primary school

[Marina-Aisha]

as salam alikom

so my daugther is in year 1 my son in nursery there is some easter perade were they make easter hats of course we dont want them joining in such things..we were thinking taking them in islamic school instead cos we dont want them joining in xmas/easter/firework day etc etc..also they dont allow time off for eid either..what do u guys do?would u keep them in that school? hw do u guys handle those holidays?

 

[Ummshareef]

:wa:

Well my kids are a bit older, but in principle I would favour single-gender Islamic schools at any age, even for the little ones. It will always be best for boys to be brought up with boys and the same for girls, so they should be segregated as soon as you can. This is something I regret not doing earlier with my kids, but it is not always easy. With regard to the various festivals, there is no way my kids would ever be allowed to get involved with the religious ones at least, nor halloween. For Eid we used to celebrate in the afternoon / evening when it fell in term time - another good reason to send them to an Islamic school.

 

[Marina-Aisha]

totally true thank you sister..just seems like all the islamic schools are going to be watched closely by the government for extremists little worried bout that..but think better then wot going normal school. thanx

 

[Muhammad]

:wasalamex

Is it possible to write to the teachers or contact the school and explain that you don't wish for your child to participate in other religious festivals? I thought schools had cut down on this. You could also let them know in advance that you wish your child to have some time off for Eid. You can see what sort of response you get and use that to decide about which school to send them to. May Allaah :swt: make it easy, Aameen.

 

[strivingobserver98]

As Bro Muhammed suggested you could write a letter. I wrote letter in college for permission to pray and they had no problems with me getting in and out of lessons. The head teacher was very open to religious observations.

Does anyone know how many Islamic schools there are in UK? Are they only in populated areas like London, Birmingham etc?

 

[Marina-Aisha]

i could do a letter as for time off u have pay a fee for unauthorised time off u cant even have holiday when there at school or ur fined.

 

[MuslimInshallah]

Assalaamu alaikum Marina-Aisha,

(smile) Have you considered homeschooling? I've done this with my six children, and it's really not all that difficult (school is harder, in my opinion). It only takes about 30 minutes or so of your time per child every day (it's more intensive before your children can read well, much easier afterwards), your children have plenty of time to play, dream, socialize and think, you get to be close to your children and they with you, you can influence what they are learning (smile. But not all; they will pick up things from others sources, too) and it is a lot less expensive than tutors and private schools.

Incidentally, in case you are worried about your children's future, my two eldest are now in university as Dean's List (top) students, and my 16 year-old has just been accepted as a special student in university (you do a few classes like this, then you can get in as a full-time student). It's really not hard to get into university. You just need to be a little creative and research your options. (smile) And about 1/3 of homeschoolers go on to found their own enterprises (and the ones I know do very well, actually…).

Of course, each society has to be looked at carefully. Some countries will take your children away and jail you if you do this. So you'll need to do your homework. And each family has it's own needs and dynamics, that you will have to consider. But if you can do it, it's the best option for the whole family, in my experience.

May Allah, the Wise, Guide us in our choices.