February 24, 2024 • 37 mins
In this episode, Almas Asad, a primary school educator turned stay-at-home mom with a small business, shares her philosophy of teaching young children under five using Montessori principles, focusing on real-life experiences and stimulating open-ended development. Emphasizing on infusing Islamic principles in teaching, she also shares insights on how simple tasks, like solving puzzles or coloring, are beneficial. The conversation extends to the significance of setting realistic short-term goals and the importance of time for oneself as a parent.
Timestamps:
02:30 Understanding the Montessori Method
06:07 Setting Realistic Goals for Children
16:14 Infusing Islamic Principles into Teaching
20:37 Positive Association with Learning
21:10 Choosing the Right Toys for Learning
23:53 Incorporating Real-Life Experiences in Play
25:37 The Importance of Active Play
26:39 Creating Activities from Household Items
About Almas Asad:
Almas Asad, a former primary teacher from Sydney and now a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) of three, runs a small business called “Eager Little Beavers,” specialising in educational toys and learning resources. Inspired by her inquisitive son, she focuses on creating Montessori-inspired learning experiences for children. Almas also manages a YouTube channel offering parenting advice, including tips on handling toddler tantrums and potty training.
Connect with Almas Asad:
Resources Mentioned:
- BRB Raising Kids Instagram
- Practical Guide to the Montessori Method at Home by Julia Palmarola
- How to Talk to Anyone by Leil Lownde
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Connect with Mifrah Mahroof:
🏖️ This episode is sponsored by Sisters Explore, a company I founded to offer guided small-group travel for Muslim women to connect, explore, and enjoy faith-centered journeys. Learn more at http://www.sisters-explore.com
Disclaimer: Some links in this description are affiliate links.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Almas Asad (00:00):
In order to stay sane as a parent and as a
(00:02):
working mother, you can't reallybog yourself down to those
goals.
It's the small things, that thesmall achievements that it keeps
you going.
So there's certain things that Ifeel like my son or my daughter
is able to do and I commend themfor that.
I appreciate them doing it, butat the end of the day, I do have
that sense that they're not ableto do this.
They're not able to write yet.
They're not able to read yet.
(00:23):
if we do that, then we're notonly putting our children down,
but we also putting ourselvesdown.
Mifrah (00:27):
As-salamu alaykum and welcome to the Muslim Life
Hackers podcast.
I'm your host Mifrah Mahroof andthis is the podcast where we get
better every day.
Through conversations withexperts, leaders, and inspiring
individuals.
We're going to give youactionable insights to help you
win in this life and the next.
So if you're ready to level upin every area of your life and
(00:48):
you committed to living withexcellence for the sake of your
Lord.
You're in the right place.
Get ready for insights,inspiration, and a whole lot of
life hacks.
This is a Muslim Life Hackerspodcast.
Let's dive in.
Mifrah Mahroof (01:01):
As-salamu alaykum Almas, and welcome to
the show.
Almas Asad (01:04):
Wa ʿalaykumu s-salām Mifrah.
How are you today?
Mifrah Mahroof (01:06):
Alhamdulillah, I'm going good.
How's your day going so far?
Almas Asad (01:09):
Alhamdulillah, It's been a really good, It's been a
good productive morning.
Mifrah Mahroof (01:12):
That's awesome.
So, before we start, Almas, canyou give us an introduction
about who you are and, what youdo?
Almas Asad (01:20):
Yeah, sure.
I am a primary school teacher,primary trained teacher, turned
stay at home mom, but also asmall business owner.
I've got three children agesfour, three and nine months now,
so they're all under five.
And what I love to do, is createexciting learning experiences
for my children at home thatallows them to learn through
(01:41):
play pretty much.
And a lot of those practices arepretty much inspired by
Montessori principles.
I've learned to kind of adapt asI go.
So a lot of the principles kindof align with my Islamic values.
The one thing that I enjoy asbeing a teacher and a mom is to
teach my children with theminimum amount of resources,
minimum amount of activities ortoys or anything that we have at
(02:02):
home, and create a funexperience for them.
It doesn't necessarily have tobe, something really high end or
really aesthetic looking, butwhat I wanna do is kind of get
them to learn new things everyday, whether that be at home or
maybe just going outsidesometimes, but mostly at home.
Mifrah Mahroof (02:21):
Awesome.
I heard about the work you weredoing, what was like
particularly that concept ofteaching children under five
through play, and that'ssomething that I really wanna
explore in today's episode.
I wanna first of all start offwith actually asking you, like,
you mentioned something aboutsomething called Montessori
method, and the principlesassociated.
Would you be able to give us anintroduction to that?
Almas Asad (02:41):
Yeah, sure.
The one thing that I really,learned over the years being a
parent and also a teacher, isthat I came across this whole
Maria Montessori method andthere's lots of those principles
that I really loved.
So Maria Montessori focuses onallowing your children to kind
of learn through play and engagein real life experiences.
Mifrah Mahroof (03:01):
Okay,
Almas Asad (03:01):
So whether that be at home, but allowing them to
kind of be like focusing on likethe children.
So it's child-centric.
There's a lot of hands-onlearning and pretty much
allowing them to be theinstructor and you are kind of
facilitating that their play.
So they're kind of being theguide, they're doing what they
want, but you are kind offacilitating the play for them.
(03:23):
It allows your child to thinkopen endedly.
So there's a lot of open endedplay and allows your children to
think in a wide perspective andkind of I'd say a lots of
resources that you have at homeand like creating a learning
experience with what we have athome.
So I think lots of the practicallike life experiences that you
can do at home with yourchildren is that teaching them
(03:45):
to bake or teaching them to dogardening or whether that be
learning like certain thingswhile you're go, going out
grocery shopping, so likeeveryday life experiences, but
adapting and making it a bitmore child-centric.
Mifrah Mahroof (03:59):
Right.
So from what understand, itsounds like teaching them real
life experiences or like reallife things that we do in a
playful method, that's in forthem.
Almas Asad (04:09):
Yeah, definitely.
Mifrah Mahroof (04:11):
So I guess the question that comes to mind
right now is like when you lookat age groups and, so a
1-year-old can't do, what2-year-old can do, or a three or
four or five.
So it's like it's differentages, have different abilities.
And so how do you actually knowwhat your child is capable of
learning?
So that you can be able to puttogether that play, I guess.
Almas Asad (04:30):
I think the one thing that I've learned over the
years is that it's not like onechild size fits all type of
thing because I definitely seedifferences with my children.
I know it's hard not to compareyour children, just within
siblings or comparing your childto another child.
But the one thing that I'velearned is that, I'd say just me
being as a teacher is that
Mifrah Mahroof (04:49):
Yeah.
Almas Asad (04:50):
once you've kind of seen your child in that
environment, in that learningenvironment, and they're doing a
certain thing and you see thatthey're able to do, a certain
skill, they're able to, like doa puzzle without any assistance
or they're able to do, um, likeengage in some kind of sensory
play without any assistance ortype of like problem solving
(05:10):
activity.
So you kind of adapts where yougo you so you know what I try
and do is because I see adifference between all three of
my children.
I'd say
Mifrah Mahroof (05:18):
Hmm.
Almas Asad (05:19):
because she's third, she's a lot younger now, but I
tried adapt with the activitythat I've planned with them.
So for instance, if we've got awater play activity, we might
have lots of puzzles that we putinto the water, like add a kind
of like a bath drop in there tomake it colorful.
And my daughter, when she wasone, she was pretty much just
playing with water and thepuzzles.
(05:39):
She wasn't doing anything withthe puzzle pieces, but he was
like at age two and a half orthree at that time, he was
trying to getting the pieces andkind of sitting into the puzzles
So that's sense ofdifferentiation.
So they're both doing the sameactivity, but we are adapting
it.
So she's engaging in a sensoryplay, but she's also getting
that exposure of all thepuzzles, whether that be numbers
(06:01):
or alphabet letters.
But he's kind of doing twothings that once he's doing the
problem solving and he's alsoengaging in that sensory play.
Mifrah Mahroof (06:07):
So what I'm curious to know at this point is
when you actually set up theseactivities, like, how do you
actually go about with like areyou very strict with the
schedules or have like certaingoals you wanna reach in terms
of like what your childrenshould learn at that age?
say for example, I've, heard howin the Montessori method,
children would learn how to likefold a napkin or something and
(06:28):
those little, day-to-day, choresyou can say.
So it's like, do you have goalsthat you set that you want your
child to learn?
This, this, this, and then youput that together or how do you
actually go about with theimplementation?
I guess that's where my questionis coming at.
Almas Asad (06:43):
Yeah, that's a very good question, Mifrah, and I
think I get that a lot from alot of parents, but I think me
being a teacher naturally, Ihave this kind of, success
criteria at the back of my headthat, you know, or I want him to
do.
I want him to learn the alphabetat the end of this year, or I
want him to count to 20 by endof this year.
Mifrah Mahroof (07:00):
Yeah.
Almas Asad (07:00):
But I think it's a matter of in order to stay sane
as a parent and as a workingmother, you can't really bog
yourself down to those kind ofgoals.
So there's certain things that Ithink it's the small things
that, the small achievementsthat it keeps you going.
So there's certain things that Ifeel like my son or my daughter
is able to do, and I commendthem for that.
I appreciate them doing it, butat the end of the day, I do have
(07:23):
that sense that, they're notable to do this.
They're not able to write yet.
They're not able to read yet.
if we do that, then we're notonly putting our children down,
but we also kind a puttingourselves down.
okay, so saying to not havegoals, then would you say, you
could definitely have likeshort-term goals, certain things
that you feel that, yourchildren will be able to
achieve.
try not to have really high endgoals because if you're starting
(07:46):
off small, if you're startingoff just now by the end of this
month, I want them to startreading that seems really like
impossible to do, but I'd saysort of goals that your children
will be able to do, and I thinkevery parent knows their
children on their own.
I don't think any educator orany teacher is able to know a
child, unless their actualparent, because I think the
parent is the the only, actualteacher that they have because
(08:09):
they've been with them since theday they were born to now.
Mifrah Mahroof (08:12):
Hmm.
Okay.
Almas Asad (08:14):
So I think what you know of your child and I think
you learn and you adapt and thetype of goals that you feel that
they can achieve.
Maybe simple things could belike, by the end of this month
If they're a 1-year-old, I wantthem to be able to, solve a
puzzle, something small, I thinkthe best thing about Montessori
is that you start small and thenyou work your way up from there.
Mifrah Mahroof (08:37):
So as a parent, Let them be your guide.
Right?
