So, for those of you who may not be aware of it, right now is the Muslim month of Ramadan. Eid, which means celebration and marks the end of Ramadan, is scheduled to occur on October 13th.
There are a bunch of things you can do with your kids to teach them about this. Here are some ideas:
1) Moon sighting. It is officially Eid (and officially the beginning of the new Islamic month of Shawwal), when the new moon is sighted. So, you can talk about the moon, lunar months, etc.
Here are some phase of the moon craft ideas:
http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/moon/mphases.htm
2) Talk about fasting...what is it.. try it for older kids. Muslims, during Ramadan, do not eat or drink from sun-up to sunset. A lot of it has to do with gratefulness... and that during the rest of the year, we take so much for granted... even water. When we break our fast, traditionally, it is done with dates. (Dates and milk are yummy, BTW.) So you can buy some dates and have your kids try them... just watch out for the seeds.
You can do a math activity by figuring out just how long a Muslim would fast on a particular day. To see the times for your area, go to islamicfinder.org and enter your zipcode.
3) Can talk about prayer. Muslims are supposed to pray five times per day. Look at the prayer times on islamic finder. Try to stop what you are doing at that time and acknowledge God or spirit in your own way, or as your religious tradition dictates. If you're not religious, try having you and your kids just stop and think of something they are grateful for... or do some deep breathing, etc. At the end of the day, or on the next day, ask them about the experience. What they liked about it... what not.
4) You can call up a local Islamic center and ask them when they are holding their next iftar. Tell them you are teaching your kids about Islam or Ramadan.. and I'm sure they'd be happy to have you. If you choose to go, the only dress code advice I would give you would be to wear long sleeves and either pants or a long skirt.
5) Ramadan is typically a month of good deeds. Many Muslims are especially focused on hunger during this month... so volunteering at a soup kitchen is popular. In Muslim countries, many wealthy people (and the not so wealthy) will set up banquets for the hungry. For those who are poor, this is often the only time they will eat meat during the year (other than the other Eid). One also has to feed a hungry person for every day one cannot fast. Perhaps your family would like to do this. Research hunger in your community. Talk about hunger and what you may want to do with it. If your family does eat meat, think about going veggie for a week or so and then eating it.
6) Some Eid recipes http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/news_and_e...ents_eid.shtml
A popular recipe is an Arabic butter cookie called Ghraybeh. It means "swoon." They are very addictive, btw. http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dess...s/r/ghrybe.htm
Another popular sweet is basboussa. http://www.wasfasahla.com/docs/recip...recipe_id=1134 The cardinal rule is whenever you use a simple syrup, to have either the simple syrup be cold and the thing you made hot... or vice versa.
More recipes... http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dess...n_Desserts.htm
For a main meal, try fattah...
http://www.wasfasahla.com/docs/recipe.cfm?recipe_id=462
7) Many Muslim kids get new clothes and shoes on Eid... as well as some money called Eidee. Ask them how this compares to their holidays. What would be good about this? What would be bad?? Would one's economic situation matter?
8) There is a great story book called "The Muslim Child" by Rukhsana Khan. I highly recommend it. For a Ramadan-specific story, "The Ramadan Adventures of Fasfoose Mouse" is great. Karen Katz just put out a book called "My First Ramadan" which is beautiful... and very well done. It mentions Eid too. There are also two other books out there that I can think of in English: "Fasting and Dates" and "Samira's First Eid." You'll probably have the most luck in finding "My First Ramadan" and "The Muslim Child" at your local library.
9) You can also have your kids try and write their name in Arabic, the language of the Qur'an. This page is one of many on the web which may help: http://arabic.speak7.com/arabic_calligraphy_images
Also, look at the Arabic numerals. The numbers we use are called Arabic numerals... can you see the similarities?? What are the differences??
Here's a chart that shows the progression http://www.skypoint.com/members/walt...OfNumerals.gif
or see this for the full-text http://www.skypoint.com/members/walt...thematics.html
Here are the modern Arabic numerals used today:
http://www.longpassages.org/images/A...sh_numbers.jpg
Hope this helps!
