Monday, August 31, 2009

Ramadan activities and lessons for children Pt. 1

The Five Pillars of Islam

Content areas covered: language arts, handwriting, religion, arts and crafts, spelling, math, science
Vocabulary and handwriting: pillar (define and write/trace)

Spelling: pillar
Discussion: What is a pillar? (it can stand alone, can hold something up) What is a Muslim? (one who submits to the will of Allah) How do pillars "hold up Muslims"? Name some Muslims you know (self, parents, siblings, friends).
Craft: Make 5 pillars
Supplies: Construction paper, tape or glue, scissors, ruler, pen, four wood
en blocks
Directions: Line up 4 blocks on the construction paper. Measure them with ruler, this is the height of your pillars. Measure the width of the blocks and mark paper so that you can make three folds in the paper to create a square. Wrap the paper around each side of the line of four blocks and tape (or do 5 sides and glue together). Once taped, sit the pillar up and slide the paper off of the blocks. Do this to create 5 pillars.


We then cut a rectangle and wrote the word "Muslim" on it. We wrote the names of some Muslims and then sat it on top of the pillars. I asked her to put the paper on top and she had to use reasoning and logic skills to determine the best arrangement of the pillars. We did some experimentation to see if only one pillar could stand and hold the "Muslims". You can play around a lot with this by using various objects. We added weight/pressure to the paper by adding blocks and rulers to see if it could withstand. We talked a lot to make sure she understood how the pillars are essential to her life as a muslim.




Next we will spend time learning the principle of each pillar.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Assalamualaikum.
Masha-Allah, this is such a wonderful way to reinforce the concept of how important the pillar of Islam are in our life.

Sister P said...

Wa-Alaikum Salaam! Shukran sister for stopping by and commenting. May Allah continue to bless you!