subject areas inshaAllah.
Its not meant to be a rigid plan of action that is set in stone, but rather something to help put a little basic organisation into the schooling week inshaAllah.
If our goals are not met, its no big deal, we can carry them onto next week inshaAllah. We just need something to help give us direction, instead of slowly plodding along stuck in a home-school rut, not knowing where to go next!
....oh the joys of home education! lol
Alhamdulillah!
CVC flashcards....tiny words for tiny fingers!
I don't believe there is one right way to teach children how to read, but hey what do I know, I'm only a home-school mum so don't take me too seriously!
Although it was only a couple of years ago, I can't actually remember what process we went through to teach my eldest to read! I know didn't know what I was doing at all, and remember a lot of the time panicking, but Alhamdulillah Allah made it easy!
When I look back now, I scratch my head, thinking, just what did we do?
I remember one of the first things was I found 100 high frequency words online and printed them off to use as small flash cards to help develop her sight reading. I think I have since binned these...I don't know why I did.....I must have figured I would find a different way to teach the next one in line! (I know myself too well!)
With my next child, I've decided before I get to the frequent words, to concentrate a little more on reading simple CVC words inshaAllah.
I thought we could use the flash cards to sound out, and also use to copy using the movable alphabet.
As always, I'm putting up the file for free download if it will be of benefit to anyone inshaAllah. I also made another set in line with the Montessori colour scheme.
To download CVC flashcards with blue consonants and red vowels download here
Updates on facebook!
Over there, I do try to post more frequently; any updates on projects I may be working on or beneficial links we may have come across.
FaceBook tends to be the place to share forthcoming updates before they reach the blog as well as beneficial stuff which never makes it to the blog because its just not blog "material"!
....So head on over and hit the "like page" to get notifications and links I feel are of benefit inshaAllah!
Hit >this link< to get taken over to the official facebook page inshaAllah!!! See you there!
Effective budgeting: Waste not....want not!
Living in a world of ever increasing consumerism, its all too easy walking down the supermarket aisle, to be fooled into believing that we need things we don't even actually use!
Filling our baskets with over packaged, toxin filled goodies that we could home-make ourselves for a third of the price (and without the added chemicals) or overstock on fresh produce that's on offer and will inevitably end up in the bin by the weeks end!
As Muslims, we know that we will be held accountable for each and every penny we have spent throughout our lives. The last and final Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم told us:
The two feet of the son of Adam will not move from near his Lord on the Day of Judgement until he is asked about five (matters): about his life – how he spent it; about his youth – how he took care of it; about his wealth – how he earned it; and where he spent it; and about that which he acted upon from the knowledge he acquired.”
[at-Tirmidhi]
As wives, we know we are responsible for our husband's home.
Abdullah bin Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. The leader of the people is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects: a man is the guardian of his family and is responsible for his subjects, a woman is the guardian of her husband’s home and of his children and is responsible for them, and the slave of a man is a guardian of his master’s property and is responsible for it. Surely, everyone of you is a shepherd and responsible for his flock.”
[al-Bukhari and Muslim]
It is important to be mindful of how and what we use. We will be brought to account, make no doubt about that! In front of Allah we will recall all we have spent, every reckless, thoughtless purchase will warrant an explanation.
Even here in this dunya, we are accountable to our husband, and after all, the more we spend the more our husband has to go out to work!
In most households, it is the wife who takes the responsibility of head-chef in the kitchen! We know everything that comes into our cupboards and everything that comes out! We stand in front of those cupboards, staring at what we have, whilst figuring out what we can throw together to make a quick meal for our hungry brood. Sometimes, we may stare despairingly in a panic because although we may have a shelf full, we have "nothing to cook"...and then call our husband asking him to pick up something from the take-out on his way home!
The kitchen is one area of expenditure that we indirectly take charge of, because we choose what to serve up, what ingredients to use and what ingredients get thrown away! Its an area of finance that if we manage well, can really save the pennies inshaAllah!
With careful planning, a family can eat healthy, wholesome and nutritious meals on a budget, and not feel cut-back Alhamdulillah.
By planning our meals, we can determine exactly what ingredients we need to purchase and ensure we use up everything without wasting....not to mention the time it saves not having to think about what to prepare each day!
Too much food gets thrown away. That is food wasted and money in the bin! Knowing what to cook ahead, really does make grocery shopping easier and cheaper, because you only put in your basket what you know is needed and will get used inshaAllah.
Planning really can save time and money, allowing us to spend more in the way of Allah.
I've put together a weekly planner which allows you to work out meals plus snacks as well as jot down any appointments, outings or other to-dos.
Rotating stationary holder .... perfect for sitting around the school room table together!
After an array of disappointing searches, I figured I should just make my own and Alhamdulillah, I am glad that I did!
I wanted something that I can place in the centre of our school room table, rather than having it all spread out taking up valuable shelf space!
A rotating cake turntable came to my mind, and Alhamdulillah, worked great!
To put together, all I did was decorate some glass jars with ribbon before super gluing down to the rotating base. I used one lid to store rubbers and sharpeners (these always seem to go missing!) and added some cute lil gems around the base edge!
I love that the kids can sit around the table, and each can grab whatever they need easily....I just wonder how long it will stay looking so neat and tidy! (.....sigh)
If you fancied making one, alternatives to glass jars could be decorated empty food tins or cut-to-size pringle tubes...whatever you like! I've seen some pretty clever holders using finished toilet rolls over on pinterest....have a look around for ideas.
You don't need to purchase an expensive cake turn table, mine only cost £5 Alhamdulillah and works just fine!
If you've had a go at making your own stationary pot, I'd love to see what you came up with! Upload a picture onto my facebook page!
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