Mt. Rainier from the window seat
Mom!
Planning our zoo route
The new penguin exhibit
Yusuf's beloved jaguar, up close and personal
Mansoor is eating raspberries by the bowlful these days
Getting dirty at the beach
And oh the sunsets... Photos never do them justice (especially those taken with a camera phone)
I admit it, I can’t draw. Really, I simply don’t know how to draw anything other than maybe a doodled flower while I’m supposed to be taking notes. So, when Yusuf and I sit around to draw together, I’m far from an inspiration for him. Our drawings tend to consist of geometric houses (you know, a triangle roof on top of a square house), stick people, grass and sky. We make great messes with paint and construct all sorts of cool 3D projects, but drawing has eluded us both. It was time for an intervention.
We finally purchased Draw, Write, Now last week, and this lovely book entered our school room yesterday. Today we have masterpieces! Behold Yusuf’s Mama Hen and Chicks:
Notice the big brother chick and the little brother chick
Yusuf decided that this one will go to our dear friend Zahirah as she is currently raising chickens. Tomorrow we will try to create another drawing, I’m hoping for (my) Grandma. This breakthrough is making the idea of making cards for relatives and pen-pals much more exciting!
Blogging is a habit that must be developed. Whenever I sit down to post, I feel that I have to catch up with all I have ever intended to post before I most on to the post at hand. To appease myself, here are some of our recent excursions.
PlayWise Kids in Columbia, MD
I’m convinced this place is run by the church next door as a fund-raising venture, and it seems a bit pricey for the quality and quanity of the exhibits. Regardless, the kids have a blast each time we go. It was nice this time to meet up with other sisters there (and our masses of Muslim kids), it felt very homey with so many familiar faces running about. I didn’t get many photos of Yusuf because he was too busy running around with the big kids.
Cherry Blossoms at the Tidal Basin:
Mom and I went the day after the official parade, a beautiful sunny day in the 70s! I actually got sun on my cheeks and nose for the first time in many years. It was packed around the mall and Jefferson Memorial, but thankfully the crowd thinned out by the time we reached the FDR Memorial. This was my first visit to see FDR, and I was completely surprised and impressed with the design. The cherry blossoms were at their absolute perfection… a great day indeed.
Huntley Meadows Park:
The boys and I went to Huntley Meadows last summer, but this was our first visit leaving the stroller at home. Mansoor is so small for his age that it’s easy to forget he’s nearly three! He is completely capable of being a full-time walker now. So, we all walked the two miles, on a nice path through the woods and on the boardwalk across the marsh. Mansoor did not ask to be picked up until the parking lot was back in sight, and when he was politely denied a ride, he walked his little self to the car. Masha’Allah, I was very proud of him. It was a bit colder and windier than I had anticipated, but alhamdulillah we had fleeces and windbreakers. We saw many birds including the great egret (I love the big water birds!), but insha’allah we’ll be heading back in a month or six weeks for more flowers and frogs.
I don’t have any pictures of our recent trips to Dumbarton Oaks, Williamsport, or the Baltimore Aquarium, but alhamdulillah I’m feeling more caught up.
The Baltimore Aquarium, as a side note, has not only a new and improved dolphin show, but it has a brand new 4D Immersion Theater which is amazingly fabulous. In addition to the 3D goggles, they have 4D effects like mist, breeze, bubbles, leg ticklers, back pokers, and vibrating seats. Yusuf loved it; it was great to see him enjoy the fright, to shriek in surprise with a smile on his face.
On his own two feet
Too quick for the camera!
Yusuf is finally showing an interest in puzzles! I have to literally bite my tongue sometimes to prevent myself from offering commentary and assistance. As a very spacial person, it makes me crazy when he does things like try an edge piece on the inside. Crazy, I tell you! I take some deep breaths or otherwise distract myself, and masha’Allah! Slow and steady he works it out his way — what a sense of accomplishment! Certainly better than just following Mama’s directions.
