Asalamu alaykum ladies. I hope you’re well.  Although we have discussed the virtues of Sha’ban together as a family, I wanted us to feel that Ramadan is ever drawing close and will soon be here.   
So, here’s a simple lesson plan to get everyone ready for its arrival. 

We started our discussion by describing how our ideal Ramadan would look.  The kids all described increased acts of worshipping Allahuma barik. 

After that, we discussed the following hadith, which Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa salam) did not observe voluntary Saum (fasting) so frequently during any other month as he did during Sha`ban. 

The children and I then discussed the wisdom in the Prophet sallahu alayhi wasalams increased fasting in Sha’baan and they gave their thoughts on why it would be beneficial to prepare for Ramadan ahead of time.

With this in mind, we did a mind map on the board about things we could do now in Sha’baan to help us prepare for the lofty Ramadan goals we discussed earlier.  This was really beneficial alhamdulillah and really helped solidify the countdown to Ramadan for us.

Although we did this as a group activity, I wanted the kids to set their own goals as everyone had different aspirations.  

Below is the mindmap activity I created, which you can download HERE.

Although I designed this for my older kids, younger kids could do this too, and perhaps draw instead of write.

May Allah allow us to witness Ramadan.  I hope your preparations are going well!