Reviews of HomeWorks online

Reviews of HomeWorks magazine by our readers:

In Saudi Arabia: http://ummisubhana.blogspot.com/

In Malasia: http://cahayarumahku.com/homeworks-islamic-homeschooling-magazine/

HomeWorks at Karachi Book Fair

Alhamdulilah, HomeWorks quarterly will be available at the Karachi International Book Fair at the following location:
Dawah Books
Hall no. 2
Stall no. 38 and 39

All four issues of 2011 will be available individually at a 10% discount.
You can also buy an annual pack that will be at a very special price: four magazines for the price of three - Rs. 300 instead of Rs. 370!

Here are the details for the book fair:
Karachi International Book Fair 2011
Venue: Karachi Expo Center (Hall # 1,2 & 3)
Dates: Friday, Dec. 16 - Tuesday, Dec. 20
Timings: 10 am - 9 pm

The First Year of "HomeWorks"

Alhamduillah, "HomeWorks" magazine has completed its first year of publishing! For ordering your copies, write to order@homeworks.com.pk

Home is Where the School is

The Express Tribune / Sunday Magazine Feature  
By Naureen Aqueel
Published: October 9, 2011

In a society where the educational rat race is so intense that parents begin registering their kids in the best primary schools before they’re even born, some trailblazing parents have taken the road less travelled.


While harried moms in her neighbourhood rush to pack off their kids to school every morning, Sadaf Farooqi’s day starts on a relaxed note. Her six-year-old daughter A’isha Irfan rises early, makes her own breakfast and starts the day by unleashing her creativity using pencils, colours, water colours, scissors and paper. A’isha later switches to reading one of the books from her curriculum set, going to her mother for questions whenever she feels the need. Her four-year-old brother Abdullah Irfan soon joins her; he scribbles with colour pencils, experiments with Lego and peppers his mother with numerous questions throughout the day.


A’isha and Abdullah do not go to school, for them their home is their school — a place where they are free to learn in a natural setting. But that’s not because they have special needs or couldn’t get into a ‘normal’ school. Sadaf, a freelance writer and blogger, has been homeschooling her kids for over a year now and says she prefers this unconventional approach to schooling.

She follows the official Oxford University Press curriculum with books for Maths, English, Urdu, Social Studies, General Science and Islamiat along with daily Quran lessons, but prefers to let her children choose what they want to study. She says this approach hones the children’s natural inclination to learn.

Sadaf’s not the only one who has decided to opt out of the system. The Irfans are part of a community of like-minded parents who are choosing to homeschool their children. The concept, though relatively new in Pakistan, is gaining popularity among families who are dissatisfied with the traditional schooling system and prefer being more involved in their children’s education. Parents like the Irfans got together and formed the Pakistan Home Education group which consists of an online community with approximately 150 members comprising homeschooling parents and those interested in home education. They also launched a quarterly magazine focusing on their activities and various issues related to home education.

The group, comprising of roughly 20 homeschooling families, also holds regular social events where moms and children get together for combined social activities and support. Such meetings are held every second Monday of the month at someone’s home where kids play with each other and moms discuss problems and solutions, and Bookworm’s Book Club is held weekly and consists of story-telling followed by craft activities and snacks.

Laila Brence, a Latvian convert to Islam and a former teacher herself, was the pioneer of the Pakistan Home Education group. “I feel that I am more in control of what is going on in the lives of my kids than I would be by sending them to school,” says Laila, who is currently in her seventh year of homeschooling two kids with a third baby in line. “The schooling experience has greatly changed since I myself went to school. These days, kids don’t have the time to be kids any more. Society puts so much pressure on them to become high-achievers that their own life gets lost somewhere in the rat race.” Laila says that she is glad her kids are getting plenty of time to do the things they want to do and enjoy doing. “Even boredom is a great opportunity for creativity and spontaneity — they always invent new games to play and come up with endless art projects of their own.”

For Sadaf, one of the big motivations of opting for homeschooling was the whole school routine, which involves, “ironing the uniforms and laying them out along with shoes and socks at night; packing the bag according to the timetable; forcing the child to finish her homework; making and packing the lunch in the mornings, forcing a few mouthfuls down a reluctant mouth, then sending off a sometimes mildly sick, or screaming toddler with a tear-ridden face, to school with a heavy heart and a shackled mind that never ‘dared’ to question the necessity of this so-called ‘must-have’ system of education”.

Despite these misgivings (which other parents might share as well), she didn’t seriously consider homeschooling until she met a few mothers who were educating their children at home in Karachi.

