Celebrating Native American Heritage
When I was growing up, November was a month filled with images of āpilgrimsā and āIndiansā sharing aā¦
MoreWhen I was growing up, November was a month filled with images of āpilgrimsā and āIndiansā sharing aā¦
MoreWhen my daughter was little, she watched a movie where the mother died.Ā Afterward, she would become upset every timeā¦
MoreEvery year, my kidsā school does a Valentine fundraiser. Parents and grandparents can purchase pink and redā¦
MoreAs the regular school year draws to a close, many extracurricular programs also pause for the summer. Teachers andā¦
MoreWhen my son was learning about lower case letters, he got into an argument with his preschool teacher about the letterā¦
MoreAs children return to in-person gatherings, they may feel anxious and stressed.Ā An art-based mindfulness practice canā¦
MoreKindness is more than just a feeling. Itās a way of being in the world that requires paying close attention to otherā¦
MoreWhen my friendās children want to find a new book to read, they turn to TikTok. The app lets them search for videosā¦
MoreBoās summer plans completely change when her mother moves into a Harlem brownstone with her fiance and anotherā¦
MoreWhen it comes to educating young children, weāve all heard that play is an important part of learning. And yet, whenā¦
MoreMy daughter returned from her third grade āMeet the Teacherā with news sheād heard through friends: a boy in herā¦
MoreāMommy, why did Jennifer* get cancer?ā This probing question from my nine year old daughter caught me off guard.ā¦
MoreA common way to check whether children have understood something is to give a test. But even in schools, teachers areā¦
MoreCleaning out my daughterās closet, I found a shadow box she constructed in 1st grade. She and a friend set out toā¦
MoreChildrenās feelings can shift and change rapidly. One minute a toddler is happily playing and the next theyāreā¦
MoreMost of the time, we think of the global pandemic as a terrible time for children and learning. School closures, fightsā¦
MoreWith her latest album sweeping the top 10 slots on Billboardās Top 100 - a first for any artist - Taylor Swift isā¦
MoreMy nephew is a science nerd. He collects facts about climate change and uses them to convince other family members toā¦
MoreA mom I know is struggling with the amount of time her 7 and 10 year olds are online. They spend their school day inā¦
MoreMy son jumped excitedly from foot to foot as he waited impatiently for the clock to strike midnight. Our localā¦
MoreJust when we thought it was safe to relax a little, the Omicron variant has swooped in and put pandemic debates in theā¦
MoreMy second child would become easily overwhelmed as a toddler. If we were shopping at the mall, she would start cryingā¦
MoreA friend posts a snapshot of her three year old daughter on social media. Sonia* has her head bent over her momāsā¦
MoreIn their latest book, author A.J. Sass creates a neurodivergent main character (Ellen) who is negotiating changes inā¦
MoreSorting through a box of old school papers, I found a story one of my children wrote in 2nd grade. Her teacher hadā¦
MoreāLook at what I made,ā says my son, holding up to me his newest drawing. I respond, āJust one more second,ā¦
MoreMy youngest child loves Van Goghās Starry Night. In fifth grade, he picked out a t-shirt that had Albert Einsteināsā¦
MoreMy family went on vacation with friends a few years ago. It was fun but also complicated to figure out how to liveā¦
MoreItās Black History Month once again in the U.S., when teachers and group leaders plan lessons celebrating Africanā¦
MoreAs a child, I often was bored in school even though I loved to learn. I would quickly tune out adult monologues and ripā¦
MoreRecently, I watched several young children explore finger labyrinths for the first time. Most would race to see howā¦
MoreMy kids used to love puzzles that involved figuring out an unknown object from a close-up photo. They developed a setā¦
MoreEarth Day (April 22) marks more than 50 years of organized global attention to the environment. It officially falls onā¦
MoreThe last two years have been incredibly difficult. Children, as well as adults, have struggled to find spiritualā¦
MoreOne summer, my kids and I planted a small garden. While our cucumbers and zucchini did well, our tomato plantsā¦
MoreWhen the pandemic shut down in-person gatherings, many of us pivoted to online programs. Some loved working withā¦
MoreEvery year, cicadas awaken from a long dormant period and dig their way out of the ground. The noisy clicking of theā¦
MorePeople of all ages make personal New Yearās resolutions. Adults resolve to be more patient, develop an exerciseā¦
MoreNo running in the house. Look both ways before crossing the street. Treat others with respect. These common familyā¦
