Teacher's Guide
How to set up a learning rhythm at home, what to teach first, and how to handle common challenges. Written for parents and family teachers.
Open the guideWhat we offer in English
Islamic homeschool at Jeel al-Khilafah is a free set of resources for Muslim families raising children on the way of the Salaf. We currently publish 60 books in English: a Teacher's Guide, a Daily Schedule, a Daily Monitoring Schedule, and book collections on creed, manners, the prophets, the companions, Quranic stories, and practical activities.
Our starting point is that tarbiyah is an act of worship, not a logistical chore. The home is the first school. The family is what shapes a child's creed, character, and emotional relationship with the world. The earliest years lay the foundation that everything afterwards is built upon.
The full age-graded curriculum, with two structured levels for children up to five, is currently published in Arabic. The English collection is a growing selection of those resources. The practical anchors are already translated; more books are added as we finish them.
"Every child is born upon the fitrah. It is his parents who make him a Jew, or a Christian, or a Magian."
Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Start here
Three short guides anchor everything else. Read them first, in this order.
Daily Schedule
A twelve-slot template that maps the rhythm of a child's day, from waking with the morning adhkar to sleeping with the night ones. Adapt it to your home.
Open the scheduleDaily Monitoring Schedule
A seven-day grid where you mark off what your child completed each day. Reinforces progress without the burden of tests.
Open the monitoring sheetBuild a tarbiyah rhythm by theme
Once the rhythm is in place, read with your child from these themed collections. Each card opens a representative book; the full list lives in the library.
Stories of the Prophets
The lives of the messengers, from Adam to Muhammad ﷺ, retold for young Muslim children.
Open a sample bookCompanions and Mothers of the Believers
Eight role-model biographies: the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and the great women of the early generation.
Open a sample bookManners and Etiquette
The everyday adab of a young Muslim: greetings, eating, sneezing, asking permission, and more.
Open a sample bookStories from the Quran
The People of the Cave, the Owner of the Two Gardens, and other Quranic accounts retold for children.
Open a sample bookCreed and Worship
Foundational works on tawhid and ibadah: My Creed, The Pillars of Islam, and a young Muslim hadith book.
Open a sample bookActivities and Practical Books
Coloring books, paper activities, letter-writing notebooks, schedules, and teaching guides for daily use.
Open a sample bookThe seven balances
No rigid rule fits every child or every home. Tarbiyah is a series of rapid mental calculations between two facing virtues, as the Foundational Guide for parents puts it:
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Between gentleness and firmness
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Between affection and discipline
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Between overlooking and accounting
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Between forgiveness and consequence
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Between permission and refusal
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Between helping and letting him stand on his own
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Between giving him the benefit of the doubt and holding him to account
How parents begin
Three steps that take an afternoon to set up:
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Read the Teacher's Guide
Read the Teacher's Guide in one sitting. It is short, and it answers most of the questions that come up in the first weeks.
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Set up a learning corner
A prayer corner, a Quran corner, a small bookshelf, a writing table. Quran memorisation begins on day one, even with a single verse.
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Set a daily rhythm
Use the Daily Schedule as a starting point, then adapt it to your child. A schedule is a structure, not a cage.
Practical tools
Four daily tools, all included in the English library, make the curriculum a practice rather than a manifesto:
- Daily Schedule: twelve slots that map the rhythm of a child's day.
- Daily Monitoring Schedule: a seven-day grid to mark off what your child completed each day.
- Quran Memorization Schedule: organises both new memorisation and review.
- Schedule for the Day of Arafah: a special-day plan for one of the best days of the year.
- The full English library: 60 books, all free, organised for Muslim families.
- Parenting Q&A: real parenting questions answered by the Jeel team.
Who we are
Jeel al-Khilafah is a family of teachers and educators working to raise a generation that bears the trust of Islam as Allah loves it to be borne. We work within Kata'ib al-Himmah, joining authenticity with realism in our approach to tarbiyah.
Our five values: trust, mastery, gentleness, referring each question to its rightful experts, and free access. All our resources are free. We do not seek and we do not accept payment in return. Knowledge cannot be hoarded, and a time of estrangement asks of us a sincere effort for the sake of Allah.
This English page is published with the hope that Allah accepts our intention, and that it becomes a help for every Muslim parent raising a child on this din.
Frequently asked questions
Is everything truly free?
Yes. Every book, schedule, and guide on this page is free to download. We ask for no subscription, no registration, and no payment. Free access is one of our founding values.
Is the full curriculum available in English?
Not yet. The full structured curriculum, with its two age-graded levels (Tasisi for two-year-olds, Tamhidi for three to five), is currently published in Arabic. The English collection is a growing selection of our books, with the practical anchors (Teacher's Guide, Daily Schedule, Daily Monitoring Schedule) already translated. Subscribe to our newsletter to be notified as more books are released in English.
How do I start with what is available now?
Begin by reading the Teacher's Guide. It explains how to set up a learning rhythm at home, what to teach first, and how to handle common challenges. Then download the Daily Schedule and the Daily Monitoring Schedule, and start reading the manners, prophets, and Quran-stories books with your child.
What ages is this for?
The collection works best for Muslim children from around age three through nine. The Teacher's Guide is written for parents and teachers of children in that range. Younger children benefit from the read-alouds; older children can begin reading the manners and prophets books themselves.
Do I need a teaching background to use these books?
No. Every guide is written for parents and family teachers, not for trained educators. The Teacher's Guide walks through the steps in detail. If you need help, write to us through the contact form.
Where do the books come from?
Most are translations of works authored by the Jeel team. A small number are translations of works we curated from other scholars and teachers. Both kinds are clearly marked. The full library, including books available only in Arabic, lives at the Arabic library.
Can these books replace a full curriculum?
For Quran, creed, and adab in the early years, yes. For Arabic literacy, math, and sciences taught the way the Arabic Tamhidi level teaches them, not yet. Use these English books for the heart and the manners; supplement with other resources for letters, numbers, and science until those parts are translated.
What if my child is a little behind?
Falling behind is not a flaw. Every child has their own pace. The Teacher's Guide explains the common reasons children move more slowly and offers a patient plan. We never recommend punishment for slow progress. Patience with a child who is still finding their pace is one of the great doors of reward.
How do I track my child's progress?
Use the Daily Monitoring Schedule: a simple seven-day grid where you mark off what your child completed each day. It reinforces what is going well and shows you where to slow down, without burdensome tests.
Do you offer one-to-one parenting consultations?
Free parenting consultations are available through our sister project Kata'ib al-Himmah. We also publish previously-answered questions, sorted by topic, in our Parenting Q&A section.
