Hijri Calendar and Islamic months Lesson Plan
Wondering what to teach your children about the Hijri Calendar and how to help them understand the importance of the 12 Islamic Months? We’ve got you covered. Don’t forget to download the free Lesson Plan at the end!
What is the Hijri Calendar?
Hijri Calendar or the Islamic calendar is the calendar used by Muslims all over the world to mark their religious holidays.
It is a 12 month calendar which is just like the Gregorian calendar that most people and countries around the world use, but it is different.
The Gregorian Calendar is based on the movement of the earth around the sun while the Hijri Calendar is a lunar calendar. That is, it is based on the moon as it orbits the earth.
The Islamic calendar also has 12 months but only 29-30 days depending on the moon sighting.
Just as the Gregorian Calendar marks the birth of Jesus Christ – i.e, BC or Before Christ and AD as in Anno Domino (Greek for ‘Year of the Lord’ or birth of Jesus Christ), the Islamic Calendar too marks a date.
Hijri Calendar marks the migration of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) from Makkah to Madina. The word ‘Hijrah‘ means ‘migration’ in Arabic. So in the story of the Prophet times, you will find events that are marked as ‘before Hijrah‘ and ‘after Hijrah‘.
Why do we need to talk about the Hijri Calendar with the kids?
The Hijri Calendar marks the Hijrah (migration) of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from Makkah to Madinah. This calendar is important to Muslims because it helps them keep track of Ramadan, Hajj, the two Eids and other important dates in Islam.
Muslims follow the Islamic Hijri Calendar to mark Ramadan, Hajj, the two Eids and many other important events.
Also, some Islamic countries follows the Hijri Calendar as their official calendar.
Would you like to download our free Islamic Calendar Lesson Plan?
Click the link below and fill the form to have the PDF sent to your email.
Download the Free Islamic Calendar Lesson Plan.
How to introduce the Hijri Calendar to children
Teaching very little children about date and time is a little hard because kids generally don’t have an idea about it. It requires some maturity for them to understand time and space. But, from the age of 3 – 4 years on wards, you can start teaching them about the days of the week. Teaching children about dates and calendars can start around the same time too.
Two things you can do today to teach little children to recognize Islamic dates.
Let’s talk about FUN and SIMPLE ways to talk about teaching children to remember (or learn) the Hijri Calendar. I am sharing two super simple tips here that you can start using today.
1. Use calendars in your home!
Include a Hijri Calendar in your family’s life! You can easily download Arabic calendars online… or buy them online or from stationaries.
My kids and I are a big fan of DIY so I highly recommend that you build your own It’s 💯 percent the easiest way to teach kids. YOu can check out these DIY Calendar Ideas below
- DIY Islamic Calendar with button Slider
- DIY Hijri Calendar Display for Homes and Classrooms
- DIY Hijri Flip Calendar.
2. Write the date to remember it.
This is a neat trick I learnt from my kids Arabic and Quran teachers. They ONLY use Arabic date in class f(rom when they were in kindergarten).
The teacher would write the date on top of the board as soon as she started class and ask kids to repeat after her before circle time.
If you’re homeschooling, do try this! (Do it even if you’re not!) Make it part of your daily activity that when kids are studying Arabic or reading the Quran, you mark the date in Arabic and then ask them to repeat.
It also helps to remind them when their Arabic birthday is! 😉 🎂
Click Here to Download the Free Islamic Calendar Lesson Plan.
More resources to help you teach the Islamic Calendar:
- Islamic Months Flash Cards
- Islamic Calendar Workbook
- DIY Islamic Calendar with Slider
- DIY Islamic Calendar Display for Classrooms
- DIY Hijri- Gregorian Flip Calendar
