Posts tagged: Questions

Talking about Natural Disasters with Kids

Since Hurricane Helene made landfall last week, more than 190 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds more remain…

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Talking about the Election with Kids

My two older children were just 6 and 3 when their dad and I signed on as volunteers with a major election campaign.…

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Different Kinds of Curiosity

My eldest child likes to figure out how things work. When she was three, she shocked our neighbor by explaining the…

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When Children Interrupt

Interruptions are an expected issue when working with children. Sometimes they want to tell us about their new pet or…

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Children’s Understandings of Death

Death is a part of life. Even if some children do not experience it directly with a pet or family member, they know…

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Talking with Kids about the Chiefs Parade Shooting

Nearly a million people were celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs and their Super Bowl win when shots rang out, killing…

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Resolve to Learn Together

People of all ages make personal New Year’s resolutions. Adults resolve to be more patient, develop an exercise…

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Holiday ‘Marker Talks’

Many of the children I teach come from households that celebrate multiple religious and cultural holidays. Others have…

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Helping Young Children Connect Actions with Consequences

As preschoolers, my kids love playing with story blocks. Our set consisted of wooden tiles depicting various…

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Exploring Change with Where is Home, Daddy Bear?

My family moved when I was a child. For the first 6 months, I refused to call the new house ‘home’. I did not want…

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Talking about the Israel/Palestine Conflict with Children

After the 9/11 terrorist attack, my four year old asked, “Mommy, were there children on those planes?” I responded…

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Movement Meditation: Wonder

Children learn pretty quickly that there are often right answers and wrong answers to the questions adults ask. Those…

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Sharing the ‘Hard Parts’ of the Christian Easter Story

As I was recounting the events of the Christian Holy Week with a group of children, Jess* waved her hand wildly in the…

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Why Kids Need Silence

As a parent, I used to be suspicious of silence. If I wasn’t hearing sounds from the next room, I would wonder what…

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Durable Spiritual Learning

Recently, I watched several young children explore finger labyrinths for the first time. Most would race to see how…

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Helping Children Explore Rules

No running in the house. Look both ways before crossing the street. Treat others with respect. These common family…

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Visible Spiritual Thinking

My kids used to love puzzles that involved figuring out an unknown object from a close-up photo. They developed a set…

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Child-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…

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Talking with Kids about the Reversal of Roe v. Wade

Since the Supreme Court decision last month striking down Roe v. Wade, the news is full of stories about what the…

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Gay Pride Spirituality

It’s Gay Pride Month, and families of all sorts are celebrating diversity. Colorful rainbow flags attract…

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Project-Based Spirituality

A few years ago, my children’s school decided to sponsor two Habitat for Humanity home builds. The actual…

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Welcoming Afghan Refugees

Many of the refugees airlifted to the U.S. out of Afghanistan last month are currently housed at Fort Lee in Virginia,…

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Spiritual Activities for Public Spaces

Children spend a lot of time in public spaces: shopping at grocery stores, waiting for buses, washing clothes at…

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Spiritual Reminiscing

Parents talk with young children about the past a lot. We remind them of the last time they saw their cousins. We…

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Developing Trust

When it comes to deciding what information about spirituality to trust and what to doubt, children acquire useful…

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Guided Play

When it comes to educating young children, we’ve all heard that play is an important part of learning. And yet, when…

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Explaining Gun Violence

Mass shootings have become commonplace in the U.S. No matter how a parent feels about gun control, the thought of…

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Exploring Life & Death with Soul

Pixar movies are beloved by both children and adults for their creative stories, well-developed characters, and…

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Children’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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Family Hospitality

“Look at what I made,” says my son, holding up to me his newest drawing. I respond, “Just one more second,…

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Stimulating Spiritual Curiosity

When my children were younger, they regularly asked deep spiritual questions. Preschool drop-off conversations were…

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