And then, help them be able tolearn these skills.
So if I'm understanding theseprinciples and I want to see
this in my child, like forexample, my 1-year-old daughter,
how do I start like, I'mconvinced that this this is how
I wanna inspire my child toempower them to grow and learn.
But it's like, do I need to goout tomorrow and just like, buy
(08:59):
all these Montessori toys?
where do I start?
Almas Asad (09:02):
I think honestly, it just comes down to starting very
small, you
Mifrah Mahroof (09:06):
How does small actually look like?
Almas Asad (09:08):
Okay, so for example, you've got like a small
little shelf over here andyou've packed them with, I think
that the one thing that I usedto do, and I think I've learned
that from my experience, is thatyou've got all these toys and
you've just shoved them into theshelf.
Now your
Mifrah Mahroof (09:21):
Yeah.
Or in box,
Almas Asad (09:22):
yeah, or they're in a big box.
Your child will go up to themand feel automatically, they're
gonna feel overwhelmed.
They're gonna feel.
Mifrah Mahroof (09:29):
Uh, right.
So that's the reason why there,like my daughter, I noticed the
toys in the box.
She doesn't take everything outlike everything's in the box.
Almas Asad (09:38):
Yeah, definitely.
they're all in the box and, andshe might be seeing the same
thing.
She might be seeing the sametoy, the same activity every
single day, and she might tendto get bored of it.
So the one thing that I do is tomake your learning environment
or the child's play area orwhatever area that they have to
make it as simple as possible totry and make it as simple like
(09:58):
as minimal as possible.
So you might be having just fouractivities per week, like a four
little cubicle, little shelf,and putting four activities
there.
And as like, you know, everyweek you could be rotating it
and you could be rotating thesame thing over and
Mifrah Mahroof (10:12):
do
Almas Asad (10:12):
again.
Mifrah Mahroof (10:13):
What do by activity?
Do you mean like a toy in thosefour boxes?
So I'm imagining one of thoseIkea shell like those four
boxes, So just put like a toy inthere, or
Almas Asad (10:23):
Yeah.
Mifrah Mahroof (10:23):
what do you mean by activity?
Almas Asad (10:25):
It could be like a puzzle and you've taken the
puzzle pieces out, put them in abasket, or you've taken the
little puzzle pieces and wrappedthem in foil or any type of like
colored paper.
So what your daughter, or likeyour someone else's son would be
able to do is like, there's likea process to try and get to the
end result.
So it's not just, oh, puttingthem in there.
Oh, I've already done this mom.
(10:45):
So you've added like anotherstep to it.
So they're like, oh.
I have to do something to tryand get to the end of result.
I feel like kids naturally, theywant to win.
They wanna get to the end.
So if you slow up the process abit, they are more motivated to
move on and they're challengedin a way.
that could be one activity oryou could perhaps be doing like
(11:06):
a coloring book with those setof coloring pencils, that's in
another shelf
Mifrah Mahroof (11:10):
So you them in, in like a tray or something
inside the shelf.
Almas Asad (11:13):
Yeah.
it doesn't always have to be ina tray.
because not necessarily, noteveryone has those trays or any
type of tray.
I know there's all this, there'slike this, this plethora of,
aesthetics on Instagram,
Mifrah Mahroof (11:24):
what I'm imagining.
Almas Asad (11:25):
Yeah.
And you get really bogged downby that.
And I think those are the thingsthat really used to overwhelm me
at times.
But I knew that at the end ofthe day, if my child is getting
challenged, if my child isgetting, those learning
experiences at home and they'rehappy, that's all that matters.
you you've got that resource,you've got that toy, whatever it
is, and they're playing with itin a certain way.
(11:47):
And they're happy, rather thanthem continuously bugging you or
come and play with me, whichthey may do,'cause obviously
they're children, they want youto be there with you.
just making it very simple, havethose four activities and those
four little cubicles and withtime, try and just like rotate
them.
Whether that be like every weekor every month.
I'd probably say every week forchildren that are a lot younger,
(12:08):
because they tend to get morebored, a lot easy than like
older kids.
Mifrah Mahroof (12:12):
Yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense.
And like from a clutter,perspective, it makes me feel
better too.
'cause it's like there's so muchtoys I feel has it's, well not a
lot, but she has like a box oftoys and I feel even that's a
lot of toys.
But if I can move that somewhereelse and then just take a few
out so that she can play withit, that does make it feel like
(12:33):
those toys were worthworthwhile.
Almas Asad (12:35):
Definitely, and they've used well in a way where
you feel that, it's worth itsmoney type of thing.
If it's like a very expensivetoy or anything like that, or if
it's like a loading resourcethat you've purchased online
from like, some kind of smallbusiness.
Mifrah Mahroof (12:48):
So do these toys always have to like, when we say
toys, do we always have to buycertain type of toys to make
this work?
Or like, is it possible in thatshelf, like can put like a pot
and a spoon in there and putthat as an activity.
Almas Asad (13:01):
that's the amazing thing about Montessori
principles is that it's allabout adapting and it's all
about using like everyday lifeitems.
It doesn't necessarily have tobe toys.
It could be, obviously.
wooden place like the bowl ofwater or like a scoop or
anything like that in thecubicle.
But you might have an activityin the afternoon where, once
you've done with work, you'resitting down and you've got like
(13:21):
a whole tray of water andthey've got like a scoop and all
they're doing is that they'rejust pouring and they're
scooping.
So it's like scooping andtransferring and they're getting
that kind of, they're getting atthat fine motor skill
development.
They're getting that sensoryplay
Mifrah Mahroof (13:32):
It's very interesting.
Almas Asad (13:34):
And also like that hand eye coordination as well.
So you feel like they're doingsomething simple but they're
actually learning a lot and it'sactually, these type of
activities help them later onstrengthen their, like find
motor skills and be able tograsp a pencil once they are
ready to actually pick up apencil.
cause obviously you're not gonnagive your child a pencil and
start telling them to startwriting a sentence.
(13:54):
It's impossible.
Mifrah Mahroof (13:55):
On topic motor skills that you mentioned, I
remember, hearing somewhere howlike, children these days
because like they know how toswipe on the phone, but they
have weak motor skills in otherareas like holding areas like
holding or something becausedidn't have that experience
Almas Asad (14:10):
That's so true, I also saw a video and it was
actually really sad where therewas a child, he was sleeping he
was in some kind of zone orlike, he was so zoned out.
He was sleeping, but he had likean imaginary iPad and he was
just swiping.
It was like he was swipingthrough like reels or something
and I was like, it's so sadnowadays because Because kids
are so, connected to theirdevices.
(14:30):
They're so connected to theiriPads.
They don't really realize thatonce you've put them to the
side, I know that iPads andtechnology is advanced and
there's so many ways that youcan teach your kids through
those learning apps andeverything as well, but
sometimes, you are not, yourchild isn't gonna be, getting
all of the skills.
Mifrah Mahroof (14:48):
Yeah.
And we see how that is actuallywhen you see the effects of when
they grow older and they can'thold a pen properly or they
can't do these basic things thatwe take for granted
Almas Asad (14:57):
Oh, yes.
I'm so grateful for my parentsfor not being, always making us
sit in front of the tv.
there was a certain time in theafternoon or anything they, but
then again
Mifrah Mahroof (15:05):
back then in those days, we didn't have TV
running for 24 hours anyway.
Like shows and end at So I meanit's a totally different world.
Our children now growing up in
Almas Asad (15:15):
Yeah.
and it's just this aspect ofhaving so many choices.
Now, as soon as they come on,they can just go on YouTube and
watch whatever the favorite showthey have, whatever movie they
wanna watch, whatever cartoonthat it's right there.
And at that time, we had towait, we had that anxious like
excitement level that, oh myGod, my favorite cartoon is
gonna be on at 4:00 PM.
I know like one episode perweek, right?
(15:37):
And then we have to wait thenext they call seven days.
Can you believe that?
We have to wait seven days towatch half an hour show I know,
and, and I think that's whywe're so blessed in a way that
we had that kind of childhood.
I know like our children areblessed as well now because they
have all these options and,Alhamdulilah, you know, there's
there's technology advanced aswell.
(15:57):
But there's certain things thatwe were, blessed with.
life is, changing over time
Mifrah Mahroof (16:01):
and I guess that's also for us to
acknowledge that, the world is adifferent place and we have to
be cognizant of that as parents,that we have different
challenges than our parents andwe have the tools to deal, with
that as well.
So I mean, like one of thethings that I noticed you also
do is you actually infuseIslamic principles into the way
you're teaching your children,and I'd love to hear more about
(16:23):
that.
Like how does that look like?
Almas Asad (16:24):
I think I started I'd say like a year or two ago
where I noticed, I came acrossthis amazing Instagram page.
It was a sister, her name wasZainab, and her Instagram page
is called BRB Raising Kids.
The minute I went on her page isI was just, I just fell in love
with her content and her whole,Islamic block.
Her whole teaching practice wasabout Quran inspired Montessori
(16:45):
play.
So I was like, oh my God.
I love montessori.
I love, learning about Quran, Ilove the tafsir, sirah of the
Prophet SAW.
So, I really wanted to get mykids to fall in love with that
as well.
And that's one thing that Ithink when we were kids, uh,
Alhamdulilah, that our parentsgave that Islamic foundation,
but I don't want my kids to, notget that base.
(17:07):
not fall in love with the sirah,you not fall in love with like
certain surahs.
so what I try and do is that weget like certain Surahs that
might be simple for yourchildren to understand.
Like for example, we've got likesurah An-Naml or surah An-Nahl
the Surah is about the ants,Surah about the bee.
so what we're doing is thatwe're learning about the Surah,
what's so amazing about theSurahs is that, lots of the
(17:28):
scientific, principles andscientific facts come from the
Quran, that a lot of peopledon't know there might be
certain things like I know that,the Surah about the bee where
like children, can learn aboutthe structure of a bee.
They could learn about, prettymuch the anatomy of the bee and
how bees, collect nectar from aflower or it could just be like
one verse from a Surah and thenkind of unpacking that, Surah
(17:52):
that verse, and just likecreating a lesson out of it.
Creating like a whole beelesson, the unit of the bee.
Mifrah Mahroof (17:58):
Would you say something though that is more
appropriate children who are abit older, like say five
Almas Asad (18:04):
I'd say definitely for children, probably ages four
and five.
Mifrah Mahroof (18:08):
Okay.
So you would say the process ofinfusing more Islamic education
would be around four and five?
'cause I'm thinking 1-year-oldwould play with the bee like A
with the A toy bee.
