How and Why you Should Implement a Daily Activity for your Children during Ramadan
Last year, I designed our first version of our Ramadan Countdown Calendar. It was a childhood dream of mine that I somehow, someway made happen. I knew this was something that would get so many children excited for Ramadan. The idea of how Christmas Advent calendars were portrayed to me was so fun and joyous. Getting a small treat or toy every day leading up to Eid, seemed so exciting. But, the truth is the last thing I ever wanted to do when starting Days of Eid® was to emulate Christmas. My whole purpose is starting Days of Eid® was to make Muslim children proud of their own identity (but I think this subject deserves it’s own blog ;), so I’ll get more into that later. This is the point in my product design process, where I stop and think to myself “What is the purpose of Ramadan and how do I make sure this product helps achieve that purpose?” I began to search different types of advent calendar activities (Muslim & non-muslim), Ramadan 30 day activities for kids, random things really amazing moms take the time to create and share via Pinterest or Instagram. One particular 30 Day Activity Printable was by ZairZabrPlay. It was her “30 Acts of Kindness ”. I thought wow, this is wonderful. Children can complete Ramadan understanding the true meaning of kindness and associating it with Islam and Ramadan. After commenting and DMing back and forth on Instagram, Hira founder of ZairZabrPlay and I became friends. As Ramadan neared she mentioned something about my newly developing Ramadan Countdown Calendar. And I thought well this is the perfect person to create a unique set of Ramadan Calendar activities that are in line with Days of Eid®’s purpose.
We began to work together and Alhamdulilah our collaboration was a very successful one. We wanted to come up with 30 inserts that went beyond just good deeds and introduced practicing Islam by either reciting a small surah (Chapter of the Quran), Hadith, making dhikr. We decided to make sure each week there was a balance between crafts, good deeds, Quran, and dhikr.
Having kids in multiple age ranges we knew one set would not suit multiple age ranges. So we decided to make 2 sets: one for toddlers and one for older children.
The other challenge we ran into was materials! We found parents spent more time looking for resources to complete the activity than the activity itself. That’s why we decided to include a Parent resource document for each as well. (By the way, Hira deserves much more credit than me in this whole process.)
The parent resource document is an amazing piece because some of the activities such as reading stories of the Prophet(s) may not actually know or remember and so Hira actually included those particular stories in the document. Those stories and many more can be found in her book, My First Quran Activity Book.
So here is a review of how our Printable {Click Here to Access} goes:
Day 1: Decorate a Ramadan Banner: Here we include a printable Banner in the parent resource document kids can color and decorate or they can even decorate one of our very own Days of Eid® Banners as seen here.
Day 2: Read the story of Prophet Suleiman (Peach Be Upon Him). A brief story is provided in the parent resource document or you can use My First Quran Activity Book by ZairZabrPlay, which includes vinyl stickers and creates a more interactive experience.
Day 3: Read Surat Ikhlas 3x, this is just to reinforce the importance of the Quran and association to Ramadan with your little ones.
Day 4: Make a Moon and Star Garland. We have included moons and stars in the parent resource document that kids can color, cut out, string along, and hang up their own decorations! Photo below Credit: twinning.and.winning.tz
Day 5: Write a card and put in the mail: This is actually a really special craft (considering these times) they can do that just requires a piece of paper and some coloring utensils.
Day 6: Load the washer and dryer. Yes! Chores are important when you’re Muslim too.
Day 7: Leave water out for birds and small animals: This may seem like a small project but it has significant meaning as giving water is a form of Sadaqah and on this day we should reinforce this concept. ‘The Messenger of Allah (saw) was asked, “Which charity is best?” He replied, “Providing water”’. [Abu Dawud]
Day 8: Tell Mama and Baba I love you 10 times. Well this is just so sweet and a means to reinforce healthy emotional expression for young children.
Day 9: Read the story of Prophet Yunus (peace be upon him) and the Whale. A small story and coloring sheet is included in the parent resource document. You can also find the full story in ZairZabrPlay’s “My First Quran Activity Book”.
Day 10: Make Prayer or Tasbeeh beads: This will get your child to practice counting to 30 as well as practicing making Dhikr. And you don’t have to go to the store for pretty beads (which is still fun), but they can string along some macaroni and paint or color it to their liking.
Day 11: Make a Sadaqa Jar for your family: If you happen to have a jar that is empty it is especially fun to decorate it, but also you don’t necessarily need a jar, you can use a small box or bag. Last year I actually found a coin jar at Dollar Tree, which seems to be a seasonal item since I can no longer find it and my kids got to decorate it.
