Credit has to go to ukhti umm_khadija1 who gave me the idea for this, masha'Allah tabarakAllah, may Allah reward her.
This is a very simple concept which is easily adapted to any age. Below are given resources and a basic lesson plan outline for presenting this topic and doing the project with a young child (4-5 years old). Consider this the 'base' - the minimum - level and simply include more detail and adapt that base according to the age and ability of the child or children concerned, insha'Allah.
The object of the project is:
- to cover the basics of each of the Five Pillars of Islam
- to make a visual representation of what has been learnt in each Pillar
- to stick them all onto one large sheet and so make a wall project about the Five PIllars that is clear, visual and easily understood by the child so they can remember the basic facts that were learnt even quite some time afterwards (insha'Allah!)
Alternatively you could make a project book - with each page being the same visual representation of each Pillar.
Older children should be encouraged to write their own text - little paragraphs explaining the important points, copying out ayaat of Quran or hadith, etc, whatever seems appropriate for their respective levels and abilities.
An example of the finished project:
As explained above, this was done with a child of 4 or 5, so things were kept very simple. It is an interesting challenge to explain things in simple terms but sometimes young children can surprise you in what they will accept, understand and readily absorb where older children might find it more complicated and hard to remember!
Below is an outline of what should be tackled for each Pillar for the youngest level and also a few links to the resources that were used (where necessary). An older child, even still as young as 6 or 7, could (and indeed should!) go into quite a bit more detail, especially for Tawheed and Salat.
Outlines and Resources for Each Lesson:
For the shahadah for a younger child, the main focus should be introducing the idea of Tawheed and explaining (In basic terms) what that means. Read Tawheed for Children together, and talk about Allah being the Creator, the Provider, the Sustainer and other matters related to Tawheed Al-Uloohiyyah. Cut out pictures of 'things that are part of Allah's Creation and Provision' and use those to make the 'project picture'. Some could be drawn by the child. Our example (see picture above) shows flowers, fruit, trees, countryside, jewels and metal, a rainbow, sun, moon, stars, rain as well as the child having written 'la ilaha il Allah' in Arabic in the middle. Explain and discuss how it is because of this aspect of Tawheed (Tawheed Ar-Ruboobiyyah) that we worship Allah Alone and should be thankful and grateful to Him and Him Alone (Tawheed Al-Uloohiyyah), and that this is why we should pray. [For a download of Islamically acceptable images to use: click here] [For a more detailed teaching notes for Tawheed for older children (7 years and older) then click here]
For the salat, after talking about why we pray (revision of the previous lesson on Tawheed), discuss the times of the prayer and their names. If the child is old enough, talk about what 'qiyam', 'rukoo', 'sujood' mean, that we open the prayer with Takbir and close it with Tasleem. Perhaps revise Al-Fatiha with them, and any of the dua for the salat (if they know them). Our idea for our 'project picture' was for the child to write the names of the five salat. Present the child with little images of either a half sun (to indicate dawn and dusk), a full sun or a moon to indicate when the salat takes place. The child has to decide which goes where. They could then draw or colour in a picture of a mesjid, find some pictures of masaajid online to cut out, or (as in our example) make a little collage picture of one.
Zakat can seem like it would be the most difficult to simplify, but all that is needed is to explain that if you have a certain amount of particular things for a year then you have to pay a small amount for the Sake of Allah. Even a 4 or 5 year old can get this concept very easily insha'Allah! Go through the list of things that qualify for Zakat (do not go into detail unless something obviously needs explaining). Then ask if they know what 'sadaqah' means. Explain the difference between sadaqah and Zakat - that sadaqah is optional, that Zakat can only be given to specific people. Then go through the list of people to whom Zakat can be given but, again, do not dwell on any of this in any detail if the child is young (obviously this is something that should be changed for older children). The child can then cut out pictures of the things on which zakat is payable. For the various animals for which Zakat is eligible they can write the words. [For a download of Islamically acceptable images to use: click here]
For Siyam ask them to colour in a picture of iftaar [A5 size; for 2 pictures making an A4 sheet, click here]. While they colour that in, talk about Ramadan, how you fast from dawn till dusk and what 'dawn' and 'dusk' mean. If appropriate for their age, read the ayat from the Quran that talk about fasting, and the hadith that mention the great reward for fasting. It should also be mentioned that fasting is not just about not eating and drinking, but also about good behaviour and not arguing or fighting. Given the previous lesson's topic, you could also talk about 'Zakat Al-Fitr' as well. (Insha'Allah an entire e-Book for children about Ramadan will be coming soon).
Hajj can be rather fun if you manage to collect enough resources together from various places. Start by talking about Ibrahim and Isma'il, alayhum salam: the story of Zam-zam, the building of the Ka'ba. Explain that Ibrahim, alayhi salam, would make the Hajj and Muhammad, sal Allahu alayhi wa salam, brought back all the aspects of it that Ibrahim began and the Arabs had forgotten. Then look at a Google Map of Makkah and the surrounding area. Follow the route to take to each place on the Hajj. Let the child see that these places are not too far from each other (and you can walk) though it is still a long walk and a tiring thing to do, but that this is done for the Sake of Allah and with the hope of huge reward. Discuss what 'ihram' is. Explain what 'tawaf' means, and the 'Sa'i' (relate it back to the story of Zam-Zam which the child already knows). Talk about the standing at Arafat, the sacrifice (and how it comes at the time of Eid Al-Adha), the stoning. You can find many useful pictures of each of these aspects and of all the places (Mina, Muzdalifa, etc) online. Any books that have pictures of the Mesjid al-Haram, the Ka'ba, Mesjid An-Nabawi, etc - all of these things can be of use for this lesson also. Then write down all the places you vist on Hajj to on little pieces of paper and have the child glue them on in order round a piece of paper with some pictures to go with it. [For a download of Islamically acceptable images to use: click here]
As each 'picture' was completed, it was glued on to the main piece of paper that would become the wall project and also 'shahadah', 'salat', 'zakat', 'siyam' or 'hajj' were written down on a pre-cut pillar shape. When all five were finished, ribbons were glued on connecting each one to its respective 'pillar' in the middle of the page.