Humpty Dumpty Totbook

This is my daughter, Amina’s totbook. You wouldn’t think there would be a lot that you could include in a totbook about Humpty Dumpty, would you? Think again!

This cute little totbook includes cut out and paste story sequence cards, colouring activities, and lots of facts to learn about eggs, such as how eggs can be used in foods and different kinds of animals that lay eggs.

It also includes some nice little art and craft activities.

I made this totbook with a sheet of A3 card folded inwards to A4 size.

These are a string of Egg Fact cards all about different animals that lay eggs.

Here are another set of Egg Fact cards about using eggs as food. Amina thought about the different ways we use eggs in our own food and drew some pictures to illustrate that.

Inside this flap is a picture of Humpty Dumpty that Amina coloured, cut out and glued down.

These are a set of letter E cards strung together with a word started with the letter E pasted down on each card. Why the letter E? E is for eggs.

This little book lets your child complete the story sequence by correctly pasting down the pictures in the right order.

Here we have some cards strung together shaped like horses. The cards are blank and so could be used as you wish. I decided to get Amina to think about and draw the different foods that horses like to eat.

This final set of cards are more scientific. It lists the different animal groups (fish, reptiles, birds, insects) that lay eggs as well as listing specific animals from those groups. Amina cut them out and pasted them down and we looked them up in our animal books to find out where they lay their eggs, etc.

On the back of the totbook Amina used art and craft supplies to make her own version of Humpty Dumpty with tissue paper, pom-poms, googly eyes, felt shapes and glitter glue.

If you’d like to make a similar totbook you can find the files available to download from my File Share Widget on the right of the screen as you scroll down the menus.

Dinosaur Totbook

We have been learning alot about Dinosaurs recently. My son Yusef has been busy making a Dinosaur Lapbook and he’s been enthusiastically telling his sisters about every dinosaur fact he has learned.

My younger girls wanted to get involved so I decided to make this Dinosaur themed Totbook with them. I found the templates for this totbook on the 1+1+1=1 website.

I made this totbook by taping 2 sheets of A3 card together and folding them in on themselves so that the folder becomes square-shaped.

On the back of the totbook I made a pocket to hold the various activity cards used in the totbook.

This is a colour by number type activity which my daughter Amina beautifully coloured. She had to add up the digits to find the correct colour number. I found this colouring page on the Enchanted Learning Dinosaur Page.

In the centre of the totbook are 26 alphabet tiles in lower case. And these are the upper case cards for the kids to practise matching upper and lower case letters.

This is a pocket holding cards of dinosaur halves and the idea is to match the two halves correctly in the space provided.

Under this flap is another puzzle activity. The kids need to recreate the ‘I Love Dinosaurs’ scene by correctly fitting the puzzle pieces into their correct places. They can use the guidelines to help or they can have a go at putting the puzzle together by themselves.

This is a small pocket containing letter cards for both Amina and Basma to spell out their names.

This is a pocket containing Brachiosaurus cut outs of various sizes to practise size sequencing.

These are a set of number cards 1-10 which can be used on the blank tiles to practise counting, number ordering, odd and even numbers and any other game you can invent.

These are a set of 26 dinosaur cards with one dinosaur representing each letter of the alphabet, i.e. A for Apatosaurus, B for Brachiosaurus.

The idea is for the child to sound out the name and match it to the correct letter tile, i.e. G for Gallimimus.

For kids who are very interested in dinosaurs, these cards are also useful for general research. We used The Natural History Museum’s Dino Directory to look up and do a bit more research about the dinosaurs listed on the cards, such as whether they are herbivorves or carnivores, and where in the world their fossils have been found, and then we would point that information out on our large wall atlas … and it’s amazing how many little facts stick in childrens’ minds, masha’Allah.

Finally, we have a set of puzzle pieces for the children to make shape-puzzle dinosaurs … there are shape pieces to make a Stegosaurus and a Brachiosaurus.

They can either place their shapes over the top of the dinosaur template or they can make their own dinosaur puzzle seperately.

Handy Manny Totbook

This is my youngest daughter, Basma’s totbook based on the children’s character, Handy Manny.

