The Places I Want them to Go!

This is not in lieu of the impending Singapore trip. Though, it may be. Tasneem and I try to read one Dr Seuss book each day, and ever since she picked up "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" she has been asking to read it everyday.

I realise that as a Seuss Buff, I don't remember this book. Reading it again though, brought back many important lessons. Lessons I forgot on my journey until today. I'm thankful that I am reading Dr Seuss again and will remember to remind my children of the places they will go.

"Congratulations! Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."

Isn't that pure simplicity at its coolest? I find there is so much more to teach the monsters about how to be intelligent and brave at the same time. How important it is not to dawdle around problems or difficult situations. I want them to know if they can do something - they must decide to and see it all the way through.

I'm not violating every covenants here. Dr Seuss talks about failure and how to rebound.

So we got all Allah-centric, and I reminded Tasneem and myself that we have to make du'a everyday for all our plans to be answered. And if the answer is "NO," we still have to see ourselves through that situation and ask for guidance to overcome our adversities.

"It's a nice story, Mama."

"YA IT'S A NICE STORY, MAMA."
Yusuff sat through one reading and for the first time kept still until we finished the book mashaallah.

"You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.

About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."

With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,

You're too smart to go down any not-so-good street."

Ameen, for my children. It is always a worry that they will wander off into dark alleys and I think every parent worries about that. I have to remind myself to have another talk with them over that paragraph. It's quite hard to actually analyse literature with three inquisitive children. Reading one para takes twenty seconds, answering their endless questions, an additional 20 minutes. Twenty minutes worth of questions per paragraph. Beat that!

So I remind myself now that when I read this book again, I will remind the four of us (Idriss has joined the fray): How to always choose right from wrong and how to say no, especially when the right answer is no.

We didn't like the waiting place, so we talked about that too. Tasneem wanted to know why people were just sitting around doing nothing. That's alien talk to her. She and her brothers, including the baby who does not sleep during the day nor the night, are always doing something. There is a never a dull moment in this home of pure havoc.

And that is a du'a I will always make for them too.

For them never to be idle; for them never to lose hope in their dreams; for them never to believe they don't have anything to do. Inshaallah my little ruffians will never wander into the waiting place. Because there are so many places I want them to go and the last place would be Jannatul-Firdaus. Ameen.

Elmonised

Elmo has been my co-parent eversince I began WAHM-ing. He's adorable, intelligent and I believe is where my children get their very high pitches without volume control. He is also why I call them monsters. Get it? Elmo Monster?

Yesterday, one monster said "We want to draw Elmo." And the other monster said, "WE WANT TO DRAW ELMO."

Here is Yusuff's Elmo. I was so tickled I had to restrain myself from overly praising him. He dislikes praise and has often stormed off or ripped up his work when we make a big deal out of his accomplishments. Strange little boy, but that is who he is.

I loved his Elmo so much I quickly took a picture and asked him where Elmo's arms were. He said: "ELMO ONLY LOVES TO WEAR PANTS!" and walked off. I took the opportunity to stash away his drawing into his green file. Phew, he did not notice. This is the first drawing by Yusuff (now 2 years, 9 months) that does not look like a peacock going ballistic in a blender. Check out the fine motor skills. Mashaallah, clever, concise and thoughtful little boy. I love it to bits.

Then Tasneem showed me her Elmo. Or should I say, the whole Elmo-tribe. She's such a social animal and loves people. It shows in her drawing. Or should I say drawings. There was one more part to the Elmo-tribe and a few other drawings to boot.

Two different children. Two different personalities. Both unique and grossly appreciated by their Mama. I love homeschooling.

I Love Allah (and so does Tasneem!)

I was working on an iBook called "I Love Allah" when Tasneem poked her nose into the gap between my typing thumbs. Don't ask me how she does it, but she always does. After explaining to her, my latest project, she said she wanted to write an "I Love Allah" book too.

So with her very LOUD dictation, I obediently typed:

I love Allah
Because He gave me my eyes
So that I can read and write
He also gave me hands and legs
That I use to play, run and jump
He gave me an idea
To draw and paint my picture
He gave me oxygen
So I can breathe and pray
He gave me taste and smell
So that I can eat and smell flowers

by Tasneem Amelie Nizam

Awww, mashaallah. My little girl has talent. And then she read it back to me. Writing IS reading!