MoreLearning to be attentive to the spiritual aspects of life takes time and practice. From the time we are preschoolers,ā¦
MoreGrowing up, I was frequently told that good girls should be humble. I was expected to hide my intelligence and avoidā¦
MoreAs a white researcher and teacher, I know I am susceptible to implicit bias. Even though I am committed to antiracism,ā¦
MoreSometimes when we talk about children, we focus on what kids canāt do: they canāt walk yet, or they canāt reachā¦
MoreNow that school is back in session, children have much less time to spend outdoors. Pressure to prepare kids forā¦
MoreWhen it comes to deciding what information about spirituality to trust and what to doubt, children acquire usefulā¦
MoreāSaying something doesnāt make it so.ā My grandmother would issue this reminder whenever my siblings or I wouldā¦
MoreMarvelās newest release, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, focuses on Rocketās origin story as Groot, Mantis, Drax,ā¦
MoreAs preschoolers, my kids love playing with story blocks. Our set consisted of wooden tiles depicting variousā¦
MoreWhen the University of North Carolina declined to tenure Nikole Hannah-Jones after recruiting her for a chair inā¦
MorePixarās newest release is a coming-of-age story about a Chinese Canadian girl accepting both her changing body andā¦
MoreLessons about slavery in the United States typically begin with life on a plantation in the American South.Ā Thisā¦
MoreLike generations of children before them, my kids would chant, āRain, rain, go away,ā whenever raindrops threatenedā¦
MoreMy children's elementary school had a student committee that planned service projects for every grade. Kids fromā¦
MoreAs the war between Israel and Palestine continues, many Palestinian parents struggle to feed their families. Violenceā¦
MoreMy sonās Montessori school had a āpeace tableā where children could go to work out disagreements. On it were aā¦
MoreWhen I was a child, I bit my nails. It was a reflexive action whenever I felt stressed or anxious. I donāt reallyā¦
MoreSome days are just yucky. Things happen that children canāt control and donāt like. They might be little things,ā¦
MoreChildren from several nations gather in a playroom while their parents learn English as a Second Language next door.ā¦
MoreWhen my kids were little, getting everyone out of the house on time without tears or tantrums was a daily challenge.ā¦
MoreFor many families, Christmas is - in whole or in part - a cultural rather than a religious holiday. And at the centerā¦
MoreGrowing up in Oklahoma and Texas, summers were hot. My siblings and I loved nothing more than to head to our localā¦
MoreFor a book lover like me, one bedtime story often turned into two or three as I tucked my young children in. But Iā¦
MoreWhen my children were younger, they regularly asked deep spiritual questions. Preschool drop-off conversations wereā¦
MoreDuring quarantine, my family watched all of the Marvel movies in chronological order.Ā It was one of the few seriesā¦
MoreāHe has a doll?!ā my mother exclaimed, disapproval ringing in her words. She couldnāt believe I would let myā¦
MoreMy dad collected rocks his whole life. He particularly liked geodes: rocks that - when broken open - contained a hiddenā¦
MoreSeven candles stand tall in a kinara, ready for lighting. Their number and colors (red, black, and green) suggest thisā¦
MoreI have a peach tree in my front yard. Some years, there are lots of peaches and we scramble to pick our share beforeā¦
MoreDuring the Black Lives Matter protests of 2021, my home city (Richmond, VA) struggled with the legacy of severalā¦
MoreEaster, like many holidays, is both a religious and cultural event. Some families focus on the Christian aspect, someā¦
MoreEvery June 19th, the U.S. celebrates Juneteenth. Itās a national holiday commemorating the ending of slavery as aā¦
MoreFamily spiritual rules are a little like superhero codes of conduct: they outline our values and the activities weā¦
MoreChildren spend a lot of time in public spaces: shopping at grocery stores, waiting for buses, washing clothes atā¦
MoreFairy tales can play a powerful role in childrenās lives. Hans Christian Andersenās The Snow Queen has morphed intoā¦
MoreWhen I first started organizing an afterschool program for third and fourth graders, my supervisorās advice toā¦
MoreChildren learn pretty quickly that there are often right answers and wrong answers to the questions adults ask. Thoseā¦
MoreChildren long to make a difference in the world around them. From their earnest commitment to fairness as preschoolersā¦
MoreLooking through photos, I found several of my family celebrating Passover with friends who are Jewish. They wouldā¦
MoreWith the calendar shift from February to March, weāve gone from remembering Black history to lifting up women andā¦
