By Ms. Hind Sabir, Elementary Guide

Salaam Dear Parents, 

Shahr Ramadhan Mubarak to you and your families. As we sowed the seeds during Planting Day, awaiting the harvest of vegetables for our palates and flowers for our eyes, so goes during this holy month, we sow the seeds for our souls, انشاء الله . May we be among those who are closest to Allah (swt), and reap the rewards of taqwa until Allah grants us another Holy Month انشاء الله . 

We began the month of March with the great event honoring the birth of Our Imam, Imam Mahdi (ajtf). Elementary students wrote their own Reader’s Theater scripts and performed them on stage. They also recited poetry and wrote pledges to their Imam.

Cosmic Ed lessons were aligned with the coming of spring through botany lessons. Younger friends collected leaf specimens and learned about the parts and functions of the plant. While, Upper El began a closer look at plants and their parts beginning a collection based on features of the leaf’s classification including simple to complex, and identification by shape, margins, veins, and leaflets.

As we hail the beginning of Shahr Ramadhan, we began the review of Asma’ Al Husna during a balloon-popping that has one of the Best and Most Perfect Names of Allah (swt) for the class to recall. Read Aloud has also been adjusted for the holy month as we are listening to the Glorious Quraan in the magnificent voice of Egyptian reciter Abdul Basit Abdus Samad. 

In late February and March, we had the blessing of celebrating the life and times of Sakeena Zaidi, Ali Shayan, and Kian Raza. Children made timelines of their lives with pictures from each year. They wrote a detail for each year of their lives and presented their timeline to the class. 

Researches are one of the great self-constructing works. Children choose a topic they wish to research, read about their topic, then write a set of organized facts. They then rewrite their work on special paper and in their best handwriting – this is called the publication. Then, if they choose, they present their findings to the class. This month we had presentations of North America, South America, the United States, the layers of the earth, constellations, tigers, dragons, and Beyblades. 

Elementary also had the privilege and the pleasure of joining the Middle School Drama Club. They worked and rehearsed for the month and presented a retelling of the Boston Tea Party. 

During this month, the school saw some construction work. The Montessori Method lets the child explore and ask in real time if the situation permits. During a morning work cycle, the children were observing the work of one of the construction workers, who we came to know as Lencho Lencho. He offered his wisdom and kindness. He answered questions and then gave a lesson to the children with a little follow-up work. This spontaneous opportunity provided an outlet to the child’s inquisitive mind and also a skill of good communication and respect for other’s work. It was a lovely opportunity for all. 

Spotlight of the Month: Self-Construction

Allah (swt) has placed within each of us the fitrah, our nature that connects us to Him. The experiences we have from birth until adulthood shape what kind of person we become and how prominent is our fitrah within our daily lives. The elementary years create a foundation for cultivating the fitrah in a manner that awakens the awareness in the child while also allowing the child to work in a manner that ultimately culminates in the self-construction of that child. The elementary years shape the adult we will become – a human being who is confident, productive, and has a deep sense of taqwa. Therefore, it is imperative that the child is given the respect by the adult and provides for the liberty of the child, creating pathways for them to know Allah through their experiences and reflections. Self-construction is for the complete human being. The dimensions are physical, intellectual, social, emotional, moral, spiritual, and even touches upon an individual’s personality and creativity. 

Take for example, the work of the elementary of cooking projects. From a general perspective, it is a fun work for the child, but it touches on so much more. Recently, we had the pleasure of tasting the Waraq Innab (Stuffed Grape Leaves aka Dolma) of Mazen and Kian during planting day. 

The personality and creativity of the child brought the choice of Waraq Innab. The thought of this work being laborious and tedious never entered the minds of the boys because this was a work they initiated. Nevertheless, it was a physical labor that they undertook. 

Intellectually, the boys had to figure out how much they needed for the entire classroom and for parents on that day. Ultimately, they made the social scene as they went about the day offering their hard work to our visiting parents and their peers. The emotional element comes without observation but happens within the children as they see their initial thoughts come to fruition. Spiritually, the boys discussed the provisions Allah (swt) made for them – the physical ingredients as well as the mental capacity of humans to think and work with their hands – a blessing from Allah (swt). In the end, the food was delicious as attested to by many parents and classmates and the boys’ self-constructed along the way, ما شاء الله .

الحمد لله 

جزاكم الله خيرا

Hind Sabir

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