Of course
Almas Asad (18:21):
Yeah.
Mifrah Mahroof (18:21):
But else would they know?
you could just like play thesurah
Almas Asad (18:24):
or like, there's lots of videos on YouTube, which
kind of, explain the whole, likeexplain a certain Surah through
like, storytelling.
You could like make them andthen you could just sit down and
discuss the Surah.
It doesn't have to be an actualactivity.
You could be discussing, Whatdid you learn about the Surah?
Um, what are the certain thingsthat you feel like you really
loved about it?
And then later on as they, growup, you could kind of extend on
(18:47):
that learning.
Mifrah Mahroof (18:48):
explain it more.
Yeah,
Almas Asad (18:49):
Yeah, definitely
Mifrah Mahroof (18:50):
sense.
Yeah, I mean I definitely do sea lot of value even like playing
the Quran or resigning the Quranare around been they're young
cause they pick it up and itjust makes it easy for them to
memorize later on because theyheard that a lot.
Almas Asad (19:04):
I think in the early years we don't realize it, but
the children's brains are like,they're actually like sponges.
They're grasping so quickly andthere's certain things that you
don't want them to grasp, butthey learn very quickly.
Um.
but like the certain surah, likeI know for a very long time we
were playing surah Al-Fatihah inthe morning and Alhamdulilah
both my children are able torecite
Mifrah Mahroof (19:26):
recite.
MashaAllah.
And quite young right?
Four and five.
Almas Asad (19:30):
my daughter's three.
four
Mifrah Mahroof (19:31):
Oh your daughter's three, mashaAllah,
nice.
Almas Asad (19:33):
my son's gonna be five next month.
Mifrah Mahroof (19:35):
so your 3-year-old can recite surah
Al-Fatihah now?
Almas Asad (19:38):
she has moments where she would be able, she
would sit down and recite thewhole thing, but then she has
days where she would be like,no, I'm not doing it.
And I'm like,
Mifrah Mahroof (19:44):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
but, but like, to actually hearthat she was able to do is very
encouraging.
Almas Asad (19:51):
Yeah, Alhamdulilah,
Mifrah Mahroof (19:52):
really nice.
Almas Asad (19:53):
just certain surahs like short surahs that you don't
realize that your kids, are ableto learn.
We really underestimate ourkids' abilities, you know?
Mifrah Mahroof (20:01):
Yeah, Yeah, I agree.
Almas Asad (20:02):
My aim is not to just shove knowledge down their
throats, but adapt with them andbe flexible.
if I feel that my child isgetting really overwhelmed, my
son tends to do that, he startsto get really bogged down.
But if he doesn't understandsomething, he's like, I mind,
I'm not understanding it.
And he gets really worried andit gets anxious about it.
We kind of move away from thisspace you know what, we don't
have to do this today, Assam
Mifrah Mahroof (20:22):
yeah.
we can do it tomorrow, we can doit another day, because,
Almas Asad (20:26):
At the end of the day, we want our kids to be
happy.
We want them to be learning.
But, in a way where they'rehappy, they're willing to do it
again type of thing.
Not feel that, oh, my mom'sgonna sit me down again and,
Mifrah Mahroof (20:37):
Yeah.
So you can associate likepositive memories with learning.
So it's not like, a stressfulwhen I'm learning
Almas Asad (20:42):
like as we were young, we were like taught to
sit down and like go throughlike, or study or do your
homework.
Um, and then we were gone out toplay.
But what I want our children towhat my children or like, you
know, of this generation is tokind of connect that like a
positive, connection withlearning rather than just feel
that, learning is just, work,but learning can actually be
Mifrah Mahroof (21:03):
enjoying.
I agree.
So that learning can continuethroughout life.
Yeah, Inshaa Allah, and that'svery important.
Yeah.
All right.
Nice.
Well, look, then the next thingI wanna actually speak to you is
actually more on the topic oftoys, right?
So, what are good toys to lookout for?
What are the bad to look outfor?
Because now I'm thinking aboutsetting up this environment for
(21:24):
my daughter and I might have togo out and, buy stuff, or I have
to get rid of some toys, whichshe has.
And wanna I wanna hear yourthoughts.
Almas Asad (21:33):
I think there's lots of toys out there.
there's so many out there.
There's so many resources.
There's so many websites,there's so many small
businesses, but I feel like thetoys are where you feel that
there's no purpose to them.
they're just
Mifrah Mahroof (21:44):
making sound do you mean by No, purpose to them.
Almas Asad (21:47):
Like they're, not really an objective out of it.
it could just be like a littletoy teddy bear or something.
You know, teddy bears are great,they sometimes like a sense of
comfort for your children, butthey it be like a teddy bear
that's making so much noise.
I wouldn't put that on a shelfbecause I feel like your child's
not really getting anything outthat.
Mifrah Mahroof (22:04):
All right, so it's just the teddy bear that
like you, you kind of press andit sings, for example.
So you see
Almas Asad (22:10):
Or things and stuff.
I feel like it's a ton of toythat's it might be
overstimulating your child, itmight not really be getting your
child to do anything.
and your child's just doing thething.
They're pressing the button overand over again and your child
not be,
Mifrah Mahroof (22:22):
okay.
Almas Asad (22:22):
not
Mifrah Mahroof (22:22):
So it's those like toys that they're just like
clicking on the button and itmakes a noise and they have
nothing to do, I guess noproblem solving, know nothing
Almas Asad (22:30):
hundred percent.
And I feel like nowadays There'slots of online stores.
There's lots of, even like thenormal department stores, like
Big W Kmart stuff, they'veactually started putting lots of
open-ended style toys where,there's a lot more that you can
get out of it, like a puzzle,like a wooden puzzle.
Lots of wooden toys, which are,they may seem, boring, but there
are a lot more, resourceful andthey last longer as well.
(22:53):
I think all of those plastictoys, they break really easily
and sometimes can be a bit of ahazard unless, you feel that,
they're a lot more older to kindof manage with toys like that.
I know my son, like he's reallyinto superheroes and everything
like that.
I'm not getting rid of all ofhis Marvel toys and stuff like
that.
He loves them and I let themget, I sometimes buy them for
it, but I feel like
Mifrah Mahroof (23:12):
So are you saying the Marvel toys are like
useless toys?
Almas Asad (23:18):
I do agree.
I do think they're use
Mifrah Mahroof (23:20):
your son hear this
Almas Asad (23:22):
I do feel like they're useless, but at the end
of the day, it keeps him happy.
And when he's doing that, he'sindependent play and he's
engaging in his like, superheroworld.
That's the imaginative playgoing on.
we wanna encourage them in playin learning experiences where I
feel that they're gettingchallenged in a way where they
feel that you are gettingsomething out of it, you know,
where you feel that your child
Mifrah Mahroof (23:43):
yeah.
So
Almas Asad (23:43):
from that setting.
Mifrah Mahroof (23:45):
curiosity,
Almas Asad (23:46):
Yeah, definitely.
It nurtures the curiosity.
It brings them into some kindof, like, in a world where they
can actually, Learn and pick upprinciples and stuff and, relate
it to the real world.
I think a really amazing toolthat we've started doing is we
started playing monopoly
Mifrah Mahroof (24:02):
okay.
Almas Asad (24:02):
With my 4-year-old.
My 3-year-old kind of just sitsthere and she's like the banker
type of thing.
She kind of like
Mifrah Mahroof (24:08):
cute.
Almas Asad (24:09):
like's the money and stuff.
What Monopoly does, obviously wemight not be playing it as rule
by rule, but what we're doing isthat.
We're, learning the whole aspectof buying and selling and what
needs to be bought and if Ipurchase a sort of property, I
can get money by someone cominginto my house and, paying me
rent.
but we make it as simple aspossible.
(24:30):
Like it might not be if aproperty is in the book of the
rule, of the monopoly
Mifrah Mahroof (24:36):
yeah.
yeah.
Make it more age appropriate
Almas Asad (24:38):
Yeah, make it all age appropriate.
So, and my kids love it.
They love the handling of themoney.
They feel like they've gotactual money in their hands and
we could relate that to a reallife experience, we could go out
shopping to Kmart or somethingthe other day.
I gave them like a$20, note andI'm like, Hasam, what do you
think you can do with a 20 note?
And he goes out and he is like,I'm gonna, I feel like if I buy
(24:59):
something, for$10, I told himobviously,'cause he doesn't
really understand subtraction ormultiplication or anything like
that.
I told him that, you can get twoitems for$10 or you could get,
um, you could get four items forfive each.
So he went out and he got like.
One item for$10 and if you gottwo items for$5.
So it's that whole aspect ofkind of giving that real life
(25:20):
experience.
they're learning as they go, sothey like, as they got older,
they're like, oh, okay.
My mom, like, when we were lotyounger, she gave me like
certain budget and I had to workaround that.
I try and make it as simple aspossible.
Obviously, if I feel that he'snot getting it or she's not
getting it, I kind of move awayfrom the sign...
Mifrah Mahroof (25:37):
Those toys, try to connect them to like real
life experiences as much as youcan.
Um, so that it can be worthwhilefor them to play with.
And, and it challenges them, itgrows them, it helps them with
their motor skills.
So that makes a lot of sense.
So not just those ones wherethey're like passively play with
it.
So what I'm hearing is likeactive play.
(26:00):
So they're taking a part inplaying with that.
that, makes a lot of sense.
you know the funny thing ontoys, I remember having this
conversation with a friend ofmine and she was like, to me,
oh, you know, kids don't evenplay with toys.
And she's like, just go to asecondhand shop and buy like,
old phones and like theselittle, gadgets kind of thing
that are very fiddly.
(26:20):
And let them just play with that
Almas Asad (26:23):
Yeah, I think
Mifrah Mahroof (26:24):
I that was very creative.
I know we're got around toactually doing that, but I can
imagine like, back in our dayswhen we were younger, like,
those phones and stuff like, youlike click it and then it like
moves around and you can get alot of active play out of that.
Almas Asad (26:38):
Yeah.
and I think what we don'trealize is that there's lots of
things at home that you couldcreate like a whole activity
outta, it might be like acontainer or like a plastic
container and stuff.
And you put like, I don't know,rice in it, and they just, you
get a spoon that's like threethings and that's an activity
for them, like for your1-year-old or like 2-year-old or
something.
Mifrah Mahroof (26:57):
true.
Almas Asad (26:57):
Yeah, it's really, really simple.
But, I feel like because there'sjust so much out there, people
just tend
Mifrah Mahroof (27:02):
Yeah.
