Mini Date Basket - 30 Day Craft Challenge

Mini Date Basket - 30 Day Craft Challenge

Salam all! Welcome to our Day 9 blog post. Here in the Greater Toronto Area, we finally got a day of gorgeous weather after waiting many, many, months. It goes without saying that we spent the majority of the day soaking in the sun. However, I did want to fit in a very short and sweet (literally) activity. 

This activity brings on a discussion about the importance of dates in our religion and culture. There are many traditions that state that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to open is fasts with dates. I wanted to introduce this dry fruit to my children and allow them to celebrate its importance, especially in the month of Ramadan. In order to do this, we made tiny date gift baskets. Given the physical distancing situation in our communities, we weren't able to pass on these gifts to our friends and family yet. But I do pray that in future years, we are able to include these little favours in our regular visits to loved ones. 

We distributed these little date baskets among ourselves in the household and the kids got a little kick out of it. Take a look below at how we were able to put them together.

Materials:

• Single hole punch or scissors
• Mini tart pans - we found them at the Dollar Store (7.9cm x2.5cm)
• Pipe cleaners (also known as chenille stems)
• Tissue wrap - cut into a square about 13cmx13cm
• Some ribbon
• Approximately 5 dates  

Steps:

1. Use your single hole punch (or scissors) to make 2 holes in the tart pan - adjacent to each other
2. Take the pipe cleaner and wrap one end in one hole and the other end in the other hole
3. Place your tissue wrap on top of the tart pan and press in place
4. Now place your dates into the pan - try to allow them to lean against the tart pan for a decorative look
5. Wrap your ribbon around the tart pan and tie a bow - this will be the finish touch. 
6. Distribute your Mini Date Baskets to loved ones! 
7. Optional: you can attach a note with the dua of opening the fast, or a narration of our Prophet (peace be upon him) about opening our fasts with a date. 

Here's what you'll need

Made two holes as you can see

Insert the pipe cleaners and fold over 

Place your piece of tissue in the mini tart pan

And then your choice of dates 

And voila! The perfect little gift 

Enjoy :)

Thanks for viewing today's blog entry and I hope you're enjoying the content! I have several ideas flowing through my mind that I cant wait to include in this challenge. Join me again tomorrow. Take care!

Prophet Nuh had an Ark - 30 Day Craft Challenge

Prophet Nuh had an Ark - 30 Day Craft Challenge

Salam visitors, I can't believe its Day 8 of our challenge. Today's craft is a combination of storytelling, painting and imaginative play! Here's a great way to introduce or remind our children about the story of Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him). We watched a short video clip narrating his story, and then we set off to make our own ark! After completing our ships, the boys had a great time playing with their toy animals, pretending to load them all into their ships. If you're looking for something to occupy them for a while - here's your craft!

Find out at the very end of this blog to see if the boats will float around in water! What's your guess?

 Once again, the supply list is simple, and prep time is minimal. Take a look bellow and hopefully you can do this activity with your munchkins. If you do end up completing this activity, please post pictures on Instagram and tag me @WishfulWaufa - take care and enjoy!

Materials:

• An egg carton with 6 compartments - the top part removed 
• Plastic straws, or wooden spools
• Paint
• Paintbrushes
• Scissors
• Paper for the sails
• Pencil
• Optional - single hole punch

Check out this YouTube video to see how we made the craft: Here

Steps: 

1. Paint the egg carton - let the kids get creative with the colours!
2. Set craft aside and allow paint to dry
3. Make the sails - cut trapezoid shapes (one large and one small) 
4. Use your single hole punch to make two holes in the sails - one at the top and one at the bottom
5. Cut one of your straws a bit shorter and slide it through the small sail
6. Slide the other straw through the large sail
7. Insert the sails into two of the middle sections of your egg carton (see below) - You may have to make a hole with your pencil in order to do this
8. Once the boat is dry - go ahead and allow your child to play with it. 
9. Bring out some toy animals and see their imagination in action - talk about Prophet Nuh at this point as well. 
10. If you're able to - fill a large tub with water and see if your boats will float - we still have to do this part!

