The ants go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah....
Insects again? Yes. I thought it would be a good idea to separate the animals mentioned in the Quran by categories. Insects, farm animals, wild land animals, animals that fly, animals in the sea. So the first week is Insects.
Let's get on with it shall we?
I think we all know the story of Suleiman and the ant. However if you don't know the story, then watch the following video.
Allah says in the Quran
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَتَوۡاْ عَلَىٰ وَادِ ٱلنَّمۡلِ قَالَتۡ نَمۡلَةٌ۬ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّمۡلُ ٱدۡخُلُواْ مَسَـٰكِنَڪُمۡ لَا يَحۡطِمَنَّكُمۡ سُلَيۡمَـٰنُ وَجُنُودُهُ ۥ وَهُمۡ لَا يَشۡعُرُونَ
Till, when they came to the valley of the ants, one of the ants said: "O ants! Enter your dwellings, lest Sulaimân (Solomon) and his hosts should crush you, while they perceive not."
Watching that video really expands on this ayat and puts into a new perspective. The characteristics of the ant is something to teach our children and cultivate in them insha Allah.
Activity 1: Recitation
We begin with recitation of the Quran ayat. Recite it throughout the day and become familiar with it.
Activity 2: The ants go marching one by one song
This was a song I loved when I was a kid. This timeless song is a great way to get some gross motor activity going. Have your child march around the room as you sing or listen to the song. Act out each action. Change up the lyrics. If your child is old enough, ask them to make the rhyme. Just have fun.
Activity 3: What do ants eat?
We put bits of food on a plate and set it outside before going for a walk. When we came back there were about a hundred ants. Some things they ate and other things they left. surprisingly they didn't seem interested in the instant oatmeal.
It's really interesting to see the ants carrying little pieces of food that is so much bigger than them.
Activity 4: Follow an ant
So as a continuation from the "what do ants eat" activity, we followed the ants to this structure. It seemed that the ant hill was in the ground so we didn't really see a hill. Just a bunch of ants crowding around one area.
Give your little one a magnifying glass to see them up close and identify the parts of its body.
Activity 5: Head Throrax abdomen song
I made this song up while learning about the parts of ants. It is sung to the beat of head shoulders knees and toes. Here's a picture of the body parts.
The song goes, head thorax abdomen, abdomen. head thorax abdomen, abdomen. antenna, mandible, eyes and legs. head thorax abdomen, abdomen.
Activity 6: ن is for نمل
Remember to take this opportunity to teach your child the Arabic Alphabet or expand on their vocabulary.
Activity 7: A is for Ant
Don't forget the English Alphabet. Here are a few coloring pages to help you out.
Activity 8: The ant and Sulayman (alayhi asalam) paper puppet play
Before you get to nay saying, I represented Sulayman (alayhi asalam) with a boot. Of course we don't draw the prophets. So to get started print off the following:
Cut out the images and tape them onto a popsicle stick, except for the ant hill. Tape the ant hill onto a window. Now act out the story of Sulayman (alayhi asalam) and the ant. Give the puppets to your kids to do the narrative as well.
Activity 9: Painting
Today we decided to paint instead of coloring. He enjoyed it a lot. If you'd like to paint however, here are some pictures. We used these but painted them.
If you want to see Islamic based coloring books and children's books on these subjects, support my business Good Word Prints so that I can produce them Insha Allah.
Activity 10: Video
It always important to learn about ants. We found this video on youtube. I liked it because they actually included some of the activities we did.
Activity 11: Book
Here's a list of books you can read. If you can't get to your library but have a library card, you can borrow some books from amazon. Look up how to borrow library ebooks from amazon.
There are more activity options on my pinterest board. Follow it for updates. Remember to like my page Good Word Prints and share.
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