How to use the Sacred Journey Resource Pack
The month of Dhul Hijjah is just weeks away! Every year during this month, millions of Muslims take a spiritual journey to Makkah to perform the rituals of Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam.
While others have been chosen to attend this year, we've been busy working through our Hajj lessons. We're using our Sacred Journey Hajj pack which introduces children to Hajj and its rituals. It's catered towards children 6 years + but it'll make a great teaching aid for younger children too.
I've been using this Hajj pack with my son Yusuf (almost 5) in a play based approach. As for Yaseen, (7) I made a lapbook for him to get a deeper understanding of Hajj in general.
All resources have been linked towards the end of this blog. If you are looking for more hands on Hajj activities check out this blog: Hajj Activities.
So far, our sacred journey lessons have been looking like this:
Learning Phonics
1. After reading the picture card, Yusuf chooses the first Arabic sound he hears. 
2. After learning about the ritual, Yusuf again chooses the phonic it begins with and also reenacts the ritual. 
3. Yusuf plays match up with the Hajj rituals and phonics.
4. Yaseen practicing spelling with words he's chosen (I purposely didn't add the Arabic words because I wanted to observe his Arabic phonetic reading and writing skills). 
For longer words, I picked the letter formation cards and faced them down so He knew the exact number of letters. After he choose the correct letter disc, I flipped the card, then he circled the letter he will write. He struggled with the last letter, but Alhamdulillah managed to finally do it. 
Practicing Prewriting Skills
5. Yusuf chooses either his felt letters or wooden discs to practice writing the letters he hears and sees
6. Yusuf having some fun with colour. I usually get him to colour each ritual once he can explain it to me.
Story Sequencing
7. Yusuf had a go at placing the Hajj rituals in order using the timeline as an aid. His brother read about each step to help further his understanding.
Comprehension
8. Yaseen reads through the timeline to understand order of events.
9. He reads through his resources then answers the questions in his lapbook.
Geographical Location
10. Yaseen creates a visual on the back of his lapbook to understand the location of major rituals. Resource used linked below.
11. He then uses his atlas to research nearby countries. 
Alhamdulillah, the boys have been enjoying their lessons.
Resources used:
Islamic Landmarks Makkah Ziyarah Guide
I’d love to see how you engage your children with our resources. Please tag us if you choose to share your work in your social media posts. You’ll find us on Instagram (@brb_raisingkids) and Facebook (@brbraisingkids).