I guess that's where feeloverwhelmed and we of tend to
complicate it Oh yeah that'sthat's so true.
Hmm.
that was really helpful.
And in fact, I imagine,actually, I think I can even go
and start setting up some sortof basic environment now
actually, with the informationthat you gave.
So I'm thinking of puttingtogether some sort of shelf and
putting just four activities andgetting rid of that box or
(27:24):
hiding it somewhere in thehouse.
Almas Asad (27:25):
you might be needing that box.
Maybe like, once in a lifetimeyou won't be needing it.
if you've got those fouractivities, you could be like
rotating it as well.
Like, not just, having thosefour activities.
'cause I feel like kids tend toget bored and there might be
Mifrah Mahroof (27:38):
Oh, yeah, yeah, You'll, I guess I'll take those
four activities and put it backin the box and take another four
out of the box or something likethat like that.
Yeah.
Alright, that sounds good.
we're actually near the end ofour interview, so I'd like to,
ask you a few questions that weask all our guests.
so the first one is, what is onelife hack that has improved your
(28:00):
life?
Almas Asad (28:01):
I think the one life hack that I think as a parent,
that has literally been a gamechanger for me.
and I know some parents probablywon't agree with me with this
because it's all about,management of time and anything
like that.
Mifrah Mahroof (28:14):
Hmm.
Almas Asad (28:16):
Just waking up a few hours earlier before your
children has been an absolutegame changer for me.
Like whether that be staying upafter fajar and having those
moments to yourself, whetherthat be trying to meet like a
goal that you have your own.
Working on your own passionproject or whether that be,
doing your own work, that yourown type of soul project that
(28:37):
you're working on.
or just getting like a bit oftime to just unwind because I
feel like now it's just so hard.
because there's so many workingmoms out there.
We don't get that time toourselves.
I know there's lots of parentsthat don't get that time in the
morning.
So maybe like sometimes allocatea certain time in a during the
day or whether that be in theevening, whether that be an hour
or two, but I would definitelysuggest waking up earlier in the
(29:01):
morning.
Which means sleeping early,which has also really helped me
as well.
allowing me to focus more, in mywork and, trying to meet my own
personal goals.
It doesn't have to be careeroriented.
It could just be like personaldevelopment goals.
Does that be learning to be moreconfident with ourselves or
learning to work on ourself-esteem or learning to be
(29:22):
umm as,
Mifrah Mahroof (29:22):
yeah, so like personal growth?
Almas Asad (29:24):
Yeah.
definitely.
So I think that's the one thingthat has really helped me grow.
I think in the beginning it'sreally hard because you're not
used to waking up that early oryou are used to going back to
sleep after fajar or something.
But, if you do get those earlyhours it's a lot more quiet.
And if your daughter or your sondo wake up in the morning, they,
might be able to feed them oranything like that, or put them
(29:46):
back to sleep.
Or if your kids are a lot like away early birds, then I'd say
they're a lot more quieter in inthe early times of the day.
I feel like with my children,they do sleep early, even if
they do wake up early in themorning, they're a lot more
quiet.
and even if they're in theircorner, I still get that time to
kind of
Mifrah Mahroof (30:04):
Yeah, true.
I've noticed that as well.
my daughter generally has a goodmood in the morning.
She's happy going around herselfand playing.
Almas Asad (30:12):
unless they're sick or if they're like, going
through something or somethinglike that, obviously it doesn't
work out every single day.
for a parent every day isdifferent, even if you're able
to do that like once or twice aweek, it really affects your
mood as well.
So when your kids do wake up,you are a lot more happy.
You are able to cater to theirneeds and you're a better parent
that's the other day
Mifrah Mahroof (30:32):
I agree.
And that's a really good pointthat you brought up about even
just trying that for one or twotimes a week because I know I've
tried many times to wake up inthe morning and be able to get
some work done and just willwork on myself, and it always
makes me feel good, positive anduplifted.
But the struggle is like when Iwake up and I'm already sleep
deprived from the night, it'slike I feel like I've to choose
(30:55):
between the but just hearingthat, I can even do it for once
or twice a week.
think that's very doablebecause.
My body can recover the nextday.
I can sleep in a bit more tobalance out the sleep that until
my daughter grows a bit olderand I can properly sleep.
Almas Asad (31:09):
Yeah, I think it's a lot easier for me now once my
kids have been like three orfour and my daughter's a lot
younger.
I know once she hits that1-year-old Mark, it's gonna get
hard for me again.
I'm in that period where I'mkind of in a fantasy world.
'cause Alhamdulilah, my kidshave been really good these past
couple of, months.
Alhamdulilah, it's just abouttime management and I think a
lot kind of, Alhamdulilah, getgrants barakah for you, when you
(31:31):
do work in those early hours aswell.
Because at the end of the day,that's what, our prophet had
recommended for us as well totry and work in early hours of
the day.
Mifrah Mahroof (31:39):
it's also interesting that you mentioned
this because just last night Ifelt like I wanted to wake up
early morning, but I couldn'tbecause I wasn't sleeping well
and I just like made dua toAllah SWT and said ya Allah,
like Isha is really late, likeRight now, because summer and
I'm not getting enough sleep,but I really wanna wake up in
the morning and do things in themorning.
And like today I was able towake up and I had a nap later
(32:01):
on.
But it balanced out and I feelgood and I feel positive.
So I think it's also justplacing our trust in and not
being so attached to how manyhours you sleep.
It just like, Allah will givethe quality in my sleep and
he'll take care of me.
Almas Asad (32:14):
A hundred percent.
Yeah.
it's just having the rightintentions as well if you're
waking up for a certain thing,I'd say I wouldn't suggest to
wake up early and like watch amovie or something like that.
I just, not the thing I woulddo.
but I'd say just having that bitof me time, whether that be
reading a book or doing your ownwork, just having that kind of
quiet time, it has really helpedme because, all my kids, they're
(32:35):
under five and gets chaotic inthe house sometimes with all
three of them,
Mifrah Mahroof (32:39):
you
Almas Asad (32:40):
That's one of a life hack for me.
Mifrah Mahroof (32:41):
Awesome.
And the next question, that wehave is What is a book that has
helped you level up in yourlife?
Almas Asad (32:48):
I wouldn't really say I'm an avid reader, but
these past couple of months I'vebeen working on reading.
I'd say when I was a lotyounger, when I was in primary
school, I loved to read like,you know, those Emily I think
books, those Goosebumps series.
Um, in those premiers readingchallenge, if you were in
primary school.
Public private schools.
everyone would know what thatis.
Um, but yeah.
Mifrah Mahroof (33:07):
public privat
Almas Asad (33:07):
school, right but as I got older, obviously life
comes of the way and you forgetabout books because there's
pathology comes of the way.
But the one book that, hashelped me is, the one right
here.
So it's called Montessori Methodat Home, umm
Mifrah Mahroof (33:22):
okay.
So this book that I've read,
Almas Asad (33:23):
I've got like a few post notes here because as I go,
I'm trying to, put notes inthere because again, as I say,
I'm not really a professional.
I'm not like an expert inMontessori.
Mifrah Mahroof (33:33):
Yeah.
Almas Asad (33:34):
but I've learned a lot from this book and it's
given me, that kind of, Guidanceto try and that kind of
motivation to keep going becausethere's lots of principles in
there that are so simple thatyou can do an everyday, like,
just everyday life.
this is one book that's helpingand another book that I'm
actually reading at the moment,just the Kindle, which is
called, um, How to Speak toAnyone, and I think it's by
(33:56):
Leil, I can't remember his lastname, but, that's a really good
book because it's helped me.
And there's one thing that I'vereally, felt since I was younger
is I felt like I didn't reallyhave a very high self-esteem.
And I, I'm a bit of an introvertextrovert, you could say.
So I tend to, when there's awhole room full of people, you
probably won't be able to noticeme.
(34:17):
But when there's just one personand there's just me, I probably
would be speaking more because.
I think that's just how I work,but the one thing that I'm
working on is my communicationskills.
And it's one thing that's helpedme become, a lot more confident,
with just my whole YouTubejourney and, Inshaa Allah when I
do start my podcast journey aswell.
it's a great book.
I'm probably, I'm still in theearly stages, but, it's one
(34:38):
thing that really got it me tounderstand like the whole
systems of eye contact and,smiling more, or being a lot
more, happy, even if you're nothappy.
I wouldn't say to fake it, but Ithink the saying, that comes is
to, fake it till you make it.
It's sometimes that kind of doeswork because I feel like you can
train your brain in a certain
Mifrah Mahroof (35:00):
way
Almas Asad (35:00):
Yeah.
Mifrah Mahroof (35:00):
'cause your external influences your
internal
Almas Asad (35:02):
Definitely.
Yeah.
if you feel that you arereacting or if you're being in a
certain way, if you're beingvery positive, your brain will
automatically become a positiveperson.
You'll automatically become amore positive person.
if you just try train to becomea lot more positive and you
train to smile a bit more, oryou train to make more eye
contact with strangers, not in aweird, awkward way
Mifrah Mahroof (35:25):
Yeah.
Almas Asad (35:25):
only if you're, active communicating with them.
So, yeah.
that's two books that I'mcurrently working reading.
Mifrah Mahroof (35:31):
Almas, thank you so much for joining us today,
Almas Asad (35:35):
Thank you so much for having me.
Mifrah.
it's been a really good journey.
Mifrah Mahroof (35:37):
so one last thing is that you mentioned
YouTube, you mentioned podcast.
Where can, listeners find you ifthey wanna learn more
information?
Almas Asad (35:45):
I have my Instagram page, which is called Eager
Little Beavers,
Mifrah Mahroof (35:48):
we'll link that all in the show notes.
Almas Asad (35:51):
on my Instagram page, you've got my link tree,
and in my link tree you've gotthe links to my, YouTube
channel.
and InshaAllah.
I'm still working on my podcastchannel, which, currently, in
the works in production as well.
And yeah, so you could probablysee those links there.
On my YouTube, it's mostly,those in our shorts.
We've got like our learningthrough play activities that
we've been doing on Instagram,and also the longer content.
(36:14):
It's more like our product ofschool contents, so pretty much
like how to handle tantrums orhow to train your child.
Mifrah Mahroof (36:22):
Uh, that's important.
Almas Asad (36:23):
mix and yeah, simple mix.
And that I think that I wantedto share with everyone, that
I've learned over the years as aparent, and also a teacher as
well.
So yeah, I really hope, everyonedoes enjoy, and does subscribe
to my channel as well.
So the channels calledELBeavers, yeah.
