Bismillah...

Remember the post where I was telling you about me yelling at Rainbow in French, and the fact that I thought he would grow to hate French for that reason? Well, I have changed a lot since that time. Firstly, I am using more {spoken} Arabic with him now, because I have given up on baba's OPOL mis-adventure. Secondly, we've found a program that I plan, inshaAllah to grow with. We've been doing some French language learning with Petralingua.

PetraLingua^® courses are specially designed for children between the ages of 3 and 10 years.  Rainbow is quite young, so I am getting him used to basic French vocabulary, and so far so good. While he doesn't speak much anymore (he used to say a lot of Arabic and English words) - I don't think he has EVER said a French word, lol , although he hears French on a daily basis. 

Also,  PetraLingua^® is a great learning tool for teens and adults. I even downloaded the French activity book so that I will have easy access, however, more importantly, other family members can also read and learn along.

Some of the features of the French program are:

• 21 lessons
• 11 French songs for kids
• 80 animated French videos for kids
• 140 interactive French exercises for kids
• 500 basic French words
• French picture dictionary for kids

Now, we are quite new to the program, and at his age, there is a lot that Rainbow cannot do- yet. Our course marks still remain at zero, because he is only doing auditory learning with the program. InshaAllah as he grows, he will learn a lot.

If French is not your thing, PetraLingua^® courses also teach you the basics of English, German, Spanish, Russian and Chinese. There's something for everyone.

Remember: ***All new users receive 15% discount -promotion code: petralingua_welcome ***






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 Bismillah...
Hello everyone. How's your Tuesday going?  Just sitting at my desk sending out a quick note to state the obvious - I am behind on my posts.
It's not that Rainbow and I are not reading; it's just that I am not here as much as I would like to be.
Lots going on- and it's all good, alhamdulleah.

I will try to keep up with our Book of the Week, and I will post Rainbow's Bucketlist updates very soon, inshaAllah.

...take care.









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Bismillah...

I met someone who has made an impact
I was truly humbled
and
in awe
every day is a new beginning




*for those of you who don't know. We're MOVING. Please excuse my inability to blog and keep house at the same time.

have a great week-end!
xxox


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 Bismillah...

Hello everyone. I hope you're all doing well inshaAllah.
Life has been crazy for me lately, and I have taken solace in my personal blog. Now, it's not all negative, it's just different, and not things that fit into this space.
It's almost Hussein's birthday. It hasn't been easy in the past few weeks, and honestly while I know the source of my unspoken sadness, it actually doesn't make sense to me right now, because I have not even been reflecting on it.

There was however a conversation on the train last week with baba, where I burst into tears. I hate to think about it now.

So where am I?

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Bismillah...

Hello lovelies everywhere and anywhere, I hope you are having a marvelous Friday, and if you are in Canada, I hope you have a great and fun (and) safe long week-end, inshaAllah.
I am way behind on blogging, but I wanted to let you all know that my latest article is now live (has been for a few days) at World Moms Blog.

Please go over and read it, AND if time allows, do read some of the other great and informative articles there.
I have been having issues commenting on the World Moms Blog site, so please don't think that I am ignoring any comments.

xxo
Salma



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 Bismillah...

Welcome to another Book/Story of the Week.  The theme for May 9th was nature and we had a bit of fun reading the story The Crunching Munching Caterpillar Picture Book and Cd Set by Sheridan cain, and participating in an activity.

Caterpillar crunches and munches all day long, but there's something on his mind- he wishes he could fly. He wants to swoop around and see the pretty flowers like the bumblebee that buzzes around him. He wishes that he had the wings of the sparrow to lift him into the air, and he wants to float like the graceful butterfly.
Caterpillar goes to sleep and wakes up to a big beautiful surprise.
The Crunching Munching Caterpillar Picture Book and Cd Set is one of Rainbow's favorite books (he has many).

I am sorry for being way off on my postings (this post is one week behind), but it's just so important for me to do the actual work, instead of just write about it.

Since Rainbow is over 18 months now, we have started doing activities with his Book of the Week story.   So, I have been spending a lot more time trying to catch up at home with the kids, AND, doing a lot of hands-on activities as well. We also started connecting the stories to Islamic lessons, and I have gotten some resources for that as well. Right now I am keeping it simple, but it has been a lot of fun, because the girls also participate. This week was our 4th week doing an activity, and we had a lot of fun.

