A wonderful discovery

I recently came across a treasure of resources and reflections by a woman named
Linda Qualls on the spiritual education of children. Her essays have been such a source of inspiration and are well worth taking the time to read.

I often reflect on this excerpt in particular:

"...We need to convey Baha'i principles, values, concepts, and information concerning the Central Figures to children's hearts. Attract their hearts. It is not so much the factual, rational information, its the spirit of the instruction, of the class, of the teacher, of the interpersonal atmosphere, the physical environment, and the beautiful, joyful experiences which touch and bond children's' hearts to the Baha'i Faith. These are the impressions which will remain with them, which will influence them most deeply and ground them in the Faith. It is a very similar process to teaching the Faith to adult non-Baha’is. It is essentially a spiritual process (which is facilitated by the concrete). How often the Baha'i Writings emphasize this aspect concerning teaching the Faith: It is not so much the words, its the spirit of the fireside, its not so much the intellect which draws people to Baha'u'llah, its the attraction of the heart to the unity, love, spiritual warmth and beauty present in the interaction.

...If one wants to reach children's hearts, one must use concrete means. This not only increases the children’s receptivity, it also elucidates spiritual subtleties and truths, (as well as factual and intellectual information.) Children's hearts are like sponges; they soak up spiritual concepts, but most effectively through the tangible."

What are our shining stars up to each week?

Here is the basic order of activities in Shining Stars:



Prayers
After everyone has arrived, a soft, meditative CD is played and we prepare the room for prayers. Small rugs are laid out, prayer books, and pictures of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Greatest Name are placed on the center table, and each child lights a candle.






Songs
Our song time is part song lesson, part marching band time. The children spontaneously take the lead with musical instruments and march around the room singing whatever Baha'i songs come to mind. We then move on to learning a new song.

For the last few classes we've been learning...



Each week we create simple movements to go with the song. Once it's all put together we'll post a video of our performance!

Story time
For story time, we move to the dining room and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and a snack. We have just started reading stories about the life of Baha'u'llah from the beautifully illustrated book The Incomparable Friend.



Quotation Study
During this part of the class, we study a quotation from the Baha'i writings. We focus on the same quotation for several classes, with each lesson focusing on a key vocabulary word or a single concept that helps deepen our understanding of the meaning of the passage and how it applies to our daily lives.

Future posts will share the quotations we are learning and the variety of activities we engage in as part of our study. You'll be really proud of what our shining stars have been up to!