Fatima's Archives

A question that I have often been asked during the four and a half years since we started homeschooling is about how we manage to study at home. ‘Do your parents teach you?’ People ask. ‘Does your father teach you? Or does your mother teach you?’ They ask with curiosity. ‘No one teaches us.’ I always answer truthfully. ‘We study by ourselves.’ While this fact is hard for many people to accept, I don’t see why this is impossible. With amazing textbooks for each subject, plenty of reference material and resources, access to libraries and bookstores, and limitless help from the internet, it is very feasible for a student to study on his\her own. In this article, I intend to give an insight into how I – and several other homeschoolers – take charge of their studies. Taking charge of your studies: The first thing that I realized as a homeschooler was that I am responsible for my studies. Unlike at school, where someone teaches you something and then gives you questions and workshe...

Eid-ul-Azha is just round the corner, and no-body can miss that fact, especially in Karachi. The already polluted air of Karachi has now an additional stink of animals in the air. Every now and then, you can hear the sounds of an animal being led on a walk by its owner, accompanied by the screams, yells and shrieks of children who are taking the animal on its walk. Eid-ul-Azha is one of the two Eids (festivals), that Almighty Allah has blessed Muslims with; the other being Eid-ul-fitr. The history of Eid-ul-Azha goes a long way to the Prophet Ibraheem AS, who was willing to sacrifice even his son, Ismail, on Allah's command. However, God replaced his son with a ram when he was about to slaughter him, making Hazrat Ibraheem slaughter the ram instead of his son. Eid-ul-Azha is celebrated by Muslims every year to remind us of Hazrat Ibraheem's sacrifice, and to make us realize that we should be willing to sacrifice whatever we have for Allah, on his command. Muslims have to sac...

Hi readers! Here's another one of those essays that I mentioned I'd be sharing in here. This one was written on 12th April, 2016. The topic is mentioned below. Comments, feedback, and suggestions are very welcome! :) What changes would you like to see take place in your country in the next five years? Everything has some space for improvement, to strive to make it better, if not perfect. There are many changes that I would like to see take place in my homeland for it to improve. Firstly, I would like to see my country cleaner. The garbage disposal system of many places in Sindh, especially Karachi, which is the provincial capital, needs to be regenerated. The bio-degradable waste needs to be sorted and tackled accordingly, and the recyclable waste recycled. This change would not only be a relief to the common people, but also improve the country’s outlook. Secondly, I would like to see Pakistan greener than it already is. Although the province of Punjab, and Kash...

This is a descriptive essay I wrote on 23rd December, 2015. I guess if I wrote on the same topic now, my composition would be very different from this. I had to describe a place, and I chose a gymkhana we visit regularly. I've exaggerated at some points, I suppose... for example, winters aren't that intense in Karachi. But you have to exaggerate, and even make up some facts, at times, to make your writing stronger. (I wouldn't do that in tasks other than I did for the exams, though!) So here you go: Describe a garden or park at two different times of the day or year. North Nazimabad Gymkhana is a wonderful place for relaxing on summer nights. Its lawns are in full bloom, trees and plant displaying their greenery to their full extent. A lovely breeze is blowing, causing the leaves to make a soft rustling sound. The lawns and walking tracks are illuminated with lamp posts, and abuzz with the sounds of people talking and laughing. The air is filled with wafting aromas ...

A few days ago, I was going through my English notebook, which was filled with stories and compositions I wrote while preparing for my exams. A lot of them hadn't been posted on my blog, so I marked the ones that were good enough to be posted on this blog. And so, I'll be posting them here one by one. This one is an argumentative essay on the topic below. I wrote this on 15th April, 2016. Have classroom teachers become less important with the increased use of the internet in education? The use of internet in education is on the rise. It is accessible to everyone, to people of all ages. From school children to university level students, the internet is of great help to everyone in their studies. Online courses can be attended at home to master any skill. Many of these courses are free, while some charge an adequate amount. Courses are offered from overseas and international universities from all over the world. People can get a diploma without having to travel anywhere ...

I attended a photography workshop last month. It was an amazing workshop, and I learnt a lot about the art of capturing moments in photographs in it. You could make an ordinary event a special memory if you take a good photograph of it. I also learnt about taking pictures from different angles, about taking care of light, shadows, and various rules and principals to keep in mind. Anyways, in the workshop, we had an assignment to make a presentation of twenty best photographs that we have taken, and then give our presentation on the last day of the workshop. Like everyone, I also made the presentation and presented it. I thought about posting the presentation on my blog, but realized that as it has portraits of many people, they may not like it if I post the presentation with their pictures online. (Also, I wouldn't like it if someone posts their presentation online if it has my photograph without my permission.) So instead, I am sharing here some of the photographs that I took in ...

