Part 2 of teaching kids about religion: How to do it in a fun way

Respectful heads up: religious content ahead

1- Tell stories. All sorts of stories. Not just prophets’ stories but tell stories of your own life when you chose the higher path because it was the right thing to do. “I decided to forgive my friend even though I knew she was wrong. It was hard but I did it because Allah tells me to forgive.” (Also talk about how forgiveness doesn’t equal being a doormat)

2- Sakina Hasan once shared how she started making a scrap book of her favorite Ayahs from the Quran and her kids wanted to make theirs! Kids adore crafts. Today I saw some black construction paper and said to the kids, “Ooh this reminds me of Allah’s home!” “Allah’s home?!” The kids said. Then I showed them a picture of the Ka’aba and they had more questions and we talked about how Prophet Ibrahim (as) built it with his sons. And then my daughter made it herself.. I didn’t even suggest we do it. But there are lots of resources on the internet to do fun crafts and they automatically create learning opportunities.

3- Sing songs. You tube is full of Arabic alphabet and other Islamic songs. Sing together. Kids love it.

4- Make frequent references to the fun side of Islam. I love sharing hadith with my kids about Syedna Ayesha (as) pretending to make her horse fly and when it was said to her horses don’t fly, she said “Suleman (as) could control the wind and he could make anything fly!” Also the hadith about how much the Prophet Muhammed (saw) loved children. (I’m going to look for the reference of these hadith but if anyone else can do the job for me, I’d be grateful)

5- Play games. My kids love thinking of someone and we guess who they thought of. This also creates opportunities for more learning about important figures in Islamic history.

6- Pray together with kids and make it fun... When my kids turn 7, I get them their own musallah with their name embroidered on it and a real loud speaker and they’d do adhaan and lead namaz as best as they could. For younger kids, I make sure to give them lots of hugs and kisses after doing Salam and if they climb on me while I’m praying.. I follow sunnah and pause in my sajdah and let them play.

7- When you go to the masjid, take your kids with you and make it a fun tradition! If you go every day, the tradition can be simple (like wearing a special hat or shirt) and if you go once a week then it can be something more elaborate like grabbing lunch from their favorite place after jummah etc.

Finally, have trust, not fear. Kids are on the fitrah... if we provide them the right environment filled with love and compassion.. they WILL learn about our beautiful religion and will want to learn more. This isn’t something we can control or manipulate. Allah’s religion can stand on its two feet. Let it and have trust 💗