Preschooler-Infant Playgroup (Declaration of the Bab)

May 302013

Last week we hosted a playgroup for little ones for the Bahá’í holy day the Declaration of the Báb. Since the main commemoration takes place at night (to mark the time the actual historical event took place), we thought it would be nice to have something for the kids during the day.

(You can also read more ideas about how to celebrate the Declaration of the Báb with little ones).

There was a lot of play time involved and plenty of treats for the little guys. D from The D Lists even made vegan smoothies for everyone! Since the star was often used as a symbol for the Báb, Monkey and I made some star cookies to share. I know, I know. “Leanna, didn’t you make star cookies last year?” Yes, well, I prefer the term “consistent” rather than “boring.”

This was not the big to-do we did for Naw Rúz, but it was still a lovely playgroup. We started off with singing a prayer by the Báb then I told them the story of the holy day. Since the kids were all 4 and under, the telling went something like this:

“A long time ago, there was a young man named Mullá Husayn. Can you say that? Mullá Husayn.”

“Moollah Zayn.”

“I want say ‘robot’ … Robot.”

“Mullá Husayn had a teacher who loved God very much.”

“I have a teacher at the gym.”

“Let’s make up a story ’bout robots.”

“This teacher told Mullá Husayn that there was a very special Teacher sent by God who was coming to tell everyone about peace and unity.”

(pointing to seatmate) “He’s a girl.”

“So he told Mullá Husayn to go out and look for this special Teacher.”

“The baby’s listening to the story, too.”

“I want a cookie.”

“But there was a problem – Mullá Husayn didn’t know what the Teacher’s name was, what he looked like, or where he lived! How was he going to find him?”

“I could have found him.”

“The chair is listening to the story, too.”

“Mullá Husayn went and said prayers for 40 days – that’s a really long time – and asked God to help him.”

(Siren from toy fire engine sounds)

“The couch is listening, too.”

And so on. Not to keep you in suspense – Mullá Husayn found the Teacher, who was (as you may already have guessed) the Báb. The “declaration” in the title refers to when the Báb “declared” that He was the Promised One Mullá Husayn sought.

After our tale was over, we danced around to the Hawaiian Unity Song (here is a really adorable rendition by some children in Australia). It’s a really fun song, and, frankly, it helped dispel the eerie feeling Monkey had given me when he suggested that the furniture was listening to our story.

Preschooler - Infant Playgroup - Declaration of the Bab - Alldonemonkey.com

Just one!

Afterwards we had two activities that played on the theme of search. The first was a sensory bin filled with dry beans. The kids had to dig through the beans to find treasures (small toys) hidden inside. **Note: A sensory bin of this type must be supervised at all times, particularly with very young children, and is not suitable for infants.

The second activity was an obstacle course, drawing on the idea that Mullá Husayn had to overcome many obstacles to find the Báb. I drew some stars on paper plates that they had to jump on, laid a squiggly line (a scarf) that they had to follow and pillows they had to climb before landing on one final star at the end.

Up and over!

After that, it was time for bubbles outside and snacks. We had such a good time. The Monkeys and I are so lucky to have such wonderful friends to celebrate with!

Walking Through the Garden of Ridvan: A Look Back

Ridvan 2 Responses »

May 022013

It is hard to believe that as of sunset tonight (which has already happened in many places) Ridván will be over. I have had so much fun participating in the first ever Walking Through the Garden of Ridván series with Bahá’í Mom Blogs and getting ideas for how to celebrate this special holiday with my boys.

Here is a look back on all the fun things that the participating bloggers shared during this 12 day festival. For a full list of the posts, see our main page.

We set up a Ridván tent, learned about celebrations around the world, and sampled rose water cheesecake…

…used music to celebrate, made a felt story board, and shared hospitality…

…made crowns, used nightingale puppets and sensory play, and created a beautiful environment…

…tapped into the joy of the festival, celebrated with loved ones, and, finally, left the beautiful garden.

How did you celebrate Ridván this year?

Nightingales: Ridvan Craft and Sensory Play

education, Kid Fun, Ridvan 12 Responses »

Apr 282013

“Consider these nightingales. So great is their love for these roses, that sleepless from dusk till dawn, they warble their melodies and commune with burning passion with the object of their adoration. How then can those who claim to be afire with the rose-like beauty of the Beloved chose to sleep?”

