Bilal Phillips Free Islamic Courses

December 30, 2009

Jazak Allah khayr for this post! IOU offers a variety of free courses and it is great for working sisters and SAHMs, as you may work at your own pace.  I would encourage everyone to check it out and spread the word!

May Allah reward you generously for the information and reward the brother and his organization and make them successful in this life and the Next!

Abu Ameenah Bilal Phillips is offering free courses / quizzes w
certificates online at the Islamic Online University. Plus they
offer BA n MA degrees in Islam.
Www.islamiconlineuniversity.com
<http://www.islamiconlineuniversity.com/>


15 Brain Boosting Activities

December 30, 2009

If you dont keep your mind active, studies show that your brain loses some of its functionality as you age, which causes memory loss, brain fog, and even Alzheimers. A well-stimulated brain also elevates your mood, which helps you feel better on the inside. Here are 15 brain boosting activities:

1.  Play games that challenge and stimulate your mind. These include: * Picture Puzzles

  • Strategy Games
  • Crossword Puzzles

    Model of neurons firing in the brain. Researchers may have accidentally hit on a trigger spot for déjà vu in the hypothalamus. (Credit: iStockphoto/Kiyoshi Takahase)

  • Card Games
  • Deduction Games (such as Clue
  • Visualization Puzzles
  • Optical Illusions

2. Reading stimulates the brain as it activates your imagination. Reading also helps with memory retention and problem solving, especially if youre reading a mystery. Also, self-help books stimulate your brain by helping you to think for yourself, as well as find solutions in your mind..

3. Exercising helps circulate blood that carries oxygen to your brain. Over the long-term, exercise is proven to increase brainpower and even create new neurons.

4. Stimulate your brain with meditation.. Meditation has been shown to increase your IQ, relieve stress, and promote a higher level of brain functioning. Meditation also stimulates the prefrontal cortex of the brain, the area of the brain responsible for advanced thinking, ability and performance.

5. Deep breathing helps deliver oxygen to your brain. Oxygen helps you be more alert and awake. As little as 10 to 15 minutes of deep breathing daily can increase brain functionality.

6. Taking fish oil supplements is literally like membrane material for the brain.. The two primary components in fish oil, DHA and EPA, strengthen the emotional center of the brain and boost focus.

7. Studies have proven that listening to Nasheed and Quran strengthens the right hemisphere of the brain and actually changes the structure of it. Also, people who listen to music are shown to be more emotionally intelligent than those who dont.

8. Writing improves memory and thought expression. Writing articles, blogs, or journal entries stimulates thought processes, which also enhances brain function.

9. Sleep clears out brain clutter and reduces brain fog. When you dont get enough sleep at night, your memory and normal brain function suffers.

10. Painting is shown to be an effective brain booster in that it sparks the creativity within you. Even if youve never tried painting before, give it a shot. Youll find that you feel more creative and may actually enjoy it.

11. Starting the day out with a good breakfast has been proven to supply energy to the brain and body for the whole day. When you skip breakfast, youre missing out on a powerful edge, both physically and mentally.

12. Walking allows you to clear your mind and thoughts. Not only is it good exercise for your body, walking gives your brain a chance to wander freely, clearing it of any troublesome thoughts.

13. Drink a serving of pure fruit juice.. Fruit juice contains nutrients that revitalize and refresh the brain. Juices to drink are pomegranate, blueberry, and cranberry as they deliver more focus and energy.

14. Students who drink some caffeine before an exam typically have higher scores than those who dont. This is because caffeine stimulates activity in the brain, which produces better focus and thinking ability. Dont overdo it though!

15. Draw a picture. Like painting, drawing stimulates the creative side of your brain. So get out some colored pencils and start boosting your brainpower.

To get the most out of these brain boosting activities, mix them up and do a variety of them at different times. Just choosing one wont boost your brainpower, however, combining and alternating them will give your brain the added boost you need now and in the long run.


Raising Children in Deen and Dunya

June 5, 2009

I still vividly remember the first night I spent by myself in the hospital after delivering my eldest son Shaan. The guests were gone for the day, the hallway lights were dimmed, the nurses were speaking outside my room in muted tones. 

“Knock, knock!” came a cheerful voice from the doorway. “Someone’s hungry and wants his mommy!”