Day 12: Write a letter to the mailman and leave it in the mailbox for him/her: This is a gesture that reinforces the concept of kindness being a part of Islam as well as a form of Dawah.
Day 13: Wipe down the table after Iftar: This action reinforces multiple Islamic principles: cleanliness as a part of Islam, obeying ones’ parents, and simple acts of kindness and responsibility at home.
Day 14: Practice saying Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Allahuakbar, and Astagfirullah. My parent tip here would be to reinforce the meaning of these athkar. So when I tell my kids to say SubhanAllah, I would give them examples like “Wow, SubhanAllah that bird is so beautiful,” it’s my way of exemplifying the glory of Allah (swt) to them. Showing gratitude by saying “Alhamdulilah, Allah has given us yummy food to eat during Ramadan- we are so lucky.” Speaking about Allah’s creations and saying “Allahuakbar, Allah (swt) is so strong - he made me and you and the trees and the skies.” And when we make mistakes which is okay ;) We can acknowledge them in front of our children and make istighfar (Ask Allah swt for forgiveness by saying Astaghfirullah).
Day 15: Choose 5 books or toys to donate or giveaway. Now this turned into a whole negotiation/ meltdown session here at my house. So if they give up 1 toy or book- that is an accomplishment! Parent tip: Talk to them about how other children don’t get to have as many toys and books and maybe we can make them happy by giving them some of our own. Teaching selflessness is one of the powerful lessons.
Day 16: Read the story of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the story is included in our parent resource document as well a matching coloring page.
Day 17: Draw blessings from Allah (swt): This reinforces the concept of gratitude and children can write or draw in things they are grateful for in the accompanying sheet found in the parent resource document.
Day 18: Create your own Ramadan Placemat: We have included a printable placemat in the parent resource document that children can color or decorate.
Day 19: Make salt dough Moons and stars: This is a very fun activity that children love and have as keepsakes. Ingredients and directions are found in the parent resource document. Photo Credit: Maisun Salah
Day 20: Place dates in a bowl. Kids always love taking part and having a “job” at home. This is a really easy way to get them to help and even come up with their own designs when placing dates in our Moon Star Platter.
Day 21: Decorate Happy Eid wrapping paper: Always fun to get them excited for Eid. Directions are included in the parent resource document.
Day 22: Name 10 things you are grateful for and say Alhamdulilah. This reinforces the concept of gratitude being a part of Islam and how we as Muslims express that gratitude.
Day 23: Read the story of Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him). Short story included in the parent resource document, a longer version can be found in ZairZabrPlay’s book.
Day 24: Make a thank you for delivering gifts sign: This can be placed outside near the mailbox to show appreciation to your mail person or even at home near the gifts themselves as a kitchy decor piece.
Day 25: Make a 3D Masjid: This is a fun activity as the month is winding down. A template included in the parent resource document. Here is a link as well, 3D Masjid Craft Template. Credit: Zaufishan Blog
Day 26: Make a moon sighting telescope: Time to prepare to find the Helal! Directions are found in the parent resource document. This will also be most likely Laylat ul-Qadr and it is a good way to talk about the signs of the skies and the moon of this special night.
Day 27: Help make dessert for Iftar tonight: I don’t know about you all because my children LOVE to help in the kitchen, me -not so much me ;) But, this just one way of getting them involved, giving them responsibility, and taking pride in their work. So it’s a small price to pay ;)
Day 28: Create a Lantern: A printable version of can be found in the parent resource document and here is a couple of links that I think are really fun too for different styles:
- ZairZabrPlay Lantern Template
- Heidi Hansen’s Sweet Fajr Blog Template
- Zaufishan Blog Mosque Lantern Template
Day 29: Decorate a Eid Banner: A printable banner is included in the parent resource document. Also, you can decorate one of our Days of Eid® Eid Mubarak Burlap Banners. This will get children very excited for Eid and be a part of the decorating process.
Day 30: Make Eid cards to pass out at the Masjid: Now this is especially sweet to give to friends, aunts, uncles. This year of course, it would be especially difficult but you can also mail them out to family and friends.
Also, mamas DON’T STRESS about doing every single activity every day. Some days it’s just not possible or some kids may just want a piece of candy that’s TOTALLY FINE. We designed our Ramadan Countdown Calendar and activities to make Ramadan exciting and memorable. To build the foundation of the love of Ramadan in their hearts InshaAllah. If you have any feedback about our Ramadan Countdown Calendar activities please let me know, I'd love to know how it works for you and your children!
~Talk with you all soon,
Reem