Mifrah Mahroof (36:39):
ELBeavers.
E-L-E-L-B.
Beavers.
Almas Asad (36:42):
so it's ELBeavers so there's just one B, so
Mifrah Mahroof (36:45):
ELBs.
Okay.
Awesome.
All right, well thanks so muchAlmas.
Almas Asad (36:51):
Thank you so much, Mifrah.
Mifrah Mahroof - Podcast En (36:52):
Hey everyone, that wraps up another
episode of the Muslim LifeHackers podcast.
I really hope you enjoyed ourchat today and got some great
takeaways from it.
If you like what you heard anddon't want to miss out on our
next conversations, hit thatsubscribe button.
It really means a lot to us andhelps us grow the show.
And you know what?
If you're feeling extra generoustoday, drop us a review or a
rating.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
(37:14):
Thank you again for tuning inuntil next time, keep striving
and getting better every day.
In order to stay sane as a parent and as a
(00:02):
working mother, you can't reallybog yourself down to those
goals.
It's the small things, that thesmall achievements that it keeps
you going.
So there's certain things that Ifeel like my son or my daughter
is able to do and I commend themfor that.
I appreciate them doing it, butat the end of the day, I do have
that sense that they're not ableto do this.
They're not able to write yet.
They're not able to read yet.
(00:23):
if we do that, then we're notonly putting our children down,
but we also putting ourselvesdown.
Mifrah (00:27):
As-salamu alaykum and welcome to the Muslim Life
Hackers podcast.
I'm your host Mifrah Mahroof andthis is the podcast where we get
better every day.
Through conversations withexperts, leaders, and inspiring
individuals.
We're going to give youactionable insights to help you
win in this life and the next.
So if you're ready to level upin every area of your life and
(00:48):
you committed to living withexcellence for the sake of your
Lord.
You're in the right place.
Get ready for insights,inspiration, and a whole lot of
life hacks.
This is a Muslim Life Hackerspodcast.
Let's dive in.
Mifrah Mahroof (01:01):
As-salamu alaykum Almas, and welcome to
the show.
Almas Asad (01:04):
Wa ʿalaykumu s-salām Mifrah.
How are you today?
Mifrah Mahroof (01:06):
Alhamdulillah, I'm going good.
How's your day going so far?
Almas Asad (01:09):
Alhamdulillah, It's been a really good, It's been a
good productive morning.
Mifrah Mahroof (01:12):
That's awesome.
So, before we start, Almas, canyou give us an introduction
about who you are and, what youdo?
Almas Asad (01:20):
Yeah, sure.
I am a primary school teacher,primary trained teacher, turned
stay at home mom, but also asmall business owner.
I've got three children agesfour, three and nine months now,
so they're all under five.
And what I love to do, is createexciting learning experiences
for my children at home thatallows them to learn through
(01:41):
play pretty much.
And a lot of those practices arepretty much inspired by
Montessori principles.
I've learned to kind of adapt asI go.
So a lot of the principles kindof align with my Islamic values.
The one thing that I enjoy asbeing a teacher and a mom is to
teach my children with theminimum amount of resources,
minimum amount of activities ortoys or anything that we have at
(02:02):
home, and create a funexperience for them.
It doesn't necessarily have tobe, something really high end or
really aesthetic looking, butwhat I wanna do is kind of get
them to learn new things everyday, whether that be at home or
maybe just going outsidesometimes, but mostly at home.
Mifrah Mahroof (02:21):
Awesome.
I heard about the work you weredoing, what was like
particularly that concept ofteaching children under five
through play, and that'ssomething that I really wanna
explore in today's episode.
I wanna first of all start offwith actually asking you, like,
you mentioned something aboutsomething called Montessori
method, and the principlesassociated.
Would you be able to give us anintroduction to that?
Almas Asad (02:41):
Yeah, sure.
The one thing that I really,learned over the years being a
parent and also a teacher, isthat I came across this whole
Maria Montessori method andthere's lots of those principles
that I really loved.
So Maria Montessori focuses onallowing your children to kind
of learn through play and engagein real life experiences.
Mifrah Mahroof (03:01):
Okay,
Almas Asad (03:01):
So whether that be at home, but allowing them to
kind of be like focusing on likethe children.
So it's child-centric.
There's a lot of hands-onlearning and pretty much
allowing them to be theinstructor and you are kind of
facilitating that their play.
So they're kind of being theguide, they're doing what they
want, but you are kind offacilitating the play for them.
(03:23):
It allows your child to thinkopen endedly.
So there's a lot of open endedplay and allows your children to
think in a wide perspective andkind of I'd say a lots of
resources that you have at homeand like creating a learning
experience with what we have athome.
So I think lots of the practicallike life experiences that you
can do at home with yourchildren is that teaching them
(03:45):
to bake or teaching them to dogardening or whether that be
learning like certain thingswhile you're go, going out
grocery shopping, so likeeveryday life experiences, but
adapting and making it a bitmore child-centric.
Mifrah Mahroof (03:59):
Right.
So from what understand, itsounds like teaching them real
life experiences or like reallife things that we do in a
playful method, that's in forthem.
Almas Asad (04:09):
Yeah, definitely.
Mifrah Mahroof (04:11):
So I guess the question that comes to mind
right now is like when you lookat age groups and, so a
1-year-old can't do, what2-year-old can do, or a three or
four or five.
So it's like it's differentages, have different abilities.
And so how do you actually knowwhat your child is capable of
learning?
So that you can be able to puttogether that play, I guess.
Almas Asad (04:30):
I think the one thing that I've learned over the
years is that it's not like onechild size fits all type of
thing because I definitely seedifferences with my children.
I know it's hard not to compareyour children, just within
siblings or comparing your childto another child.
But the one thing that I'velearned is that, I'd say just me
being as a teacher is that
Mifrah Mahroof (04:49):
Yeah.
Almas Asad (04:50):
once you've kind of seen your child in that
environment, in that learningenvironment, and they're doing a
certain thing and you see thatthey're able to do, a certain
skill, they're able to, like doa puzzle without any assistance
or they're able to do, um, likeengage in some kind of sensory
play without any assistance ortype of like problem solving
(05:10):
activity.
So you kind of adapts where yougo you so you know what I try
and do is because I see adifference between all three of
my children.
I'd say
Mifrah Mahroof (05:18):
Hmm.
Almas Asad (05:19):
because she's third, she's a lot younger now, but I
tried adapt with the activitythat I've planned with them.
So for instance, if we've got awater play activity, we might
have lots of puzzles that we putinto the water, like add a kind
of like a bath drop in there tomake it colorful.
And my daughter, when she wasone, she was pretty much just
playing with water and thepuzzles.
(05:39):
She wasn't doing anything withthe puzzle pieces, but he was
like at age two and a half orthree at that time, he was
trying to getting the pieces andkind of sitting into the puzzles
So that's sense ofdifferentiation.
So they're both doing the sameactivity, but we are adapting
it.
So she's engaging in a sensoryplay, but she's also getting
that exposure of all thepuzzles, whether that be numbers
(06:01):
or alphabet letters.
But he's kind of doing twothings that once he's doing the
problem solving and he's alsoengaging in that sensory play.
Mifrah Mahroof (06:07):
So what I'm curious to know at this point is
when you actually set up theseactivities, like, how do you
actually go about with like areyou very strict with the
schedules or have like certaingoals you wanna reach in terms
of like what your childrenshould learn at that age?
say for example, I've, heard howin the Montessori method,
children would learn how to likefold a napkin or something and
(06:28):
those little, day-to-day, choresyou can say.
So it's like, do you have goalsthat you set that you want your
child to learn?
This, this, this, and then youput that together or how do you
actually go about with theimplementation?
I guess that's where my questionis coming at.
Almas Asad (06:43):
Yeah, that's a very good question, Mifrah, and I
think I get that a lot from alot of parents, but I think me
being a teacher naturally, Ihave this kind of, success
criteria at the back of my headthat, you know, or I want him to
do.
I want him to learn the alphabetat the end of this year, or I
want him to count to 20 by endof this year.
Mifrah Mahroof (07:00):
Yeah.
Almas Asad (07:00):
But I think it's a matter of in order to stay sane
as a parent and as a workingmother, you can't really bog
yourself down to those kind ofgoals.
So there's certain things that Ithink it's the small things
that, the small achievementsthat it keeps you going.
So there's certain things that Ifeel like my son or my daughter
is able to do, and I commendthem for that.
I appreciate them doing it, butat the end of the day, I do have
(07:23):
that sense that, they're notable to do this.
They're not able to write yet.
They're not able to read yet.
if we do that, then we're notonly putting our children down,
but we also kind a puttingourselves down.
okay, so saying to not havegoals, then would you say, you
could definitely have likeshort-term goals, certain things
that you feel that, yourchildren will be able to
achieve.
try not to have really high endgoals because if you're starting
(07:46):
off small, if you're startingoff just now by the end of this
month, I want them to startreading that seems really like
impossible to do, but I'd saysort of goals that your children
will be able to do, and I thinkevery parent knows their
children on their own.
I don't think any educator orany teacher is able to know a
child, unless their actualparent, because I think the
parent is the the only, actualteacher that they have because
(08:09):
they've been with them since theday they were born to now.
Mifrah Mahroof (08:12):
Hmm.
Okay.
Almas Asad (08:14):
So I think what you know of your child and I think
you learn and you adapt and thetype of goals that you feel that
they can achieve.
Maybe simple things could belike, by the end of this month
If they're a 1-year-old, I wantthem to be able to, solve a
puzzle, something small, I thinkthe best thing about Montessori
is that you start small and thenyou work your way up from there.
Mifrah Mahroof (08:37):
So as a parent, Let them be your guide.
Right?
And then, help them be able tolearn these skills.
So if I'm understanding theseprinciples and I want to see
this in my child, like forexample, my 1-year-old daughter,
how do I start like, I'mconvinced that this this is how
I wanna inspire my child toempower them to grow and learn.
But it's like, do I need to goout tomorrow and just like, buy
(08:59):
all these Montessori toys?
where do I start?
Almas Asad (09:02):
I think honestly, it just comes down to starting very
small, you
Mifrah Mahroof (09:06):
How does small actually look like?
Almas Asad (09:08):
Okay, so for example, you've got like a small
little shelf over here andyou've packed them with, I think
that the one thing that I usedto do, and I think I've learned
that from my experience, is thatyou've got all these toys and
you've just shoved them into theshelf.
Now your
Mifrah Mahroof (09:21):
Yeah.
Or in box,
Almas Asad (09:22):
yeah, or they're in a big box.