MoreI love holiday lights! Strings of colored bulbs wrapped around trees, icicle lights hanging from rooftops and fences, aā¦
MoreāDo they bite?ā asked Marcus* when we spotted a family of mule deer during a camping trip. Our group was excitedā¦
MoreBrendan Kearneyās Forest is part of a series that chronicles the adventures of fisher Finn and his dog, Skip. In thisā¦
MoreSometimes a story doesnāt need words to be powerful. Thatās the case with Marta Bartoljās Every Little Kindness,ā¦
MoreMy social media feeds have been flooded with āfirst day of schoolā photos. Children stand holding signs proclaimingā¦
MoreHopefulness is more than just a spiritual virtue and positive emotional state. Psychologists also view it as aā¦
MoreOnce upon a time, families turned almost exclusively to religious congregations to meet their spiritual needs. Theyā¦
MoreReading books about Martin Luther King, Jr. was more than an annual event when my children were young. We had several,ā¦
MoreJust a few weeks after cherry blossoms peak in the U.S. capital, Americans begin a month-long celebration of Asianā¦
MoreOne of my grown daughters will only drink grape juice if she has bread to dip in it. Itās a throwback to herā¦
MoreNearly a million people were celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs and their Super Bowl win when shots rang out, killingā¦
MoreThe world can be a noisy place. From the sounds of traffic in the streets, neighbors through apartment walls, Zoomā¦
MoreMy children love to read. From a young age, they knew that I would rarely deny their request to buy a book that caughtā¦
MoreSeveral years ago, I was leading a holiday workshop and more kids than I expected showed up. There werenāt enoughā¦
MoreāLosers! Losers!ā shouted a kid on the opposing soccer team. My fifth grader and her teammates were headed to theā¦
MoreKids love emojis. As fun visual substitutes for words, they help children share how theyāre feeling and communicateā¦
MoreChildren have long loved Ariel, the star of Disneyās The Little Mermaid, because of her determination to live herā¦
MoreThe new Spider-Man movie, Across the Spider-Verse, is visually stunning, with different graphics for each universe. Theā¦
MoreMovements can be powerful teachers. Our bodies remember and repeat motions associated with specific practices, such asā¦
MoreBeing a small person in a big world can be overwhelming at times. Children may feel overshadowed by the adults aroundā¦
MoreBeing aware of oneās surroundings can be an important safety practice. We teach children to pay attention whenā¦
MoreChildren donāt always get along. Like adults, they get angry with siblings and friends. They feel resentment andā¦
MoreDuring the month of December, many Christian families retell the biblical Christmas story as part of their holidayā¦
MoreItās Gay Pride Month, and families of all sorts are celebrating diversity. Colorful rainbow flags attractā¦
MoreWhen marketers want to learn about people, they collect data about them. They then use that information to improve howā¦
MoreThree weeks after my middle child started third grade, she was so anxious and upset that she couldnāt concentrate onā¦
MoreāYou never listen to me!ā complained my nine-year-old. She was trying to tell me about the antics of some of theā¦
MoreScientists who study the environment made an amazing discovery in the 1960s: the health of the Amazon forests depend inā¦
MoreMy eldest child likes to figure out how things work. When she was three, she shocked our neighbor by explaining theā¦
MoreWith many sports, after-school activities, clubs, service projects, and in some cases, in-person school canceled,ā¦
MoreCelebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on the 3rd Monday in January reminds us that society needs strong leaders:ā¦
MoreLike many parents, Michael W. Waters looked at his newborn son and thought him the most beautiful baby on earth. Heā¦
MorePurpose is an important aspect of a healthy spiritual life. Children have hopes and dreams. They want to make aā¦
MorePop up a digital calendar and youāll likely see a host of cultural āholidaysā created to encourage local,ā¦
MoreMy family was doing our regular post-school, pre-dinner thing when the radio paused its scheduled programming toā¦
MoreOne of my pet peeves with curricula for childrenās programs is how teacher-directed most of the activities are. Theā¦
MoreMy daughter and her best friend met in 2nd grade. Their first weeks together were spent asking each other questions:ā¦
MoreMy two older children were just 6 and 3 when their dad and I signed on as volunteers with a major election campaign.ā¦
MoreWe are seeking individuals and organizations that want to explore new ways of nurturing childrenās spirituality basedā¦
MoreEven as places open for in-person experiences, virtual engagements can continue to be part of childrenās andā¦
