Three Components of Hope
My daughter’s third grade teacher had a unique way of addressing her students when they felt discouraged. She would…
MorePosts tagged: Values
Observing Earth Day as a Family
Earth Day (April 22) marks more than 50 years of organized global attention to the environment. It officially falls on…
MoreDifferent Kinds of Curiosity
My eldest child likes to figure out how things work. When she was three, she shocked our neighbor by explaining the…
MoreKids, Ramadan & Food Insecurity
As the war between Israel and Palestine continues, many Palestinian parents struggle to feed their families. Violence…
MoreEaster Around the World
Easter, like many holidays, is both a religious and cultural event. Some families focus on the Christian aspect, some…
MoreHelp Kids Be Relational Thermostats
“He made me feel bad!” wailed my son after telling me how a friend chose a different playmate at recess. “He…
MoreMore Gratitude, Please
My mother firmly believed that children should write thank you notes for any gifts we received. If we didn’t get them…
MoreChildren’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…
MoreValentine Spirituality
Every year, my kids’ school does a Valentine fundraiser. Parents and grandparents can purchase pink and red…
MoreThe Science of Gratitude
“Tank you” said my daughter’s two year old friend as I passed out cookies to everyone in our neighborhood…
MoreFridge Spirituality
My refrigerator is covered in activity schedules, a recycling calendar, family photos, and children’s art. Anyone…
MoreGuided Meditation: Climate Change
My nephew is a science nerd. He collects facts about climate change and uses them to convince other family members to…
MoreSanta Spirituality
For many families, Christmas is - in whole or in part - a cultural rather than a religious holiday. And at the center…
MoreHanukkah Story Activities
Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, is an eight day celebration that recalls how a small band of ancient Jews…
MorePracticing Thanks-Giving
“Let’s go around the room and say something we’re thankful for,” says the teacher. “I’m thankful for apple…
MoreKindness Trees
“No, no, no!” said the preschool teacher as she rushed over to a child threatening to hit a playmate. “It’s not…
MoreExploring Community with The Eras Tour Movie
Moviegoers are sporting a special look this fall. Glittery shirts and jackets. Purple jerseys with the number 13 on the…
MoreKindness Projects
My children's elementary school had a student committee that planned service projects for every grade. Kids from…
MoreHow Curiosity Enhances Relationships
My daughter and her best friend met in 2nd grade. Their first weeks together were spent asking each other questions:…
MoreHelping Children Find Their Anchors
As we were preparing to move from one state to another, my four year old fell apart. “Where’s my train, my bunny,…
MoreMaking Kindness a Goal
My social media feeds have been flooded with ‘first day of school’ photos. Children stand holding signs proclaiming…
MoreExploring Identity with Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers
Sexism, racism, and classism are hard concepts for children to understand. Kids have a strong bias toward fairness and…
MoreBarbie Spirituality
Outside the movie theater, two young girls are pointing at all the people wearing pink. A group of women observe,…
MoreExploring The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess
Fairy tales can play a powerful role in children’s lives. Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen has morphed into…
MoreExploring Every Little Kindness with Kids
Sometimes a story doesn’t need words to be powerful. That’s the case with Marta Bartolj’s Every Little Kindness,…
MoreExploring Values with The Good for Nothing Tree
I have a peach tree in my front yard. Some years, there are lots of peaches and we scramble to pick our share before…
MoreGoing on a Rainforest Adventure with Forest
Brendan Kearney’s Forest is part of a series that chronicles the adventures of fisher Finn and his dog, Skip. In this…
MoreNot-So-Random Acts of Kindness
Walking through the farmer’s market last weekend, I overheard a conversation between a coffee vendor and a customer.…
MoreCultivating Virtues
As my eldest child ran off the soccer field after another bruising loss, I prepared to console her and her teammates. I…
MoreCharacter Rocks
I keep a small stone on my desk with the word ‘breathe’ painted on it. It’s a reminder to slow down, find my…
MoreBooks for Earth Day
Americans have celebrated Earth Day since 1970, with other nations joining in beginning in 1990. The theme for 2023 is…
MoreCelebrating Eid al Fitr
After 30 days of fasting, Muslim worldwide mark the end of Ramadan with Eid al Fitr, literally a festival of breaking…
MoreEaster as Spring Celebration
Eggs hidden on windowsills or in the grass. Baskets filled with chocolate bunnies and jelly beans. Pots of tulips,…
MoreExploring Ramadan
Six years ago, I visited Istanbul with two of my children. We were there during Ramadan, which meant we observed…
MoreShifting Bad Habits to Good Practices
When I was a child, I bit my nails. It was a reflexive action whenever I felt stressed or anxious. I don’t really…
MoreCelebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Reading books about Martin Luther King, Jr. was more than an annual event when my children were young. We had several,…
MoreHelping Kids Have a ‘Happy’ New Year
“10…9…8…7...6…5…4…3…2…1…Happy New Year!” My family celebrated the start of 2023 with sparkling…
MoreCelebrating Kwanzaa with Children
