Home schooling during Ramadan: what is a Mum to do?

Ramadan is weeks away, and for many of us, we start to wonder what shall we do about home schooling during this special month.

To give you my two cents, I think this will be something individual to each family, just as the general home school goings-on, day to day through out the year will differ from one house-hold to the next.

However, with that being said, this seems to be a hot topic of conversation at this time of year and so I thought I'd put a few pointers together to try to some-what answer this question.

So how do you home school through-out Ramadan?

This will depend largely on your own objectives; and you might want to take a little time to think about this, asking yourself:

• What do I want Ramadan to be for my family?
• What do I want to achieve in terms of Ibaadah and home-schooling for the whole family?
• Is it important for us that we continue with our regular home-school activities throughout this month or can we leave our regular studies?
• If it is important we continue (perhaps children have exams coming up), how can we best continue our studies through this month? - Do we need to change the times we normally work? Do we need to alter our routine this month so everything fits / flows better?

If you do have older children, especially those who are sitting summer exams and so continuing with home-schooling is essential, get them involved in answering these questions.
It will help them to figure out with you how to focus and balance the spiritual obligations of this month with the academic responsibilities they have to prepare for.

Embrace home school freedom

I write this more in mind for those who have younger children, or children who are not yet preparing for academic exams.....embrace the freedom home schooling permits you.

Alhamdulillah, home schooling affords you the permission to work your studies how and when you choose.

Ramadan is a once a year experience, and comes with a multitude of benefits that are simply too valuable to miss....take advantage of the fact you are a home educator and have complete control of your time Alhamdulillah.

When my children were younger, we didn't do any "school work" throughout Ramadan. It was the only time of year we consciously didn't do anything; giving time instead to focus on the spiritual aspects of this month.

 As a mother with young children, I didn't want to have to spend my day still teaching them, and I also wanted to be able to help them connect to Ramadan by spending the day on other activities that would deepen their understanding, excitement and love for this month inshaAllah.

As the children have got older, and begun fasting themselves, our routine has been turned upside down, as they are up in the early hours of the morning eating sahur and awake most of the night attending salatul-Tarawih at the masjid.

This is the blessing of home education. We don't have school to leave the house early for in the morning. The children can make the most of the Ramadan nights and experience the excitement and blessings bi'ithnillah.

Embrace this freedom as a home schooler, and whether you decide to continue to home school or not, don't be afraid to change your routine this month to allow you and your family take advantage of this special time of year which is so fundamentally important to each one of us.