Ramadan Club 2018

As Ramadan quickly approaches us, I would like to introduce the idea that catalyzed the start of SimplyRamadan. Years ago, I began a small group meet in my home during the month of Ramadan where a few friends and I would do a Ramadan play date. It was driven by story times we had at our local library. I thus structured it to look like a library play group. We began each meeting with a small rhyme, then a story, a small game or activity, and end it with a small craft. These crafts were all too cute, but seemed lacking. They seemed fun but sort of silly because as we would come home, these crafts would just get tossed, as many crafts do. A part of me got upset because I spent time and money on those crafts only to see them tossed. I knew there had to be a solution. The following Ramadan, a friend of mine jumped on board and we began to collaborate ideas! It was sensational…we started to develop ‘useful crafts’. I find so much benefit in kids doing crafts:

1. It really shows off kids’ talents, abilities, and organizational skills.
2. Gives kids a sense of belonging and ownership to the idea they are working on.
3. Builds and enhances eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills.
4. Resonates with children so much more than many other activities.
5. Most importantly, has a goal such as learning, giving, and sharing.

The Plan

With this, we began a monthly plan where we read a story a day, did a small activity/craft, and really tried to stick to the concept of ‘useful craft’. We immediately found benefit in this, and slowly but surely the kids loved the idea and the community began to show deep interest in this concept. This year, with Ramadan beginning during the end of the school year, it is becoming significantly harder to make this play date happen in my community at large.  However, I still plan on applying it in my family and between small groups of friends and urge you to do the same. I have developed an easy to use program schedule where I provide you with an organized system so that you are not scrambling looking for ideas. This gives you more time and energy to focus on your Ramadan worship, after all the whole purpose of this IS teaching worship at a young age.

This program comes with a plan including:

• Daily Ramadan/Islamic themed book to read:

  • There is an amazing assortment of books relating to Ramadan Alhamdillah! Sometimes I find myself reading the same few books that I have at home. Assigning a book per day helps remind me of all the options out there. In addition, supporting awesome authors is a good deed in itself! Many public libraries also have an excellent variety of Islamic books and some even offer to purchase them as a community service.

• Daily small ‘useful’ craft or activity:

  • The goal behind these is to creatively integrate what we learn from Ramadan into something applied that children can play with. Don’t forget kids learn through play!

• Weekly characteristic goal for family:

  • Many times I find myself either deeply immersed in myself or my kids in Ramadan. Neither is ideal and in both cases I do not feel accomplished! Turns out the best solution is to mesh your activities with your kids so you can learn and practice together. You can learn so much from children if you just keep your focus set. Children have an amazing ability to be consistent and routine in their actions especially when it is new information.

I am so excited to start this online community and learn from one another. I am providing you with simply a framework and set of matching activities to make matters easier. Please find a friend or group that is passionate about community efforts and begin this step-by-step guide. Join and follow the hashtag #ReapRamadan to share and learn what benefits us and our children while still being entertaining! Inshallah you find benefit in it and it helps improve us, our families, and our communities one ‘useful’ craft at a time!

Get Started Here!