productive muslim mom

Rainbow and Cloud Themed Birthday

I searched the Internet for inspo for my 6 year old’s birthday and there wasn’t much available! So here is my contribution if you’re also planning a party or event with this theme!

I enjoy making my kids’ cakes every year, and this year my 6 year old asked for a rainbow cake . I knew that icing an actual rainbow would be a high level effort and difficulty (especially with whipped cream since kids don’t eat sugar so traditional buttercream or fondant isn’t an option!)

So I came up with the idea of doing a cloud cake, and used toppers to bring across the rainbows and more colour. Easy, cute and perfect to meet all her rainbow requirements!

How I made the cake:

1. I baked the cake (low sugar version thats why it doesn’t rise so high) in a rectangle pan, and using a template from baking paper, I cut out a cloud shape.
2. I covered the cake in unsweetened cream, using back of a spoon to make a neat pattern for the fluffy clouds.
3. I made the cloud’s eyes and smile from blue paper, with a backing of cut out cardboard from a box so it does not get soaked into the cake.
4. I placed rainbow and unicorn toppers I bought online from Trendyol, sprinkled glitter over and the cake is ready!

The rest of the theme came together with rainbow/cloud plates and serviettes.

We took the cake to school, and all the kids enjoyed it so much (most came back for seconds!) so overall it was a success Alhamdulillah!

Did you ever make a cloud rainbow themed party? What elements did you include?

Twenty Ways to keep kids occupied on a flight

Recently we had a super helpful chat on our local moms group in Istanbul about keeping kids busy and happy when traveling! 

Seasoned frequent flyer moms shared their tried and tested tips for keeping kids occupied and entertained all flight long (beyond screens)

20 ideas for flight

Heres some ideas to help you a plan a smoother trip with your little ones:

Starting with this amazing list from Tanja Altintas (from Germany). She says: “I always picked some things from each category but every time slightly different and with new things to discover….”

1. Packs of stickers, diamond stickers, decorative sticker tapes, foam stickers
2. Small stationary things like stamps sets, colour pencils, small postits sets and booklets, clips, and whatever I could find
3. Small boxes of playdough and a small ziplock bag or plastic box with a few tools and moulds
4. Colouring books & colourful DINA5 paper (I bought Ikea paper mix and cut it into half)
5. Two small size notebooks
6. Small magnetic drawing board or watercolour book
7. Several tiny picture books
8. A couple of small tiny toys they like to play with (duplo/ lego/doll/soft toy/cars/wooden bracelet sets)
9. A few small packed snacks
10. Mini boards games or usborne cards…. What to do on a long ride/on an airplane/funny things to do…. Etc
11. Mini activity books
12. Rubix cube or similar toys
13. Wipe and clean activity cards
14. Mini puzzles in tin boxes

travel
busy bees

More Ideas from moms:

15. I usually filled a small plastic box or plastic bag which has min 6-8 departments with the cut stickers and other things to stick on, so they could handle it without a mess

16. I’ve done really long road trips before and one thing I remember being advised was to offer a wrapped gift/toy/snack every 2hrs or so. That was fun for us both. 

17. I find doing anything together is more helpful than relying on solo activities for them, it’s surprisingly therapeutic to colour in a few colouring pages and play I-spy

18. Get kids involved in choosing 1-2 items to take along from home helps a lot with co operation later!

19. Choose a 1-2 new things from the airport. The kids get so excited being able to choose and tends to play with their new toy/s for quite a good chunk of time

20. I pack a big backpack with an arsenal of small new toys that are pretty much disposable since I may lose them, stickers, etc plus snacks, wipes and a change of clothes (pyjamas take up the least space).

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Which of these do you find most helpful? Do you have any smart tricks to share? Let’s build a bank of ideas together to save us moms on any trip or travel time!

Visit to Ihlamur Kasiri (Palace & grounds)

An oasis  of calm in the busy Sisli/ Besiktas area!

I recently went out with my 3 year old boy to spend the morning in nature and we both had a blast! 


What’s to see?

                          Spectacular palace (Entry to the palace for a separate fee)


                                        Beautiful peacocks always a pleasure to watch.


                                    Ample space to walk around beautiful trees and flowers.

                Rabbit hatch – take along carrots and lettuce to feed the animals.

                                                            Two ponds, with ducks & turtles 

Look out on my Instagram account for the FULL video of the cute turtle trying to get up on the edge next to his turtle friend and not quite making it! 