Homeschooling does not come without its fair share of critics. From the incredulous stares that these parents get every time they say their children are being educated at home to the reasonable arguments in favour of formal schooling, homeschooling families do get a lot of flak. Critics fault the system for isolating children, reducing confidence levels and limiting their interaction to only like-minded people and groups.

“Homeschooling does not set them apart from the real world — schools do,” rebuts Laila. “In schools, kids are grouped into unnatural age-wise segregated situations, which never occur in the real world. Homeschooled kids experience the reality of this world — they deal with their family members, household issues, relatives and friends of different ages. And, of course, as kids grow older, we will look for opportunities for them to do more things outside of home — sports activities, workshops, etc.” Laila finds that homeschooling gives her children an advantage as she can choose the people they interact with. “In the formative years, it is of utmost importance to have good role models around, which would help to strengthen their core values. When they get older, I don’t mind that they face difficult situations and people on their own — I hope by that time their own internal values will be developed enough to withstand peer-pressure, bullying and other negatives of our society,” she explains.

Atefa Jamal, a homeschooling mother of seven, says her kids get a fair share of interaction with the outside world. The four boys are attending Taekwondo classes thrice a week, the elder two also participate in scrabble competitions and during the summers, the kids get to choose from a wide variety of summer camp activities. This summer, they chose to take Arabic classes and swimming classes. “I also send my older kids out to buy groceries,” says Atefa. “They meet a lot of different people and learn to deal with bakers, butchers, the driver or the man down the street who comes for groceries at the same time they do. It’s a misconception that you are isolating them, that you will choose their friends. That doesn’t happen; you can’t control your children’s lives. My kids go out to bike and play in the park; they are attending swimming, Quran and Taekwondo classes. I think they actually end up meeting more real people in everyday roles and interact more realistically.”

But what about the absence of a formal curriculum? Do institutes not know what they are doing when they invest great amounts of money and time in designing a curriculum? And are parents skilled in all subjects that are required to be taught?

“There is a misconception that homeschooling means you have to do it all by yourself and that you have to do it all at home,” says Atefa. “There are so many books available and it’s not like tuitions are not an option. Homeschooling merely means that the parents are more actively involved in their children’s education. If you feel you can’t do something you can always try to learn it yourself and search on the internet or you can get tuitions for your child for a particular subject.”

Every few days, Atefa sits down and draws up a plan of what she and her husband want to achieve with the children. Atefa is quick to say that the learning is flexible and that there isn’t any fixed schedule. “The learning is more need and situation-based,” she says. “For example, when we got a kitten, we researched how to take care of it. When the kitten died, which was a traumatic experience for the kids, we discussed death, souls and the hereafter.”

As the children grow older, some parents prefer making the routine more structured with fixed slots for studying different subjects as in school. Many homeschooled children appear as private candidates to get the required certifications of O and A levels or matriculation after which they choose a college for formal degrees. Zahra Omer, who is currently in the second year of her textile design degree at Indus Valley, has passed successfully through a homeschooling experience and is in no way behind her peers. Zahra, along her with her two brothers, was homeschooled till Class 6 after which she was enrolled in a mainstream school. During her homeschooling years, Zahra developed a reading habit that kept her well ahead of her peers. She ended up with seven As and three Bs in her O levels and straight As in her A levels. Asked if she had any problem adjusting with conventional schooling when she joined in Class 7, Zahra says “I didn’t have a problem adjusting. Everyone was very nice and cooperative. In fact, when I went to school it was a step back from the level I was at. Even when I gave the entrance test I faced no problem. I never felt my base was weak in any subject except for Urdu which we weren’t taught at home regularly. But I was given extra attention at school for Urdu and I caught up by the next grade. The only difference I encountered at school was the competition among students. At home, there was no competition.”

Homeschoolers say home education nurtures the natural genius and focuses on passion over requirement as children aren’t forced to study subjects they have no interest in, nor are they made to feel dumb if they can’t achieve certain targets.

Maintaining discipline may be a challenge at times, but parents like Sadaf view the naughty “pranks” as disguised learning through “experimentation” with different materials. “I do not have a TV at home and I do not live in a joint family, so I have no problem in ‘controlling’ the amount of television viewing or other distractions. Our home is crawling with children’s books, materials and toys, so my children get to unleash their creativity without restraint.”

Anila Omer, Zahra Omer’s mother, however, says she never had a problem maintaining discipline at home despite having a television. “I would choose which movies or cartoons to show to my children and we would watch those,” she says. “Since they were homeschooled from the beginning, there was no outside influence that would make them disobedient or naughty.”