- Bahá’u'lláh to His companions in the Ridván Garden, as related by Nabíl (quoted in God Passes By, p. 153).

“Hear those birds, Mommy?” It’s just before dawn, and Monkey has crawled into our bed. Just outside our window, the birds are singing their greeting to the sun as it begins its slow rise over the treetops.

We love listening to the birds in the morning, in that magical time suspended delicately between the dark of night and the brightness of the coming day. In those few moments, not yet burdened by the chores of the day but full of the promise of the new dawn, we lie in bed and listen.

For Bahá’ís, this time of year brings to mind one bird in particular: the nightingale. This bird, known for its plaintive melodies, was used frequently by Bahá’u'lláh as a metaphor for a person in love with God. The nightingale is a prominent figure in Persian poetry, in which it is characterized by its sweet melody, sung to its beloved, the rose. In a similar way, people in love with God will not rest but instead spend all their hours singing praises to their Beloved.

Here is a beautiful Bahá’í song that I grew up with that uses the nightingale metaphor to talk about Bahá’u'lláh. If you’d like to play it yourself, here is the sheet music.

To teach the little ones about these beautiful birds, last year at our community gathering we did a really fun nightingale craft from the Core Curriculum for Spiritual Education.

We set up a table with the materials, including stickers and markers to decorate the birds. I also found some colorful streamers to use for the tails. If you look closely, you will see one of our ladybug cupcakes on the table!

It was a simple craft, but at the end the kids had something really cute and fun to play with. Monkey still loves making the wings flap!

By the time this Ridván rolled around, however, Monkey really wasn’t very interested in crafts, so I tried a different approach. First, we listened to this recording of a nightingale’s song, which Monkey asked me to play several times. It really is beautiful!

Then we sat in our Ridván tent and did some sensory play. This was so much fun! It would also make a great activity for a group.

In case you were worried, the robots didn’t miss out on the fun! In fact, play was suspended for several minutes as Monkey carefully rolled them – one by one – in from the other room.

Beforehand I had gathered some materials related to the holiday, such as tea bags, rose petals, a flower from our yard, and a small rose made of tissue paper.

I covered the bowl with the beautiful blue scarf we are using as the “river” around our tent. I had Monkey reach his hand under the scarf and try to identify the objects in the bowl. It was hard! Especially considering that I hadn’t prepped him at all for the kinds of things that would be in the bowl.

I then had him close his eyes and smell the tea and the flowers. Afterwards, we examined the flower petals and noted the differences between the fresh petals and the dried ones. We then cut open the tea bag to play with the dried leaves. It wasn’t the first time Monkey had seen loose tea, but it was the first time I had let him play with it!

I think his favorite part, though, was our “taste test.” It is amazing how difficult it can be to guess a flavor when it is completely out of context! When I put some sugar on his tongue, for example, Monkey told me it tasted “spicy.” He was surprised to see what it was! Honey, though, he guessed instantly, probably because he frequently has it on its own.

Once Baby woke up from his nap, I let him play with some of the objects as well. As soon as I held out the first one, his eyes got huge, and he started cooing, so I know he was excited!

**Please note: Sensory play with infants should be strictly supervised for safety reasons.**

When doing sensory play with babies, be sure to use larger objects than you would with older children. In addition to the choking hazard, it is also more fun for them. Baby Monkey quickly became frustrated with small objects, as they were difficult for him to grab and hold onto. Of course, don’t give them anything with sharp edges or points, and be very careful that they don’t put anything in their mouths, which of course they will try to do!

But if you follow precautions and good common sense, sensory play with babies is extremely rewarding. Baby and I had so much fun, and it was a great way for him to connect to the holiday as well.

Have you done sensory play with your kids?

This post is part of the series Walking Through the Garden of Ridván with Bahá‘í Mom Blogs. For a full list of the posts in this series, visit our main page.

The Ridvan Garden: Felt Board

crafts, Ridvan 16 Responses »

Apr 252013

Welcome to the next stop in our series “Walking Through the Garden of Ridván.” So far we have set up a Ridván tent, looked at how families around the world celebrate the holiday, sampled a scrumptious rose water cheesecake, and celebrated with some joyous music. For a list of upcoming posts in this series, visit our main page.

There are very few storybooks about the Ridván Festival, particularly for young children, so I decided to create a felt board to use to tell the story to Monkey. I had a lot of fun making it, and felt boards are such a wonderful way to bring stories to life for little ones.

