Putting Islam into Your Child’s Summer Fun

E very spring, school-age children practice their counting skills-the daily count down before summer break. Children view summer as a time of carefree play, little responsibility, and little structure. But is this the best course for parents to treat their children’s summer vacation? Children who attend school during the academic year are used to 180 days, 8 hours a day; 5 days a week structured environment. Therefore, the summer can be boring for a child if left in a totally unstructured environment. In addition, with a little creativity there are endless opportunities for incorporating fun learning activities that utilize Islamic concepts into a child’s summer days. These activities can range from Islamic day-camps and trips overseas to parent organized activities with other Muslim children within the same community. We have all heard of children who have memorized the Qur’an at a young age in traditionally Muslim countries; but how many of us have heard of a child in the West accomplish this task? The merits of obtaining Islamic knowledge in the Qur’an and Sunnah are numerous. The Qur’an states, “...Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe and those who have been granted knowledge...” [58:11]. It is imperative that the parents teach their children Islamic knowledge. Furthermore, because of the additional time, summer provides an excellent opportunity for families and children to focus on obtaining Islamic knowledge. While this includes Qur’an, Arabic, prayer, and fasting, it also includes such necessary items as learning Islamic Adaab (manners) and Akhlaaq (moral development). Another important issue is that children also need to be provided with Islamic activities that incorporate socializing with other Muslim children. After all, socialization is an important part of childhood. It can also play an important role in the development of a child’s overall Islamic identity. Dr. Hamdan believes that socializing with oth- er Muslim children over the summer is especially important for the child attending public school. “This may be the only time for children attending public school to socialize with other Muslim children.” This re-emphasizes that it is essential that parents monitor what types of experiences are available for their children. Brother Riyad also suggests that parents need to make the effort to participate in their children’s activities. With parental participation, activities tend to run much smoother. Furthermore, parents participating in their children’s activities provide the perfect opportunity for parents to have fun with their children while leaving behind the usual day-to- day routine of every day life. Travel Overseas While book work and classroom instruction is an important part of acquiring Islamic knowledge for children, so is learning about Islam through life experiences. For some parents who have the financial means, traveling overseas to visit relatives, perform ‘Umrah, or attend summer Arabic language programs are methods of acquiring Islamic knowledge. Two years ago, brother Atif Sawaie discovered that when he took his five-years-old son Raji to Jordan, Raji’s Arabic language skills improved 30% during his one-month visit. “When he first went to Jordan he know very little Arabic. At the end of the visit he was able to communicate most of his needs to our family in Arabic.” One of the reasons for Raji’s dramatic language growth was his interaction with other children. While initially there was a small degree of language miscommunication between the children, by the end of the visit any problems from language differences were nonexistent. Furthermore, Raji viewed the trip as being very positive and a lot of fun. Brother Atif very strongly recommends traveling overseas with your children. He believes that this is his son’s best chance to learn Arabic. Other positive learning experiences included learning both Islamic manners and Arabic culture. Plan Organized Community Activities A sister living overseas once described the United States as the “land of Islamic conferences.” If traveling overseas is not an option, perhaps a family vacation at an Islamic conference or camp would help family members acquire Islamic knowledge and experience an Islamic environment. Many national organizations hold mini-conventions, workshops, or camps during the summer months. These camps tend to focus on the fun activities while maintaining an Islamic environment and experience. According to brother Riyad Shamma the benefits of an Islamic environment are tremendous for the child. “An Islamic environment brings out the very best in people,” he said. Plan your Own Activities While some parents opt for trips overseas, organized Islamic camps, or attend Islamic conferences, the majority of parents end up planning their own children’s activities for the summer. For most, the typical summer activities and day trips include going to the zoo, parks, library, museums, and other historical attractions. It is possible to incorporate Islamic concepts in these activities. It just takes a little creativity and organization. Furthermore, with some additional planning, why not expand your activities to include other children within your community? For example, why not plan a picnic at the park for several families in your community. Besides the usual activities that center around food and free play- several mothers could plan an activity for the children that utilizes an Islamic theme (i.e., Qur’an recitation or a game that relies on Islamic knowledge). Another meaningful activity is to organize an Islamic Scouting Troop for your community. Other activities which may be of interest for older children is to donate their time and energy to improving their local communities. Such activities could include tutoring English to non-English speaking brothers and sisters, cleaning the Masjid once a month, or grocery shopping for a sick Muslim. These types of activities help lay the foundation for children to learn the importance of helping our fellow Muslims. Planning group activities for youth is not as complex as it is seems. The key is organization and cooperation of several other community members. Finally, it is time to develop a plan of action with attainable deadlines. It is important to plan activities in advance in order to work out any unexpected problems. Planning and implementing plans does not have to be an adult-only adventure. Try to involve the children as much as possible. This is especially important for the teenagers. When motivated, they have good ideas about what activities would benefit them not to mention they tend to be very zealous planners. More importantly, by involving older children in the process you are teaching them valuable skills in organization and planning which they can utilize in the Ummah as adults. In conclusion, Summer lends itself as a perfect time for family activities. Use this opportunity to acquire Islamic knowledge, do righteous deeds and have fun at the same time? The benefits are enormous. Besides creating stronger family bonds, it may also gain additional blessings and good deeds for the Day of Judgment. One obtains the benefits from the activity by the intention put into the activity. From Umar ibn al-Khattab who said that Allah’s Messenger said, “Actions are according to intentions, and for every person is that which he intended. So he whose migration was for Allah and his Messenger, then his migration was for Allah and His Messenger, and he whose migration was to attain some worldly goal or to take a woman in marriage, then his migration was for that which he migrated.” (Bukhari).