Can Being Small be Good?

Today's story: "Who Can Save Noor?" from "The Talking Tree and Other Stories" by David McRobie.

In storytime, we read a story about an eleven years old girl named Harun, who was the shortest in her Primary Five class. Because she was so short, she was often left out of the games of her classmates and people didn't feel she was grown up enough to do the things other fiftgraders would do. However, once her shortness came in very handy. A little boy named Noor got lost - he had fallen into an old well. The opening of the well was so small that no grownup could go through it. But it was just right for Harun. She was lowered into the well and brought Noor up! Harun's father was very proud of her, and after this incident, Harun never felt bad about being so small.

As we talked about the story, Umm Uzair asked us to think about incident in our own lives, when we felt that we are big enough for something, while the others around us thought that we were too small. Then, she asked us to make a picture of that event and later share with others.
In "Show and Tell" time today, we had two presenters: Hibatullah and Fatima. Hibatullah showed us her project, which she had made together with her mother. It was about the concept of Hala and Haram foods. As you can see, she has divided the page into two halves - one for the Halal foods, which are allowed for Muslims to eath, and the other - for the Haram, which are forbidden for Muslims to eat. Hibatullah told us that there are so many more Halal foods than Haram foods - Allah (swt) has given us a wealth of good foods to choose from!
Fatima has prepared a great presentation about the five sense we have and about other human body related topics. Together with her mother, she had been busy the entire week reading a children's encyclopedia about the human body. She was very excited to share with all of us what she had learned.

Bookworms at Karachi Zoo

Making great use of Karachi cool winter weather, Bookworms set out for a field trip to Karachi zoo. As we arrived to the zoo gate, we noticed many buses lined up at the entrance, indicating that the zoo will be full of schookids. And it was! Neatly walking in rows, hastened along by their teachers, little kiddies were going from cage to cage, repeating the names of animals in English. Some of the bookworms were so excited to see the schookids, that they forgot about the animals and were ready to join the neat rows themselves! :)The zoo had lots to offer: two huge elephants, Benal tiger, lions, black bear, alligators, zeebra, deer, monkeys and countless varieties of birds. Walking at our own pace from cage to cage (not being rushed by teachers!), we spent at each animal as much time as we wanted.

Absolute favourites were the elephants and the alligators - it must be their enormous sizes that made them the most attractive. As we were standing on the bridge across the alligators pond, we kept on noticing more and more animals in the water and resting in the sun on the shores.
After a good walk, we sat down in a quite corner of the zoo for some snacks. Mothers had done great job - the snacks were delicious! And they gave just the right amount of energy for us to start playing around in the little park again. A lone tree attracted the attention of kids - Aisha's hat was being trown onto its branches and then climbed after!
The visit to the zoo was so full of excitement that we didn't have enough time for reading our stories. Umm Uzair promised that we'll read them next week, Insha'Allah, and revisit our zoo trip once again.

You can see more pictures from our field trip to Karachi Zoo right here: http://bookwormsbookclub.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

Clay Play Day

Alhumdulillah the Book Club met for some messy fun and frolic: playing with clay. Prior to covering our hands with wet sticky clay we read a book about life in the ancient civilizations of Mohenjodara and Harappa. Much of the tools of daily life (pots, seals and even toys) were hand made with clay, most likely found by the rivers which must have once existed near them.

After discussing the importance of clay in the lives of the people past, we brought out a huge slab of clay (provided previously by Umm Muaz), and then all club members sat down for some muddy fun.

From dinos to little bowls the book club moms had a loads of fun while the children meshed and mashed the clay to their hearts content forming rolls, snowmen,a spoon, a stove and pot and all forms of abstract art! Masha'Allah. Everyone was sorry when the clay eventually ran out, but were pleased to place their finished work in the sun to harden and then taken home another day.

The Book Worm Club gets techie

After a break of a couple of weeks, the Book Worm Book Club finally resumed its activities last week. Alhumdulillah both the children and mothers excited to to meet again.

For our 'Show and Tell' and to commemorate the Hajj, Saaim  put together a lap book about Hajj, Masha'Allah, which was an inspiration to all members watching.

Hajj Lapbook by Saaim

 

In the red flap Saaim has  noted the good deeds to be done within the first ten days of Zil Hijja, the green note below it holds the Takbir ut Tashreeq, followed by the words of Dzikr to be said with in the yellow blocks and the envelope at the bottom has a note about his cow, Masha'Allah.

The entire itinerary of the first ten days of Hajj is outlined within this calf booklet

A lift the flap quiz about Hajj

Alhumdulillah after the interactive presentation and quiz by Saaim we then began our book:

Safaa Aunty shared this fun science story which gave us a tour of the inside of a computer. With messages being sent in the form of electric impulses just like the human brain and a 'mother'board being the center of all its inner workings, we foun computers do have something in common with human beings Subhan'Allah!