This totbook contains mini-books and activities which teach colours in both English and Spanish, counting and number recognition, shape recognition and also teaches your child how to spell their name.

I found the templates for this totbook over on the 1+1+1=1 website.

Basma loves Handy Manny so she had great fun putting the elements for this totbook together because she was already familiar with the characters, and thanks to Dora and Handy Manny she can already count to 10 in Spanish and she knows a few Spanish words too.

So this is what the totbook looks like when it’s opened out. It fits neatly into a file folder, but I usually use sheets of A3 card as an alternative which can be folded in much the same way.

This is a little pull out tab with the letters that spell out Basma’s name. Here I drew out the letters lightly with a pencil ready for her to trace over with a felt-tip pen.

Since making this totbook she has learned to spell out her name with magnetic letters and she has almost mastered writing her name with a pen, masha’Allah.

In the centre of the totbook is a minibook that teaches colours in both English and Spanish, a few of the Spanish colours she was already familiar with.

This is a little set of cards that I strung together. On each card are a pictures of tools. Basma counted the tools and then coloured the number that showed the correct number of tools.

Basma loved this little flap book that shows all the tool characters from Handy Manny. She knew their names and she learned what kind of tool they were and we talked about what each tool might be used for, i.e. a hammer to knock in nails, a saw to saw wood. Then she coloured the pictures according to the character colours.

This little pocket holds shape cards. The cards are in pairs with lots of different shapes so we played matching games and memory games with the cards as well as learning the names of the shapes.

Finally I made a shadow matching game. I glued down 6 cards that show the silhouettes of various tools and then Basma had to place the correct tool cards over the top of the silhouettes.

Fantástico!

Allah the Creator – Pizza Book

I was inspired to make this cute little pizza book after finding it on Umm Rashid’s blog.

I made it with my younger two daughters, Amina 4 and Basma 3. They made one each.

I like the idea that you can pack lots of information into a book that you can fold up and hold in your hand, masha’Allah.

First of all I cut out two very large circles of card. I didn’t have any large sheets, so I ended up taping two sheets together, which was actually helpful for creating a neat fold along the taped line which ran through the centre of the circle.

Then I folded each circle into half and then again into quarters. I then unfolded the circles which now showed 4 equal quarter sections. I then slit the circle up the length of one quarter to the centre of the circle, this helps with the neat folding of the finished book.

When the circle was prepared, I folded it up to prepare the front covers. I did this late in the evening while the girls were asleep, in preparation for the next day, so my older daughter Samira helped to make the front cover titles.

You will see below the elements for the pizza book which I printed for the girls to colour and glue down. I have made these printables available in my File Share widget for anyone wanting to use them, or you can print your own, or draw your own even.

When the book opens at the first fold it reveals two sections, one on the creation of the Heavens and the Earth and one on the creation of the Sun and the Moon.

The girls coloured the picture of the earth while we talked about Who created the earth and who lived on the land (animals and people) and who lived in the sea (fish). And then the girls stuck sticky silver stars around the earth to show the stars in the heavens.

The second section shows the Sun and Moon. while the girls coloured we talked about Who created the the Sun and Moon and why they had been created (for night and day).

I should mention here that because my girls are young I decided to make this book with them over 3 days, completing two sections a day. That way they weren’t over-whelmed and it helped them to better recall what they had learned the previous day.

When the Sun and Moon section folds down it reveals two further sections. One on the creation of the Seas and one on the creation of Plants and Trees.

We used some shiny blue card glued down to represent the ocean and the girls added some beautifully coloured fish. We talked about why Allah had created fish (“…so that we can catch them to make fishcakes…” was Amina’s answer, masha’Allah.)

Then we talked about the flowers and trees that Allah created and why Allah created trees (to produce fruit). Then the girls looked at the picture of the fruits and named them all as well as what colour they all are, masha’Allah.

The final two sections are revealed when the Plants and Trees section is folded down. Both of these sections are dedicated to the creation of Animals.

As Allah mentioned in the Qur’an in various ayat including ayah 40:79, He created animals for us to ride on and to eat:

Allah, it is He Who has made cattle for you, that you may ride on some of them, and of some you eat.