There are a bunch of things you can do with your kids to teach them about this. Here are some ideas:
1) Moon sighting. It is officially Eid (and officially the beginning of the new Islamic month of Shawwal), when the new moon is sighted. So, you can talk about the moon, lunar months, etc.
Here are some phase of the moon craft ideas:
http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/moon/mphases.htm
2) Talk about fasting...what is it.. try it for older kids. Muslims, during Ramadan, do not eat or drink from sun-up to sunset. A lot of it has to do with gratefulness... and that during the rest of the year, we take so much for granted... even water. When we break our fast, traditionally, it is done with dates. (Dates and milk are yummy, BTW.) So you can buy some dates and have your kids try them... just watch out for the seeds.
You can do a math activity by figuring out just how long a Muslim would fast on a particular day. To see the times for your area, go to islamicfinder.org and enter your zipcode.
3) Can talk about prayer. Muslims are supposed to pray five times per day. Look at the prayer times on islamic finder. Try to stop what you are doing at that time and acknowledge God or spirit in your own way, or as your religious tradition dictates. If you're not religious, try having you and your kids just stop and think of something they are grateful for... or do some deep breathing, etc. At the end of the day, or on the next day, ask them about the experience. What they liked about it... what not.
4) You can call up a local Islamic center and ask them when they are holding their next iftar. Tell them you are teaching your kids about Islam or Ramadan.. and I'm sure they'd be happy to have you. If you choose to go, the only dress code advice I would give you would be to wear long sleeves and either pants or a long skirt.
5) Ramadan is typically a month of good deeds. Many Muslims are especially focused on hunger during this month... so volunteering at a soup kitchen is popular. In Muslim countries, many wealthy people (and the not so wealthy) will set up banquets for the hungry. For those who are poor, this is often the only time they will eat meat during the year (other than the other Eid). One also has to feed a hungry person for every day one cannot fast. Perhaps your family would like to do this. Research hunger in your community. Talk about hunger and what you may want to do with it. If your family does eat meat, think about going veggie for a week or so and then eating it.
6) Some Eid recipes http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/news_and_e...ents_eid.shtml
A popular recipe is an Arabic butter cookie called Ghraybeh. It means "swoon." They are very addictive, btw. http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dess...s/r/ghrybe.htm
Another popular sweet is basboussa. http://www.wasfasahla.com/docs/recip...recipe_id=1134 The cardinal rule is whenever you use a simple syrup, to have either the simple syrup be cold and the thing you made hot... or vice versa.
More recipes... http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dess...n_Desserts.htm
For a main meal, try fattah...
http://www.wasfasahla.com/docs/recipe.cfm?recipe_id=462
7) Many Muslim kids get new clothes and shoes on Eid... as well as some money called Eidee. Ask them how this compares to their holidays. What would be good about this? What would be bad?? Would one's economic situation matter?
8) There is a great story book called "The Muslim Child" by Rukhsana Khan. I highly recommend it. For a Ramadan-specific story, "The Ramadan Adventures of Fasfoose Mouse" is great. Karen Katz just put out a book called "My First Ramadan" which is beautiful... and very well done. It mentions Eid too. There are also two other books out there that I can think of in English: "Fasting and Dates" and "Samira's First Eid." You'll probably have the most luck in finding "My First Ramadan" and "The Muslim Child" at your local library.
9) You can also have your kids try and write their name in Arabic, the language of the Qur'an. This page is one of many on the web which may help: http://arabic.speak7.com/arabic_calligraphy_images
Also, look at the Arabic numerals. The numbers we use are called Arabic numerals... can you see the similarities?? What are the differences??
Here's a chart that shows the progression http://www.skypoint.com/members/walt...OfNumerals.gif
or see this for the full-text http://www.skypoint.com/members/walt...thematics.html
Here are the modern Arabic numerals used today:
http://www.longpassages.org/images/A...sh_numbers.jpg
Hope this helps!
90% of the people I know have never even heard of Ramadan, and it's a HUGE holiday in Islam. 
:
: Erin (3½) 
Sara 
DH 
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