Every year MAC (Muslim Association of Canada) organizes a yearly event of MAC Quran Contest. It is the opportunity to nurture the love and relationship between our kids and Quran, to connect them with our holy book , to encourage them to compete and to appreciate their participation and hard work. Contest happened on January 1st every year in Mississauga Canada, around 1000 plus kids participate and the number is increasing with time. Surahs for memorization are assigned to kids according to their grades. They usually post the flyer approx three months before the contest so there is plenty of time to even memorize a bigger Surahs plus kids get winter break which makes it easier. They also send two other pages before the competition which have a little central idea of Surah and the message it’s giving so its like teaching the meaning and message as well.
When I shared the flyer of the MAC Annual Quran Contest I got many questions about it. I am not directly related to the organization but as my kids are participating in that from the past few years, So I thought to combine all those answers and write about it.
Q. How does it work?
A. You have to register your kids online as instructed on the flyer (there is a fee of it).On Competition day (January 1st) you’ve to bring your kids to the assigned location i.e Olive grove school Mississauga. A time slot is emailed to you before the competition day.
Q. How do they judge?
A. For every grade a class is assigned for judges, After arriving on competition day you have to go to the registration desk, check your kid’s name there and they will send you to the assigned class. There are usually two judges. Your child goes inside, you will stay outside, They ask him/her to recite the Surah. As for kindergarteners, surahs are smaller and kids are little so they listen to the whole Surah. For bigger grades judges tell the kid to start it then they stop him/her and recite an ayah from anywhere in the middle and tell him to continue and do that three or four times till the end of Surah. So basically they check them at the start, in the middle towards the end. Judges are so polite, helpful and encouraging. They try to calm the kids and reward them with candy at the end.
Q. What other things do they check?
A. Other then memorization they check the rules of recitation (Tajweed) and the answers of two questions they ask from the material they sent.
Q. How do they reward the kids?
A. There are many 1st,2nd,3rd plus Best effort and Good effort positions so there is something for every kid participated. If a kid did a perfect job or made one or two mistakes they assigned him 1st.it works gradually for 2nd and 3rd the same way . If a kid didn’t perform well they even reward them for participation for encouragement as Good effort or Blessed effort.
Q. What if my kids couldn’t memorize the whole Surah?
A. Try your best and even if your kid isn’t able to memorize the whole Surah or have some part 50 50, encourage them to go for it ,they will still make it somewhere and maybe next time they will come back with more enthusiasm.
Q. How to help the kids to memorize?
A. Its more about time .You have to sit with them ,20 minutes are good enough. You can use YouTube for listening the Surah , it will help to correct the tajweed. Also you can take help from some online Qari or where your Kids are going for their Quran class .Just request them to give some minutes extra and let the kid sit and memorize his ayah and listen to him .It will help to make a routine.
Q. When do the results announce?
A. Results usually announce in a couple of weeks and you will get through the email.
Q. When does the Ceremony happened?
A. From the past few years, they are having a ceremony at The Meeting house Oakville, Ontario usually at family day weekend in February. This is the huge main encouraging part of the whole competition. They check your kid’s name at the front desk. Give your child badges, stickers, crowns, etc and send you to group up for the parade . Parents supposed to sit in the auditorium. They have little program and speeches and then they invite all participants at stage according to their grades, award them with trophies or medals while their name is coming up at the giant screen on stage. After everyone gets their reward. You have to go and collect your child’s gift and certificate from designated areas. This is the most fun and exciting part as MAC reward the kids with some really good gifts. Last year higher grades got 50$ Square one card (it’s something big for teens🙂).
Honestly, we pushed our kids once and after seeing so much encouragement and ceremony now every year they are excited to participate. We missed it in 2017 cause of traveling but even that time they memorized their surah hoping to give the test after.
Here are the few glimpse of previous contests and ceremonies . We as parents are grateful to MAC for this community activity every year and for encouraging our kids to get connected with Quran .Thank You MAC.
Feel free to comment if you’ve any other question.
Here are the few glimpse of previous events, sharing not to brag about my kids but just to give an idea and encouragement😉💕
