10 Ways to Welcome Ramadan With Your Kids
Some parents asked me how I welcome Ramadan with my kids, so I figured that I might as well share my answers in a post so you could benefit too.
Having different schedules and unusual sleep patterns makes it more challenging, and it is harder to keep our children's schedules the same. However, in Ramadan, m family and I do less strenuous things and more reading and craft-type activities.
Bedtime is still the same for the young, but whoever fasts gets to stay up an hour and a half later to eat and enjoy time with mom and dad. I will share our ideas on how we welcome Ramadan.
Ramadan and the two Eids is a big celebration in our home as we make a big deal of these occasions in the year. We take our kids for the moon-sighting drive for both Ramadan and Eid when we can. When our children search for the crescent moon, they feel the special occasion and love this cherished tradition.
These memories will stay with them when they are adults one day, and they will pass them on to their children one day inshallah.
Here are the 10 most frequent things we do with our little ones in Ramadan
Decorate the central area of our home.
Color/write/draw in a Ramadan booklet.
Do some daily craft.
Read Eid and Ramadan stories, and learn Ramadan poems.
Make a Ramadan candy chain.
Do Ramadan quizzes.
Listen to Ramadan CDs or the recitation of the Quran.
Dress up and use perfume with scented oils.
Give our neighbors a basket of fruit and sweets.
Learn the moon phases.
Decorations
One Ramadan, we purchased a packet of balloons and allowed each child to inflate two of their favorite colored balloons with a balloon pump (which saved a mommy from going dizzy). Then they wrote their names on the two balloons and decorated them with markers.
We strung two sets of six balloons together with dental floss (it's nice and strong), and put this aside for the next step. I had a banner made at Vistaprint.com for under $7 shipped, and we also bought a string of lights from Amazon, and some tinsel from the Dollar Store.
We hung the banner above our living room's curtain rod and added the six balloons on either side. We decorated the wall above the banner with a string of tinsel and tinsel stars. We then strung our Ramadan lights across the bottom of the banner, and our decorations were complete.
Another Ramadan, we took some construction paper, cut it in half, and wrote one letter of the words, 'Ramadan Mubaruk' on different colored paper. I divided the letters between the kids to color and decorate as they wished. When they were done, we used a single-hole punch, and punched some holes at the two opposite ends of the top of the page. We strung dental floss through the holes to make one big, colorful homemade banner as a beautiful homage to this blessed month.
Nowadays, there are so many easier and nicer options available online if you are looking to be less crafty and want the decorations ready-made. You can find very affordable Ramadan banners and balloons on Amazon HERE.
2. Ramadan Booklet
I printed some Ramadan pages from a few websites such as, Crayola and Primary Games, then stapled this together for my kids to use throughout Ramadan. They colored and decorated a page or two each day of Ramadan. I printed a few extra writing pages for my older kids so that they are able to write about Ramadan as well as color. I created some Ramadan printable ebooks which you can get for free during Ramadan when you sign up as a member. Click here to sign up.
3. Craft Ideas
Everyday we do something crafty like painting, playing with clay, cutting from magazines and pasting on collages, coloring with crayons or markers, letter writing, drawing or enjoying puzzle time. I lay a plastic cloth on my kitchen table and secure it with large binder office clips (to keep it in place) so my kids are free to be true artists, and I don't worry about a big mess. We also have puzzle time and use floor puzzles or jigsaw books. List of floor puzzles on Amazon.
4. Stories and Journaling
We read Ramadan stories or any other Islamic stories as we have a library of books that I have collected over time. We love the book, 'Eid and Ramadan Songs by Fawzia Gillani Williams', and my kids memorize her cute poetry. In the early evening, when Daddy comes home, they put on a show for the family. You can find a large selection of Ramadan books on Amazon HERE.
My kids also love to log their Ramadan progress and journal their thoughts about their Ramadan days. So I designed a Ramadan journal especially for my children and published it for other kids and teens to benefit too! See the Ramadan Journal for teens HERE and My Ramadan Journal for kids HERE.
5. Candy Chain
We make a Ramadan candy chain by stringing candy onto a long piece of string. Each child gets one candy off the chain at the completion of a Ramadan day. Our kids don't eat a lot of candy outside of Ramadan, so they appreciate the daily piece. It also helps them to know each day's Ramadan date.
Some parents may not be fond of the candy idea, and this can be replaced with sweet notes or other items. The purpose of this idea, is for our kids to think of Ramadan as a very special month. To make the candy chain, we stick with candy that has holes, such as Lifesavers or anything in a packet, so that we can use a punch to make holes, and add it to the string effortlessly. We then hung it over a hook inside our pantry door. List of assorted candy on Amazon.
6. Ramadan Quiz
When Daddy comes home, or an hour before iftaar, we try to do circle time with our kids. We aim to do this every day, but sometimes it is just too hectic. My husband searches the web for Ramadan quizzes for kids, and he finds many sites with Q&As about Ramadan and Islam. We reward our kids when they get correct answers.
7. Listen to Songs
We play songs from albums such as "I Look, I See 2," which has a lovely song by Yusuf Islam on going to see the Ramadan moon. Our kids sing it in the car while we sight the moon. Sometimes we just play the CD while they read a book or dance around. I also try to play Quran while they do their crafts or puzzles. There are many songs on Amazon about Ramadan.
8. Dress Up
Our kids dress more fancy in Ramadan by wearing their best clothes if they wish to. We persuade them to use some perfume oils, and it is a nice time to teach good hygiene and etiquette by relaying stories about our beloved Prophet’s SAW grooming habits.
9. Gift Giving
We buy some fruit and some sweets or cookies, and make small Ramadan baskets, which we put outside the doors of our neighbors or give to other special people, (like the mailman). We add a note to say, "It is our blessed month of Ramadan, and we would like to share it with you," and thank them for being wonderful neighbors or super helpers.
10. Learning
Our kids learn about the different phases of the moon. I found nice printouts at dltk-kids that we printed-out each phase on a page, numbered and named it, and then hung it on our wall during Ramadan. My kids now look at the moon and say things like, “Daddy, see the gibbous moon!", as they now appreciate and realize the different phases.
Uncle Milton Moon in My Room, found on Amazon, is another great moon phase learning method. It is a nice gift for an older child, and even serves as a nightlight for younger siblings.
In Conclusion
Your children can also add some coins from their money-box to a jar for charity, which they will give to the masjid towards the end of Ramadan. They also each have personal items that they keep in their 'private drawers', and exchange gifts with one another. There is a lot more we could do, but these are just a few that are doable with a big family of little ones. I hope these ideas help. Have a blessed Ramadan!
Salam, I’m Zakeeya!
I believe that making our homes a safe haven for our families, as well as being a wife and mother, brings us great blessings, contentment, and benefits to society as a whole. Since 2011, I've been dedicated to assisting Muslimas in finding tranquility in their roles, taking better care of themselves, and achieving inner peace. Our journey in this world is not an easy one, but I pray the tools and guidance I offer will help you face life's challenges with more gratitude and mindfulness. Join me as I share wifehood, motherhood, homemaking, and lifestyle solutions that make life more fulfilling for you as a woman! Read more about me here.
Make Your Ramadan Run Smoothly!
Get Your Guide to a Healthy Ramadhan, a 135-page guide including 100+ recipes for Ramadan, and The Ramadan Cookbook, a 70-page cookbook filled with healthier options for recipes with less badness and more goodness! Plus, when you buy one book, you’ll get 33% off the second book.
You May Also Like
This post contains affiliate links, which help offset website expenses. It costs nothing to use, but your support is so appreciated!