Interview with Papatia Feauxzar on Homeschooling

Between Sisters, SVP!

PAPATIA_AVATAR-1Bismillahi Ar-Rahmaani Ar-Raheem

It is my pleasure to interview today Papatia Feauxzar from Djarabi Kitabs. She is a wife, a mother, a homeschooler, and a busy entrepreneur who is mostly known for her passion in writing novels. Let’s find out more about her, her homeschooling journey, what motivated her to start, and how she manages everything.

Oum Soumayyah: As-Salaam ‘alaikum wa-rahmatullah wa-barakatuh sister Papatia. How are you doing today?

Papatia Feauxzar: Wa aleikum salam waramatulahi wa barakatu Oum Soumayyah. Thank you for inviting me and interviewing me. It’s truly an honor, masha’Allah, I’m doing good. Alhamdullilah. How are you?

O.S.: Alhamdulillah, I’m doing great. Jazak Allahu khayr for asking. Would you please tell us a little bit about yourself?

P.F.: Sure! Papatia Feauxzar is a lot of things. She’s in her early thirties and gives thanks for living to this age. She’s also a mother to…

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Hector Hectricity and the Missing Socks

I requested a copy to review and the author was kind enough to honor that request.

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Author: Elizabeth Lymer
Illustrator: Azra Momin
Publisher : Aneesa Books

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Hector Hectricity is about a biracial Muslim family called Parack who enjoys family times and matching socks. They find comfort in simple joys such as family picnics outdoors. Life was a breeze until they had to move to a new place and their matching socks started missing.

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The mystery of the missing socks sends the mother of the house into stress mode and she implores her Lord and seeks others’ help to resolve the matter. And that’s the moral of this colorful children’s book; getting children to invoke the name of their Lord often and not to feel shy to ask for help.

My son enjoyed pointing at mother Parack. I guess it reminds him of me. He also giggled at my voice and intonations to entertain him. Finally, he kept wanting to stare at the front cover. *Laughs*

To continue, the book has a knitting guide at the end to make colorful socks. I love colors and I think I’ll try this activity  just for fun.

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Without being too subjective or biased, this children’s book is representative of my own family because I’m in a biracial marriage. And I like Hector Hectricity and the Missing Socks because it helps fill the diversity gap in children’s literature that I have also planned to fill in the future God willing.

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Get your copy on Amazon today.

 

Jasmine Falling – An Interview with Shereen Malherbe

Between Sisters, SVP!

SHEREEN 1Papatia Feauxzar: Assalamu aleikum Shereen. Welcome to Hayati Magazine. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Shereen Malherbe: Shereen Malherbe is a writer, author & speaker who spends her time in the U.K and the United Arab Emirates. She is an advocate for diverse narratives in literature and a mother of three. She also writes for Muslimah Media Watch about the representation of Muslim women in the media and pop culture. Her work also features in various newspaper opinion columns, magazines and has represented non-profit organisations.

PF: Congratulations on your novel, Jasmine Falling, being published! Masha’Allah. I have to say that at first, your main character came off as a Muslim person to me. So, some of her choices made me ponder for a moment because my subconscious played the haram police a bit. *Laughs.* Was your intention to put a little doubt in the…

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The Broken Half- A Review

Between Sisters, SVP!

Sahar book coverSahar Abdulaziz is a resident of Pennsylvania. From her website, Sahar Abdulaziz graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology before going on to earn her master’s degree in health and wellness promotion and administration. Also holding a certification in community health, she has answered hotline phones and worked as a domestic violence counselor/advocate. Abdulaziz, as a staunch advocate for mutual respect and acceptance, currently acts as a speaker and writer dedicated to helping those with hidden and painful disorders cope more successfully.

Her BookThe Broken Half is a tale about domestic violence and how if left unchecked causes a lot of collateral damages. The story saddened me on numerous occasions because of the trials her characters went through; especially Zahra Evans. The assaults on Zahra traumatized me for a few days until I decided to make an effort to turn the page. I have to applaud the author Abdulaziz…

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In Honor of Black History Month

Between Sisters, SVP!

blackhistorymonth2-270x300In honor of Black History Month, meet Mrs. Karimah Grayson. She is “… a Muslim American author. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Karimah resides in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The love of water and the beautiful blue skies keeps her loving the Sunshine State. By profession she is an educator and enjoys watching her students mature into adulthood. Karimah recently began writing in the little known genre of Muslim fiction and looks forward to sharing the Muslim American experience with the world.”