Magnetic Mayhem that Makes the Home, Our Home

Every time we end up at a stationery section, the kids flock to the magnets and insist on choosing one. Today was no different, more magnets joined the fray. Check out our magnetic board.

It started when the kids realised a magnet could stick to the stairs banister and they hung up an art piece each. Soon they were scaling the staircase on a daily basis. So we bought the board.

Ever since then, (and believe me, there are MORE magnets behind those layers of art), they have been rotating their artistic expressions on a daily basis. The nice (but tired) ones later go into their colour coded files and the ones that are found on the floor, (and within seconds ripped up by the baby), are discarded.

I think the board and the gazillion magnets managed to tickle their creative nodes and with that came waves and waves of self-appreciation and expression. I LIKE...! (As Yusuff would say heh heh). There is no day that passes without an activity related to magnetic mayhem.

Unlike in school where their artwork would be "judged" and graded, they take pride in every single unique piece they create and subsequently find more than many, that are important enough to put up for show.

Some parents have advised me to move the board into the back room so it does not clutter the living room but others have appreciated the mess they make, and even more so, the art. I like the latter better.

Having their artwork and magnet collection as part and parcel of the living room reminds me of why I homeschool and that my kids are the ones who make this house a home - more importantly, our home.

They are the source of magnetism between these four walls, holding all that is worthwhile in one piece, even if they are screaming on top of their lungs and running in circles trying to strangle each other.

I want them to know that their creativity and expressions are welcomed in our home and are not just clutter and mess that should be relegated to the back room to be kept out of sight. And besides, it's THEIR home, not the home to the critics. Let it be... I LIKE!

Above all, I want them to know that we appreciate their self-appreciation; we love watching them think on their own and build their own personalities. We don't always smile at the mess they leave behind, but we enjoy watching their creativity, and how proud they are of their achievements, no matter hard they are to decipher.

They are not going to be like this forever. Already some of the magnets are missing, broken or just plain forgotten about. The kids are going to change and one day they may forget they ever had an obsession with their magnet collection. Luckily I have this blog to remind them. But no matter how much they outgrow their art exhibition board, I know that they will always be the magnets that hold up the creativity and expression on the walls of our daily lives. Ameen.

"You Must Love to Share Your Toys!"

I have this conversation every day with Yusuff. Born shortly after his dictatorial, loud, lime-light loving and extrovert bigger sister, Yusuff is my little mysterious thinker who can sit in a corner dismantling electronic items all day long.

We waited in anticipation for him to start talking but all he would do would be to bat his long eyelashes over his big round eyes listening intently to our conversation.

"Share what, Yusuff?"

"YOUR TOYS!" When he did finally begin to speak, it all came out full sentences and in ALL CAPS to boot.

I tell him that some of my things can not be shared.

"BUT YOU MUST LOVE TO SHARE YOUR TOYS, MAMA!"

Well, before his full sentences, his first word after Mehmeh and Babah was "SHARE!" As you can imagine, this was due his dictator sister hoarding all the toys. In fact, his first three-word sentence was "MUST SHARE, TATAK!" Tatak being Kakak and Kakak being "big sister."

"YOU MUST SHARE YOUR STABBLE, MAMA!"

We both look up at my scrabble board, which is stashed away out of reach but unfortunately, it is not out of sight. We have this conversation every single day of why some of Mama's toys cannot be touched. (And I don't have that many anymore, if you're wondering).

"WHY YOU TANNOT SHARE YOUR STABBLE, MAMA?"

I love these little sessions with Yusuff. We talk alot but this is when I can get up, close and personal with him. Tasneem already understands that my Scrabble board is off limits. She also understands why. As for her brother, he's getting noisier and talkative everyday but that's not a patch on the amount of attention Tasneem needs.

"WHY, MAMA?"

It's fun to chat with him, even if he still remains bewildered that I cannot share my STABBLE. And it must be confusing, afterall I'm the one who has been asking Tasneem to share with him ever since he was born.