Annotated Bibliography on Spirituality in Children.
Theresa Tolan
Talking to Your Child About God: A Book for Families of All Faiths – David Heller, Ph.D. Questions, that children ask, and
responses that are helpful in developing spirituality. Talks about the
importance of routine, modeling and structure.
Does not specify a religion, but incorporates different traditions.
Every Day Blessings – Jon Kabot Zinn & Myrla Kabot Zinn. This is a book
for parents, by parents who also specialize in meditation practices. Easy to ready, wonderful stories, especially
the personal stories that they each share.
This book has really brought into focus a guiding principle in
developing spirituality in children:
stay present. Live in the present moment and know that this path of
parenting is an incredible parenting practice.
The Spiritual Life of Children – Robert Coles. This book is research based, written by
a wonderful psychologist who has dedicated his lift to understanding children’s
spiritual, emotional and social development.
You Are
Your Child's First Teacher – Rahima
Baldwin. An excellent resource for parents of young children birth to six. This
author is trained in Waldorf Education, and draws on many other resources to
enhance the young child.
Spiritual
Intelligence: What we can learn from the early awakening child – Marsha Sinetar. Introduces us to spiritually aware
children who mirror the spiritual qualities we were born with and may still be
developing.
The
Common Vision: Parenting and Educating for Wholeness – David Marshak. This book is a description of the
needs and potential of children and youth from birth through age twenty-one, a
description based on a holistic understanding of what human beings are and can
become. This understanding is founded on
the insights of three early twentieth-century spiritual teachers--Rudolf
Steiner, Aurobindo Ghose and Inayat Khan--whose works articulate a common
vision of human growth, wholeness and evolutionary change. Maria Montessori included.
Growing
Up Again – Jean Illsley
Clark & Connie Dawson. This book provides excellent stage & development
information including task of particular stage, typical behaviors, affirmations
for stage, helpful & unhelpful parenting behaviors.
Giving
the Love that Heals: A guide for parents – Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt. A wonderful book that
guides parents to loving in action.
Tools for parents to end the “cycle of wounding and the most effective
way to nurture the stages of our child’s growth while remaining mindful of how
each stage affects the child’s relationships.
Seeds For Success; Ideas to help children develop
essential life skills for future success. Growing Responsible Kids, Creative Kids, Happy Kids and Thinking Kids – Evelyn
Petersen. Helpful practical advice to help
you create a sense of responsibility in your child. (Early Childhood). All from
Totline Publications 1-800-421-5565
Zen Parenting: The Art of Learning What You Already Know—Judith. "This is a wonderful, lively, practical book which takes the
timeless principles of Zen and applies them to everyday parenting so that all
can apply them.
Five
Love Languages for Children. – Gary
Chapman. Each child expresses and receives love through one of
five different communication styles. A parent's love language may be totally
different from that of his or her child, which causes hurt feelings and
misunderstandings. With the help of this book, adults can discover their
child's primary language and learn what they can do to effectively convey
unconditional feelings of respect, affection, and commitment that will resonate
in their child's emotions and behavior, http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/start.html
Joining Children On The Spiritual Journey: Nurturing
the Life of Faith—Catherine Stonehouse.
Understanding how a child's faith forms is crucial to
knowing how adults can most significantly enhance the child's
spiritual development. This book provides caring parents and teachers with
valuable insights into spiritual formation during childhood. It also gives
practical ideas on how they can nurture a child's faith in God.
Come Join The Circle: Singing and dancing for early
childhood education—A how and why handbook for parents and teachers. – Susan Slack. Come Join the Circle combines brain
research, the arts, step by step instructions and interactive charts to present
a well-rounded case for dancing with children on a daily basis.
Motherhood as a Spiritual Practice: A Journeybook
-- Patti Sinclair. This journey book traces stages in the
author’s changing experiences as a new mother through journaling, poetry,
prayers, rituals, quotations, visualizations, letters to herself and others,
and questions. It all forms a template, albeit a free-flowing one, for the reader
to write and reflect on her own experiences of motherhood.
Curriculum of Love. --Morgan Simone Daleo. This is a must have book.
Includes practical and experiential ways of “expressing harmony, being of
service, celebrating community, nourishing compassing, mindfulness, awareness,
developing balance and creating joy
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective
Families – Steven Covey. The Seven Habits is about developing healthy family concepts—mission statements,
prioritizing, making a plan. Recognizing your family mission is a spiritual
process.
The Family Virtues Guide: Simple ways to
bring out the best in our children and ourselves – Linda Kavelin Popov. I like this book because it's one
that you don't have to read more than a page of two to get an idea. They present virtues/values that we want to
pass on to our children, how to do it, and what a parent would see if the
attribute/virtue has been acquired in their children.
Ten Principles for Spiritual Parenting: Nurturing Your Child's Soul – Mimi Doe and Marsha Walch, Ph.D. Ten Principles for Spiritual Parenting is both incredibly thought
provoking and incredibly practical. It
is filled with little ideas about how to incorporate spirituality into your
everyday life with children. It doesn't tell you what beliefs/ideals you should
say to your child; it simply offers many suggestions on how to open the door to
your spiritual beliefs in many everyday situations. It also helps you listen to and encourage
your children's innate spiritual beliefs.
Nurturing the Teenage Soul – Mimi Doe
Nurturing Children's Spirituality – Peggy J. Jenkins. Ph.D. "Indispensable in
developing children's self-esteem and balanced life". I have found this book to be very practical
in doing "fun" activities and direction of the spiritual
message. It can be used with children of
all ages, but I believe three year old and up will really start to understand
it. It also has information categorized
according to age.
