Free Printable: Arabic Alphabet Play Dough Mats (ا to خ)

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These play dough mats was on my to-do list for a long while, but I couldn’t find a font that’s just right for the purpose. Alhamdulillah, recently I did! Check out the cute bubble-ish letters! Today, I’m releasing the first download consisting of the mats for ا (alif) to خ (kha).

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

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 (ا to خ) 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). I pray that this free resource will be a blessing to you and your family, in sya Allah! 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. Subscribe to my blog to get updated whenever I release new printables!

Current Favourite Reads (Nov 2014)

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How Big is Allah?

How Big Is Allah? by Emma AppleWithout any expectations, and knowing nothing about the author Emma Apple, I bought this title to supplement our homeschool theme of ‘Space’ this month. The moment I flipped through the book, I was immediately impressed with the illustrations, masha Allah! Then I went to find out more about the author, and discovered that the beautiful drawings are actually paintings. We have since read How Big Is Allah? numerous times and H has begun to ask thought-provoking questions each time we read. I can’t recommend this book enough. It also comes in an Arabic Edition, for you lucky Arabic speakers!


We Are in a Book!

We Are in a Book! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo WillemsWe’ve owned this title for awhile, but H only recently discovered it and is in love! Elephant and Piggie books always gives her the giggles. Their format is also rather unique; they read like a comic, with all words appearing in speech bubbles. This somehow makes the books more appealing and accessible to the beginning reader. H loves having me read Gerald’s parts while she reads Piggie’s. Piggie is a logical and levelheaded character whereas Gerald (Elephant) is very dramatic. Reading his parts requires much energy! I even have a special ‘Gerald voice’ in my repertoire of character voices. :D We Are in a Book! was named as a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book in 2011. (Several other Mo Willems’ books have also been awarded or honoured over the years.)

Little Miss Series

Little Miss: The Complete CollectionWe have this collection of Little Miss books that I recently got out now that she’s old enough to appreciate them. Some of the stories are just plain entertaining while others include subtle lessons to be learnt about social and emotional behaviour. These lessons are especially applicable to preschoolers as they’re still learning how to control their emotions and how to behave in various social situations. We haven’t read all the books, but so far her favourite is Little Miss Bossy. >.<

10+ Resources to Help Preschoolers Learn and Memorise the Al Qur’an

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10+ Resources to Help Preschoolers Learn and Memorise the Al Qur'an by HomePlaySchool
Children of the ummah these days are lucky to have a wealth of resources to help them learn the Qur’an in interactive and meaningful ways. Alhamdulillah, here in our homeschool we’ve been enjoying our Qur’an journey, starting with Juz Amma. We’re focusing on memorisation of surahs and learning the tajweed rules at the moment. As H gets older and gains greater understanding, I hope to incorporate detailed study of the tafseer of each surah.

Over the past few years, I’ve gathered a modest collection of books and resources to aid us on our journey of Qur’an discovery, alhamdulillah. I’m sharing my favourites here, in the hope that it may help you on your own journey, in sya Allah! Continue reading →

Free Printable: Arabic Alphabet Mazes (ا to ث)

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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything through my links I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Your support in purchasing through these links enables me to keep blogging and creating free printables. I only recommend products that I use and love myself!

I wanted to roll out this new series of Arabic printables on Friday, but last week was a hectic one! So finally, here it is today – Arabic Alphabet Mazes! For free, as usual. :) Today, I’m releasing the first download which consists of four mazes. Each maze focuses on one letter and you can find the mazes for ا (alif) to ث (tsa) in this printable.

Arabic Alphabet Mazes by HomePlaySchool

These mazes are designed for preschoolers who are developing recognition of individual letters of the Arabic alphabet in their isolated forms. By following the focus letter through the maze, their visual recognition of the letter is increased via repetition. They also learn to differentiate between letters that have very similar forms, e.g. س and ش. I did make some of the mazes quite tricky! ;)

You can have the child use Do-A-Dot markers, small round magnets, stickers, pom poms, dry-erase markers, crayons (by colouring in each box), or even just a good old pencil. I recommend slipping the printouts into transparent sheet protectors or laminating them, so your child can do the mazes over and over again, which would certainly help in developing recognition!

Download the FREE Arabic Alphabet Mazes (ا to ث) printable here.

Feel free to share this printable with your friends. If you do so, please link to this blog post instead of linking directly to the file. I pray that this free resource will be a blessing to you and your family, in sya Allah! If you have any feedback or questions, I would love to hear from you in the comments.

As I’m still working on the printables in this series, the release schedule will not be fixed. However, I do aim to release the subsequent parts every fortnight, in sya Allah. I also have many more Arabic printables for preschoolers in the works. Subscribe to my blog to get updated whenever I release new FREE printables!