Her book The Shoulders On Which I stand is a must read and a credible Muslim Authored Book that supports Black History. My only issue is the cover that makes me a bit shy…

So Daria Van, the protagonist of the story is a challenger. At times I identified with her on the ways she was tried by the school staff. So, I sympathized a lot with her…

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#GirlLove Tag

Between Sisters, SVP!

flowers bloomThank you Sana Khan for nominating. It’s truly an honor dear. You’re smart, cute. classy, and a keeper masha’Allah.

Thank you to Abidah for that visiting her blog reminded me of this long overdue post! 🙂

So What is this #GirlLove Tag:

“It is in response to Lilly Singh’s video on YouTube, you can watch it at end of this post . The money collected by her will go to Malala fund where they will use it for Syrian Girl’s Education so each view matters.The video is about promoting  Girls love and combatting jealousy among women.The amount of energy women spent in putting other women down can be used to  lift each other up.”

We recommend you to watch it iA :). It’s less than 7 minutes!

Here’s what you do for the #GirlLove:

  1. Tell your followers who inspires you, a famous woman who may be dealing with negativity on…

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How To Guide Children’s Behavior (From an Islamic Perspective) – A Review

Jameela Ho

I received three free PDFs to review from Author Jameela Ho for my honest opinion. And the verdict is that this collection is a compelling parenting guide. Because I’m also a Love and Relationship Adviser, I think the methods laid out by sister Jameela Ho can also be applied to our marriages insha’Allah.

I started my review backward. By that, I mean I started reading the workbook first. Then, I read the Muslim Parenting Journal. And finally, I read the actual book. Normally, people read these the other way around. It doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that this method worked for me and I was able to get the benefits of the knowledge she passed down to me alhamdullilah.

So the Workbook is about 27 pages and it will give you many tips before you resort to corporal punishment if must go there as a parent.

The Journal  is about 42 pages. It includes plenty of space for you to write down the way you will implement your parenting skills after it gives you hadiths sherif, quotes or proverbs for each of the 19 strategies of better parenting. This is also a great writing prompt for parents to reflect on past and future actions.

Below is the summary of the 19 techniques for better parenting.

How to guide Children's Behaviour Summary

Finally, the actual book ‘How To Guide Children’s Behavior (From an Islamic Perspective)’ of about 37 pages goes deeper and coaches us on how to act and say things to our children. It makes us realize that it’s not what we say that have an impact on our children. It’s how and the way we say it. 

I definitely recommend it to any parent who needs a fresh start with challenging  children.

Thank you for reading,

Papatia Feauxzar

 

Go Away BAD MOOD -A Review

I got my copy on Amazon here. You can buy yours there and/or on the Author’s website.

 

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Go Away BAD mood
Author: Nayera Salam
Illustrator: Elsa Estrada
Publisher : Prolance
As a person who is always in a good mood, this children’s book called my name. I want to instill the value of a good character to my son so I had to get it.

My son and I read it and he enjoyed the graphics. He stayed focused longer than I thought. Later, he opened the book and told his own story as he flipped the pages -engrossed- of what he saw in his gibberish language while I puffed in laughter.

The story sends a powerful message to children; be courteous and a happy kid. The drawings are unique and beautiful. The text is also rhythmic and enjoyable.

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It has a puzzle at the end. A great activity for little ones to make them think and solve problems. My little one made a confetti here, haha!

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Here is the back cover.

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Thank you for reading,

Papatia Feauxzar

 

Pants for a Muslimah?

My grain of salt hehe 😉

Between Sisters, SVP!

Bismilah,

Here is a touchy subject around the globe ;). Can a Muslim woman wear pants? Hmmm…..So pants?

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or only dresses and skirts?skirtsNdresses

Well it depends on many things. Personally, I don’t wear pants outside the comfort of my home. I used to wear them outside but these days, I am so used to wear skirts and dresses that I feel very awkward wearing pants to go outside. I just feel naked if I try to put a foot outside the door, so I just don’t. But I do wear pants under clothing when Winter hits so that I don’t get cold.

So can she wear it? She can wear pants if it’s part of her culture and the dress on top is long enough to cover her behind.  Assuming that her clothes are not too tight and are loose. That said, some scholars will argue that she can’t under…

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