Monkey’s summary of the story: “One day, Bahá’u'lláh go garden, see friends there. Garden have lots roses.”

I first came across felt boards (often called “flannel boards”) in a busy bag swap with my mom’s group. One of the busy bags we got had a small flannel board and the felt shapes for several simple pictures, such as a snowman. Another contained basic shapes for children to invent their own pictures. Monkey adored making and re-making pictures with his felt shapes, so I thought this would be a great, hands-on way for him to engage with the story.

To make the felt board, I cut out a piece of cardboard from an old diaper box and laid a piece of flannel over one side. (I chose a light blue for the sky). I then folded the edges of the flannel around to the back of the cardboard and glued it on tight using craft glue. It was much simpler than I had expected!

Cutting out all the felt pieces took much longer, but these story boards can be as simple or as complicated as you want. I decided to do four basic scenes, all of which were fairly simple – except for all of those roses! We’ll see how long all those little pieces lasts

Here is our story:

The Crossing

Bahâ’u'llâh and His companions were forced to leave their homes. They had to travel a long, long way to get to their new home. Before they left on their trip, they stopped at a beautiful garden called the Ridvân Garden. To get there, they had to cross a river on a boat. (Okay, okay, I’m pretty sure Bahâ’u'llâh didn’t use a cute little sailboat like this, but there are only so many shapes I can cut out of felt!)

The Garden

When they crossed the river they arrived in a beautiful garden. It was full of roses. Bahâ’u'llâh named the garden “Ridván,” which means “paradise” because it was so beautiful.

Roses in the Tent

Bahâ’u'llâh and His friends put up tents to sleep in. Every morning they would sit on cushions in Bahâ’u'llâh’s tent to drink their tea. The gardeners knew Bahâ’u'llâh loved roses, so they would bring lots of roses to Him. There were so many that when the friends sat down on their cushions, they couldn’t see each other over the pile of roses!

Humanity as a Rose Garden

While He was staying in the garden, Bahâ’u'llâh told His friends something very important. (When I asked Monkey what this message was, he said it was “’bout robots.” Um…close! Okay, not really )

He said that we are all like the roses in the garden and God is like the sun. The sun helps the roses grow, just like God helps our souls to grow and be strong. Bahâ’u'llâh said that everyone – no matter where they were from or how different they looked – was part of the same rose garden and got light from the same sun.

Hope you enjoyed our story! Have you ever used a felt board with your kids?

This post has been shared at A Cat Like Curiosity’s Super Handmade Sunday and Bowdabra’s Craft Showcase.

This post is part of the series Walking Through the Garden of Ridván with Bahá‘í Mom Blogs. For a full list of the posts in this series, visit our main page.

A Festival for All Peoples: Ridvan Around the World

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Apr 222013

This post is part of the series Walking Through the Garden of Ridván.

“The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.”

- Bahá’u'lláh

Yesterday we were able to celebrate the beginning of the festival of Ridván with our local Bahá’í community. As described in this beautiful introductory post from Creative World of Varya, Ridván commemorates the time when Bahá’u'lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, made the bold claim that He was the Messenger of God for today, come to usher in an age of peace and prosperity for all people.

When Bahá’u'lláh made this announcement in 1863 in the beautiful Ridván Garden, He was not just speaking to His companions, or to the inhabitants of nearby Baghdad, or even to the people of Persia, His native land. He was announcing to all the peoples of the world that they were one human family, that true peace was not only possible but inevitable, and that equality and justice could be the guiding principles of a global civilization based on both spiritual and material development.

Today, there are followers of Bahá’u'lláh all over the world, and though they come from many different cultures, ethnicities, and religious backgrounds, they are all united in their love for Bahá’u'lláh and for His teachings of world unity and peace.

And so as Bahá’ís all over the world commemorate the start of the Ridván Festival, I thought it would be fun to get a flavor of how communities in different parts of the globe celebrate this festival.

Ridvan Around the World - Alldonemonkey.com

Our Ridvan tent from last year

For myself, growing up in different parts of the US (North Carolina and New Jersey), I have fond memories of putting on plays with other children or having picnics in the park. Here are some glimpses of how other families and communities celebrate this beautiful time:

Sarih: “Over the years we have done a variety of Ridván related activities with the kids, garden parties, treasure hunts, constructing Ridván prayer tents, picnics in rose gardens, stories, decorating with flowers etc.”