Seven candles stand tall in a kinara, ready for lighting. Their number and colors (red, black, and green) suggest this…
MoreAvatar Spirituality
Avatar: The Way of Water continues the story of Jake, Neytiri, and their children. For many years, they have lived…
MoreFamily Solstice Celebrations
When my children were young, a family friend invited us to a winter solstice party. There were sparklers and glow…
MoreDeveloping Patience
“How many more days, mom? How many more?” Every December, my kids would be hyper-charged with excitement for the…
MoreExploring Emotions with The Coat
Hand-me-downs can be a dreaded necessity or longed-for acquisition. I remember being crestfallen when a neighbor passed…
MoreEncouraging Authenticity
Authenticity is trending as a value. Parents and children want to speak their truth and advocate for what they believe…
MoreEncouraging Children to Lead
“Mom, I saw some people asking for money by the off ramp. They didn’t have any coats and it’s pretty cold…
MoreReexamining Humility as a Spiritual Virtue
Growing up, I was frequently told that good girls should be humble. I was expected to hide my intelligence and avoid…
MoreHow Gratitude Builds Community
We hear a lot about supply chain ‘issues’ right now. Store shelves are emptier than in pre-pandemic days. Online…
MoreHelping Children Explore Rules
No running in the house. Look both ways before crossing the street. Treat others with respect. These common family…
MoreReading Small Town Pride With Kids
Small Town Pride stars a tween working to understand himself, change his community and gain autonomy over his own…
MoreTalking 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…
More3 Kinds of Spiritual Engagement
A couple of weeks ago, I observed a group of children in a local day camp program. The leader asked them to identify…
MoreGay Pride Spirituality
It’s Gay Pride Month, and families of all sorts are celebrating diversity. Colorful rainbow flags attract…
MoreProject-Based Spirituality
A few years ago, my children’s school decided to sponsor two Habitat for Humanity home builds. The actual…
MoreReplacing Hurtful Words with Kindness
“Losers! Losers!” shouted a kid on the opposing soccer team. My fifth grader and her teammates were headed to the…
MoreExploring For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World
Like many parents, Michael W. Waters looked at his newborn son and thought him the most beautiful baby on earth. He…
MoreTalking about the War in Ukraine
A refugee toddler’s body washed up face down on a beach. A police officer kneeling on a handcuffed Black man’s…
MoreSpiritual Storytelling with The Last Cuentista
For a book lover like me, one bedtime story often turned into two or three as I tucked my young children in. But I…
MoreExpressing Gratitude
An American celebration of Thanksgiving generally involves liberal helpings of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and…
MoreEncouraging Active Empathy
My daughter came home talking about a new girl in her class. Since being the new kid can be challenging, I want my…
MoreTeaching Tough Topics
Ruth Wills doesn’t believe in shying away from tough topics with children. A few years ago, she developed a method…
MoreDeveloping Spiritual Persistence
I am often so excited when I begin a new spiritual practice, I expect to see immediate benefits. In my enthusiasm, I…
MoreCreating a Mindfulness Space
Mindfulness practices help children to become more self-aware. When they spend time being present with themselves, they…
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…
MoreReflecting on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
During quarantine, my family watched all of the Marvel movies in chronological order. It was one of the few series…
MoreWhy Children Won’t Ask for Help
“Go ask your teacher for help,” I told my daughter again. For a whole grading period, she had been struggling with…
MoreWays to Check Understanding
A common way to check whether children have understood something is to give a test. But even in schools, teachers are…
MoreTeaching Hope
I’ll admit that I have generally thought of hope as an emotional state: an optimistic feeling of possibilities…
MoreSpiritual Activities for Public Spaces
Children spend a lot of time in public spaces: shopping at grocery stores, waiting for buses, washing clothes at…
MoreDecision Matrix
Learning to make good decisions is an essential spiritual skill. Becoming a self-reflective person requires children to…
MoreThe Myth of Selfishness
A toddler tantruming when another child plays with one of their toys. Siblings bickering over who got the bigger piece…
MoreCreate a Virtual Protest
Even as places open for in-person experiences, virtual engagements can continue to be part of children’s and…
MoreTalking with Kids about the Derek Chauvin Verdict
My family was doing our regular post-school, pre-dinner thing when the radio paused its scheduled programming to…
MoreUnbundled Spirituality
Once upon a time, families turned almost exclusively to religious congregations to meet their spiritual needs. They…
MoreExamining Our Conscience
Many cultural and religious traditions have some kind of spiritual practice that involves reflecting on one’s…
MoreFamily Hospitality
“Look at what I made,” says my son, holding up to me his newest drawing. I respond, “Just one more second,…
MoreClass Bias in Religious Resources
Pandemic business closures, safer-at-home orders, and the move to virtual schooling have hit all families hard, but…
MoreTalking about Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb
Forming an identity is a complicated task. The arts provide space to create and play with different identities.…
More