Rouzina’s tiney home

📣 THERE IS NO “LOOK” to Autism!

And it’s certainly not limited to dysregulated white males.

Autistic kids can be: happy, female, Black, social, joyful, Asian, smart, silly, regulated, dysregulated, and anything else. But when we present only one “look” via media - it will increase stereotypes and prevent kids from being identified.

Looking to learn more about Autism? Check out my Autism Handbook on my website www.mrsspeechiep.com

Via Angela Anagnost ❤️

What a fun way to finish the week. Egg hunt and picnic 🧺. 😊

‘WHAT’S WORLD BOOK Day all about?’ I asked my daughter.

‘It’s about dress…ing…it’s about books!’ she said catching herself.

I smiled. World Book Day is supposed to be about books and is supposed to be about giving every child and young person a book of their own. It is meant to be a celebration of authors, illustrators, books, and (most importantly) the celebration of reading.

But capitalism is never one to miss an opportunity to make money!

It has become less about reading and books and more about merchandising and consumerism. The marketing people at Disney, Marvel, and Harry Potter are truly having a laugh all the way to the bank. Do a Google search about World Book Day ideas and it’s all about costumes! Even teachers must dress up.

So, what do we do?

Let’s get back to the books. World Book Day should be about encouraging reading. Anyone will tell you the benefits of reading include expanded vocabulary, enhanced empathy, and improved concentration (i.e. the opposite of what screen time does).

We can’t afford to let World Book Day become a commercialized fancy-dress competition.

For Muslims, there is an added facet. Our deen began on that note.

ٱقْرَأْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ

‘Read, in the name of your Lord Who created you.’ (al-Alaq 1)

1. Break the mould

Talk to your school and do something different.

Why not try interschool story writing? One class in a school starts a story, whilst another school finishes it. Back and forth. Make reading fun.

Or get a parent to come in one day to school and read a section of his/her favourite book to the class.

Or ask everyone to stick a quote from a book they’ve read on their classroom door/board for the day.

Or get pupils to bring in a photo of themselves reading to someone (siblings, grandparents, etc). The photographs can be used to create a display to encourage reading in various settings.

2. Focus on books at bedtime

Rather than spend time running around making or buying costumes, parents can utilize that time reading with their children. Bedtime stories are great. And children can say something or draw or write something about the story that they heard the next day at home or at school.

3. Share the joy of books

Get a child to read a book. Let him then bring the book to school, talk about it and share it with others in his class. Or with his family or neighbours.

Donate books to your school library.

Go to the library (do people do that these days?)

Don’t be afraid to buy books second-hand from a charity shop or online. Don’t let money get in the way.

Or get the child to write/phone/email his family members across the world to ask them what they are reading and what they took from it.

4. Make every day a reading day

Why stop after one day or one week. Continue with these styles to make reading valued by every child, every day.

5. Don’t forget about the greatest Book of all

ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْكِتَٰبُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

‘This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah.’ (al Baqarah 2)

Let’s make sure that Book, al-Qur’an, is given due time, attention, and relevance so that it becomes the guidance, inspiration, and solace for our children. For that Book is the Book for the World for all days.

https://muslimparentsintraining.com/2022/03/01/restoring-the-book-in-world-book-day/

January 2022. Let the fun begin

When you setup an activity in the morning and within minutes it’s a completely different setup 😂

Our activity this week was baking. My little chefs loved baking cupcakes. So proud of them and the cupcakes were delicious 😋

Can’t believe we are already in December. Some beautiful moment of the last couple of months

'WHY DO THE leaves fall off the trees in autumn?' I asked the children as autumn starts today. I was hoping to link what we were seeing around us with what they had learned in biology and connect it all to the Creator ﷻ.

What we see every autumn is a type of self-protection for deciduous plants.

The thin leaves would freeze in winter and the delicate plant cells would rupture when the water in them froze and expanded. The leaves would not be able to photosynthesize so ending up being a burden on the tree without being able to provide it with any food.

Also, wind damage in the windier winter months is more likely. Broad leaves give a bigger surface for the wind to catch and for an already cold and brittle tree, this could result in major breakages. Similarly, snow sitting on a larger surface area could damage branches.

Besides, by the end of summer, many leaves are damaged, diseased, or insect-eaten. So, it makes sense to drop them so as to give the plant a fresh start in the spring.

Furthermore, autumn leaves are not simply blown off trees but separate in a carefully controlled process. As the days shorten and temperatures drop, plant hormones are activated to begin the process of detachment. Chlorophyll (the green pigment that makes leaves green and carries out photosynthesis) production ends and starts to decompose, revealing the stunning reds and yellows that were hidden by green.

The vessels that carry water to the leaf and sugars to the rest of the plant are sealed, and a layer of cells, known as the abscission layer, starts to grow between the leaf stalk and the twig holding it. These cells slowly cut the leaf from the plant without leaving an open wound. As the leaves fall, the plant enters inactivity, saving its energy for the great bud burst of spring.

A sign of the Creator ﷻ if ever one was needed. We see purpose and design even in the shedding of leaves and not mere chance.

وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا

‘Not even a leaf falls without His knowledge.’ (al An’am 59)

Whilst we can marvel at the precise minutiae of Allah’s ﷻ creation, there is perhaps another life lesson to take from autumn.

Just as the trees lose their leaves every year to survive and flourish the following year, we too need to learn to let go of certain things in order to mature and grow.

As we go through life, we gather so much negativity- thoughts, people, experiences. Anger, resentment, envy, hurt, guilt, fear weigh us down. They cripple us. They make life unbearable. The past stops us from moving forward.

But the trees are about to show us just how beautiful it can be to let go! To forgive, to reconcile, to move on. Not necessarily for others, but for yourself. It is truly liberating.

To do that we turn to the One who has shown us the beauty of autumn, Allah. Our deen is full of examples, wisdom, and motivation on how to shed these negativities with some careful planning and thought.

اللّهُـمَّ رَحْمَتَـكَ أَرْجـو فَلا تَكِلـني إِلى نَفْـسي طَـرْفَةَ عَـيْن، وَأَصْلِـحْ لي شَأْنـي كُلَّـه لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أنْـت

'O Allah, I hope for Your mercy. Do not leave me to myself even for the blinking of an eye (i.e. a moment). Correct all of my affairs for me. There is none worthy of worship but You.” (Abu Dawud)

https://muslimparentsintraining.com/2021/09/22/learning-to-let-go/

Feels like summer

My goodness halfway through the week already. 😊

September here we come. Let the fun begin

What a wonderful way to start the new term. The sunshine 🌞 and the new lawn. It was magical. The children are having so much fun with water , bubbles, football ⚽️