Honey of Honey’s Quilling (Malaysia): “Here we have the usual gathering with devotionals and an activity developed by the task force.”

Talieh (Northern Virginia/Alexandria): “I am planning something special for the children’s class I teach. Last year we built a tent in the middle of the room and marked the outline of an island around it. Inside the tent were some cushions, a bright table cloth on the floor serving as a carpet, and in the middle lots of roses and a picture of the Garden of Ridván in Haifa. The children said their prayers in a different part of the room and after a brief introduction to Ridván, were invited to cross the river and enter the garden. Once in the tent, the children listened to the story about Ridván, and then we drank very light tea together. It was simple, but hopefully special way to celebrate. I’d like to do something similar this year, with a few additions such as a song about Ridván and so on.

Jubilee (Austin, Texas): “We always have a big party on the first day with bouncy house, snow cones, music etc. outside of the Bahá’í center. The newly elected LSA [Local Spiritual Assembly] members serve BBQ. It is the kid’s favorite holiday, every time we have a holy day they ask if it is the ‘one with the bouncy house’.”

Felicia of Guilt to Great (New Mexico): “Our children have been learning about the garden of Ridván–one week they made flowers, the next boats, and the next nightingales. It is a tangible approach to grasping the different elements that made the garden special.”

Azarnoush of A toddler, his mum and their recipes (from Bolivia): “I remember once mum was in charge of the decorations for the celebration and she made a huge (seemed huge anyway) colorful tent made of long plastic strands over the garden at the Bahá’í Centre and then made lots and lots of paper flowers and put them on the grass everywhere. It was fantastic and super festive.”

Pamela of Gems of Oneness (currently in Ghana): “We have performed a skit every year, wherever we’ve lived, where the kids make some kind of tent with a candle inside representing the Light of Bahá’u'lláh. they have memorized the simple version of the story, each taking a part and reciting a quote as well to depict the story. they try to make the 4 rows with paper flowers lined up to the tent. they offer flowers to the inside of the tent, trying to pile them high enough to show how the people couldn’t see each other. they have served tea and taken a rose (sometimes real ones) from the inside of the tent to give to people in the audience. sometimes it’s very humble and shared only with a few people; other times it’s been performed in front of 100′s. each year the version of the story changes depending on circumstances and resources. we sing as many joyful songs about Bahá’u'lláh as possible, too!”

For more glimpses of how Ridván is celebrated around the world, visit this gallery from Enable Me to Grow or their Ridván Pinterest board.

How do you celebrate special days with your little ones?

Walking Through the Garden of Ridvan 2013

This post is part of the series Walking Through the Garden of Ridván. Each day during the Ridván festival (April 21 – May 2), a different blogger will share the story of the festival and a craft or activity to help bring it to life for little ones. For a full schedule, visit the series main page.

Welcome to Our Walk Through the Ridvan Garden!

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Apr 212013

Happy Ridván! I am pleased to announce the beginning of a series from some of the women behind Bahá’í Mom Blogs, designed to tell the story of this festival and introduce some ideas for celebrating it with our little ones.

We kick off this series with a post from Varya of Creative World of Varya, who introduces us to the Ridván festival.

A new blog will share a post each day. For a complete list, see the series main page and join us in Walking Through the Garden of Ridván!

Coming Soon: Walking Through the Garden of Ridvan

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Apr 082013

In just a few weeks, Bahá’ís will celebrate the festival of Ridván. This twelve day period (April 21 – May 2) is considered one of the holiest Bahá’í holidays.

This year, several members of Bahá’í Mom Blogs have come together to offer ideas for how we can introduce this beautiful festival to our children.

You can read more about this festival and our upcoming series (starting April 21) on the main page: Walking Through the Garden of Ridvan. Be sure to follow my Bahá’í Parenting Board on Pinterest as well!

Knitting the Hearts Together: Kids’ Card Exchange (Naw Ruz)

crafts, multiculturalism, Naw Ruz, raising world citizens 6 Responses »

Apr 042013

How do you teach a child to be a world citizen? There is no simple answer, but for me a fundamental element has to be love. Instilling a deep love for others in your child will give context and meaning to the facts and traditions you teach and will become a prime motivator for doing good in the world.