The Sacred Art of Listening: Forty
Reflections For Cultivating A Spiritual Practice – Kay
Lindahl. Illustrations by Amy Schnapper. Inspiring text and contemplative
artwork combine to communicate the three essential qualities of deep
listening—silence, reflection and presence.
These are essential qualities in spiritual parenting.
Teaching Your Children Joy – Linda Eyre. The social and emotional "joys" that children
should learn before they enter kindergarten. This book is the foundation for
the international movement called "Joy Schools."
The Book of New Family Traditions – Meg Cox. Overcoat Day, Welcome Summer Party, Monthly Pizza Blast, Bus Stop Party ... these
are just some of the enjoyable and inventive new traditions you'll find in The Book of New Family Traditions. Life
isn't like it used to be, and we need to invent new traditions for today's
families. Meg Cox guides you through the simple steps that help families fully
cherish all of those special moments and milestones, help heal the wounds of
trauma and loss, and strengthen that indomitable spirit of identity within a
family.
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and How
To Listen So Kids Will Talk – Faber
and Mazlish. This book you would hardly find in any spirituality
section. I choose it because it is a
necessary book for every parents who strives to build a respectful relationship
with their child. This book teaches
communication techniques. It does not
mention spirituality at all, but if we can really listen to our children and
guide them to learn the skill of listening….especially listening to their own
heart…then this is what I would call spiritual development.
Spiritual Journaling—Julie Tallard Johnson. Most teens and young adults
search for ways to express their individuality and to discover who they are,
without being judged. In Spiritual Journaling Julie Tallard Johnson shows that
journaling is an informative and supportive outlet for the joys, frustrations,
and questions that arise for those making the transition toward their own
independent ideas and lives--and a powerful tool for awakening creative
potential.
The Thundering Years—Julie Tallard Johnson. Shows teens how to harness the intense emotions and drives of the
late-teen years using wisdom from cultures around the world. Includes
exercises, personal and community rituals, and resources that show how to
successfully navigate the Thundering Years.
I Ching For
Teenagers—Julie Tallard Johnson. The
only comprehensive guide to the I Ching
especially for teens. Includes down-to-earth descriptions of the original
hexagrams and practical examples of how they can be applied to the teen
experience.
Teen Psychic—Julie Tallard Johnson. Teaches teens to develop and
use their intuitive powers. The wisdom teachings of numerous traditions blended
with activities--such as meditations, exercises, journalizing, and
quizzes--will help you tap into a reservoir of inner strength and knowledge,
increasing your confidence and self-esteem.
The Children’s God – David Heller, Ph.D. Heller draws on developmental
psychology, psychoanalytic theory and religious philosophy to describe forty
children—Catholics, Baptist, Jews and Hindus, aged four to twelve—and their
images of God. The result is both a
celebration of childhood creativity and an intriguing exploration of the roots
of human search for the divine.
Facets of Unity:
the Enneagram of Holy Ideas—A.
H. Almaas. Facets of Unity presents
the enneagram of Holy Ideas as a crystal clear window on the true reality
experienced in enlightened consciousness.
Nonviolent Communication
Teaching Tolerance
Reading Literacy
Challenging Parenting
Issues:
Web Resources
ILoveULove.com http://www.iloveulove.com
ILoveULove.com is a site dedicated to
information about Unconditional Love; what it is, how to give it, get it, and
what it will mean in YOUR life! We
explore forgiveness, Relationships, Spirituality, Psychology, and more. This site has several web links,
including books by Neale Donald Walsch (The
Little Soul and The Sun).
HeartMath
http://www.heartmath.com LLC is a cutting edge
performance company providing a range of unique services, products, and
technology to boost performance, productivity, health and well-being while
dramatically reducing stress
Spirituality and Practice
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat have been covering contemporary culture and the
spiritual renaissance for three decades. They are the authors of Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life, a collection of more than 650 examples of spiritual
perspectives on everyday experience, which is the basis of a 26-part DVD series.
In that book, they introduced the Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy — 37 spiritual
practices that are common in the world’s religions. I highly recommend this site.
Living Compassion:
http://www.livingcompassion.org
Cheri
Huber’s website that addresses family and individual practices of peace and
compassion.
Children of the New Light
http://www.childrenoflight.com/ is an institute of self-mastery, dedicated to
informing and educating individuals about the personal and planetary Ascension
that we are now experiencing. In short, we are interested in revealing a path
of personal healing that will allow us all to awaken to the consciousness of
our souls.
Nurturing Children’s
Spirit (newsletter Archive)
http://www.pattiteel.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
Indigo Children
http://www.crystalinks.com/children.html
Roehlkepartain, Eugene; King, Pamela;
Wagener, Linda; Benson, Peter (editors). (2005). The Handbook of
Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence (Sage). A landmark volume that summarizes most
of the key research to date on children's spirituality, with chapters written
primarily by the researchers involved. The Forward is written by Robert Coles,
and the board of review is essentially a Who's Who of Children's Spirituality
Development. This text is expensive,
expansive and reads in the intellectual base.
"Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity
is our gift back to God," Julia Cameron has observed. Far too often,
people think that this path is restricted to artists. But every person has the
gift to imagine and join with the Divine in the ongoing creation of the
universe.
Every culture and
tradition links creativity and spirituality. Music, dancing, singing, poetry,
and painting are common ways to express our soul and our delight in being.
Creativity shows up in our play and our improvisations. It spins out into the
ways we relate to others, handle difficulties, and find innovative solutions to
the world's problems. It is evident in the crafts we make and the hobbies we
pursue. "Every person," according to potter M. C. Richards, "is
a special kind of artist and every activity is a special art."