The nurse wheeled in the crib that held my newborn, only a few hours old at the time. She cooed over him as I struggled to sit up, then efficiently handed him into my waiting arms, bustling out of the room after giving me a few words of encouragement.

I pulled the blanket away from his cheek and smiled in awe at this fragile, little creature who was being left alone with me for the first time ever. I felt privileged to be trusted with his care, overwhelmed with the weight of responsibility. No one was watching over my shoulder; he was all mine and I could do whatever I wanted.

I felt it was an appropriate time to take care of something that no one had thought of arranging so far — introductions.

“Assalaamu alaikum,” I whispered to the warm bundle nestled against my chest, “I’m your mommy.” I stroked his face and then asked the rhetorical question that every mother has asked since time immemorial. “Now…how am I going to raise you?” 

It’s a question that I have continued to ask since that first magical night in the maternity ward. 

I’ve asked it of grandparents, parents, sons, and daughters. I’ve asked it of Pakistanis, Indians, Afghans, Arabs, Americans, Asians, and Africans. I’ve sat people down at parties, emailed friends’ parents, called up aunties on the telephone, and stopped uncles on their way out the door. Any family whose practice of Islam has impressed me, any child whose manners have stunned me, any teenager whose conduct with his or her sibling has given me reason for pause, any adult whose balance of deen (religion) and dunya (world) has wowed me, I have accosted and asked,

“What exactly did your parents do with you?!”
“How did you raise your children?!”
“I beg you, tell me the secret of bringing up Mu’mineen like the ones I see in your home!” 

What I have found in my years of “field research” is that nearly all of these families have stumbled upon the same basic secrets to success. While many of them don’t necessarily know one another, time and time again they have given me the same advice, the same tips, the same rules. I would catalogue their stories in my head, thinking I could easily remember them later. So when I was recently approached with the request for an article on Muslim parenting tips, I jumped at the chance to put it all down in writing and thus preserve the valuable insights I have gathered over the course of the past twelve years or so.

Here then, for my benefit and yours, are the tips from the “experts”, the tried-and-true heroes who have worked hard at (and, insha’Allah, succeeded at) securing their children’s minds, hearts, and souls. These words come from those parents — like you — whose primary purpose in life has been to direct their sons and daughters onto the Path they believe will earn them the Pleasure of their Creator and the respect of their fellow human beings. Some of the advice may seem “common sense”, the type you could hear on any daytime talk show or read in any self-help book. Other tips genuinely surprised me at how specific and unyielding they were in their insistence that “This is the only way”. While there has been a whole variety of advice given to me, I have noticed a pattern emerging where the same ten “Rules of the Game” seem to keep reappearing in different shapes and forms; it is those dominant tips that I have chosen to focus on for the purpose of my article.
Read the rest of this entry »


FOOD ADDITIVES LINKED TO HYPERACTIVITY IN CHILDREN

April 13, 2009

(HealthDay News)
by — Rick Ansorge
Updated: May 26th 2008
 

 

new article illustration

MONDAY, May 26 (HealthDay News) — Because food colorings and preservatives can increase hyperactive behavior in children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, pediatricians should consider recommending the elimination of these substances from the diets of some children, according to an editorial published in the May 24 issue ofBMJ.

Andrew Kemp, M.D., of Children’s Hospital at Westmead and the University of Sydney, Australia, cited a recent randomized placebo-controlled trial in 297 children aged 3 to 9 without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which showed that consumption of food colorings and the preservative sodium benzoate was associated with increased hyperactive behavior.

 

Kemp also cited a recent report from a European Food Safety Authority panel that reviewed 22 studies from 1975 to 1994 and two meta-analyses. Of the 22 studies, 16 showed positive evidence linking preservatives and colorings with hyperactive behaviors The most recent meta-analysis found that artificial food colors had a significant effect on hyperactivity scores.

“In view of the relatively harmless intervention of eliminating colorings and preservatives, and the large numbers of children taking drugs for hyperactivity (2.4 percent of children in the state of Western Australia receive stimulant drugs for attention-deficit disorder), it might be proposed that an appropriately supervised and evaluated trial of eliminating colorings and preservatives should be part of standard treatment for individual children,” the author concludes.