With this in mind, this year I helped a group of mothers coordinated a card exchange on a global scale. I was inspired by a Valentine’s Day card exchange organized by Glittering Muffins. Monkey had so much fun with it, I decided we should do something similar for Bahá’í new year (Naw Rúz). I was hoping that it would be a way to make geography come to life, as we exchanged cards with children from other parts of the world. But on a deeper level it was about helping create bonds with other children. A friend put it best: It was about “knitting the hearts together.”

Organizing the card exchange was a real reminder of how much social media has made it so easy for people to connect worldwide. I put out a call on Facebook for those that wanted to participate, and within days I had a list of 63 children!

I tried to match each child with another of roughly the same age, preferably living in another country. Each child created a card plus a flower of some type. (For example, we made California poppies out of cardstock). The flowers symbolized the coming of spring that Naw Rúz celebrates, plus they illustrated the Bahá’í belief that we are all “flowers of one garden.” In addition, the child could include other items, such as a photo.

I was blown away by the geographic spread of the participants. Here are the countries represented:

USA, Canada, Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Ireland, UK, France, Germany, Iceland, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, China, Malaysia, Tonga, Australia

The ages of the children ranged from two months (Baby Monkey and a little girl in Delaware) to 14 years.

I really admire the enthusiasm and creativity of the families involved. The Monkeys received lovely cards, one from North Carolina and the one from Ireland. Both included beautiful family photos and notes from the children.

Here are some photos generously shared by other participating families:

From Katherin in Maryland (girls ages 3 and 5): “Here they are with their finished cards. We also added a family picture, some butterfly stickers and for the older girl, Nura added a star bookmark. They were the creators and I just helped along the way. Also, I showed them on google maps where the cards were going–one across the US and the other will go across the Atlantic Ocean to England. They were excited.”

From Erin in Iceland (boys ages 1.5 and 6): “We received our cards and our boys were very happy ”

From Jenny in California (girls ages 4 and 7):

You can also see how kids in Ghana (Gems of Oneness blog) and in China (Little Artists blog) made their cards!

How do you help your child create bonds with other children around the world?

Spring Party and Free Printable (Naw Ruz)

crafts, Naw Ruz 6 Responses »

Mar 282013

When you want to celebrate, it’s such a gift to have good friends to party with. That was how Monkey and I felt when some of our best friends were able to join us for a spring party last week to celebrate the Bahá’í new year (Naw Rúz), which falls on the first day of spring.

We were also lucky enough to have my parents in town during the holiday! Monkey was so excited to have them here, and they were such a big help to me getting everything together for our guests. Baby Monkey got some extra snuggle time with his grandma while I rushed around at the party, and the kids were drawn to my father like a magnet, which tends to happen wherever we go.

I had hoped for some beautiful weather so the kids could play outside, but unfortunately it was so windy we opted to keep them indoors. This meant that at times the noise level got a bit high, but everyone was having so much fun we didn’t mind.

One thing I love about this group of friends is that everyone jumps right in to whatever activity we are doing. We had a craft table in one area, where the kids could do a daffodil craft, and in another area there was a table set up for making fruit pizzas.

Beyond that, there was a lot of time for the kids to play with toys and run around. There were also a few groups that spontaneously decided to read story books together, which is always one of my favorite activities.

I was so proud of Monkey for being such a great host, which to me is an important part of learning to be of service. He shouted “Happy Naw Rúz!” to all of our guests when they arrived, and when they left he helped me hand out the favors: a packet of seeds and a card with a quote. We had to work on not just throwing the seed packets to the kids, but most of them thought this was funny, too, so no harm done

For the cards, on one side I printed “Happy Naw Rúz!” On the other side, I chose a line from one of my favorite children’s prayers:

I am a sapling of the garden of love;

make me into a fruitful tree.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

It is such a beautiful quote and was right in keeping with the “garden” theme of our favors. You download Word document here (makes nine cards): Naw Ruz party cards.

Thanks to our guests for making it such a special day!

How do you celebrate spring?

Daffodil Spring Craft (Naw Ruz): Paper Cup Series on Little Artists

crafts, multiculturalism, Naw Ruz, raising world citizens No Responses »

Mar 262013

I am so happy to be participating in the Paper Cup series on Little Artists! Today we share about the daffodil craft we did for a recent spring party to celebrate the Bahá’í new year (Naw Rúz).