Why we homeschool our kids?

We want to give them something different which we hope can make a big difference in their lives. So far, Alhamdulillah…Praise to Allah, we are seeing the different mindset and styles of thinking coming from our kids, especially the two most senior students…Muhammad and Musa. After 8 days of Ramadhan, they have never ever mentioned or implied in their action or words anything at all that they want to break their fast…prematurely.

Here’s our so called module or syllabus for this fasting month of Ramadhan.

1. No monetary reward for fasting. You fast because it’s Ramadhan and because you want to be a better Muslim.

How can being hungry and tired make you a better Muslim?

a. “When we are weak, we will realise that we are only humans and Allah is the Almighty.”

b. “When we are hungry, we will think of other people who are hungry too. We will appreciate the little things that we have. At least we know that by sunset, there are food waiting for us.”

We ask them this question regularly. Sort of a brainwashing if you like. Reasoning is always better than coercion.

2. No Bazaar Ramadhan visits. Never ever, buffet in hotels.

Fasting is not FEASTING! We will try to follow the Prophet’s way of fasting as much as possible. Well, having dates only might not work for Malay intestines but we try to limit the number of dishes and the amount of intake. (This is particularly tough when we break our fast at the surau or at relatives houses because at home we apply the 2 dishes ONLY policy – vegie and lauk)

3. Quranic recitation as much as possible.

We play “fill in the blanks” games when we recite the Quran (Muqaddam – we focus on Juz A’mma only). We play many other games just to make the recitation experience fun every time and we recite verses that they memorize only so that they enjoy more.

4. Nasyeed time.

When we are in the van, we listen to Nazrey Johani’s “Nasyid Nostalgia the Zikr”.

Alhamdulillah, even little Sarah is enjoying it. (crooning and headbanging even when the tune is melancholic and the lyrics expressed repent to Allah)

Muhammad and Musa loved the nasyeeds too and when we asked them to write the lyrics on their chosen song, this is what we get when they wrote the lyrics on their own.

Musa’s choice: “Wahai Kaum Muslimin”

Muhamad’s choice : “Perantau”