DIY Arabic Sun and Moon letters game

Previously, we touched upon the importance of helping our children learn Arabic. But if you don’t speak Arabic yourself, that task is easier said than done.  Not only is Arabic hard to pronounce for those of us who did not grow up speaking Semitic languages, it also has a complex grammar.  So what are we suppose to do if we haven’t quite acquired the skill sets needed to impart this crucial knowledge? Even if you don’t know Arabic, you can start by taking it one step at a time, and by building the foundation brick by brick! 

 You probably have heard that the Arabic alphabet consists of 2 sets of moon letters and sun letters.  It is important to learn which letters fall into which category to aid with proper pronunciation.  While thinking about how I can help my children memorize which letters fall into which categories, I came up with a quick, and fun game, which was so easy to make and costed me only  about a buck (can’t beat that!).  Since I also had my kids make it themselves, it was relatively effortless ;).  

InshaAllah, we will be sharing more Arabic Learning Materials, so check our blog frequently for more “building blocks”, or subscribe to our email list (at the bottom on the page) to get an update!

To make your own Sun and Moon letters game, you will need:

1.  28 wood clothespins (since there are 14 sun letters and 14 moon letters)
2.  2 sheets of Construction paper (choose 2 different colors)
3.  Cardboard
4.  Glue Stick
5.  A circular object to trace with
6.  Permanent markers
7.  Any bag that is not see-through ( you will use it to put the pins in)

Directions:

1.  Color 14 pins yellow (to represent the sun) and write the sun letters on the tip (where the clip part is).                                                                                                     The 14 sun letters are:ت ‌ث ‌د ‌ذ‌ ر ‌ز ‌س ‌ش ‌ص ‌ض ‌ط‌ ظ ‌ل‌ ن‌
2.  Color 14 pins any  color other than yellow such as white, purple or blue (to represent the moon) and write the moon letters on the clip part tip again.          The 14 moon letters are: أ ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ك م  ه و ي
3.  Using a plate, or other circular object, trace a circle on a cardboard, and construction paper (use colors to coordinate with the pins), and cut it out.
4.  Glue the yellow colored construction paper circle onto the cardboard circle, and write the sun  letters  around them (tip: you may choose to write in pencil first and trace over with a marker later).  Do the same for the moon letters on the other circle.
5.  Optional: You can choose to make a label,  الحروف الشمسية (al-huroof ash-shamsiiyyah)  which means sun letters and glue on the center of the yellow circle. Likewise, you can label the “moon circle” with الحروف القمرية (al-huroof al-qamariiyyah).

A useful tip you can teach your child is that the sun letters are typically pronounced at the front of the mouth while moon letters are often times pronounced at the back. 

How to play:

Note: Only 2 players or teams can play this game at a time. 

1.   Place all the pins in the bag, and give a sun card to one player, and the moon card to another player.
2.  The players will take turns picking a pin from the bag.  If it is a letter from their card, they can pin it on. Otherwise, they have to put it back in the bag, and the next player will then pick.
3.  The winner is the first person to pin all the letters on his/her card. It’s that easy, but it will help make the memorization process much more fun!

Check out our other posts inshaAllah in the Learn Arabic Series:

Learn Arabic: Kids Edition

Learn Arabic: Free Resources

Arabic Blocks Review

DIY Arabic Craft Sticks Puzzles

Birds Study According to Quran and Hadith (Free Arabic Printable book and Song)

Do you have any Arabic learning games you can share?  InshaAllah, comment below, so we all can learn from each other 🙂  Jazakum Allahu Khair!