Your child will go up to themand feel automatically, they're
gonna feel overwhelmed.
They're gonna feel.
Mifrah Mahroof (09:29):
Uh, right.
So that's the reason why there,like my daughter, I noticed the
toys in the box.
She doesn't take everything outlike everything's in the box.
Almas Asad (09:38):
Yeah, definitely.
they're all in the box and, andshe might be seeing the same
thing.
She might be seeing the sametoy, the same activity every
single day, and she might tendto get bored of it.
So the one thing that I do is tomake your learning environment
or the child's play area orwhatever area that they have to
make it as simple as possible totry and make it as simple like
(09:58):
as minimal as possible.
So you might be having just fouractivities per week, like a four
little cubicle, little shelf,and putting four activities
there.
And as like, you know, everyweek you could be rotating it
and you could be rotating thesame thing over and
Mifrah Mahroof (10:12):
do
Almas Asad (10:12):
again.
Mifrah Mahroof (10:13):
What do by activity?
Do you mean like a toy in thosefour boxes?
So I'm imagining one of thoseIkea shell like those four
boxes, So just put like a toy inthere, or
Almas Asad (10:23):
Yeah.
Mifrah Mahroof (10:23):
what do you mean by activity?
Almas Asad (10:25):
It could be like a puzzle and you've taken the
puzzle pieces out, put them in abasket, or you've taken the
little puzzle pieces and wrappedthem in foil or any type of like
colored paper.
So what your daughter, or likeyour someone else's son would be
able to do is like, there's likea process to try and get to the
end result.
So it's not just, oh, puttingthem in there.
Oh, I've already done this mom.
(10:45):
So you've added like anotherstep to it.
So they're like, oh.
I have to do something to tryand get to the end of result.
I feel like kids naturally, theywant to win.
They wanna get to the end.
So if you slow up the process abit, they are more motivated to
move on and they're challengedin a way.
that could be one activity oryou could perhaps be doing like
(11:06):
a coloring book with those setof coloring pencils, that's in
another shelf
Mifrah Mahroof (11:10):
So you them in, in like a tray or something
inside the shelf.
Almas Asad (11:13):
Yeah.
it doesn't always have to be ina tray.
because not necessarily, noteveryone has those trays or any
type of tray.
I know there's all this, there'slike this, this plethora of,
aesthetics on Instagram,
Mifrah Mahroof (11:24):
what I'm imagining.
Almas Asad (11:25):
Yeah.
And you get really bogged downby that.
And I think those are the thingsthat really used to overwhelm me
at times.
But I knew that at the end ofthe day, if my child is getting
challenged, if my child isgetting, those learning
experiences at home and they'rehappy, that's all that matters.
you you've got that resource,you've got that toy, whatever it
is, and they're playing with itin a certain way.
(11:47):
And they're happy, rather thanthem continuously bugging you or
come and play with me, whichthey may do,'cause obviously
they're children, they want youto be there with you.
just making it very simple, havethose four activities and those
four little cubicles and withtime, try and just like rotate
them.
Whether that be like every weekor every month.
I'd probably say every week forchildren that are a lot younger,
(12:08):
because they tend to get morebored, a lot easy than like
older kids.
Mifrah Mahroof (12:12):
Yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense.
And like from a clutter,perspective, it makes me feel
better too.
'cause it's like there's so muchtoys I feel has it's, well not a
lot, but she has like a box oftoys and I feel even that's a
lot of toys.
But if I can move that somewhereelse and then just take a few
out so that she can play withit, that does make it feel like
(12:33):
those toys were worthworthwhile.
Almas Asad (12:35):
Definitely, and they've used well in a way where
you feel that, it's worth itsmoney type of thing.
If it's like a very expensivetoy or anything like that, or if
it's like a loading resourcethat you've purchased online
from like, some kind of smallbusiness.
Mifrah Mahroof (12:48):
So do these toys always have to like, when we say
toys, do we always have to buycertain type of toys to make
this work?
Or like, is it possible in thatshelf, like can put like a pot
and a spoon in there and putthat as an activity.
Almas Asad (13:01):
that's the amazing thing about Montessori
principles is that it's allabout adapting and it's all
about using like everyday lifeitems.
It doesn't necessarily have tobe toys.
It could be, obviously.
wooden place like the bowl ofwater or like a scoop or
anything like that in thecubicle.
But you might have an activityin the afternoon where, once
you've done with work, you'resitting down and you've got like
(13:21):
a whole tray of water andthey've got like a scoop and all
they're doing is that they'rejust pouring and they're
scooping.
So it's like scooping andtransferring and they're getting
that kind of, they're getting atthat fine motor skill
development.
They're getting that sensoryplay
Mifrah Mahroof (13:32):
It's very interesting.
Almas Asad (13:34):
And also like that hand eye coordination as well.
So you feel like they're doingsomething simple but they're
actually learning a lot and it'sactually, these type of
activities help them later onstrengthen their, like find
motor skills and be able tograsp a pencil once they are
ready to actually pick up apencil.
cause obviously you're not gonnagive your child a pencil and
start telling them to startwriting a sentence.
(13:54):
It's impossible.
Mifrah Mahroof (13:55):
On topic motor skills that you mentioned, I
remember, hearing somewhere howlike, children these days
because like they know how toswipe on the phone, but they
have weak motor skills in otherareas like holding areas like
holding or something becausedidn't have that experience
Almas Asad (14:10):
That's so true, I also saw a video and it was
actually really sad where therewas a child, he was sleeping he
was in some kind of zone orlike, he was so zoned out.
He was sleeping, but he had likean imaginary iPad and he was
just swiping.
It was like he was swipingthrough like reels or something
and I was like, it's so sadnowadays because Because kids
are so, connected to theirdevices.
(14:30):
They're so connected to theiriPads.
They don't really realize thatonce you've put them to the
side, I know that iPads andtechnology is advanced and
there's so many ways that youcan teach your kids through
those learning apps andeverything as well, but
sometimes, you are not, yourchild isn't gonna be, getting
all of the skills.
Mifrah Mahroof (14:48):
Yeah.
And we see how that is actuallywhen you see the effects of when
they grow older and they can'thold a pen properly or they
can't do these basic things thatwe take for granted
Almas Asad (14:57):
Oh, yes.
I'm so grateful for my parentsfor not being, always making us
sit in front of the tv.
there was a certain time in theafternoon or anything they, but
then again
Mifrah Mahroof (15:05):
back then in those days, we didn't have TV
running for 24 hours anyway.
Like shows and end at So I meanit's a totally different world.
Our children now growing up in
Almas Asad (15:15):
Yeah.
and it's just this aspect ofhaving so many choices.
Now, as soon as they come on,they can just go on YouTube and
watch whatever the favorite showthey have, whatever movie they
wanna watch, whatever cartoonthat it's right there.
And at that time, we had towait, we had that anxious like
excitement level that, oh myGod, my favorite cartoon is
gonna be on at 4:00 PM.
I know like one episode perweek, right?
(15:37):
And then we have to wait thenext they call seven days.
Can you believe that?
We have to wait seven days towatch half an hour show I know,
and, and I think that's whywe're so blessed in a way that
we had that kind of childhood.
I know like our children areblessed as well now because they
have all these options and,Alhamdulilah, you know, there's
there's technology advanced aswell.
(15:57):
But there's certain things thatwe were, blessed with.
life is, changing over time
Mifrah Mahroof (16:01):
and I guess that's also for us to
acknowledge that, the world is adifferent place and we have to
be cognizant of that as parents,that we have different
challenges than our parents andwe have the tools to deal, with
that as well.
So I mean, like one of thethings that I noticed you also
do is you actually infuseIslamic principles into the way
you're teaching your children,and I'd love to hear more about
(16:23):
that.
Like how does that look like?
Almas Asad (16:24):
I think I started I'd say like a year or two ago
where I noticed, I came acrossthis amazing Instagram page.
It was a sister, her name wasZainab, and her Instagram page
is called BRB Raising Kids.
The minute I went on her page isI was just, I just fell in love
with her content and her whole,Islamic block.
Her whole teaching practice wasabout Quran inspired Montessori
(16:45):
play.
So I was like, oh my God.
I love montessori.
I love, learning about Quran, Ilove the tafsir, sirah of the
Prophet SAW.
So, I really wanted to get mykids to fall in love with that
as well.
And that's one thing that Ithink when we were kids, uh,
Alhamdulilah, that our parentsgave that Islamic foundation,
but I don't want my kids to, notget that base.
(17:07):
not fall in love with the sirah,you not fall in love with like
certain surahs.
so what I try and do is that weget like certain Surahs that
might be simple for yourchildren to understand.
Like for example, we've got likesurah An-Naml or surah An-Nahl
the Surah is about the ants,Surah about the bee.
so what we're doing is thatwe're learning about the Surah,
what's so amazing about theSurahs is that, lots of the
(17:28):
scientific, principles andscientific facts come from the
Quran, that a lot of peopledon't know there might be
certain things like I know that,the Surah about the bee where
like children, can learn aboutthe structure of a bee.
They could learn about, prettymuch the anatomy of the bee and
how bees, collect nectar from aflower or it could just be like
one verse from a Surah and thenkind of unpacking that, Surah
(17:52):
that verse, and just likecreating a lesson out of it.
Creating like a whole beelesson, the unit of the bee.
Mifrah Mahroof (17:58):
Would you say something though that is more
appropriate children who are abit older, like say five
Almas Asad (18:04):
I'd say definitely for children, probably ages four
and five.
Mifrah Mahroof (18:08):
Okay.
So you would say the process ofinfusing more Islamic education
would be around four and five?
'cause I'm thinking 1-year-oldwould play with the bee like A
with the A toy bee.
Of course
Almas Asad (18:21):
Yeah.
Mifrah Mahroof (18:21):
But else would they know?
you could just like play thesurah
Almas Asad (18:24):
or like, there's lots of videos on YouTube, which
kind of, explain the whole, likeexplain a certain Surah through
like, storytelling.
You could like make them andthen you could just sit down and
discuss the Surah.
It doesn't have to be an actualactivity.
You could be discussing, Whatdid you learn about the Surah?
Um, what are the certain thingsthat you feel like you really
loved about it?
And then later on as they, growup, you could kind of extend on
(18:47):
that learning.
Mifrah Mahroof (18:48):
explain it more.
Yeah,
Almas Asad (18:49):
Yeah, definitely
Mifrah Mahroof (18:50):
sense.
