Menuntut ilmu adalah Taqwa; Menyampaikan ilmu adalah Ibadah; Mencari ilmu adalah Jihad;
Alhamdulillah, DH and I managed to attend this seminar in Shah Alam last September. I am sharing here what we've learned at the one-day seminar. For anyone interested to get the full notes, just leave your email and i'll email to you a softcopy of the notes, in shaa Allah... Pn. Lina clearly stated that there is no copyright in her notes and she encourages us to share the knowledge we've gained with every parents we know...
So here goes...
For those who doesn't know who Pn. Lina is? She is the founder of Islamic Parenting Network (IPN) and is a mother of 2 young children, the eldest Darwisya (7 years) and the youngest Darwish (5 years). Both of her children managed to learn and memorize 30 surah of the Quran at the age of 3! You can learn more about this at her blog http://darwishndarwisya.blogspot.com/. She doesn't update her blog regularly but you can get newsletters from her by leaving your email at her blog and she'll provide you with useful tips on Islamic Parenting. I've learned about IPN and their series of lectures via her newsletters...
Pn. Lina only had her 1st child after several years of marriage (like us!)... while she was carrying her first child, she read so many books on parenting... both secular and Islamic parenting methods... Her inspiration to teach her children Quran at the very early stage is Imam Shafie who had memorized the whole of Quran at 7 years old! She is also inspired by the upbringing of Sultan Muhammad Al Fateh.
The secrets to nurturing a smart child are:
1. Start early!2. Start right!
3. Consistent!
Pn. Lina stressed that it is our responsibilities as parents to teach our children. We cannot just rely on the school teachers who manages at least 30 kids in a classroom.
To memorize the Quran requires the function of both left and right brain. But, for children age 0-6 years, they learn mostly through right brain (imaginative/subjective). The ultimate vision when teaching Quran to our children is of course Heaven, our ultimate destination... that is why Pn. Lina chose to teach Hijaiyah letters to her children instead of ABCs... She believes that if we could teach our children Quran at an early stage, other skills will follow easily in shaa Allah... for example learning to pronounce the words of Quran will help kids with speech problem (pelat) because the pronunciation (makhraj) will train the tongue to speak clearly.
The essential steps when teaching your children are:
1. Cut the Noise - TV, radio, internet, newspaper...2. Ignore a messy home - allow children to do messy arts and crafts to let their creativity grow.
3. Quran recitation during playtime and sleeptime. Especially when the child is about to sleep (baru nak lelap/ mamai2). This period is called hypnagogic moment and science has proven that at this state, the mind is more ready to receive any input than at other times.. On the subject of sleep - try to adjust your child's sleeptime. Wake up early (suboh), nap at noon and sleep after isya'. Avoid sleeping after suboh, asar and during maghrib.
How to teach?
Simply sitting down is not the effective way of teaching your children. Try to teach them in an environment which stimulates their visual, auditory and kinaesthetic (VAK model). For example, teach hijaiyah letters using flashcards with Quran recitation in the background while the children play their toys. Research has shown that children actually retain more mathematics if there is classical music playing softly in the backround. An example of applying the VAK model in your parenting is when complimenting your child - smile (visual), compliment (auditory) with hug and kisses (kinaesthetic).
0-4 months old babies can only see the colours red, white and black. So, start teaching using flashcards with these colours by hanging over their crib or at the area they play.
Start with baby friendly letters - aliff, mim, ba, ya, etc...
On using flashcard:
1. Select 5-7 cards that you want to teach;
2. Show each card for 10-15 seconds;
3. Look into your child's eye and let him see your mouth pronouncing the letters with open mouth (nganga luas2 ye);
4. Repeat 1-2 times each day.
Do not set any target when teaching as this will lead to stress; Beware! Do not yell and do not hit while teaching - children could mentally shut down if they had bad experience while learning..
Try to think of creative ways of teaching, e.g. stick different flashcards in different areas of the house
After learning the hijaiyah letters, teach them the meaning of the rules (atas, bawah, depan), then teach them to read the connected letters.
Teaching tools:
1. Flashcards - a set for flashing, a set for sticking all over the house, a set for the children to hold and play
2 - CDs of Quran recitation - to play in the house, in the car
The most important of learning at an early age is to teach them HOW to learn not simply teach them what's in the book!
Foods which stimulate the mind:
1. Almond
2. Raisin
3. Fish oil
4. Dates
5. Honey
6. Habbatus sauda'
7. Tiin
8. Olive oil
9. Ordinary water which have been read Surah Taha (Fatihah 1x, Taha Ayat 1-23 11x) is a food for the soul (~doa nabi Musa utk mohon kebijaksanaan)
10. Egg
11. Ginger
12. Delima
13. Milk
# honey and milk is a must everyday!
Unusual tip - keep your drinking water and RICE in the bedroom because the bedroom is where you pray and recite Quran... it will affect the food to be more effective to the soul!
Avoid consuming any liver including cod liver oil, chicken wings, fish head, junk food, carbonated drinks.
Most importantly, PRAY! a mother's prayer antara doa yg terjamin makbul!
Side Notes:
1. Learn with your children.
2. Apply reward system
3. Spend time with your children (jangan kedekut masa dengan anak)
4. Didiklah anakmu mengikut zamannya
5. Treat your children like an adult
6. The first 4 years (0-4) are the most important years of a child mental development.
7. As parents, we control our child, do not let your children control you.
When children showing tantrum, let them be until they stop by themselves. Do not give in. Do not be angry/yell/hit, it'll make matter worse.
How to get your child to do what you want:
1. Tell them WHY you want them to do something;
2. If they resist, show them you're mad without yelling;
3. Do a countdown cth: Ibu kira sampai 10 dah kena tutup TV;
4. Hit as a signal not to hurt (hit their ego);
5. Give motivation;
6. Give compliments;
7. Tell them about Allah's love;
8. Tell them the advantage of reading Quran - loved and protected by Allah swt...
What I've shared here is only 50% of what you'll actually gain if you joined the seminar. So, I definitely recommend attending the seminar to every parents. Visit www.islamicparentingnetwork.com.my for their schedule and location of seminars.
Pn. Lina mentioned during the starting of the seminar that we were the chosen one to have attend the seminar but not everyone in the room will have the motivation to actually apply what they've learnt. How true! So far we have implemented only half of what we've learned in the seminar. We still have a long journey ahead of us in teaching our son... but we do believe in the method taught by Pn. Lina. Lots of parents has success stories on teaching based on Pn. Lina's method (cth: umur setahun dah kenal semua huruf hijaiyah!). We just need to keep being motivated!
Next seminar - Seminar Parenting Gaya Al-Fateh, in shaa Allah will attend in January 2014 in Shah Alam...
