Yaaay, I'm finally done! Phew... alright, I must admit.. I rushed to get this project done so that others have enough time to copy it before Ramadaan... and well, I've taken a few short cuts.
If you are a regular reader of my blog (jazak'Allahu khair) you'll know that every Ramadaan I have a project for my nephews (now 5 and 3.5 years old) that not only teaches them a thing or two, but it's designed to make Ramadaan something to look forward to. And yes, they really do look forward to it, in addition to all the other exciting things happening in Ramadaan. (Like cranky people who need food.. I'm kidding.)
This is the 'Cave of Hira', where Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wa-salaam) received his first revelation. Insha'Allah I'd like to focus on the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa-salaam) this whole month. The cave will be filled with goodies (like stickers, balloons, candy, etc.) as well as a hadith (attached to the goodie). Each hadith is in the shape of a palm tree leaf, and once we learn the hadith, we'll stick it up in our scenery (ie: for the lesson plan).
We'll be reading "Goodnight Stories from the life of the Prophet Mohammad", published by Goodword. It has 23 short chapters, which is wonderful, because we can read one each day and do a lesson after each (skipping weekends).
I used a larger box, because I need it for two boys. Cut the front flaps off.. this will be the cave entrance.
Add a little water, white (pva/craft) glue, and some brown acrylic paint together. Cut strips of paper towel, and cover the entire cave. This makes the structure stronger, you'll use less paint (next step), and gives it a better finish.
Once it's dry, using a darker acrylic brown paint (you can thin it down with a little water), cover the entire cave. Don't do a good job.. yes you read right. It will give a more realistic look. You are done at this point.
I added a little more glue to the paint and sprinkled some sand over. The palm trees can be made with whatever you have around the house. I used green fabric (with wire stuck under each leaf to angle it right) and branches I found outside. (As far as I know, there were no palm trees near the real cave.. but mine needs some life! - and now the kids know you don't only get coconuts on palm trees.) Make sure everything is dry.. add your goodies.
Caves done by others:
Jazaki'Allahu khair for sharing.
At 5:49 PM, Sketched Soul
Wa'alaykum as-salaam wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu my dearest Farzeen,
Jazaki'Allahu khair for dropping by!.. oh yes, glad you like the blue sky pic :P
Erm the spider, dove and acacia bush were are different time... different cave..the Cave of Thor.. maybe another time, insha'Allah :D
Wa'alaykum as-salaam
Love Farhana
At 8:26 PM, Sketched Soul
Wa'alaykum as-salaam wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu my dearest Farzeen,
Hehe.. no worries :D I know you knew that.. you getting old too! :P
Yes, it is a great idea for a different project.. and this might just be a reason for me to try and store this cave for a few more years.. somewhere!
As-salaamu'alaykum
Love Farhana
At 6:12 AM,
As-salaamu'alaykum wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu,
My dearest Maryam.. haha, I actually think Allah created us all to be creative.. some people just haven't tapped into it yet.. so my dearest, no more reading for you.. pick up a paint brush! :D
Talib, jazak'Allahu khair for visiting my side of the blog world, and for the your wonderful comments.
Wa'alaykum as-salaam
Farhana
At 10:58 AM,
Assalamu Alaikum,
I have recently discovered your blog. Excellent masha'Allah. As a homeschooling ummi...this is ideal for my ramadan activities for my 4 year old. Jzk for the advice sis and keep blogging.
Wasalam,
Umm Raiyaan
http://www.ummihomeschoolsme.wordpress.com
http://hijrahtoalgeriafeesabillillah.wordpress.com/
Wa'alaykum as-salaam wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu my dearest sisters,
Jazakum'Allahu khair to the both of you for taking the time to visit my blog, I appreciate your comments.
umelbanat, you are very welcome to put it on your blog, thank you for asking.
umm raiyaan, alhumduliLlah I am glad to discovered my blog. If you check under my 'ramadaan' tag, you'll see the project done last two Ramadaans... the ark was done when Abdullah was 4, and he still remembers Prophet Nuh, and all the details about the story. Younger kids love that story, because of all the animals.
As-salaamu'alaykum
Love Farhana
At 3:38 PM,
At 7:36 PM, Sketched Soul
As-salaamu'alaykum wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu my dearest sisters,
Jazakum'Allahu khair for taking the time to drop by, and for the lovely comments.
Gulnarita! Oh yes, I can picture your lil' munchkin having a ball with that cave.. insha'Allah when she's older you can do something similiar for her. Haha..I'm as excited as you! It feels so long since I've done a swap.. so I'm eager to get started on this one.
My dear Maria, thank you :D pray I don't run out of ideas...hehe sometimes it feels that way.
Ayesha, wonderful to see you here! Insha'Allah I shall send the lessons your way.
Wa'alaykum as-salaam
Love Farhana
At 8:50 PM, Desert Housewife A. (The Canadian in Jubail)
Asalaam `alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakato!
Wow Sis, what a wonderful idea!! TabarakAllah! Awww I can't wait until my little boy gets a bit older so that he can build a "Ramadhan Cave"! Insha'Allah t`ala. Meanwhile, are you getting excited for Ramadhan like meeee??? *ahh so excited LOL!*
BarakAllahufeeki :-D
At 12:57 AM,
At 7:05 AM,
At 9:39 AM, Sketched Soul
Wa'alaykum as-salaam wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu my dearest sisters and brother,
Aalia, wonderful to see you.. as always.. insha'Allah I hope one day you and your son can build a Ramadaan Cave. OH definitely! I can't wait for Ramadaan, I've already started reading/listening to lectures about it.. so I can make the most of it..insha'Allah. Thank you for asking :D
Yusuf! Long time no see.. I'm surprised you still here reading..hehe Jazak'Allahu khair.
