Homeschool Theme: Space

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We don’t always have a homeschool theme, but to make the most of the 6-week school holiday, I chose Space as our theme. We had plenty of fun with this theme and learnt a lot along the way! You can see some of the activities we did below. I will also list all the resources we used at the end of this post in sha Allah.

Space Homeschool Theme on Pinterest

This 2D solar system on the wall beside her bed was one of our first projects. She loved it so much, she had to take a picture with every planet.
Space Homeschool Theme - Solar System

I placed our reading light at one end to demonstrate how the sun’s light reaches the planets. We added in a paper plate sun later, painted orange and yellow. Barely a week after we put this up, she had the planet names memorised in order.

She also worked on spelling planet names with printables from 3 Dinosaurs.
Spelling planet namesSpelling planet names with Scrabble tiles

These colour-by-number pages from Education.com were a hit when I offered watercolour paint along with them. (She’s not a colouring fan.)

We explored several books about space (listed at the end of this post) and were impressed by the format and illustrations in Usborne’s Big Book of Stars and Planets!

I bought this Solar System floor puzzle some time back and it was perfect for the theme.
Solar System Floor Puzzle

We also worked on the crafts in our Space-themed Lollibox and made a cardboard roll rocket, a space mobile and rockets blown with straws!
Space mobile Lollibox craft

I downloaded a few iPad apps for her to explore, and this one, Solar System 3D, was her favourite. (Can’t seem to find the App Store link for it.)
Solar System 3D iPad app

I love how pretty this file folder game (by A Teaching Mommy) looks when assembled!
Planets Shadow Match file folder game

Books

How Big is Allah? by Emma Apple
The Usborne Big Book of Stars and Planets
Space Lift-the-Flap
Journey Through the Solar System by Simon Abbott
The Magic School Bus Presents Our Solar System
Roaring Rockets (Amazing Machines)
There’s No Place Like Space (Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library)
My Brilliant Sticker Book – Space (bought from POPULAR)
Alam Semesta from Darul Andalus

Space-themed books we didn’t use which you may find useful:

Multimedia

The Magic School Bus DVD – Episodes: Out of This World and Gets Lost on Space
Solar System 3D (iPad app)
A Solar System Journey (iPad app)
Interactive Minds: Solar System Lite (iPad app)
European Space Agency (ESA)
NASA and NASA Kids’ Club

Printables

Expanded Space unit by A Teaching Mommy
Space Pack and Planets Calendar Printables by 3 Dinosaurs
Solar System Preschool Pack by 1+1+1=1
Stellar Subtraction Workbook from Education.com

My Pinterest Board

Follow HomePlaySchool’s board Themed Learning – Space on Pinterest.

Free Printable: Arabic Alphabet Mazes (ط to غ)

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If you’ve been following us on Instagram, you might know that we were recently on an umrah trip for two weeks, subhan Allah. That explains my somewhat lengthy absence from the blog. It has been three weeks since our safe return and I’m suffering from a little “withdrawal syndrome”. :D Alhamdulillah, I’m getting my engine cranking this week and today, I have four more mazes for you with the letters ط (tho’) to غ (ghain) in sha Allah!

Arabic Alphabet Mazes by HomePlaySchool Continue reading →

Free Printable: Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats (ل to ي)

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Today, I’m sharing with you the last in my series of Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats. You can get the FREE download of the mats for ل (lam) to ي (yaa) at the end of this post, in sha Allah.

Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats

These play dough mats are designed for toddlers and preschoolers who are developing recognition of individual letters of the Arabic alphabet in their isolated forms. As we all know, playing with dough is great for developing the little one’s fine motor skills!

To use the printouts, you’ll need to laminate them or slip them into transparent sheet protectors. Then get your child to roll and form play dough to fit the shape of the letters.
Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats in action

You could also use these mats for rainbow writing!


The mats are A4-sized by default. If you need smaller mats, simply use the multiple printing feature in your printer settings to print two pages on one sheet.