Free Printable: Arabic Alphabet Do-a-Dot Pages (ل to ي)

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This is the last in my series of Arabic Alphabet Do-a-Dot Pages. I’ve included the initial/medial form of ه (haa) in this printable, as the way it’s written is somewhat different from the isolated form.

Arabic Alphabet Do-a-Dot Pages

These Do-a-Dot pages are designed for preschoolers who have been introduced to the Arabic alphabet and who may not be writing yet (pre-writers). By filling in the dots, they gain visual recognition of Arabic letters as well as the correct stroke order of writing them. Encourage the child to start with the dot with a star in it.

Don’t limit yourselves to only Do-A-Dot markers! You can use magnets, stickers, pom poms, or virtually any other manipulative your child enjoys.

Download the FREE Arabic Alphabet Do-a-Dot Pages (ل to ي) printable here.

Feel free to share this printable with your friends. If you do so, please link to this blog post instead of linking directly to the file. I pray that this free resource will be a blessing to you and your family, in sya Allah! If you have any feedback or questions, I would love to hear from you in the comments.

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

Subscriber Freebie: Brave Inspired Printable Pack

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Brave is one of my favourite Disney Princess movies. It was so refreshing to have a princess who lived a purposeful and fulfilling life without needing a man to come and rescue her. And thus this printable pack came to be. :) I was working on it for a long while, and finally it’s now available to all my mailing list subscribers!
Subscriber Freebie: Brave Inspired Printable Pack
This printable pack was designed for children aged 2 to 7 and consists of 38 pages of activities, including:

  • Nomenclature (3-part) cards
  • Do-A-Dot pages
  • Print and cursive tracing
  • Q-tip (cotton bud) painting cards
  • Shape tracing
  • Uppercase and lowercase letter find
  • Counting, addition/subtraction, and numerical comparisons mats
  • Patterning cards
  • Count and clip cards
  • Number order puzzles
  • Number words trace and match
  • Alphabet and number mazes
  • Skip counting mazes

If you’re not yet subscribed to HomePlaySchool’s mailing list, do it now to enjoy the FREE Brave Inspired Printable Pack!

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 the activities as much as I enjoyed making them!

Homeschool Tools We Use and Love

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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything through my links I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Your support in purchasing through these links enables me to keep blogging and creating free printables. I only recommend products that I use and love myself!

While writing my previous post on Homeschool Supplies We Use and Love, I realised there were plenty of things we use that couldn’t be classified as “supplies” since we don’t need to replenish them. “Tools” seems to be a more appropriate word!

Hanging wall storage

Hanging wall storageThis contraption is great for holding books she’s currently reading and keeping them in view. Occasionally I use one of the pockets to keep her homework projects from kindergarten so we don’t forget to work on them. These wall pockets come in several sizes and ours is one of the smallest. If you have a large wall space to spare, you could even set up a mini library on your wall without any shelves!


Melissa & Doug My Daily Magnetic Calendar

Melissa & Doug My Daily Magnetic CalendarWe only started using this in recent weeks, but it’s quickly becoming one of my favourites! Daily calendar time becomes doable when you have this hanging in the living room. We used to keep a calendar notebook when H was starting to learn the calendar, but on many days we lacked time to fill it in. Now, we use this as our main calendar and work on the calendar notebook once a week or so. The one downside I find in using this calendar is that it’s catered for the US market, so some of the preprinted magnets can’t be used in our context, e.g. 4th of July holiday. I plan to stick blank labels over these magnets and “localise” them with holidays and events in Singapore.

Alphabet Desk Mate

Alphabet Desk Mate printable by Confessions of a HomeschoolerThis super handy mini chart is a free download from Confessions of a Homeschooler. I laminated the printout and pasted it on H’s desk with clear masking tape. It’s such a simple tool I sometimes forget it’s there, but she uses it often!

iPad

We use the iPad mainly to add a fun and interactive dimension to topics that may otherwise be rather dry. Currently, we use it to play math games, memorise the Juz Amma (Quran Star), practise handwriting (LetterSchool), read e-books, and work on spelling (Word Wizard), amongst other things. I also load the Spielgaben play guides and inspiration cards on the iPad, because printing out all of that would take a LOT of ink and paper.

GBC Laminator

GBC LaminatorI bought the GBC CLA402 for cheap from Popular and it has served me well for almost 2 years. So far, any brand of laminating pouch of any size (up to A4) works with it. It’s simple to operate and doesn’t overheat even when turned on for one hour. (If you’re looking for cheap A4-sized laminating pouches, try Popular’s house brand Pop Basic. It sometimes goes on sale – two 100-piece packs for S$20.00. That’s only 10 cents per piece! The quality is actually pretty good too.)