Umm Hassan, jazaki'Allahu khair for visiting me, it's wonderful to see new 'faces'. AlhumduliLlah I am glad you'll be making the cave! (Now I feel it was worth posting).. if you are interested in the lessons based on the book shown, just drop me an email (amtullah79@yahoo.ca).
Wa'alaykum as-salaam
Love Farhana
mashaallah farhana,
THIS IS AMAZING!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!! JAZAKILAH KHAIR! sorry for 'shouting' lol but I am really amazed at this creative project mashallah!
This ramadan, for my kids, I'm doing seerah too inshaallah. Haven't yet decided as to the 'how' but you're giving me ideas too alhamdulillah! now that my kids are bigger I think I'll let them brainstorm some projects rather than me hatching everything up:D (that's my homeschooling approach now, well kind of :D, loosely anyway)
farhana, you should submit this for the Muslimah speak up carnival..they're looking for ramadhan themed blog posts. This'd be perfect!i'm sure other sisters esp homeschooling moms can benefit from this...
lookie here (if you don't know already)
http://writeoussisterspeaks.wordpress.com/
Wa'alaykum as-salaam wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu my dearest Nadia and Adikbongsu,
Lovely to see you both.
Nadia, jazaki'Allahu khair for you kind words. AlhumduliLlah I am so happy you'll be covering the seerah as well. I too was stuck on 'how' to get the information across to a 3 & 5 year old. I've decided we are going to do a whole scenary, that will cover the Prophet's (salAllahu alayhi wa-salaam) life. We'll either do a craft or colour a picture to represent a certain point in his (salAllahu alayhi wa-salaam) life, and add it to our wall. I'll have to show you pictures once done to understand what I'm talking about..hehe
Actually I was told about the Muslimah Carnival and have added this post. Thank you so much for mentioning it to, I appreciated it.
Adikbongsu, jazaki'Allahu khair for always leaving your wonderful comments. :D
As-salaamu'alaykum
Love Farhana
At 3:36 PM,
At 8:32 PM, Sketched Soul
Wa'alaykum as-salaam wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu my dearest sisters,
AlhumduliLlah, how nice it is to see new 'faces'.
Muslimah wa iyyaki, and thank you for your lovely comment.
Anonymous, glad you love it! Insha'Allah I will answer your questions to the best of my ability.
As-salaamu'alaykum
Love Farhana
At 7:26 AM,
Assalamualaikum Farhana,
I love this project! Excellent!! I will be doing it for my 3, 7 and 8 years old. I'm so bad at art and craft but I think this project is easy enough to do. This year will be my first year doing Ramadan project. I hope to cover the Prophet Muhammad's life. Thank you for the wonderful idea and sharing it with us.
Nanizakri
Wa'alaykum as-salaam wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu my dearest sister,
I am absolutely thrilled you are making the cave.. and this is of benefit, alhumduliLlah. Insha'Allah I pray your children enjoy it, and are able to gain beneficial knowledge in the process.
Please let me know how it turns out, and if you really did find this project easy. A sister just emailed (who is making it as well).. and said you need a lot of patience..hehe I don't realize these things.. because I actually enjoy it, so it's nice to get feedback from others.
Jazaki'Allahu khair for commenting on my blog, much appreciated.
As-salaamu'alaykum
Love Farhana
At 4:14 PM, Sketched Soul
Wa'alaykum as-salaam wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu my dearest sister Oum Anas,
A pleasure to have you here! Baraka'Allahu feeki.
Oh you are most welcome to link the Ramadaan project, or any other.. and add me to your blog roll, thank you so much.. insha'Allah I shall be adding you as well :D
As-salaamu'alaykum
Love Farhana
At 7:16 PM, Sketched Soul
At 4:01 PM, Sketched Soul
Wa'alaykum as-salaam wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuhu my dearest Nakia,
Insha'Allah I hope you get a chance to make it. So far,.. from all the Ramadaan projects, I think it's the easiest.. and the one the kids are having the most fun with.
If you send a pic my way of the final product, I can add it here.. insha'Allah.
Jazaki'Allahu khair for dropping by.
As-salaamu'alaykum
Love Farhana
At 12:24 PM,
At 2:18 PM, Sketched Soul
Wa'alaykum as-salaam wa Rahmatu Llahi wa Barakatuh,
Anonymous, the seerah lessons for the seerah post (not the cave post) is on there, please check that out.
Random Muslima, jazaki'Allahu khair for the visit, and linking the cave instructions to your blog, insha'Allah they'll be of benefir to others. I don't know if I'll have any more craft ideas for kids, because my nephews are no longer with me... but if I do come up with any, I'll send it your way.. insha'Allah.
Love Farhana
The word in sha Allah in 3 words(if god wills) other then that good may Allah was tahalah keep our mean save and grant us jannat and keep us away from hell(jahanam)
Visit: Seerah
Assalaamu'alaykum wa rahmatuLlah
Beautiful, masha'Allah... excellent! I like it (and the blue sky backdrop looks quite nice in the picture too..hehe).
Masha'Allah, excellent idea. I'm not crazy about finishing it off with real sand (all the mess), but in terms of art, it hits the spot..as do the palm trees..but it's too bad that you couldn't have made an acacia bush (without the thorns),a little dove's nest, and a spider's web. They'd remember those details easier if they saw it there..and it'd make for a nice cover to lift up the 'web' so that the goodies aren't too tempting. And you know them, they'll reflect on it these details as well. Still a few weeks until Ramadhan, maybe you can add 'em *ahem* :) .
Again, a job well done love... masha'Allah!