Download the FREE Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats (ل to ي) printable here.


Feel free to share this printable with your friends by linking up to this blog post (not directly to the file download page). May this free resource be a blessing to you and your family or your students. If you have any feedback or questions, I would love to hear from you.

I do have many more Arabic printables for preschoolers in the works, in sha Allah. Subscribe to my blog to get updated whenever I release new printables!

Current Favourite Reads (Feb 2015)

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The Usborne Big Book of Stars & Planets

The Usborne Big Book of Stars & PlanetsI bought this to supplement our homeschool theme on ‘Space’ in December 2014. It’s a visually stunning book, made better by the fold-out pages! She LOVES it and still reaches for it when I ask her to pick out a book to read together. Here’s a picture of her favourite page in the book!

Another space-themed book we enjoyed was Space Lift-the-Flap. The illustrations are wonderful and there’s lots of facts on every page – a fact-loving kid would love this!


We’re Off to Make ‘Umrah

We're Off to Make 'Umrah by Sana MunsheyI was shopping around for a picture book about umrah and this seemed to be the only one available, so I ordered it without hesitation. Fortunately, it turned out to be perfect for the 5-year-old kiddo. It explains the steps involved in making umrah from the perspective of a young boy, along with on-point, though somewhat dated, illustrations. There’s a poster summarising the book’s content included. It’s pretty useful! We have it pasted up on the wardrobe door to review whenever she feels like it. I would definitely recommend this title to anyone who will be making umrah with young children.


The Enormous Crocodile

The Enormous Crocodile by Roald DahlI started introducing the kiddo to chapter books lately, even though they’re above her reading level. And what better books to start with than Roald Dahl’s! I read to her a few pages at a time before bed. We finished it not long ago and she’s been asking me to read it to her again. Quentin Blake’s illustrations are a winner as always; they truly complement the whimsical style of Roald Dahl’s writing. I think we’ll read Matilda next!

Free Printable: Arabic Numerals Play Dough Mats (١ to ١٠)

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This week, I have something new for all my readers – Arabic Numerals Play Dough Mats! You can get the FREE download of the mats for ١ to ١٠ at the end of this post, in sha Allah.

Arabic Numerals Play Dough Mats (١ to ١٠)

These play dough mats are designed for toddlers and preschoolers who are developing recognition of Arabic numerals ١ to ١٠. As we all know, playing with dough is great for developing the little one’s fine motor skills!

To use the printouts, you’ll need to laminate them or slip them into transparent sheet protectors. Then get your child to roll and form play dough to fit the shape of the numbers. At the bottom of each page is a tens frame representing the quantity. Have the child roll the dough into balls and fill in each circle.

You could also use these mats for rainbow writing!


The mats are A4-sized by default. If you need smaller mats, simply use the multiple printing feature in your printer settings to print two pages on one sheet.

Download the FREE Arabic Numerals Play Dough Mats (١ to ١٠) printable here.


Feel free to share this printable with your friends by linking up to this blog post (not directly to the file download page). May this free resource be a blessing to you and your family or your students. If you have any feedback or questions, I would love to hear from you.

I do have more Arabic printables for preschoolers in the works, in sha Allah. Subscribe to my blog to get updated whenever I release new printables!

Free Printable: Arabic Alphabet Mazes (س to ض)

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We’re currently out of the country to attend a wedding. I’ve been working hard so I could release four more mazes for letters س (seen) to ض (dhad) today on this blessed Jumu’ah!

Arabic Alphabet Mazes by HomePlaySchool Continue reading →

Free Printable: Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats (ط to ك)

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Jumu’ah mubarak to everyone! Part 3 of my series of Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats is here today. You can get the FREE download of the mats for ط (tho) to ك (kaaf) at the end of this post, in sha Allah. Both the isolated and initial/medial form of ك (kaf) are included in this printable.

Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats

These play dough mats are designed for toddlers and preschoolers who are developing recognition of individual letters of the Arabic alphabet in their isolated forms. As we all know, playing with dough is great for developing the little one’s fine motor skills!