Yeah, I mean I definitely do sea lot of value even like playing
the Quran or resigning the Quranare around been they're young
cause they pick it up and itjust makes it easy for them to
memorize later on because theyheard that a lot.
Almas Asad (19:04):
I think in the early years we don't realize it, but
the children's brains are like,they're actually like sponges.
They're grasping so quickly andthere's certain things that you
don't want them to grasp, butthey learn very quickly.
Um.
but like the certain surah, likeI know for a very long time we
were playing surah Al-Fatihah inthe morning and Alhamdulilah
both my children are able torecite
Mifrah Mahroof (19:26):
recite.
MashaAllah.
And quite young right?
Four and five.
Almas Asad (19:30):
my daughter's three.
four
Mifrah Mahroof (19:31):
Oh your daughter's three, mashaAllah,
nice.
Almas Asad (19:33):
my son's gonna be five next month.
Mifrah Mahroof (19:35):
so your 3-year-old can recite surah
Al-Fatihah now?
Almas Asad (19:38):
she has moments where she would be able, she
would sit down and recite thewhole thing, but then she has
days where she would be like,no, I'm not doing it.
And I'm like,
Mifrah Mahroof (19:44):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
but, but like, to actually hearthat she was able to do is very
encouraging.
Almas Asad (19:51):
Yeah, Alhamdulilah,
Mifrah Mahroof (19:52):
really nice.
Almas Asad (19:53):
just certain surahs like short surahs that you don't
realize that your kids, are ableto learn.
We really underestimate ourkids' abilities, you know?
Mifrah Mahroof (20:01):
Yeah, Yeah, I agree.
Almas Asad (20:02):
My aim is not to just shove knowledge down their
throats, but adapt with them andbe flexible.
if I feel that my child isgetting really overwhelmed, my
son tends to do that, he startsto get really bogged down.
But if he doesn't understandsomething, he's like, I mind,
I'm not understanding it.
And he gets really worried andit gets anxious about it.
We kind of move away from thisspace you know what, we don't
have to do this today, Assam
Mifrah Mahroof (20:22):
yeah.
we can do it tomorrow, we can doit another day, because,
Almas Asad (20:26):
At the end of the day, we want our kids to be
happy.
We want them to be learning.
But, in a way where they'rehappy, they're willing to do it
again type of thing.
Not feel that, oh, my mom'sgonna sit me down again and,
Mifrah Mahroof (20:37):
Yeah.
So you can associate likepositive memories with learning.
So it's not like, a stressfulwhen I'm learning
Almas Asad (20:42):
like as we were young, we were like taught to
sit down and like go throughlike, or study or do your
homework.
Um, and then we were gone out toplay.
But what I want our children towhat my children or like, you
know, of this generation is tokind of connect that like a
positive, connection withlearning rather than just feel
that, learning is just, work,but learning can actually be
Mifrah Mahroof (21:03):
enjoying.
I agree.
So that learning can continuethroughout life.
Yeah, Inshaa Allah, and that'svery important.
Yeah.
All right.
Nice.
Well, look, then the next thingI wanna actually speak to you is
actually more on the topic oftoys, right?
So, what are good toys to lookout for?
What are the bad to look outfor?
Because now I'm thinking aboutsetting up this environment for
(21:24):
my daughter and I might have togo out and, buy stuff, or I have
to get rid of some toys, whichshe has.
And wanna I wanna hear yourthoughts.
Almas Asad (21:33):
I think there's lots of toys out there.
there's so many out there.
There's so many resources.
There's so many websites,there's so many small
businesses, but I feel like thetoys are where you feel that
there's no purpose to them.
they're just
Mifrah Mahroof (21:44):
making sound do you mean by No, purpose to them.
Almas Asad (21:47):
Like they're, not really an objective out of it.
it could just be like a littletoy teddy bear or something.
You know, teddy bears are great,they sometimes like a sense of
comfort for your children, butthey it be like a teddy bear
that's making so much noise.
I wouldn't put that on a shelfbecause I feel like your child's
not really getting anything outthat.
Mifrah Mahroof (22:04):
All right, so it's just the teddy bear that
like you, you kind of press andit sings, for example.
So you see
Almas Asad (22:10):
Or things and stuff.
I feel like it's a ton of toythat's it might be
overstimulating your child, itmight not really be getting your
child to do anything.
and your child's just doing thething.
They're pressing the button overand over again and your child
not be,
Mifrah Mahroof (22:22):
okay.
Almas Asad (22:22):
not
Mifrah Mahroof (22:22):
So it's those like toys that they're just like
clicking on the button and itmakes a noise and they have
nothing to do, I guess noproblem solving, know nothing
Almas Asad (22:30):
hundred percent.
And I feel like nowadays There'slots of online stores.
There's lots of, even like thenormal department stores, like
Big W Kmart stuff, they'veactually started putting lots of
open-ended style toys where,there's a lot more that you can
get out of it, like a puzzle,like a wooden puzzle.
Lots of wooden toys, which are,they may seem, boring, but there
are a lot more, resourceful andthey last longer as well.
(22:53):
I think all of those plastictoys, they break really easily
and sometimes can be a bit of ahazard unless, you feel that,
they're a lot more older to kindof manage with toys like that.
I know my son, like he's reallyinto superheroes and everything
like that.
I'm not getting rid of all ofhis Marvel toys and stuff like
that.
He loves them and I let themget, I sometimes buy them for
it, but I feel like
Mifrah Mahroof (23:12):
So are you saying the Marvel toys are like
useless toys?
Almas Asad (23:18):
I do agree.
I do think they're use
Mifrah Mahroof (23:20):
your son hear this
Almas Asad (23:22):
I do feel like they're useless, but at the end
of the day, it keeps him happy.
And when he's doing that, he'sindependent play and he's
engaging in his like, superheroworld.
That's the imaginative playgoing on.
we wanna encourage them in playin learning experiences where I
feel that they're gettingchallenged in a way where they
feel that you are gettingsomething out of it, you know,
where you feel that your child
Mifrah Mahroof (23:43):
yeah.
So
Almas Asad (23:43):
from that setting.
Mifrah Mahroof (23:45):
curiosity,
Almas Asad (23:46):
Yeah, definitely.
It nurtures the curiosity.
It brings them into some kindof, like, in a world where they
can actually, Learn and pick upprinciples and stuff and, relate
it to the real world.
I think a really amazing toolthat we've started doing is we
started playing monopoly
Mifrah Mahroof (24:02):
okay.
Almas Asad (24:02):
With my 4-year-old.
My 3-year-old kind of just sitsthere and she's like the banker
type of thing.
She kind of like
Mifrah Mahroof (24:08):
cute.
Almas Asad (24:09):
like's the money and stuff.
What Monopoly does, obviously wemight not be playing it as rule
by rule, but what we're doing isthat.
We're, learning the whole aspectof buying and selling and what
needs to be bought and if Ipurchase a sort of property, I
can get money by someone cominginto my house and, paying me
rent.
but we make it as simple aspossible.
(24:30):
Like it might not be if aproperty is in the book of the
rule, of the monopoly
Mifrah Mahroof (24:36):
yeah.
yeah.
Make it more age appropriate
Almas Asad (24:38):
Yeah, make it all age appropriate.
So, and my kids love it.
They love the handling of themoney.
They feel like they've gotactual money in their hands and
we could relate that to a reallife experience, we could go out
shopping to Kmart or somethingthe other day.
I gave them like a$20, note andI'm like, Hasam, what do you
think you can do with a 20 note?
And he goes out and he is like,I'm gonna, I feel like if I buy
(24:59):
something, for$10, I told himobviously,'cause he doesn't
really understand subtraction ormultiplication or anything like
that.
I told him that, you can get twoitems for$10 or you could get,
um, you could get four items forfive each.
So he went out and he got like.
One item for$10 and if you gottwo items for$5.
So it's that whole aspect ofkind of giving that real life
(25:20):
experience.
they're learning as they go, sothey like, as they got older,
they're like, oh, okay.
My mom, like, when we were lotyounger, she gave me like
certain budget and I had to workaround that.
I try and make it as simple aspossible.
Obviously, if I feel that he'snot getting it or she's not
getting it, I kind of move awayfrom the sign...
Mifrah Mahroof (25:37):
Those toys, try to connect them to like real
life experiences as much as youcan.
Um, so that it can be worthwhilefor them to play with.
And, and it challenges them, itgrows them, it helps them with
their motor skills.
So that makes a lot of sense.
So not just those ones wherethey're like passively play with
it.
So what I'm hearing is likeactive play.
(26:00):
So they're taking a part inplaying with that.
that, makes a lot of sense.
you know the funny thing ontoys, I remember having this
conversation with a friend ofmine and she was like, to me,
oh, you know, kids don't evenplay with toys.
And she's like, just go to asecondhand shop and buy like,
old phones and like theselittle, gadgets kind of thing
that are very fiddly.
(26:20):
And let them just play with that
Almas Asad (26:23):
Yeah, I think
Mifrah Mahroof (26:24):
I that was very creative.
I know we're got around toactually doing that, but I can
imagine like, back in our dayswhen we were younger, like,
those phones and stuff like, youlike click it and then it like
moves around and you can get alot of active play out of that.
Almas Asad (26:38):
Yeah.
and I think what we don'trealize is that there's lots of
things at home that you couldcreate like a whole activity
outta, it might be like acontainer or like a plastic
container and stuff.
And you put like, I don't know,rice in it, and they just, you
get a spoon that's like threethings and that's an activity
for them, like for your1-year-old or like 2-year-old or
something.
Mifrah Mahroof (26:57):
true.
Almas Asad (26:57):
Yeah, it's really, really simple.
But, I feel like because there'sjust so much out there, people
just tend
Mifrah Mahroof (27:02):
Yeah.
I guess that's where feeloverwhelmed and we of tend to
complicate it Oh yeah that'sthat's so true.
Hmm.
that was really helpful.
And in fact, I imagine,actually, I think I can even go
and start setting up some sortof basic environment now
actually, with the informationthat you gave.
So I'm thinking of puttingtogether some sort of shelf and
putting just four activities andgetting rid of that box or
(27:24):
hiding it somewhere in thehouse.
Almas Asad (27:25):
you might be needing that box.
Maybe like, once in a lifetimeyou won't be needing it.
if you've got those fouractivities, you could be like
rotating it as well.
Like, not just, having thosefour activities.
'cause I feel like kids tend toget bored and there might be
Mifrah Mahroof (27:38):
Oh, yeah, yeah, You'll, I guess I'll take those
four activities and put it backin the box and take another four
out of the box or something likethat like that.
Yeah.