FOOD:

Cafe /restaurant with full menu.
It’s technically a museum so picnics aren’t allowed. Small snacks are ok.

Flat, stroller friendly. Good for toddlers, but requires a watchful eye near the main pond area as it’s open with no barrier.

Across the road from the palace are two playgrounds with swings, slides etc so you could add that to your day if the kids want more activity.

A great way to spend some time in nature and be near animals – a precious find in Istanbul!

Will you go to visit ?

discovering Istanbul, one kid-friendly place at a time,

Taskeen
Productive Muslim Mom

Dinosaur Themed Garden Party for a Three Year Old

 ZAYD TURNED THREE!  Alhamdulillah 

We hosted a simple dinosaur theme garden party at home. As always, I used smart ways to bring the theme alive that don’t break the bank.

{Read my blog post for ideas on how I throw parties on budget with max fun!}

Here are the elements for the party with a few close friends:

Plates & matching crockery. This has a great impact. I bought a package this time including decor, so it was all in one no need to search for different items (and forget stuff!)

Table setting and food : We had roast beef sandwiches for hungry carnivores, savoury muffins, honey pancake rollups (made by my friend Ayesha- Martha Stewart recipe- yum) , dino eggs (grapes) for herbivores

                                         

Sugar free cake, iced with whipped cream (very tricky to work with as cream doesn’t whip stiff in Turkey!)

Mom’s Tea & treats: Sugar-full cupcakes for Mama saurus + tea/coffee

Snacks: Selection of healthy-ish nibbles for pekish dinos

Water Play: We had water balloons which was great fun and ideal for our summer heat to cool down.

Grateful that it went off well, (managed their minor moaning in the morning till friends arrived!). He says he loved the “cake” and “presents”  so mission accomplished! Alhamdulillah

Is your little one into dinosaurs yet?

Taskeen
Productive_Muslim_Mom

Lockdown Birthday : Family Zoom Party

PART TWO: FOURTH BIRTHDAY ZOOM PARTY 

With our family split across 3 countries, the best way to have everyone join in our celebration was through a family zoom party! Never did I think I would get dressed for a screen appearance but there you go! 

This was the covered pancake stack & party table (Remember to set up a great zoom backdrop!

Pancake Stack cake Recipe-  #sugarfree and #colourfree I used the recipe from @tableforfivedubai but left out the sugar.
Use a large frying pan so there’s space to flip.
Sandwich each pancake with unsweetened cream and fresh strawberries 
The cream is coloured with natural beetroot powder (post coming soon)
Decorate & eat!

Stacking in progress! sandwich with cream and strawberries.

Inside the stack once cut. Very exciting for the kids. Delicious treat for everyone.


Since we had a cake for part one of her birthday (see previous post), it was great to do something different for this occasion- thanks to @zaakira1 for the inspo and on the job help as I flipped and stacked pancakes in the morning!

Have you had many zoom parties? Let us know below or on Instagram!

Taskeen
Productive_Muslim_Mom

How to throw a kid's birthday on budget- lockdown style

We recently had my pre-schoolers (ie no longer toddler!) fourth birthday celebration. Alhamdulillah

Given the lockdown context, and observing social distancing we did it in two parts : a small party at home with 2 friends and a family zoom party during the weekend. Double the fun, double the cake!  

We were sad not to have our usual bigger crowd to share in her happy day but given the cold weather we had to host indoors and therefore kept it safe with just 1 family to join us this time. And let’s face it, my two little ones make a party by themselves already! Having it at home also meant zero venue costs and fortunately I have the space to host this way.

She chose the theme : Kitty cats which was cute and easy to work with.

My aim is to keep costs low, and fun factor high! I enjoy the little touches to bring a theme together and have also realised that keeping it simple makes it more enjoyable for the kids as they can enjoy all the elements – and easier for me (to not get overwhelmed and also enjoy the preparations!)

I rarely spend more than 100 TL a pop by being smart with decor, re-purposing elements each year and making most things myself. So here is what we put together this year :

Cat themed tableware

Top Tip: Use plates/cups/serviettes as an essential part of the decor to bring the theme alive!

I have found that theres nothing more fun for kids than to eat their favourite snacks from cute colourful plates- on party day and beyond. Therefore, I choose to spend my money on matching serving tableware (this time I got it all from Partidunyasi)  and often keep extra stuff for special snack time on another day.

For decor I printed these letters from this website to make a sign. We blew balloons and I printed a cat sign to add to a frame which I placed on the table as well. 