Here are the supplies you'll need

Start painting - Hani chose blue and red 

Hadi chose green and white

Draw trapezoid shapes - one large one small and cut one of your straws shorter as well

Use your hole punch or scissors to make holes like this

Slide the straws through

Insert the sail like so

And the shorter one in front

Here's what they looked like

They are ready to set sail!

Hadi and Hani began to load up all the animals

We've got a giant caterpillar in there too!

And they were all saved from the flood!

The end!

Yes! They do float - another way for your children to enjoy this activity!

I hope you enjoyed today's craft! We definitely had a blast. I'll update the blog if we end up testing the waters with the boats. Please leave a comment below and tell me if you had success with this activity! All the best in this Holy Month and always. 

"I Love the Quran" - 30 Day Craft Challenge

"I Love the Quran" - 30 Day Craft Challenge

Salam! I hope the first week of fasting is has gone well for all of you. It has certainly been a memorable Ramadan for us so far. I adore this month for bringing so much joy, hope, and love into our lives every year. Here is Day 7: today's craft is another extremely easy one with minimal materials, and takes a small amount of time to complete. Regardless of how easy, or simple the craft is, we leave the activity feeling like we accomplished something huge! It's a great feeling. 

This craft requires a little bit of thinking and connection with our Holy Book, the Quran. Traditionally, some families use a wooden stand to place the Quran while reciting. We were told to keep the Quran at an elevation and to keep it protected from dirt and dust. I wanted to simulate this stand, and also express what we love most about this Holy Book. Have a chat with your kids and see what you come up with! I am so grateful for this time we have everyday to bond over crafts that remind us of our Lord and bring us closer to Him, inshaAllah. 

Materials:

• Construction paper (at least two different colours)
• Two "Craft Sticks" - they are not traditional Popsicle sticks, they are flatter and wider (see image below)
• Scissors
• White School glue
• Tape
• Markers

Steps:

1. Cut out a shape of a heart with one of your construction papers (approximately 13cmx13cm for reference) - we used a red paper
2. Cut out a rectangle with the other colour of construction paper about 20cmx14cm - Hadi's was a bit bigger and it still worked out nicely
3. Glue the heart onto the rectangle and set it aside to dry
4. Now take your craft stick and at about the halfway mark, cut out a tiny rectangle - we used regular craft scissors and it worked perfectly
5. Do this on the other craft stick as well (see image below)
6. Cut off the rounded part of the bottom of the craft stick to make it flat (do this for both sticks)
7. Now slide one stick into the other and it should be able to stand on its own
8. We taped each crevice of the stand to make sure it stays sturdy
9. Now your construction paper should be dry - Write the following phrase "I Love the Quran Because ___________________" fill in the blank after having a discussion with your child.
10. Decorate this card however you please - stickers, glitter, gems, stamps, etc. We decided to leave it blank (my kids have a short attention span!)
11. Use the school glue to adhere the card onto the wooden stand, try to keep it as equal as possible so that it doesn't topple when its time for it to stand
12. Further secure this by taping the back (see image)
13. Lift your stand up and it should be able to stand on its own! 
14. If you wish, place your craft where you recite the Quran to bring you inspiration!

These are the supplies for today

Glue your heart shape onto the rectangle

Set it aside and allow the glue to dry

These are the craft sticks we used - something like you would find at a Doctor's office!
We were glad to have found it at the Dollar Store :)

Use regular craft scissors to cut out tiny rectangles in the middle of your sticks

Also, snip off the bottom curve of the sticks to make them flat

Slide one stick into the other

Test it out to make sure it can stand on its own

We taped each side of our stand to keep it in place

Now, work on your card, "I love the Quran because"
Hadi wrote, "...because it is the words of Allah"

Now glue the card onto the top of your stand

Make sure it is positioned in the middle of the card, and apply pressure

Also tape the back of your card to the stand

And there we go!

Here's how they will look after

Hadi put his above his desk

Thanks for joining me once again! I hope this easy craft will find it's way to your home. Please do leave me some feedback in the comments below. See you again soon!