Suremark Paper Cutter

Suremark paper cutterI use this on an almost weekly basis to prepare the homeschool materials that require cutting. It saves a lot of time compared to using scissors or a penknife. I’m so seasoned at using it now; I can even cut stuff while watching TV! You can find this paper cutter in various sizes at Popular or any office stationery store.

Free Printable: Arabic Alphabet Do-a-Dot Pages (ط to ك)

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Subhan Allah, the third instalment of my Arabic Alphabet Do-a-Dot Pages is here. I decided to include the initial/medial form of ك (kaf) in this printable, as the way it’s written is rather different from the final form.

Arabic Alphabet Do-a-Dot Pages

These Do-a-Dot pages are designed for preschoolers who have been introduced to the Arabic alphabet and who may not be writing yet (pre-writers). By filling in the dots, they gain visual recognition of Arabic letters as well as the correct stroke order of writing them. Encourage the child to start with the dot with a star in it.

Don’t limit yourselves to only Do-A-Dot markers! You can use magnets, stickers, pom poms, or virtually any other manipulative your child enjoys.

Download the FREE Arabic Alphabet Do-a-Dot Pages (ط to ك) printable here.

Feel free to share this printable with your friends. If you do so, please link to this blog post instead of linking directly to the file. I pray that this free resource will be a blessing to you and your family, in sya Allah. If you have any feedback or questions, do leave a comment below!

The last printable in this series (with letters ل to ي) will be released in two weeks’ time, in sya Allah. Subscribe to my blog to get updated whenever I release new FREE printables!

Free Printable: Arabic Numbers 1-10 Butterfly-Themed Tracing Cards (١ to ١٠)

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This printable is a replica of my Arabic Numbers 1-10 Butterfly-Themed Flashcards, with traceable fonts.
Arabic Numbers 1-10 Butterfly-Themed Tracing Cards
Each flashcard is approximately A5-sized. You may scale them down for printing via your printer settings dialog. I suggest printing out on cardstock or thicker paper and then laminating them so they can be used with dry-erase/whiteboard markers and reused over and over again. You may want to punch a hole or two in the corners and bind the cards with those index card rings.

Download the FREE Arabic Numbers 1-10 Butterfly-Themed Tracing Cards here.

Feel free to share this printable. If you do so, please link to this blog post instead of linking directly to the file. I hope this free resource will be useful to you and your family, in sha Allah. If you have any feedback or questions, do leave a comment on this post. Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to get updated whenever I release new printables in the future, in sha Allah!

Current Favourite Reads (Sep-Oct 2014)

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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything through my links I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Your support in purchasing through these links enables me to keep blogging and creating free printables. I only recommend products that I use and love myself!

The Pigeon Needs a Bath! by Mo WillemsThe Pigeon Needs a Bath!
The Pigeon is filthy; so filthy that it can’t remember the last time it took a bath. But as you can expect from The Pigeon, he refuses to bathe!

As big fans of The Pigeon, we own all of the books. This is the latest in our collection. Mo Willems is remarkably talented at writing stories with humour both children and adults can appreciate, paired with illustrations that just jump out of the page. We’ve read this book countless times over the past 2 weeks and practically memorised it. There’s even a free printable activity kit over at the Pigeon Presents website to accompany the book.

Goodnight Stories from the Life of the Prophet Muhammad SAWGoodnight Stories From the Life of Prophet Muhammad SAW
This book is part of our informal seerah studies. I read one story to H every 3 days or so. Sometimes she isn’t interested or doesn’t understand entirely, as this book is slightly out of her age range. My short-term goal is to familiarise her with the beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW and plant the message that he is someone important enough for us to know his life story. Subhan Allah, I can’t be more delighted that books like this one exist now. As a primary school-aged kid, I used to love seerah, but the seerah we learnt in madrasah was extremely brief. I’m actually learning much more through reading this book. The illustrations are wonderful too, and very appropriate. You can view sample pages on the publisher’s (Goodword Books) website. We also read Goodnight Stories from the Quran by the same writer, which has short stories on the prophets mentioned in the Qur’an.

National Geographic Little Kids - Sep/Oct 2014 issueNational Geographic Little Kids
We recently bought a subscription and have been enjoying the Sep/Oct issue. This magazine combines NG’s striking pictures with content that’s easy for kids to read and understand. My only gripe with the magazine is the size – it’s too small! I know, it IS designed for a kid to hold. But kids in the target age range can read picture books twice the size with no problems. Other than this, everything else in this issue hit the spot for us. Hopefully the future issues will be just as enjoyable!