Saying that, this Ramadhan was one I hope we will never forget insha'allah. We are still singing the Ramadhan nasheed and Fifi is still saying 'Ramadhan moon' from the book we bought. It felt like a proper family Ramadhan as it was the first time Rahmah fasted the whole month!
Yes, my baby Rahmah, aged only 6 years old decided she wanted to go for it this year and Alhamdulillah she managed to do it despite the long summer days and the intense heat we had.
What's more Nur decided she wanted to give it a go aswell and managed to keep 2 whole fasts too.
So what else did we get up to during Ramadhan?
Well, my Ramadhan preparations started with thinking of how Rahmah would get through it and what I could do to support her. So I sought advice from sisters and stocked up on things like Mamoul, Frozen fruits, Vitamins, Nuts, juices and her dad also bought some Glucose tablets!
Alhumdulillah we were invited to 2 pre- Ramadhan parties where we discussed the importance of Ramadhan, sang nasheeds, decorated cakes and made decorations. The girls just couldn't wait for Ramadhan to begin and kept asking me 'How many more days to Ramadhan?' almost every day during the last week before Ramadhan began.
Then there was the Ramadhan calender which turned out to be quite an ambitious project. I decided to make one out of Fabric this year so that it could be used for years to come and remain within the family heirloom. Alhamdulillah, mum was able to stitch the pockets on for me, and I then worked on stitching on the mosque, the numbers and letters and sequins. The last few days before Ramadhan began was a race to get this calender ready in time and Mother in law also helped stitch some of the numbers on.
The girls loved it and were very excited about it. I placed within each pocket some sweets or small toys like bubbles and also a question. By the end of the month I found I had to top up the last few pockets as Fifi and also Nur used to help themselves to some of the sweets during the day as Fifi could reach the lower pockets. Maybe I will have to make another one next Ramadhan after all!!
We were fortunate enough to go out for moon-sighting and although we knew we wouldn't actually see the moon, it was such a pleasant evening. I wished we lived in Muslim lands, in fact in the Khilafah state, where Ramadhan is welcomed in collectively, as a community, as a nation and the excitement and atmosphere can be experienced by all. Living in the West we have to work hard to create that atmosphere and build within our children a love for everything Islamic.
This Ramadhan was one of milkshakes and fruit smoothies. A sister had advised me it was a good thing to feed Rahmah as I could cram in the healthy fruits and dairy and it takes little effort to drink. Alhamdulillah they were a hit and we all enjoyed them.
It was hard to get Rahmah to sleep during the day, but we were careful not to drag her out shopping too much as it got too tiring for her in the heat. Also, she wasn't able to handle late night iftaars as she found it hard to get up for suhoor if she'd gone to bed late after iftaar. Sometimes, she was literally just falling asleep whilst trying to eat suhoor!
We stayed up during the odd nights and it was great having her as a partner as it encouraged me to stay up aswell and we also attended an iftaar/qiyaam and suhoor at a friend's house which she enjoyed.
2 Ramadhan's ago I'd started a scrapbook with Rahmah. all about Ramadhan but didn't complete it. This year alhamdulillah we brought it out again and we finally completed it. Rahmah got to do some revision about Ramadhan and had lots of writing practice. I also used lots of resources from this site which the girls cut out and stuck in the book.
Then there was the Ramadhan video. We went to the library and took out some books about Ramadhan and found that there was an emphasis being placed on the food, iftaar parties and presents and so we decided to do a video presentation to explain a bit more about Ramadhan. This was a spontaneous thing as really we'd planned on taking it easy during Ramadhan but the need arose and Rahmah wanted to do it so we got to work straight away.
It was a great learning activity, as we sat down and discussed why we were doing the video? who we were making it for? what information or ideas people held about Ramadhan? and what was the message we wanted to give them? Then there was the recording aspect of it and all the language, communication and presentation skills that went into it. Masha'allah it turned out well and was shared on you tube and facebook and she received many positive comments and many children and parents were inspired by her.
You can view the video here.
Eid was also a lovely day masha'allah as we were blessed to have prayed Eid salah in the park. I have been wanting to do this for ages but never had the opportunity but this year alhamdulillah we managed it and the kids were able to experience it too. They said around 18,000 were present and I also met some of my friends there which was a bonus.
Fifi turned 2 on eid day as that was her Hijri birthday, and a few days ago was her Gregorian birthday. Subhan Allah how the 2 years have flown by. She has grown at a super speed and is already talking in sentences and coming out with things which amaze us. Nur would've been starting reception class next week and Rahmah would be in year 2, if we were not homeschooling.
Subhan Allah my girls are growing up!!!
May Allah swt accept our efforts and enable to witness many more Ramadhans, together as a family insha'allah.