So one section was dedicated to animals that we ride on such as camels and horses, and one section was dedicated to animals that we eat. I discussed this with the girls and we talked about what each of the animals give us, i.e. milk from cows, wool from sheep, eggs from hens and the fact that we get meat from all three.

Finally here is a picture of what the pizza book looks like when it’s completely opened out.

First Phonics File Folder Game

I made this First Phonics game for my youngest two daughters Amina (3 years) and Basma (2 years). They are both very keen to learn alongside their older siblings and quite often come to me demanding to “do school stuff”.

Amina has been working through the alphabet and is working on letter recognition and first phonics. Basma is quite bright, masha’Allah tabarak’Allah and I think she would easily benefit from joining in with her older sister to start learning letters and sounds. She loved the Numbers and Counting File Folder game I made for them and quickly mastered counting and number recognition.

The idea of this game is to put the correct cards into the corresponding letter pocket.

I have made the files for this activity free to download from my BOX file share widget which you will find on the right side of the menu screen as you scroll down.

When the folder is opened out it reveals 26 small pockets. On the front of each pocket is a letter from the alphabet in both upper case and lower case.

Each of the pockets contains approximately 6 cards with pictures of objects that begin with the letter on the front of the pocket.

The less common letters such as X, Y and Z have fewer cards.

This is a close up of  the letter K pocket showing the upper and lower case on the front. I chose to use the MS Word Comic Sans font because they are the closest font in which most children are taught to handwrite. So I encourage my children to draw over the letters with their fingers to help them learn how that letter is formed.

There are a set of 6 cards for this pocket.

*Kangaroo  *King  *Kettle  *Kitten  *Kite  *Ka’bah

Being a Muslim family, I included a few cards with Islamic elements such as K for Ka’bah.

Here is another example of a set of cards from the letter M pocket:

*Moon  *Monkey  *Money  *Mouse  *Mushrooms  *Masjid (Mosque)

At present we are using this activity on a daily basis, so I’m strongly considering getting the cards laminated so they last longer insha’Allah.

We are having lots of fun learning our first phonics and we hope you will too insha’Allah.

Paintbrush Colour Matching Game

I first saw this on Umm Adbul Basir’s Creative Corner, although it’s originally from the Confessions of a Homeschooler blog.

It’s a great idea, masha’Allah that keeps my little ones quiet for ages. The idea is to match the different colour paintbrushes to the relative jars.

When the folder is opened out you can see the 8 jar-shaped pockets with 4 matching paintbrushes per jar.

A close up of the jar parket with 4 paintbrushes with purple tips.

A close up of the brush shows the name of the colour written on the brush handle.

The templates to make this file folder are free to download from the Confessions of a Homeschooler blog.

Have fun!

Hajj Mini Lapbook

My three girls, Samira 6, Amina 3 and Basma 2 all helped with putting this mini lapbook on Hajj together and they have all been learning together masha’Allah.

It is based on Umm Abdul Basir’s Hajj Lapbook and all the templates for the various minibooks are from her blog, may Allah reward her abundantly for sharing, ameen.

When the lapbook is opened out it looks like this:

We put together a mini shutter book that shows Hajj day by day.

The front of the book is decorated with gold glitter and I thought it would be nice to give the book an Islamic architechtural shape.

When the book is opened it reveals a set of day by day circle flap books.

Under each of the circle flaps are the various rites of Hajj that are performed on that particualar day (or days).

On the first day the pilgrim puts on the ihram and makes the intention to perform the Hajj.

The next flap reveals the next rite, which is to perform the Welcome Tawaf, circumambulating the Ka’bah seven times.

The next flap reveals the Maqam Ibrahim where the hujjaj are expected to pray 2 Rakah after performing the Tawaf.

The next flap reveals that the hujjaj must then perform the Sa’i, walking between the two hills of Safa and Marwa seven times.

The flaps reveal that on the third day (10th Dhul-Hijjah), the hujjaj take part in the stoning of the Jamarat, perform their sacrifice and shave or shorten their hair.

If you would like to make a similar day by day mini book, you can download the template here.

