Re: Passing away of a class friend
nikki - my tayya passed away a year ago this summer, and musa knew that he had passed away. he understood the concept that my uncle was no longer with us, and that people get sad at that. he had more questions as to why, where did he go, etc..and i just explained that he was sick and that now he is with Allah. but i think it'll be a little harder understanding it when it's someone that you know, or something that you played with everyday at school. your friend that you've seen at school since the beginning of the school year.
milly - no, he hasn't asked about it yet, as the children in the class don't know yet. all he knows is that his friend is in the hospital. the book idea is a really good idea, to slowly get him into that frame of mind instead of jumping right into it.
i don't think they can understand the concept of fearing death, as they're still too young. they do know that people go away, and then don't come back and you can talk about it in general terms. i believe the hard part comes in when it's someone they actually know and have spent time with on a daily basis, where it becomes a little harder to tell them about it.
mama - i like your ideas..explaing how they're now looking down on us and in a happier place. as to not to scare him away from anything, but rather be comfortable about what happened to his friend and that he's in a safe place now.