Parenting Article:

How do we Teach Children About Spirituality?

By: Ruth powell

I am a Perth Mum with a son six and daughter three. I am currently residing in Hawaii (my husband is on exchange with the US Navy). Around 18 months ago I had a question that I was unable to find a direct answer to: "How do we teach the children about spirituality?" I asked my husband... and then announced that "I need a book on it"... if only I could find one written specifically about this subject. I knew that we could have started attending church - that would have been a start, but this would not have completely answered my question. I wanted to incorporate this 'learning' into the children's everyday lives. I want them to grow up having a real sense and confidence within themselves - believing in a higher power, whether that is God or their spiritual self (what ever spirituality may eventually mean for them).

Whilst I let that question 'sit out there' (as the answer seemed no clearer) I decided that I would begin with getting more in touch with my own spiritual side so the meditating that I did off and on for years was now going to be a regular occurrence. I also started reading books on meditating as there was certainly no problem finding books on this subject. So with the question still posed and my own spiritual endeavors now at least being more consistent, the answer I was looking for did start to unfold in unexpected ways - which I find is usually the case. This is my journey to my very clear answer.

Unbeknownst to me, the answer started to unfold when I was considering options for placing my daughter into a programme that would be similar to a 4 year old programme in Australia. My son's school had one with a great reputation - but they had just changed it from a 3 to 5 mornings a week and she (or perhaps I) wasn't ready for her to attend this many days. Friends then told me about a Child Care that offered ½ day care, but every time I went to investigate this further it just didn't feel right. I couldn't quite get passed the fact that Child Care is not monitored in the same way as in Australia. Finally I discovered the Waldorf school was just around the corner from us, they had a three to four year old programme that was for a total of 9 hours per week, perfect! I had always been interested in the Steiner / Waldorf education so after further investigation this is where she was booked to start at the beginning of the new school year.

Upon starting you can't help but feel the calm, flowing energy of a Waldorf class room, with the high ceilings adorned with wood, arches (to allow for the flow of energy - of course), natural toys and softly spoken words and songs; it is quit engaging. I watched as my child freely engaged in watering the garden, making mud pies in the sandpit with the always available water, and running over to feed the birds. Thus this started the fascination with dirt and water that over flowed to home and any patch of dirt she could find when we were out. So the 'exploring clothes' where introduced to counter our red volcanic dirt on the 'mountain' in our backyard - and lots of Napisan was kept in the laundry for the (losing) battle of keeping her normal clothes stain free...hmm, the exploring pile kept getting larger. The mountain (large hill in our back yard - at the bottom of a real mountain) was officially re-opened (after being closed down when my little explorers forgot the rules, a large rock rolled off 'the mountain', sprinkler system was broken, a flood ensued along with a large bill... but that's another story!) I have never minded messy play... and this "extra messy play" eventually passes... (right? As the Americans would say), but I am writing this as my daughter is sitting in the kitchen mixing a concoction of flour and water together.

I started to find that I started watching more closely as they completely lost themselves in exploring, digging in the dirt, looking for bugs, treasures, and of course... dinosaur bones! I watched as my daughter sat for an hour making the biggest, messiest mud pie that then became body paint. I suddenly was a lot more aware of the rhythm of their play and more mindful not to interrupt it - as I usually would have done with praise or a question. They obviously did not seek or need it at these times. They were in their own world, often oblivious that I was standing there watching - or taking photos.

I realised that my children naturally have exactly what I can often struggle to achieve whilst meditating. They are in the moment completely - they are not thinking about yesterday, tomorrow or a hour from now they are just immersed in every second of their play. So as I watched (and learned), I started becoming more conscious of really being in the moment with them when they were showing or telling me something. During the day I am now (for myself) trying to stay 'in the day'. I am not nearly as efficient at it as they are and have come to realise how difficult this is for adults. There is this constant stream of dialogue through my head to deal with! But awareness is a big leap so one day at a time for me!

Seeing how connected my children were when out in nature I then took the step of reading as many books as I could as suddenly I found many more books on spiritual parenting. The next step for me was clearing out / organising toys. We now have a section of the family room organised (so each item has a home) with natural wooden blocks, knitted animals, a large dressing up box to follow my daughter's new phase of being a princess or fairy, a nature table for all the rocks/ leaves/ flowers and pieces of wood that are bought home after a walk up the street or anywhere we go for that matter. There are kitchen materials for any tea parties that there favourite bears, teddies and dolls may like to come to, with the cooking being done on the stove my son made out of a box. The 'bug palace' sits in the family room and waits for it's next guest that may like to visit for a day before it is thanked and put back in the garden.

So the search to the answer was finally found (it took me a while to click...lucky for the patience of children!). "How do you teach spirituality to your children?"- I now laugh that I asked myself this as of course you just don't. Children are already naturally very connected to their spirituality - I should have been asking "How can I learn about spirituality from my children!" I have discovered that if we stop and observe and give children opportunities to explore, discover, experiment, get wet and muddy and follow their instincts - then we as parents can learn so much about being connected to spirituality - how ironic!!

My son summed it all up beautifully the other day. The children got up before me the other morning - I literally woke up to hearing the excitement in my sons voice at what he had seen downstairs - next I hear him bolt up stairs, race into our room (it was still dark) As he was saying "Mum, Mum you have to see this (he reached out to put on the bedside light... he never does this... he knows I am not a 'bolt out of bed' person) so I knew there was important news coming... and so it was "Mum, Mum - I can see the moon, it's amazing..." - I get up and it was as he said an amazing sight looking through this small, high window and seeing the moon framed perfectly. It was a crescent moon - as I was later informed after some research through the "Space Book". After this, my son had a student free day so we headed to the zoo and the children (before looking at any animals) headed straight to a huge Indian Banyan tree. We have been to the zoo many times in the last twelve months yet we only found the tree (that is a little hard to miss) a few weeks ago. We then sat on the grass for morning tea, a bird came up and started taking some food from our hand, my son looked over at me and said "Isn't this special" and I replied "Yes, it is very special."

Books I read on my research in 'teaching myself' about nurturing children's spiritually included:

• 10 Principles for Spiritual Parenting Nurturing Your Child's Soul
  By: Mimi Doe with Marsha Walch, PH.D
• Busy But balanced, Practical and Inspirational Ways to Create a Calmer, Closer Family
  By: Mimi Doe
• You Are Your Child's First Teacher. What Parents Can Do With and For Their Children From Birth to Age Six
  By: Baldwin Dancy
• Heaven on Earth. A Handbook for Parents of Young Children
  By Sharifa Oppenhiemer

Aloha,
Ruth Powell
Author of Choosing Child Care

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