HOW TO TEACH QURAN TO KIDS

Lap of the mother is the first school of the child. Being Muslim parents, as our children grow up, we feel a very worry about how to teach Quran to kids. Just as we are worried about their worldly education, we send them to school, set up tuitions for them, in the same manner, we must be highly concerned about teaching Quran to kids. Obviously, parents especially mothers are responsible for personal grooming and teachings of a child, so this responsibility is primarily your duty. Feeling the weight of responsibility on our shoulders, we come across many questions regarding teaching Quran to kids. For example, how to start teaching your child Quran, what is the right age to start teaching Quran, how would the startup be taken, which method of Quran learning to choose. Where your child would go to the mosque, a tutor would come home to teach Quran, you would learn Quran or some online Quran learning?

Let’s begin from the very starting point, the very first question arises ” when to start or what is the right age to teach your child Quran and by what age they have finished”. A definite answer to that question is, there is no clear cut age boundary to start with and to finish. It is thought that age of 4-5 years is ideal for starting Quran learning, but some mothers keep on reciting while pregnant and breastfeeding with hope this will impact on their children.You can begin at an age even less than four years, depending upon abilities and interests of your child. My younger brother had his surah Fatiha memorized by age less than three though he wasn’t able to even recognize alphabets. Keep in mind, every child has its pace of learning, do not compare them with others ( your cousin, neighbor had finished Quran at the age of 7, and you still haven’t being nine years old). It doesn’t mean that you give them a free hand to keep on delaying their daily sessions, but the point is, such attitude can demotivate your child.

In the following text, we would present you some of the tips for Quran to kids. These little points would help you a lot in ways to teach  Quran to children.

1. Set yourself as a role model or an example, in front of the child , to follow you. Recite Quran daily, and make sure your kids are around you when you are reciting the holy book.

2. Recite Quran in loud and catching tone, this would make them attracted towards what you are reading.

3. Try to make the start of the day of your kid “ recitation of Quran”. Develop a habit of reciting Quran after Fajr.so that when your child opens his/ her eyes in the morning, the very first sound entering his ears is of Quran.

4. Tell them stories of Quran. Your bedtime story can be any one of described in Quran. And do give them the reference of the story as Quran. Urge them to look up into Quran themselves.Keep on telling them about reward of Quran recitation eg.

5. Keep on telling them about reward of Quran recitation eg. it makes Allah happy, Prophet (s.a.w) said that its best of learning, etc.

Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “The best of you are those who learn the Qur’aan and teach it. ~ Bukhari Vol 6 – 61:545

These were the tips to boost up your child to start learning Quran. Now if your child has started learning Quran, following tips would help you a lot.

1)      Keep it simple at start. Don’t force your child to spend a lot of time on learning Quran. Let him do it at his own comfort level. For example, 10 minutes of dedicated and happy learning would be a lot better than an hour of learning by force, against the will of your child.

2)      Let them know that something very special will follow Quran time, like a good story or playtime with mom.

3)      Set goals, and rewards for achieving a goal. Eg. You would buy your child a remote control car if he / she finishes a chapter of Quran in a specified time.

4)      Play Quran softly in the home during playtime, morning routine, end-of-night routine. Turn off the TV

5)      Recite short quran surahs in the car on the way to school, or shopping etc.

6)      Keep the mood loving during the learning process. Give your child lots of hugs and cuddles.

7)      Don’t punish them hard, or donot get tired of repeated mistakes of your child while learning Quran. Be patient. Every child has its own pace of work.

8)      You can encourage a healthy competition between your kids eg “ who finishes his/ her lesson first, will be given a surprise gift”.

9)      Aim to do two short Quran sessions a day.like one after Fajar and one before Asar prayer. This way if you miss one, you won’t feel badly.

10)   Keep interaction with the tutor ( if you choose to have a home tutor, or online tutor for quran learning). Discuss progress of your child with teacher on regular basis.