 Safaa Aunty concluded the session by presenting us a mobile phone, which had fallen apart, to observe and then shared this video about the parts of a computer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWzX4MEYOBk



 

No Girls Allowed

 

Last week the Book Worm Club Members listened to a story about the Berenstain Bears. Sister bear enjoys playing with Brother Bear and his friends and very quickly proves to be better at their games than they are, what really annoys them is how she gloats when she wins. The boys take action by setting up a only boy club; No Girls Allowed !This seems really unfair and Sister Bear feels very hurt, but with the help of Mama Bear and Papa Bear, Sister Bear not only finds a way to cope, but makes some more friends and makes the boys realize that sisters are a blessing too!

 Following the story all the brothers and sisters of the Book Club divided into groups and were allowed to rummage through the Pirani household to gather things to set up their own 'shelters'. These were supposed to provide a comfortable shelter nook for our 3 year old members to be able to get into and out of with out the shelter collapsing. Alhumdulillah the little girls (Hafsa Irfan, with her side kick Hibatullah were quick and did a very neat job, Masha'Allah.

Girls' shelter

the acid test

The boys needed a little help from Safaa Aunty and eventually manged to put the following together.:

Boys group1

little ones checking it out

Boys shelter group 2

After the shelters were made and tested, Lubna Aunty carried out a demonstration to explain how volcanic islands are made (refer to Volatile Volcanoes  http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6031488757069918746#editor/target=post;postID=3480496433320033777). The demo showed how hot, bubbling semi liquid lava can cool and harden to become an island.

Powdered raw sugar to form the 'lava'

As the sugar heats is melts and becomes sticky

nut are added to the mass which 5 yr old  Muhammed best described as 'gooey'

the reddish, hot, bubbling toffee 'lava' being poured to cool

the now hard and ready to eat toffee 'Lava'

Yertle The Turtle

This week the Book Worm Book Club was hosted at Almas Aunty's  place, which is always a fun place to be Alhumdulillah. Lubna Aunty read us two stories Masha'Allah! To begin with she explained how all living creatures have 3 basic instincts ; the instincts for survival and to flee from harm towards shelter, the need for food, water, dispensing of bodily waste etc, and the need for procreation. This instincts can be very emotional and can also lead to the desire for power and prestige. These instincts are found in all living creatures, but the need which distinguishes humans from the rest of creation is the need for religion; the desire to follow, worship and look up to One who is Mightier or Greater than oneself.

The first story was Yertle the Turtle,we saw how the last need can turn into arrogance which then literally led to the "down fall" of King Yertle. Sohaib had prepared a diorama of a scence from the story; King Yertle sitting on his rock of a throne. After listening to the stories he and Lubna Aunty guided the Book Worm Club Members to build origami turtles of their own, which were then stacked up as were the poor subjects of King Yertle in the book.

The second story was about an elderly gentleman and his elderly pets who hire a wolf as a housekeeper and eventually find themselves not only doing the housekeeping but enjoying it as well!

Alhudmulillah everyone enjoyed the stories, which Lubna Aunty were read in English and translated into Urdu as she went along- her Urdu expressions made the stories even more lively and entertaining,  and we hope that Sohaib will consider conducting an origami workshop for us soon, Insha'Allah.

Volatile Volcanoes

Ms Frizzle's Science class were just in time to watch a new island appear out of the ocean, as were the Book Worm Club members who were enjoying this book. The children in the book watched the earth's plates move, magma collect and bubble and finally spew out of a volcano to rise above the ocean and cool to create an island. The Book Worm Club Members could not dive into the depths of the ocean or float within a volcano so they did the next best (and much safer) thing ; make their own volcanoes and erupt them.

Safaa Aunty and Ayesha Aunty organized the activity; the members were asked to prepare the volcanoes prior to the session and youtube videos were emailed to guide the families in making them. After the book was read (courtesy of Safaa Aunty, who read part of it and then had Isa, Muadh and Sohaib complete it) everyone trooped out in the balcony to erupt the volcanoes with the help of Ayesha Aunty.

Interestingly each volcano not only looked different but each family made it from a different material as you can see below. Our safe eruptions were carried out using a little water, baking soda, food dye, liquid soap and then topped off with vinegar which gave a frothy bubbling splash, Masha'Allah!

our seemingly dormant volcanoes

Sohaib and Nabeeha's bubbling plaster of Paris volcano

The Pirani's cardboard volcano

Muhammed's clay volcano with cotton trees

Rayyan's dough volcano

Saaim's unsuspecting paper mache volcano

the food colour, baking soda, water and soap swirling together in vinegar to make a cool eruption!

Ramadan Presentation by Sohiab

 The following is a presentation shared with us by Sohaib, Mahs'Allah, we all enjoyed listening to his account about his Ramadan and were so impressed by the art work of his display that his little sister  reproduced it at home and one of our younger members Muhammed sat down with colours and paper to make a rainbow just like Sohaib's.

Sohaib's Presnetation

Nabeeha's presentation

 

Muhammed's Rainbow