MoreLearning to make good decisions is an essential spiritual skill. Becoming a self-reflective person requires children toā¦
MoreItās often the first thing a teacher or group facilitator looks for in a lesson plan: a line near the top thatā¦
MoreMany of the refugees airlifted to the U.S. out of Afghanistan last month are currently housed at Fort Lee in Virginia,ā¦
MoreāI forgot my maskā yelled my daughter as she ran home from the bus stop, then back out again, mask in hand. Goingā¦
MoreDrawing children into learning activities can sometimes feel like Sisyphus rolling an immense boulder uphill. Just whenā¦
MoreWe hear a lot about supply chain āissuesā right now. Store shelves are emptier than in pre-pandemic days. Onlineā¦
MoreEarlier this month, the Pacific Ocean made news because it is shrinking faster than scientists expected. One reasonā¦
MoreAs a preschooler, my daughter loved Don and Audrey Woodās The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Bigā¦
MoreEarlier this month, UNESCO added borsch, the national soup of Ukraine, to its list of endangered cultural heritageā¦
MoreAmericans have celebrated Earth Day since 1970, with other nations joining in beginning in 1990. The theme for 2023 isā¦
MoreA few days ago, one of my children wanted breakfast for dinner, while another preferred Indian. The first argued thatā¦
MoreChildren are often curious about differences. They wonder why someone has red hair instead of brown like them, orā¦
MoreāTank youā said my daughterās two year old friend as I passed out cookies to everyone in our neighborhoodā¦
MoreWe are a music-loving family. All three children eagerly participated in recorder lessons in elementary school and oneā¦
MoreA 14-year-old Georgia teen brought a gun to school yesterday, killing two other students and two teachers. Eleven otherā¦
MoreWhen life gets tough, a spiritual practice that deals with anxiety can make the difference between a whiny child andā¦
MorePixar movies are beloved by both children and adults for their creative stories, well-developed characters, andā¦
MoreThe common idea that spirituality is a private matterĀ creates a dilemma for organizations that partner with familiesā¦
MoreāWhy do bad things happen?ā asks my son. That question is hard enough to answer, but he doesnāt stop there.Ā Heā¦
MoreMany of the children I teach come from households that celebrate multiple religious and cultural holidays. Others haveā¦
MoreMany cultural and religious traditions have some kind of spiritual practice that involves reflecting on oneāsā¦
MoreFor teachers and program facilitators who want to be reflective practitioners, Mills College School of Educationā¦
MoreWith stories about refugees and immigrants frequently in the news, children are certain to wonder about why theyāveā¦
MoreI keep returning to yoga practice in my adult life. It provides me with a space to be present in my body and helps meā¦
MoreWearing hijab is a spiritual statement for Muslim girls and women. It is a sign of faith and a practice ofā¦
MoreAs Covid-19 transmission risks soar again, concerns about the effects of masking and social distancing on relationshipsā¦
MoreSince the Supreme Court decision last month striking down Roe v. Wade, the news is full of stories about what theā¦
MoreAs I was recounting the events of the Christian Holy Week with a group of children, Jess* waved her hand wildly in theā¦
MoreMy sister was 18 when she came out. It was a chaotic time in my family of origin, with lots of tears, threats ofā¦
MoreAfter the 9/11 terrorist attack, my four year old asked, āMommy, were there children on those planes?ā I respondedā¦
MoreAfter weeks of endless (and often unkind) speculation, we now know: Princess Kate has cancer. She explains that she andā¦
MoreLast week, I saw a young child watching a bumble bee move from flower to flower on a large bush. āShhh,ā she toldā¦
MoreThe beginning of a new school year is marked with excitement and anxiety. Itās a transition point, which requiresā¦
MoreWe will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation Because we know our inaction and inertia will be theā¦
MoreForming an identity is a complicated task. The arts provide space to create and play with different identities.ā¦
MoreMass shootings have become commonplace in the U.S. No matter how a parent feels about gun control, the thought ofā¦
MoreThe other day, my tween son and I were talking and laughing as we sorted through piles of nursery artwork I have storedā¦
MoreParents talk with young children about the past a lot. We remind them of the last time they saw their cousins. Weā¦
MoreOver the past year, teachers, therapists, librarians, and others have created virtual rooms with bitmoji to engageā¦
MoreāBut mom,ā my eldest complained, āwhy do I have to go to church school? They never talk about anythingā¦