However, the idea of homeschooling is still unfathomable to a majority of parents. Kamila, mother of four-year-old Orhan and a teacher herself, expressed surprise when told that families were opting to educate their children at home in Pakistan. “I wouldn’t choose to homeschool my child, not in this country,” she says. “Schools offer children a routine and exposure that they don’t get at home. You can’t keep your kids in a bubble. I want my kid to get the kind of exposure that school gives because life isn’t easy. When you are at school, you get different perspectives through different teachers. When you are studying from only one person your mind is stuck in a rut. I don’t want that for my child.”

Although mothers are more involved in the homeschooling process (with many moms having given up full-time jobs to homeschool their children), support from fathers is considered a necessity. Atefa’s husband Azeem Pirani says his focus is to give time to his children whom he calls his “team”. His time is utilised in discussions about current affairs at meal times, regular visits to the swimming pool with them, involvement in matters relating to vacations, events etc, guidance and coaching in academic matters requiring further support and being part of the audience or judges for any presentations they may be working on.

Azeem feels the fact that homeschooling is less expensive allows the family to spend on more beneficial things like family vacations, getting books or materials from abroad and getting memberships for clubs allowing better access to sports facilities etc. “The educational value of visiting new places is many times greater than sitting in a classroom and listening to a teacher who is there just because she needs a job and not due to any desire to impart knowledge to our children,” he says.

Azeem feels the decision to homeschool his seven children has been a very positive one. “We have been able to interact more as a family. The children are able to have their lives revolve around their family rather than around their schools. This in and of itself means a strong and close-knit unit.”

However, homeschooling is not for everyone, warns Laila. “Schools are very much necessary for families that for various reasons cannot homeschool. I always advise new families not to take this step, unless they are sure they are ready for it. Excitement over the advantages of homeschooling may push families to go for it when they are not ready — this way, they may end up disappointed. Researching about home education and evaluating the situation of your family is necessary before taking this step. It is also important that both spouses agree on this mission — if only one is for it, the tasks may prove to be very difficult.”

If all parents homeschooling their kids in the country possess the same spirit and vision as these families, we might just be witnessing the beginnings of a new movement in education in Pakistan.

HomeWorks at the Karachi International Book Fair, Expo Center, Karachi

The annual Karachi International Book Fair is currently being held at the Karachi Expo Center, from 24th December 2010 to 28th December 2010.

Our Home Education Group will be there this time, too, insha'Allah, as a first-time milestone perhaps in Pakistan's history of home education. We have given the name HomeWorks to our stall, which will be located at Stall No. 28 in Hall No.1.

Please spread the word about this endeavor among your contacts, especially those whom you know will surely be giving this book fair a visit this year.

N'ecos Field Trip - 14th October, 2010

Today, a total of 14 little children of 6 families from the Karachi Home Education group visited N'ecos Organic Store and Cafe for a field trip.

After a welcome, they were given a guided tour of the kitchen, cashier, store and accounts office by the proprietor, who explained the meaning of organic products to them.

The children being given a tour of the store by the proprietor.

The organic products store in the basement

Some of the products in the store.

Finally, they were given a live demo of how muffins are prepared from scratch. The children loved this part of the entire trip (but of course they loved eating the yummy chocolate cupcakes even more!)

The chef kindly allowed each child to put a spoonful of batter in the muffin tin.

At the end, every child got a chocolate cupcake (prepared beforehand separately) with a small glass of hormone-free chocolate milk.

The cupcakes were delicious.

The chocolate milk shots were also enjoyed by all.

The cost per child of this trip was Rs 250. Let's hope more such enjoyable learning excursions can be arranged for our homeschooled children in the future too, insha'Allah.

Feedback by Children

OUR TRIP TO N’ECO’S (NATRUAL STORE & CAFE)

BY MUSAB AND ZUKHRUF ADIL OSAWALA
HOME HIFZ STUDENTS
KARACHI PAKISTAN.

TODAY THURSDAY 14 OCT, 2010 AT 11:00 AM WE WENT TO NECOS CAFÉ AND STORE BASICALLY IT WAS A FIELD TRIP FOR HOME EDUCATED KIDS.

THE MANAGER OF THE STORE MARIUM AUNTY STARTED OUR TOUR BY INTRODUCING US TO THE MANAGER AND THE CASHIER SHE ALSO ASKED US SOME QUESTIONS KIDS WERE VERY SHY TO ANSWER BUT I THAT IS MUSAB ADIL OSAWALA WAS QUICK TO ANSWER. THAN WE WENT TO THE KITCHEN SHE INTRODUCED US TO THE CHEF KULSSOM AND THE BAKER AND THE OTHER CHEFS SHE ASKED US WHAT THINGS ARE IN THE RESTURANT, KITCHEN AND WE ANSWERED THAT IT HAVE THINGS TO EAT.