Next we put together this lovely little book on Hajj Colours.

And similarly we put together the ABC’s of Hajj book.

If you like these two mini books you can download them here insha’Allah.

Colours of Hajj Mini Book

ABC’s of Hajj Mini Book

Next I printed out these Animals for Dhabh cards. Included are cards showing the animals that can be used for sacrifice and cards with silhouettes of the animals so that the child can try to match the animal to its silhouette. The girls had great fun with these.

You can download these cards here, courtesy of Umm Abdul Basir.

Next I printed off these wonderful Hajj themed counting cards.

A close up of a couple of the counting cards.

These cards are very useful, and unlike a counting tab they allow the children the opportunity to try to put the numbers in the correct order by themselves.

If you like these cards, you can download the template here.

We also put together this spelling tab to spell out the name of the Islamic month in which Hajj is performed: D – H – U – L – H – I – J - J – A – H.

When the tab is pulled out it reveals the spelling of the Islamic month.

You can find the template to make this spelling tabe here.

Finally, we made these Hajj Mini Jigsaw Puzzles. My younger two girls never tired of playing with them. Just as well I pasted them onto sturdy corrugated card.

You will find the file for these puzzle templates here.

We thoroughly enjoyed putting this lapbook together and we have learned alot and had a lot of fun too, masha’Allah.

On The Farm Tot Book

Another wonderful Tot Book from the 1+1+1=1 Website this time focusing on farm animals. You can visit the website to download the templates for this tot book. I also created my own additional pocket and cards for this folder to add in a little Islamic reminder called “Why Did Allah Create the Animals?”

I made this tot book with my 3 year old daughter, Amina  but my two year old daughter, Basma loves to join in and she understands it all just as well as her older sister, masha’Allah.

When the tot book is opened out it shows a neat selection of books and pockets.

This little pocket holds the pieces to a 9 piece jigsaw puzzle.

I printed out the picture of the barn and glued it down onto an empty cereal box to make it a bit sturdier. Then I cut it out and cut it into sections.

Basma, my 2  year old daughter loves anything to do with size sequencing so these little tractor cards are perfect for her.

And when play time is over there is a neat little pocket to tidy the cards away.

These matching pair cards are great fun. We played the matching pairs game and the memory game and we learned the names of the different farm animals along the way.

The cards can be stored in this nice little pocket until next time.

A favourite addition to any tot book is the counting tab. Both girls love counting and naming the different animals in this cute counting tab.

Next up are the Heads and Tails cards. The girls spent ages playing with these cards and after we had learned which head belonged with which body the girls had a great laugh mixing and matching the heads and tails to create weird and wonderful creatures LOL!

Next up was Amina’s (my 3 year old) favourite bit … COLOURING! She loves to colour so she always looks forward to the colouring pages of the tot books.

Another nice mini-book is the phonics book. With the kids already knowing the names of the animals it made sounding out and remember the phonics easier. I am also encouraging Amina to start tracing the letters with her finger so that she becomes familar with the letters as she begins learning the phonics alphabet and writing the letters.

Finally I decided to add in an additional pocket of cards to give the kids a little Islamic reminder. I made a pocket called “Why Did Allah Create the Animals?”

The front of the cards show pictures of different farm animals using real life photos so that they become familiar with what the animals really look like.

A close-up of the front of the ‘COW’ card.

A close-up of the back of the ‘COW’ card reveals photos of the products that are produced from the cow including milk and meat products.

I decided to include a card about pigs.

And on the back of the ‘PIG’ card I added signs and images to explain that Allah has commanded in the Qur’an that Muslims are not to eat the flesh of swine.

To download the the template for the “Why Did Allah Create” cards, please use the BOX file share at the bottom of the menu bar on the right.

Ramadhan Tot Book

This is my 3 year old daughter’s Ramadhan Tot Book made with some help from her 6 year old sister, masha’Allah.

This is a wonderful little Tot Book created by Umm Abdul Basir. You can find the templates to make this lapbook on her blog insha’Allah.

This is the open view of the tot book … a simple, neat layout.