Lets talk about the cake – the highlight of the day! Delicious #sugarfree cake made with bananas , sweetened only with honey. I used whipped cream to cover the cake, and crackers, cranberry’s and raspberry for to complete the kitty’s face. I added kitty cake toppers to match the colours. As the cake contains no refined sugar – its challenging to work with so I have to get creative! Firstly, it doesnt rise as much as regular cake so I use a cake stand for height. Secondly, no sugary buttercream to easily cover dents and give a smooth finish – so I used unsweetened whipped cream instead and even did a crumb coat to cover the cake better! At least it resembled a kitty cat and together with everything else was well received by the kids – and of course I’m not stressing about sugar highs or lows after!

Also on the menu was “fishy snacks” (crackers as a savoury snack) & boxed milk (kitty’s favourite). Given we had had pizza for lunch earlier, this was just right to keep the kids satiated and full of energy for more play and excitement in the afternoon.

For activities : I printed and made kitty masks (free printable from here) which were a great hit! All you need is string/elastic, stapler and a stanley knife to cut the holes for the eyes. I also had a pin the tail on the cat game prepared but we didn’t get to it – saved it for later! I like to the traditional party games so we also did musical chairs which is always loads of fun for the kids.

Lastly, I used this invite (from google) to send digitally to her friends and used the same one for the family zoom party (next post)

So you seem its really to easy to throw a kids party (and stay sane in the process!)by keeping things simple and using whats available like free printables and things you have on hand already. 

Lastly, home brewed karak chai made by my dear friend Sabreen, a perfect way to end a beautiful birthday 😻

Next post: Part two : Family Zoom party

Productive_Muslim_Mom

Teaching Toddlers : Kindness and Making Friends

For playgroup in Week 3, we focussed on the theme Kindness & Making Friends. 

Our playgroup ranges from kids between 18 months to 2.5 year olds. Around this age, children start to notice other kids and are curious to learn and interact together. So this week, since we had the kids meeting regularly now for 3 weeks, we focused on learning names. Here are the lessons for Week 1 and Week 2 which I posted previously on this blog. We have paused our playgroup for now due to coronavirus measures in Istanbul, so I’m sharing what we did before we closed to inspire and help Moms of little kids with ideas for teaching islamic concepts since I know there isn’t alot available online focussed on under 3 years olds and I had to make it up as I went along 🙂

We always begin our playgroup with Salaam song( Omar Hannah) and “Nabil & Noura say salaam” each week to build consistency.
Related to the topic this week of Kindness & Making Friends, we chose these concepts:
Song & Play: “I have a new friend” (throw a ball or pass an object to the friend and sing the song with that friends name) It’s super cute to see the little kids interact with each other! We also sang this song from Teaching Mamas:


Activity : Puppet Show – I did a small puppet show about a giraffe and a penguin (the hand puppets I had at home!) where the Penguin wants to play but the Giraffe says he needs to tidy up first. So the penguin helps him to tidy up (kindness) so they can play together. 





Tips for puppet shows:
– Keep the story very simple and short so kids can follow and stay till the end
– Don’t lecture in the show, rather weave the moral into the story so they learn through the fun 
– Use different voices for characters 
– Make it funny and silly – this is how they will remember!
We also did some fun colouring – a picture of friends.

This weeks snack was Pizza Muffins. I posted the recipe here – its  super simple and makes an ideal outdoor food snack.

Let us know if you try the activities with your little one and how you get on!
Taskeen
Productive Muslim Mom

Teaching Toddlers: Bismillah

Bismillah Activity 
For playgroup in Week 2, we focussed on the theme Bismillah: 
“In the Name of Allah”

For Moms: By saying this before we begin anything, it is a  way of remembering and thanking Allah. It is a practical way of making us more mindful of Allah. When we get into this routine, then we remember Allah and always try to do things that please Him. We get maximum benefits from whatever task we are doing by remembering to take Allah’s name before it.
Aishah [R] related that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “When one of you eats food, then let him say: ‘Bismillah.’ If he forgets in the beginning, then let him say: ‘Bismillah Fi Awwalihi Wa Akhirih (In the Name of Allah in its beginning and its end.)” [Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1858] A simple act, such as eating becomes a source of blessing (by the permission of Allah) and an act of worship. 
Additionally, various Hadith and saying from Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) show us that saying this phrase enables us to gain Allah’s blessings.
So how do we teach this to kids:

We always begin our playgroup with Salaam song( Omar Hannah) and “Nabil & Noura say salaam” each week to build consistency.
Related to the topic this week, we chose these concepts:
Song: Bismillah song by Dawud Wharnsby Ali (lyrics here). It’s a really simple song so ideal for toddlers.
Book : “Don’t forget to say Bismillah” with sounds from Desi Doll Company. It’s interactive so kids enjoyed pressing the buttons to hear the sayings in English and Arabic. Highly recommend.
Activity : Create your own Bismillah placemat – sticking fruits and food for fine motor skills.
I cut out colourful fruits and these placemats from Karima Krafts.  (Ps we’re outdoors in the park hence the setting in the pics below!)
                                       
We always end with a snack and for sunnah snack I offered dates and cucumber. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (May peace be upon him) combined cucumbers with ripe dates saying: “the heat of the latter is reduced by the coolness of the former.” (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah).
We also had fresh fruit and crackers to keep the young ones going!
This is a great beginner activity but of course the main learning comes from daily practice – so remembering to say bismillah when beginning to eat, changing clothes, putting on shoes, leaving the house – and every little or big action.

How will you teach “Bismillah” to your little ones today?

Teaching Toddlers – Theme : Salaam

I was thinking about a structure for planning the content for our Muslim Mommy & Me Playgroup,  using the islamic toddler books I have at home for ideas. What I realised is that for kids under 3, the lessons have to be super simple. Instead of Aqaaidah (beliefs) or rituals, it’s easier and more effective to  focus on Akhlaaq (morals, behaviour as muslims).

My dear sister in law (a teacher and homeschooler) gave me a great idea to use the Arabic Alphabet as a prompt for a theme each week. So for (ا) alif, in week 1 you could do a theme around Allah. Maybe use play dough to write the letter ا etc. I may bank this one to use with my 3.5 year old, Insha Allah

For playgroup in Week 1, I chose the theme Salaam. 

Song: Salaam song( Omar Hannah) and we use this every week
Book : Nabil & Noura say salaam (I had it already at home)
Activity : Colouring in with colour pencils (I printed a colouring in page from here)
We always end with a snack and for sunnah snack I offered dates and cucumber. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) combined cucumbers with ripe dates saying: “the heat of the latter is reduced by the
coolness of the former.” (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah)
We also had a yummy snack box this week from Aliyah (Delish_tanbul)
Hope this helps inspire some ideas for teaching your little ones. Let us know with a comment or find me on Instagram for more ideas and resources.

Introducing our Muslim Mommy & Me Playgroup – first in Istanbul

Since my 3.5 year old daughter is now settling in at school, I turned my focus on finding activities or groups for my 2 year old son. With Covid restrictions, so much has changed and the options are limited and just so pricey! 

We are lucky to have around us : enthusiastic moms + active toddlers + well-suited parks- put it together and I decided to start my own playgroup! And since we’re always trying to find ways to inject some Islamic teachings for our kids as its not so easily accessible here, especially in the modern suburbs (ironic I know!), I’ve positioned it as  “Muslim Mommy & Me” Playgroup – the first English based one (that I am aware of) in Istanbul Turkey. 

The aim is to introduce little kids to key islamic concepts and morals in a fun, social context. We meet outdoors at a local park and I bring along books, art supplies and snacks.

Sample Format 
🤸🏽‍♀️ exercise (3 mins)
📚 Circle time : salaam song , salawaat 
Book/+song (15 mins)
🥒 Sunnah Snack (10/ 15 mins) 
Free Play 
⏰ 30 mins | 📅 Weekly 10am   |👧🏽 1.5-3 year olds| 📍 Etiler Sanatlicar Park
Please note Pandemic Protocol: 
 😷Masks on for Moms. 👧🏽 Max 6 kids. First come first served 😊 #letsstaysafe 
Ps It’s run by moms not teachers or anything professional !! No charge for now so we’re keeping things minimal but effective iA 😉 
Follow@productive_muslim_mom 

Each week we have theme and I design activities around this. Now there seems to be plenty ideas online for islamic crafts and lessons, but not a whole lot for mini muslims like under the age of 3! We have mostly 2 year olds which means we need stuff thats super simple, fun and engaging.

So I’ve been using a combination of what I have found online + my own ideas for each weeks activities and I will share it with you here on my blog.

If you’re in an area without access to many muslim events, then consider starting your own group. Its super fun, and I use many materials from home to keep costs low. 

We’re on  a break at the moment, given latest lockdown restrictions for children in Turkey – however I will share the last 3 weeks meetings for your inspiration and to re-create yourself at home!

Taskeen

Productive_Muslim_Mom