MoreAs many places lift pandemic restrictions, children need ways to look back over the past 15 months and reflect on theirā¦
MoreOften our interactions with children center around questions like āWhat did you learn? Or āHow did that happen?āā¦
MoreHearing othersā stories and telling oneās own is a powerful way for children to connect spiritually. Personalā¦
MoreFor many children, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a time of trauma, grief, and loss. Even if children have come throughā¦
MoreāGo ask your teacher for help,ā I told my daughter again. For a whole grading period, she had been struggling withā¦
MoreWhen my eldest child was three, she shocked our neighbor by explaining in detail how a refrigerator works. Amber lovedā¦
MoreEncanto, Disneyās newest animated feature, tells the story of an extraordinary family. Once upon a time, Abuelaā¦
MoreChildrenās spiritual well-being depends, in part, on strong self-esteem. They need to see themselves as individualsā¦
MoreWhen my children were babies, I would read aloud from whatever book I had at hand to sooth them when they were fussy.ā¦
MoreI do a lot of walking. I sometimes walk from my house to my office two blocks away. I pace while talking on the phoneā¦
MoreWhat can children do about a situation that seems unfair or unjust? How can they be allies? These are two of theā¦
MoreA few years ago, my childrenās school decided to sponsor two Habitat for Humanity home builds. The actualā¦
MoreCultural and spiritual heritages are often passed on to new generations through stories and teachings by elders.ā¦
MoreImagine a bag of candies with the power to bring your sofa to life and give voice to falling leaves. Would you want toā¦
MoreA couple of weeks ago, I observed a group of children in a local day camp program. The leader asked them to identifyā¦
MoreWorking with preschoolers can be a blast! Many are full of curiosity about everything and eager to explore. Even theā¦
MoreLess than 24 hours after Queen Elizabethās death, media outlets were carrying articles about āwhat to expectā asā¦
MoreIn 3rd and 4th grade, I participated in an afterschool Kids Club organized by a neighborhood grandmother. I would walkā¦
MoreHow can children learn to build a better world? According to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the answer is inā¦
MoreAs a parent, I used to be suspicious of silence. If I wasnāt hearing sounds from the next room, I would wonder whatā¦
Moreā10ā¦9ā¦8ā¦7...6ā¦5ā¦4ā¦3ā¦2ā¦1ā¦Happy New Year!ā My family celebrated the start of 2023 with sparklingā¦
MoreMy kindergartener woke in the middle of the night sobbing. We had just learned earlier that her friendās mom had beenā¦
MoreA friend's 5 year old daughter recently visited our local science museum, where she was mesmerized by the Webbā¦
MoreMy family rarely misses a Marvel movie, and the new Thor: Love and Thunder is no exception. In his typical obliviousā¦
MoreAnother school shooting, this time in Nashville. Seven people dead (including the shooter) and many more traumatizedā¦
MoreLockdown (Active Shooter) Drills have become a staple of childrenās lives. Schools and organizations build them intoā¦
MoreāI found it mom, I found it!ā called my daughter. āItā was her great-uncleās name on the Vietnam Veteransā¦
MoreWhen my children were young, we dressed them in a rainbow of hues. Some people found this frustrating because theyā¦
MoreMy family moved when I was a child. For the first 6 months, I refused to call the new house āhomeā. I did not wantā¦
MoreWhile hanging out with a babysitter one evening, my children decided to create their own tabletop game. They drew aā¦
MoreMy refrigerator is covered in activity schedules, a recycling calendar, family photos, and childrenās art. Anyoneā¦
MoreInterruptions are an expected issue when working with children. Sometimes they want to tell us about their new pet orā¦
MoreMy youngest child really disliked surprises when he was a preschooler. He wanted everything to go as expected. If heā¦
MoreWe often wonder what pets are thinking and feeling, especially when they do something that seems odd or silly. A catā¦
MoreThe first time I saw flying fish, I was overcome with amazement. They looked like silvery stars twinkling in the wavesā¦
MoreThe transition from childhood to adolescence brings a host of new emotions to the fore: anxiety, envy, embarrassment,ā¦
MoreāIām going to be a programmer when I grow up,ā said my 10-year-old daughter. She had just checked out severalā¦
MoreHi! Weāre so glad youāre here. At Real Kids Real Faith, raising kids can overwhelm us, but it also makes us bellyā¦
MoreReal Kids, Real Faith is looking for scholars and researchers who are interested in bringing their expertise in fieldsā¦
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