Vacation is coming up... and I know we are dreading it yet looking forward to it at the same time. Your child is used to going to school and being engaged all day, so at home he will likely keep saying he is bored. You on the other hand, are used to doing things while the kids are in school, and now that they are home you can't seem to get anything done, and the messes keep piling up. Or maybe you are a homeschooler and need some ideas on how to manage with the kids home all day. With that in mind - how can we make this week fun and beneficial for the kids and still get the house work done and stay sane? All it takes is an hour or two on the weekend to make a plan, and save yourself hours of frustration throughout the week. Here are some ideas to cheer you up and possibly make it smoother.
* A fun schedule: divide the day into after Fajr, after breakfast, after lunch, after Duhr, after snack, after Asr, after Dinner, and after Maghrib. In each block, put one or two of these main activities: qur'an, chores, reading books (quiet time/nap time), outside play, free play, outing, story time, cooking, and craft/science experiment (for homeschoolers, add school time).
* A fun theme for the week: to help you decide what your craft, books, outings, and story times will be, choose a theme. For example an ocean theme - trip to the beach or lake or river, playground with large sand play area, aquarium, pet store to see the fish, fish movie, fish craft, books about fish, science books about fish, fish play, fish for dinner, playdough shells and sand castles, swimming at YMCA, go fishing at a lake, eat swedish fish, make paintings of fish, show them the different types of fish in the supermarket and write the names, story of Prophet Yunus (AS) in the whale, story of Prophet Musa (AS) and the ship. Think of a few and maybe let the kids decide which one. This is similar to unit studies, where you choose a topic of interest and then explore the science, math, literature, history, islam, arabic, qur'an, and writing topics that link to that. When you have kids of various ages, all kids can benefit but older ones do more in-depth research and projects.
* Start the week with a trip to the library: take them to the non fiction section and have each child pick out books. In the mean time, you pick out the books you need for story time, craft/science, etc.
* A fun menu: write a menu for the week that includes each child's favorite foods. Using that, write the grocery list. Then go to the grocery store and get all the items you will need for the week.
* Pray together: it would be nice to try to pray together when you hear the athan (from computer or cell phone, etc.) This is a chance to be an example, and remind them that Allah gave them so much and they need to thank Him so they can be with you in Jannah in sha' Allah. Teach them to stay on their prayer mats after the prayer and do some tasbih. Then have a group dua with each one adding their own dua.
* Outing ideas: each day should have an outing. Monday should be library. Friday should be Jum'ah in the Masjid. So that leaves you with three days to fill in. A benefit of deciding this ahead of time is that you could call some friends and have them join you in one or two of your outings or arrange a visit to their house or yours.
* Craft/Science time: based on the theme, choose a few relevant crafts and a few science experiments to do, one in each day. There are lots of ideas online. Print out one for each day and put in a folder.
* Chores: get out the spray bottles, rags, broom, vacuum etc. and assign a room or specific task for each child. Put the nasheed songs on and start cleaning. When everyone works together, the cleaning gets done faster, then everyone gets more time to play.
* Cooking: there are lots of things kids can do to help - measuring rice, measuring water, washing vegetables, peeling vegetables, pouring the oil, sautéing, mixing, adding spices, etc. And if you have chosen some of their favorite meals, they will enjoy learning how to make it.
* Story time: end the day with an activity kids love, listening to stories. Have them all get ready for bed and gather in the living room. This is a good time to read stories of the Prophets and personal stories from your childhood - like a family halaqa.
* For TV, I recommend you choose ahead of time which movies, shows, etc they will watch. Try to find educational series on youtube, Islamic and other. And limit it to just 1 hour a day.
I know that it seems like a lot, and I know that not all can get done or be in the way it seems, and don't think that I do all that - but we have to make high goals for ourselves so that we can at least achieve a little of what we wanted to. Don't limit yourself. Don't underestimate yourself. Don't listen to any voice inside you that says you can't, or there's no use, or it's too much. You can if you think you can. And that's why planning your week is so important, because it puts the information in your mind and you can anticipate what needs to be done.
I can't promise that your day and week will be smooth - the reality is that it cannot be perfect or even close to perfect, and it won't. But there's a difference between having a day with a few difficult times, and having a day that is a complete nightmare, let alone a whole week. You try your best and leave the rest to Allah. The key is to always start your day with Fajr, thikr, dua, and Qur'an. It sounds like a lot but it actually only takes 15 minutes. Our strength comes from Allah, because we are so flawed, weak, and forgetful on our own. I pray your week goes well in sha' Allah, and if it doesn't, make note of the difficulties and try to learn from it. If you just make a small effort, Allah will take care of the rest.
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