Practising at home between lessons: how to help your child alongside weekend school
By the Hudhudo team · Updated on
Your child gets the most out of weekend school when it repeats, for a few minutes a day at home, what the teacher covered. The lesson lays the foundation; short, regular practice at home makes it stick until the next lesson.
Start the ten minutes at home today
In this guide you read how to go about it: what to ask the teacher, what a ten-minute routine looks like, what to do if you don't speak Arabic yourself, and which resources help.
Why practising at home makes the difference
Learning to read works through repetition. A child who briefly repeats a new letter or a new verse a few days in a row remembers it much better than a child who does not look at it again between two lessons. That is true for every language and every school subject.
- Your child arrives better prepared, and the teacher can build further.
- Your child notices it is making progress, and that motivates.
- You know what your child is learning, and can tell the teacher how it goes at home.
Practising at home does not replace the lesson. The teacher explains, corrects the pronunciation and sees what your child needs. At home you repeat what came up in class.
Start with the teacher
The best home practice follows what the teacher covers that week. Does your child get homework? Start with that. If not, briefly ask after the lesson what your child can repeat at home.
- Which letters, sounds or words were covered this week?
- Which surah or verses should my child repeat or learn by heart?
- What does my child still find hard?
- Is there a reading book or notebook we can practise from at home?
A ten-minute daily routine
Ten minutes at a fixed moment works better than one long session just before the lesson. Choose a moment that comes back every day, for example after dinner.
| Day | What you do at home | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday to Thursday | Repeat what the teacher covered on Saturday: letters, words or verses | 10 minutes |
| Friday | Your child reads to you what it practised that week, to prepare for the lesson | 5 minutes |
| Saturday | The lesson at the weekend school or mosque | As the timetable says |
Stop while it is still fun, and name what went well. A child who stops with a good feeling starts more easily the next day.
Don't speak Arabic yourself?
You can still help your child a lot. Your role is not the teacher's: you keep the fixed moment, sit with your child and encourage.
- Ask your child to 'teach' you what it learned in class. Explaining is practice too.
- Leave the pronunciation to the teacher. At home your child can listen again with a resource that has a real voice, so it keeps hearing the sounds.
- Aim for regularity, not perfection: a little every day is enough.
Free resources for home
Our website has free pages you can use alongside the lesson. With the Arabic letters you hear how every letter sounds, with example words and a tip for parents.
Want to know the steps a child goes through, from letters to reading independently? Read our guide to Arabic for kids and the guide to reading the Quran. Unsure about screen time? Read purposeful screen time.
Hudhudo as a practice buddy alongside the lesson
Hudhudo is a web app for those daily ten minutes at home. Children aged 4 to 12 practise letters, words and Quran through play. When your child recites, the voice check compares the recitation word by word with the text of the verse.
- Hudhudo is not a teacher and does not replace the lesson. It is made for practice at home.
- Runs in the browser on a computer, tablet and phone and as an app on your phone, with instructions in Dutch, English and Arabic.
- No ads and no chats with strangers.
- € 9.95 per child for one month or € 89 per child for a whole year, paid once. The prayer course and the letters are always free, and every child can first try everything for 3 days, with no card.
- Weekend schools and mosques can give all their pupils access with a school subscription, at no cost to parents.
Frequently asked questions
How much should my child practise at home alongside weekend school?
Ten minutes a day, five or six days a week, is enough. Regularity matters more than length.
After a week my child has forgotten what it learned in class. Is that normal?
Yes, that is very normal. Memory needs repetition. With a few minutes of practice a day, what your child learns in class sticks much better.
How do I know what my child should practise at home?
Start with the homework from the weekend school. If there is none, ask the teacher what your child can repeat. The best home practice follows what was covered in class that week.
Can I help my child if I don't speak Arabic myself?
Yes. Your role is to keep the fixed moment, sit with your child and encourage. Leave the pronunciation to the teacher; at home your child can listen again with a resource that has a real voice.
Can our weekend school use Hudhudo?
Yes. Weekend schools and mosques can give all their pupils access with a school subscription, at no cost to parents. Your school can contact us through the page for schools.
Start the ten minutes at home today
Create a parent account, add your child and practise alongside the lesson. The prayer course and the letters are always free, and no card is needed.