Alright, that sounds good.
we're actually near the end ofour interview, so I'd like to,
ask you a few questions that weask all our guests.
so the first one is, what is onelife hack that has improved your
(28:00):
life?
Almas Asad (28:01):
I think the one life hack that I think as a parent,
that has literally been a gamechanger for me.
and I know some parents probablywon't agree with me with this
because it's all about,management of time and anything
like that.
Mifrah Mahroof (28:14):
Hmm.
Almas Asad (28:16):
Just waking up a few hours earlier before your
children has been an absolutegame changer for me.
Like whether that be staying upafter fajar and having those
moments to yourself, whetherthat be trying to meet like a
goal that you have your own.
Working on your own passionproject or whether that be,
doing your own work, that yourown type of soul project that
(28:37):
you're working on.
or just getting like a bit oftime to just unwind because I
feel like now it's just so hard.
because there's so many workingmoms out there.
We don't get that time toourselves.
I know there's lots of parentsthat don't get that time in the
morning.
So maybe like sometimes allocatea certain time in a during the
day or whether that be in theevening, whether that be an hour
or two, but I would definitelysuggest waking up earlier in the
(29:01):
morning.
Which means sleeping early,which has also really helped me
as well.
allowing me to focus more, in mywork and, trying to meet my own
personal goals.
It doesn't have to be careeroriented.
It could just be like personaldevelopment goals.
Does that be learning to be moreconfident with ourselves or
learning to work on ourself-esteem or learning to be
(29:22):
umm as,
Mifrah Mahroof (29:22):
yeah, so like personal growth?
Almas Asad (29:24):
Yeah.
definitely.
So I think that's the one thingthat has really helped me grow.
I think in the beginning it'sreally hard because you're not
used to waking up that early oryou are used to going back to
sleep after fajar or something.
But, if you do get those earlyhours it's a lot more quiet.
And if your daughter or your sondo wake up in the morning, they,
might be able to feed them oranything like that, or put them
(29:46):
back to sleep.
Or if your kids are a lot like away early birds, then I'd say
they're a lot more quieter in inthe early times of the day.
I feel like with my children,they do sleep early, even if
they do wake up early in themorning, they're a lot more
quiet.
and even if they're in theircorner, I still get that time to
kind of
Mifrah Mahroof (30:04):
Yeah, true.
I've noticed that as well.
my daughter generally has a goodmood in the morning.
She's happy going around herselfand playing.
Almas Asad (30:12):
unless they're sick or if they're like, going
through something or somethinglike that, obviously it doesn't
work out every single day.
for a parent every day isdifferent, even if you're able
to do that like once or twice aweek, it really affects your
mood as well.
So when your kids do wake up,you are a lot more happy.
You are able to cater to theirneeds and you're a better parent
that's the other day
Mifrah Mahroof (30:32):
I agree.
And that's a really good pointthat you brought up about even
just trying that for one or twotimes a week because I know I've
tried many times to wake up inthe morning and be able to get
some work done and just willwork on myself, and it always
makes me feel good, positive anduplifted.
But the struggle is like when Iwake up and I'm already sleep
deprived from the night, it'slike I feel like I've to choose
(30:55):
between the but just hearingthat, I can even do it for once
or twice a week.
think that's very doablebecause.
My body can recover the nextday.
I can sleep in a bit more tobalance out the sleep that until
my daughter grows a bit olderand I can properly sleep.
Almas Asad (31:09):
Yeah, I think it's a lot easier for me now once my
kids have been like three orfour and my daughter's a lot
younger.
I know once she hits that1-year-old Mark, it's gonna get
hard for me again.
I'm in that period where I'mkind of in a fantasy world.
'cause Alhamdulilah, my kidshave been really good these past
couple of, months.
Alhamdulilah, it's just abouttime management and I think a
lot kind of, Alhamdulilah, getgrants barakah for you, when you
(31:31):
do work in those early hours aswell.
Because at the end of the day,that's what, our prophet had
recommended for us as well totry and work in early hours of
the day.
Mifrah Mahroof (31:39):
it's also interesting that you mentioned
this because just last night Ifelt like I wanted to wake up
early morning, but I couldn'tbecause I wasn't sleeping well
and I just like made dua toAllah SWT and said ya Allah,
like Isha is really late, likeRight now, because summer and
I'm not getting enough sleep,but I really wanna wake up in
the morning and do things in themorning.
And like today I was able towake up and I had a nap later
(32:01):
on.
But it balanced out and I feelgood and I feel positive.
So I think it's also justplacing our trust in and not
being so attached to how manyhours you sleep.
It just like, Allah will givethe quality in my sleep and
he'll take care of me.
Almas Asad (32:14):
A hundred percent.
Yeah.
it's just having the rightintentions as well if you're
waking up for a certain thing,I'd say I wouldn't suggest to
wake up early and like watch amovie or something like that.
I just, not the thing I woulddo.
but I'd say just having that bitof me time, whether that be
reading a book or doing your ownwork, just having that kind of
quiet time, it has really helpedme because, all my kids, they're
(32:35):
under five and gets chaotic inthe house sometimes with all
three of them,
Mifrah Mahroof (32:39):
you
Almas Asad (32:40):
That's one of a life hack for me.
Mifrah Mahroof (32:41):
Awesome.
And the next question, that wehave is What is a book that has
helped you level up in yourlife?
Almas Asad (32:48):
I wouldn't really say I'm an avid reader, but
these past couple of months I'vebeen working on reading.
I'd say when I was a lotyounger, when I was in primary
school, I loved to read like,you know, those Emily I think
books, those Goosebumps series.
Um, in those premiers readingchallenge, if you were in
primary school.
Public private schools.
everyone would know what thatis.
Um, but yeah.
Mifrah Mahroof (33:07):
public privat
Almas Asad (33:07):
school, right but as I got older, obviously life
comes of the way and you forgetabout books because there's
pathology comes of the way.
But the one book that, hashelped me is, the one right
here.
So it's called Montessori Methodat Home, umm
Mifrah Mahroof (33:22):
okay.
So this book that I've read,
Almas Asad (33:23):
I've got like a few post notes here because as I go,
I'm trying to, put notes inthere because again, as I say,
I'm not really a professional.
I'm not like an expert inMontessori.
Mifrah Mahroof (33:33):
Yeah.
Almas Asad (33:34):
but I've learned a lot from this book and it's
given me, that kind of, Guidanceto try and that kind of
motivation to keep going becausethere's lots of principles in
there that are so simple thatyou can do an everyday, like,
just everyday life.
this is one book that's helpingand another book that I'm
actually reading at the moment,just the Kindle, which is
called, um, How to Speak toAnyone, and I think it's by
(33:56):
Leil, I can't remember his lastname, but, that's a really good
book because it's helped me.
And there's one thing that I'vereally, felt since I was younger
is I felt like I didn't reallyhave a very high self-esteem.
And I, I'm a bit of an introvertextrovert, you could say.
So I tend to, when there's awhole room full of people, you
probably won't be able to noticeme.
(34:17):
But when there's just one personand there's just me, I probably
would be speaking more because.
I think that's just how I work,but the one thing that I'm
working on is my communicationskills.
And it's one thing that's helpedme become, a lot more confident,
with just my whole YouTubejourney and, Inshaa Allah when I
do start my podcast journey aswell.
it's a great book.
I'm probably, I'm still in theearly stages, but, it's one
(34:38):
thing that really got it me tounderstand like the whole
systems of eye contact and,smiling more, or being a lot
more, happy, even if you're nothappy.
I wouldn't say to fake it, but Ithink the saying, that comes is
to, fake it till you make it.
It's sometimes that kind of doeswork because I feel like you can
train your brain in a certain
Mifrah Mahroof (35:00):
way
Almas Asad (35:00):
Yeah.
Mifrah Mahroof (35:00):
'cause your external influences your
internal
Almas Asad (35:02):
Definitely.
Yeah.
if you feel that you arereacting or if you're being in a
certain way, if you're beingvery positive, your brain will
automatically become a positiveperson.
You'll automatically become amore positive person.
if you just try train to becomea lot more positive and you
train to smile a bit more, oryou train to make more eye
contact with strangers, not in aweird, awkward way
Mifrah Mahroof (35:25):
Yeah.
Almas Asad (35:25):
only if you're, active communicating with them.
So, yeah.
that's two books that I'mcurrently working reading.
Mifrah Mahroof (35:31):
Almas, thank you so much for joining us today,
Almas Asad (35:35):
Thank you so much for having me.
Mifrah.
it's been a really good journey.
Mifrah Mahroof (35:37):
so one last thing is that you mentioned
YouTube, you mentioned podcast.
Where can, listeners find you ifthey wanna learn more
information?
Almas Asad (35:45):
I have my Instagram page, which is called Eager
Little Beavers,
Mifrah Mahroof (35:48):
we'll link that all in the show notes.
Almas Asad (35:51):
on my Instagram page, you've got my link tree,
and in my link tree you've gotthe links to my, YouTube
channel.
and InshaAllah.
I'm still working on my podcastchannel, which, currently, in
the works in production as well.
And yeah, so you could probablysee those links there.
On my YouTube, it's mostly,those in our shorts.
We've got like our learningthrough play activities that
we've been doing on Instagram,and also the longer content.
(36:14):
It's more like our product ofschool contents, so pretty much
like how to handle tantrums orhow to train your child.
Mifrah Mahroof (36:22):
Uh, that's important.
Almas Asad (36:23):
mix and yeah, simple mix.
And that I think that I wantedto share with everyone, that
I've learned over the years as aparent, and also a teacher as
well.
So yeah, I really hope, everyonedoes enjoy, and does subscribe
to my channel as well.
So the channels calledELBeavers, yeah.
Mifrah Mahroof (36:39):
ELBeavers.
E-L-E-L-B.
Beavers.
Almas Asad (36:42):
so it's ELBeavers so there's just one B, so
Mifrah Mahroof (36:45):
ELBs.
Okay.
Awesome.
All right, well thanks so muchAlmas.
Almas Asad (36:51):
Thank you so much, Mifrah.
Mifrah Mahroof - Podcast En (36:52):
Hey everyone, that wraps up another
episode of the Muslim LifeHackers podcast.
I really hope you enjoyed ourchat today and got some great
takeaways from it.
If you like what you heard anddon't want to miss out on our
next conversations, hit thatsubscribe button.
It really means a lot to us andhelps us grow the show.
And you know what?
If you're feeling extra generoustoday, drop us a review or a
rating.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
(37:14):
Thank you again for tuning inuntil next time, keep striving
and getting better every day.
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