Editorial


THE MEANEST MOTHER IN THE WORLD

March 31, 2009

Mean Moms
                                                

 

Someday when my children are old enough to
understand the logic that motivates a parent,
I will tell them, as my Mean Mom told me:
I loved you enough to ask where you were going,
with whom, and what time you would be home.

I loved you enough to be silent and let you
discover that your new best friend was a creep.

I loved you enough to stand over you for
two hours while you cleaned your room,
a job that should have taken 15 minutes.

 
I loved you enough to let you see anger,
disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children
must learn that their parents aren’t perfect..

I loved you enough to let you assume the
responsibility for your actions even when the
penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.
Read the rest of this entry »


EXERCIZE FOR KIDS: GET MOVING!

March 19, 2009

 

WHAT IS EXERCISE?
Talk with childre
n about exercise. Explain that it is activity that requires the use of the body’s muscles. Help children understand that regular exercise can keep the body healthy and fit. Show pictures of people exercising in different ways.

Point out that before exercising, people should always “warm up” their muscles so that they don’t injure them. Show children various warm-ups — running slowly, reaching up with arms, bending over to touch floor.

Illustrate the importance of warming up, by showing children cooked and uncooked spaghetti. Ask: If the spaghetti is muscles, which would bend easily? Which would break easily? Share that by warming up before exercise, we stretch out our muscles so they can bend and move easily. This makes them like the “warmed up” (cooked) spaghetti. If we don’t warm up, our muscles are stiff and could break easily (like the uncooked spaghetti).

For additional tips and guidelines, see “How To Do Warm-Up Exercises” in the On the Web section below.

HULA HOOPLA
You can use this timeless piece of equipment to get your kids moving… and having fun.
— Spread out different colored hula hoops on the ground in any arrangement. Invite children to walk, run, or hop around without touching any of the hoops.
— As children move around the hoops, call out instructions such as: put one foot in a green hoop; put two hands in a red hoop; and so on.
— Play music as children move around. Stop the music to give a direction such as “Two children get in a yellow hoop” or “1 person get in a red hoop.”

TENNIS ANYONE?
Create rackets for each child by hot gluing a paper plate onto a wooden paint-stirrer (stick). Next blow up colorful balloons. Have children sit on the floor and try to keep balloons in the air by paddling them. Or ask pairs of children to paddle a balloon back and forth to one another. How long can they keep it going?

MOVE TO IT!
— Use rhythm sticks to tap out a slow beat and ask children to move to it. Then tap out a fast beat and let children move. Continue giving children a chance to “feel the beat” and get a good workout.

WHO’S ASLEEP?
In a large open area, invite children to spread out and lie on the floor. Then recite this little verse:

Watch the little children as they sleep.
When they wake up they’ll all be sheep! (or dogs, horses, so on)

Children should then hop up and move around pretending to be sheep (or other animal). Blow a whistle to signify it is time to “sleep” again and repeat the activity naming another kind of animal. Begin and end this activity with the rhyming sheep verse above.

 


CONTROLLING ANGER

February 25, 2009

anger


ONLINE ISLAMIC ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN

February 24, 2009


ssalamu Alaikum! Welcome to Islamic playground.com.

Here you will find many activities such as Islamic games, quizzes, puzzles, Arabic alphabet games, Islamic stories and much more. InshaAllah, enjoy your self and tell all your friends about this website.

  Featured Activities
Islamic Wallpaper 1
Islamic Wallpaper 1
Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah – 25 piece jigsaw puzzle
Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah  - 25 piece jigsaw puzzle
Islamic Quiz – General knowledge
Islamic Quiz - General knowledge
Prophets in Islam – Wordsearch puzzle
Prophets in Islam - Wordsearch puzzle
Arabic Alphabet Memory Game
Arabic Alphabet Memory Game
Masjid Illustration – 16 piece jigsaw puzzle
Masjid Illustration - 16 piece jigsaw puzzle
islamic jigsaw puzzle 25 piece
islamic jigsaw puzzle 25 piece
Madina jigsaw puzzle 25 piece
Madina jigsaw puzzle 25 piece
Madina jigsaw puzzle 9 piece
Madina jigsaw puzzle 9 piece
islamic jigsaw puzzle 9 piece – Kabah – Makkah
islamic jigsaw puzzle 9 piece - Kabah - Makkah
Islamic Word Scramble Game
Islamic Word Scramble Game
Find The Words
Find The Words

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