The puzzle mania (we’re talking at least two or three times daily) is aided by the fact that I let a “character” into the house. Generally, all comic characters (read: super heros), movie and TV characters (Nemo, Dora), etc. are completely banned from the house. I’m convinced it’s all a conspiracy of mass marketing, advertising aimed at kids, designed to foster nothing but consumerism. So, when Yusuf asked for a puzzle, I think he wanted it primarily because it featured Lightning McQueen from Cars (he hasn’t seen the movie but knows the characters from his classmates at school last year). I chose to look at it as a foray into the world of puzzles, a starter puzzle that excites him, and bought it. Only $3, after all. It’s a big hit, the 24-piece jigsaw is the perfect level for him, so insha’Allah we’ll try to work a few others (without characters!) into the mix. Perhaps we’ll have to dust off our Arabic and English alphabet puzzles we have downstairs as well.
I spent another $3 on a 1500 piece puzzle for myself, to model the behavior, of course. 
I actually love the work and just hope that Mansoor won’t run off with any of the pieces!
Found in the yard:
Short-stemmed Iris
Crocus
Daffodils
Snowdrops
Insha’Allah I’ll get around to posting about schooling soon, but it’s Saturday! As such, we had plenty to do on this rather dark, drizzly day.
Like, board games!! This is a new obsession around here, one that requires Mama’s full attention and one that Mama sincerely enjoys. It’s great. Our latest hits:
Mansoor LOVES this!
Mama's yellow mouse is about it get it
He completed two full lines!
Just like my big bro...
We did a major clothes edit and reorganization today too, but the process didn’t exactly inspire photos. I did buy storage tubs at Target last week which made it slightly more interesting.
Much more exciting was our quick venture out in the rain to feed the birds and search for signs of spring. Living in a new (to us) house is so exciting, because no one has any idea what will pop up next! I’ll post pics as soon as I can find the little cable that connects my phone to the computer.
Enjoy your weekend!
I’ve taken a rather gradual, low-key approach to Yusuf’s schooling since he finished preschool last spring. Even though Al-Huda was going to put him in kindergarten, according to Prince George’s County and the state of Maryland, Yusuf won’t be a kindergartener until this upcoming fall. It’s hard to imagine that in a public school setting Yusuf would be in preschool, but the cut-off date is September 1, and his birthday is significantly after that. Thus, I don’t have to register him as a homeschooler for quite some time. I’ve been spending past months “de-schooling” Yusuf, providing extended time for imaginative play, materials for art and projects, and encouraging independence, curiosity, obedience, and good character.
In the kitchen, in the kitchen
Experimenting with clay
Mansoor likes to play, too
All that said, Yusuf has been asking for more serious school work and showing all the signs of readiness. He’s such an avid listener of stories, he’s just itching to read. So, we’ve started the journey. After much research and trial and error, we’ve come up with a few language resources that are working really well for us: All About Spelling, Explode the Code, Handwriting without Tears, and miscellaneous readers. Insha’Allah tomorrow I’ll give a snapshot of how each program works and the work Yusuf has done in each.
Not too long ago, Yusuf asked if his soccer pants were clean. Being his favorite and first out of the drawer, they were of course dirty. Disappointed, he retreated to his room to find something else to wear. When he emerged still a bit sad, we decided it was time to learn how to do laundry.
Loading and unloading the washer will require a chair for awhile, but he’s very enthusiastic and independent. Mansoor likes to perch himself on the dryer and help his big brother, of course. Yusuf can fold his clothes pretty well now, I try not to obsess about wrinkles, and both the boys are able to put things in their correct drawers.
Every Monday, the boys and I drive to Alexandria to the house of three other little boys: Murad (7.5), Luqman (4.5), and Sinan (2.5). We spend three hours doing science, read-alounds, and art. The first chapter book we’ve read aloud is Mr. Popper’s Penguins. For the uninitiated, the book is about Mr. Popper, a house painter with a passion for the Antarctic. One day, a mysterious package arrives containing what else but a penguin! It’s a great story, engaging and funny. As an art extension, the boys made their own penguins. They traced their shoe for the body, their hands for the wings, and made the feet and beak free-form. Here’s Yusuf modeling with his in our orange kitchen…
