Spirituality for Kids, need help!

appellativo · Spirituality for Kids, need help!

I have written down some concepts that I would like to teach my kids. They are three and five years old. I need ways to illustrate these concepts so I'd like to solicit you guys for any examples from life that I could use to explain these to them; examples that would be real to them, that they can grasp. Can you help?? We will start with this concept:

Everything and everyone is made from the same stuff: Life! We are all one, all connected. What happens to one, happens to all.

bit

You can imagine my daughter, Amanda's grown up with angels and all this stuff. I never talked down to her. I guess I have always just talked to her, so I don't know if I know how to talk to kids like "a kid". My kid? She has never questioned what she knows within. Little kids know a lot.
Your kids already know all this stuff. They can teach you a lot. Just share your thoughts, and remember their attention span is about two minutes, so keep it short. Amanda, at 22 is one of the most spiritually grounded people I know. She always has been.

4theloveofjake

Everything you do and say is being absorbed by your children. You teach by example. Just know and believe they WILL turn out like you

PasoBaby_CarolU

Erin, there are many children's books with these type of morality and science stories in them. You might talk to the librarian over the children's section of your local library.

I am sure there are many books on life and ecosystems on a child's level. Also Discovery probably has some children's toys that lend themselves to this type of learning. Discovery is where I buy all my niece's and nephew's (now their children's) presents.

jackspark

appellativo

You guys comments are helpful, but this is my summary of concepts that I want to TALK WITH my kids about. Of course I will do my best to show by example, but kids understand stories and examples. They will want explanations and I will want to explain why I act the way I do..... Okay here goes. This is kind of a big project and I was trying to avoid bringing the whole thing out at once so as not to overwhelm. But here is a list of the concepts grouped by type. I'd love to create little storybooks on each one that illustrate the concepts.

We are All One and There is Enough

Everything and everyone is made from the same stuff: Life! We are all one, all connected. What happens to one, happens to all.

If you do something to another it's like doing it to oneself. So we treat others how we would like ourselves to be treated.

When nobody is hogging a lot of something all for themself, and everbody shares, there is enough for everyone!

If we believe are all one, and there is enough for everyone, we can solve any problem!

Happiness

There is no such thing as failure. A good try (a good effort) is what is important. All effort leads to improvement, and that is enough.

What we want to experience, we give to another.

There is enough for everyone.

It takes very little to be happy.

The fastest way to create happiness for oneself is to do so for another.

Helpful and Hurtful

Use 'helpful' and 'hurtful' when talking about actions, rather than labeling people 'good' or 'bad.'

Think about 'what works' and 'what doesn't' to HELP us and OTHERS FIND THEIR WAY.

There is enough of everything for everyone. So it is not helpful to compete with each other.
And everyone has inside them everything they need. Just think about what you want to be, and BE it! So it is not helpful to compare each other.

Nobody is 'bad' or a 'loser,' only those who have lost their way, or forgotten their divinity. Everyone can find their way or remember, and we help by not laughing or judging, but we give a helping hand and show them the way. We be the helpful example.

To change hurtful behavior, we focus on what is helpful and good about ourselves and others.

To change behavior, think about what is helpful, admit what we did that was hurtful, and say you're sorry and make it better.

To harm another is to harm oneself. So it helps me to help others and love them as best I can and so create a friend of just about everyone I know.

What is:

compassion? Compassion is when you feel sorry for another who is having a hard time, and you want to make them feel better.

empathy? to feel the same feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another

fairness? Fairness is everyone getting an equal chance

tolerance? Putting up with another even when they seem different than us. Not judging.

equality? when all people have the same value or importance

honesty? telling the truth as it is; not hiding or changing the truth

transparency? Not failing to mention the truth.

Creating

What we believe, we Do! So we need to choose what is helpful so we ALL can have a nice world and a nice life.

Create your goals! (Think about Who You Would Like to Experience Yourself As.) Then think, talk, and act them out!

To create a great world, we ditch what doesn't work and choose what does!

Creating is FUN!!

Thoughts become things, choose the good ones!

jackspark

I have looked for story books on these topics and basically come up empty; I wanted something to use with my students and not much available. Sounds like a great project, ya know necessity is the mother.......

learningthedance

Instilling good morals, values and teaching how to have a positive effect is a wonderful thing!

Problem is, you also have to prepare them for the real world. Not saying that everything your hoping to teach them isn't real, just saying, not everyone has been taught those lessons, therefore they also need to know what to do when others don't share their same views, morals and values.

Up until my daughter was 5, I was pretty much along the same thinking as you. Once she hit Grade One, I really had to do some changing of the program so to say. I am not sure how your schools are over there, but I was shocked here!!! I live in a nice neighbor hood and my daughter goes to a wonderful "North end" school. Things sure have changed. The problems *I* faced as a child are nothing remotely close to what today's children are faced with. Bullying starts VERY young!!! It's sad to say, but you also have to prepare them for the harsh realities of today's society. It's a fine line between street proofing them without instilling fear in them. From Bullies, (grade 2 was unbelievable), to stranger safety, knowing how to call for help, who to ask for help, when to ask for help, when to walk away and how to stick up for yourself when someone is relentless and shoving you around.

So I guess for me, it's about instilling all the good things, but also giving them the tools they need to survive and to be prepared to handle the not so good things they WILL be faced with. Finding the right ballance so they can see and know the difference and be able to act accordingly.

I love your list. I would just try to find a place to add in there somewhere..."and what do you do when, if?...etc". Coping/survival strategies so to say.

PasoBaby_CarolU

I have to say I agree with Elise. I think it's important to instill morals and spiritual awareness in kids, but it is also necessary to prepare them for the harsh reality that many (most) people don't share those values. And those lessons need to be age-appropriate so you don't scare the kids to death., but prepare them for what they'll encounter as they grow.