To use the printouts, you’ll need to laminate them or slip them into transparent sheet protectors. Then get your child to roll and form play dough to fit the shape of the letters.
Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats in action

You could also use these mats for rainbow writing!


The mats are A4-sized by default. If you need smaller mats, simply use the multiple printing feature in your printer settings to print two pages on one sheet.

Download the FREE Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats (ط to ك) printable here.


Feel free to share this printable with your friends by linking up to this blog post (not directly to the file download page). May this free resource be a blessing to you and your family or your students. If you have any feedback or questions, I would love to hear from you.

I do have many more Arabic printables for preschoolers in the works, in sha Allah. Subscribe to my blog to get updated whenever I release new printables!

Subscriber Freebie: Arabic Numerals Q-tip Painting Cards (٠ to ١٠)

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First of all, my apologies for letting two weeks go by without posting anything new! I have a few printables ready and waiting to be released, but my overloaded work schedule recently has been taking time away from blogging. The next couple of months will continue to be extra busy for me, unfortunately. I hope to schedule more posts in advance in sha Allah, to cover the periods of time when I’m away or tied up with my day job.

Today, I’m releasing something totally new, specially for my mailing list subscribers! (If you’re not a subscriber yet, don’t fret – you can subscribe today and download the freebie right away.)
Arabic Numerals Q-tip Painting Cards (٠ to ١٠)

These Q-tip painting cards are designed for preschoolers who have been introduced to Arabic numbers and who may not be writing yet (pre-writers). By filling in the dots, they gain visual recognition of Arabic numerals as well as the correct stroke order of writing them. Each card also shows the quantity in the form of a tens frame, as well as the number word in Arabic, which the child can trace or colour in.

If you’re new to Q-tip painting, you may be wondering, so how do I use this printable? You will need cotton swabs a.k.a. Q-tips, and some paint (tempera or poster paint recommended). Dip the tip into the paint, then press it onto each dot.
Arabic Numerals Q-tip Painting Cards

The use of this printable is not limited to Q-tips! You may want to let the child experiment with glitter glue or tiny jewel stickers, or simply colour in the dots with markers.

If you’re not yet subscribed to HomePlaySchool’s mailing list, do it now to enjoy the FREE Arabic Numerals Q-tip Painting Cards!

If you’re already a subscriber, follow the link in your welcome email to the subscriber freebie page to get your downloads. I hope your children enjoy this activity as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Free Printable: Arabic Alphabet Mazes (د to ز)

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I don’t know about you, but December is a very busy month for me! My progress on these Arabic Alphabet Mazes have been quite slow, as it takes time to find the right clipart or images for each letter. Today, I’m releasing four more mazes for letters د (dal) to ز (zay).

Arabic Alphabet Mazes by HomePlaySchool Continue reading →

Free Printable: Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats (د to ض)

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Part 2 of my series of Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats is here! Today, the mats for د (dal) to ض (dhad) are available for FREE download.

Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats

These play dough mats are designed for toddlers and preschoolers who are developing recognition of individual letters of the Arabic alphabet in their isolated forms. As we all know, playing with dough is great for developing the little one’s fine motor skills!

To use the printouts, you’ll need to laminate them or slip them into transparent sheet protectors. Then get your child to roll and form play dough to fit the shape of the letters.
Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats in action

You could also use these mats for rainbow writing!


The mats are A4-sized by default. If you need smaller mats, simply use the multiple printing feature in your printer settings to print two pages on one sheet.

Download the FREE Arabic Alphabet Playdough Mats (د to ض) printable here.


Feel free to share this printable with your friends by linking up to this blog post (not directly to the file download page). May this free resource be a blessing to you and your family or your students. If you have any feedback or questions, I would love to hear from you.

I do have many more Arabic printables for preschoolers in the works, in sha Allah. Subscribe to my blog to get updated whenever I release new printables!