The Tot Ramadan & Eid Gift Guide
Ramadan is a special time of year for children and grownups alike. Make it extra special for your little ones by giving them the gift of learning with this selection of imaginative and creative toys.
Ramadan is the time of year Muslims use fasting to teach and learn the importance of patience, self-control and gratitude.
When celebrating Ramadan, you wake up early to eat a pre-dawn meal called Suhoor. After fast all day, you break your fast at dusk with a meal called Iftar. Many families gather together and invite friends and neighbors to join them for Iftar each evening.
Ramadan occurs at a different time each year because the Islamic calendar is based on the moon, not the sun like the Gregorian calendar we commonly use. As a result, every year, Ramadan moves ahead by two weeks. Ramadan can fall in the heat of summer or the cold of winter. Young children, the elderly, women who are pregnant or nursing, and those who are sick, need medication or are traveling, are not required to fast.
When Ramadan comes to an end, Muslims welcome Eid Ul- Fitr. After 30 days of fasting, practicing patience and thanksgiving, it is lovely to share favorite foods with family, friends and neighbors.
Because a day can feel quite long when you’re fasting, many parents like to have a number of activities on hand to help children stay focused and stimulated. Below are a selection of educational gift ideas that will help children learn the key lessons Ramadan teaches.
Here are our top gift and activity ideas for celebrating Ramadan & Eid with kids:
1. Make An On-The-Go Craft Bag
“If we try to think back to the dim and distant past… what is it that helps us reconstruct those times, and to picture the lives of those who lived in them? It is their art… It is thanks to the hand, the companion of the mind, that civilization has arisen.” – Maria Montessori
Mamas, here are a few items you can toss into the Tarweeh (Night Prayers) craft bags for your little ones to keep them occupied and stimulated. OMY products are tot-friendly as the ink can easily be removed from skin and textiles with the help of a little soap and water. The OMY coloring masks are both exciting and intriguing for children to color in and share with their friends! If you’re worried about a little mess, grab a pack of Kitpas Crayons. Kitpas’ eco-friendly and water-soluble crayon markers enable tots to draw on paper, glass windows and whiteboards, making craft time or party decorating extra fun.
SKILLS: Art is one of the many ways children express themselves. Children use art to communicate their feelings, develop their fine motor skills and expand their creativity.
2. Block Play
“Play Is The Work of the Child” – Maria Montessori
These wooden figures are the perfect tools for open play. They can be a mosque, cave or really anything your child imagines it to be. This is a great hands-on method to teach your little ones about the significance of Laylat Al-Qadr or “Night of Power” – considered the holiest night of the year for Muslims. Pair them with these Eco Bricks to make the story come together.
SKILLS: Critical thinking, problem solving, expanded creativity, language skills and find motor skills.
3. Sight Words + Block Play
“The development of language is part of the development of the personality, for words are the natural means of expressing thoughts and establishing understanding between people.” – Maria Montessori
Exposing children to early reading skills paves the way for wonderfully curious readers! The Uncle Goose Sight Words are great tools to accompany any story time. Focus on 1-2 sight words at a time and ask your little one to find the words in books you’re reading. These blocks are hand-crafted and made with love! Uncle Goose use fast-growing basswood and non-toxic, child-safe inks. Why such fastidious attention to detail? Uncle Goose has a dream that one hundred years from now, a child will be playing and learning with the same set of heirloom blocks they made today.
Use the Uncle Goose sight words to teach the children some of the actions they should be practicing during Ramadan such as “Do Good”!
Uncle Goose Sight Words Blocks
4. Get planting!
“Only through freedom and environmental experience is it practically possible for human development to occur.” – Maria Montessori
Why not inspire your children to do good by planting their own seeds as well as learning to take care of and water everyday. This Green Toys indoor gardening kit is the perfect way to spend some time with your little one as they learn the importance of taking care of their environment and feeling a sense of responsibility as they take charge of their own plants. Made from 100% recycled plastic, helping to reduce fossil fuel use and CO2 emissions, all in the name of good green fun! This 9-piece set includes a peapod-shaped planter tray, 3 planting pots, trowel, soil pods, and 3 different kinds of organic seeds.
SKILLS: Gardening activities provide benefits beyond those of practical life. Children will be using many of their intellectual and physical skills and also practice the art of patience while they wait for the seeds to sprout.
Green Toys Indoor Gardening Kit
5. Help Make Dinner!
“The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences.” – Maria Montessori
While you’re prepping dinner, why not have a special “Ramadan Meal Box” the children can use to pretend to make their version of dinner too? Give them a pot or two and let them run wild with their imaginations. Encourage your little one’s creativity as they mix and match pieces to create their favorite dishes. They can have a crepe night, pizza night or even make their own salad bowl.
SKILLS: Kitchen Play is wonderful for sparking imaginations, honing motor skills and practicing taking turns and sharing.