I grew up in I guess, a very sheltered family and school. I went to parochial Lutheran school and went to church, scripture, all of it. I still remember how totally shocked I was when I learned that people lied to you. It was against one of God's Commandments! And yet people did it all the time and didn't think twice about it. I remember being totally devastated when I learned this. I'm sure all children learn this, but my point is that I was not at all prepared to learn it. I had been told (and believed) that people didn't lie.

I had a similar lesson years later, learning that people would deliberately do things to hurt you, make up stories, go out of their way to hurt you and get others - who didn't even know you, to believe them and agree with them. I can tell you I was never prepared for the reality of the ugly side of people. I'm not saying my parents had to make me ugly, but they should have warned me.

My sister became the victim of a sexual predator as a teenager. Like me, she was totally unprepared that there were people like this. We had no idea. The now-famous story of Elizabeth Smart is a good example. She was totally unprepared for the situation that walked into her bedroom and ruined her life.

So, I think it's important to raise children to have strong morals, be spiritually aware, and to be honest. But, it is also important to prepare them that not all people share those morals. The worst mistake we can make is to assume that other people share our values.

4theloveofjake

Elise,

Thank you for having the courage to bring up the realities of what kids go thru today. I couldn't agree with you more. I always taught my kids to do their best, study hard, walk away from conflict and to never "start" anything but to "finish" it if necessary. In other words, don't stand there and be assaulted and harrassed, fight back if necessary.

One of my kids has had a rough time of it due to their sensitivity. The other one see's bullying but isn't a victim of it yet. One of their classmates commited suicide a few weeks ago.

Erin, I am not saying this to take away from what you are trying to give your kids. I think you are on the right path trying to instill values and a connectivity to the world and all of the people in it. The harsh realities are unfortunalty gonna arise too though. Not all parents are "good people" and the bullies are a result.

If I had to do it all over again I would have not had kids if I couldn't home school them.

bit

Amanda came to me when she was in elementary school and complained about how the kids were getting mean, and that they were all trying so hard to be popular, and do whatever it took to get there. She's pretty aware, and didn't understand why things had to change. We've always called it "being real", and I told her that it was a rare thing with grownups, and kids her age started losing being real, and began to lose themselves. True friends were rare, too. Everyone would pretend to be your friend, but a true friend didn't happen very often. Sad, but that's how it was. When these kids grew up, they'd spend a lot of time in therapy trying to get back to where they were when they were kids. So, she could be popular, and do what all the other kids were doing, or she could stay true to herself. She could choose, needed to choose, and be a peace with her choice. She walked into her room and thought about it. She came out and said, "what you see is what you get", and she surrendered her place in the herd. Yep, she wasn't invited to the popular sleep overs, she didn't get invited to parties, (she didn't drink or do drugs, so she wasn't much fun in that department), and she spent a lot of time alone. She read a lot. We spent a lot of time together. She was on ski team, so she was gone most weekends, anyway. High school was hard. Everyone was drinking and doing drugs, and she didn't. She had a couple of good friends, and she knew that was a lot. She was real. She still is. She's doing pretty good, going to a great school, and her new boyfriend is just like her. Smart, kind, and real. Those other kids? Some have been arrested, some have liver damage, some have damage so deep they may never heal.
How do you keep your kids real, when they so want to be like everyone else? Be real with them. I never scared her, but I was real with her. I told her the price she'd pay for fitting in. I told her the price she'd pay if she stayed true to herself. Kids know so much. They can only take so much in. She still gives me a hard time about that "spiritual shit", but she's more spiritual than most. She grew up with angels. She knows the important stuff. I think the best thing I did was live by example. Took a good look in the mirror every morning and made the effort to be better. I apoligized a lot. A lot. We didn't have a lot of money, I was a single mom, and she's thankful for that. She can budget, she knows the value of a dollar, and she takes nothing for granted, especially me. I didn't teach her, we had discussions. We talked about God, angles, right, wrong, watched a lot of Oprah and Dr. Phil.
I know you want to do this right. You will. Ask for inspiration, get quiet inside and see what comes. They learn from your wisdom, and they learn from your mistakes. Don't be afraid to do both.

PasoBaby_CarolU

A lot of sound wisdom here.

I do want to say though Erin that I would really love to live in the world you'd like to create for your kids, being one with the earth and with each other, where people really are good. It sounds so spiritual and serene. I wish life was like that...I wish life SOMEWHERE was like that, I'd move!

appellativo

:D

Carol, just create it! If only in yourself, just create it! Your little home, corner of your world, make it so. Let it be a light that shines for others to see and if they like it, they'll create it too. That's how worlds are changed.

Yes I definitely prepare my kids for what others are capable of, bad and good. I just hope to show them that they don't have to choose what everybody else is either choosing, or passively going along with.

I have to show them a better way or else I've done a disservice to them and to all life! And when they have to 'come down to [other people's] reality to defend themselves, they can see it as not who they really are, but as something that defines for them who they are by observing Who They Are NOT!

I just want them to understand and know how to create something better if they so choose, and to help bring out the best in others.

appellativo

And bit, I'm saving your words for later, when they are more grown up, ....or maybe as inspiration for me. Thanks Everyone for your help!

jackspark

Not exactly what you had in mind but a nice book for 3-12 year olds.
Yoga games for children

I plan to use this book with my health classes after the first of the year. Nice work with breath, postures, relaxation, and meditative exercise.

http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Games-...TF8&qid=1292772445&sr=1-1

jackspark

Carolyn Resnick mentioned a children's book called Zen Shorts by Jon Muth There are several by this author, with Zen in the title. I plan to check them out tomorrow.