Another slimy creature they have honed in on is the earthworm.  We dug up some from the old compost pile and placed them in a glass jar for observation, but since they weren’t able to observe them easily, they lost interest quickly in that project.

As a result of spending time outdoors and in the woods, Jamilah found a tick on her stomach area.  For some reason, the ticks seem to be attracted to her more than the others as she has counted this as the tenth tick she has found on her body in her whole life.  I suggested that she research ticks and the diseases caused by ticks.  Fortunately, she discovered that this tick wasn’t the type that carries Lyme disease.

Several weeks ago, they enjoyed a petting another slimy animal in my father-in-law’s pond.  This was my first experience petting a fish.  His koi were absolutely beautiful and I was shocked how friendly they were.  They were certainly slimy though and Hawwa especially loved every moment of that experience. 

The summit  has also really reaffirmed what now seems as second nature to our family which is planning our studies around community events and other local educational opportunities.   This week I took it step further and we did some prep work ahead of time in anticipation of the community events.  The girls and I had already planned on studying insects in order to earn a Girl Scout badge and patch because of the Butterfly Live! exhibit which opened this week at the botanical gardens.   There were tropical and native butterfly species included in the exhibit this year.

Another fantastic family event which we planned for was the Celebration of Indian Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  Before the event the girls and I went online to the National Geographic Kids facts and videos about India and researched the country through library resources.  The hands-on program was terrific as the children investigated Indian architecture, henna, textile art, Rangoli(ancient Indian folk art created with rice flour and flowers), and completed a royal riches gallery hunt for really cool prizes.  This is really such a great alternative to exposing our children to other countries and cultures since we are unable at this point in our lives to actually travel there.

It was also a joy to see other Muslim families enjoying the event.  Alhamdulillah, I am starting to see more and more Muslim homeschoolers as well getting out into the community and taking advantage of these open events.   Our local community has so much to offer and we have always been welcomed with open arms.

While they were away, I did manage to get a little weekly planning accomplished.  Hannah and Jamilah have left over writing assignments from last week.  By the way, it seems like this is often the case in our house.  Writing assignments seem to get dragged out.  They both finished up their spelling curriculum, so I had them write a story using the words they spelled incorrectly this year.  This is an idea I borrowed from my mother, a former English teacher.  They also have been reviewing grammar through playing games at this Grammar Blast website.  They have a few more writing assignments to complete for the end of the year evaluation, so I want them to focus on the actual writing for the remainder of the year. 

We are also doing a unit study on insects and fortunately I have found that I can easily integrate Girl Scout badges into these unit studies and tweak it for the younger children.  Here is an example of an insect study and a fish study. 

With only a little over two weeks remaining before the girls evaluation, I still need to actually gather all of the required materials and organize their binders.  I have been recording as they completed  reading books and listened to audio books, so that part is finished.  I also  typed up a list of monthly activities in which they participated as well as a list of curriculum and other resources.  Insha Allah, I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So, when I found an easy biography about the founder, Juliette Gordon Low,  called Here Come the Girls Scouts!, my children wanted to read it over and over.  I also thought it was very inspiring as it focused on how a group of women as well as the power of one person can make the world a better place.   “To get on in the world, to give anything and get anything out of it, each girl has got to do her part.”

This book has come into our house in perfect timing.  An important part of Girl Scout is camping out.  To be honest, even though I love spending time outside, I have never been very interested in camping out.  Seeing my girls out there and giving it a try is really changing how I feel about it though.  Finally, this quote from the book has made me realize that camping out is something I must try in order to fully benefit from the healing of nature.  ” To get the full benefit of actual contact with Nature it is absolutely necessary to camp out where every breath of heaven can reach you and all wild things are within easy reach.” 

After reading this,  I thought to myself, “How can I truly be a Girl Scout if I won’t camp out?”  I have given birth naturally to 7 children!  Surely, camping out can’t be that difficult.  So, now my intention is to give it a go and see what happens, insha Allah.  Anyone else open to trying it?  We really can do anything if with Allah’s help if we set our minds to it.

We started out with old book covers, covered them with gesso (a primer), and painted them.  After they dried, we used Modge Podge as a finish and glued on colored craft sticks as a frame.  I found that the old pencils were more difficult to paint, so I decided to make it easy on myself this time.  We also finger crocheted some hemp and attached it in order to enable the paintings to be hung on the wall.

I think they make nice gifts, don’t you?

In addition to earning their Girl Scout badges, they were blessed to catch a glimpse of many wildlife species including wild turkeys, wild rabbits, tree frogs, snakes, ospreys, bald eagles, and groundhogs.

This park is considered one of Virginia’s best kept secrets and is relatively quiet and serene.  While the girls attended the program, my husband had some surreal time to himself in the canoe.  It was medicine for the soul, maashaa Allah.  We are both hoping and praying that we can go and experience this as couple in the near future.

This is truly what makes it all worthwhile.  Just to see the excitement on their faces and yearning to learn more about their seemingly small discoveries.  Today was a good homeschooling day, maashaa Allah.

Towards the end of the week Hawwa, Siddiqah, Jennah, and I attended a library storytime for 3-5 year olds.  Jennah was the tag along this time as she is much too old, but can’t bear to leave Hawwa’s side.  Even Hawwa is finding storytime a bit boring these days as she is advancing so much academically on her own.  She has begun to read and seems to pick up concepts faster than I can keep up with.

Then, Jennah and I also had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a free healthy living Girl Scout program this past weekend.   It was really nice to have the children learn more about good eating habits (lots of fruits and veggies) and fun new exercises.   I don’t think this can ever be emphasized enough.  Jennah also learned that she must exercise for at least one hr. daily and how to check her pulse.  The food was also fantastic and the leaders even offered for the mothers to take home the leftover sandwiches.  I left that program with 7 mediterranean veggies whole grain sandwiches for the rest of the family, maashaa Allah!

Girl Scouts will be coming to an end soon, but before it does, we are planning on focusing on philanthropy in May.  I’m really excited about upcoming opportunities to give charity through a peanut butter drive, by collecting clothing, through participating in a fundraiser for cancer research, and of course through knitting for charity.  So, if  I’m not able to post very often in May, know that it is because we are busy  trying to make the world a better place.

On an academic note, I want to mention a website called Visual Fractions that I found recently.  Hannah and Jamilah have been working through this site as it has tutorials and worksheets for every fraction topic.   We have been using Right Start Math, but to be honest I’m really struggling with the method it uses to teach math.   Plus, it is just too teacher intensive for me.  I’m looking into Math Mammoth now.  The program looks affordable on CurrClick and seems very straightforward. Anyone have experience with this program?

So, we are intending to knuckle down in the last several weeks before the evaluation and before Yahya gets out of school.  Again, between the philanthropy projects and book work, I might not be able to post as usual.  Just know we are busy living life and I’m just trying to keep it up with it all, insha Allah.

Jamilah also experimented with using oil pastels as a medium in addition to  spending some time researching her latest creature find, a Eastern newt. She found it in the woods while out on a frisbee golf excursion with her father.  I printed this coloring page and information  and this website about the creature for her and she pasted it into her nature journal. 

 I really get excited when we can weave art, science, nature, and Islamic studies (the story of Prophet Ibrahim(peace be upon him) and the salamander) into our daily curriculum.  We love to relate it all back to what the children have discovered on their own.  Learning seems so much more meaningful this way.