OUR NEXT STOP WAS THE ORGANIC STORE WHICH WAS AT THE BASEMENENT OF THE CAFÉ IT HAD DIIFFERENT TYPES OF NATURAL ORGANIC ITEMS EGGS, HONEY, PERFUMMES, SHAMPOOS, DRY FRUIT, OILS, LOTIONS, SOAPS ETC.

THEN WE CAME BACK UP AND THE SHEF SHOWED US HOW TO MAKE MUFFINS THAN WE POUR THE BATTER INTO THE BAKING TRAY. AFTER THAT WE HAD A DELICIOUS TREAT OF CUP CAKES AND A BABY GLASS OF CHOCOLATE MILK.OUR TRIP ENDED HERE OUR MAMA AND BABA HAD TEA.

THAN WE WENT TO THE BAKERY WITH OUR BABA TO LOOK AT THE CAKES. WE ALSO BOUGHT SOAP, LEMON AND CHERRY ROOM SPRAY AND SHAMPOO. THAN WE SAID ASALAMOALIKUM TO MARIUM AUNTY AND SHE WAS PLEASED WITH MUSAB.

THAN WE WENT OUT BUT OUR CAR BROKE OUT. WE TRIED A LOT BUT IT DIDN, T START SO WE LOCKED IT AND WENT TO THE ROAD TO FIND A RICKSHAW AND WE GOT ONE AND WE HAVE A NICE RIDE TILL OUR HOME.

RECIPIE OF MUFFINS

MAIDA 2 CUPS
BROWN SUGAR 3 CUPS
BAKING POWDER 1 TBSP
EGGS 2
MELTEDBUTTER 100 GMS

MIX ALL THE THINGS TOGETHER.

Forever Asked Questions

Many families are reluctant to opt for educating their children at home, due to the extensive society/family pressure they would have to endure and the numerous questions they would have to face. One of the homeschooling mothers in our Karachi group decided to start a string of FAQs, which would give some idea of what exactly the home educating families are facing in Pakistan. Arm yourself with humour to read her write-up followed by additions of other mothers.


As-Salaam Alaikum,

Wide eyed disbelief? Sneer of contempt? The word "crazy" hoovering over someone's head? "Did I hear her right?" over another's? Expect these expressions and more, once you enter the mysterious world of homeschooling parents... I agree that we need to put together a FAQ (Forever Asked Questions - many a homeschooling parent rechecks the FAQs to reassure herself that there are other insane parents around too:)) So let's get the ball rolling with some true statements we parents often hear, when people realize our kids don't go to school:

- "Homeschool"? Where is that school?

- Your run a school at home? Could you tutor my kids, too?

- Do you use books?

- Are you qualified to teach (your own) kids?

- You must be a doctor/professor.

- What about socialization? (while the kids are playing with others at a park)
- What about socialization? (while the kids are having converstaions with adults at a dinner party)
- What about socialization? (when the kids are returning from a football match)

- How do you test them?

- But all they do (at home) is play!

- It's just so hard to wake them up in the mornings (at this end, the kids get up at Fajr on their own on every bookworm book club day and then wake up their parents, too!)

- Don't they miss school?

- She's shy? Oh, that's because she's never been to school... Oh, she did go to school last year?...

- You can't protect them from everything by keeping them indoors (you are being over protective). They go to the Masjid on their own? But things are so dangerous outside!

- Don't they get lonely? (with 6 siblings?!!)

- Oh, so they will be able to go to college?

- You mean you have lunch on time? Even though they are at home?

- It's ok for you to stay late at the wedding - the kids don't have to go to school (kids are yawning)

- But when do you get the house work done? The kids help?

Feel free to add your experiences to this and later we can file it as an ever growing list. This list is not meant to dicourage anyone from home education; rather, just to give new home educators a taste of what kind of response to expect, when people find out you teach your own, and to give those who are already educating their kids a few chuckles.

How to respond to these questions? Keep in mind, who the person you're addressing is and your reasons and your goal for home education and infuse it with Hikmah... You may hear these from people, who are genuinely curious or concerned about your kids, or don't really want to know but must say something (in which case it doesn't matter what you say)... So keep a Dua on your lips and your goal in sight and, Insha'Allah, as you face the questions, you'll find them easier to answer, too, Insha'Allah.