This puzzle is fantastic for toddlers and it has the added bonus of doing a bit of colouring in first. My 3 year old daughter, Amina loves colouring so I let her start with this activity first. When she had finished, I glued the shapes onto an empty cereal box to make the pieces a bit sturdier and then cut them out.

Both Amina (3yrs) and Basma (2 yrs) wasted no time in practising puting this together.

Next up … a bit more colouring. I got Amina to colour in the different sized crescent moons and then with the help of their older sister, all three girls had a bit of fun putting the moons in size order from smallest (baby moon, as Amina called it, LOL) to largest, and vice versa.

And when they were finished, there was a nice neat pocket ready to store the moons in.

Then we made a start on the Ramadhan counting tab.

When pulled out it reveals simple, Ramadhan-themed tabs.

Next up were the ABC match puzzle pieces which help to teach upper and lower case letters. My 3 year old is not quite there with learning ABC’s but with help from Samira, their 6 year old sister, all three girls had fun matching the letters and learning the words. I decided to let Samira colour the cards because she can colour neater than the younger two and that way the detail on the cards wouldn’t be lost.  

Then all the cards were stored in this neat pocket.

Finally I let Samira make make this little flap book about the phases of the moon. I think Amina was too young to really understand the moon phases, but it was something I had covered last Ramadhan with Yusef (my 7 year old son) and I had reviewed it again this Ramadhan with both of the older kids.

I liked that each page allows the child to draw a different picture to add to the night sky scene. Under the crescent moon Samira drew a telescope (to spot the hilaal that marks the beginning Ramadhan). Under the half moon (first quarter) she drew a picture of a masjid.

On the last page she drew a picture of people attending the Eid Prayer.

Feelings Tot Book

This is a fantastic little Tot Book that I found at the 1+1+1=1 website specialising in Tot Books, masha’Allah. My daughter, having just turned 3 years old is at that stage where a book like this is perfect for her, and we made a day of it putting this tot book together.

Above, you can see how the tot book is laid out

I started off with making the front cover and once the images were pasted down I got my daughter to look at the faces on the front cover and tell me how she thought they were feeling. I did have to laugh when she thought the ‘angry’ character with gritted teeth was “really happy” LOOL!

**I should say at this point, that from an Islamic perspective I don’t agree with the drawing of facial images but I follow the opinion stated by some of the scholars that it is permissible in the case of eductating  very young children. This was something I also went through with my older kids and now at the ages of 6 and 7, they both understand why we no longer draw the facial features.**

First up, we made this ‘Smiley’ pocket with lots and lots of different ‘feelings’ cards. The cards are in pairs and we spent ages afterwards playing the pairs game and the memory game. Even my 2 year old daughter loved this tot book and was actively involved in playing the games too.

I printed out the pages to make this little book that teaches phonics as well as feelings, and we had quite a long discussion about the feelings depicted in this little booklet … the discussion on my daughters part went something along the lines of  ”being chased by a tiger and being very ‘Surprised’ and then getting ‘Angry’ at the tiger for chasing me and then being ‘Happy’ when the tiger said sorry” LOOOOOL! So you can see we used a bit of role play also to understand these different feelings.

 

I cut out the 12 Smiley heads that depict different feelings and put them together into the little pocket along with a small card with a list of scenarios where one can express how they might be feeling. For example, one of the scenarios state: ‘Someone took her toy, how is she feeling?’ So again we did a bit of role play.

I pasted down the page with the headless characters and then we played around swapping the Smiley heads around to show how the two characters were feeling. The only confusing thing is that because the characters are holding hands it is hard to show when they are angry or upset. Anyway, my daughter still understood well enough.

Next I put together this 5 page booklet which depicts real life faces (as opposed to Smileys) which cover quite simple expression of emotion: Happy, Scared, Angry, Suprised, Sad.

Then came my daughter’s favourite bit … COLOURING!!! She coloured 8 Smiley faces with different expressions and then I cut them out and put them into the little pocket.

Finally she completed the back cover of the tot book with a picture of herself. I got her to look in the mirror and asked her how she looked and how she felt and she said she looked “smiling”. I asked her why she thought she was smiling, and she said “because I am happy”. Masha’Allah!