Hello readers! I'm posting after more than a month. I've been very busy in exam preparations, and so haven't been coming on blogger very often. (Sorry fellow bloggers, for not commenting on your blogs lately.) Meanwhile, I've written loads of compositions, and when my exams are over, I'll post them on my blog. Anyways, here's an essay that I wrote yesterday. It was an argumentative topic, and even though it fell short of the word limit, I decided that it was good enough to be posted on my blog. Happy reading! :) Should entertainers and sports stars be paid such large sums of money? What are your views? Money is misused in many ways by the authorities and the rich ones in-charge. Different television channels, various entertaining forums and event organizers pay huge sums of money to entertainers, often celebrities, like actors and singers, to perform for a live audience, or on television. Sports men are paid hefty amounts to play a single game, and ev...

Hello people! This is to inform you about my art blog. I recently made another blog, specifically for my art. It is actually more of an art portfolio. I just realized that I should have a separate site for all of my artwork. Although I haven't posted any of my artwork there yet, I will do it soon. I will also post the artwork which I have already posted on this blog. I will continue to post my selected artwork here as well, but over there I will be posting a lot more of it. This blog will, of course, remain functional, and I will regularly be posting my stuff here. If you are an art lover, or like my artwork, please feel free to visit my art blog:  fatimasartwork.blogspot.com  You can follow it if you wish to receive email updates whenever I post anything new. Thank you very much.

This is a narrative essay that I wrote yesterday. The topic was: Write a story which includes the sentence: 'Right! That's it! You have been late too often.' Now I'm not really that good at writing stories and narratives, so this might not be as good the previous essays. I'm ready to welcome any feedback\constructive criticism, so feel free to leave a comment.  Thank you, and happy reading! :) Seema woke up at six am, as her alarm clock went off. She got out of bed and stretched, thinking; ‘I will not be late today.’ She remembered how she had been late in class several times last week. Her teacher was angry at her about this as he could not stand interruptions in his class. ‘But it will not happen again.’ Seema decided, determined. Seema was a college student and the youngest of four siblings. Her elder siblings were married and well-settled, and her father had died a few years ago. That only left Seema to care for her weak, ailing mother, juggling her r...

We all have different personalities, different thoughts, and opinions. Everyone is unique in their own individual way. Our personality shows in the way we dress. It shows who we are, and gives an insight into our personality. But there are times in life when we have to wear uniforms. They are basically the same kind of dressing worn by many people. They symbolize uniformity and equality among people, which is, in some ways, a positive idea. However, it condemns individuality and originality of every person, by implying that they all wear the same thing, regardless of their taste and choice. Children start wearing uniforms once they start school. School uniforms are usually simple clothes in dull and boring colours like greys and browns. In younger classes for boys there are shorts and a button down shirt. For girls, there is usually skirt blouse. Uniforms change in older classes, for example, there are pants for boys and shalwar kameez for girls (in Pakistan) from upper Prima...

Silence is a blessing. In today’s noisy world, you can always hear some noises. At home, you can hear the noises of cars, bikes, aero planes, vendors and hawkers yelling, children shouting, birds chirping and many more. Between all these noises, it is indeed a relief to find a few moments of silence. Silence ignites creativity. It allows you to think, reducing distractions. It brings new and innovative ideas, and allows you to build on them. It lets you focus on your task, whether you’re writing, drawing or painting, let’s you do it peacefully. It allows you to daydream without any interruptions. Silence has a strong impact. When you speak, you always have to pause at the right moments to let your words sink in. In speeches, there are always some parts when you have to become silent, which has a dramatic impact on the audience. Silence is also an essential part of good conversation. There are parts when you have to become silent to allow the other to speak, and when the ot...

Here is a writing I did on the topic: 'Describe the best and the worst weather conditions that you remember.'  Feedback would be appreciated. The best weather conditions that I remember having experienced were during my trip to Muscat, Oman in January 2014. It was winters, and was the best winters of my life. The weather was pleasant and was further enhanced by the lovely sea breeze. The mornings were cool and windy, but not cool enough to cuddle into your blanket indoors. You could go for a walk outside, maybe to the beach nearby and enjoy the weather there, listening to the sounds of the waves splashing against rocks. The afternoons were warmer. It was usually hot and sunny. You could enjoy the hot weather with a cool drink, perhaps under an umbrella at a park. The evenings were a bit cooler with a lovely breeze blowing. It would be a complete waste to spend them indoors. The best way to enjoy them would be to for a walk to the beach, or a park nearby. Many p...