Was-salaam alaikum
Umm_baps

**********

1. "But children need to go to school to develop social skills!"
2. "Why not just put them in a cheaper school?" (Assuming it was just the money that schools charge that made us decide to homeschool).
3. "Going to a good school is very important for future success."
4. "They study from you? They actually study when you teach them? They do what you tell them to do?"
5. "Your children will miss out on the healthy competition that exists in classrooms, which makes one child want to do better than the rest." (....uh, 'healthy'?)

Last but not least, the most amusing aspect is how, when we go somewhere where people expect kids to behave like kids (i.e. to only be interested in watching silly cartoons, not show interest in adult pastimes, dumbly believe silly lies when they are given as excuses e.g. "Don't go up those stairs, a bhaoo will get you.."), it is a very amusing situation because my kids act a bit like grownups and are not afraid to do things that adults do, and everyone gets a bit scandalized by this e.g. they insist on drinking in actual glasses ("But he'll break it! Give him a plastic one!") and then when they're done, they want to go put the glass back on the kitchen sink (at home, my 3 year old tries to wash it with sponge and detergent, WHILE HANGING OFF THE EDGE of the sink!!), they'll try to make the tea/cornflakes themselves, they will try to read the newspapers and magazines on the coffee table, they'll try to answer the phone...

And of course, my 5 year old's endless questions also get a bit much for others sometimes... :) (even me!)

As for Umm Baps, when her seventh was born and was an infant, her 4 year old and 2.5 year old would pick him up and carry him confidently, which sometimes got some onlookers in a bit of a worry, that why she allows them to pick up their baby brother. :)

But seriously, the Baps household is very unique, masha'Allah. I have seen very few boys who are so mature and "manly" at such young ages. Baarak Allahu feehim.

والسلام

Sadaf Farooqi

**********

1) You are a control freak... you want to control your son's life - that is why you are not sending him to school. (While yelling at their own kids.)
2) You'll make him a "mummy boy" (while their own son is sucking his thumb and constantly saying: mama, mama, mama, mama).
3) It's easy for you - I have to look after 3,4,5, etc. kids. When you have more kids, you won't be doing it. (Well, Allhumdolillah, I belong to a good support group where people are actually homeschooling there 7 kids, Masha'Allah.)
4) You can homeschool him. He is obedient. I can't - my kid is very hyper... :)

And I don't know why people constantly try to pursue me to send my child to their child's school (it is very good they have lots of extra curricular activities etc.). If it is so good, then why were you complaining about that school when you did not knew about my homeschooling...

Umm e Hashim

**********

The most basic question I have faced is : "But WHY do you not send your children to school?"

I think many new homeschoolers find this hard to answer , specially in the suspicious, contemptuous way this question is usually asked. If you are not pre-prepared for this, it can put you on back foot. It's not easy to summarize all that you read in those convincing, wise articles and many a times the situation doesn't allow for a detailed answer (e.g in a book store, during travel, in a park).

My simplest answer is "Coz I believe education at home is the best option for my children". Or "Well, schooling is optional, only education is necessary".

The confident, into-the-face, yet encouraging tone of your answer should say these things unsaid:
"Don't think that I'm a fool who doesn't know how to raise her own kids"
"I have done my research"
"You cannot convince me of anything else, so don't try giving me advice"
"There are options other than typical schooling"
"If you want to know more on homeschooling, I'll tell you"

Sr. Mahera

**********

Great advice Mahera!
Excellent points. Jazaki Allahu khair.

It could also help face people's questions and concern better by using common language terms that are more easily understood by Pakistani's. E.g. instead of saying, "I am homeschooling," you can say, "I am privately educating my children, as we believe it is best to tutor them at home". Using words such as "private" and "tutor" gives them a better concept, whereas sometimes the term "homeschooling" gives the impression that the children are always confined at home playing and studying very little.

Lots of people give O and A Levels privately and take private tuitions either at home or at tutors' homes, so this is a trend in Pakistan that actually relates more to homeschooling than other countries.

This is what I have seen in my short experience, especially with members of the last generation, who have never heard of the word "homeschooling" before.

For those who are contemplating homeschooling their children but are concerned about the opposition they'll face, just remember that after a while, your children's personality, vocabulary and knowledge will speak for itself and silence even your worst critics. For example, my daughter recently launched into a monologue about germs and how she read in her Science book that we should wash our hands before eating to prevent disease etc. and her grandparents were so in utter surprise at her use of vocabulary that they remained silent. :) Since then, my mother has started supporting my decision to homeschool, and even said to me, "Don't teach her too much, you know, she is still a child." :-D

والسلام

Sadaf Farooqi