Rainbow has a new pet.

Did you read any books this week? Tell us about it.






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 Bismillah...


Firstly, I would like to thank Kathy at I am a Reader Not a Writer for the wonderful giveaway hop. This is the first giveaway hop that I have joined, and I truly enjoyed it.

A few months ago I started a Diversity Library at home. Initially, I called it our Multicultural library, however, I soon realized that there are many streams of differences and sameness in the world, and I want to ensure that inshaAllah, I try to have a platform for discussion and openness our home.

As I stated in my giveaway post, I decided to give the book Different Just Like Me by Lori Mitchell as the prize because I think it sends a great message, and I consider it a book that could make an impact on both adults and children. Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway, and always stay tuned for more book giveaways...we love books, and love to share them even more.

Notes: I add an extra 2 entries for the last person on the list, and I noticed that some of the entries just added (+) signs. It can be really difficult to add in extra entries, please remember that you must add a separate (comment) entry for every point. Thanks!

And the Winner Is:


Congratulations to the winner. Please claim your prize within the next 48 hours, or I will choose another winner.
Happy Reading everyone.



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Bismillah...

Hello everyone. I hope you're having a great day.

I updated Rainbow's bucket list and was ready to post it when I realized that the things I was posting about were done in May not April. Anyways, there is not much to update for April but we will have a lot to update for our next bucket-list post, inshaAllah.
In April Rainbow was very busy at daycare, but due to illness we were pretty quiet at home. The only thing that we crossed off the list in April was swinging in the park...
I had no plans to visit the park just yet, because it was quite chilly and Rainbow was ill. One afternoon we went out for lunch, and to look at prospective neighborhoods (we are moving); Rainbow was very restless. We just happened to pass a park, and I asked baba to pull over and let me take him to the park for a few minutes. He had a lot of fun.

What are others doing?
If you follow Amalia's private blog, take a peek at Norah's list, she is really busy.
Also, pop over and visit Liya's update.

Want to read more about what we are doing? You can read about my daily ups and downs on my personal blog. That's it for now.

xxo til next month.



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Bismillah...

Celebrate this Mother's Day learning a new language with PetraLingua®! 

 Have you thought about learning a new language with the family? Did you read about the new language program that Rainbow is using here? So far we have been working on our language training ONLY on the week-ends, and I really look forward to it as we get in a little family and learning time.

We will be updating very soon on his progress (inshaAllah), which has been a positive experience so far, alhamdulleah. I want to remind you language lovers, educators, and parents that PetraLingua has something for everyone (just check out the list of languages) you can learn with your family.

Enter this code: PL_MD20 to receive your 20 % discount.
The 20 % will be automatically discounted from your purchase total before you pay. 

PetraLingua's language videos, songs and exercises will be a great help, you'll see! Just visit their website, choose the language you want to start with, and the rest is easy!

SUBSCRIBE NOW using your special Mother's Day offer & Have a Happy Mother's day!

Bismillah...










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Bismillah...
Hello lovely readers, and fellow bookworms. Did you read any books this week? The theme of our Book of the Week was The Body, and Rainbow and I read  From Head to Toe- Big Book by Eric Carle. If the name sounds familiar, it's because Mr. Carle has written books like The Grouchy Ladybug, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? .

 From Head to Toe- Big Book is our work-out book. We love every single page. We bought the book at one of our library sales, and whenever he picks up the book Rainbow is amazed at the huge pictures, and the funny looking animals, as well as the boys and girls who come from various backgrounds (love that too).

From Head to Toe -Big Book is a great book to teach kids about the body, and to get them moving around. We used to read the book in our little circle, but it's more fun (especially if you have a few kids) to act it out. We don't have this in a board book, so I am always careful not to let rainbow rip it apart, but he has gotten so much better with his collection :) On the plus side, our book is the large version, so it helps in allowing the reader to show the pictures while going through the motions.

So, we have a colourful, interactive book that teaches about the body, and shows positive features of diversity. I would say that's a great start to helping a young child build vocabulary, and a sense of creativity- a great addition to any children's library.

If only we could get the French version...

Would you like to read it in Spanish?


Did you enjoy any books this week?


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Happy Cinco de Scrapo!





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