Cooking Together as a Spiritual Practice
Children (and adults) often think first about food when they hear the word ‘Thanksgiving’. Turkey roasted,…
MorePosts tagged: Experiential
Memory Games
Almost everything we do with children involves things they need to remember. Spiritual stories have characters and…
MoreWhen Kids Need to Calm Down
I watched a mom hurriedly feeding an infant while another child hopped up and down next to the table. “But mommy,”…
MoreHelping Kids Find Their Anchors
My uncle took me fishing on his boat for my tenth birthday. Partway through the trip, his line snagged something and…
MoreExploring Cicada Symphony with Kids
Every year, cicadas awaken from a long dormant period and dig their way out of the ground. The noisy clicking of the…
MorePracticing Gratitude
Gratitude may seem like a natural attitude, but studies show it is primarily a skill that children learn from others.…
MorePathways to Wonder & Awe
The first time I saw flying fish, I was overcome with amazement. They looked like silvery stars twinkling in the waves…
MoreHow Music Helps Kids Connect with Others
We are a music-loving family. All three children eagerly participated in recorder lessons in elementary school and one…
MoreHerb Garden Spirituality
My son’s favorite plant in our garden is chocolate mint. He says it smells like a Girl Scout cookie. One of my…
MoreEveryday Rituals
When we think of rituals, we often recall major life or religious events like weddings, funerals, baptisms, bar…
MoreJitter Stick Spirituality
My kids have always been pretty good about settling down to do their homework. But after a half hour or so, first one…
MoreKids’ Imaginations
When my children were young, we played all kinds of imaginative games. Sometimes we took our cues from stories we had…
MoreResolve to Learn Together
People of all ages make personal New Year’s resolutions. Adults resolve to be more patient, develop an exercise…
MorePracticing Calm
When my kids were little, getting everyone out of the house on time without tears or tantrums was a daily challenge.…
MoreMovement Meditation: Justice
Children long to make a difference in the world around them. From their earnest commitment to fairness as preschoolers…
MoreMovement Meditation: Empathy
Children don’t always get along. Like adults, they get angry with siblings and friends. They feel resentment and…
MoreMovement Meditation: Wonder
Children learn pretty quickly that there are often right answers and wrong answers to the questions adults ask. Those…
MoreMovement Meditation: Empowerment
Being a small person in a big world can be overwhelming at times. Children may feel overshadowed by the adults around…
MoreMovement Meditation: Connection
Movements can be powerful teachers. Our bodies remember and repeat motions associated with specific practices, such as…
MoreUsing Movement to Reduce Trauma Responses
Numerous studies show that stress is on the rise among children. Some experts suggest that school closures and pandemic…
MoreExploring Emotion with Crying is Like the Rain
Children’s feelings can shift and change rapidly. One minute a toddler is happily playing and the next they’re…
MoreHelping Children Appreciate Diversity
Cleaning out my daughter’s closet, I found a shadow box she constructed in 1st grade. She and a friend set out to…
MoreFamily Hygge
It’s snowing outside, and all anyone wants to do is bundle up in a blanket, sip hot chocolate, and read. Maybe…
MoreChild-Led Spiritual Learning
As a child, I often was bored in school even though I loved to learn. I would quickly tune out adult monologues and rip…
MoreSpiritual Exploration with the Webb Telescope
A friend's 5 year old daughter recently visited our local science museum, where she was mesmerized by the Webb…
MoreCaring for the Earth Together
Blowing dandelion seeds, chasing fireflies, and watching caterpillars munch on milkweed - these were some of my…
MoreA 5E Model of Spiritual Education
One of my eldest child’s favorite memories is a series of 5th grade class sessions where they explored scientific…
MoreSpiritual Play with Bluey
My sisters and I often engaged in imaginative play when we were growing up. We came up with various pretend situations,…
MoreMovement-Enhanced Learning
Several years ago, I was leading a holiday workshop and more kids than I expected showed up. There weren’t enough…
MoreYoga with Children
I keep returning to yoga practice in my adult life. It provides me with a space to be present in my body and helps me…
MoreSpiritual Activities for Public Spaces
Children spend a lot of time in public spaces: shopping at grocery stores, waiting for buses, washing clothes at…
MoreGuided Play
When it comes to educating young children, we’ve all heard that play is an important part of learning. And yet, when…
MoreChildren’s Spiritual Questions
“Mommy, why did Jennifer* get cancer?” This probing question from my nine year old daughter caught me off guard.…
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