Treasure Hunting

We had collected lots of shredded paper for our preschool children. I wanted to make it interesting for my younger preschoolers. I thought about what I could add and how I could make it fun and exciting for them- what would attract them to the activity?  We already added some magnetic ball, but when we added some red and white gems and provided a few bamboo basket --they knew what do.  

Each of them were eagerly exploring and discovering their treasures --They were not only feeling the paper and seeing how they could manipulate it, but also were curious about what else they could find. When they discovered the crystal colored and ruby colored gems -it was amazing to observe their expressions- surprise, joy, interest....  We were counting how much they collected, describing the color.  

M said her mum has lots of jewelry-she will have it when she will grown up. Ma agree that her mum has some too-but she didn't think that mum will give it to her. Boys were excited to count how many gem they have- looking for more to add to their treasure.  They were engaged with the activity for quite a long time, until we invite them for our Duhr salat.

Find the treasure!

I see one!

It feels strange

Look at my treasure

Did we find them all?

Who Created this Beautiful World?

In our sensory table we provided various colored, shaped sea fish, sea shell, rock and sea weed to give the concept of what do we see in the Ocean. Children always love to play with the water -we wanted to see them having more fun and learning about science, math and religion with their peers. Some of them were feeling the temparture of the water-some were very dramatic when they found a great big whale with a gray shark in the water table.

X thought little fishy was so hungry, so she gave it some sea weed--MashaAllah. S was carefully collecting all the rocks from the water and counting--1,2,3----.We have been sharing stories about sea shell, fish, etc--We asked them who created this beautiful world for us? They answered, "ALLAH" .Why did ALLAH created fish for us? Most of them were sharing their thoughtful ideas, some said-because we will eat them. Some said to play with them. So E said,  "To make gold fish crackers."

Our goal was to encourage them to engage with social play -they were making space for their peers when another child wanted to join with them, teaching them problem solving skills, negotiation-learn about the creation of ALLAH and increase their communication skills.

Registration

Re-registration for current students is now being accepted for the Sept 2012 school year.



OPEN HOUSE & GENERAL REGISTRATION 
Saturday March 3rd, insha'allah
1pm-4pm

Please contact us for a tour and/or registration package

Using Pipettes

Pipettes (droppers) are tools children learn to use in preschool .  We use pipettes to build fine motor skills (which are needed for cutting and writing skills), hand-eye coordination and cognitive development.  By learning to use pipettes, children gain the ability to follow several sequential steps needed to complete the task successfully.    

Thirst Bird

1:Once upon a time there was thirsty bird -looking for water -it was so hot that day and there as no water -suddenly the bird found some water in a bowl -but he could not reach the water --what should the bird do?One child said, "Bird needs to drop a rock??--Teacher shared the story at our group time - The story was all about science and critical thinking skills. "The bird carefully dropped one rock, two rocks"------Children were counting and they saw the water level getting higher- wow, bird was able to reached the water -ALHAMDULILLAH, Allah is Al-Razaaq- The Ever-Providing -The bird said "Bismillah", drank all the water, then said,  "Alhamdulillah"- thanking Allah for giving him the good idea.

Alif, Ba, Ta

X was selling his rock -there is a weight machine-which one is the heavier rock? Pine cone? How much is  the price for a rock ? "I have lots of money, I want to buy all".

S likes drawing -she loves to tell me a story when she draws something. I was commenting, "I can see you drew a circle with your brown crayon. S answered ,"Sister Fatima, This is my friend A -I want to give it to her after school." She worked so hard to finish her art and carefully kept it in her cubby.